Hard Rock Cafe
WHAT: Hard Rock Cafe (Traditional American)
WHERE: 63 W. Ontario St.
OUR RATING: Chance It!
(hardrock.com)
The Hard Rock brand is legendary and iconic. In practically every city in America, there’s a Hard Rock something, and Chicago has both a cafe AND a hotel, so it must be a pretty rockin’ city. If you’ve been living under a (hard) rock for the last 40 odd years, Hard Rock Cafe was founded back in 1971 in London. With walls plastered in rock n’ roll memorabilia, it’s a bit like dining with the stars (or at least in a celebrity bedroom while the owner is away).
Storefront City doesn’t usually go for tourist traps. In fact, we tend to vehemently eschew them. However, we were invited to the Hard Rock Cafe to try some appetizers and drinks, and couldn’t pass up the opportunity. So, put on your tourists’ caps Chicago, here we go!:
Adam: Striking and outrageous pop-decadence is the best way to describe Hard Rock Cafe. Here, a guitar used by Eric Clapton, over there a Braille manuscript from a Pepsi ad used by the one and only Ray Charles. The list of musical artefacts is endless and so it’s definitely a great place to bring any serious music fan or even just the casual listener.
(hardrock.com)
But, we were here to try the food and sip the drinks, so I’ll start there. Hard Rock Cafe has two bars: one on the main level and one on the balcony overlooking the ballroom. I tried drinks from each and was impressed. To get a good idea of the variety to be had (they have an array of beers on tap, including Guinness and Shock Top, as well as the standard wines etc.) I tried a couple of different cocktails. The gin and tonic, prepared with Schweppes Tonic Water and Beefeater Gin, was actually of rather disproportionate ratios. I know it’s very hard to mix a G+T on the fly, but please never add as more gin than tonic. It’s just weird. That being said, it was Beefeater’s, so it can’t have been that bad. Later in the night, I wanted something a little different to test their bartending skills, so I initially set out to order a mojito, only to find that it wasn’t on the menu that night. So, trepidatiously, a cosmopolitan was ordered, just to see if they could get it right. And, lo and behold, they succeeded! Apparently, one can fail at the easy and succeed at the more difficult.
(hardrock.com)
And then it was onto the food. Tupelo Chicken Tenders were first on the menu. Not necessarily my idea of good food, but they were actually pretty darn tasty. Served with a honey-mustard dressing, they could easily sate the appetite of most hungry of gentlemen. Next, it was onto the two pizzas – the margherita and the portobello and caramelized onion. My preference was with the portobello, as the cheese combination of mozzarella, parmesan and romano was a fantastic compliment to the sweetness of the onions. The margherita was pretty standard fare, with the nice addition of caramelized garlic to kick it off.
My last dish was of Sante Fe Spring Rolls. Stuffed with spinach, black beans, cilantro, corn, jalapenos, diced red peppers and Jack cheese and served with Chipotle Ranch dressing, Southwest America meets East Asia was actually a highly successful affair, and I would definitely try this again.
Alicia: Before you walk through the doors of the Hard Rock Cafe you know it’s corporate and touristy, and thus you’re probably paying a bit more than you should for what you get. I get the same feeling when I walk in there as when I walk into the Rainforest Cafe right down the street, or any of those other big restaurants in the North Loop. But that’s okay. I was prepared.
(hardrock.com)
In all honesty, for such a touristy spot, the Hard Rock Cafe actually has pretty fair prices and a good selection of your classic Chicago American cafe food. I enjoyed some fresh and classic ceviche along with one of the better-prepared white wine spritzers I have had in the city. But you don’t really go there for the food. You go there for the ambience and the live music – that’s what the places sells itself on. So if you have some friends in town, order some drinks (perhaps even something with their Fireball cinnamon whiskey, a first for me – but perhaps too sweet), and enjoy some live entertainment.
(hardrock.com)
Final Thoughts: If you’re from Chicago, you don’t have to make a pit stop here, but if you’re ever invited to an event or want to host one for your company, this is a very expansive and well-thought out space, with a very Chicago feel that will be inviting to tourists and Chicagoans alike. If you don’t get a chance to walk through the doors don’t fret – you can check out their website to get a 360 degree view.