More Bars, More Grills, More Fun

It's al fresco dining season! Not many things can top eating outside when it's nice out, except of course having someone cook for you while you do the eating. Jesus and I have a few bar-and-grill-type spots for when we can't be bothered to cook for ourselves, or when we want a cold drink on a hot night, and I also have a few of my own spots that are great for an after-work drink and/or snack. And let's be honest, sidewalk chilling and people watching.

Harding Tavern
Good For: after work drinks, after work wings, tournament and playoff viewing.
Ambiance: intimate, yet modern. Lucky for them they have sidewalk space, because the restaurant itself is not big.
Notes: with daily brunch, delivery, and a well-stocked rotating draft list, The Harding Tavern caters to everyone.

Parts & Labor
Good For: "Damn Good Burgers. Damn Good Drinks. Damn Good Times."
Ambiance: industrial, yet comfortable. When I went they were playing all of Keira Knightley's movies in a loop.
Notes: as the cousin of popular Logan Square pizzeria, The Boiler Room, Parts & Labor holds up the reputation of a good themed (yet not kitschy) bar & kitchen.

McNamara's
Good For: eating and drinking and eating some more, all on the sidewalk.
Ambiance: half old-school Irish pub, half classy supper club.
Notes: I'm a fan of the tots and the pulled pork. I've heard the burgers are good as well.

Paddy Mac's
Good For: late night eats and cheap beer. Sometimes live entertainment.
Ambiance: maybe because we go here the most, but I get a dive bar/everybody knows your name vibe.
Notes: tots rule again! Jesus and I generally get whatever the daily special is - tacos, burgers, fish fry. Especially the fish fry.

Citizen Bar
Good For: last minute drinks, al fresco.
Ambiance: I'm hesitant to label Citizen Bar since my first/only time visiting was underwhelming. They boast plenty of outdoor space, but we were shuffled around to several tables and nearly forgotten about by servers who drifted aimlessly around the seating area. None of them seemed pleased to be there or ready for outdoor dining season in Chicago. :-/
Notes: Once we did get our food and drinks, they were good! I had the spice chicken sandwich paired with Summer Shandy. If/when I go again, I'll update.

Extra:
Check out last year's bar and grill roundup here, or all my past restaurant reviews here.

Bar Food: Oh Yeah.

With the arrival of grilling and sidewalk dining season, here are a few of my favorite/local places to get a beer and a burger. (These are also, coincidentally, the places I take my family when they come to visit. Nothing too fancy, good food (and options for everyone), good brews/cocktails, and maybe a few TVs showing whatever game happens to be on.)

Revolution Brewing Brewpub
Good for: Beer and burger pairings, pizzas, getting up close and personal with where your beer comes from, and filling up.
Ambiance: young and hipster-ish, with an open-air dining feel in the summer.
Notes: Plenty of bike parking, not as much street parking. Also, strangely welcoming to vegetarians.

Kumas Too
Good for: Creative burgers with clever names and trying new things.
Ambiance: Loud, but friendly.
Notes: This is the second location for this successful mash-up of burgers, beer, and heavy metal music, located in Lincoln Park. Bring your appetite and don't expect much conversation (you'll be too busy eating).

Logan Bar & Grill
Good for: Watching the game, but not your waistline.
Ambiance: Casual, sports-friendly, and refreshingly un-trendy.
Notes: Several bars and clever seating make Logan appear much larger than it is. No wrong orders that I know of, but the pulled pork sandwich is especially good.

Madison Public House
Good for: Watching the Badgers, winning trivia, nightly specials, cheese curds!
Ambiance: A proud Wisconsin bar that also knows it's in Chicago: homey, yet metropolitan.
Notes: Some nights this place is empty, other nights it's packed. It's located between two more popular neighborhoods, so hopefully the runoff from those areas keeps Madison Pub House in business! Their Friday Fish Fry basket is A-Okay.

Will's Northwoods Inn
Good for: Joining fellow Wisconsinites in cheering for whoever is playing, and getting a few food and drink specials while you're there.
Ambiance: Unpretentious, unassuming, and unashamedly in love with Wisconsin.
Notes: "A little bit of God's Country in the heart of South Lakeview" pretty much sums it up. And yes, it really is a converted inn, which makes for a fun atmosphere of several different rooms/bars, yet a sense of connection with everyone cheering for the Packers/Badgers/Brewers (and a few Chicago teams as well).

In Memory
Etno Village Grill: I was lucky to eat here once during Etno's short run as a specialty burger joint. My burger was awesome - topped with mustard, arugula, and pears - and I was hoping to return again after their expansion, but now that the expansion (which has taken years) is more of a total overhaul, I'm not as excited.

Juicy/Jucy Lucy

Did you recently come up on some grass fed beef at your Aldi? Need to use up some leftover buns from a Fourth of July cookout? Want to try a fun twist on a classic? Grill some Juicy/Jucy Lucys tonight!

All I know of the "history" of the JL is that it's from Minnesota. This Wikipedia article details more of the Who Did It First debate. None of that really concerns me. What I wanted to discover when I decided to try out this inside-out cheeseburger was if it lived up to the hype. Answer: Yes...ish.

The truth is, whether you put your cheese inside or on top of your burger, you're getting cheese and beef between two buns and that's always going to be pretty awesome. The joy of hamburgers, for me at least, has always been in the toppings and condiments. Regardless, it's something to try. And it's dinner on the table.

Start with your beef. Do what you do with your hamburgers: salt, pepper, etc, and form into patties.

Slap some cheese on the middle of each patty and bring up the sides, completely covering the cheese in the beef. Reform into a patty, keeping the cheese on the inside.

Grill burgers as normal. Keep in mind the cheese will get hot, melt, and possibly shoot out the side of the burger as you cook. If not, it will definitely do so when you bite into it--be careful not to burn your tongue!

Dress your burger to your tastes (mine: sauteed mushrooms and onions, lettuce, and mustard). Dig in!

Happy Friday!

Ode to the Cason Burger

I had the best burger of my life last night. I want to write songs about it, but this serious/silly poem will do for now.

Thank heaven for the cow who
sacrificed herself for my dinner.
She was a beauty, and her meals of grass
became much more for me.
Sitting on that bun, buttered delicately
like a fine mist of dew on a peach,
her medium-cooked beef took me to
a place where tastes explode like fireworks
over the oohs and aahs of eager taste buds.
Don't let me forget the cow who gave her milk
for the camembert that melted over the beef
like a silk scarf draped over a lamp, adding
mystery and a hint of drama to the room.
And the pig--oh, what a pig, applewood smoked
until crispy and sweet salty, floating on that cheese,
the entire trio swimming in Dijon on arugula floats.
I could end here, the memory of a perfect burger
lingering in my mouth even the morning after--but
my memory won't let me leave out the surprise win:
ginger poached pears, poised and stoic, ushering
this burger into the hallowed halls of food legend.