Miller’s Pub – Chicago, IL

I have to admit, the only reason we went to this place was because it was on the same block as our hotel (The Palmer House – very classy) in Chicago. We had a large group with us that needed beverages and food – mostly beverages – and we were unsure we could find a spot on a Saturday night. It wasn’t easy here, but we managed it.

The inside is really dark and I’m guessing used to be seriously smoke-filled before 2009. It’s got that kind of vibe to it. There’s lots of room and a long bar on one side cranking out drinks. We headed there first to properly lubricate ourselves while waiting for some tables to open up. There were 12 of us, so we ended up getting three tables of four and split up. I grabbed another cider.

The menu actually has quite a few things on it, more than I expected. Plus they all looked delicious – even better. At the recommendation of our waitress, I went with a half slab of ribs. I was suspicious when she told me a half slab really means a full slab (then why didn’t they put that on the menu?), but I got it anyway. And the fries. I also got the Amaretto Carrots as my other side, which the waitress assured me were quite amazing.

We continue to drink, since I noticed they had Chambord Caipirinhas…oooooh yeaaahhhh…

The food came out after a short wait – about what you’d expect on a Saturday night – and I was proven wrong. It was definitely a full slab of ribs. I’m glad I didn’t order a full slab, or an entire pig might have been wheeled out for me. I jumped right into the carrots – which were probably better than the waitress made them out to be – super sweet without being buttery or syrup-y. I’m going to have to find a recipe for these and sneak them into my mom’s house where alcohol is strictly forbidden. I won’t tell her until AFTER I get her hooked on them… hahahahaha. The fries were just ok – nothing stellar, but a lot of fries are.

The ribs were really good. For pub ribs, which generally means not as much meat, they were flavorful and cooked well. Just a little bit tougher than I usually like, but the meat came off the bone without too much fighting. And with a full slab there, I wasn’t going to leave hungry. Sure, based on what I am ABLE to eat, this might have been a snack, but I was going to be doing additional drinking and you don’t want to fill up your guts on meat before filling up your guts the rest of the way with girly drinks. It was the perfect amount. I was completely satisfied with these ribs. (I still long for Carson’s Ribs when I’m in Chicago, but these will tide me over until I can get back to Carson’s…)

All in all, a good place to drink and have dinner. It isn’t boring bar food at Miller’s – they take pride in their cooking quality. You won’t go wrong here.

Top 5 things about Miller’s Pub
1. Half slab of ribs is actually a full slab
2. Chambord Caipirinha
3. Amaretto Carrots
4. Really large and tasty menu
5. Food until 2am, drinks until 4am – cha-ching!!!!

Bottom 5 things
1. The place does great business, which means you’ll likely wait for a table a while
2. Was surprised to see a “sharing charge” of $7.00 per person. Crazy talk.
3. It was loud enough we had to yell our conversations
4. Didn’t get to sit with our whole group (which is understandable since there were 12 of us)
5. The waitress told us we should read the history of the place on the back of the menu, then came back a minute later and snatched our menu away before we had read a thing.

www.millerspub.com