The Parched Pug -Gastorpub and Gamery

[rating=4] Remember your high school and later college days, when you might pick up dinner and take it to a friend’s house where you could either watch TV or play games. We have several couples that we often enjoy gaming with. Our game of choice has been Rummikub, but it has also been  Canasta. We also have spent many an evening with the grandkids playing UNO or Monopoly or Yahtzee. What fun. But along came covid and people might still fear going to someone’s home. Where oh where can we go?

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind, the answer is The Parched Pug, a gastorpub and gamery located on Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville. This is an unusual place, but full of fun and wonderful people. They are unique in their style and their format. When you enter the “Pug” at 1500 South Milwaukee Avenue, you will see a bar, an intimate dining space and then a much larger area with a wall that is tap after tap after tap- a few hard drinks, but mostly local beers that you will love trying. Here is the beauty of this wall. You can drink ( or try) by the ounce. Take a taste until you find the one that you are truly in the mood for and then fill your mug or glass and take to your table.

At your table you will also find menus and a code that you can use your phone to download and then place your order. Then you can either sit and enjoy your friends or beverage and wait for the food to be served. It is that simple. When you came in, you might have noticed the wall of shelves filled with board games and card games from different eras. Over 200 games await your desire. Some have a cost involved and others are free. You pick the one you want and take it to your table where you can start to play while waiting to order or waiting for your food. Your choice ( and they allow you two hours- no rush!.

We had four in our party. Vicki and Al ( who are pretty much our local tasters) joined Jane and I . Mark ( the creator ) and his Wall of Brew steward, Alexis, showed us how to dispense and we all had a little something. Jane had Sangria, Vicki and I enjoyed the homemade margaritas and Al one of the local brews.

We started with three of the appetizers: Crispy Brussel Sprouts (pan seared to perfection tossed in a balsamic glaze), Short Rib Sliders ( topped with Havarti Cheese, onion jam and chili mayo) and the very special Candy Bacon (hardwood smoked bacon with brown sugar and cayenne pepper_- all were delicious treats. Next time, and there will be a next time, we will try the chicken sliders, nachos and wings.

Since they are a gastropub, sandwiches galore line the menu. The Adult Grilled Cheese instantly became a favorite of mine. Those of you who read me regularly or listen to the radio show know that I love grilled cheese. This is another special made with Hovarti cheese as well as Fortino cheese pear and fig jam on sourdough bread grilled to perfection, blending all of these flavors into a unique and special treat. Knowing that the slider was terrific, we also went to the Pub Burger ( this one is short rib and brisket with chuck blend beef. They apply the special PUG sauce as well as iceberg lettuce, dill pickle, shaved onions, white cheddar and some more of that wonderful bacon on a pretzel roll) and our third was their Lobster Roll Style Salmon Sandwich ( chunks of salmon mixed with celery creating a lobster roll appearance on French bread). I love Lobster Roll, and of course this tastes like salmon, so this was not an exciting choice ( tasted good but I guess I was hoping for a different taste). There are a host of other sandwiches and they have some actual dinners, salads and kids meals to please everyone in the family or group.

Since we are not as computer wise as we would like to be, we requested tableside assistance and Lindzi came to our aid. Not only did she answer questions about the menu items such as the sides, she made sure to tell us about all of the special features that The Pug offers ( like specials and desserts ( we had the special crunch and the beignets with ice cream ). By the way, all the sandwiches come with sides and the sweet potato fries/waffled are delish!

The Parched Pug is truly a local, family run operation. In fact, all of the staff acts as if they are family and the management likes it that way. We often hear about how wait staff and restaurant employees are treated- well, the Pug staff is treated like family with better wages and benefits. We, the diners help make that happen as they do an auto 15% on the tab to cover it and tell you so that you are aware of the treatment your server and others are getting. Soon they will be ready to unveil NANOPUTT, a 9 hole table top mini golf game. They also host Trivia Nights, Game Night, “Friends” night, Bingo Night and lots of other fun evenings-   www.theparchedpug.com

The hours are:

Monday, Wednesday and Thursday   10 a.m.- 10 p.m.

TUESDAY-CLOSED

Friday 10 a.m.-12 a.m.

Saturday  11 a.m.- 12 a.m.

Sunday 11 a.m.- 9 p.m.

Call 224-433-6752 for reservations. They also do private parties and have a wonderful outdoor patio ( for the good weather) and inside a lounge area where the noise level is diminished.

The Parched Pug is indeed a fun destination place with a solid menu, lots of great libations ( soon they will add more to the wall). It is a fun escape form the craziness of our world and a chance to just “have a good time! I know we did. In fact, when we got back to Vicki’s we ended up going in and playing a few hours of Rummikub. I guess The Pug got to us and as “The Arnold” said- “I’ll be back!”