Leave it to Handlebar to shake up our boring, Guinness-drinking ways.

 

We stopped in at the Wicker Park bar a couple of nights ago for looking for a mac 'n' cheese fix, but we got distracted by the beer list. What could possibly take our minds off Handlebar's incomparable mac 'n' cheese? Banana Bread Beer, that's what.

 

Though it was novel, at first we weren't so sure about the banana-beer combo. But we were curious. So after a careful examination of the big imperial pint bottle (turns out it's made by Charles Wells, the same brewery that gives us Young's Bitter and Young's Special) we sniffed, we sipped, and, lo and behold, it tasted just like bananas. Ripe bananas, actually. (You know, the kind you'd use to make banana bread.) We liked the smooth, nutty undertones too--so much, in fact, that we went back for second helpings.

 

Bottom line: Wells Banana Bread Beer probably isn't cut out for daily drinking, but if you like fruit beers and English bitter, we think you'll find it has a certain, um, appeal.

Hey, just because a guy writes a song with a silly name like "Fa Fa" doesn't mean he's not concerned about serious stuff like environmental awareness.

Adam Gardner, Guster frontman and co-founder of non-profit group Reverb, which has worked with artists including John Mayer and Red Hot Chili Peppers to make their tours more environmentally friendly, will testify on Capitol Hill Wednesday about ways in which biodiesel is helping musicians fight global warming. Gardner's band seems more likely to provide the tunes frat-house barbecues than offer anything that's culturally relevant, but we're very much in favor of artists getting involved in pro-active, non-annoying ways. (Bono good. Ellen DeGeneres bad.) Though we certainly hope Reverb's work with Dave Matthews Band came after their embarrassing incident in 2004 when their tour bus dumped hundreds of pounds of human waste onto a tour boat in the Chicago River. Yuck.

Is Capitol Hill-testimony less convincing when it comes from, groan, a musician? Or should people listen up to any commentary on environmental issues, whether it comes from Al Gore or Ashlee Simpson? OK, maybe not Ashlee Simpson ...

If you're thinking about making reservations for Table Fifty-Two, Art Smith's new restaurant, you better hurry. We just called: Next available table is Dec. 26. The next Sunday seating -- when Art brings out his family-style spread -- is Dec. 30.