Posted by Tammy at 11:00 am
Aug 252010
Surf & Turf Burger
Mac and Cheese Bites
Through the end of the month, Hamburger Mary’s is offering a “Surf & Turf” burger special. $1 from each shrimp-covered, lobster-sauced burger will go to help the folks in the gulf with the cleaning efforts. Mary’s can sub a black-bean patty for each of their combinations so there’s no need to feel left out from most of their selections.
You can upgrade to sweet potato fries with your burgers, but if you want something more hearty start with the mac and cheese fritters. You won’t go away hungry.
$20 gets you a home brew, appetizer and a tasty burger.
Hamburger Mary’s
5400 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60640-1210
Black Bean Burger
Guess what? There’s a Dairy Queen in the Loop! It’s true! At first I thought it was an urban myth, but a quick Internet search revealed that there’s actually more than one.
Still, I had to see it for myself. So, I set out yesterday in search of a chocolate dipped cone on my lunch hour. What could be better?
You have to understand that I come from a DQ family. A little bit of soft serve runs in my veins.
That’s because my dad’s car has a way of automatically steering itself into every DQ drive-thru it passes, and it’s not unusual for the server to know him by name or to have his order ready and waiting because he’s a “regular.” In fact, on family road trips, it was a criteria that every town we stayed in have a DQ.
A chocolate dipped cone on a hot day is a little piece of heaven to me. And the DQ downtown did not disappoint!
I splurged on a burger, some fries, and a drink too — all this for less than $6. It tasted great, the service was excellent (they brought out the ice cream first), and so was the company — I bumped into my friend Patrick who was there for his afternoon Blizzard fix.
At some point, a “Mister Misty” became an “Arctic Rush,” but DQ is still all it should be in the essentials. And a DQ in the heart of the big city? A find indeed!
Dairy Queen
436 S Wabash
(between Van Buren St & Congress Pky)
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 753-5456
Get directions
The Spa Cafe is no more and in its place is Lunch Rolls, which specializes in sandwiches.
The interior of the restaurant hasn’t changed at all since Tammy and I were there three years ago — even the tables are the same — but the menu is very different. I liked that there are still a number of healthy options. You can get your sandwich on a whole wheat house roll, in a whole wheat pita wrap, or you can skip the bread all together and have your sandwich fixings on a salad.
Fellow foodie @robking2520 and I split a smoked whitefish sandwich on a white lunch roll with a side of mac and cheese, and a Morrocan lamb sandwich on a wheat lunch roll with a side of grilled veggies. We were famished at the time, and so eager to get on with the eating, that we totally forgot to take pictures of our food before we cut our sandwiches apart. But don’t let my subpar pictures fool you! Both sandwiches were excellent. We liked the whitefish a bit better, but that’s because we both prefer white bread lunch rolls.
The sides were good too, especially the mac and cheese. I’m often disappointed with the runny, bland mac and cheese at fast food places, so this was a standout in comparison. Bread crumbs were sprinkled on top adding just the right amount of crunch and the cheese had flavor.
We also sampled the Tropi-Cola — a blend of ginger ale and coke. The result tastes startlingly like liquid bubble gum. I made my way through it but wouldn’t get it again.
Swing by Lunch Rolls next time you’re out and about in the Loop. It’s a great place for an affordable quick bite!
Lunch Rolls
112 W. Monroe
312-551-0000
Get directions
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