John Barleycorn - Schaumburg

We have been to this new upscale Irish pub (I think it's a chain, or a local chain in Chicago) at Woodfield in Schaumburg a few times now.  It's in a stand alone building near the mall off of Route 72.  There is plenty of parking, a valet if needed, and the inside is decorated in traditional dark woodwork with generous booths, plenty of intimate fourtops, and just the right lighting.  There are flatscreens plastered all over, which makes it a great place if you're looking to keep an eye on the game, and the bathrooms are new, clean and stocked.

The first time David and I ate there we had the full rack of ribs for $12.95.  You can't beat that price, and you couldn't beat the dinner either.  The ribs were perfect, fall off the bone with just the right amount of BBQ sauce on them.  The sauce is tangy and smoky, and seemed just right.  The meal comes with a nice salad of romaine and iceberg mixed with some cherry tomatoes and large slices of cucumber, and we both ordered bleu cheese.  Much better than most lackluster salads of plain iceberg you get as a side with the meal when eating out...which is rare nowadays anyway.

The ribs also come with fries, or you can request mashed.  We both had fries, and they are done just right and come out fresh and hot.  It wouldn't be complete without the coleslaw, which was also very good, traditional coleslaw.  Not too finely shredded, not too soggy, just the right flavors and consistency.  It was delicious and so worth the $12.95.  Where else can you get GREAT ribs (a full rack) with sides for that reasonable nowadays?  Oh, and the waitress was on top of it.  I recommend trying it out if you're in the area.

The second time we visited we just stopped in for appetizers in the middle of shopping season.  We ordered the classic nachos thought that'd be plenty, but we were disappointed when they arrived because they were just chips with a so-so chili and some jalepenos dumped on top and they could have been much better.  So we ordered the calamari, thinking we couldn't go wrong with that.  Wrong.  Unfortunately, the heat must not have been right on the fryer.  The calamari was tough and greasy.  This means the temperature wasn't high enough when they were fried.  Besides that, they had very little flavor, so it was a complete bust.  I guess it's not an appetizer stop.

Third visit, we stuck with the ribs but started with soups too.  The French onion soup is to die for...just the right amount of crouton, onion and cheese, bubbly and oozy, and perfectly seasoned.  Many restaurants get it wrong.  This was right on, and not too salty.  The clam chowder (one of my favorite soups) was fishy and a little thick.  I didn't finish it.  Clam chowder, like any other fish, shouldn't be fishy.  The salads were great again.  The ribs came and looked wonderful.  David loved them.  I noticed some changes.  The ribs seemed to be a little tougher, and David even noticed that mine were when he finished his (meatier and melt-in-your-mouthier) and they were slathered heavily with tangy BBQ sauce.  I don't know if it was something about what I was in the mood for that night or if they changed it, but the BBQ sauce was over the top this time...too much of it to enjoy the ribs and too piquant for me.  I scraped most of it off to enjoy the meat and still had a hard time cleaning the ribs off.  I ate half the rack, David finished them.  I may be a little nitpicky, but my grandmother makes the best coleslaw ever.  They changed the coleslaw this time, I thought.  I wonder if the chef is just playing around making it and doesn't really have a recipe to follow.  It was a bit vinegary and not enough mayo this time.  I'd stick with a winner and stop messing with it.  Basic traditional coleslaw is good.

The manager did come out and ask us how everything was.  It was good overall, I just thought my ribs weren't as good as the first time we were there.  I'll give them another shot because I know the ribs can be great and the French onion is superb.  I love the atmosphere, and the waitress shared the same name as me, plus it's really reasonable.