Crosstown Pub's new Batavia location caters to diverse crowd

After eight years building up a following for Crosstown Pub & Grill in Naperville, the bar's owner opened a Batavia location in February in El Casanova Restaurant's former space. The family-oriented bar focuses on quick service to cater to diners looking for a bite or a drink before heading to the nearby Randall 15 movie theater.

Motif: The large space is divided into three areas. One geared toward families has plenty of low tables, while a separate dining space caters to couples or private parties. You can also grab a seat at one of the high-tops near the bar. A patio is expected to open this summer. The space has 22 TVs, but rather than show sports on every set you'll find local news, travel shows, the Food Network and cartoons to cater to diverse tastes. If you want something specific, a server can change the channel for you. As a result, the bar's brought out big crowds not just for major games but for the Oscars and presidential speeches.

Food: The burgers are made from a blend of brisket, sirloin and chuck with unusual toppings such as peanut butter, beef bacon and grilled pineapple. There are other sandwich options plus flatbreads and more.

We opted for a signature starter — huge chicken wings that came heavily breaded and made with sauces that Crossroad also sells by the bottle. Unfortunately, while both the chipotle mango and honey Sriracha sauce were meant to be on the spicy side, they offered little kick and the sriracha had a grainy texture. Maybe they reserved all their spice for the top of the heat spectrum, which features sauces made with habanero and ghost peppers. The deviled eggs, meanwhile, were sweetened with honey mustard and topped with crumbled bacon, avocado and black beans — tastes that didn't really work together.

Liquid consumption: The bar features a 40-tap beer system that closely regulates the carbonation of the draft beers, which primarily come from local breweries. On the off chance you can't find something on tap, there are also plenty of beers and cider available in cans and bottles. The bar also plans to host monthly beer dinners, starting with one spotlighting Sam Adams in April.

Crowd: Crosstown Pub & Grill gets packed on weekends, staying busy even after standard dinner hours. They don't take reservations, so you might be in for a wait when tables are filled with families, couples and small groups of all ages.

Service: Servers are all equipped with iPads so they can send orders to the kitchen at the table, speeding up the whole process. Our server was very friendly and it was nice not having to wait for him to run a credit card when we wanted to pay. The bar will even email your receipt to you. Eventually Crosstown plans to have tablets at all the tables that you can use to call your server over or play games.

Music: Naperville musician Johnny Don't, who regularly plays Crosstown's original location, performs an acoustic set on Wednesdays. He takes requests and encourages diners to sing along. Owners hope to add dueling pianos when the patio opens.

Parking: There are plenty of spots in the bar's free lot.

Overall: If the crowds are any indication, Crosstown Pub & Grill's concept seems to be just as suited for Batavia as it is for Naperville.

Crosstown Pub & Grill

1890 Mill St., Batavia, (630) 406-0669, <a href="http://crosstownpub-grill.com">crosstownpub-grill.com</a>

<b>Hours:</b> 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday