Whatever became of “the Fatman” in Lake Bluff? Want to bet?

Recommended *** Driving to Lamb’s Farm in Libertyville or just to the “toll-Road”, or for you Harley fans on Route 176, you always saw the “Fatman” sign. A bowling center that is now just a memory. What happens to a building that housed 16 lanes, a bar and more? Just as  Highwood Lanes became a supper club, The Fatman recently was converted as well. But, not to a supper club, rather to a “sports bar and grill ” that is also an OTB ( off-track betting) called Post Time. They gutted out this high-ceilinged huge facility, taking all of the lanes and having them made into tables. Yes, the tables used to be the lanes you bowled on. Very neat!

The view when you enter the door is very bold. The walls are lined with large and small  television screens. Part of what an OTB is, is a place where one can go, place a bet and watch a race while enjoying lunch or dinner, or just a drink. Yes, they have food! But first let me finish with the decor. The room is divided into a bar area, a dining area and then there is a section where individuals can enjoy themselves at what is almost a work station or cubicle setting. They also have a private room (holds twenty) for company meetings, family meetings as well as a room that will hold a small wedding or corporate meeting (roughly 70 people) and a lower level “party room” with its own bar and again, screen and track machines. Having just had a family day at the races (Arlington Park) I can see where a family might enjoy coming to Post Tim where they can have a meal and enjoy a few races without the hassle of paying for a ticket and standing in line between races. Here, one can bet on races everywhere!

Now, let’s get to the food! We dined with our friends Kim and Greg choosing to sit a bit away from the screens as we wanted to catch up on summer activities (today being the first day of Summer). Our server was Mary, a delightful and very knowledgable young lady. She grabbed our drink order and explained some of the menu to us. The kitchen staff are restaurant people and while the menu is kind of “Bar and Grill” food, we found most to be tastier (although a little spicy for Jane).

We began our meal with some of the “bar snacks” Hog Nachos (pulled pork*, beer cheese sauce, black bean corn salsa, apple bbq sauce, jalapeno (options were for steak or chicken upgrades), Fried Green Tomatoes (yummy) and their soon-to-be-famous “Post Time Pretzel”, probably the largest pretzel I have ever seen or tasted served with three types of sauce. For our next course, we opted from their “small plate” section the Street Tacos (Corn tortilla, skirt steak,  pico de gallo, chipotle sauce, black beans and que freso), a couple of different types of burgers including the Sunny Side Up ( bacon, fried egg, fried onion, American cheese served on a brioche bun) and the Post Time-they also have a veggie burger for those who pass on meat.

They have a selection of wraps and sandwiches and six different salads, but our other choice was a pizza (thin made in a brick oven) that can be personal size or 16″. We did the “Meat-Lovers: bacon, sausage, pepperoni, pulled pork and grilled chicken. If you like thin pizza and you love these meats, this is the one to get. They also have a veggie lovers, a skirt steak, spicy sausage, BBQ chicken and their “supreme”.  For our desert we enjoyed the Chocolate chip skillet cookie and probably the best Tiramisu we have ever had- we were all in agreement on this- lighter than air, tastier than any other all four of us had eaten.

Post Time is more than an OTB. It is a neighborhood Bar and Grille, but on a much larger scale. It has all the bar food that every sports bar puts on the table, but allows you to be a part of the action when it comes to the races- everywhere. They also can put baseball games on the screens and comes football season , a great place to enjoy Monday Night Football with your buddies. In fact, any sporting event can be a reason to visit Post Time and enjoy their fine food and the ambience they have created. Want to bet on a horse race ? You can do that as well, and soon they will have some gaming machines as well.

To learn more, visit their website  www.posttimesportsbar.com. The phone number is 847-367-7170

the address is confusing- 13860 RocklandRoad is the official Green Oaks address, but most people think that the stretch of Route 176 is either Libertyville or Lake Bluff- doesn’t matter Post Tme is a fun place to spend an evening. The hours are:

Monday thru Thursday  10 a.m.- 1 a.m.

Fridays and Saturdays they stay open until 2 a.m.

Sundays until Midnight

Love to hear what you enjoyed!