Why is billy goat tavern famous

The food, for years, has been the same here. Narrator: This is Billy Goat Tavern, and it's been cooking up its legendary Cheezborger since the s. Step inside Billy Goat Tavern, and you're instantly overwhelmed with its history. The underground shop is covered in a collage of news clips, pictures of celebrities and politicians, and, of course, notes of high praise for its legendary Cheezborger.

Narrator: Billy Goat's burger is sandwiched in between two halves of a kaiser roll bun. In between the bun is a juicy, thin slab of fresh, all-natural beef and two slices of cheddar cheese. Billy: And then we get fresh bread every day, kaiser roll.

We toast this on the grill. So we just wait, you know, till they start to sweat, basically. Then you flip them. It's gonna be a nice sear, and that gives it the flavor. We put cheese on there. And these are the doubles, and you can make triples as well. But this is why we do a thinner patty, because you can do different-size burgers.

Narrator: To make for a more mouthwatering experience, Billy always recommends getting a double cheeseburger. Customers can choose whether to pile their burger with pickles, onions, or other toppings, but don't expect any lettuce or tomato. Billy: Well, we say the goat ate all those, the lettuce and tomato, so we don't have any of them. Customer: Bread is really good.

The pickles, relish on there. I like that you can throw your own toppings on there. Step into the Billy Goat by pulling open the heavy, red metal door with a picture of a billy goat painted upon it. You want doublecheez?!? Triplecheez for the big guy! Ordering at The Goat is not for the skittish. The sketch was originally written by Don Novello of Father Guido Sarducci fame when he was an advertising copywriter in Chicago.

As a result, the Billy Goat Tavern achieved national infamy. The burgers are great. The other part: the best sandwich pickles in the city. My advice: take some extra pickles to eat on the side. The Goat also serves up a mean ribeye steak sandwich, also a popular favorite with the regs. For those of you keeping score at home, the Billy Goat shuts at am, leaving the city goat-less for only five hours each night.

Not eating? Have a drink with the regulars at the wraparound, linoleum-topped, L-shaped bar where well-seasoned booze-wranglers slide bottles along the bar to thirsty tradesmen, journalists and adventurous tourists. Behind the bar, you can also purchase cigarettes and half pints of liquor to take back to work with you. Billy Goat Dark and Light are on tap, having replaced Schlitz which was served for more than 60 years. Some find it difficult to tell the difference between both Billy Goat concoctions, beyond their color.

Mike Royko would know. Cullerton Street , and several others. Additional duties: accepting bets on horses; preventing customers from falling asleep with head in toilet; admitting regular patrons through side door at am on Sunday so they could get over shakes and go to church; answering phone and telling wives that husbands had not been there all evening; appraising wristwatches for payment of drinks in lieu of cash; dispensing hard-boiled eggs, pickled pigs feet, beef jerky, and other gourmet delights; breaking up fights by unleashing a Doberman named Death and letting him gnaw on brawlers until peace was restored; and, finally, giving monthly cash-stuffed envelope to police bagman for assorted favors, such as overlooking a thirteen-year-old bartender.

Got winked at by a one-eyed woman in Marseille. Saw a man win a bet in Milwaukee that he could drink a quart of vodka in five minutes, and helped put him in the ambulance. Saw a man in Wyoming who was arrested for hitting a bartender on the head with a dog. Saw a pound lady bartender named Kitty in Logan Square knock a pound hillbilly unconscious with one punch to his brow. Dallas: Fine-dining chef serves fabulous, funky burgers and fries.

Billy Goat Taverns are still owned by the Sianis family. The food: While the menu at the original is not as limited as in the Saturday Night Live skit based on it, it famously does not include fries, just bags of chips, though some of the satellite locations do in fact offer them, and the menus are surprisingly varied.

At the flagship, choices include morning breakfast plates, an all-day slate of egg sandwiches, and several hot sandwich options, including salami, steak, ham, grilled cheese, hot dog, and a Chicago icon, Italian beef. The patties are very thin, cooked through and not especially flavorful, and even with the quarter-pound double, there is too much bread to meat. So a triple is not as odd of a choice as it might sound, and even the Home Run quad at half a pound is no bigger than many gourmet burgers out there today.

More: Beef substitutes set Texas-born burger chain apart. The Italian Beef is another Chicago specialty offered. The sliced moist beef with lots of spicy giardiniera relish is pretty good, more flavorful and interesting than the cheeseburger, and quite hearty, though it is soggy and messy to eat.

I visit a couple of the satellites, and the fries are surprisingly good and would be a nice addition to the menu at original location.