Addison's Blue Line scores with hockey fans
Lots of bars show hockey on TV, but at Blue Line Bar & Grill you can actually watch it live. Housed in Addison Ice Arena, the bar provides a home for hockey fans and families looking for a place to have dinner and watch sports while their kids practice on the ice.
Motif: Along with providing a view of the players on the rink, Blue Line has a large projection screen plus banks of flat screen TVs above the bar. Hockey jerseys hang from the rafters and the walls are covered with photos of the Blackhawks along with beer posters and neon signs. A fireplace is surrounded by a set of green high-backed chairs, a popular hangout spot for parents during early morning practices. Kids love the air hockey table and there's also Golden Tee and Big Buck Hunter games. Seating includes a mix of smaller tables with chairs and larger ones with benches.
The space also has a private party room upstairs with four more TVs. Teams like to hang out there and have meetings, and it's also used by local community groups and parties.
Service: While there's table service during the day, at night customers order food and drinks at the counter and servers bring it out. It's common to see the owner and manager sharing a beer with some regulars at the bar while chatting or arguing about sports.
Liquid consumption: The draft list includes Stella Artois and Goose Island. Drink specials change daily.
Food: Blue Line's menu isn't so large as to be overwhelming, but it is big enough to provide variety to parents that are eating there four nights a week. The selection includes standard bar food like burgers, mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers and grilled cheese, but the real standouts are the few Mexican options. The skirt steak for the carne asada sandwich or platter is marinated for two days in beer and lime juice.
The guacamole and red and green salsas are all homemade and the salsa Verde was the best we've ever tasted, providing a seriously satisfying kick that went great with the thick baked chips. The food has proved so popular that the bar has started doing a significant amount of takeout services and drawing in non-hockey fans.
Crowd: When there's a game on the ice, Blue Line gets packed with families, with a constant turnover as games end and start. Professional hockey players often serve as coaches so there's a lot of opportunities for celebrity spotting. Blackhawks games draw a mostly adult crowd and bands often bring out their local following. During lunch the bar draws business people from the nearby industrial park.
Music: Blue Line regularly hosts cover groups and acoustic acts in the spring and summer, though music is more irregular once hockey season starts. The sound is always kept quiet enough to allow for conversation.
Parking: There are plenty of spots in the large free lot.
Overall: Blue Line opened in 2009 and the concept has already proven so popular that the owners opened a second location at Seven Bridges Ice Arena in Woodridge. While the bar is still dominated by hockey families, the food and the friendly, laid-back atmosphere make it a solid hangout for anyone.
Blue Line Bar & Grill
<p>475 S. Grace St., Addison, (630) 543-7825, Hours: 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday<p>
<p><a href="http://www.bluelinegrill.com">bluelinegrill.com</a></p>