Perhaps one of the unexpected boons of two decades of the craft beer explosion has been the corresponding arrival of so many brew-adjacent pubs and restaurants. Whether having outgrown the humble origins of their bare-bones, beer-only taprooms, or having ramped up their culinary aspirations as quickly as they have their brewing capacities, many craft beer brands have taken their knack for sourcing quality ingredients and building complex flavor profiles from the brew kettles to the kitchen—much to the benefit of the local dining scene.

One of the newer entrants to this still-burgeoning arena is Lock & Mule (1025 S. State St., Lockport, 815.526.0825, tangledrootsbrewingco.com), the latest offshoot of the Ottawa, Illinois-based Tangled Roots Brewing Company that opened in January. Situated in a refurbished iteration of the historic Makin Building near the south end of downtown Lockport’s charming State Street, Lock & Mule stands as the third entry in Tangled Roots’ ambitious dining portfolio, joining outlets in Ottawa (the Lone Buffalo) and Glenview (Hangar Two).

“The Lock & Mule continues Tangled Roots’ commitment to fresh and innovative craft beer offerings, impressive culinary diversity and connections to the local community,” says general manager Dennis Bresingham. “While all of our locations offer fresh and innovative farm-to-table culinary options, each has a somewhat different style of service and a distinct aesthetic connection to its community. At Lock & Mule, it’s our wood-fire grill that inspires the recipes and menu choices.”

Cooking on the Canal
That wood-fire grill is the centerpiece of the partially open kitchen that runs along the back of the main dining area, an airy, exposed-beam space that feels both historic and modern all at once. Decorative flourishes include large murals and a variety of ropes, cables, and locks in a nod to Lockport’s canal shipping past. While the back patio and a handful of tables on the front sidewalk constitute the true alfresco options at Lock & Mule, the restaurant has also preserved two of the Makin’s large garage doors to serve as the façade, allowing the entire front of the building to let the outdoors in as warm summer nights warrant.

The long copper-top bar running down the right side of the dining room was a lively option on the night of our visit, with patrons sampling from the craft cocktail slate and enjoying everything from golden IPAs to husky porters from more than a dozen tap handles spanning the Tangled Roots brewing spectrum. On the other side of the glass, meanwhile, those beers were slowly coming to life in the gleaming tanks of the production brewery.

Beyond the Beer
Like the best of its brewpub brethren, Lock & Mule gives its food the attention it deserves, with a menu from chef Manuel Briseno and his team that ventures far beyond standard bar grub to include a full selection of steak and fresh seafood options. Even so, we decided to start our evening with a couple of more traditional beer hall favorites—a warm and chewy Bavarian pretzel served with spicy German mustard and beer cheese for dipping and a trio of just-tangy-enough Buffalo chicken sliders from the handhelds section.
For the main course, we chose a perfectly cooked petite fillet—topped with a bleu cheese crust and a pile of crispy onion straws—from an entrée list that included other steaks, baby back ribs, beer can chicken, and a half-dozen fish selections. Noticing that Lock & Mule had jumped on the Detroit-style bandwagon for its three pizza options, we also shared one of these crusty-edged rectangular wonders—our margherita version boasting pesto, tomato, roasted garlic, mozzarella, and Pecorino Romano atop its thick, chewy crust.
But the real revelation came at the end of the evening as we sampled dessert. The Death by Chocolate Cake—while truly massive, insanely rich and, thankfully, non-lethal—was certainly tasty, but the clear showstopper was the éclair cake, a monthly rotating option that, on this night, employed peanut butter and chocolate in its creamy composition. Not only did it provide the perfect punctuation for the meal, it proved yet again that you don’t necessarily have to be a beer lover to love the fringe benefits of the craft beer movement.

Photos courtesy Tangled Roots Brewing Co.

As with many things in the hypercompetitive world of sports, the calculus at work in the sports bar arena often tends toward the equation of “bigger = better,” with many establishments leaning into this mindset by trumpeting their hangar-like square footage, encyclopedic menus, and can-you-top-this food and drink specials that sometimes read more like dares than enticements.

But the crew behind the popular Empire Burger Bar is looking to upend that stereotypical blueprint with its new sports bar in downtown Naperville. With a name that plays on that of the Heisman Trophy of college football fame, Hizemans (218 S. Washington St., 630.362.6872, hizemans.com) gives a stiff-arm to any preconceived notion of what a place like this can, or should, be. The requisite high-definition buffet of televised competition is offered up, of course, but all within the cozier and higher-end confines of a different kind of sports bar.

“We can see almost anyone coming in to enjoy themselves at Hizemans,” says owner Will Cullen. “Whether it’s a group of girlfriends sharing some punch bowls, a family coming in for dinner, or a bunch of guys coming to watch the game, our goal was to take the sports viewing experience to a new level in a more polished but still casual setting.”

Small Ball
Wedged into a tight spot on Washington, Hizemans’ long, narrow footprint lends itself to a more intimate and urban feel than the typical sprawling warehouse setup of so many of its sports bar brethren (this writer was immediately reminded of a more upscale version of McGee’s Tavern & Grille near the DePaul University campus in Lincoln Park [insert your own blurry collegiate memory here]). While the tufted leather booths, antique brass lighting, and custom maple bar top could lead one to believe Hizemans just might be outkicking its coverage a bit, the 20-foot wall of televisions showing everything from baseball to bowling to badminton brings everything back into focus. Despite the luxe accoutrements, at its heart this is still just a great place to watch the game.

In keeping with the higher-end and more condensed scene, the menu here, too, is a compact but elevated take on the traditional sports bar lineup. While the beverage slate is fairly expansive—with more than two dozen draft and canned beer selections sharing space with a host of agaves, whiskeys, and craft cocktails like the H.O.F. (Hall of Fame), a newfangled old-fashioned made with Redwood bourbon and bacon-infused maple syrup—the food selection is a more streamlined affair, covering the tried-and-true sports bar bases while managing to work in a few signature moves.

Next Level
Buffalo chicken wings are, of course, one of those sports bar staples. And while Hizemans naturally serves up the wings themselves (albeit in their whole free-range form here, a far cry from the 10-cent breaded bones at many places), we decided to get our Buffalo fix from the Buff Chix waffle fries—a tangy, messy, delicious poutine platter. Given the corporate lineage, it was not at all surprising to find a trio of solid burger creations on the menu, including the cheese-from-all-angles Patty Lucy. But we opted instead for a couple of sandwiches: one right down the middle, the other much more of a curveball.

Even as we live through what historians will surely deem peak chicken sandwich times, the Hizemans Big Bird stands out—not for any particular novelty, mind you, but rather as a straightforward, well-executed entry that nevertheless manages to rise above its simplicity. The Elote Dog, meanwhile, has no obvious comparative peer. A bit of an aesthetic train wreck (though no more so than a classic Chicago-style dog), this Wagyu beef dog truly delivers in the flavor department, tucked beneath a blanket of nontraditional toppings like bacon, charred corn, elote slaw, queso fresco, jalapeño crema, and cilantro. Unconventional to be sure, but as hot dogs go, this is an all-star turn.

Looking to send our sweet tooth out smiling—and armed with memories of the greasy-good doughnuts at Empire—we finished up with an order of the funnel fries: deep fried dough with cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, and chocolate sauce, the lone dessert on the menu. Not surprisingly, they turned out to be very much like the standard carnival treat, but somehow just a few steps up. And therefore an apt representation of the overall Hizemans philosophy.

Photo courtesy Hizemans

From the homemade bread craze to the ongoing pizza explosion, the nostalgic draw of comfort food has proven to be one of the hallmarks of the pandemic. So while there may be a time when it makes sense to perhaps try and reinvent a cuisine, the folks at Positano (17W460 22nd Street, 630.501.1177, positanoristorantereviews.com) seem fairly adamant in their belief that 2021 is not that time for Italian food—because few things in this world better fit the comfort food sensibility than a straightforward plate of pasta.

Originally aiming for an early 2020 debut in Oakbrook Terrace, Positano ended up taking a COVID-inspired pause before eventually opening its doors in mid-December. But shifting plans seems to be something of a recurring theme at the family-run business, with co-owner Bill Burris noting that he was initially on board only to review and advise his brother-in-law on the restaurant’s lease arrangement. But instead he wound up as a 50-50 partner—and now he wouldn’t change a thing.

“This is just such a friendly, approachable place,” Burris says. “From the big bar up front to the sincere tableside service to the great food coming out of the kitchen, I’m really proud to have my name associated with what we’re doing here.”

Settling In
Burris says that the goal was for Positano to be place where people would want to settle in and relax for a couple of hours—not just to enjoy a meal, but to let an evening unfold. Sure enough, there’s a distinct sense of warmth and laid-back charm upon entering the handsome space that feels light years away from the bustle of west suburban traffic out on 22nd Street. The hardwood floors and exposed beams give the deceptively large room a loft-like feel, while the black-and-white scenes lining the walls hark back the restaurant’s namesake village on Italy’s famed Amalfi Coast.

Amid ongoing capacity restrictions on the night of our visit in mid-February, the bar that lines the right side of the space had only a handful of patrons. But it was clearly designed to be a focal point, and one could easily envision a time in the not-so-distant future when every seat might be filled by not only diners waiting for tables, but plenty of folks just looking to while away an evening with a glass of Italian red or a signature cocktail like the Godfather old-fashioned.

Hale and Hearty
As expansive as the wine list is, the dinner menu at Positano is equally impressive—not for its innovative excursions or culinary flights of fancy so much as the sheer breadth of its offerings. With more than a dozen pasta preparations, a handful of pizza options, and a plethora of chicken, veal, fish, and steak or chop dishes, one could easily spend those couple of hours that Burris spoke of simply trying to narrow down his or her choices.
We kicked things off with a traditional choice from the appetizer slate: three meatballs slathered in a tomato-basil sauce with a base of creamy polenta. The decisions got increasingly more difficult from there, but we came to an amicable split-share pairing of penne con pollo, featuring grilled chicken and spinach in a garlic cream sauce, plus risotto with grilled shrimp, scallops, and porcini mushrooms in a rich saffron broth. Rounding out the table were several side dishes: roasted potato wedges, a link of Italian sausage in red sauce, and a plate of fire-roasted spinach—with the latter leafy green emerging as the clear gold medal winner among this trio, and a perfect add-in for the allotment already present in the pasta dish.

The downside of such a broad and inviting menu, of course, is the many possibilities that don’t get sampled. But we comforted ourselves with a couple of solid options from the dessert menu—a pair of cannoli done exceedingly well (though, oddly, without the traditional pistachio garnishment) and the bombolini, two brioche doughnuts served alongside whipped mascarpone cheese and hot fudge (as all doughnuts should be henceforth).

Like the rest of the meal, both desserts were traditional in execution and neither seemed particularly geared toward reinventing the wheel, and that was just as it should be. After all, sometimes the old wheel provides exactly the kind of comfortable ride the moment calls for.

Photos by Jaime Campanelli

As culinary curve balls in early 2021 go, a new hearth-fired Greek concept from the venerable Francesca’s Restaurant Group isn’t really as much of a leap as it might first appear.

While one might have expected something more in the company’s predominantly Italian wheelhouse, like current Naperville outposts La Sorella di Francesca or Francesca’s Passaggio, a Grecian departure from that formula represents, geographically speaking, just a quick jaunt across the Mediterranean Sea. It’s certainly less of a global leap than its nearby
taco-and-tequila joint Fat Rosie’s, another Francesca’s offshoot. And,
as it turns out, the trip to Greece makes perfect sense given the marriages of the folks behind Vasili’s (135 Water St., Naperville, 630.328.0431,
vasilismediterranean.com), which takes its name from Francesca’s chef/owner Scott Harris’s father-in-law, Papou Vasili (“papou” is Greek for “grandfather”), and its culinary approach from executive chef/partner Jaysen Euler, who married into a Greek family.

Hearth and Soul
Despite that sepia-toned inspiration, however, Euler didn’t feel hidebound to tradition in conjuring his vision of Greece along the DuPage. While there is indeed plenty of familiar fare to be found on the menu, those classic recipes often serve simply as springboards to something new.

“I like to think of it as refined rusticity,” he says. “We’re taking some of these Old-World Mediterranean recipes and presenting them in a way that is elevated but approachable. We want customers to feel like they’re walking into a comfortable little seaside restaurant in Greece.”

That feeling is imbued by a massive wood-fired hearth that anchors the space, with nearly every seat in the sleekly designed dining room sharing at least a partial view of the flames. And as winter cedes to spring in the coming weeks and months, guests will have the option of forgoing that view for the warm breezes and lively crowds on the outdoor patio. But wherever they choose to enjoy their meal, chances are that whatever they choose for that meal will serve as a reminder of the hearth, with much of the menu being touched by its oak-inspired heat.

Mediterranean Mindset
The balance between tradition and innovation at Vasili’s is on display from the outset on the appetizer slate, where old-school favorites like saganaki (flaming cheese—have your best “opa!” at the ready) and Euler’s recommended loukaniko (Greek sausage) share space with roasted bone marrow and wood-fired oysters. Openers also include a selection of shareable spreads—including melitzanosalata (roasted eggplant and garlic) and taramosalata (whipped fish roe with thyme and smoked paprika)—to enjoy with crusty grilled sourdough. We opted for a flaky, spinach-packed version of classic spanakopita and a basket of the can’t-stop-eating-them Vasili’s chips, lightly fried slices of eggplant and zucchini with a side of tried-and-true tzatziki.

Of course, tzatziki is probably best known in America as the condiment of choice for that pita-clad staple of the strip mall hot dog joint, the humble gyro. And while that very ubiquity might cause other diners to belt out a modified Tina Turner riff (“We Don’t Need Another Gyro”) and move on to options with a little more ambition, I was interested in what a place like Vasili’s could do with one of the standards of the genre. This version plays it straight down the middle, with slices of fresh tomato, cucumber, and onion complementing the tender lamb-and-beef combo—well played all around.
Both the skewers (beef, lamb, chicken, or pork) and the seafood slate (from bass to scallops to octopus) offer plenty of ways to sample from the hearth (as did the expansive mixed grill), but we opted for another inspired nod to tradition, Yiayia Penny’s pastitsio—a rich mélange of baked pasta, meat sauce, and kefalograviera cheese that could warm up the coldest of winter nights. We put a period on the meal (or in this case, an exclamation point) with the banana cream Napoleon, an elegant take on banana pudding with a kicker of salted caramel to finish things off.

And we were nary a bit disappointed that Francesca’s didn’t come through with another lasagna or eggplant Parmesan with their latest foray into Naperville. The trip to another port in the Mediterranean proved to be yet another voyage worth taking with this crew—and a most welcome curve ball to help kick off 2021.