My Queen-dom for a good burger!

A good burger is hard to find. At lease we haven't found it yet in the Midwest. Dave and I are still desperately seeking a good burger in Chicagoland. For the past six years, we have trekked from local burger chains, mom and pop burger joints to fine restaurants hoping to find that one special burger that will ignite, excite and make us salivate for the next bite. No luck yet.

When we left sunny California six years ago, we also left behind these beloved burgers:

Dave's favorite burger is a Fatburger (no relish!)

and I love a simple In-n-Out cheeseburger (double double, please).

Why are these burgers indelibly imprinted in our memories? Why can nothing else seem to compare to these tummy-titillating beauties?

When we first moved to the Midwest, we were full of hope that our burger quest would yield a burger we could love and write home about with raving reviews.  As time passed, we remained optimistic...surely there has to be a good Chicago burger...we just haven't found it yet...we kept telling ourselves. Now, six years in, our "glass half full" outlook has changed dramatically. We are doubting that we will ever find a burger for which we can drive out of the way.

Of course, Chicago has good steaks. Italian beef sandwiches. The Chicago dog. Deep dish pizza (delish to some-- but DO NOT tell anyone in Chicago that this writer prefers NY style thin crust pizza)! But no great burger?

Case in point: Several months ago, we received a full color flyer in the mail with bold-type headline of "Voted Chicagoland's #1 Burger!" and other shining recommendations from The Chicago Tribune, West Suburban Living and Daily Herald printed all over the mailer. We thought, At last we have found the best Chicago burger! And it's almost close by in Geneva (a suburb west of Wheaton about 11 miles away). We set the flyer aside, promising ourselves that we will make some time to visit Country House who boasted the best burger for many years running.

Note to self: Can a good burger be found at a place called Country House? Dave had high hopes, but deep down I doubted that we would find it there. However, the flyer did boast other unique burgers on their menu such as Buffalo Burger and Ostrich Burger. This restaurant must be devoted to burger artistry, especially if they have choices like these!

For lunch last weekend, we flipped a coin between going to lunch at the Country House or Domo 77 (Japanese steak house). Country House won the toss fair and square, so best Chicago burger, here we come! Packed up the kids and headed to Geneva, passing some rural fields along the way. Our expectations were mixed but I think we both secretly hoped that we would find that holy grail of the Midwest burger.

The acclaimed burger is called the "Country Burger" and is described as "Award Winning 1/2 pound USDA Choice Chuck, Char Broiled to order and served on Bavarian Dark Rye or a Sesame Bun with Lettuce, Tomato, Pickle and Coleslaw (on request)." Nothing fancy. Which is ok, as long as the burger is GOOD. Dave orders it and we both agree to share each other's food (I ordered a pastrami sandwich on pretzel bread).

First off, the service at Country House is deplorable. I suppose one can put up with bad service as long as the burger is darn good (at this point and out of desperation,  we are willing to sacrifice good service for a decent burger)! So, drum roll please...

...the taste results for the Country "Award Winning" Burger is, how shall I say it, JUST PLAIN AWFUL! The meat was chewy and the bun was blah. The tomato and lettuce were sorry looking and wilted. Nothing about this burger was "award winning" at all. Even my pastrami sandwich was seriously lacking--the pastrami tasted like it was a week old. Thinking back, when I decided on coleslaw as my side dish, the waitress had said "Good choice!" So I tried it and then I nearly spit it out. The coleslaw was drowning in some sort of mayo sauce and was just plain gross. Needless to say, this will be the last time we eat at Country House.

Yet again, Chicago fails to produce a winning burger!

But...I have learned something. As the old saying goes, "When In Rome..." Chicago is not Rome, but Chicago fast food is famous for the good ol' American hot dog. I can say that the Chicago Dog, served at even the most humble roadside cart, is the best dog on Earth. Maybe I need to quit searching for a burger in Chicago and settle for the tastiest dogs. Ok, give me a dog with pickle, tomato, relish, onion, celery salt, and hot peppers. (Dave--you can have the mustard, I'll take ketchup)!

Day-tripping to the city

Once a year in summer, another mom (or two) and I take our brood for a day trip to downtown Chicago. Normally we take a 45 minute train ride from the suburbs to Ogilvie Station where we catch a free trolley that tours the city with pick ups and drop offs at various tourist attractions around town. This year, we opted to take the car instead as we have found from previous excursions that it has been a hassle to get tired little ones to the train station at the end of the day. Especially now that our kids are stroller-free, we imagined ourselves having to alternate carrying one child after another, hearing the constant nagging pleas of "I'm tired!" or "Carry me!" all the while hustling to the station to catch the 4:17 p.m. train. Of course, we're lugging along a backpack or large tote that feels like 50 lbs full of "necessary" kid items like snacks, drinks, changes of clothes, towels, sunscreen, wipes, My Pretty Pony, Barbie doll, and so on. Although the train ride is part of the experience, we decided to make our lives a little easier this time around.

After shelling out $14 for parking (actually a pretty decent rate compared to an upwards of $30+ elsewhere in the city), we unload the kids and make a short trek to our favorite destination--Millennium Park. A lovely park in the middle of a bustling and amazing city...so, come along on our day-trip. Be forewarned, however, there are many photos to follow!

I love the juxtaposition of hard lines of a cityscape and softness of grass and flowers (and kids).

In the summer, there are daily noontime free concerts or special programs on the stage of the Pritzker Pavilion. Today we listened to an orchestra rehearsing for the Grant Park Music Festival. The music soared through the pavilion and throughout Millennium Park.

We HAVE to stop at Cloud Gate (aka "The Bean") and make silly faces into its mirror-like surface. This 110-ton elliptical sculpture measures 66-feet long by 33-feet high. It is "forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates and reflects the city's famous skyline and the clouds above." There is "12-foot-high arch that provides a "gate" to the concave chamber beneath the sculpture," where you will find tourists touching the sculpture and photographing their images reflected back from a variety of perspectives. The kids never tire from looking at themselves in various poses. I love that this sculpture is so interactive!

A quick stop inside the Family Fun Festival tent where there are a variety of activities for children--hula hoops, jump ropes, art and craft projects, musical performances, and simple wood blocks (it's amazing how children gravitate to this section and spend so much time erecting different towers and buildings out of these basic wooden rectangles). Liam created this tower, which he wanted to make taller than himself. He succeeded!

After lunching on hot dogs from a street vendor ("Chicago Style" hot dogs must include toppings of pickles, onions, tomatoes, hot peppers, and celery salt--so good), we walk to Crown Fountain. Another interactive sculpture/fountain that consists of two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool (not really a pool). The towers project video images of Chicago citizens (a collection of faces taken from a cross-section of 1,000 residents) which "refers to the traditional use of gargoyles in fountains, where faces of mythical beings were sculpted with open mouths to allow water, a symbol of life, to flow out." The Spanish artist, Jaume Plensa, "adapted this practice by having faces of Chicagoans projected on LED screens and having water flow through a water outlet in the screen to give the illusion of water spouting from their mouths."

The Crown Fountain is the highlight of our day-trip. It is usually very crowded during summertime but you can catch a good day during midweek when it is not too bad. Kids (and adults) love to splash around, run up and down the "pool" and wait for water to flow from the "mouths" at various intervals. When sunlight hits the splashes of water made by these gleeful children, there is a feeling of pure joy and delight as if heaven itself is shining down on them, just for them.

How better to top off the day than with ice cream?

Walking back to the parking garage, we take a quick detour and walk over the Nichols Bridgeway, a pedestrian bridge that "connects" Millennium Park to the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago. This newly constructed bridge rises above the Lurie Gardens and crosses over Monroe Street, leading to the third floor of the Modern Wing (opened to the public on April 16, 2009). We are able to see some amazing views of Millennium Park, Chicago's skyline and Lake Michigan.

Atop the Modern Wing, there is an outdoor terrace with more breathtaking views. Rotating art installations include a number of chair forms/sculptures by American artist Scott Burton.

What an amazing day we had! We look forward to our next day-trip!