It seemed appropriate to post this on a Tuesday, as it was a Tuesday many months ago that I fell deeply in love with the subject of this post.
It's no secret that I love garbage food, or as some people call it, "comfort food.” Or as nutritionists call it "plates full of heart disease and death wishes.”
My favorite death wish is the burger. Simple, warm, delicious. Like pair of high-heeled Crocs, a burger can be dressed up or down depending on the mood, but sexy either way.
Photo Credit: The best part of the internet.
If you told me a year ago that my favorite Crocs and I would be waltzing into a sports bar once a week I probably would've said, "is there a super good burger deal there?"
It'd be a pretty short, intuitive conversation. Point is, this post is about burgers.
SPOT: Public House is a sports bar in the heart of River North. The place is sprawling with two bars, lots of high top tables and a set of reservable event tables in the back that have taps at the table. I've always been curious as to how those work... is it booze by the hour? Do they track how much you've poured? Is it frowned upon to put your mouth directly under the tap?
Naturally, there are tons of big screen TVs showing whatever boring sports ball happens to be playing that night. A state of the art sound system blares top-40 hits over the chatter. And by state of the art I mostly just mean super loud.
Up in the top right of this photo are the weird tap tables. This is only one half of the restaurant, by the way. The other half includes a 360 bar and 800 more televisions. Photo Credit: Internet
Oh, also, there’s a DJ booth? Not sure why… I’ve never seen it in use, but maybe it turns into a dance club after hours.
Fun fact*: Public House is the room service provider for the Kinzie Hotel next door, which I think is a brilliant partnership for both. The Kinzie doesn't have to have a kitchen dedicated to room service, and Public House gets the added business from the hotel. High five, guys.
*Fun fact brought to you by my dad, who excitedly told me this fact four times when they came to visit and stayed at the Kinzie.
VIBES: To reiterate, Public House is a sports bar in the heart of River North, and it fully fulfills all of those stereotypes. The muscly bartenders are one vigorous martini shake away from Hulking out of their t-shirts (Were they out of larges? Not complaining, I don’t mind the view.), and most of the wait staff look like beautiful extras from a P90X video. I try not to make eye contact as I shove what must be 900 calories-worth of burger into my face. They all seem to be pretty friendly and will bring more napkins to the table while politely averting their eyes.
Wait staff vs. me Photo Credit: Internet
Something to note is that this place ALWAYS seems to have an event happening, meaning lots of tables are adorned with tiny reserved signs at prime dining hours. The bar is always first-come-first-serve, though, and I’ve found that if you hover behind a business boy who’s saddled up to the bar long enough, he’ll get uncomfortable enough to give up his seat.
GRUB: “Loud? Crowded? Sports? Lauren, I thought you hated all those things!” You’re right, human reading this, I do hate all of those things. So why I have I gone once a week for nearly four months?
The burger.
More specifically, the burger deal.
Each day of the week features a different special. Monday is cheesesteaks, Wednesday is tacos, but Tuesday… Tuesday is burger night.
Two beef patties topped with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and garlic mayo nestled in a Hawaiian sesame bun. My god.
BUT WAIT… There’s more.
Photo Credit: The Google
With this beautiful burger comes a mountain of crispy french fries and a Goose Island Green IPA.
And all of this. The burger. The fries. AND a pint of Chicago beer. Can be yours. For $10.
Ten US dollars.
Forty quarters.
Five two dollar bills.
I’ve been to restaurants in River North where I’ve paid $10 for each of those items individually (Yeah, one time I accidentally ordered a $12 beer. I don’t want to talk about it.), but on Tuesday… it’s all $10.
Now, this is an excellent deal in ANY city. My favorite burger night in Cincinnati was also $10, but didn’t include a beer. On any other night at Public House, this meal would cost you $22, which is about what I’d expect to spend on a sports bar dinner, but on TUESDAYS? $10.
Not only is this an amazing deal, the food is incredible. I’m almost mad to say it, since it’s a sports bar but it’s SO good. The burger is my favorite in the city. Probably top 5 of all time, too. The patties are cooked to perfection; juicy and delicious with melted American cheese spilling over the sides. An important detail that makes all the difference: The lettuce is shredded, which is how lettuce should be on a burger. Sure, it makes it a little messier, but it provides an actual texture difference that one leaf of wilted iceberg does not. The bun is soft but structured enough to hold together through the entire caveman-like experience, and the garlic mayo adds a subtle richness throughout.
Up close and personal with the burger deal. Mostly because I'm too self conscious about looking like an annoying millennial taking pictures of my stupid food, but here I am writing about it, so. There's that. Photo Credit: My shitty iPhone
This amazing burger experience is topped off with some of the best French fries I’ve ever had. Crispy, light, well-seasoned French fries that aren’t too thin (I’m looking at you “shoestring” fries) and aren’t too thick (Wedges are an exception to the too thick rule.). You can upgrade to parmesan garlic fries, dry rubbed fries or sweet potato tots for an upcharge, but I’m a traditionalist. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke, or whatever.
I will admit, it took some time for me to be on board with the Green Line. I’ve never been a huge IPA fan, but after several weeks, I have been Stockholm-ed into believing that it’s a great beer for this meal. It really is a well-balanced IPA, and while I probably wouldn’t throw a bunch back in another bar, the slight bitterness cuts through the rich flavors of the burger quite nicely.
Here's a much prettier version of a burger from Public House, though it's not the $10 Tuesday deal. This one looks like it's got chicken and some sort of fancy sauce. Still. You get it. ALSO... look at those fries. Photo Credit: Public House website
I have eaten exactly 0 other menu items and likely never will. I have also exclusively visited Public House on Tuesdays, and it’s unlikely that that will ever change. I mean… unless they move burger night.
FUN SHIT: If you make it through the burger deal and STILL have room left in what must be your gigantic stomach, they have cake shakes. Cake. Shakes. Boozy milkshakes/floats with an actual slice of cake on top. I’ve yet to be sad enough to order one, but I’m sure my day will come.
It’s only a matter of time.
Photo Credit: Public House's website
FEELINGS INGESTED: Sometimes I hold onto feelings through the weekend just so I can eat more of them on burger Tuesdays. Totally worth it.
OVERALL: Amazing, delicious burger deal. 10/10 will eat again. Probably tonight. Probably as long as I live in Chicago.
Please note that I am in no way a qualified food critic. I'm picky and boring and really like cheeseburgers. Take my opinions with several grains of sea salt.