Rockit Bar & Grill

We went to dinner at Rockit Bar & Grill in Chicago on a lively Friday night. We went to the location at 22 West Hubbard Street in River North and there is also a location in Wrigleyville. We had heard about this restaurant from Check Please and from hearing that they had been voted as having the best burger in America from Good Morning America.

Rockcorn Shrimp

Rockit is located on a happening block filled with many other bars and restaurants. It definitely seemed like the place to be on a Friday night. The first floor is half bar and half restaurant. The decore included dark wood paneling with exposed brick and reclaimed wood tables.  The bar area was boisterous.  It seemed like a very young and hip crowd.

We ordered 2 appetizers and 2 entrees, which was more than enough food.  Apparently we picked a good time to go (around 6:30pm) because we ended up getting a half off discount on the appetizers - perhaps due to happy hour - we weren't quite sure.  The appetizers we picked were the Rockcorn shrimp and Grapenutts.  The rock shrimp were fried and tossed in a chili lime sauce and served over a bed of romaine lettuce.  The sauce had a good flavor, but from the red look of it we thought the shrimp would be spicy and instead they were more mild. The Grapenutts are not what you think and more a play on the word.  They were jumbo chilled green grapes rolled in goat cheese and crushed pistachios. They had a very fresh and clean taste and at least appeared to be relatively healthy.  We would love to try recreating this dish at home - we just wouldn't know where to find such perfectly round and huge grapes. Both of the appetizers were presented with a bit of an Asian flare.  With the shrimp there was a little rice paper bag to exude the look of Chinese take out and the grapes were served in a large martini glass with chopsticks.

Grapenutts

Inside a Grapenutt

Since part of the reason for eating here was hearing about the burger we couldn't pass up ordering their signature burger, the Rockit Burger.  It is a Kobe beef burger, with melted brie cheese, fried shallots and a medjool (Arabic) date alioli on a red onion brioche bun and served with truffle fries. Obviously with Kobe beef and brie you can't go too wrong.  The meat was tender yet smoky.  The brie was firm enough that it didn't ooze everywhere but was gooey in your mouth.  The date alioli was sweet and tasty - we just wish there was a little more of it on the burger.  We saw the shallots but we really couldn't taste them too much. Natalie felt the bun was a little too big to fit in her mouth but Nick had no problem. Overall we enjoyed the burger, but I guess the term Best Burger in America is subjective so you'll have to decide for yourself.

Rockit Burger & Truffle Fries

Buffalo Chicken Macaroni & Cheese

The other entree we ordered was a Buffalo Chicken macaroni and cheese. Nick often comments that mac n cheese is a trendy item to have on a menu but he doesn't understand the craze.  With this variation on a mac n cheese he felt it was different enough that he wanted to try it and it didn't disappoint.  It was a 4 cheese mac with thinly sliced buffalo chicken pieces and topped off with blue cheese crumbles.  The blue cheese added a totally new flavor component to the other cheeses and the buffalo essence worked well with all the cheese. The only other mac n cheese we have eaten that has been as different and interesting has been at Zingerman's Roadhouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan (it was rated as America's best Comfort Food by the Food Network).

Final thoughts on Rockit Bar & Grill:
Food - not your standard bar fare, definitely go here for the food even if the bar scene is not your thing
Service - the service at the restaurant was excellent, the water glasses were constantly filled, the food came out very quickly and plates were cleared promptly.  The main restaurant area is not that large.  In fact when we came in we thought we overheard the party in front of us get turned away because the list for dinner was already filled (so make a reservation). The only complaint we have about service is that when they called to confirm the reservation they made it clear in no uncertain terms that you can only be seated once all your party has arrived and that 15 minutes after your reservation your table will be given away. It seemed like a snide/snotty comment to make.  We already knew that this is a popular spot.  However once we were there the overall experience made up for that comment.
Atmosphere - lively and noisy, not that place for an intimate dinner.  They were lots of large groups of 20 to 30 somethings in the bar and restaurant.