Behold a thing of beauty: A “Billy Goat Tavern Cheezborger!”
Here’s a look at one of Chicago’s most unique and legendary underground restaurants!
INTRODUCING THE BILLY GOAT TAVERN OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS!
The original Billy Goat Tavern, located in Chicago, was founded in 1937 by Billy Sianis, a Greek immigrant. It is located UNDER Michigan Avenue at the south end of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile….yes, UNDER!
You see, there are several blocks underneath Michigan Avenue which sits above this underpass – that allows delivery trucks to get easily to the stores that are open above – and it’s an easy bypass for traffic and walkers like me! Let’s head in!
There it sits: brightly lit up and ready for customers!
It is a Chicago icon for two reasons: the owner put a supposed curse on the Chicago Cubs baseball team, and the hilarious “Cheezborger” Olympia Cafe sketch on Saturday Night Live was based on it!
Here is the original sketch from 1978:
John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray were the workers – and they did the sketch multiple times through the show’s history!
According to Wikipedia, here is the story of the Billy Goat Tavern:
“The first location was opened in 1937 when William “Billy Goat” Sianis bought the Lincoln Tavern, near Chicago Stadium, for $205 with a bounced check (he made good on it with the proceeds from the first weekend they were open). When the 1944 Republican National Convention came to town, he posted a sign saying “No Republicans allowed” causing the place to be packed with Republicans demanding to be served. Of course, a great deal of publicity followed and Sianis took advantage of that fact.”
THE CURSE OF THE BILLY GOAT! THE “CUBS CURSE!”
Here is the story of the legendary “Billy Goat” curse…
Owner Sianis brought a pet goat, a tavern mascot, to Game 4 of the 1945 World Series, a home game at Wrigley Field against the Detroit Tigers.
Despite paid-for box seat tickets, Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley allegedly ejected Sianis and goat – apparently he thought the goat smelled! At that point, Sianis placed a curse on the team that they would not win another pennant or play in a World Series again!
Let’s head inside to see how they begin – and you finish – your burger!
As you enter, a sign reads: “Cheezborger, Cheezborger, Cheezborger. No Pepsi. Coke,” directly from the SNL sketch.
It was Bill Murray and sketch writer Don Novello who were the regulars at the Billy Goat when they lived in Chicago, and came up with the sketch idea for Saturday Night Live.
SO WHAT ABOUT THE CHEEZBORGER?
Oh yeah, that’s right – you want to know how the cheeseburger tasted! Well, let’s get to my experience!
BILLY GOAT’S TINY GRILL!
Once you walk down the steps into the tavern, you wait in line and place your order with a Cashier – and yes, the Cashier yells “Cheezborger! Cheezborger!” dramatically with every order.
Also in fact, they do NOT have fries OR Pepsi, but they have a small number of other sandwiches – that said, the vast majority of those in line were ordering the double cheeseburger, and so I did the same…
The very small grill is covered with hamburger patties, plus slices of the occasional steak, thinly sliced for a steak sandwich – finally, you can see the buns on the grill as well…that’s really all there is, as you will see…
The grill is always full of meat, so your order only takes a minute to come up, and here is what you get: two meat patties with a slice of cheese between them – on a bun. Their job is now done, and your is just beginning…
SELF-SERVICE CONDIMENTS!
That’s right: it’s up to you. This small condiment bar has all they have to offer you for your burger: sliced and chopped onions, pickles, mustard and ketchup. That’s it, knock yourself out!
I love mayonaise, so I missed not having that available. However, the pickles were big, meaty, and nicely crisp dill slices that I piled on, and then I gave the burger a sprinkling of diced onions and a dash of mustard – and finally a colorful swirl of ketchup. That’s it, dinner is served!
I have been to Billy Goat many times and I always stack them the same way!
As you can see, the pickles really help provide some bulk to the burger, as the two patties and cheese are fairly thin…but since I love pickles, I loaded it up and got some height going…
When it’s busy, it can be hard to find an empty table, as you can see – but I found a seat at the bar and settled in to try my cheeseburger…
I would actually recommend sitting at the bar, as you get a good sense of the energy of the place, especially with the Bartender hitting the old-fashioned cash register over and over for every drink he makes…and even though it was only noon, he was making a lot of them…
A stuffed Billy Goats head is above the register, announcing a special drink with Rum for $6 – I passed and settled for a Schlitz draft…
As you eat, you can gaze upon decades of newspaper articles, photos, and signs – you could spend hours looking at all of it – and the entire time you hear the constant shouts of “CHEEZBORGER! CHEEZBORGER!” ringing out behind you – and the Bartender hits the bell on the register with every single sale, and there is the consistent sound of “no fries, chips!” and “no Pepsi! Coke!” from the workers as well…and you realize the Billy Goats is as much performance art as it is a meal…
I love this burger and Billy Goat Tavern – a ton of fun if you are in Chicago!
And if you are in New York:
The Minetta Tavern in New York has a magnificent burger and you can see why b y clicking on my story here:
Stacked burgers seem to be my thing…caase in point:
You can see the recipe for this terrific “surf and turf” burger by clicking here:
Well now I’m on a burger roll so to speak, so let’s get dipping!
Yes, the cheese on this burger goes on the outside!
Click here to see how easy and fun this one is!
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loved their burger and the vibe and so good to see the clip again. thanks for filling in the backstory
HI John, thanks for this interesting backstory about the Billy Goat Tavern. The burger looks and sounds terrific.
I remember that skit so well. I never knew it was based on the real thing. You took that plain Jane burger and turned it into a Marilyn Monroe.