Goose Island Brew Co - Wrigleyville Pub Pt. 1

So, big announcement of the day: I am adding a new informational category, called How Much This Sucks for Your Wallet. It won't actually figure into the score until I figure out how to work it in. At this point, I'm just going to give you a rough idea of how much a meal somewhere is going to set you back.

I am going to give a review of Wrigleyville Goose Island, and you're just going to have to deal with me getting sidetracked with trip details.

So. Chicago.

I went to Chicago this weekend! It's amazing to me every time I visit how effing ENORMOUS it is (and how ridiculously ingenious their public transportation is). Made my 2nd visit to see Jackson Pollock's Greyed Rainbow at the Art Institute of Chicago. I never, ever get tired of that thing.

It really is a breathtaking city. I asked if we could go to Wrigley Field, because I've never seen it. For anyone who DOESN'T know, I loves me some baseball. (That's right! LOVES ME SOME BASEBALL. Bad grammar and all.) I'm an avid Cardinals fan, but I have somewhat fond feelings for the Cubs. They have a lot of history - and let's face it. They haven't been a threat in 100 years. At this point, the rivalry is more like grumpy family that love each other deep down (and if you want a team to hate, hate the Braves).

So, from the Art Institute, we got on the Red Line and rode across town to see Wrigley Field. I can't wait to go in the summertime, decked out in Cards stuff from head to toe! It's a GORGEOUS stadium. You can feel the energy of 100 years of history coming off of it. Crazy old wooden building. It felt like the Globe Theater, but for sports addicts. WOOT. So we walked down the street to Goose Island Brew Pub - Wrigleyville.

Nice location. Looks like the area would be trouble/a lot of fun at night.

I had 0 idea what to expect.

So here it is.

GOOSE ISLAND - WRIGLEYVILLE


Have I mentioned that I love going out to eat with friends? It is awesome when you order one burger and you actually get to try 3. And 3 appetizers. And drinks. Hee hee hee. I had a good time. Don't worry, I saved the tipsy parts until AFTER I'd eaten and judged.

The menu had...hm. About a dozen burgers. A really good selection. Some of them were very simple, and some of them were either strokes of absolute brilliance...or someone got drunk in the pub at 2 in the morning and went "HOLY CRAP, LET'S PUT PEANUT BUTTER ON A HAMBURGER." (I think the second is far more likely)

We ordered:
Appetizers: Tomato Stack, Goosedilla, and Fried Pickles
Burgers: Black Forest Burger, Pear and Brie Burger, Peanut Butter Burger (they came with fries)
Drinks: I don't remember what the guys ordered, but me and L.(no. Unless I have express permission, I will never utter someone else's name on my public blogs) had mimosas and 'Bellini Martinis.' I hear the beer is good; I wouldn't know.

How the Burger Stands Alone:

Oh. My. God.

Only a drunk baseball fan armed with a full kitchen and an endless supply of beer could come up with these. I'm going to review them one at a time.

The Pear and Brie Burger:

My StL Partner-In-Crime ordered this one. Pears, brie and carmelized onions. It was the first thing I tried. It was fairly good; The brie wasn't quite strong enough for my taste. I realize that the pears were meant to dull down the strength of the cheese, but they didn't compliment it the way that I thought they would. The burger, however, was cooked very well. 7/10

I really think this one would have benefited from the pears NOT being poached; it took too much of the flavor out of them.

The Black Forest Burger

This one pretty much gets a "oh my holy god, you must put this in your mouth. Now." Portabella mushrooms, herbed goat cheese, white truffle mayo.

I'm not usually a big believer in truffles. I think they're overpriced, and I don't think they deliver. Call me low class, if you will. I also don't believe that you have to use a $60 bottle of wine in your cooking. I think a lot of it is snobbery.

But truffles or no, goat cheese belongs on burgers. It was...brilliant. All of the flavors came together and just exploded in your mouth. The mushrooms were smooth and oaky. They were offset by the tanginess of the goatcheese (smoothed out a bit by the herbs). And...complain as  I might, the mayo made them work flawlessly together for a very zippy, cheesy, gooey burger. The burger itself was cooked medium well, and had a nice strong beef flavor with just the slightest hint of char at the edges. The bun was not super crispy (sad panda), but still warm and yummy.

A perfect mushroom and cheese burger. 10/10.

Wow. So much more to post. Part 2 coming tomorrow! (I'll include pictures of all of the burgers tomorrow)