Another newbie to the scene on the Madison strip has opened.
FULL DISCLOSURE - CHEF/OWNER IS A BUDDY.
As the name indicates, not much here is outsourced. Even the ketchup and mustard on the table is made in-house. The current menu is pretty small, but there are plans to expand once they get in their groove. On offer now, are a few burgers, salads, fresh cut fries, and mac and cheese with schnazzy add ins. Liquor license is not fully "in effect" or something, so it's byo for right now, but the beer list is already up on the wall. It will be all cans, and the list was pretty long. 30 or 40ish deep. What we tried:
Daily Special:
Italian Sausage Sandwich -
This was a grilled, then sliced, fancy sausage, then placed on toasted baguette slices served with homemade giardiniera. I liked it a lot. LOVED the giardiniera, LOVED the sausage. Forgot where it was from, the server told me it was some sausage maker in the west burbs somewhere, but I completely forgot. It wasn't too salty (which is my main gripe with pretty much all sausages) so I dug it. The Giardiniera was fresh and crisp, and packed a very decent kick. I really liked it a lot.
Daily Special:
Mac & Cheese with house roasted pork loin -
I understood what they were going for here. There was a whole explanation of how the pork was prepared, and how it was slow poached after an x day brine or marinade, then seared on the grill for texture. The dish, as a whole was good. I'd try it again, I think the pork wasn't really what they wanted it to be for whatever reason that night. I'd try it again, but it wasn't something that floated my boat with the whole big back story. It was good.
"Scratch Burger:"
1/2 pound, fresh ground, hand formed, with truffled arugula, bleu cheese, house made pickles, and some other stuff.
I dug this enuff, but I'm a burger purist. Pickle and onion would have been enough for me. Really liked the house made pickles. Light brine, super crunchy. I took a quarter of the burger, and cleared it down to just meat and bun. Then I tested the homemade ketchup and mustard. I really liked them both. The ketchup was lightly spiced, decent tomato flavor. Not a salt and sugar laden red goo. The mustard I can't really give a good description of. I can't really recall the flavor. I do remember the whole table commenting on really liking it though.
Tex-Mex Fries:
A mound of house cut fries, topped with cheddar, pulled pork, and cole slaw. I was all over these. I added some of the homemade giardiniera, and I was pretty happy.
The "It's Greek to Me" Burger:
Ground lamb, feta, tzatziki, mint, and some other stuff. This is what I'll be ordering again. It totally worked for me.
Chicken "wings" (these were actually split legs and thighs:)
These were roasted, and then slathered with bbq sauce, and given a nice sear on the grill, or from some form of very high heat. I liked them just fine. Crispy/ crunchy exterior, and juicy interior.
If I were to go again, this would be my order:
Greek burger "RARE" (in hopes of getting it medium rare.) and an order of tex mex fries "WELL DONE," with two sides of giardiniera. I think I'd be pretty happy.
The opening night snafus were there, but all in all, what we had was pretty good, indeed.
http://www.scratchfp.com/Website is still "in progress" as of this time. It's basically a handful of burgers, a veggie burger, a grilled chicken sammich, a few salads with sides of french fries and mac and cheese with some fancy add-ins.
7445 W. Madison
Forest Park, IL 60130
708.689.8427
We cannot be friends if you do not know the difference between Mayo and Miracle Whip.
Pronoun: That fool over there
Identifies as: A human that doesn't need to "identify as" something to try to somehow be interesting.