Stopped by Hopleaf last night. They are now serving food, but their whole shipment hadn't arrived (will be there on monday I guess), so their specially printed menu had 3(!) items. 3. The waitress was kind of embarrassed, but we laughed. The menu's contents: Fancy sounding mussels, a fancy sounding ham sandwich, and a fancy sounding salmon sandwich, all starting at $10.

Unwilling to spend $10 per sandwich, we split one and that was the right call. I asked the busboy if we somehow had gotten whole sandwiches because both our plates were filled, but he said those were halves. Works for me. So for $5, it was a tasty (thick ham, dark bread) and fancy (spicy dijon, fat tomato) ham sanwich with bistro-type frites and fancy slaw.

I didn't ask for a completed menu, but the cook was definitely hired to set out bistro fare. The food is a step up from regular pub grub akin to their beer -- a step up from regular bar beer. The menu will get a cool reception at the current prices, but the owners may learn quickly and adjust down.

So split the sanwiches and wait til next week when the menu is complete. And try a Tripel Karmelite. (Hopleaf: Located in Andersonville on Clark, 2 doors down from Foster, west side of the street)