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Skrine Chops, Forest Park

Skrine Chops, Forest Park
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  • Skrine Chops, Forest Park

    Post #1 - August 26th, 2010, 12:59 pm
    Post #1 - August 26th, 2010, 12:59 pm Post #1 - August 26th, 2010, 12:59 pm
    Skrine Chops, Forest Park

    At Skrine Chops last night, we enjoyed a pair of pork chops, which seems like the thing to get, even though they have a number of beef items on the menu.

    Image

    A center cut, the chop was pretty good, with a spicy crust, and surprisingly juicy for a piece of meat that sat on a very hot plate, sizzling fajita-style for the first few minutes of dinner. For nine bucks, a good deal for a nice piece of meat, capably prepared. We actually ended up buying two to bring home to use in other dishes (I’ve got some fava beans to make and some garden chard that’s really going to be helped with a little seasoned pork).

    The draught beer selection seemed somewhat pedestrian, which is not uncommon on that stretch of Madison in Forest Park, but Skrine offers bargain-priced specials (last night was Guiness, 4 bucks), so that kind of makes up for lack of variety. About half the crowd seemed there just for the bar, and like Jimmie’s Place and the now-departed Horan's, this place has the feel of a joint that leads with the tavern and follows through with the restaurant (though I doubt that’s the way it is at its other location in the financial district, though I've never been there).

    The room was a little surprising. I wasn’t expecting the walls to be covered with taxidermy, animals represented as just heads or as entire creatures, practically tableaux, with bears rampant and birds in flight or fighting snakes. This hunting lodge aesthetic is carried through in the blocky built-in wooden tables. Though surprising, it was actually a more interesting look than I think we deserved to expect, so for that reason, I kind of grew to like it.

    7230 Madison Street
    Forest Park, IL 60130
    708. 771.7230
    http://www.skrinechops.com
    "Don't you ever underestimate the power of a female." Bootsy Collins
  • Post #2 - August 26th, 2010, 1:22 pm
    Post #2 - August 26th, 2010, 1:22 pm Post #2 - August 26th, 2010, 1:22 pm
    Some crosslinks for Skrine:

    viewtopic.php?p=330576#p330576

    viewtopic.php?p=182046#p182046

    This is a place I enjoy. For the grilled / broiled style, ribs and Italian sausage are usually very flavorful. Beer selection is quite small as mentioned, but there is consistently at least one more substantial brew on tap.
  • Post #3 - August 26th, 2010, 1:30 pm
    Post #3 - August 26th, 2010, 1:30 pm Post #3 - August 26th, 2010, 1:30 pm
    Santander wrote:Some crosslinks for Skrine:

    viewtopic.php?p=330576#p330576

    viewtopic.php?p=182046#p182046


    Thanks, Santander. As this place has been referenced but never featured, I figured it was time to give it a thread of its own.

    It is odd that floor level furnishings are so bare but when you look up...omigod, it's a bear!
    "Don't you ever underestimate the power of a female." Bootsy Collins
  • Post #4 - August 27th, 2010, 10:13 am
    Post #4 - August 27th, 2010, 10:13 am Post #4 - August 27th, 2010, 10:13 am
    The food at Skrines is consistently good and reasonably priced.

    The decor is interesting, it also has a model train that runs the around the whole room along a shelf, but I have not seen it running for a while now. The big long tables were made by the owner from some salvaged wood. There is also an upstairs area with a seperate bar that is used tor parties, functions, meetings, etc.

    You are correct in that much like a lot of the other establishment on Madison in Forest Park, Skrines probably leans a little more towards a bar that serves food as opposed to the other way around. They sponsor a bunch of different softball teams, so many nights thats the crowd you will see in there.

    On the food side, i'm not sure it is on the actual menu, but they serve a pork chop snadwich, that comes on a nice bun with a layer of mashed potatoes. If it's not on the menu, just ask for it.
  • Post #5 - September 19th, 2010, 8:51 pm
    Post #5 - September 19th, 2010, 8:51 pm Post #5 - September 19th, 2010, 8:51 pm
    I went tonight and enjoyed it quite well. We had the pork chop and they were great. We also had the ribs, they fall off the bone but were a little dry. The rice and beans really complimented the ribs. The spiciness of the rice and beans really played off the sweetness of the ribs. If you get the ribs I would recommend the beans and rice as a side.

    I also thought the beer selection was great. Being a former beer brewer, I thought they represented many different styles and made good choices for how they were represented. I went for the Rogue Dead Guy Ale.

    It is located next to duck fat and I prefer it to duck fat. They limit choices which I think is a good thing. Doing a few things really well is better than doing alot of things average. The chop is done really well and so were the beers they had.
  • Post #6 - September 20th, 2010, 9:13 am
    Post #6 - September 20th, 2010, 9:13 am Post #6 - September 20th, 2010, 9:13 am
    Anyone tried the burger? Someone i know swears by the burgers at Skrine's downtown location.
  • Post #7 - September 20th, 2010, 2:36 pm
    Post #7 - September 20th, 2010, 2:36 pm Post #7 - September 20th, 2010, 2:36 pm
    They were out of there burgers last night. I went for the mini burgers. 2 pork and one chicken. They were served on a mini pretzel roll with mashed potatoes. I thought the bread could have been fresher.
  • Post #8 - September 2nd, 2011, 5:03 pm
    Post #8 - September 2nd, 2011, 5:03 pm Post #8 - September 2nd, 2011, 5:03 pm
    Fire at Skrine Chops in Forest Park.

    :(
  • Post #9 - September 2nd, 2011, 10:33 pm
    Post #9 - September 2nd, 2011, 10:33 pm Post #9 - September 2nd, 2011, 10:33 pm


    Crap! Back down the block to Duckfat, I guess.

    Er, wait...Fatduck?
  • Post #10 - January 14th, 2012, 12:49 am
    Post #10 - January 14th, 2012, 12:49 am Post #10 - January 14th, 2012, 12:49 am
    Skrine Chops, Forest Park, rebuilding for 2012:
    http://triblocal.com/oak-park-river-for ... ground-up/
  • Post #11 - January 15th, 2012, 11:56 am
    Post #11 - January 15th, 2012, 11:56 am Post #11 - January 15th, 2012, 11:56 am
    zoid wrote:Skrine Chops, Forest Park, rebuilding for 2012:
    http://triblocal.com/oak-park-river-for ... ground-up/


    Good News, they sponsored our Softball team, unfortunately the championship trophy from this season and I believe the game ball went up with the flames...
  • Post #12 - September 24th, 2014, 11:13 am
    Post #12 - September 24th, 2014, 11:13 am Post #12 - September 24th, 2014, 11:13 am
    Anyone been to the Skrine location off Van Buren ever/lately? I was doing a bit of an exploratory mission in the SW loop this morning and saw it (and Saucy Porka) sitting there and looking more interesting than the usual Loop dreck. It's a rare day when an urge for a lunch pork chop hits, but if there were a positive note or two I might give it a go.
  • Post #13 - September 30th, 2014, 4:54 pm
    Post #13 - September 30th, 2014, 4:54 pm Post #13 - September 30th, 2014, 4:54 pm
    Ahmad Shareef wrote:Anyone been to the Skrine location off Van Buren ever/lately?

    Do it. Your intuition that it's a little different than the usual Loop lunch dreck is dead on. Best to go when you're basically starving, since the sandwiches are pretty heroic. In my opinion the loop location is 100% as good as the forest park spot, despite the smaller size.
  • Post #14 - February 11th, 2018, 1:24 pm
    Post #14 - February 11th, 2018, 1:24 pm Post #14 - February 11th, 2018, 1:24 pm
    Closing soon

    https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_ ... =bookmarks
    "Very good... but not my favorite." ~ Johnny Depp as Roux the Gypsy in Chocolat
  • Post #15 - February 12th, 2018, 9:47 am
    Post #15 - February 12th, 2018, 9:47 am Post #15 - February 12th, 2018, 9:47 am
    Aw. I liked their upstairs space, especially for meetings. I do know that my family and I went there for dinner last winter and it was one of the worst meals we'd had in who knows how long. Service was bad, table placement was terrible, constant gusts of wind (we ate with our winter coats on!), just a total mess that made us never want to go back.
  • Post #16 - February 12th, 2018, 12:14 pm
    Post #16 - February 12th, 2018, 12:14 pm Post #16 - February 12th, 2018, 12:14 pm
    We did visit a few times and will agreed the upstairs space was nice! We saw a band perform there and it was cozy and having a bar up there was a plus.

    The food was always good, not Hog Wild good, but very tasty. The have the seasoned pork chop concept down.

    I seem to remember, when the Forest Park location opened, there was at least one other location, maybe downtown? This is the only location now.

    Sounds like this is the swan song. Rumor has it catering will still be available.

    The Hog Wild
    14933 Pulaski Rd, Midlothian
    http://www.thehogwild.com/
    "Very good... but not my favorite." ~ Johnny Depp as Roux the Gypsy in Chocolat

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