Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Rockit Wrigleyville


I've heard some rumblings about this the past month or so and UrbanDaddy just sent around a short update about the new Rockit venue opening in Wrigleyville at Clark/Waveland.

Most important to the Fiend is not only do I live within eight blocks of the new locale, but the menu also features the infamous Kobe beef Rockit Burger and truffle fries - an amazing dish I have tasted and passionately recommend, but have not reviewed just yet on the blog.

In addition, June is burger month at Rockit and in previous years they have featured some exceptional offerings each week. Once I am able to obtain an official menu of the selections I will post those as well, including a review if possible.

No word yet if the Rockitville location will be honoring the same promotion, but i'm assuming that is a given.

Rockit Bar & Grill
Wrigleyville
3700 N. Clark St (at Waveland)
Chicago, IL 60613
773-645-4400

Solaire: A Sophisticated Burger Buddy


Seldom will you find a better pairing than a burger and a beer, however if one is looking to add a little zest to their grilling adventures this season, a simple pop of the cork can easily raise your barbeque stock without limiting the desired taste.

Last Wednesday, the Burger Fiend was fortunate to attend a private dinner at the Hancock’s 96th floor Signature Room, hosted by the newest line of Robert Mondavi wines: Solaire.

While burgers weren’t on the menu this evening, a very fine three-course meal was served. My selections included: an oddly light and refreshing garlic soup with black-eyed peas, a superb 8oz. (might have been 10oz.) center-cut tenderloin filet, grilled to a medium-rare perfection, and a divine double-chocolate mousse cake. The steak was honestly one of the better tasting tenderloins I’ve had in quite awhile. Don’t get me started.

The real highlight of the evening was the wine pairings that went with each course. At the initial reception, a 2007 Santa Lucia Highlands chardonnay was served, and I was somewhat skeptical at first because I am not normally congruent with white wines.

I have to admit this particular chardonnay was extremely smooth, but not too sharp as one would typically find with a chardonnay. It had a very pleasant medium, round and plush taste, enough that I would recommend this to anyone who similarly does not enjoy whites.

As a huge cabernet fan however, I especially enjoyed the 2006 (and I believe there was a 2007 during desert) of the Central Coast cabernet sauvignon that was served. This is an elegant full-bodied cab sauv that I’m told will further improve with a careful cellaring of another eight to ten years.

A smile forms with this thought.

As a bonus, the Burger Boy got a little one-on-one time with the Solaire winemaster, Rick Boyer, who was on hand to detail the intricacies of growing grapes in its California region and how the unique weather conditions in the area are instrumental in the development of the flavors.

With the summer and grilling season ostensibly right around the corner (ohhh, thy beloved Chicago), Rick suggested pairing a zinfandel, grenache or syrah alongside a wonderful homemade gourmet burger. The syrah in particular would offer a medium taste with a lot of middle fatness on the palate with notes of vanilla, thus complementing the richness of the burger.

Once the weather breaks, I plan to take Rick’s suggestion and pick up a bottle or two, as well as to post some pics of my favorite custom burger creation and some recipes. I’ll let you know how the pairing goes.

Cheers to you and your wisdom, Rick.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

El Demonio de la Hamburguesa

(picture taken in Ronda, Spain)

No matter how hard the cravings started to kick in throughout my week and a half in Spain, I had to fight the urge to go into a restaurant and order a burger (hamburguesa en Espanol).

It just didn’t feel right: no matter how much I could justify the idea on grounds of research, it didn’t feel right considering everything I did was already was being monitored closely. Can you imagine the fodder I would have provided for a table of locals, watching as a confused blond American boy stumbles through the door and mumbles “quiero una hamburguesa, por favor” in broken Spanglish? I’ll drink to that.

I do have to admit the pictures of burgers shown on the menus often looked like a decaying grey patty of who knows what source of meat, so the temptation wasn’t exactly strong.
Not to mention Spain is currently regarded as the hottest culinary landscape in the world (four resturants in top 10 on S. Pellegrino 50 best in world), so I had plenty of other amazing food (vegetarian Paella!!!) at my fingertips to discover.

Next time maybe.

Hasta Luego, Bay-bee.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

JM's Madness Burger


Unfortunately I missed this offering because I just saw the below old post yesterday on Thrillist, but I wanted to give it props anyway for all its BurgerPorn glory.

Jake Melnick's Madness Burger

For $9.99 during every Tourney game, this 17-flatscreen restobar's offering a Miller Lite pint, fries, plus the sickest burger ever: a 9oz patty topped w/ fried egg, bacon, and pepper jack, with two grilled cheese sandwiches (one cheddar, one American) serving as buns. They're also giving away insta-redeemable $5 drink vouchers to everyone rocking gear from active Tourney teams -- so as usual, that Evan Eschmeyer throwback'll net you nothing.

Hopefully the good folks at Melnick's does this again next year, because I am there for the challenge, mi amigo. And hopefully my beloved Buckeyes decide to show up for the Madness next year too. That's another story altogether...

Jake Melnick's Corner Tap
41 E Superior St (at Wabash in River North)
312.266.0400

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

The Cherry Cricket




Mile High Mastication

I was in Denver last week at a convention and after the all-day affair I decided to unwind a bit and satisfy my gastronomic urge. Yup, I had a burger on my mind.

Not being familiar with the landscape, I did a quick Google search on “best burgers in Denver” and came up with somewhat unsatisfactory results. I chose the Denver Post review of some local favorites, however many of the choices seemed to be high-end sit down chain restaurants, or at least I assumed that judging by the psuedo-elegent names (you know...where "grill" ended with an "e").

One name that stood out and didn't sound like a chain was The Cherry Cricket, which to this suspecting tourist sounded like equal parts a dart game and Grindhouse heroine…therefore awesome. However, the moniker is partly indigenous to its area in the outskirts of Denver and home to a great self-titled dive bar that was very reminiscent of my favorite watering hole in Kent, The Zephyr.

I ordered the infamous Cricket Burger, which has garnered an impressive cult following over the years if you do a quick search, and the establishment itself was voted as Westword's Best of Denver 2008 Award for Best Burger Bar. The burger came topped with smoked cheddar and three strips of crispy bacon and I topped ‘er off with a healthy serving of ketchup.

My ravenous hunger took over and I devoured the burger in less than four minutes. Passersby can attest to this feat, but I will get to this point later.

Despite my raging appetite, which could have affected the judging process, I have to say the burger met expectations, but did not exceed as I was expecting based upon the hype. The half-pounder – perfectly cooked as ordered at medium rare – lacked the anticipated taste and was completely overpowered by the cheese and swine.

It wasn’t bad by any means, and I would definitely go back to try another concoction, but was slightly disappointing considering it was reportedly a smidgen away from taking the honors of third best burger in the nation by the Wall Street Journal in 2007. That’s a minute ago, yes, but quality shouldn’t be jeopardized over the span of two years.

My instincts tell me I need to give it a second chance however, so I’m definitely going to take it easy on my grading because I need another sample or two before I discount the establishment altogether. There was too much good going on in its favor and even post-experience I’ve heard nothing but good things from other natives.

What did exceed expectations was a craft beer (odells no.5) I enjoyed, which was dark, moody, extremely flavorful and a wonderful complement to the meal. And the scene of the bar seemed generally appropriate – group of buddies playing darts (I knew it!), fitting 80’s and 90’s power rock, an awkward couple on a date sitting on one side of a booth, two cougars trolling for frisky cubs and so on and so forth.

Special thanks to Kate and Mark for the hilarious initial inquiry about why I taking pictures of my food, the great conversations afterwards about sports and television, and ultimately for the transportation home.
This post’s for you.





The Cherry Cricket
2641 E 2nd Ave
Denver, CO 80206
(303) 322-7666
www.cherrycricket.com