Opening Tonight: Mad Mark’s Mystic Pizza, Schaumburg

Last night I got an opportunity to participate in a “dress rehearsal”–a Schaumburg sports bar is opening tonight, and we were one of the lucky guests who got to come the night before to try the place before it opened.

I’ve never done this before, so I didn’t know what to expect. Upon entering we received highlighted menus and instructions in an envelope. My son played free video games while we waited for a table, and we were told to order only certain items off the menu. This way, we’d help test out the service and the food and give the staff some practice at their new positions. I would have loved to try the onion rings, but we got firecracker shrimp, Jessica’s chicken and avocado sandwich, and the Brick House cheeseburger. The shrimp was my favorite–I loved the sauce. If it had been on the side my son could have had some, because the sauce was just a tiny bit too spicy in spots for him, but I have no complaints. The other dishes were very decent but not special. The service had a few small blips to work out, but nothing big, and our food came super fast. Still, I suspect the draw of this place will be less the food and more the festive sports bar atmosphere.

The decor is eclectic–sports-related, of course, and predictably also music-related. There’s also an odd UFO theme going–UFOs, planets and a rocket ship hang from the ceiling in the first floor’s biggest dining room. We didn’t get to go up to the second floor, but we did check out the patio, and I can tell that’s going to be a big party! There’s a lighted bar out there, sand volleyball court, beanbag toss, grassy picnic area overlooking a pond (well, at least it would be overlooking a pond except for the trees). There are stages for dancing and live music both inside and out, and big flat-screen TVs placed strategically around the dining areas and the bar.

My biggest beef with this place is that, because I’m a huge soccer fan and the first World Cup game between South Africa and Mexico is taking place as I write, I had to ask about World Cup games. Maybe it’s just the one host, but he didn’t even know the World Cup was starting on the day Mad Mark’s opens to the world. That would be today. And I’m sure the place has the technology to put on the games if someone wants them. But this is just a personal preference. Whenever I walk into a sports bar I look for soccer-friendly memorabilia and such, and Mad Mark’s had nothing. It’ll probably be a great place to watch Bears games, but I’d love to think I could come within the next month or so and be guaranteed some soccer action.

Mad Mark’s Mystic Pizza opens today at 4 p.m for dinner. It opens for lunch at 11:30 on June 21.

Mad Mark’s Mystic Pizza
871 E. Algonquin Rd., Schaumburg
(847) 397-3100
www.madmarksmysticpizza.com