Johnny Rocket’s, Loop

Johnny Rocket’s, Loop

Johnny Rockets has several locations in Chicagoland, and I stopped by the newest one today. The red carpet was rolled out at State and Lake, and although I rarely visit restaurants during their first month of operation (let alone their first few minutes), it was there and I was hungry so I figured what the heck.

Like Burger Bar (formerly Urban Burger Bar), this is another new joint that apparently has no fear of what Comrade Sula has recently predicted will be impending burger boredom. I tend not to believe that there's an end in sight for burger lust. As with falafel (and today I counted four places selling this Middle Eastern sandwich within one block of the corner of Broadway and Belmont -- and there may likely be one or two more that I missed), the appetite for this All-American sandwich is seemingly bottomless.

It’s been noted that singing servers are part of the deal, and it is somewhat unnerving to have people shimmying and clapping next to me while I’m eating, though it’s probably something that some people (e.g., kids) like and ultimately it’s the chow that matters, so I was willing to ignore that.

The “original” double burger looked promising, with decent browned crust on the outside, though I guess burgers are well-done by default, which would not be my choice, and the bun is too small for the two-third pounds of meat (really too much for my petite appetite).



The hamburger seems an eminently perfectible comestible, and getting the bun to burger ratio right is one challenge that I would have thought a place like JR’s would have met. As it was, the bun proved no match for the burger, disintegrating about one-third of the way through. I ended up eating the patties with fingers, sans bun. The meat, predictably, was pretty dry. Oddly, Chicago-style radioactive blue-green relish is sprinkled on the burgers, along with tomato, onion, mustard, pickles, lettuce and mayo, all standard. Can’t say any of the condiments added much except needed moisture.

Fries were a disappointment, which may be attributable to the first day shakeout.



They were not crispy. Now, I can accept non-crispy fries at some places (like Central American chicken places, where they’re apparently not supposed to be crisp), but for a place like this, I would think that crispness (rather than oily limpness) would be the goal, and maybe it is.

I sampled their chocolate shake, which was pretty good, and the chicken wings, which were serviceable though unremarkable.

About the atmosphere, they’re going for “nostalgia,” which means there’s a 50-60’s soundtrack, though flat screens displaying anonymous programs without sound vitiates that mood, as they do most moods in most places.

The hostess told me that both Halsted Street Deli (a last-resort food-as-fuel stop) and Johnny Rocket’s are owned by “the same people,” by which I believe she meant the same franchisees.

Johnny Rocket’s
177 North State
312.934.3354

I've always enjoyed a vanilla Coke from Johnny Rocket's on the rare occasions I am in a mall. That's about all I can recommend, though.

Don't give them too much leeway for first day shake-outs. In fact they've been open at least a month. I took one look at the fries and skipped them, but had a similar reaction to the burger. It struck me as really odd that a place that does burgers all the time would have a bun that couldn't hold up to the burger--and I was just getting a single patty. No reason to go back.

Ann Fisher wrote:Don't give them too much leeway for first day shake-outs.

You're absolutely right. I just went to the "grand opening," but turns out the place has been open a while.

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:I've always enjoyed a vanilla Coke from Johnny Rocket's on the rare occasions I am in a mall. That's about all I can recommend, though.

Hear, hear. Whenever I'm forced to go with a group of friends, I end up ordering a shake as lunch.

I've always loved their cherry cokes, though admittedly I have not been to a Johnny Rocket's in years. So that should be love*, I guess.

Johnny Rockets is decent, but nothing worth going out of the way for. I used to go to the Northbrook Court location which has since closed. They are also on some Royal Carribbean cruise ships.