Owner PJ Zonis says the restaurant/bar he wants to open in Joliet's former Crabigales building will feature the same menu and atmosphere as his Chicago business.
So, you want to know more about Lockdown Bar & Grill, which could open as soon as this spring in the former Crabigales Comedy Club building in downtown Joliet?
Check out this episode of WTTW-Channel 11's "Check, Please!" which featured PJ Zonis' heavy metal music-themed business in Chicago doing a big trade in two-fisted burgers served on pretzel buns with crazy names such as the Death Sentence and the Electric Chair. It also received kudos from reviewers for its deep-fried pickle chips and macaroni-and-cheese.
Zonis told the Joliet City Council's Economic Development Committee Tuesday that the restaurant he proposed to open in Joliet will feature the same menu and motif.
The "Check, Please!" Web site described his Chicago business this way: "Lockdown is a hard rock burger bar. A prison themed restaurant, it sports iron bars and an electric chair for décor as well as a menu of uniquely named burgers like the “Conjugal Visit.” The burgers are piled high with incredible ingredients and there is a variety of sides including hand-cut fries as well as delicious mac & cheese. Shots, loud music, and big burgers for a wild night out."
Martha Drouet, the Chicago law student who chose it for the show as one her favorite restaurants, says it has "one of the best burgers in the city." James Winston, a Chicago police detective, concurred. "Good food, big burgers, come with an appetite."
Only reviewer Rose Dante, a Realtor, was less-than-impressed, saying she's had better burgers elsewhere, although she liked the creativity, especially with the ingredients and the names.
