It’s always fun when a little bit of the city comes out to the suburbs. I’m not talking about the buses with an ad for The Lorax attached, puffing black smoke in front of me as I drive Emmy to preschool. We’re actually not that far from the city. At just the right spot on Milwaukee Avenue, we can see the Chicago skyline. We do make it downtown every once in a while.
And now, just down the street from us is a new Billy Goat tavern. The owner of the original Billy Goat was famous (or infamous, depending on how you look at it) for putting a curse on the Chicago Cubs when he wasn’t allowed to bring his pet goat to a game. That curse still lives on, even though there have been attempts to break it by bringing a goat into Wrigley Field.
Remember the Saturday Night Live sketch with John Belushi that went “Cheezborger, cheezborger! No fries, cheeps!”? Yes, that was based on the Billy Goat.
So can a tavern that made its reputation in the big city make it in the ‘burbs?
Even though they are famous for not having fries, this location does. They were my kind of fries! You should know this about me…I don’t share my fries with anyone. They were crisp and crunchy on the outside, hot and potato-ey on the inside. The hamburger bun was really good, but its heftiness needed more burger, I thought. The burgers come plain, and it’s up to you to dress them up. Lettuce and tomato would have been nice, but onions and pickles were the only extras besides ketchup and mustard.
The service was fast, though, and there’s a movie theater across the street. The Billy Goat would be a good place to get a bite to eat before a show. I loved have the big windows all around the place, and it would also be fun to sit at the bar for a girl’s night out. Next time, I’ll skip the cheezborger and try the Greek salad.
