Firkin is not a dirty word; it’s a fun gastro-pub in downtown Libertyville.
Come for the beer—they have over 2 dozen American and European craft beers on tap, and 4 dozen more in bottles—but stay for the food, ‘cuz it’s pretty darn good.
We loved the twinkly lights strung from the high ceiling, which add a festive air to the bar. The only natural light comes from the big plate glass window to the street, but the entrance is around the back, where there’s plenty of parking.
The extensive menu is subdivided into Real Food (hot and cold apps and small salads), Burgers and Other Tasty Sandwiches, Tacos and Real Big Food (entrees that come with LaBriola Bakery baguettes and “Firkin’s Famous Lentil Puree,” which is much better than it sounds).
We started with a number of appetizers, including the Welsh Caerphilly Cheese ($6.95), sautéed crisp with EVOO and garlic and drizzled with aged Balsamic vinegar. This hard, white cow’s cheese from Wales is normally quite crumbly, but heating it performs some sort of alchemy; it’s just melty enough, but holds together nicely and has a lemony tang. Perfect with a tall one.
Ducktrap Pastrami-Style Smoked Salmon ($10.95) is rolled around herbed goat cheese and served with cornichons and grainy mustard; skip the condiment, which overwhelms the fish, and concentrate on the combination of silky salmon and creamy cheese. I imagine that this is what Ireland’s Jewish population puts on their bagels.
We found the special oyster ($15.95) appetizer wanting; 4 plump oysters baked in the shell with creamed spinach and fried bacon, they looked promising, but they picked up too much salt (literally) from the bed of rock salt they nestled in. A better choice was the Fried Asparagus ($7.95), crispy green spears flash-fried in a light tempura-type batter and piled up Lincoln Log style around a pool of chipotle mayo.
People at the next table were moaning over the Tallgrass “grass-fed” hamburgers (a Texas-raised Wagyu version is also available), but we chose the Spicy Pork Tacos ($12.95) and the Grilled West Coast Salmon Sandwich ($10.95) to be different.
The salmon sandwich came on a LaBriola roll with lettuce, tomato, sautéed mushrooms and more of that chipotle mayo, accompanied by a generous portion of perfectly crispy fries, while the tacos were served with black beans and rice. The request for “extra spicy” was honored, and the cubes of pork were crispy on the edges but still juicy.
While the Panko Gulf Shrimp-Fried Brown Rice ($17.95) was an embarrassingly large portion filled with bright green broccoli, it fell flat, lacking real flavor. We did feel virtuous for ordering it, though.
We were much happier with the Warm Goat Cheese Salad ($12.95), a bed of mixed lettuces tossed with grilled veggies and black olive vinaigrette topped with two fried orbs of panko-crusted goat cheese, which oozed onto the salad when cut open.
Follow your meal up with freshly brewed Intelligentsia coffee; we didn’t have time for dessert, but they sounded rather perfunctory (cheesecake, ice cream, carrot cake, etc.) and we weren’t particularly tempted.
Firkin, for those of you who still remember your SAT score, is actually an Old English word for a unit of volume, most notably beer and ale. It’s about a quarter of a barrel, or 72 pints. It takes a long time to drink a firkin, but if you head over to Libertyville today, you can get a good start on it.
Firkin
Libertyville
847-367-6168
