Posted by Tammy at 11:00 am
Sep 032010
Triple F
After the 3 Floyds Brewery tour, the first thing anyone wants to do is sit down and try the beer, right? The brewpub next door is the best place to do it. Not only do they have familiar beers like Robert the Bruce and Alpha King, but they also feature guest beers from other craft brewers and limited run beers from their own brewery.
Elote cut off the cob.
If you decide you need a little food with your beer, then you’re definitely in the right place. 3 Floyds has both small and large plate dish options depending on how hungry you are. On this visit, we tried the elote — spicy lime chili corn on the cob topped with cotija cheese, mayonnaise and butter. It was tasty, but we had to snap it in half with a steak knife in order to share.
Hamburger and fries ala 3 Floyds.
The hamburger was highly recommended because the beef comes from cattle that has been fed on the used mash from the brewery. It’s like a double-dose of beer. While the beer flavor wasn’t obvious, it’s a great story and we like the circle-of-life aspect. The fries at 3 Floyds were hand-cut and seriously good. We also tried the grilled cheese which was little heavy on the mustard and smoked apples, but a nice tangy counterpoint to the beer.
Belly up to the bar!
It’s definitely worth it to head out to Indiana, take the tour and stop off for a great meal afterwards. For $20, you’ll walk away full of good food, beer and a little knowledge about how to make both great.
3 Floyds
9750 Indiana Parkway
Munster, IN 46321-4004
(219) 922-4425
Posted by Tammy at 10:00 am
Sep 032010
Kegs of delicious beer ready for shipment.
Don’t touch anything and ask lots of questions. Those were the two rules we had to follow on our tour of the 3 Floyds Brewery in Munster, Indiana. In case we forgot, general manager Dan Tompkins repeated it every time a straggler joined the tour. The brewery is a working factory and while Dan wanted us to learn, he also didn’t want us to get hurt and sue.
Dan covers the ingredients — grain, water, yeast and hops, where 3 Floyds gets each and how they’re handled at the brewery and what happens after they’re done. Notably, the used grains are sold to the beef producers that supply their brewpub with hamburger.
Fementors allow the yeast to grow and feast on the sugars in the grain.
The entire brew process was discussed in great detail, along with packaging, shipping and distribution of their products. What’s most interesting about the brewery is the piecemeal way they’ve acquired equipment and how it’s limited and shaped the growth of 3 Floyds. Almost everything — from the fermentation tanks to the bottling assembly — has been purchased second hand from other breweries. It’s shockingly expensive to run a world-class brewery.
The other interesting part of the tour was the culture of 3 Floyds and how it’s reflected in everything from the offices (shipping containers decorated with a Death to False Prophets mural) to the labels on the bottles. These folks are about living their lifestyle, not about becoming the next Anheuser-Busch. As long as they continue making great beer and distributing it within reach of their fans, I say more power to them.
Oak barrels are used for experimental beers.
Tours are typically held at 2pm on Saturdays. Call in advance to confirm that a tour will be held. Tours are $1 per person and each tour lasts about 1 hour and 15 minutes, and you should be prepared to stand on the hard concrete and to deal with the heat. A visit to the next door brewpub after the tour would be an excellent way to recover.
3 Floyds
9750 Indiana Parkway
Munster, IN 46321-4004
(219) 922-3565
A diner is a diner, right?
Can a greasy spoon have class? Elly’s Pancake House on Clark and North Avenue comes close. That’s because the dining space has been remodeled to be light, airy, and comfortable. Low hanging smoke-stained tiles have been knocked out to expose high ceilings covered in silver duct work, the old carpeting is gone and replaced by a hard, clean, floor and new furniture complements this fresh look. Elly’s is a step up in comparison to its predecessors.
Inside Elly's.
The building has been a 24-hour diner for more than a decade, and during that time has changed hands three times. First it was Mitchell’s (a place I will always hold near and dear), then Micheal’s (which I loathed because no matter what I ordered there the food always ended up making me sick), and now Elly’s.
The food at Elly’s is average at best — typical diner food — and honestly you can find higher quality pancakes at the Original Pancake House. I’ve been there for both breakfast and lunch, have sampled a variety of things on the menu from omelets to salads, and the food is sustaining but quite literally nothing to write home about. Still, Elly’s is a nice 24-hour dining option with free wi-fi (the restaurant phone number is the current pass code) that lends itself to settling in for awhile. The service is good and friendly, and my coffee cup was never neglected. That’s a big score in my book.
Chicken salad lunch.
Elly’s Pancake House
101 West North Avenue
Chicago, IL 60610-1302
(312) 643-2300
Get directions
*Note: Elly’s also has two suburban locations. See their Web site for details.
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