Budget Beat

Ah, the Hackneyburger. Most of the neighborhood loft-dwellers scarfing the $7.25 sandwich at Hackney's Printers Row (733 W. Dearborn St.; 312-461-1116) think of it as simple, if enormous, half-pound beef patty on black-and-nutty rye bread. But nostalgic North Shoreites know the Hackneyburger is a bona fide hunk of history. Just two years after the first Hackney's opened on Harms Road in 1939, it became a home away from home for the MPs living in nearby barracks. Postwar, the joint was besieged by Northwestern students, and before long, it was an institution, spawning several suburban locations. Now, at last, Hackney's has hit big city. But its cuisine hasn't changed. In this mood-lit, woody, welcoming joint, the cinder-block-size loaf of french-fried onions (pictured here; $5) is practically required eating. Each onion strand is almost caramelized and just greasy enough to satisfy your junk food yen; you will pick at this delicacy till it's good and gone. Richness rules the rest of the menu, from the boozily delicious Guinness potato soup ($3.25) to the tangy, very gooey Reuben ($7.45) to the smooth-and-cheesy lasagna. Then sink your sweet tooth into a phenomenal slice of pie or sip a creamy draft-drawn root beer (that is, if you aren't taken in by one of the nine beers on the tap) and know that Hackney's is in good hands, even off of Harms way.

- Elizabeth Lenhard

<< Back <<