Lots of Space and Plenty of Beer at Limestone Brewing

LIMESTONE BREWING COMPANY

Address: 12337 S. Route 59, Plainfield

Hours: 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday

Phone: 815-577-1900

Web: www.limestonebrewingcompany.com

It's hard to top a beer and burger on a hot summer day, and when the brew is homemade and the setting comfortable and casual, what's not to like?

Limestone Brewing Company is located in a Route 59 strip mall, an unlikely setting for what is, in fact, a huge brewpub. But, as is true with so many things in the suburbs, what you give up in exterior beauty you make up for in convenience. Fortunately, convenience is not the only reason to check out Limestone — this place brews some pretty nice ale and the grub's not bad either.

While we headed here on a weekday afternoon, it's pretty clear this place does a much higher volume of business on weekend nights. The main floor is expansive, with a large oak bar at the entrance, enough seating for at least 100 people at the bar tables along the far wall and in the center of the room, and a corner stage for live music. Regular-height tables near the stage and on a balcony area overlooking the bar offer a good alternative for the vertically challenged set that tends to avoid bar stools, of which I am one.

You won't find a lot that's adventurous on the menu. Appetizers are the fairly standard bruschetta/calamari/nachos/chicken wings options (ranging from $8.50 to $9.25), although we did like the "bottle caps" — slices of red and green jalapenos that are breaded, deep-fried and served with a beer cheese sauce. And at just $6.50, they were a bargain.

Limestone also lets you choose between a sandwich, salad or entrée, no matter the time of day, also a nice feature. 

There are just four sandwich options in addition to the Angus burger: buffalo chicken, grilled chicken, grilled portabella and steak ($8.95 to $9.95), served with fries. Entrée-wise, they're fairly heavy on the seafood (red snapper, lobster gnocchi, blackened tilapia and Limestone pasta tossed with sautéed shrimp and baby scallops). There are also two steaks — New York strip and filet — as well as roasted chicken, fish and chips, and pasta Diablo (Cajun chicken, spicy marinara, scallions). You'll drop anywhere from $11.95 to $23.95.

Frankly, what you're here for is the beer, and there is no shortage of choices. Eight varieties are served daily, and another half dozen or so are seasonal.

So many choices, it was tough to decide. So kudos to the waiter who made it easy by agreeing to provide small sample glasses of two of the more popular year-round beers — Electric Park Golden Ale (how can you pass up something named for a Plainfield landmark) and the Wheatlander — and a seasonal berry ale.

While tempting to say, "One of each, barkeep," — and we were sorely tempted by the Electric Park, which is a smooth, light brew — we couldn't resist the berry. A fruit beer is always a bit of a crapshoot, but Limestone has managed to pull off a sweet ale with no after-bite. It went down deceivingly easy, especially on a 90-plus-degree day.

It was the perfect complement to the Angus burger, which I ordered topped with gorgonzola (choices also include American, provolone, cheddar, Swiss and pepper jack). It arrived as requested — medium rare — and the buttered, toasted bun was a nice touch.

Alas, the shredded beer-fried onions that were to be the burger's signature touch turned out to be a single onion ring. That was a bit of a disappointment, but at least it was a red onion. My advice would be to actually serve it with the shredded batter-fried onions or just stick to raw red onion. The neither-nor option doesn't work.

I will say this, though, the burger actually did taste like steak, which was a pleasant surprise given that I tend to assume what I'm going to be getting is a hamburger with a fancy name. It was served as ordered, and a substantial handful.

The accompanying fries (more like potato wedges) were crusty on the outside and soft on the inside but a fairly small serving. I'm not sure this is a complaint or not since restaurants typically give you far more than you can consume in one sitting, and more often than not go to waste, but it was noticeable.

Atmosphere-wise, things tend to get a bit loud thanks to a concrete floor and high ceiling. I suspect it might be a bit daunting when the place is packed or a band is playing, but forewarned is forearmed.