Apollo Burgers (Closed)

-Got beef?
The Burgers of Chi (land)

When I drove by the sign for Apollo Burgers it caught my eye because I had never heard of the place before. Its pretty rare that this happens even if its all the way out in Bensenville. I pulled into the parking lot and it was a little less intriguing after peeking into the place and checking out the menu but I had been sucked in and was hungry for something quick and I don't do the McD and BK drive-thru's. The land of O'Hare can be pretty boring with its food selections but there are a few out there that get the job done. When you've eaten at as many roadfood joints across the country as I have you can start to develop a feel for whether or not a place is good just by looking at it and scoping out the menu and scene.


Aside from the "Char Broil" burgers there's nothing intriguing about this place

The charred burgers were a sign of something that could be good but everything else told me that this place was going to be nothing special and I was already starting to regret ordering after the fact. The place looked like an old Bakers Square and there was no hint of this place being anything more than average at best. There were no people inside, none in the drive thru and none ever came the entire time I was there. I was very suspicious. The menu had char burgers and a few special burgers and I went with an Apollo burger which was a cheeseburger with lettuce, pickles, onion, thousand island orange sauce, cole slaw and pastrami all on a sesame seed bun. The burgers are indeed charred and it made for a better meal than any fast food chain. Overall it was just a little better than average and the fries were frozen but the charred patty and interesting topping combo turned out out to be a totally acceptable lunch in this desolate area for food. I'll most likely never it make back but if your in the area you will enjoy this burger better than any of the chains around it. I had learned over on LTHforum that this style of burger is big in Utah. It may well be a Utah creation and there is even a chain in Utah called Apollo Burgers. Although there is no relationship between the Utah locations and the Bensenville, IL spot there is for sure a resemblance between the two. Unfortunately you will have to go to Utah to find out. Apollo burgers has just been closed due to the O'Hare expansion. Oh well you didn't miss much.


Apollo Burger

Overall Grade: C-

Strengths: If your going to use a pre formed frozen patty then you might as well char broil it. Even a handmade patty of the best quality of beef for a burger would taste better charred. Its also very reasonable for the price and quite filling.

Weakness: The whole pre formed frozen patty is enough of a weakness that its easy to exploit but I was expecting a POS burger so this was a tough call on the final grade.

Apollo Burgers
13 S York Rd
Bensenville, IL 60106
(630) 616-8677
CLOSED FOR GOOD

Al & Joe's "Home of the Submarine"

-The Sammy's of Chi

If Italian Subs are your thing then my bad for not getting to them earlier but I'm a one man team here folks. I have 50+ places Im waiting to post about as well as the ones I hit up as time goes on making that list grow bigger by the day. I am a huge fan of Bari and have been eating those sandwiches for my whole life and its time is coming but first is a spot that is relatively under the radar. Al & Joe's is literally at the end of Addison st. right before Manheim Rd in Franklin Park and has been there since 1960. I randomly drove by this place when I was waiting out a flight delay at O'Hare and upon seeing it, knew I had to try it. Its looks as though much hasn't changed and you get the feeling from the outside that its right up my alley. A&J's is a deli that doubles as a mini grocery selling convenience goods and booze opening at the crack of dawn at 5am. It also has a restaurant connected next door that serves pizza, pasta and beer where you can eat the fresh hand made sandwiches on site.


Addison & Manheim in Franklin Park, IL

Right in the middle of the store is the deli counter where they have a nice offering of sandwich's ranging from an Italian, mile high corned beef, meatball/sausage, chix-parm, pepper & egg and the usual deli cuts. They use fresh gonnella bread and the turnover rate is fast and the fresh sliced meats paired with the homemade giardinara is one of the best sandwich's in Chicagoland. They also have homemade dessert's like canoli in the display cabinet at the register. I have only tried the Italian and a "Mile high" corned beef which is the special on Wednesday's for $6 and they have a daily special everyday that includes a sausage and pepper, meatball and some other promising offerings. I haven't been disappointed yet, the pastas looked to be huge portions and the chicken parm also looked and smelled really good but I just found this place a couple months ago so I have only been a few times when traveling around O'Hare airport to pick up or drop off people.


Update (3/28) A&J Pepper and Egg sandwich is one of the cities best

On the way home one day I stopped and picked up a lg. Alpine sub (a favorite amongst locals) to compare with a large A&Js sub and there was no comparison. The alpine sub was half the size with half the ingredients that were less quality and the bread was much better on the sub from Al & Joe's as were the hot peppers. Great place to stop before or after a flight out of O'Hare. If your coming from the lake just drive down Addison til you get to the end where it meets with Manheim Rd (It gets cut off by a forest but you can go around either way and turn back onto Addison) As far as Italian subs go its right up there behind Bari but better than the rest I have had, the oil mixture is great with the homemade hot peppers and the meats/cheese are sliced fresh upon ordering and they don't skimp on ingredients here. For the adventurous eater I would recommend you try a "Herbie" which is an Italian sub with double the meat. They already pile the meat high so I cant imagine how big this behemoth must be. I'll tackle that next time I get to eat lunch there.


Italian Sub from Al & Joe's

Anyone that wants to bring some of their "secret sandwich sauce" which is just their homemade giardinara to a friend upon leaving O'Hare or back home with you to your pantry, they sell two sizes at a really cheap price with the smaller jar being only $2.29 and the lg jar $3.49. Its really good stuff some of the best in the city and the sammy is better than anything you'll find in the airport. I really like this place so start showing them some love when your traveling around the airport.

AL & Joe's Delicatessen
(847) 678-6788
10348 Addison Ave
Franklin Park IL 60131

The World's Greatest Hot Dog!

-The other Chicago-style Hot Dog: Depression Dog's

Did you think this was going be an article on Superdawg or Hot Doug's after reading the headline? Your dead wrong. Why is that whenever there's some sort of compiled list of the best hot dogs in America they always show one of those two places for Chicago's representation? nothing against superdawg or Doug and I love both of those spots and they will be featured here one day because every dog has its day, but Gene & Jude's is a legend in its own time and it's time is all the time. This is the best hot dog in America. Got it? Good. Located just 15 minutes or less from O'Hare in the suburb of River Grove it is a must stop for any tourist who wants to try the best hot dog on the globe and its been that way since 1946. I'm not sure when but they used to sit at the corner of Polk and Western in Chicago back in the day and at some point moved to the current location. Its right next door to one of those McDonald's connected to a gas station and idiots still go to CrApdonald's. Now that's a damn shame, I pity those fools.


The old hot dog stand from Polk & Western


G&J serves hot dogs, tamales, pop and punch...thats it.

If your a steady follower of the site then you should remember the post about Jimmy's which is my favorite hot dog stand within city limits. Check out the article for a full description of a Chicago depression dog. I love Chicago Style hot dogs but the reason we are the dog capitol of the world is because of our different types of dogs. Gene & Jude's is how hot dogs should be, the perfect example of a hot dog with its snappy encased meat on a steamy regular cheap bun topped with just mustard, chopped onions, relish and sport peppers and of course topped with fresh cut fries that are just divine. They are served in an assembly line so service is fast which means you need not worry about that line of people 30-40 deep waiting for a taste of heaven, a waiting line is a sure thing at Gene & Jude's.


The smooth running dog line at G&J

Folks of of my following, there is not a better meal on earth for under three dollars. The hot dogs are something like $2.25 and that includes a shitload of their fantastic fries. Demon Dog's in Lincoln Park is long gone (RIP) but thank god we still got Gene & Jude's. You gotta go with two hot dogs when ordering even if your not going to eat all the fries these dogs will leave you wanting more so order two so you don't have to wait in line again. I always get my usual which is a dog with everything and no relish and a hot dog plain. No I don't have the tastebuds of a six year old as far as that plain dog goes. I eat it with fries as the topping. Its just something I've done since my dad used to pay us off in Demon Dog's for yard work back in the day.


G&J plain hot dog with fries on top...mmmm.

I would estimate that on a busy day G&J's goes thru 2,500 hot dogs and its easy to taste why. The ambiance is the hot dog and fries, theres not much on the walls except for maybe a few plaques and articles about the worlds greatest dog.


The perfect hot dog


G&J fries go from being cut fresh and into the fryer in under 60 seconds

Gene & Jude's
2720 River Rd
River Grove, IL 60171
(708) 452-7634