Restaurant Review: Chef's Bistro Burger - Chicago

Another Special Chicago Edition

Brought to you by work really. . .

I was asked to participate in a conference for work last week. While I often am hesitant to travel, going to Chicago for work is a "plus" compared to some other places. . . It's really not that far in terms of travel and the up side is that I can try new restaurants for my own personal gain.

There are always other sights to see in Chicago. I knew I was off to a good start when I hailed a cab from the train station to the hotel located on the Magnificent Mile and got picked up by the "Cowboy Cabbie". He proudly showed me the article he had laminated from the Chicago Tribune. I also found him on youtube but his cab has since been updated.

I guess when you get such a memorable ride to get to Chicago it's a good omen for a pleasant trip?

On the second night I was more of a tourist in Chicago when it came to dinner rather than the direct route to a wonderful restaurant the first night. The first night there was a plan and a guided tour to the Purple Pig. On the second night, I was with a group of conference goers which resulted in a wandering up and down the Magnificent Mile and a the surrounding side streets.

Our journey started with a stop at The Goat Tavern. Apparently it's a skit from Saturday Night Live. Now that I have watched this I can see the humor in the signage at the place. Unfortunately the majority of the group vetoed this place upon site although I got these photos. We were off again but not before one of our travelers was rewarded with a FREE cheeseburger for her walk because she looked very disappointed.

We then looked into the Michael Jordan's steakhouse but that was vetoed for a business dinner. I'm not sure how you would expense a 58 dollar steak? We were then off and found a cute Italian restaurant but when we mentioned that we had 9 folks in our party we were laughed away without a reservation. I know they thought, "tourists".

This is how we ended up at Chef's Bistro Burger kiddy korner from the Italian place. This was almost an immediate seating despite our big party but while this could have been a bad sign it really wasn't. this is a new place, apparently off the beaten path, which allowed us to sit outside.

There were plenty of beer options (not to be expensed to anyone's work, mind you) but the showcase items here really is burgers. Now I use the term "burger" loosely as they have a crab patty and gravlax (cured salmon) along with the obligatory veggie and turkey varieties. I chose a PBPJ burger which was beef with Pork Belly and Peanut Butter/Jelly and brie toppings. Now before you go pooh poohing the peanut butter, that's a staple at Green Dot in Detroit and it's heaven!

This burger was good but not Green Dot good. It was hearty but I didn't taste the jelly or brie which was a little disappointing. The fries were wonderful. I ordered them thinking that they were a side order but this was a whole dish. Think poutine. Visualize a generous portion of truffle fries that are good all by themselves but have a fried egg on top.

Now this is Chicago so maybe if I was there all the time this would be on my circuit of restaurants to revisit but the town is large and the time is short. I do have some restaurants I want to eat at again but while this was good I don't think it's going to be on my short list as a tourist.