John Barleycorn: New kid on the block
Titanic-sized and nautically themed, John Barleycorn is the newest eatery to open on Schaumburg's ever-developing American Lane, amid office buildings and hotels and not far from Woodfield Mall.
It joins Weber Grill and upscale Entourage along a side street that is becoming a restaurant row.
The massive, two-story Schaumburg site is third in a series of John Barleycorns, with locations in Lincoln Park and Wrigleyville.
Like its predecessors, the nautical theme is low-key. Portholes are built into the front doors, models of sailing ships and paintings of ships are on display. An enormous staircase with wrought iron and wood railings sweeps dramatically to the second floor. Oak floors bring warmth to the cavernous space.
The first-floor dining room seats 450 at raised booths and tables; the bar seats 88 at high-tops. On the second floor is a 1,000-person concert/private event space.
The wide-ranging American menu covers familiar ground and holds promise, but there is room for improvement in the kitchen and among the waitstaff.
Look for a whopping 18 appetizers, mostly typical bar food such as nachos, potato skins and mini burgers. But the lamb chops, fish tacos and spicy, pan-seared Ahi tuna offer a change of pace for starters.
Reasonably priced sandwiches, burgers and salads are joined by steaks, chops, seafood and pasta.
From the appetizers, Buffalo-style wings and roasted vegetable quesadillas hit the mark. The wings are hefty, not too hot and served with celery sticks, blue cheese or ranch dressing.
The quesadillas are stuffed with marinated and grilled zucchini, yellow squash, red peppers, spinach, corn and cheese and served with salsa and sour cream.
When the busboy discarded our leftovers instead of boxing them up as requested, our waitress asked the kitchen to remake them and package them to go.
Sliced apples, dried cranberries and candied walnuts sweeten the Harvest Salad, which is composed of spinach and blue cheese and drizzled with cider vinaigrette. You can split this for a starter salad.
Look, too, for an Asian-style spinach salad with red peppers, mandarin oranges, peapods and sesame ginger vinaigrette.
Juicy, half-pound burgers are a specialty and come in several variations. The bacon, cheddar and mushroom was cooked to order, served on a sesame seed bun with choice of fries, steamed vegetables or side salad. The salad is fine, if simple, but the fries on two occasions were limp, lukewarm and bland.
The Barleycorn grilled sandwich and chicken panini are tasty combos. In the first, dark rye adds dimension to sliced turkey breast, Canadian bacon, Swiss cheese and caramelized onions.
The panini is built on a grilled roll with chicken, Swiss cheese, corn and bacon. We had to request a replacement because the bacon was missing.
Palau-style halibut was billed as "lightly blackened" but was not. With the spicy coating it would have contrasted far better against the Jasmine sticky rice and sweet mango-pineapple salsa.
Steaks, chops and seafood are served with a choice of two sides, though we had to convince our server they were included. Neither the garlic mashed potatoes nor the grilled asparagus was memorable. The potatoes were bland, the asparagus was excessively oily and some were nearly raw.
Other entrees include ginger-glazed salmon and a grilled pork chop served with apple chutney and rum-cider glaze.
Among "house favorites" are fish and chips and build-your-own pasta with options including marinara, pesto and meat sauce.
Desserts are homey and satisfying. Key lime pie is tart and sweet; "warm" apple pie a la mode was not heated, but tasted pleasantly of cinnamon.
John Barleycorn
1100 American Lane, Schaumburg, (847) 619-5540, johnbarleycorn.com
Cuisine: American
Setting: Brew pub/nightclub
Price range: Appetizers $4 to $10; salads $6 to $9; sandwiches and entrees $7 to $28; desserts $4.50
Hours: 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday
Accepts: Reservations; major credit cards