South Elgin Stanley's a home to craft beers, ballgames

When he was growing up in South Elgin in the early '80s, Scott Stanley would often go with his family to O'Shea's Irish pub. In December, Stanley bought O'Shea's former space, which had become Lucky's Night Club, and spent months restoring it to the style he remembered before opening Stanley's Ale House in February.

Motif: The décor is a blend of pub and sports bar. Stained glass lamps hang over wooden booths, which are decorated with black-and-white photos of TV shows from “I Love Lucy” to “Star Trek.” The walls sport a mix of posters from classic movies like “Gone with the Wind,” sports photos and pictures of horses. A wide variety of glasses hang above the large wooden bar, and a cooler displays the bar's impressive selection of bottles. Sports fans can catch games on 17 HDTVs and two 84-inch projector screens. The space is attached to Trackside Off-Track Betting and shares a menu and food and drink specials, with two TVs in Stanley's tracking the horse races.

Stanley's features two party rooms. One has long wooden tables and a projector screen. The other is sports-themed with couches, two big-screen TVs, a display of baseball standings and electronic darts and John Madden games. A fenced-off patio features umbrella-topped black metal tables.

Crowd: Demographics vary dramatically depending on the time and day. Many younger people have been drawn in by the craft beers, and Fridays often bring in the mid-20s set. Saturday is mostly 40 and up. Lunch draws senior citizens, while families flock in for dinner to take advantage of the $5 kids menu. The spot also attracts couples, who share dinner and drinks while periodically walking over to Trackside to place bets. Trivia night Thursday also tends to bring out a decent crowd, who compete for Stanley's gift certificates or coupons.

Liquid consumption: Stanley's serves more than 50 craft beers, almost all of them domestic, including many varieties of Two Brothers, plus Rogue Dead Guy and Stone IPA. While they carry the basics like Corona and Heineken, Stanley has been considering removing Miller and Bud from the taps to make room for even more crafts. The bar also offers a small specialty cocktail menu with selections including the cherry cheesecake, a blend of cherry and vanilla vodka with cranberry juice, and the Devil's Punch which features Jose Cuervo tequila, triple sec, Limoncello, sour mix and orange juice. The bar offers daily drink specials, with $3 Goose Island beers Tuesdays and $3 Leinenkugel Wednesdays.

Food: Barbecue is the most popular thing on Stanley's menu. You can try all the favorites with the barbecue sampler, which includes brisket, pulled pork, chicken and baby back ribs. The menu also includes more standard bar fare like burgers, nachos and wings.

Service: The bartender came to take our orders soon after we grabbed seats and between pouring drinks spent time bantering with regulars. Stanley's has been working on educating its staff about craft beers, with servers encouraged to try to get drinkers to expand their horizons.

Sounds: You can catch karaoke every Friday night, and the bar occasionally hosts acoustic acts Saturdays.

Parking: There are plenty of free spaces in the large strip mall parking lot.

Overall: Stanley's is a laid-back neighborhood spot where fans of sports, horse racing and beer can all be at home.

<b>Stanley's Ale House</b>

<b>335 S. Mclean Blvd., South Elgin, (847) 468-8022, stanleysalehouse.com</b>

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