JimTheBeerGuy and I (and hopefully others) are planning a late October/early November bike ride out to 3 Floyd's. If anyone is interested in joining us, please PM me, and I'll include you in the date selection and logistics planning.

Sharon

Can I come even if I don't have a bike?

Llama wrote:Can I come even if I don't have a bike?

Of course. Our arrival time may not be very exact, but you can certainly meet us there. I'll PM you the poll with the possible dates.

So using Kitchen Sink Cafe as a starting point...

Google Map

that can't be correct, can it? It's going to take you over 3 hours to get there? What?

incite wrote:So using Kitchen Sink Cafe as a starting point...

Google Map

that can't be correct, can it? It's going to take you over 3 hours to get there? What?

Yeah, it's pretty far....but I certainly wouldn't be leaving from that far north. It's about 34 miles from my house. I ride 12 miles to work (when I ride) and it takes me about 45 minutes...that's all on streets.

So if that route was taken, a good chunk would be on the lakefront path, which would make it a bit quicker. But I usually don't pay attention to google maps' bike routes, and instead, use the walking route. The walking route puts the trek at 30 miles from my place which should take about 2.5 hours.

Still a pretty decent haul.

If I go, I may bike over to Flossmoor for a couple more and then hit the Metra back to the city. We'll see...

ziggy wrote:

incite wrote:So using Kitchen Sink Cafe as a starting point...

Google Map

that can't be correct, can it? It's going to take you over 3 hours to get there? What?

Yeah, it's pretty far....but I certainly wouldn't be leaving from that far north. It's about 34 miles from my house. I ride 12 miles to work (when I ride) and it takes me about 45 minutes...that's all on streets.

So if that route was taken, a good chunk would be on the lakefront path, which would make it a bit quicker. But I usually don't pay attention to google maps' bike routes, and instead, use the walking route. The walking route puts the trek at 30 miles from my place which should take about 2.5 hours.

Still a pretty decent haul.

If I go, I may bike over to Flossmoor for a couple more and then hit the Metra back to the city. We'll see...

Yeah, we're going to be hungry by the time we get to Munster.

I also wouldn't use Google Maps for a trip like this. I've got a friend who has a tried and tested route to 3 Floyd's, so that's what we'll use. We'll figure out a sensible departure point. (Also, just to be clear, this is not a Fork and the Road tour...just for fun on my day off!)

ziggy, I'd join you at Flossmoor, too. My original thought was to do a whole brewery weekend bike ride and just camp, but I thought that might be a harder sell. Everyone who's expressed interest in the day trip so far should have the Doodle poll now.

Three Floyd's has been on my restaurant list for a year now, and in the interest of striking it through, I think I'll be joining you fine folk.

For fear of looking like this:

there's a high probability that I too will be driving. Will play it by ear.

Were you planning on doing the tour? If so, I have the guy's card who does them--he said I could call him whenever I had a group that was interested and he'd set us up.

Apropos of incite's post above, I am guessing Espanyol striker Walter Pandiani would not even need a bike ride to look like that. To make this food related, I bet he eats well (albeit sweatily) in Barcelona.

Matt...I was having trouble embedding video, but that's exactly what I was picturing. Ballmer was my safety.

Does anyone know whether Ham on Rye will make another appearance?

Was out here Saturday.

Typical visit with a long wait to sit down and the surly host. Everyone else was more than accommodating.

We started with the mac n cheese, which was one of the finer versions I've ever had. Up there with kuma's for pub versions. Al dente shells in creamy, runny cheese sauce, dotted with bacon and pickled onions. The pickled onions really added a nice sweet touch to compliment the salty bacon and rich sauce.

I had the bacon dashi, a dish I've sadly never experienced before this. I don't really have a comparison point besides other Asian noodle dishes, but this held it's own. The pork was delicious, moist and well seasoned. The broth seemed under seasoned, until I had a bite with the soy egg, which leads to my only complaint: you really needed a bite of everything at once to really enjoy it, a feat not easily accomplished with noodles, large pork chunks and a hard boiled egg. I ended up picking up ingredients individually and shoving them in my mouth for a "whole" bite. My companion had a burger, one he noted as one of the best in his recent memory, despite it being slightly overcooked. His fries were still crispy and delicious, even at lukewarm, when I snagged a few after about 15 minutes.

As for drinks:
Spazzerack: Alpha King and Robert the Bruce mixed and aged in bourbon barrels with star anise. The hint of the name to the classic cocktail should have given me the heads up that the anise flavor would shine through, but I was blinded by the bourbon barrel aging of two of their classic beers. Had to hand it back to the bartender, but fans of black licorice would likely love this beer.
Behemoth: their delicious, well balanced take on a Barleywine. Had to bring home a bomber.
Zombie Dust: simply my favorite beer of the moment. An amazing display of the Citra hop. My companion bought 3 growlers for the evening at the outrageous price of $24 per, but I (and his guests) were grateful for it the rest of the evening. Three Floyds was, as usual, sold out of the bottles, and my wife was none too pleased that I did not come home with a case.

made the drive to Munster yesterday to finally make it to the brewpub. I've read how it gets crowded on Sunday so I made a point to get there as close to noon as possible. Dining room was about half full when we arrived. Ordered pretty quick as we were all hungry. Food took awhile to come out and when it did finally arrive we were underwhelmed at best. Scotch egg was ice cold in the center, fish and chips were fine, my wifes squash soup didn't match up with the menu description, tasted flat and was warm at best. I had a slice of my sons pizza that was fine. I guess my expectations were pretty high from what I've read. If offered to go again, I'll quickly take a pass or grab something to eat and just go to the bar and drink. I can think of about 10 places I can get the same food prepared better for about the same price or less without the hour drive each way.

This place has great beer, but I'm turned off by the staff at this place. They seem to have the "honda dealership syndrome" The we know were one of the best and we look down on you because of it. The door guy was a real jerk to us. The when I asked for a shot, the waiter looked at me like i was an alien and told me they were a brew pub and they only server beer as he rudely walked away.

Is just me or has anyone else had similar a experience at this place.

I'm not a regular there but I happened to end up there 2 days in a row last week. I went Thursday, by myself, and enjoyed the Pork Belly Fried Rice from the new fall menu so much that my wife and I returned on Friday when we lucked into a babysitter.

We ordered the pickles appetizer, shrimp and grits, brussel sprouts, and pulled pork with pate sandwich. The food was all great, the beers are the best of any brewpub in the Chicagoland area, and the staff, including the doorman, all treated us well.

I had the one of the worst service experiences in my life at TF. It centered on the person working the door. Three couples stopped by at 5:30 on a Saturday. My wife and another woman approached the host when we walked in. They politely asked him a question. He would not look at them, gave a perfunctory grunt, turned and walked away. They asked a second clarifying question and sneered "I already told you" and walked away. Both women are well turned out women approaching 60. His entire demeanor - language, posture, and attitude - abusive. I have called twice to voice a complaint and never received a return call. Their beer is not good enough to excuse that type of behavior.

Everything you said may have been accurate, except for the last sentence.

funkyfrank wrote:Their beer is not good enough to excuse that type of behavior.

There is one door guy who is an out-and-out asshole. He's on the shorter and chunkier side and I've never once seen him in a good mood. I always want to ask him why he works the door if he hates it so much, but I end up treating him like the soup Nazi, head down, name, party size, thank you.

The other door guys are usually helpful and I feel like the servers are usually average to well above average (tall guy with the beard and trendy hat).

I've had two of my favorite pizzas of 2012 at 3F. Dont recall specifcs, only remember creative combinations and toppings that worked perfectly together.

jfibro wrote:I've had two of my favorite pizzas of 2012 at 3F. Dont recall specifcs, only remember creative combinations and toppings that worked perfectly together.

I have enjoyed the few pizzas I've had there quite a bit, but some other food has been downright appalling. Had a bison burger which was not only a rubbery and flavorless puck, but it was about 1/4 the size of the bun it was on, it looked like some kind of joke. Some of the other sandwiches have been thrown together more carelessly than a McDonalds burger. The pizzas have been great, as well as quite a few of the appetizers, so I don't understand the quality gap. It's almost like 2 different kitchens are producing 2 completely different sets of food.

That said, there is no stopping me from continuing to go out of my way to visit the place. I go there for the beer, which is certainly the best brewpub beer I've had, and some rightfully rank it as some of the best in the country. The service can be the worst, and the food garbage, and I wouldn't care. I'll drink my beers and be happy.

laikom wrote:I have enjoyed the few pizzas I've had there quite a bit, but some other food has been downright appalling. Had a bison burger which was not only a rubbery and flavorless puck, but it was about 1/4 the size of the bun it was on, it looked like some kind of joke. Some of the other sandwiches have been thrown together more carelessly than a McDonalds burger. The pizzas have been great, as well as quite a few of the appetizers, so I don't understand the quality gap. It's almost like 2 different kitchens are producing 2 completely different sets of food.

The food can be maddeningly inconsistent, but I've had solid meals there the last 3-4 times. They are definitely aiming for a high end food experience, and I wonder if they have hard times keeping a consisitent staff being located in Munster.

jfibro wrote:They are definitely aiming for a high end food experience, and I wonder if they have hard times keeping a consisitent staff being located in Munster.

Right. Does it never occur to folks that plenty of the service staff they encounter in various Chicago-based establishments actually call NWI home?

REALLY confused by this comment as well--perhaps you'd like to elaborate...why would 3 Floyd's have more trouble finding capable staff in Munster than anywhere else in the metro Chicago area (than, say, Highland Park, which is actually further from downtown (28mi) than Munster (26mi)????

Once you cross that state line, you're dealing with a whole other species: Hoosiers!

Most of the kitchen staff I know live in the city (this is probably because I live in the city) and take public transportation. I know some of them have worked in the burbs before, but not in a place like Munster that is inaccessible by public transit. But I'm sure there are restaurants that aren't well serviced by public transportation that are able to maintain consistency. A flawed argument I guess, but just the first thing that came to my mind.

Also, I didn't state it as fact, I threw it out there for consideration as a possibility. No need to get condescending and eye-rolly. Well, I guess there is reason - it's the internet.

Oh, give me a break. Let's not get all sanctimonious and pretend like the workforces in Munster and Chicago (or Highland Park) are equal. You will certainly find more qualified workers- in just about any field- in cities. You will also find more qualified workers in higher income neighborhoods and suburbs.
You'll find better workers in New York City vs. Tampa.
You'll find better workers in Tampa vs. Peoria.
You'll find better workers in Peoria vs. Kingman.
Why are we pretending otherwise?

jfibro wrote: No need to get condescending and eye-rolly.

Had you heeded your own advice, you wouldn't have received the responses you did.

MikeL wrote:Oh, give me a break. Let's not get all sanctimonious and pretend like the workforces in Munster and Chicago (or Highland Park) are equal. You will certainly find more qualified workers- in just about any field- in cities. You will also find more qualified workers in higher income neighborhoods and suburbs.

Now this definitely deserves one.
______________________________

I could say a LOT here, but it's best I don't, so here's a link for everyone's amusement:

http://parkwestmunster.com/Park_West_Mu ... lcome.html

Please folks, let's get back to the topic at hand and leave the tangent in the rear-view mirror.

Thanks,

=R=
for the moderators

Heads up - after this weekend, brewpub tours are suspended indefinitely according to Three Floyd's FB page. This could be a good thing, maybe it will be easier to get a table for lunch now.

Ursiform wrote:Heads up - after this weekend, brewpub tours are suspended indefinitely according to Three Floyd's FB page. This could be a good thing, maybe it will be easier to get a table for lunch now.

I personally think this is a great thing, because it should have a positive impact on Saturday afternoon crowds. Also, it's been my least favorite brewery tour I've experienced. It's very informative and the guy who gave ours was knowledgable and entertaining, but they didn't take you through space at all (just had you stand up front and pointed to stuff) and there is a no booze policy. Others give you free beer, 3F won't even allow purchased beer. I'm sure they have good reasons for both, but it adds up to a blah experience for me.

jfibro wrote:There is one door guy who is an out-and-out asshole. He's on the shorter and chunkier side and I've never once seen him in a good mood. I always want to ask him why he works the door if he hates it so much, but I end up treating him like the soup Nazi, head down, name, party size, thank you.

On another note, I think this guy is gone. I haven't seen him in months, so hopefully everyone's favorite door guy has found a more suitable position.

jfibro wrote:

Ursiform wrote:Heads up - after this weekend, brewpub tours are suspended indefinitely according to Three Floyd's FB page. This could be a good thing, maybe it will be easier to get a table for lunch now.

I personally think this is a great thing, because it should have a positive impact on Saturday afternoon crowds. Also, it's been my least favorite brewery tour I've experienced. It's very informative and the guy who gave ours was knowledgable and entertaining, but they didn't take you through space at all (just had you stand up front and pointed to stuff) and there is a no booze policy. Others give you free beer, 3F won't even allow purchased beer. I'm sure they have good reasons for both, but it adds up to a blah experience for me.

Hi,

I took the tour once. They gave everyone a bottle of beer in exchange for a token payment of a dollar. I bought mine, then handed it off to someone who would appreciate it far more.

I guess I should count myself fortunate.

Regards,