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Grand (Red)
Merchandise Mart (Purple Express, Brown)
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I'm really disappointed with all the 1 and 2 star reviews on this page. You're writing a review for a god damn McDonald's for christ's sake... don't take yourself so seriously.
This is the most perfect and magical place on earth, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, when the upstairs is open. They even have an escalator to help me get up there when I'm carrying 30 big macs.
They're open 24/7, have awesome decor, a gelato bar upstairs (along with gourmet desserts), funny music selection and, on weekends, the most hilarious parade of people ever. Often times, late at night, there will be various limousines parked outside (of the Hummer and neon color variety) and lots of kids coming home from prom/homecoming.
But, my favorites, BY FAR, are the weird late 20-something yuppies fresh out of Excaibur in their Ed Hardy shirts and shimmery white tube top dresses. It's nice to watch them like that, in the wild.
McDonalds is the place to rock
It is a restaurant where they buy food to eat
It is a good place to listen to the music
People flock here to get down to the rock music
Review #100 and I chose McDonald's? At least it's a fancy schmancy one. It's called Rock and Roll McDonald's..........they were playing Candlebox that's an automatic -1 star deduction, Wesley would be ashamed. It's HUGE, and they have lot's of great seating options and some great view's . Not a bad spot to grab a coffee and chill out really especially upstairs. The museum is that in the loosest terms but they had a Laser Tag set in the 80's display that's good for a +1 star addition. The staff however is struggling even when it's empty so -1 star seriously it takes a couple tries to order the simplest items. And last the food, it's an overpriced McDonald's -1 star.
No dollar menu.
At a fast food place a dollar menu is the sole redeeming factor because you can never go to a fast food place and expect quality food.
It does get one star for being open 24 hours and having a drive through.
This is the flagship McDonalds. I saw that it was HUGE but didn't realize that they had a museum upstairs. They also have creepy bronze statues outside that are good to take funny photos with. (Ronald is by far, the creepiest one with his mouth wide open). Plus is that this is open after bars close on weekends, we went at 3 or 4 am and it was super crowded. There was even some drunk guy sleeping INSIDE the planter waiting for a taxi... pretty hilarious.
See pic: http://www.yelp.com/bi...
still overpriced.
1 star for the easily accessible bathroom
Its a fancy tourist trappy McDonalds...Same food, higher prices. I did, however, go here after my Jr Prom, so I'll give it an extra star for memory purposes.
This place is overwhelming and just freakin' weird. It's a BIG ASS Mc'Ds. But I must confess I am glad I went. It is just too cool looking not to go to at least once. I suggest walking over, ordering, and walking around a bit. I mean, they didn't have these in Texas. Then again, the Target didn't have a escalator for grocery carts either. So maybe I am just easily impressed.
Ok so it is a McDonalds afterall. So right off the bat it loses 2 stars on quality.
But this location is pretty nice and in comparison to the millions of other locales around the globe, it is original looking. You can not miss it when you are walking down the street due to the large arches on each side of this old school looking Mickey D's. restaurant.
Go inside and it is two floors, with an escalator that brings you to either level. They also have a small nostalgia museum located inside the restaurant with an old fashion car and other garbage that tourist seem to love to snap pics in front of.
Ok, I haven't been here during the day since it was renovated into the giant glass building it is today. But I've spent many a late night here. It's open all day, and is in the heart of River North, in the midst of a ton of bars and clubs.
The food is greasy. They accept credit cards. It's big enough that you can act a fool and not annoy anyone enough to get booted out. And you can easily walk there once you're done drinking. It's pretty much everything you can want when you're schwasted in the city.
Well, except that the food is still McDonald's, and it's a little more expensive than you're normal McDs...but it still will just run around five bucks. It's the place to be late at night...I've even seen a wedding party come in for some McNugget lovin'.
You know how America is all about "Change" right now?
It's time we have higher (or at least slightly feasible) standards for food
I haven't eaten at McDonald's in years, since Spurlock's "Super-size me" I mean, I love junk food like John Mayer loves desperate women. I don't need to know how the sausage is made but the movie ruin it for me.
Aunt Dodo told us about this kitschy (in other words touristy) McDonald's stating about the decor, and the GUITARS. I was sold. Guitars are sexy, guitar players are sexier and classical guitar players....I'll need to pop a couple of valium to clam me down......I play a little classical guitar and tremendously enjoy classical guitar concerts (HOLLA, Assad brothers and John Williams)
The so-call "Rock n Roll" museum is a little glass shack with life size statues of the Beatles, a 58' corvette and Elvis' guitars. The McDonald's is modernized and campy. Upstairs is a "gelato bistro" and a time capsule museum. My favorite is the 1990s with Tickle me Elmo and 1970s Pet rock (I need to think of a invention like that) I went crazy taking pics so it's all uploaded. You can see what I'm talking about.
The food merits one star but the Pee-Wee like atmosphere merit 3 stars. Btw, the raspberry gelato is disgusting just like the rest of the menu.
This mcdonald's is just good for tourists to take lame ass, cheezy photos with them holding up the peace sign in the picture. My friends from Texas was out here last summer and they wanted to see the inside of this place. Nothin spectacular to me. My friends burger was still red in the inside how nasty, but one thing I can say good about this place was the gelato they have upstairs the cookie dough one was very good, thats about it.
Part I of this review here: (http://www.yelp.com/us...)
On the wall next to the menu is a collection of accomplishments the city of Chicago made a many Midwesterner proud to claim. This colorful list includes the Chicago's Great Ferris Wheel of 1893, the first Ferris wheel to be erected, hosting the opening game of the 1994 World Cup, and the invention of the zipper in 1894 to name a few.
Although the ground level of the magnificent eatery has ample seating, the second floor is where the majority of loyal and gleeful McDonalds patrons enjoy their mass produced madness. Varied races and nationalities that make up this modern day Ellis Island take the escalator to dine while sitting on an assortment of furniture from splattered from different time periods, including post-modern Eames style couches, make the perfect upholstery for devouring hamburgers, chicken McNuggets (who are now 'all white-meat'), and of course those classic milkshakes. Cleverly placed, the dessert section is conveniently situated upstairs as well, yet this is no ordinary dessert tray, as the selection includes ice cream, gelato, Starbucks coffee of many varieties, and t-shirts too, for the true tourist.
Along with pictures of McDonalds' locations in Argentina, China, Australia and plenty of other countries found on the walls upstairs, the translation of 'thank you' is written in a different language on every trash-bin found here. The melting pot, or rubbish-to-be-melted has never been so prevalent. My fellow cultural explorer strapped on his adventurer boots and set foot in line on path for a to a typical McDonalds dinner (although one may struggle to consider it such) in order to "gain the full experience". Making my way to the inviting red chairs in a more secluded area where I proceed to focus on the dancing man from the commercial who (after seeing the same thirty-second clip four times) I notice has a really neat bookcase in his upscale artificial apartment. Somewhere in between a stool and a counter chair, I feel an odd sense of comfort placing my backbone on it and before I allow myself to bounce on this chair with child like delight I mentally pat my discipline on the back, not even slightly tempted to eat anything created in this grandiose sterile environment. With ample lighting and an assortment of decorations, the eyes are constantly amused at Rock-n-Roll McDonalds.
Surprisingly, this particular McDonald's doesn't appeal directly to children as many often do. Apparently the frequent visitors of the area are not as enthusiastic over a jungle-gym or a corral full of plastic balls to jump on as they are enthused instead by history lessons, mediocre architectural blueprints, glass cases full of PEZ dispenser-heads and, possibly the most entertaining section of the entire Rock-N-Roll McDonalds: the decades room that glorifies pop culture artifacts from the last fifty years. In each five foot, or so, room the spectator not only gets to hear hit songs from the specific time period where they stand but are visually stimulated by a small assortment of things, actual things, that were popular at the time. From the 1950's, a moldy Mr. Potato Head (apparently back then they used an actual potato) is transformed from a potato to a man's face on a potato, as every Mr. Potato Head should be. Star wars figurines and videocassette recorders brandish the 1970's display whereas the 1990's room plays the 2 Unlimited song 'Get Ready for This' (recognizable by anyone who attended a sports event in the 90's) showcased also are an American Online floppy disk and a Furby doll. The display for the 2000's lacks anything of excitement except perhaps, a Harry Potter book and an American Idol calendar.
[IF YOUR GONNA READ ANY PARAGRAPH, READ THE FOLLOWING:]
Lame, I couldn't help concluding. Was any of this stuff ever exciting, or was it simply amusing for a short while for a select group of Americans that somehow dictated to the masses what should be remembered? Such is pop culture. It is called pop for a reason. For example, the pretty boys Milli Vanilli whose lip-synced songs rocketed them inside one of the many floating bubbles of pop culture, as they were ascending and enjoying their flight to stardom, their bubble suddenly burst when the truth was discovered, and it was short matter of time before they completely faded into oblivion. McDonalds, whose iconic artifacts themselves fit almost too perfectly in the time displays, have managed to overcome the bursting of bubbles and have now soiled themselves as one of America's longest living legends. The only other thing that could fit the title, of course, is rock and roll.
Good place to go if you want to see an R. Kelly sighting or want to take scandalous pictures with bronze statues in front.
I hate this place. No wait I despise this place. I have a friend from the 'burbs that comes to visit me quite often and he always wants to eat there. Maybe it's the young teens (hard bodies), maybe it's the tourists?? But whatever it is he likes it and I hate it. I refuse to go. I mean throw a fit, hold my breath till I pass out fit! I won't go so don't ask.
It's nothing against McDonalds or the food. I dislike this location and all it represents. So save your breath and never, ever ask me to go there. No matter how drunk I am or sober for that matter it's not happening!
Oooooh it's so good to be a tourist sometimes!
Because I am sure that I would loathe this place if it was in my home city but since it's not I am absolutely fascinated by the monstrosity.
It's a massive expanse of glass held together by golden arches, it has all sorts of memorabilia, and some inexplicable little cased in collections decorating the dining rooms, and an abundance of designer chairs. Who knew that Ray Kroc was a big ol' fan of the Eames'?
Yes, it's just a McDonald's, but when I went there it was after 2:00 in the morning and everyone was dressed up all fancy like! Of course, I didn't eat there, I mean, it is a McDonald's.
I heard that R. Kelly used to show up here with his entourage on prom nights to pick up high school girls. That kinda makes this place the Biograph Theater of this decade. So maybe we should start a petition to add this ugly fucker to the national register of historic places...?
Real Talk!
Whoa, fancy pants McDonalds.
A Chicago resident took me through here to gawk at the hugeness of the place and the cushy seats and the soda fountain and the higher priced menu.
Love the Pez collection on the second floor, and the view, hey that's not bad for a 40% markup on food that costs a buck or two to begin with. Can you order food at your table? Haw haw.
Of course, my companion mentioned the missing rock and roll memorabilia. Pity.
Fyi, I think they sent the Elvis to Paso "nowheresville" Robles in California, because I saw him there. He lives.
We didn't order any food, just passing through as tourists. Can I take a picture of you? Where's Michigan?
Why bother? McDonald's SUCKS. The most disgusting "food" on the planet.
I have boycotted this blight on the planet for the past 25+ years. Revolting.
Not only is this a McDonalds, it's one that's more expensive than every other location because of it's "uniqueness." Why on earth would you go into a Mcdonalds when there are literally dozens of locally owned, higher quality and cheaper food options in the area? You're downtown for chrissakes, little burger joints are on every third corner! If you're a tourist who stops in here you're a dick who's wasting your time in a great city by not being adventurous enough to try new things. If you're local then you're even worse because you should know better.
Here's the rub w/Mickey D's-They have good products. But I bet I can make you like anything I can think of by using the following plan:
Product available anywhere, anywhere!
Product available nearly anytime.
Heard about product from Jane or Joe, sounded positive.
Product is inexpensive and or cheap. We can all get it.
Product is expensive, but we must have it.
Product has catchy name. I think I heard a song about it once.
Instant gratification. No waiting for the product. Wow, you look cool with that hot new product.
Product reminds us of childhood and/or Xmas. Or a birthday or whatever. Btw, Xmas=Holidays.
Here are some examples of good products that suck:
Big Mac
Bic Lighters
Carling Beer
Blizzard from Dairy Queen
Budwieser
Bud Lite
KFC Bowls
Fix A Flat
Jell-0
Mercedes
Futons
The Grimace
Wendy's chili
Slurpee
Deli at Kmart
Tress Emee hair junk (sp?)
Peavey
Ready Blinds
Root Beer Float icecream bars from Safeway/Dominick's
Sopranos
HBO
Happy Meal
Scope
Rock and Roll McDonald's
Rant over...sorry if I rambled.
Nothing to see here. Keep on going.
2 words. Wesley Willis. Other than that, nothing good has come of this ridiculous tourist trap. Don't do it.
Come to McCountry
Burgers bland as Mid US
Standardize us too?
The Rock-N-Roll McDonald's is neither Rock nor Roll ... discuss....
Um ... it's McDonald's.
& what's so damn Rock & Roll about it? They took all the fun stuff from the old one & put it in a completely different building.
The staff isn't Rock & Roll ... I have to repeat my order about twelve times:
"Just the sandwich?"
"Yes."
"No meal?"
"No meal."
"Just the sandwich, no meal?"
"I JUST WANT A SANDWICH!"
There was, a few weeks ago, though, this guy who was causing a ruckus & then claimed to be CPD. That was, of course, until the *real* CPD came & took his sad sad self away. The entire restaurant was fixated on this. I walked up to the counter & waited patiently. Finally, after a full minute, I asked, "Hi. Can people still order or do we have to wait until Crazy Man finishes his tirade?"
It's McDonald's.
Ed. Note: Adding the fact that the radio sucks. The rock/pop/country mix fades in & out of this incredibly crappy elevator music. 30 seconds Sheryl Crow, 30 seconds Yanni, 30 seconds Sheryl, 30 seconds, Yanni. Rise & repeat.
This won't be long. Positives of this McDonald's: it's open 24 hours a day and has excellent late-night people watching. Huge negative: they DO NOT abide by the dollar menu feature. I got a double cheeseburger and small fries and thought it would be $2 plus applicable taxes. It was however above $4. Why complain about the mark-up, you say? I do know that the commercials say that not all establishments participate. Well, if you went there during Monopoly game piece time and got a large drink with no chance to win free stuff, you would be upset too. I find comfort in fast-food conformity.
My bf and I go here sometimes and I think it's good. There are leather couches/chairs upstairs and the place is huge.
What I like most is the ice cream upstairs!!! It's like gelato... really thick ice cream. There are a couple of flavors and strawberry is the BOMB. Sooooo good and tasty. It's not the 99 cent cones at the rest of the McD's.
Try it out!
When you're a kid McDonald's sounds like the best food/experience ever. When you're the flower girl in your best friend's Dad's wedding and they're serving caviar and pate, McDonald's sounds even better.
When your parents let you take the limo to the Rock-N-Roll McDonald's and you're rockin your green satin dress and silver slippers, you feel like a rock star!!
Why did they have to take away the seedy dirty Rock n Roll McDonald's of my childhood and erect this new one that belongs somewhere in Vegas?
I'm boycotting it.
I used to pass by this block-wide monstrosity during my work commute and never once stepped inside. The closest I got was the drive-thru after a late-night craving for soft-serve in downtown. Fast forward to the present: I'm showing my California visitors the Chicago sites and briefly mention the Rock n Roll McDonald's. It instantly turned into one of our downtown destinations!
So I enter the McDonalds with my tourist friends and am amazed at the sheer size of this place. I always wondered how they could fill two stories of this place. There's only so much seating you can have, I thought. But lo and behold, I find a gelateria and mini museum upstairs! It was pretty nice, I have to admit. And they get extra points for offering something not so cookie-cutter with the gelato. I really liked the museum. Featuring old happy meal toys and various pop culture paraphernalia from decades' past, I got nostalgic. Pretty cool. Remember the moon guy? I didn't until I saw the toy there!
Three stars just because I can't imagine giving a McDonalds more than that. :)
I think Wesley Willis (r.i.p.) said it best,
McDonalds will make you fat
They serve Big Macs
They serve Quarter-Pounders
They will put pounds on you
It was our third date. He had to be at his job in the loop by 7pm. I couldn't leave mine in the suburbs until well after 5. When traffic and parking foiled our plans to enjoy a real meal together and fall in love, we found a 15 minute loading zone (SE corner of Clark and Ontario) and ran into McDonald's. On the way in he forewarned, "I don't know what's up with the people at this place, but they can't get an order right to save their lives."
Much to my incredulity, the following conversation ensued:
"I would like a McChicken"
"A cheeseburger?"
"No, a McChicken."
"ok, two hamburgers."
While it may not necessarily be well staffed, this McDonalds is fully staffed, and there is rarely a long line. It is open 24/7, which is great when you're jonesin' for some late night grease. It has an escalator. And Wesley Willis once wrote a profound song about this very place. "People flock here to get down to the rock music... They serve Quarter Pounders. They will put pounds on you."
I knew I had to stop in here because of the Wesley Willis song. While I didn't get any food, the interior is very chic like the McCafe's in Europe. Upstairs is a "gelato bistro" and a time capsule museum. There's also an old car and some fake reproduction guitar next to this place, not very rock and roll. Otherwise it's your typical McDonald's albeit more expensive, one extra star for the gelato.
Rock over London
Rock on Chicago
Wheaties the breakfast of champions
Uhhh... okay I just don't get this. It's just McDonalds with slightly fancier decor and bigger space and a bit more expensive. I really really don't get the Rock n Roll part. There's not really any memorabilia, is there? I didn't see any. I went on both floors. I thought it was going to be like a Planet Hollywood or a fast food version of the Rock n Roll History Museum in Cleveland.
There is a clown... but it looks nothing like any of the members of Kiss.... There's creepy bronze statues in the front.... There's a 1950s style cafe on the 2nd floor, but it hardly rocks.... I know this place was renovated a few years ago. Did they forget to put the Rock n Roll back in when they cleaned it out?
In conclusion: Don't bother going. It's nothing special.
Listen I like McDonald's a lot. I like this McDonald's cause you can go in at 5 am and it's no big deal. I do wonder if you can get breakfast though. They're always super quick. The place is always busy but it's never really dirty. This place is also cool to look at and you don't necessarily feel like you're in a McDonald's.
The food well it's like all other McDonald's, good.
I sooooooooooooooooo MISS the old Rock and Roll McDonald's. Yeah yeah I know it needed to be upgraded, but it had so much charm.
I loved the old car towards the front area. the Beatles right by the register area and all the memorabilia all over the place of Marilyn Monroe, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, James Dean. *sigh*
I go on occasion because of my boys and I make sure I'm out before my hour is up so I don't have to pay for parking.
When I was a kid, we would drive up to Chicago to go to the museums, zoos, aquarium, and Rock and Roll McDonald's. R&R McD's was falling apart back then- the Beatles statues were the only real interesting thing, some quarter operated rides were there but always turned off or roped away.
I was like "well, this was like the first one, so there is that", and I felt special going to this weird retro old McD's.
That was the 80's.
Then a couple years ago they bulldozed it and turned it into a Planet Hollywood wannabe joint, with the same shitty food you can get anywhere. So any classic vibe the place may have had is gone- they literally destroyed the nostalgia with a wrecking ball! There's a lot of bad reviews for this place, but few take into account the over-arching (hahaha... sigh) tragedy. My childhood self is agape at the commercial nightmare that now stands on the dust of my memories.
For shame, Ronald. For shame.
Thank you Rock and Roll McDonald's for satiating my appetite after drinkscapedes last night. I didn't remember that we visited you at first, then was reminded when piecing together exactly when one of our friends disappeared. Maybe you ate him, maybe he ate you, maybe a little of both. We still do not know how he got home. I didn't remember anything particularly great about visiting you, or anything particularly shocking about you either. Therefore Rock and Roll McDonalds, you are mediocre, a 3-star in my book. Maybe you should up your game and get some fancy arches or something.
Back before they tore the original building down, I would have given Rock-N-Roll McDonald's 4 stars because it was a great campy place. You felt like the place had some history. Then they go and tear it down to build a giant monstrosity with an immensely overpriced menu. There is nothing to see here any more. Move along.
I vomit in the general direction of everything that Rock-N-Roll McDonald's represents... with two small exceptions. Wesley Willis and Chicago.
I love Chicago and I love Wesley Willis. I despise McDonald's in whatever grotesque form that they decide to take. McDonald's is like a social parasite which adopts pop-culture to infiltrate the collective mind of humanity. Resist! Rise up! Stop suckling at the teat of corporate America and do something REAL with yer life.
Plus they don't serve bourbon. Phaw.
*goes back to sipping bourbon*
It's open late - a great stop after the clubs for some munchies before home. Not to mention the people watching, yes, you might get hit on, but it's all part of the McExperience. During the day, you can see the golden arches that arches over the entire building.
This is no ordinary McD's! It's 2 stories with escalators and a McCafe for those who would like to enjoy a cappuccino and a pastry. It's bright, filled with all the red, yellows and whites plastic furniture.
They have the same kinda crazy line structure and all the fast food goodies you want to clog your arteries with.
It's a McToyhouse for those who love McD, which includes me! Yay, fries!
Neighborhood: Near North Side
Category: Fast Food
Neighborhood: Avondale
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: Near North Side
Category: Italian
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