Saturday, June 25, 2011

Marquette Inn -- The Verdict

The $5 Burger Challenge had a less than impressive debut. As a starting point, we picked a diner that didn't have individual prices for its burgers. But the $7.95 prix fix platter, including soup and fries, seemed to be based on a burger with about a five dollar price point. And then, alas, there was the burger itself. Oh, Marquette Inn, how we wish we had better things to say. While we love your Chicago realness, the highlights weren't that high. "Generously portioned pickle slice. Above average soup. The lights didn't flicker." The burger harkened back to the grade school cafeteria. Putting aside the ontological debate as to whether a patty melt should qualify as a hamburger, at least it had more flavor that its plain jane cousin. Further, to recall the old joke, while the food wasn't great, we were also disappointed there wasn't more of it. The Burger Review Committee met in executive session to pass a special resolution to affirm that there should be more than a dozen fries in an order. Come for the atmosphere. Low 40; high 66; average 52.

Exhibit 19 -- Marquette Inn









Summertime $5 Burger Challenge


Last summer, we went on vacation. This year, we're trying something different. For one review cycle, we're limiting ourselves to burgers with a base price of about five dollars. Will we find values? Will we eat a lot of gray meat? Only time will tell.