I'm looking for a cool little brewery type resturant in chicago...has to have good food and excellent beer..and atmosphere...anyone know of something..thanks

goose island is the first one that comes to mind

http://www.gooseisland.com/index.asp

I believe (s)he said "good" food.

The think the only place in the city that qualifies would be Hopleaf, which doesn't have just good food, but excellent food!

http://www.hopleaf.com/

There aren't that many other brewed-on-premises restaurants in town -- Piece and Rock Bottom are the only ones I can think of -- but there are many beer-focused restaurants. The Berghoff (well, 17 West at the Berghoff) has its own brews plus food; there are many good beer-focused restaurants that don't have their own brews, like Hopleaf, include the Gage downtown and the Handlebar in Wicker Park.

My favorite source for this kind of info while traveling:
http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/

HopLeaf isn't bad, but breweries are not Chicago's speciality.

The food at Goose Island is nothing fancy, but it's not bad either.

Ever since Sieben's closed things have been going downhill, brewery wise.

Like others have said, Goose Island is the most popular and is on tap at most bars, but there really are not many brewpubs in the city. Heck, even Chicago's new Gordon Biersch is in the suburbs. Also, since most brewery restaurants are more concerned about producing their beer, consistently good food is very hard to find (nationwide).

Rather than recommending a brew pub I would recommend Hopleaf - they have an incredible selection of beer, great atmosphere and good food (a little pricey on the food side). Here is the link...http://www.hopleaf.com/

To get there, take the Red Line (Howard) to Berwyn. Walk west to Clark and go two blocks south. Or take the 147 bus from Michigan Av to Foster/Sheridan and walk west on Sheridan 4 blocks to Foster and take a left (south).

Really? How about Hopleaf? http://www.hopleaf.com/

Yep. To the OP, I hope you're going to these places for the brew, and NOT for the food. Chicago has much, much, much better food to offer.

Goose Island's Honkers Ale is what's on tap at most bars, and that's a good beer.

However, that's only one beer and Goose Island makes more than a dozen other styles which are not nearly as widely distributed. For example, the only place you're going to find things like Goose Island's excellent Belgian-style beers or their amazing Bourbon County Stout (an Imperial stout aged in oak bourbon barrels) will be the two Goose Island brewpubs. Which offer your basic pub grub and aren't particularly distinguished as restaurants, even as I do say that their house-made potato chips are extremely addictive.

Other possibilities in Chicago when you're looking to raise a glass, not brewpubs but good beer bars, would include the biergarten at the Clark Street Ale House and the Map Room.

About 50 minutes south on the Metra Electric Line is Flossmoor Station (www.flossmoorstation.com), recently voted the Best Small Brewpub in the US.

The food is standard decent pub grub, nothing fancy. But some of the beers are REALLY good.

Try Hopleaf or the Map Room (http://www.maproom.com) in the city for excellent beers.

Sorry to revive an old thread, but it's also worth checking out Revolution Brewing Company, on Milwaukee just south of Fullerton. Classic (and somewhat yuppiefied) brewpub place with the attendant burgers, salads, sandwiches, etc.

And if you don't get the bacon fat popcorn as an appetizer, you're a fool. Or a bacon hater.

No thread like this is complete without plugging 3 Floyd's, though it's actually across the border in Indiana (though very close):

http://www.3floyds.com/brewpub/