Burgers, Dogs, & Pizza, Oh My!

Posts Tagged ‘Olive Burger’

A pub/grill, not the song. Tho the song is one of my favorites. Let’s pause, shall we?

The Penny Lane Pub is a modestly sized bar and grill with daily specials, live music on weekends, and open til 3 AM.  They have a good bar menu with pizza, sandwiches, wings, tacos, and of course burgers.

I went with the “Olive Burger” which is kind of a thing in the Chicago area, a burger patty topped with sliced green or black olives.  On some menus, it’s called a “Queen Burger,”  and I’ve never been able to find out how it came into being.  It was right up there in the mighty fine category, as were the fresh cut fries.  Great beef taste, ample sized, bun substantial enough to hold all manner of toppings. Delish.

Penny Lane obviously buys quality ingredients, and fresh, attractive produce.  The kitchen again, obviously, takes pride in their presentation.

Despite its location in Barrington, one of the poshest Chicago suburbs, I found the prices to be very modest. Sandwiches and drinks for two, $14.00.

Not far down the road, you can easily pay double that (or more)  at other Barrington watering holes.

I’ll do it again, to check out the pizza and some of the nightly specials, you betcha.  The location is on a not very well traveled road, but easy to find, head north of I-90 on highway 59 and hang a left on Penny Road, the joint is just ahead on your left.

Olive Burger

Penny Lane Review

Olive Pit, Corning, CA

What does an out of business burger chain in the midwest and an olive retailer in Corning, CA have in common?  Burger condiment bars par excellence!

My then fiance and I used to head over to the regional chain Burger Chef on occasion – you could buy a cheap burger and load it up at their condiment bar, turning an inexpensive lunch into a grand feast, adding a lot of fresh chopped vegies.

One might say the same about the burger at the Olive Pit, in Corning, California, a must stop for me when traveling I-5 from the Bay Area to Portland and back.

Your burger (one or two patties) is delivered nude, and you head to the condiment bar to load it up – several varieties of olives, and all the usual burger fixings.

When they say “olive burger” and I’m the patron, they aren’t kidding!  I piled three kinds of olives on my double.

It gave me just the right amount of energy to do my shopping on their retail side – every kind of olives you can imagine, stuffed with anything you can imagine-  cheeses, nuts, pimentos, packed in different brines, cured in different fashions.

I cure my own olives at home, and I purchase the raw olives from a farm down the road from the Olive Pit.  But I can’t even do enough for my own consumption, and they only las a few months after harvest.

So the Olive Pit is there for me to stock up the rest of the year.   This trip, I bought more than a dozen jars.  I love the stuffed queens, and the sicilians, which are a Lindsay product and come with a spice packet you add before serving.

Olive Pit’s salad style olives can’t be beat.  No machine diced pieces here, but huge chunks of green olives, perfectly seasoned, I use them on salads, sandwiches, and especially pizza.

I love you guys.  Marry me.