The Beetle

A friend of mine commented recently that Chicago has so many good places for food that even the smaller places (as in less expensive and low key not necessarily physically smaller) have to amp up their food to bring in customers. I really have to agree on this point and I think that it's a good thing. I went to one of these "smaller" places recently, The Beetle Bar and Grill (formerly known as The Black Beetle), which is located in Westtown. A good bar and grill is going to have a good bar and they will also generally have wings and other grilled sandwiches like chicken and/or steak. The Beetle has all of this, I can speak for the fact that they have really good and inventive burgers, but they also have appetizers like nachos, fish tacos, and chili, a variety of pizzas, tacos, sandwiches, and a variety of salads for those people that prefer their food to have never moved on it's own. They also have a good beer list which is normally where people start when they go to a bar and grill. I started with a Stone Levitation Ale.

While the other food looks good, I generally stick to the burgers when I come here. They have six burgers all of which include bacon and/or cheese as well as a variety of other ingredients to make them stand out. They are also served with well seasoned waffle fries. I will usually get the Trucker (smoked bacon, aged cheddar, and a fried egg), or the Black & Bleu (lightly blackened with smoked bacon, caramelized onions, and crumbled bleu cheese), but I decided to go a little different this time and went with the Elvis which has smoked bacon, peanut butter, and fried plantains (as well as lettuce and tomato and a pickle on the side). This is actually a lot better than it might sound. What helps I think, is that neither the peanut butter nor the plantains are exceptionally sweet and all of the flavors can be picked out. All of the flavors, believe it or not, go together well. This is actually the second Elvis burger I have had this year and this is the better of the two. I don't know that this will be my goto burger when I come here again but it is good to know that I have some good choices despite how odd they may sound.