fishie wrote:- Local iconic greasy spoon with simply amazingly large hamburgers -- Chubbies (619 high street). Cheese fries. I'd vote for Chubbies over Kewpies...although Kewpies has great rootbeer.
I had to go up to Waukegan for some business late this afternoon. Looking for something to do afterwards, the above statement caught my eye. While not exactly close by, it was certainly closer than if I had started from home. If I want to do something, I can make it happen whether it is really nearby or not.
Chubbies is north of Racine's harbor downtown on an east-west street. We arrived 15 minutes before their scheduled 8 PM shutdown. We ordered a hamburger to share when the waitress spread her hands unimaginably wide, then added cheese fries, their homemade chicken dumpling soup and chili to round off the meal.
The chicken dumpling soup was unmistakably homemade with spaetzle type dumplings and shredded chicken in a light chicken broth:
The chili was homemade as well with no beans, though a few stray macaronis:
We were almost finished when our Chubbie burger with mushrooms and mozarella arrived. Helen thought it looked like a 1960's pillbox hat. The homemade bun was not too big or too small, it fit just right to accomodate an exceptionally large burger:
We split the hamburger in half, which revealed it was cooked to medium rather than medium-rare as requested. We ate it as-is:
When I order this burger again, I would season it myself a bit more strongly with salt, pepper and lots of grilled onions. I might suggest they raise the heat on the griddle, then do a quick sear. I had a sense the cook was being too careful in cooking it.
The cheese fries were uneventful, they were steak fries with a melted American cheese sauce. I saw later they offered fried cheese curds, which I think would be more like dining in Wisconsin.
A family group arrived after us. I missed a terrific photo opportunity when the waitress went past balancing three plates of those enormous hamburgers. The owner was right behind with two more. I cannot imagine anyone finished their hamburger.
Since this burger was compared to Kewpies, these styles are so different they defy comparison. I really like Kewpies for the 1930's burger as well as its stuck in time defiance to change. Chubbies is certainly a novel burger, who does not charge an arm and a leg for the privilege. If you can convince them to tweak it as I suggested (or maybe there is another cook present when you visit), then it can be a satisfying meal and certainly something to talk about.
Chubbies Pizzeria
619 High St
Racine, WI 53402
(262) 637-1488
Regards,