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If you have been wanting to try Custom House this is the time to do it. I will definitely go a couple of times this month for this special. I was forwarded this today and thought I would post. Please move if not in the correct topic.

CHICAGO (January 6, 2008) – In celebration of the New Year, Custom House (500 S. Dearborn St.) is offering guest a wallet-friendly dining options for a delicious, midday meal.

From Monday, January 5th through Friday, January 30th, patrons can indulge in the award-winning Custom House Burger for only $5 (excluding tax and gratuity). The robust, mixed media burger (made of ground skirt steak, sirloin, pork chop, short rib and flatiron steak) is topped with caramelized onions, house-cured bacon, and house-made steak sauce served a top a poppy seed and fennel bun.

Custom House
500 S Dearborn St
Chicago, IL 60647
312.523.0200
www.customhouse.cc

Thats the best news i've heard in months. I love custom house. I thank them for convincing me that brussel sprouts is delicious.

what advertising spin wizard came up with that term?

Be sure to try this mixed media flat-top grill quiche

I think Mixed Media Burger would be a great name for a rock band.

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"A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something Brussels sprouts never do."
-- P. J. O’Rourke"

just curious, what was your source on this?

it's not on their site and can't find anything in google other than a reference to this thread.

was it in an e-mail they sent?

your title says lunch but their text says midday.... are there hours?

Called to confirm. $5 Burgers (regularly $14), 11:30-2:00, all month.

Seems a smokin' deal. Will be trying soon.

Note that Custom House is at:
500 S Dearborn St
Chicago, IL 60605
312-523-0200

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I don't know what you think about dinner, but there must be a relation between the breakfast and the happiness. --Cemal Süreyya

I got this from a PR company. I will post good deals whenever I get them. I will definitely be going there next week.

Thanks for correcting me. I got the zip code from the PR release.

Oh man, now I don't know if I should go there, or the Macy's ramen place tomorrow... This burger sounds like a much better deal than $10 ramen though...

Does anyone know if it is only weekdays?

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What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
-- Lin Yutang

Yes. Custom House is only open for lunch Monday through Friday.

If anyone wants to have lunch at the Custom House, I'm up for it! Sometime next week? Say Jan 14th? at 12 noon?

Should I post this on the events board?

Bad news at Custom House.

REB and I made a reservation for today to enjoy their $5
burger special. FiL joined us for lunch.

We were happy, upon reviewing the menu, to see that $5 got you both a
burger and French fries. As we were deciding what to order in
addition to the burgers, the server stopped by to take our drink
orders. Then, he mentioned that they were sold out of
burgers. We stated that we'd come in specifically to have the burger special.
At that point, he directed us to their $24 fixed price lunch menu as an
"affordable alternative" (?!!). A bit flabbergasted, we sat in silence for a few
seconds. The server then asked if he should wait to put the drink
orders in. (Basically inviting us to leave, if we didn't like it.) We said yes, and
he left us to decide what we should do.

Our reservation was for 12:30 p.m. - - not exactly at the tail end of
the lunch rush. Custom House was more than half empty, and yet they
were out of burgers. We decided that we didn't feel particularly
welcome, weren't planning on a $100 lunch, and walked a few blocks
east to Cafecito.

I understand that mistakes happen. A bunch of folks came in and ate
all of the burgers -- fine. That's not what ticked us off. What was baffling
was that they made no effort to convince us to stay. Nothing, other than an
obviously half-hearted "sorry" and a $24/pp lunch, was offered as a
concession.

In their position, I would have offered to substitute a similarly priced item
from the menu (i.e. $13 pork belly sandwich) for $5, or half price,
or a complimentary appetizer. Something. We were all psyched for
burgers, but could have easily been convinced to try something else.

In the end, we left Custom House with a bad taste in our mouths.

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I don't know what you think about dinner, but there must be a relation between the breakfast and the happiness. --Cemal Süreyya

Sounds like you left with no taste in your mouth...

As someone who has worked both in restaurants and in sales, I will never understand how such a simple thing like this can be bungled at a place that, through its pricing, should provide a very high level of customer service. As one of my former employers that I have always respected and maintained a relationship recently told me, "People think that it is hard to take care of the customer.... that should be the easy part. You either have that sense or you don't. It is the details behind the scenes that should take 90% of your effort. If this isn't the case, you are in the wrong business." Sage advice if ever there was...

I can understand that a server might not get this right but the lack of proper guidance of the waitstaff by the FoH management in a situation like this is unacceptable. Swapping out a different $5.00 sandwich choice might effect food cost by a few points but would create a huge amount of goodwill by any savvy client.

Not only did the host see us leave, she retrieved our coats for us. It isn't as if we quietly left. Both our server and the host knew we were leaving without eating.

Thanks, Stagger, for confirming my strong feeling that something should have been done. You don't offer $5 burgers, seat folks, and then ask them to spend $24. And, yes, had they offered another sandwich choice we would've been appreciative and had the opportunity to enjoy and speak highly of the food.

Ronna

I love Custom House, but their FOH can be really maddening at times (e.g., I don't think I've ever been seated on time for a reservation there).

_________________
-Josh

An amuse bouche at breakfast is called a Bloody Mary - Scott Manlin

This is very poor form. As a business, you shouldn't create the impression of a "sham" to get people in, then fail to deliver. If they "ran out" by only 12:30 and the place was only half full, it implies they only intended to make a few of the hamburgers. Whenever their quota was reached, that was it. Had you arrived at 2pm and heard they were out, that's a different story.

Better not to even have an offer like this than to offer it and run out after 30 minutes.

I also stopped by today with camera at the ready about 12:45 for lunch with a friend.

Sold out! Even though there was a gent at the bar noshing on one. Sure looked good!





Blah, blah, blah...

Strolled over to Epic Burger and they were at top form! Nice crust on the burger, juice running down my arms, hot patty, cold toppings, nice fresh bun. Light on the seasonings but that was easily remedied with the salt and pepper shakers at hand.

Actually was very good! What more could i ask for?

That will teach Custom House!



Cool! A Wednesday! Maybe if we could make it a little earlier to beat the lunch rush.

Maybe bring 20 of our closest friends?

Edit: Doh! Calendar Challenged!

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"Make Lunch, Not War" ~ Anon

I work nearby and was considering stopping in for an extended lunch sometime soon. I guess I'll be calling first, or depending on what others have to say about their experience, avoiding it altogether.

Panther saw someone eating a burger at 12:45, but RAB & REB were told at 12:30 that they were sold out...

Maybe they only had 1 or 2 left, but not 3? Something sounds suspicious, but whatever. I was actually thinking about those burgers for lunch today as well, but now I'm glad I didn't go. I don't care how good their food is, I refuse to patronize any business that would be so arrogant and deceptive.

BTW, on what planet would a $24 lunch be considered affordable? We haven't hit hyper-inflation, yet!

Were they out of meat? A place called Custom House should be grinding their own, so can't imagine why they should be out of burgers. Especially since the place has exactly 2 sandwiches on their lunch menu.

Wow, RAB & REB! What a stunner. Why on earth wouldn't they just offer you another lunch -- any lunch -- for $5 and chalk it up to bad planning on their part? And frankly, as was posted above, they should have been able to simply grind more burgers on the spot. For a place that's menu is focused on meat, that seems like a complete no-brainer.

Such an egregious gaffe at a restaurant helmed by a Beard Award-winning chef seems too ridiculous. It does make one wonder if the 'running out' is somewhat calculated -- especially because you were there at 12:30 and the restaurant was only half-full. I'd be curious to know if this has ever happened to anyone else, because if it has, it would certainly be worth noting. But even if the problem occurred because someone at Custom House effed up royally and the incident was merely a fluke, the way it was handled was completely bush-league, IMO. If, otoh, only a set number of burgers are served during each lunch service, that should be stated by the restaurant up front, very clearly, as part of the promotion.

Perhaps it would have been tough for them to absorb the cost of 2 'other-than-burger' lunches by offering them to you for $5 each but if the goal of this 'promotion' is to gain more customers, what's the point in offering it and not coming through? While they may have been "right" in coaxing you to leave, it was obviously a counter-productive move. Not only have they not gained you as happy customers, they've completely alienated you. Fantastic promotion!

I've had great meals at Custom House in the past but this is the kind of thing that would really make me hesitant to return.

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

I got there at 1PM and was told (after being seated) that they had only just sold out of burgers two tables ago; that is, we had *almost* got there in time to get our burgers. I also saw some fresh burgers on some tables when I walked in. Perplexing....unless some of those folks had *reserved* their burgers. Go figure. The place was less than half full. I don't know when this mad burger rush must have happened.

I basically received the same treatment described by others. I did get apologies, but no real attempt to try to keep us there. This is particularly surprising since, apparently, at least two other tables (from people on this board) had already walked out.

When I stated, "You ran out of ground beef and pork!?!" I was told in a very straightforward way that their "high quality" meats just couldn't be purchased at Dominick's. Real classy yo! Couldn't help but feel that I experienced a bit of ye old bait and switch.

Wow, this thread is enough to turn me off of Custom House for good. I dine out a lot for work, usually in the 2-3 star category. I've been to CH maybe 6-8 times in the last couple of years. Food, in my view, has been consistently good, never great. The location is convenient and the menu usually has some interesting choices. But even at full price, nothing about this place has ever been good enough to justify such an attitude. Why invite folks for a $5 burger and then show such contempt when they show up to get one? (For the record, I did not go for this promotion, but I was planning on it before reading the posts above.)

I remember that David Burke's had a similar $5 burger promotion in November. I had one, no problems, good stuff. I never heard of anyone else having problems either. I suppose this means DB gets their meat at Dominick's, huh?

I find the contrast between CH and Spring interesting (same chef). I was a big fan of Spring for its first couple years (2001-2002 ish, I think), then thought it went into a slump. I've been back a few times in the last couple of years and it is back at the top of its game IMO. But the difference in the attitude of the staff relative to CH is huge. At Spring they are welcoming, convivial, totally professional. At CH, they are constantly trying to upsell, push, sides, etc., and the attitude is a bit distant at best. Maybe it's the nature of the different menus, I don't know. But it seems like CH needs some serious attention from the chef pronto.

January's a long month - has anybody tried to call Custom House to see what they have to say? Certainly nobody wants a repeat of what's chronicled here, but it's entirely possible that the planets aligned and only the small of brain were working on this particular day.

I'd be curious if they spin the situation or if they offer a legitimate explanation (which, in this case would need to be something like "Gee, somehow we screwed up and scheduled only the small of brain that day, come in and have a burger on us, or a free drink with your $5 burger or our undying gratitude and a big fat kiss on the lips for not writing us off for sheer bone-headedness.")

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No guts, no glory.
http://www.chicagonow.com/quips-travails-braised-oxtails
http://quipstravailsandbraisedoxtails.blogspot.com/

Know what I'd do in this predicament? I'd order the most elaborate and expensive items on the menu, and when the check came, explain rather diffidently that I'd just run out of money 15 minutes earlier.

As a matter of fact, I did email McClain this morning. I would like to hear how he and his team could have let this happen, or if they see the situation in exactly the same way that some of us do.

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

Data Point: I went to Custom House with a friend on Thursday for the $5 burgers. We arrived around 12:15. Placed our order and got two burgers. While the service was quite slow, it seemed that burgers we still being delivered to tables when we left a little after 1:00. We sat in the lounge area, which was maybe 75% full. Didn't see how full the rest of the place was. In terms of the burgers, they were good. Not mind blowing perhaps, but for $5 with fries, I can't imagine a better deal downtown. I hope the kinks get worked out and folks can take advantage of this great deal for the rest of the month.

We also emailed Shawn McClain. I really enjoyed my earlier visit to Custom House and hope that we will be able to report back with a happy outcome.

I'd really like to try Custom House again in the next few weeks. But, given the cold shoulder we received on Friday, I'm hesitating.

Ronna

I ended up having lunch here today. I made an attempt to get there by 12, but got there at 12:30. I sat in the lounge with 2 others. The restaurant was pretty much empty. When the waitress came over with the menu she highlighted the $5 burgers which were printed on the menu. So, I didn't hesitate to ask if they were still available if she highlighted it. She put the order in no problem. The burgers did take awhile to get to the table. I would only come here if you can have a leisurely lunch. The burgers were quite good. I would come again before the special ends.

I'll be there at noon today and sitting at the bar.

Big guy, glasses.

I tried to get my friend who joined me on our disappointing trip last Friday and he is unwilling to return.

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"Make Lunch, Not War" ~ Anon