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Quick Bites: Luxbar, Chicago

Posted by Matt Jacobs, April 19, 2006 at 9:20 AM

While wandering Rush Street and Michigan Avenue in Chicago last weekend, I decided I needed a little pick-me-up. Seeing as this is a burger site, that meant sliders. I happened upon Luxbar, which is a fancy-schmancy bar/restaurant from the group that built Gibson's and Hugo's. Like so many other upscale restaurants, they have four different sliders to choose from.

I got a couple burger sliders, one with cheese and one without. The waitress did some recon for me and found out that they use organic ground chuck (20 percent fat) for the patties and that they bake their own sesame seed buns. She explained that the chef tried to use organic products whenever possible. Unfortunately, it didn't result in a spectacular slider. Although it was fairly juicy, it lacked any real flavor, which is even more disappointing in a slider. Restaurants that rely on condiments to provide taste is a growing pet peeve of mine.

Then again, I'm probably being a bit harsh. I finished both sliders quickly and would probably get another if I was there. But that doesn't mean these burgers were memorable, which is my usual litmus test. If I'm still thinking about it a week later, it must be a good burger.

Note: Sometimes doing a full review isn't necessary and sometimes we're just lazy. This is why we've introduced Quick Bites. We want to get you information on as many burger joints as possible and the new format should make that easier. Enjoy.

LUXBAR
Phone: 312-642-3200
Location: 18 East Bellevue Place (at Rush Street), Chicago
Price: $2.50 per slider ($.50 for cheese)

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