I was visiting Northwestern Medicine downtown today and a nurse recommended a nearby restaurant called, “Beatrix“, which turned out to be part of the Lettuce Entertain You chain. It’s a combination carry out salad and soup bar market with a sit down dining room. Their motto is “Taste before Trend.”

The menu has a modest selection of entrees, appetizers, and such, along with a trendy wine, beer, and signature juice cocktail list. With this being a weeknight, we kept the drinks soft and the choices modest. My wife had a turkey, sweet potato, and greens “Neatloaf” that was quite flavorful. I opted for the Prime Burger topped with mixed greens, tomato, and my choice cheese, havarti. It came with house-made giardiniera (tangy and mild) and kennebec fries. I asked the server about those because I hadn’t heard of them before. She told me the kennebec potato comes from Maine and is considered a great french fry potato. I was intrigued.

The burger had great flavor. The cheese was nicely melted over the patty, the tomato and greens were fresh, and the overall flavor was delicious. While the style was gourmet, the burger did not disappoint. The big surprise were the fries. They completely lived up to the promise of being crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. They tend toward a darker color, and these were prepared skin-on. Seasoned perfectly, they needed nothing else. A few lay too close to the burger and were tagged by the melty havarti for a delightful bonus cheese fry surprise. Had I not filled up too much on my ginger beer I’m sure I would have cleared the plate of the generous portion.

I would recommend a visit to Beatrix. I will give it another try when the opportunity knocks. However, I highly recommend kennebec fries if you find them anywhere at all. If they’re half as good as these were, they’ll be a treat for sure. Enjoy!