Celebrating Mandy's Birthday at Revolution Brewing

It's been almost a week since Mandy's birthday. I can't believe my baby sister is now well into her 20s. I remember the day she came home from the hospital vividly. And now, we're drinking and carousing in states halfway across the country. Weird how time flies.

After our epic sister trip to the Pacific Northwest, we knew celebrating Mandy's birthday would have to involve a beer component, preferably of the microbrew variety. She suggested Logan Square's Revolution Brewing as I'd never been, but have many times purchased their Anti-Hero IPA from my local liquor store.

I also ran 14 miles that morning and was convinced I wanted to drink all the beers. And I sort of did. We planned to have a late brunch at Revolution and rolled in around 2:15. It was insanely packed with hipster types and Sons of Anarchy look alikes. It was quite the motley crew.
We were quoted a 45-minute wait, so we found four barstools and proceeded to dig into tasting samples. At Revolution, you can taste all their brews in 5-ounce portions for $2. I started with the Eugene and Cross of Gold. I eventually added a Willie, which was a smoked stout that I super loved.

When we finally got our table, we realized we had missed the cutoff for brunch. We drowned our sorrows about that sad fact in bacon fat popcorn. I'm nonplussed about bacon, but everyone else liked it. Just don't look at the bottom of the dish when you're done.

I agonized over what to order, because I was damn hungry by then after the running and the drinking. I contemplated a healthy choice ... but instead went with the workman burger. Best choice ever. It was delicious - well-seasoned, complemented nicely by cheese and some delicately fried potatoes that seriously hit the spot.

Definitely hit this place up when you're in the city. You'll have to park a ways away, but you'll need the walk after a lunch like this.