Pub Grub at American Legion Post 1080 offers versatile menu for public, private events

JOLIET – Pub Grub at American Legion Post 1080: serving up homestyle food and veteran support in every tasty bite.

Tuesdays through Fridays, this restaurant offers regular daily specials – from cabbage rolls and pierogies to all-you-can-eat chicken dinners. Fridays feature a fish fry. Pub Grub's secondary menu items continually change, said owner Ed Wysocki of Joliet.

Wysocki draws on a long tradition of great recipes. His father, Edward Wysocki Sr., owned a restaurant in Chicago until 1978, where Ed and his siblings all worked. Wysocki's wife, Diana Wysocki, grew up on a farm.

“We have a whole binder full of recipes,” Wysocki said.

Included in that binder is his mother Irene’s pepper steak, as well as her pierogi recipe. Wysocki adjusted the yields of Diana’s popular dessert recipes – such as Jell-O cake, fudge cake and apple crisp – to serve hundreds instead of eight to 10. For Pub Grub’s homemade meatloaf, he took elements from Ed Sr.'s meatloaf recipe and the one Diana prepares.

“We’re actually going to be revising our menu again to include ribs and chicken chunks,” Wysocki said. “We’d also like to add some open-faced sandwiches, things that like that.”

Wysocki and his siblings – three older sisters and three younger brothers – all learned to cook at The People’s Restaurant, where Ed Sr. served quite a few Polish specialties. Then for 31 years, Wysocki said he worked in the private sector, for a company that eventually shipped its production overseas, he said.

While contemplating his next venture, Wysocki told Diana, “If I could do anything, I’d open up a restaurant.” He said Diana replied, “Well, you’re not getting any younger.”

So, Wysocki seriously thought about it, and then he and Diana put together a menu with reasonable prices and shopped around for spaces. When the American Legion Post 1080 began accepting bids to lease out its kitchen, Wysocki knew he had found his culinary home.

Two weeks later, Wysocki said the post called and asked if he could be ready to go in a month. Wysocki promised to do his best, and they moved in during a weekend, and were open that Monday.

“We never missed a beat,” he said.

Wysocki said Pub Grub offers delicious food at very reasonable prices. For instance, a patty melt is $5.25; an Italian beef sandwich is $6.25; a triple-decker grilled cheese is $3.50; a quarter-pounder hamburger is $4.50; and a half-pound burger is just an extra dollar. And all those sandwiches include fries.

“We have regulars for the ‘all you can eat buffet,’” he said. “We’ve met some really wonderful people here. It’s amazing how much support the community has given us.”

In addition to running Pub Grub, Wysocki caters the post's hall rentals, golf outings, women’s auxiliary parties and veteran-related events. He recently prepared the food for the Sons of the American Legion Breakfast Buffet.

“It’s long hours,” he said, “but it’s exciting.”

Pub Grub doesn’t serve Mondays, but Wysocki generally puts in half a day with ordering food for the rest of the week. He generally doesn’t mind.

“My mom always said, ‘It must be in your blood, just like your father,'" he said.

Also like his father, Wysocki’s family supports the restaurant. His daughter, Jackie, is a waitress; his son, Eddie of Boston, helps out whenever he’s in town. Two of his brothers – Dave Wysocki of Tinley Park and Bob Wysocki of Crestwood – work the fish fries.

Most of the time Diana is with him, waitressing, assembling appetizers or working side by side with him in the kitchen.

“Sometimes we’re cooking for 100 people, it’s just her and me,” Wysocki said. “I definitely could not do this without her.”

Wysocki recalled how, when he was still employed, he often stopped at the American Legion Post 1080 after work. It was the ideal place to unwind and he loved hearing veterans share their stories. Pub Grub satisfies Ed’s proprietor yearnings, offers the community good food and supports the veterans, all at the same time.

“It had just gotten to the point in my life where I wondered, ‘What can I do to give back?’” he said. “I can even walk to work.”

Mom’s Homemade Pierogies

Dough:

2 cups flour

6 to 8 ounces small curd cottage cheese

2 eggs

Filling (choose one or mix and match):

Mashed potatoes flavored with American cheese

Strawberry pie filling

Sauerkraut (saute first in a little bacon fat, add caraway seeds, brown sugar, bacon and onions and then stew for 15 minutes)

Mix dough ingredients by hand or with a KitchenAid. Place in a glass bowl and chill in the refrigerator for one hour. Roll out dough. Using a 4-inch diameter cutter, cut circles out of the dough. Fill and then pinch shut with a fork. Boil in water until they float, dunk in ice water to cool and lay on cookie sheet to dry. Yield: 17 to 19 pierogies, depending on humidity.

IF YOU GO
WHAT: Pub Grub at Post 1080
WHEN: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday through Friday
WHERE: American Legion Post 1080, 2625 Ingalls Ave., Joliet
ETC: Daily specials, Friday fish fry
VISIT: www.al1080.org/pub-grub
CONTACT: 815-729-2254