A Pleasure To Do My Civic Duty (+ DMK Burger Bar)

I was summoned to be a standby juror at Daley Plaza this week.  Wah wah – no one likes being called for jury duty, but I'm glad it was downtown.

Since I was fortunate enough to never have my panel number called, I was able to finish sewing Mia’s Halloween costume, do two crossword puzzles, have a 1.5 hour lunch in Millennium Park, and take a nap.  At 3pm I was dismissed, given my $17.20 check, and then hit up State Street for shopping.  Not a bad day at all! I was pretty bummed that I didn’t have my camera when I had all this time to roam the city on a gorgeous day.  But I still enjoyed people watching at the Bean, taking in the skyline and having lunch in the warm sun. J

Later that night I caught up with a friend for dinner.  We were going to try La Gondola becauseI had a Groupon.  It was a Wednesday night, so I didn’t think I had to call ahead of time.  Well when we walked in to see this little place had like seven tables, I was very wrong about not calling.  We could get a table in an hour at 8:15.  No thanks. 

I thought to check out DMK Burger Bar since it was just a few minutes down Wellington. Burger bars have been popping up all over the city recently.  Here's my review... The hostess was going to seat us at this long high boy where there were like five parties of two seated.  Awkward. I’d prefer not to sit at a table like that when they’re not part of my group!  Thankfully, we were able to get a separate table just for the two of us.  There was no wait at this point, but when we left around 8:45, people were standing around waiting to be seated.

I ordered the #1 (aged cheddar, smoked bacon, charred balsamic red onions, BBQ sauce) and my friend got the #5 (prosciutto, fontina, pesto, red pepper).  We also went with sweet potato fries with lemon tobasco aioli and parmesan fries with truffle cream to share.  I think they also pride themselves on craft beers.  I do love burgers & beer, but Lil Mama couldn't bear letting 5oz of milk go down the drain. So I didn’t try any. L We didn’t have to wait too long for the food so that was a plus.  But I had to ask the waitress to fill up my glass of water on three occasions – one of my pet peeves when out to eat, negative. The décor was also depressing. The main wall looked unfinished - like cement colored with paint chipping.  I think that’s the look they were going for, but it’s not working. Lastly, it was WAY too loud in there.  We could barely hear each other.

Ok back to the burgers…The burgers were thin, which explains why they don’t ask how you want it cooked like most good burger places. But they were tasty.  I was super full afterwards, mostly because of the fries and their sauces - which felt heavy towards the end.  I wanted to ask for ketchup, but it seemed like that would be taboo. I wouldn’t recommend the parmesan fries since they were nothing special (I was very disappointed), but the sweet potato ones were good. 

Annnnnnd that was a really long post about a burger joint – sorry! I don't get out much, so when I do, I take it all in!  To wrap up, my friend said “That’s the best burger I’ve ever had!” I wouldn’t go that far. Or even near that.  But I may be back if I’m in the area.