The Grid

The Grid closed prior to me being able to use all the gift cards the GM provided to me after resolving a small dispute on reservation handling. I was not enamored with the mason jar serving method-​meals in a jar was not my style. I did enjoy the clientele and fun times here-​met a great lady companion here, and we survived the restaurant, at least by three months. The best part of The Grid was the bar scene, and as I am not a real proponent or patron of bar scenes I’m not qualified to comment further. RIP The Grid, someone misses you.
Off to the Gym now!

Had no idea this place, or really even this block, existed until I purchased a groupon to try it out. It was a pleasant surprise that it was a mere four blocks from my apartment and I hoped I loved it so it could be a new local favorite. Not so much.
The groupon offered us cocktails, an app, and a couple of entrees. I had a grapefruity beer cocktail, which I actually enjoyed, a surprise to me since I don’t normally like mixed drinks with a bunch of combined oddities. Our app was the chicken wings and they were small and tasted like any other wings in any other joint. For my entrée I chose the turkey burger and again, it was alright. Good, but nothing special.
A game was on, so the TVs were way way way too loud and the server seemed disinterested in us, though we didn’t have to wait too long on anything. I’d rather walk four blocks further to get to a place I actually want to be in.

The big thing about this place is the fire pit above the lounging tables.
Cozy atmosphere, cool place to come with a large group of friends if you want to.

My wife and I had dinner here on Friday as we had purchased a Groupon and wanted to check the place out. I was very impressed with this place, the food, service, and drinks were all great. Our waiter especially went out of his way to make sure any questions we had were answered and told us a bit about the oysters we had ordered as our shared plate. We both had burgers for our main course, a Veggie and the higher end Explorer. The Veggie was quite good, great flavor and size. The Explorer was good as well but given all the enticing ingredients in it I was expecting something a bit tastier.
The place is going for a high end sports bar feel with a ton of TVs but also areas that are setup more for proper meals. If it were not for the location being far away from where we live I would be back more often.

First time visit and this place has been in the hood for almost a year. Went there thursday for some beers and snacks. The beers were so overpriced (8 dollars for craft beers, ie. Left Hand Milk Stout), so I opted for the $ 15 domestic bucket. Pizza was also cold and the service was slow, shouldn’t have been because it wasn’t that crowded. It could have been for the lack of waitstaff.
I may be back, but right now only because there is 20% Unilocal coupon if you check in.

The food was a little pricy but that’s my only complaint. Plus were in the city so it should be expected. Everything was awesome. We got the wings with were served on coleslaw which was diff but way cool. The side of Brussels sprouts reminded me of dead leafs which for whatever reason were amazing. The chicken sandwich I had ruled and loved the grill marks. on top. The French fries had an interesting seasoning. Not sure what it was. My fiancé had the e burger (can’t remember what its called). Which he loved. The magnificent mile cocktail is for anyone who likes red sangria. Otherwise splendid beer list.
I totally forgot our servers name but she was great.
The place was pretty empty but I did come in on a Sunday night. I’m sure it is much bussier on other days. We did get a groupon which was an awesome deal.
On a side note the parking on street and around the corner is fairly cheap and easy to use.
We will deff be back!

Ok food, mediocre service, Chicago definitely has better. Came on Sunday for lunch, the place was literally empty, they had a full staff, yet they failed at offering basic service. Our waitress seemed to be a bit out of it, had to remind her a couple of times about our order and at the end we didn’t even get all the items we ordered.
Kudos for their breakfast burrito, their mimosa/​bloodymary bar and their fireplace lounge downstairs.
Other than that, keep your expectations low.

People need to hop on over to this Bar and Restaurant for their Happy Hour. They have $ 5 pizzas during their happy hour. Some bars do not have food this you can order a bite to eat right at their bar which is very convenient.
We were there last night for St. Patty’s day and had their fire wood burning oven pizzas and corn beef sandwiches on rye. It was delicious and I love the décor and atmosphere too.

Good food, service and atmosphere. Great place to get dinner and watch the game. If your girlfriend is not into sports but you need to watch the game, bring her here and you’ll both be happy.
The food: delicious. The chicken wings were better than the average chicken wing appetizer (be prepared, they are bone in). The arugula salad was delicious! A minimalist dish in terms of quantity of ingredients, but the quality was great and went together very well. I would have liked a little more caviar on it though, and I’m not sure the vinegar chips went well with it– would have preferred bread crisps. They had oysters! Very good ones at that.
The service: fantastic on a very slow Saturday evening.
Atmosphere: is great, a large restaurant that did a great job with the lighting and layout, so it does not actually feel to big.

We went on a Sunday when there weren’t many in the main section, and so weren’t surprised that the service received was outstanding. Initially upon sitting down in the restaurant section there was a very strong smell of fish which made me nauseaous. However, our server was happy to relocate us to the bar side, where we were the only folk, but still got the full attention of our server.
I started with the grapefruit beer, which was so good we ordered several more. The food is a better take on typical bar food. I had the sausage and fennel pizza, which is cooked in the wood-​fired stone oven. This gives it a perfect taste of burnt smokiness and crisp base whilst still having the soft, fluffy texture I love in a pizza base. The pizza is a good size for one person, or two to share if you order something else. My wife had the grilled cheese and soup. Both were very good. Thick slices of bread, but still very light to taste.

I am only giving this restaurant four stars because the homemade veggie burger is off the charts!!! I have had many veggie burgers over the years and by far, this is the best one I have ever encountered.
The service sucked though! My girlfriend and I went there for dinner last Wednesday night and there was only one waiter working a pretty busy room. He gave us menus, but failed to provide us with a drink menu. He brought us waters and then left. We requested drink menus and after 10 minutes, I was so pissed that I got them from the hostess stand. He still had not come back to our table and so we finally stopped a random person for help. Turned out he was the manager and apologized for the short staff. He assumed the night would not be busy and told the other waitress to stay home. While we totally understood, the one guy they did have was terribly slow and unprofessional. He never even apologized, which I felt was very tacky on his part.

So, I went here for New Years Day brunch with a few girlfriends. First of all, we tried to call several times before coming in that day to see how long the wait was and the line just continued to ring with no response. We got there and the restaurant was not even half full. Granted it was snowy and cold that day but still you expect to have some sort of wait at any brunch place.
We were put in a huge booth even though there were only 3 of us and because the hostess kept saying «Everything else is reserved.» There was no one there, I’m sure that was a lie. We got paper menus that didn’t have any prices listed, which looked cheap and unprofessional. There were maybe 10 options, which was very limiting. Then it took at least 20 minutes for our waitress to even look in our direction. She didn’t come over again for another 20 minutes to take our orders. When we got the food, I couldn’t believe how small the portion sizes were! If I’m going to brunch, I usually expect it to be a normal portion. These were tiny and we were all still hungry afterwards. One of my friends changed her original order and the waitress didn’t get it into the kitchen in time, so my friend got two entrees.
When the bill finally came, there was a charge for «Mussels» which no one at our table had ordered. The waitress took care of the first incorrect entrée for my friend but I’m glad we checked the bill before paying anyways.
I will not be going back to the Grid for any type of meal. No wonder they couldn’t hack it as an upscale restaurant previously since their service and food quality is severely lacking. Bottom Line: There are many other great brunch places in the city, pass on this one.

We came here for a friend’s birthday party, and since it was during the holidays when it is quiet during the city we were able to snag a VIP table section downstairs in the lounge. Normally this area requires bottle service. I’m not sure if they requested our area where we sequestered first or not, but we did get moved a couple of times which I find slightly questionable. In any case, I like the set up with the 2 tvs per area, and the fire pit stationed in the middle of each. The music was good, and the drinks were tasty ast well. Prices were comparable to the area and the staff was pretty attentive.

For our weekly girls dinner, we wanted to check this place out. It’s a cool little spot with nice décor. We ate and drank in the lounge area, which didn’t feel very lounge like. Unfortunately, it was over packed with too many groups of single dudes, looking for chicks.
Our server was really sweet, but clearly overwhelmed as she explained she was called in because a bunch of people had called off.
I ordered their signature whiskey drink on the menu, it was terrible. All I could taste was the vermouth… but I drank it anyway because I hate sending things back. We ordered our dinner, the plates are all fairly large. There’s a couple of dishes that just don’t really make sense. Seems like the food was all just ok for everyone. It came out at all different times and that was kind of chaotic.
We didn’t have a bad time by any means, but we were ready to go quickly after the food. Didn’t give us that «We are having a great time, lets stay here and drink» vibe.
Not to mention– it’s irritating to be approached by each group of guys in the middle of your meal. Douchecity.

You can’t beat a great-​looking, reasonably priced lounge type of place to eat. The Grid is just that. Waiters & Waitresses with knowledge of the menus, and do their job with a great attitude while making an effort to help you in your decisions. This place is great.
The food is fantastic, and the beer/​cocktail list is fairly lengthy. I was surprised. I do have a few «go-to’s» when it comes to drinks but I like straying away and trying a drink I have never heard of before.
As for the food. One word, «awesome.» I tried all the food that was at the table that evening and was impressed by every dish. The pork shoulder, the salad, and, of course, my burger. I got «jane» because it was my first time and I wasn’t super hungry. There is a burger that is a step up from «jane» that I will get next time. My burger was great, though. Cooked exactly how I like it, seasoned appropriately, and with some aioli fries.
The service was a bit slow, to be honest. I don’t think this had anything to do with our waitress, but the restaurant wasn’t very busy. I don’t know why but it took our drinks a while, and our food even longer. It came out at different times, too. My friends salad, my burger, and then my other friends pork shoulder. But, that was all forgotten when we began indulging after it arrived.
I’d go back to The Grid. I’d take you with me! It’s that good. Give it a shot.

Always a good time to be had here as its a good place to check out after work or come later in the evening to check out some major sporting events.
Pretty cool, cozy settup as they have the communal high tops in the middle of the place and nice booths equipped with fireplaces around the north side borders of the place. Servers are more than friendly and are always willing to take care of you. The peeps @ the bar are cool as well.
The drinks here are def on point as the Moscow Mule is among my favorites and you get the cool mug to go along with it. The Midway & State Streeter are pretty good drinks as well. On the food tip, the Regular Ass Burger is pretty good as well as the Foie Dog. The Foie Dog includes goat cheese, caramelized onions, candied apricot & truffle mayo in a bun… very good stuff. kinda addictive.

Sports-​bar atmosphere in a swanky underground bar. Love the futuristic fireplace but that seating seems to be for bottle service only.
No cover on the Friday night that I went, which wasn’t much of a redeeming factor because it was so unbelievably loud we could barely hold a conversation. Don’t come here if you want to talk: P

The Grid is a bit confused. Located in the «garden» unit below Baume & Brix, The Grid is a easy to miss; it’s the unmarked door just to the west of Baume & Brix’s door. The atmosphere is River North lounge meets sports bar. It worked when we arrived at 9pm, but when the crowds arrived an hour or so later, it felt off.
My friend and I sat at the bar and tried several of the drinks — all were tasty, especially the special which had Kahlua and vodka.
The crowd was younger than I expected — late 20’s when I had been wanting 30’s or 40’s. If you have any suggestions for upscale bars meeting that demographic, please shoot me a message!

I must preface this by saying the whole club scene is no longer my scene.
I hate the club psychology of «if we make people wait outside in a line while it is windy and freezing, people will think this is a cool place to go!» No, we will just catch pneumonia and it doesn’t really make sense when you are on a street that does not have other clubs close by. I especially hate this mentality when you finally get into the club and it is empty at almost 11 pm on a Saturday! What a joke guys!
We waited in the line because it was a friend’s birthday. When we found our table, the waitress was great with the bottle service. We only stayed until about 1 am and it started getting a little more crowded, but only at the tables. The rest of the bar still seemed pretty empty. I think at least a ¹⁄₃ of the people there were with our party.
The fireplaces were not on (which would probably be scary with drunk people), no one was dancing, and they played really old music videos.
It is still new and doesn’t smell like vomit or urine yet, so I give them a solid three!

Brought to us by the Baume and Brix gang upstairs, The Grid is really «off the Grid» for it is located in what used to be a basement area. Dark and intimate, this cozy lounge is definitely a pleasant addition to the neighborhood!
For the upcoming Chicago Winter– this could be a favorite neighborhood place. It’s cozy with these crazy, modern fireplaces along the left side surrounded by comfy seating areas. Want to catch your favorite game? There are TV’s everywhere! And if music is your thing– there wasn’t a DJ on the week night when we were there– but I suspect this place gets hopping on the weekends!
They have a limited menu of things like snacks (chips, nuts fries and popcorn) that seem to come in a variety of flavors. They as have some «jars» which sound like interesting spreads, and there are also some interesting takes on «bar favorites» like wings, a burger, poutine and and a salad. Like your neighborhood bar but a little more interesting.
The bartender pours a great drink and service was spot on (although it was slow enough on the night we were there where we could actually chat a little with our server). The Grid has been open just a little less than a week when we stopped in so everyone is still feeling their way.
The manager, Ryan, was great, answering our questions and personally escorting us to the bar from the restaurant upstairs.
Given I have friends who live in the area– this would be a good place to pop in and warm up on a cold night. I just suspect that the experience that we had on this weeknight is so much more my thing than the «scene» that probably happens on the weekends. Chances are if you are looking for me here…I won’t be here on the weekends!