Kyle P.
Yelp
Just a quick update.
We've now been to P3 Elmhurst several times since our first visit during their inaugural month. Even though we live in the city, it's always a dinner destination in the back of our minds, not so much for the beer (which remains good), but because of the unique food options that, oddly enough, don't exist under one roof in the city.
The food options remain stellar, constantly changing with the seasons and always being improved. A great example is the outstanding Ahi Tuna Sandwich, which went from being a regular sandwich to something close to a lobster roll except with fresh, raw tuna. An absolute stunner, I would get this once a week if I didn't live an hour away.
Also excellent were the shrimp spring rolls, a very nice portion of shrimp, rice, and assorted veggies, flavorful with great crunch in every bite. We split these, but honestly, they'd work as a main.
The execution remains great, easily the best brewery food in the Chicago area, and truly food that would stand alone against "regular" restaurants.
While I remained feeling that P3 was a 4.5 and not a 5, largely due to mediocre service and a lack of a vibe, I have to downgrade to a 4 after our most recent, and perhaps final, visit.
My wife is a strict vegetarian and I am a pescatarian (who very infrequently will order a chicken parm or something when out). In the past, P3 has always had wonderful vegetarian options - it's one of the reasons we always consider it, even when it's quite a haul to get to.
However, on this recent visit, we were informed that they were out of tofu, which severely limited our options (out went the vegan bahn mi and potentially subbing tofu for a protein). We were going to split the couscous salad (subbing tofu for prosciutto), so it was back to the drawing board.
Well, ok, maybe we'll split the salad w/o the prosciutto and get the Fiesta Crunch Burger with a veggie patty. Done. Except...three minutes later, our server returns to let us know they don't do meatless patties anymore. Which...what?!
So my wife gets the couscous salad, which was very good (I went with the aforementioned Ahi Tuna which was tremendous). But, without the prosciutto on the salad, and with no substitute option, why am I still paying $18? Especially when no effort was made to accommodate us. I've worked in the industry in the past - what a perfect time to offer a side of fries or a free beer on the house. Nope.
Look, we really enjoyed our food as we always have. But, that's really, really rough when you have no protein option available for a vegetarian. And hey, kitchens run out of stuff, but you chose to not stock veggie patties. Maybe they weren't selling, maybe they changed vendors, I don't know. But, it just kind of sucked to be honest, especially when P3 had become a place to rely on for such options.
Despite loving my meal, and having supported this brewery and restaurant from the very, very beginning, with these changes and lack of "making up" for being out of so many of their vegetarian options, I'm really not sure it P3 Elmhurst remains even a back-of-mind option for us in the future.