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Get a delightful experience at Irish Times BROOKFIELD – About five minutes after we’d been served our entrees, my dining companion indicated her plate with her fork, making a loose circle to include everything in front of her. “This – all of this – is awesome,” she said, eagerly collecting another forkful of halibut. A few minutes later, after I’d polished off three quarters of my sandwich, I said without hesitation, “This is the best turkey club I’ve ever had.” We’d stopped into the Irish Times Pub & Restaurant in Brookfield almost on a whim, deciding out of the blue to have a full meal instead of grabbing fast food as we’d originally intended. A quick web search on a smartphone turned up a few likely options in the Riverside-Brookfield-La Grange area, where we’d spent the day. After our first choice turned out to be closed, we found ourselves on Burlington Avenue to check out our second option. The interior of Irish Times is eclectic and homey without feeling cramped. There’s all sorts of memorabilia, some of it obviously Irish inspired, some more nautical, and some just evocative of days gone by. This is no “dive bar,” but a friendly, well-maintained, low-key neighborhood joint with lots of charm. The menu features a full complement of appetizers, soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches and traditional Irish entrees. The appetizers are varied, with items such as corned beef bites, breaded and fried mushrooms, “sleeping bangers” – Irish sausages wrapped in biscuit dough with stout mustard – and “Pedro’s Tacos.” I went for the mushrooms, while my dining companion ordered pretzel bites. I’ve only recently come to appreciate mushrooms after a lifetime of disliking them, so I was taking a bit of a risk with my order. I
Irish Times Pub & Restaurant n Where: 8869 Burlington
Ave., Brookfield n Hours: 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday; kitchen open until 10:30 p.m. weekdays, and 11 p.m. weekends n Dress code: Casual n Info: 708-485-8787, www. irishtimespub.com
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Irish Times Pub & Restaurant in Brookfield is a great place for a pint of beer or a terrific meal – or both.
The turkey club sandwich packs in Roma tomato, mixed greens, bacon, Gouda cheese, mayonnaise and stout mustard for an outstanding combination of flavors. and stout mustard on multigrain bread. Every ingredient was top-notch, discernible individually even as they The halibut is a newer item on the Irish Times menu. A baked entree worked in concert to create a seasoned with lemon pepper, it’s served with arugula pesto rice and fantastic combination. wilted kale. My companion, meanwhile, eagerly polished off the halibut, and was generous shouldn’t have worried – they all you’re really expecting is with praise. were excellent, with terrific something pleasant and fillAlready pretty stuffed, we flavor and consistency. My ing. How much room is there ordered a dessert to share. companion likes most forms for the “wow” factor with The cinnamon chipotle fritof pretzels, and was not disap- such fare? ters were small, doughnut-like pointed. Well, clearly, we were That was just a preamble wowed. My sandwich featured confections served along with to our stellar main courses. smoked turkey, mixed greens, vanilla ice cream. Very sweet, Let’s face it, when you order Roma tomato, avocado, bacon, very tasty; I could’ve easily polished them off myself, if I a club sandwich and halibut, Gouda cheese, mayonnaise
weren’t in danger of exceeding my stomach’s capacity. All in all, Irish Times exceeded our expectations in every respect. If you wouldn’t normally go out of your way to go to dinner at a pub, this is one to break that habit for. It’s that good.
The Mystery Diner is a newsroom employee at Suburban Life Media. The diner’s identity is not revealed to the restaurant staff before or during the meal. Only positive dining experiences will result in published reviews.
| PlanIt Life | NWD • Friday, June 20, 2014 • PlanitLife.com
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