Stanley’s On Racine

I’m still mourning :(

I liked Stanley’s. Their food was pretty good. I enjoyed their fried chicken, burgers and mac and cheese. Even though this location was closer to where I live, I still go to the original location in Lincoln Park from time to time.

Closed

Here I am reviewing another closed bar. In fact, I believe Stanley’s successor, Ethyl’s, has already come and gone. Now I’m feeling my mortality. Gonna need some bourbon to finish this one up.
As West Loop bars go, Stanley’s was a pretty solid choice. There was decent beer, peanuts, and comfort food. The jukebox was heavy on classic rock tunes, and people handled it responsibly.
However, Stanley’s was a place to be enjoyed in spite of its location and not because of it. It sat over the Eisenhower and across the street from a gas station. A brutal spot for a bar, really. Still, I thought they were doing alright.
I once decided to be Johnny thrift and take the Blue line from here to Wicker Park. I ran to catch the train and quickly realized I was going in the wrong direction. I alighted at Ogden. Instead of getting on the next train in the right direction, I started walking in search of a cab or the Damen bus. This is not recommended.

No complaints here.
For the most part the food is standard, but better than a lot of bars and they have great mac and cheese, good beer specials and cheapish beer all around. Friendly service, tons of room, and plenty of TVs. If you are looking for a bar with good food near UIC/​United Center, this is better than most.

Great for Sunday brunch, friendly staff. When joining the buffet line, grab the mac n cheese, chicken or waffles first… They’re good and tend to go by pretty fast.

I have given this place a number of chances.
Food is mediocre.
Service is not at the top of their list.
I will not be back.

Actual stars = 3.5.
I came on the first big snow of the 2010 – 2011 winter season so it wasnt packed but then again I went for lunch. This actually a good thing because it leaves the parking lot wide open! It’s the perfect spot when you have people coming from all directions — it’s right off the blue line, right off 290 and free parking! yay!
The inside is roomy and has a nice inviting atmosphere. The bloody marys are not too spicy and sweet and the food is comforting on a cold winter day. I had a turkey club — made with out processed junky lunch meat, and tots. How many places serve tots these days? Love it!

This place became a weekly Monday hangout. When we first walked in, the table of cops told us that the buffet is Outstanding. The ribs on rib night are fall-​off-​the-​bone good, the outdoor seating is nice, and bean bag toss gets intense.
Take your friends on a Monday night.

Not sure why Unilocal shows it’s closed, unless a bunch of my friends and I broke in and had a wild Halloween party last week…
Anyway, good times. I think they lost some money the night we were there. $ 30 all you can drink for 3 hours? Anything except red bull or shots? Um, bourbon on the rocks, please. I won’t disclose how many I had…
First time there, I dug it. Good atmosphere. Juke is ok, could use some more tuneage. The staff was nice and attentive.
One of the best parts? Brace yourself… they have their own parking lot. (hey for us suburbanites, we drive everywhere, this was a nice perk).
Check it out. I’d like to go back.

Very bad service and a lot of drunk people playing bean bags. I wish I can give 0 stars.

I’m raising my review a star because they have $ 5 all you can eat pizza and pasta night. You’re definitely getting your money’s worth because hey, it is $ 5. What the hell can you still get for $ 5? The pizza was deece and the salad was good, pasta was, well… I’ve had better pasta but it was edible.
Also, they have a bad bottle of whiskey sitting on the bar? Okay. Done.

(3.5 stars rounded up)
I think that as adults get older, our attention span gets smaller. At least, mine does sometimes. I think Stanley’s figured that out early on. It explains their patio. Looking for a place to play Bags and drink? Stanley’s. Shoot basketball and drink? Stanley’s. Dunk someone in their dunk tank? Stanley’s. Their outdoor patio is ridiculously large and sprawling. It’s a fantastic patio. Probably one of the best in Chicago.
The server that we had was great. Whitney was right on top of things and personable to boot. My main gripe is that while the menu is large and has most of the comfort food you know from the original Stanley’s, would it kill them to put a few more veggie options on there? They used to have a veggie club option, but even that has been removed from the menu. A little more variety, please!
This place is down the street from my company, so it’s quite convenient to me. The free parking lot is also a major bonus. I will be back — if only to partake in the games portion of the patio. And drink, of course.

Recently I’ve discovered that I’m not very good at drinking anymore. It didn’t take Stanley’s to point this out, but this place is when this fact dawned on me with clarity. See, I realized that I had never been to Stanley’s just to drink. I had been there before Windy City Rollers matches because it’s conveniently located near the UIC Pavilion. And I had been there before Chicago Blackhawks games because their free shuttle to the United Center is one of the easiest to take and easiest to continue on from home (for me) as it’s located right near the Blue Line.
But, I had never been there without an out in the form of a game time. Without this excuse, I was left trying to explain to my Unilocal Beer Garden companions why I wanted to leave. That reason being that I can no longer handle my alcohol for some reason. Not that I didn’t try to come up with an excuse to make me seem like less of a lightweight, but they were all fail.
Here are all the excuses I discovered I can’t use at Stanley’s on Tuesday alone (not that I tried all of them, or any of them, I need some in reserve):
Excuse #1: «I need to go home and grab something to eat.»
Shootdown #1: Stanley’s has a great menu. Their macaroni and cheese is some of the best I’ve had in Chicago and even the appetizer size is large enough for a meal. And their sides at about $ 2.99 a piece are eye-​poppingly large and stomach growling-​stoppingly satisfying. They may not be a soul food place, but they definitely do comfort food right.
Excuse #2: «This place is expensive, I’m going to go someplace cheaper to drink.»
Shootdown #2: For the Near West Side, the beers are cheap. And they have the added advantage of making the drinks prices on their menu add up to round numbers after tax. They don’t exactly have the classiest beer (domestics rule the day), but it will get one drunk (especially one like me) without a huge dent in the wallet.
Excuse #3: «These drinks are not strong enough, I’m going somewhere where they make them stronger.»
Shootdown #3: This is a hockey bar. They don’t screw around on the mixed drinks. It only takes one of them to knock me on my ass faster than a cross check. Then again, have I mentioned I’ve become a lightweight?
Excuse #4: «I’m bored, there’s nothing to do here but drink. I’ve got some shows to watch at home.»
Shootdown #4: Okay, old dude, first of all they’re not shows, they’re TV programs. And secondly, this place is basically a Chicago Blackhawks museum. Once you’re done with that, there is an entire very active bags court. Even if you don’t play bags, it’s fun to watch. And there are T.V.s both inside and outside on their patio.
So, in short, I found there’s no reason ever to leave Stanley’s (unless an employee shows you the door), especially if you’re there with good people like I was (thanks to Vanessa M. for organizing). Which is why I can’t go there anymore. That is, except once hockey season starts again and I have my fool-​proof out!

Stanley. No offense to the Stanleys out there but that name always conjours up the image of a guy in shorts and socks with sandals; a grey haired chap who lives in a cluttered old house with a million «collectibles». Of course– maybe that’s because that describes a favorite uncle of mine named Stanley who I am always trying to get to update his «image» if only to lose the socks with the sandals!
Well, this Stanley is really no different than that image, except this one always has a cold beer ready at hand and can cook all your favorite bar foods and serve them up in a friendly welcoming environment. Oh, and this Stanley plays much better music than that uncle of mine!
We went on a colder night so sitting out on the covered patio was out but we gazed longingly at the jukebox (yes– it’s outside) the picnic tables, café tables and chairs and the tiki hut ambiance with longing. Another day for sure!
Once inside– we had the choice of one of the dining rooms or the bar. The bar won out only because the friendly bartender was already making room for us at her bar and after noticing me looking around at all the «stuff» that lines the walls here was quick to welcome me as a «newbie» and bring me a beer.
Cluttered would be a compliment to Stanley’s. All kinds of things line the walls from the Michigan State flags (urrgh– this U of M girl actually ate at a State bar? Don’t tell my college friends!) to a full old fashioned kitchen area in the front dining area to sports jerseys and other sports memorabilia lining the walls. An eclectic collection, for sure.
My friend had been here before so the food ordering was easy. And check out their nightly specials as they are really a good deal. Even though they have things like salads on the menu– this was a night for bar food (yay!) and soon plates began to arrive in front of us.
Mini sliders (4 to an order), tator tots with cheese sauce for dipping (as if they were not caloric enough!), a wedge of mac and cheese and boneless buffalo chicken with blue cheese sauce for dipping. All quite good and the portion sizes were huge! We barely made a dent in all that food, though.
The two bartenders were great and worked as a team alternating between bringing us our food and making sure we always had a cold one in front of us.
Another bonus? A parking lot. Although if that’s full– parking is pretty easy in this area.
Can’t wait for the weather to warm up so I can go back and sit on that patio, listening to tunes, sipping my beer and thinking that this Stanley, although a bit eccentric, is just perfect the way it is.

Ehh.
Stanley’s has great nightly specials. And greasy food. Free parking. And a huge patio! Still, I think this Stanley’s lacks something… a certain warmth. It’s a bit dreary and dim inside, you know?
Our bartendress/​server was super sweet and accommodating, but also way busy which made it difficult to get a beer when I needed it (not her fault — she was handling half of a packed bar). And no, I’m not into double fisting as I’m a slooooow sipper and can’t stand a warmish beer.
Also — what’s up with the beer being served in a plastic cup? I guess it’s assumed you’ll take it outside to the patio, but on this particular day, it was a bit chilly and alfresco imbibing bets were off. Once I requested a real glass, I got one for the duration. Yay! I don’t think I’m high-​maintenance, but unless I’m at a keg party and paying Keystone prices, please bring on the real glass.
I do believe in second chances, so Stanley’s, maybe we’ll give it another go?

This place is seriously a playground for adults! The outside patio has everything you could want for warm summer evening! It has a great vibe and tons of room inside too… not to mention the awesome nightly specials for drinks and food.
The service however is a complete joke. So horrible, it was almost funny. I actually do think I ‘lol’d’ when part of our food order arrived at the table as we were paying our bill.
Yes I will be back, but next time will arrive with more patience and lower expectations.

My husband and I do not like this place. We love the fact that it has its very own parking lot, but we dislike the food, the service, the atmosphere, and hate the overpriced drinks.
We tried it 3 – 4 times.
After being disappointed every time over the course of 6 months, we never go here now.

We headed over here after an awesome time watching the Carolina Rollergirls get their asses handed to them by the Windy City Rollers *woo-​hoo* I was hoping this place wasn’t the douche-​fest its other location is usually on a Saturday night and we were lucky, it wasn’t.
This newer location was designed to look a lot like the older location, but is so much better. They have a really nice outside patio, if it wasn’t freezing we probably would have had a few out there. We didn’t spend any time in the bar area, but the crowd is definitely different than the LP crowd at their other location, most were there to watch baseball or hockey. They were serving $ 2 cans all night, which my friends were a big fan of, especially when the bill came, somehow it ended up being even less than $ 2! We also ordered food: tots, buffalo chicken strips, fried tomatoes, and derby pie — everyone was happy with their selection. Our server was really nice and attentive. All in all it was a great place to kick back, have a drink, a bite and some nice relaxed conversation.
My only complaint was the ladies room. Someone from our party went to the ladies and both stalls had no TP and the paper towel dispensers were empty too, which she reported to the staff. A friend and I went an hour later and they were still empty; when we told our server she was clearly annoyed they still hadn’t taken care of it, I’m not sure what the issue was, it wasn’t that crowded.
Bottom line: If you’re in the West Loop area this is a nice stop especially if you’re a fan of southern comfort food. They even have parking at this location!

A few us went for the all-​you-​can-​eat buffet. It wasn’t crowded. Not a very big selection. Not impressive.
They ran out of hot wings and I sat there waiting. When he brought it out, he just brought like a bowlful. These were probably the best item offered.
Our waiter was quick to serve us and get our drinks.