On a whim — after checking out the Metra route to and from the Aurora station and noticing its proximity to a certain restaurant — Lauren and I decided to make stop. The place? America’s Brewpub at Walter Payton’s Roundhouse. A friend has been raving about it for a long time and urging me to try. Located on the north and eastern side of the city of Aurora, the venue is located in an old railroad repair shop. From the website:
“The history of the Aurora Roundhouse begins in 1856, when Aurora, Illinois was chosen as the site for a major car building and repair shop by the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad. Originally, twenty-two stalls were built to house and repair locomotives. Eight additional stalls were added in 1859, and in 1864, the final ten stalls were added to the Roundhouse, making it a complete circle.”
A Limestone Roundhouse, Walter Payton Museum, and a Restaurant
Interested in the only existing limestone roundhouse in the nation, Walter Payton and his partners in the project were voted in 1995 by the city of Aurora to redevelop the building. Little more than a year after the vote, the official reopening took place in March of 1996, and the huge complex now houses — in addition to the Walter Payton Museum and a half-dozen or so other attractions — a rather substantial restaurant called America’s Brewpub … the subject of this review.
The first thing that struck me was the difficulty in locating the place, especially at night and for the first time: approaching from the north, there are three huge buildings that can be seen on the east side of the street, all of which have giant lettering proclaiming “Walter Payton’s Roundhouse.” One of them is a Hotel, another of which I am unsure and the third — the actual restaurant (immediately adjacent to the Metra Station) — was the most difficult of all to enter.
A very bizarre and almost hidden entrance (the exit is just as difficult to determine) was eventually discovered and, after several miscues, we arrived at the front door just prior to a reservation that Lauren had booked through Open Table. Upon entering, one is instantly impressed by the cavernous nature of the place — the ceilings at least 30 feet above — and giant wooden beams all around, proclaiming the artistic and engineering beauty of the structure.
In the Tradition of a Pub
The second noticeable accompaniment is the total lack of any real acoustic integrity. The din of conversation echoes throughout the huge hall like the over-served crowd arriving prior to a Bears-Packers game at Soldier Field. Probably perfect for a Monday Night Football game or brunch before a game, it’s a bit disconcerting during a dinner. This is especially true when the place is not yet quite half-full. I wondered what a full house would be like… Many empty tables beckon as we pass them, but the hostess continues on and we are seated at a small table for two up against the side of a fireplace.
In the tradition of a pub, the tables are barren, save salt and pepper shakers, an oil candle, cloth-covered silverware and water glasses. Wait-staff and bus people seem to be everywhere and we are twice asked if we would like water, but it is ten minutes or more before a waiter finally appears. I have noticed that the table next to us, having just received their dinners, seems to be enjoying a meal of huge proportions and they are making quick work of it.
Brewpub Favorites
Lauren responds to a request for a bar order with a selection of Ravenswood Zinfandel, and I ask for a Stoli. I am told: “We don’t carry it“, but Grey Goose is available and that is what I choose. The menu touts the “casual dining” nature of America’s Brewpub and the selections reinforce the concept. Eleven appetizers include the obligatory fried calamari, beer battered onion rings and buffalo wings, as well as an interesting sounding “crab & avocado gazpacho tower with tortilla triangles”. Some of these come in half orders; the average price of ap’s is about $9-$10.
There are lunch salads (small) and then there are big salads — like the “surf & turf Caesar salad with bacon wrapped tenderloin, jumbo shrimp scampi, plum tomatoes, Caesar vinaigrette, parmesan cheese“… at $16 for dinner, that’s a big salad! The lunch sandwich board and lunch Brewpub favorites looked inviting (take, for instance, the “Cubano with roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese & pickles, grilled on Cuban bread” at $10.99, or the New Orleans Oven Grinder with salami, prosciutto, mortadella and provolone, mozzarella, tomato & olive salad at $8.99) and the prices were reasonable too — averaging about $9. There were even wood-grilled pizzas and some very tasty-sounding burger selections… but these burgers were only available for lunch.
Dinner Selections
Dinner selections included about a half-dozen seafood selections (four included lobster), another half-dozen “Brewpub favorites” that included a full slab of ribs ($24), an “Andouille-stuffed double-cut pork chop wrapped in bacon with pan gravy on herb mashed potatoes” ($18.99) and the exact same “10 oz. roundhouse steakburger caramelized onions, cheddar cheese & 57 steak sauce, roundhouse made potato chips that appeared on the lunch menu at $10.99… but it was now priced at $13.99. There were also “classic dinner steaks from the grill” — truly Mike Ditka selections — served in sizes up to 20 oz and ranging in price from $27 to as much as $52 for the Surf and Turf (12-oz fillet and lobster tail).
Service with a Smirk & “No One Ever Gets an Order That Fast!“
Since we were not especially hungry and did not want an entire dinner, we opted simply to munch on a half order of calamari and split the monstrous burger. We also ordered a “kitchen salad with romaine lettuce, balsamic vinaigrette ($2)”. It really was a $2 salad, consisting solely of a few leaves of tired Romaine covered with dressing. When the calamari arrived about two minutes — literally — after our waiter had taken our order, it was served with a half smirk and what was almost an admonition: “You guys are really lucky… no one ever gets an order that fast!” Although served in a plastic basket, the ample portion of squid was tucked into a cloth napkin and served with a white sauce and a red one; neither was the lemon aioli that was supposed to accompany the dish.
Our burger, which the waiter was kind enough to split for us and arrange on separate plates, took much longer to arrive… apparently our luck had run out. Served on a very white — aka blah — bun and cooked far more well-done than ordered, the flavor was nonetheless very good. The roundhouse-made potato chips were also good but not distinct, as they had no special seasonings to make them stand out. Lauren ordered a second glass of wine — this one served in a different kind of glass (the first was in a white wine glass; this one in a red wine glass) — and I decided to try the “sampler’ of five different micro brews. My favorite was the stout, dark and sweet.
In Conclusion
Perhaps our evening might not be conceived as a true test of the full dining experience available — we didn’t order complete dinners — but I remain convinced that at this restaurant, their forte is mostly on brew. An “interesting” menu with an emphasis on spicy, I give America’s Brewpub Three Zins.
Your Table is Waiting
Ralph Pancetta
America’s Brewpub is now owned and operated by Two Brothers. Two Brothers Roundhouse is located at 205 N Broadway in Aurora, IL.
