The Grille on Jackson

THE GRILLE ON JACKSON is now CLOSED FOR GOOD
Sign on window - 10 01 09

What a shame - where else am I going to get delish black beans, steamed broccoli and brown rice?  Dare I cook?!?

I'd give 0 stars if possible
food is horrible
fries are not grilled as stated
service is horrific
i ended up throwing away my fries, rice bowl, and fallafel sandwich as all were inedible.
I want my money back plus some as an apology

While walking to work yesterday, I noticed a new "The Grille on Jackson" sign above the niche where UFood Grille used to be (not a great place if you read my review of it), and the thought of a new restaurant close enough to the Sears Tower to be a viable choice of location during my 30-minute lunch break was too enticing to pass up.  So as lunchtime rolled around, I made the dash over to try out a new location and hopefully be inspired to write a review (and maybe be the first).  I walked in the door and was greeted by an eerily-familiar decor and setup.

Me: "Hey, when did you guys open up?"
Cashier: "Oh, we've been here for a while."
Me: "So, the UFood Grill just got some new management?"
Cashier: "Nope."
Me: "You guys just changed the name and the menu?"
Cashier: "Pretty much.  What would you like?"

I tried to hide my disappointment that this wasn't a new place at all - just a re-marketing campaign for a place I didn't enjoy at all the last time.  But a glance at the menu perked me up a tiny bit, because they weren't trying to flaunt healthiness as much.  I went with a bacon cheeseburger, and thankfully had the option this time of a white bun instead of gross wheat.  And the bacon wasn't turkey now.  Though they removed the option of having bison instead of cow.  She asked if I wanted anything else with that, and I declined, because the soda machine was the exact same one as before, complete with flies lingering around the condiment station and the french fries were now labeled "Baked Fries" instead of "UnFries", but would certainly be the same bland chunks of potato that honestly taste like frozen fries you can pick up by the sack at a grocery store.

Then came the waiting.  They had three customers place their orders and get their food before they were able to get me my one bacon cheeseburger.  I only have 30 minutes for lunch, and when I finally got my food, I was able to unwrap it and eat it on the walk back to the office and JUST make it back in time.  Unacceptable.

And speaking of unacceptable, that's the proper word to describe the burger I had to eat.  The bun tasted almost stale, despite being taken out of a fresh bag (because you can watch everything that goes on in the kitchen).  Maybe it's the fact that they didn't toast it, warm it on the grill, or do anything other than open it up and slap on condiments.

And come on, people, how difficult is it to remember that wet condiments go on the TOP portion of the bun?  Any sane person with minimal cooking experience knows that!  Especially when your new non-healthy outlook on food means that you allow your burger patty to be slightly greasy - that grease follows the laws of gravity and soaks downward into the thin part of the bun, which is now already structurally compromised by soaking up ketchup for the 5 minutes it sat out on the counter waiting for the burger patty.  So I was left with a top bun that was completely dry, bland and stale-ish - and a bottom bun that was crumbling and falling apart in my hands from the burger grease and ketchup sogginess.

The worst part?  In the last 20 seconds before I got my burger, I saw the cook look at the order, realize it was a bacon cheeseburger, and then fish a few strips of bacon from this open-air container and slap them on my burger.  I realize the container is right next to the grill, so it's probably warm, but to have the container open all the time, not even warm up the bacon in the microwave, let alone the GRILL (remember?  the word used in your place's title?) and just slap it on and wrap up the food and hand it to me - that's disgusting and depressing.

The only way to describe this place is to describe a specific type of reformed vegetarian, who was shunned by all his friends for bringing fake meat to all of their social gatherings and finally broke down and stopped caring about what he put in his mouth just to appease his friends, even though he doesn't believe it's the right thing to do.  A broken spirit, an indifferent attitude, and pretty much an empty shell of a human being.

To add insult to injury, the only redeeming quality of UFood Grill was the tangy frozen yogurt with the good-for-your-tummy cultures, and those are now gone from the menu.

You are an empty shell of a restaurant, The Grille on Jackson, and your new friendly facade just can't hide your incompetent old habits lurking within your kitchen.