Exchequer Restaurant & Pub

By my last night in Chicago, I thought I had run out of places to have pizza. I was wrong: Exchequer has pizza, and pitchers of beer, but also amazing burgers. Scouted by my friend Irene, it was the only restaurant in Chicago that could accommodate us on what just happened to be Valentimes Day. And I am glad that guys save pitchers and burgers for their mistresses because these burgers were fan-fucking-tastic. I'm sort of always tempted, even in the face of creative burger options, to go with my old standbys (mushroom and Swiss, or mozzarella if I'm feeling fancy). But I was lured in by the Bistro Burger -- black olives, goat cheese, and a Bistro sauce the ingredients of which I am totally ignorant of and don't care a fig about. And it was so. Good. The sauce, the cheese, the combination of it all, everything. Even the fries were perfect: crisp, shiny, salted. Look at that delicate pickle sliver. The whole thing was perfection. I guess I'm glad this place isn't in Houston because it would only be a matter of time before I was reviewing clogged arteries.

RATING: 94%