Slide into the Windy City

Part deux of the trip to Phoenix.

So I was looking for a place close to the office to grab lunch and a burger is always a good call. So I did a quick Yelp search to map any and all burger place within a mile of the office and I found the Chicago Hamburger Company.

The place gives you a taste of the Windy City in the middle of the desert. The Daly for Mayor Signs, the Bears, Cub and White Sox memorabilia adorns the walls and would make any Midwesterner feel the breeze is about to come off the lake at any minute.

The Chicago Hamburger Company, specialty is Original Windy City Slider®. In addition to the slider this Chicago style burger stand that serves Vienna hot dogs and polish, char broiled sandwiches, wings, salads, and daily specials. They have the daily specials listed on their website so check them out before you go.

The sliders are not White Castle and that is a very good thing. I had four double sliders with cheese and they were full of flavor and went down very easy. The buns really made the burger. Overall they four doubles were very filling and tasty. The cost is very reasonable $1.04 for a single cheese burger and $1.64 for a double cheeseburger.

The fries are top notch; the local magazine twice gave the Chicago Hamburger Company top honors for their fries. The fries are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

They also serve old fashioned milkshakes so I decided to have a coffee flavored shake for dessert. It was a good call for the 94-degree day.

This is a very family friendly environment, with kid menus, pinball games, including an old baseball Pennant Fever game and Pac-Man. The TV was tuned to WGN for Cubs baseball.

The Chicago Hamburger Company
3749 E. Indian School Road
Phoenix, Arizona
(602) 955-4137
Open Mon-Sat: 10:30am-8pm
http://www.chicagohamburger.com/index.htm

Oasis In The Desert

So when you travel for business you get to see very little of the places that you go you have to take full advantage of the small amount of time you do have to experience the city. I was in Tucson and Phoenix last week, so I did a little research and asked a few co-workers who lived in the area for a great place to eat and have drinks.

The staff at our Phoenix office sent me to neighboring Scottsdale to a steak house they said would fit the bill for a great night out. The steak house they recommended was Mastro’s City Hall Steak House and Bar. Mastro’s runs three restaurants in the Scottsdale/Phoenix area.

Let me start with this place is not cheap!! The $8-$10 cocktails are enough to startle any drink bargain hunter. If you are going to do the works appetizer, dinner and drinks bring you wallet. My guess it is $70-$80 per person depending on what you order.

I settled in for a couple of drinks before I had dinner. The drinks were well balanced and on the large side. The bartenders would adjust the drink to your taste on request with no hesitation. A little weak, a little they were there to make it right.

Just as I was finishing my cocktails the live music started. Traditional lounge music with a little rock and roll mixed into the set. I must have heard two or three Elton John songs that night along with Frank and Dean.

For dinner I had a spicy Caesar Salad. It had a little wasabi in the dressing. For dinner the bone-in Rib Eye and the potatoes wedges au gratin. The steak was sizzling and a little under-cooked, but the way they serve it continues to cook on the plate. The steak was more than I could finish, and I am a big eater. I have never had Au Gratin Potatoes served this way. Big potato wedges crispy and then served with enough cheese to make the California Cheese Board jump in glee as City Hall tried to save the industry by itself.

The meal was very good but even better was watching the Scottsdale Nightlife. I learned a new term on my visit: “Scottsdale Girl”. This is a young, very well dressed young lady out looking for a slightly, or in some case much, older man with MONEY. I saw a 60+ Bob Barker look-a-like cruise the bar twice before settling on a young lady sitting at the bar. The three carat square cut diamond ring on his hand was enough invitation for this young lady to accept a drink, titter for a while and then leave with Senor Barker.

As an out-of-towner being guided by the bartender and some locals, I caught on to the game of identifying the “Scottsdale Girls” in the bar. I could not have had a better evening being alone in a foreign town. Tomorrow a much different Phoenix Experience.

http://www.azeats.com/mastros/default.htm