Sex sells. In this case, it sells burgers.
Earlier this summer, I enjoyed lunch at Prime BurgerHouse aboard the Grand Victoria Casino riverboat in Elgin, Ill. as part of a Fox River Valley press trip. Casinos by nature are sort of lusty and libidinous, and Prime is obviously capitalizing on those basic carnal urges and making no apologies about it. I’ve never seen a menu so blatantly full of T&A. The cover (and the web site) opens with a photo of a sexy doe-eyed model and the words “Get Lucky,” and there are additional pics of hot chicks (and some beefcake dudes, lest female customers feel left out) scattered throughout. The tagline is “Burgers, booze, bliss.” I felt borderline naughty before I’d even ordered anything.
Prime BurgerHouse within Elgin’s Grand Victoria Casino
The décor here is Jetsons meets groovy 1960s with white space-age egg chairs, red vinyl banquettes and lots of silver sparkles. If you happen to be dining alone, you can snag a booth by the windows and watch TV on your own personal set.
Foodwise, I must say, the burgers here ROCK. These are some seriously gourmet sandwiches with top-shelf toppings. Think prime beef capped with the likes of lobster, avocado, white truffle aioli, fried tomatoes, asparagus, hickory bacon… Customers can either build their own from a laundry list of decadent accoutrement, or choose one of the pre-determined offerings. Something cool – each burger description on the menu includes suggested cocktail, wine, beer, nibble and shake pairings. Nice. For accompaniment, the sweet potato fries are the way to go.
the Asian chicken burger
We all ordered something different around the table to check out the full array of options. The Asian chicken burger looked delish smothered in green papaya slaw and Thai peanut sauce.
the Garlic Parmesan Butter Burger
The garlic parmesan butter burger was also unusually tempting with roasted garlic mayo, batter-fried tomatoes and greens on a pretzel bun spiked with a parmesan cheese crisp. (There’s so much cholesterol happening here, I felt like this one should come with a disclaimer for diners with heart conditions.)
the Drunken Bull Burger
I was perfectly pleased with my Drunken Bull Burger, a seriously upgraded bacon cheeseburger with Kobe beef, proscuitto, blue cheese, caramelized onions and a Cabernet reduction sauce. Decadent and delicious.
shake it, don’t break it
The luscious milkshakes are another Prime attraction, available in leaded (boozed-up) or unleaded varieties. We sampled the chunky toasted marshmallow and crème brulee versions, both so rich, you could have dished them up with a spoon. The marshmallow was good, but I preferred the crème brulee, which came across like a densely flavored vanilla pudding.
Expect to drop $12 to $15 or more per burger depending on how jiggy you want to get with it. Portion sizes are easily big enough to split between average appetites; I don’t think anyone at our table finished more than half their meal.
Bottom line — if you don’t mind a little T&A, Prime offers great food in nightclubby digs.
For more info, (if nothing else, take a peek at the menu if you’re feeling sorta randy):
www.grandvictoriacasino.com/dining/prime-burgerhouse/
Mostly Midwestern 