Southland Stories

White Castle Serving Beer: Is This a Good Idea?

White Castle is testing restaurant beer sales in Indiana. Who knew folks had a hard time finding a few cold ones before they got to White Castle? A Patch Poll.

Sliders and beer — sounds like a dangerous combo in so many ways. White Castle chain is testing beer and wine sales at a restaurant in Lafayette, IN, thinking customers might like a cold beer or a glass of wine to wash down a Crave Case or two. Aside from the gastrointestinal distress this combo conjures up, aren't there enough White Castle customers showing up pre-lit already? To wit: What do you think? Would you like to see beer and wine on the menu at your local White Castle? [ Did You Know? The Southland is home to a Crave Case Hall of Famer, Dale Bemis. ]

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Get Out This Weekend for Football and Music

There's lots to do in Lincoln-Way this weekend, including an Irish music jam session, free food and giveaways during the Bears game, plus lots of live music!

Where: Tribes Alehouse, Mokena  What's the special? On Sunday, Guinness pints are $4. More info: See Tribes online or call the Alehouse at 815-464-0248. FRIDAY, Sept. 23 (formerly Club 30 West) Where: 7900 W. Lincoln Hwy., Frankfort What's on tap? Entertain yourself and everyone in the bar by belting out your best karaoke pick. "Love Shack, baby!" When: Starts between 9 and 10 p.m. How much? No cover. More info: Call 815-469-9450.  Where: 679 N. La Grange Rd., Frankfort What's on tap? Live music by The Bruno Duo. When: Music starts at 6:30 p.m. How much? No cover. More info: Call 815-469-0940 for reservations (strongly recommended). Where: 19917 S. La Grange Rd., Frankfort What's on tap? Live acoustic music by Jim Karones. When: 8 p.m. …

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Chowdown Showdown

Mmmmm...Beer: Who Has the Best Local Draft Selection?

This week, our taster went bar-hopping, searching for the best draft beer selection in Lincoln-Way. Spoiler alert: It's Tribes Alehouse. But you knew that.

See future food challenges at the bottom of this column, comment below and enter to win a $50 gift card to a local restaurant. For more rules and details, see the Chowdown Showdown Giveaway guidelines. While it was actually wine that Ben Franklin felt was proof that God loves us and wants us happy (well, it was actually rain falling on vineyards, but let's not split hairs), I find myself more frequently happy for the existence of beer than I am for wine. Pale ales, lagers, stouts, wheats and porters—there is a beer for every taste and mood, and I set out to find the Lincoln-Way establishment that has the best chance at pleasing every beer drinker. The beer tour began in New Lenox, where finding a huge beer selection is not as easy at it …

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Denise Du Vernay

10:25 pm on Monday, August 8, 2011

Agreed-- Tommy Nevin's has a great selection. Tribes Alehouse won this challenge, and I didn't do any further ranking of the runners-up. I felt it would be fair (and kind of fun) to give a honorable mention for each town, and Tommy Nevins definitely deserved to be mentioned for Frankfort. They have a lot of choices and great service.   more ›

Locals Only

Tribes Alehouse Gears Up for a Busy Beer Week

If you enjoy elusive craft beers, organic food, bluegrass jam sessions, open mic nights, Ides of March or St. Paddy's Day celebrations, Tribes Alehouse is your destination this week.

People drive from miles away to choose from the more than 40 craft beers on tap and more than 40 bottled varieties in Mokena’s own backyard at Tribes Alehouse.  “We had one guy drive a half hour for just one beer,” owner Niall Freyne said. That was just last week, when Tribes received a cask of Bell's Hopslam. Only four barrels of the brew were distributed in Illinois, and Tribes got one. Cask beer means the beer is sent directly from the brewery, non-pasteurized and non-carbonated. It’s served at room temperature and must be drunk within three days.  This is what gets people driving miles to check this place out. If you haven’t checked out Tribes, this week is jam-packed with opportunities for fun, thanks to the Ides of March and St. …

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Southland Stories

Bowling Brings Out the Beast In You; Chuck E. Cheese Brings Out Something Else

From a bowling alley brawl to a thumb-tack attack, the Southland's crime reports deliver tales of oddity this week.

See how the other half lives in this roundup of Crime-N-Shame, the Southland blotter spotter. Are you really manly if you get into a shoving match with a guy who will be 70 on his next birthday? A 69-year-old man told police he was bowling at Oak Forest Bowl when another man—Jon Damon, 40,  of the 16700 block of 92nd Avenue in Orland Hills—began exchanging words with his team. According to reports, Damon told police he was walking away when a team member taunted him, questioning his masculinity. Damon then turned and shoved him, according to police. Staff spotted the brawl and broke it up, and police said Damon was charged with assault. An employee at Dunkin Donuts, 4100 block of 167th Street in Oak Forest, told police a man threatened him…

Southland Stories

Crime-N-Shame: Taxi Smoking and Beer Confessions

The Southland's best blotter, courtesy of the men and women behind the badge.

Orland Park cops are pretty cool sometimes. After busting a taxi driver for speeding in a school zone while puffing on a cig, they hustled his fare over to the train station free of charge. In Olympia Fields, if the cops ask you how much you've had to drink, you might not want to fess up the way this guy did. Without further delay, the region's best blotter in Good Read: Crime-N-Shame edition. Two local men are accused of stealing six tons of road salt meant for state highways. Jerome Latos, 54, of Tinley Park, and John Syarto, 33, of Oak Forest, are charged with one felony count each of theft of government property and official misconduct, prosecutors said. If convicted, each man could face a maximum of 12 years in prison. Prosecutors …