Posts Tagged ‘Chicago’
Saturday, May 17th, 2008
Price: $2.89; paid – $1.39
Promotion: free chicken with drink-purchase deal
Location: 6900 N. Western, Chicago, IL 60645 (map); phone: (773) 274-6151
Rating: 2 out of 5 – forgettable
McDonald’s other all-white meat addition to its menu was supposed to be better than its crumbling biscuit counterpart (at least in my mind), but it managed to fall short while regularly listing for a dollar more than its breakfast-based brother. So how’d this somewhat larger sandwich manage that? Surprisingly, by not making itself more memorable with a crazy crumbly bun. The Southern Style Chicken Sandwich is simply bland and perfectly fits the description of forgettable.
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Tags: all-white, bland, bun, Chicago, chicken, dry, forgettable, lonely, McDonald's, meat, pickles, plain, promotion, review, Ronald, sandwich, southern, spongy, style
Posted in Reviews | 2 Comments »
Friday, May 2nd, 2008
Price: $4.29
Availability: 11 A.M. – 5 P.M., Mon. – Sat.; call to be sure
Location: 1724 S. River Rd., Des Plaines, IL 60018 (map); phone: (847) 699-8590
Rating: 5 out of 5 – great
Status: independent
Judging by the regular restaurant hours listed above, you can see how this decidedly non-chain establishment doesn’t really cater to the dinner crowd. Reports seem to indicate lines out the door on Saturdays, so the 5-10 minutes I might wait on any given weekday to make an order might appear quite reasonable in comparison. If the time (and fuel spent) driving out to this northwest suburb from the city only makes a trip out to River Road that much more doubtful, take heart: the Char Cheddar Burger at Paradise Pup is destination dining for this Snob, and it’s well worth your money.
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Tags: 1/3, bun, burgers, char, cheddar, cheese, cheeseburgers, Chicago, des plaines, Evanston, gooey, great, grilled, independent, medium, non-chain, onions, Paradise Pup, review, Skokie
Posted in Reviews | No Comments »
Saturday, March 22nd, 2008
Price: $2.05 for 1 Dipping Dog regularly; paid – $3.00 for 3
Promotion: National Corndog Day deal; buy more, save more
Location: 802 Dempster St., Evanston, IL 60202 (map); phone: (847) 869-0100
Rating: 4 out of 5 – good
Status: independent
If you noticed that new last line up there, this is the first time I’ve reviewed something from a non-chain restaurant here on the site. Not that I have anything against the more independent establishments out there; it’s just that I’ve tried to keep to items people can easily find outside of northern Illinois (and, particularly, the City of Chicago). I’ll make exceptions for the offerings I really enjoy, however, and the Dipping Dogs at Wiener and Still Champion certainly fit the bill with regards to my personal tastes.
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Tags: affordable, aioli, all-beef, Argentine, batter, buying, cheddar, Chicago, combo, corn meal, corndogs, curry, dipped, dipping, Dipping Dogs, Easter, Easter Eve, Evanston, garlic, good, honey, hot dogs, Illinois, independent, juiciness, ketchup, made-to-order, mayo, menu, mustard, National Corndog Day, non-chain, ranch, review, sauce, specialty, spicy, Texas, The Wiener and Still Champion, WASC, Wiener and Still Champion
Posted in Reviews | 2 Comments »
Friday, February 1st, 2008
Price: $1.29; paid – $0.00
Promotion: an expiring WC scratch ‘n’ win game piece
Location: 5940 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago, IL 60660 (map); phone: (773) 271-9638
Rating: 2 out of 5 – forgettable
Could a snowy night in Chicago stop a Snob from redeeming a game piece for free food? Are frites not fried? (All these negatives are getting confusing….) At any rate, as luck would have it, not many others were out and about this evening, so I got to taste of a fresh batch from the fryer — after a few minutes’ wait. Did I mind this slight delay (for the hottest crinkle-cuts I could find)? Of course not. But the high temperature would remain the highlight of the evening as even the new hotness couldn’t salvage a bland fry. Serviceable, but nothing I’d make a drive for — unlike those tasty jalapeno cheeseburgers. Now those would’ve really hit the spot.
Tags: bland, Chicago, forgettable, free, French, fresh, fries, hotness, promotion, Regular, review, snowy, White Castle
Posted in Reviews | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
Following the lead of its downtown and select suburban locations, McDonald’s has been rapidly changing the look of its northern Chicago restaurants as well. Over the last half year or so, location after location has been abruptly razed and rebuilt in stunning fashion, each barely finishing up just before the next one goes down.
And what’s the result of all this? More adult-friendly architecture (read: no more ball- and tube-filled playplaces for kids) and less of the plastic decor that so long characterized the House of Ronald. Not only does the eponymous clown look forlorn sitting on that cold bench outside, but that stone fireplace inside (see below) seems strangely out of place under those familiar Golden Arches. (more…)
Tags: adult, Chicago, decor, design, fashionable, fireplace, Golden Arches, Grimace, kids, lonely, McDonald's, Mickey-D's, nostalgic, playplaces, postmodern, Ronald, Snobbery, upscale
Posted in Snobbery | 1 Comment »
