Raised Bar, Chicago IL

It was a super cold night in downtown Chicago. Windchill at -10 degrees. We had a room at the Marriot Renaissance for the night. In town for the Interpol concert at the Chicago Theater, across the street.
Most of the time, I wouldn't dine at the hotel restaurant just because the prices and a lot of times, the food is good but not worth the $$$.
Throw that one out the window! I'm glad we were afraid to go out in the cold to scavenge for mediocre food. Nice and warm with a view of downtown Chicago. During the warmer seasons, the rooftop is made available. We started with Edamame and a drink. I had a Tequila based "Old Fashioned" I plan to stick with Whiskey or Brandy in the future. The Edamame, something I've never had before was delicious. When it came time to order dinner the choice was clear, a burger. Grilled beef, smoked bourbon pork belly, pickled slaw and butterkase (cheese) on a seeded brioche bun. Presented beautifully and cooked perfectly. What a burger! I'm thinking this may have been one of the best I've had. At least the top five.

4.75 of 5
Forget the price. It wasn't that high anyway. What you get is worth it. I took part back to the room and warmed it up later, still delicious!

Ok at Joe's K Ranch

A couple of weeks back I was having an all Cudahy day with my great nephews. (both are great and well, great) We went bowling at Motion just off of Packard Avenue. Unlimited bowling for two hours, shoes for $8. Milwaukee area at it's best.
Generally, when I'm out with these guys, it's a burger run. Why be any different this time, right? Quite a few places offering a burger in the area were closed on Sunday. The one place, Joe's K Ranch on Whitnall Avenue suggested they have a tasty temptation. In business since 1958, surrounded by industrial buildings, auto scrap yards, upholstery shops and just down the road from Ladish Co., the location must have seen Cudahy/Milwaukee during the boom.
The interior has been modified to accommodate larger groups but, the original bar area shows a vignette of what it may have looked like before.
We all ordered burgers. One stripped of almost everything, another with cheese and not much else. Mine came with the works, raw onions.
They are big burgers. 1/3 pound and I think that's after cooking. I got the haystack onions. They were good but not amazing. The burger, cooked almost perfect. A little pink. Seasoning was just enough. The bun was griddle toasted making it a bit more tasty.
Over all, it's good stuff. Price was pretty much aligned with current market pricing.

4 of 5
I'm not going to say it was the best, certainly not the worst. The atmosphere was a little to family dining for me. The large party room wasn't separated making it less cozy. That didn't make it taste bad. It just sort of took away from the experience.

Paradise Pup. Hot Doggy!

We were on our way home from a short trip to Chicago and decided that we needed to find an interesting (and tasty) place to stop for lunch. You might never guess what I was hoping to have, a burger. Well, my wife is down with that. So, a quick search along our path home produced a couple of interesting places. The stand out one was Paradise Pup on Des Plaines River Road.
Guy Fieri stopped by this funky little place during his 2nd season. He gave it two greasy thumbs up.
I agree. The building is tiny and the parking, at this time of year is a bit of a challenge.
Once inside, you see the magic happening. I felt like I was getting the insider's view of Santa's factory. The team of guys working the grill area had the perfect system to keep the orders moving. One of my favorite things was this huge pile of onions resting on top of the griddle. I would think they serve a couple of different purposes. One, to "season" the griddle and two of course, future toppings to a burger.
We went with the suggested Char w/Merkt's Cheddar plus "the works" which includes raw onions, tomato, pickles and mayo. We paired it with an order of Crinkle Fries. The only thing that I wish I would have done, ordered a shake.
A thick juicy burger, fresh seeded bun. The sandwich dripped from the combination of pickle, tomato and mayo. Make sure you have something under it to catch it.
Great taste. Seasoned but not over the top. Everything worked.
The price was decent. I think the total was $9.80

4.5 of 5
I would love to visit during the Summer and sit outside, sipping on a shake.