Brews and burgers at The Lucky Monk, South Barrington

Something interesting happened to me last week.

I drank an entire glass of beer.

I never touched the stuff in college. I would go alcohol-free for the evening before I had a drop of beer. Of course, that wasn't helped by the fact that the de facto beer at my alma mater was Natty Lite, but still. No beer for me.

I attended a great event at The Lucky Monk, 105 Hollywood Blvd. in South Barrington, and among the offerings were house-brewed beer. And to find that I actually liked the porter The Lucky Monk offered up? Shocker. Hints of chocolate and coffee, went down smooth with very little bitterness. I still would generally prefer a hard cider or glass of wine, but it was pretty tasty stuff.

On top of that, the food I sampled was really good -- tiny perfectly cooked burgers, thin-crust pizza, awesome chili and sweet-salty nuts. The staff was super-attentive (even handing out multiple large bottles of water and glasses at the end of the night to hydrate everyone), and I had a fantastic time overall.

The restaurant is very near the AMC 30, making it perfect for a bite or a drink before or after a movie. It's nicely decorated with a sleek wooden motif. All in all, definitely recommended and a place I'm likely to make the trek out to again.