Spotlight On The Red Lion Pub

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Feb 14, 2006 4:00PM

When Chicagoist headed to The Red Lion Pub (located at 2446 N. Lincoln, off of the Fullerton red line stop) for a midweek meal, we didn't expect to get a helping of confusion along with our pints. Yet after a dinner that included many pub favorites, we were left feeling like the only thing we knew was that we didn't know a thing. Though we finished our meals, we felt unimpressed and let down by them. This led us to think about the nature of English cuisine and what, exactly, one should expect from it.

England has a lot of things going for it: an attractive future king (we're talking about Harry here, not Charles); strict paparazzi laws; and Royal Ascot to name just a few. Unfortunately, most would agree that England's culinary reputation would not be among its many virtues. English food is generally known for its heaviness, its blandness and its greasiness. So, Chicagoist wonders, what makes an excellent English dining experience if, traditionally, it's not very good to start with?

Our meal began with Welsh rarebit- slices of homemade bread smothered with a cheese "beer sauce" and topped with slices of winter tomatoes. The members of our party were hard pressed to tell the difference between nacho cheese (or cheese whiz for that matter) and the cheese/beer sauce that accompanied our lightly toasted white bread. The Irish stew was thick with carrots, peas, potatoes and tender pieces of lamb. It came with the option of chips, mashed potatoes or salad (we opted for chips). The bangers and mash came with a fair number of sausages, a mound of mashed potatoes and a smattering of peas. The fish and chips were crispy and hot and served with a side of tartar sauce for dipping. Each plate lived up to its English heritage. That is to say they were all heavy, greasy and in need of a little salt. If those truly are the criteria for a good English meal, then by rights the Red Lion deserves high marks. But we have doubts. We have fuzzy memories of being nine years old and eating fish and chips out of a triangle of newspaper on some remote British seashore. And these memories, no matter how hazy, convince us that we have had better English food experiences than the Red Lion can provide.

We are happy to report that we had a far less tortuous time assessing the Red Lion's ambience. We loved the dark red walls and cluttered bar. We were tickled by the authentic British telephone booth and impressed by the large map of the London underground hanging on one of the pub's walls. We were interested in learning the history of the pub's name and thoroughly enjoyed reading about the pub's resident ghosts. The bartender seemed friendly and the clientele appeared to have a fair share of repeat visitors. If you're looking for a great spot to pop into for a pint, you should check this pub out. But when it comes time for a little bit of grub, Chicagoist suggests you pop out of this pub.

Thanks to Caroline for this review.