Paramount Room's kobe burgers

I haven't been exploring the city too much, but last night the draw of kobe burgers + a pint for $10 was too good to resist. The Paramount Room, in downtown Chicago, was a former speakeasy. The lower level even has a small landing, located at the halfway point of the descending stairs, with two tables that overlook the floor below.

In addition to the burger deal, for $2 more you can add on an order of hand cut fries or tempera string beans. The bartender informed me that the beans were dipped in a rice-flour batter and were ok to eat too. Original Sin cider was on tap and qualified as a "beer" for the beer & burger special and started the meal off on a refreshing note. (Original Sin is not my favorite cider, but it is drier than Magners, Woodchuck or Harpoon, so I was glad to grab a pint.)

The burgers arrived hot and cooked to order. (This is an exciting discovery - a restaurant where you don't have to lie or mis-order to get your burger medium-rare!)
The french fries were hot, crisp and served in a wire cone lined with paper. Beyond show, this presentation kept the fries from steaming and getting soggy, so even the last spuds were crunchy. The fried green beans however, completely stole the show. Light, crisp and cooked so the beans themselves still had some snap to them, they came with a vinegary hot sauce that made it hard to stop eating them.

I don't know if the burger was really made from kobe beef - everything I have heard about kobe it doesn't exist outside of Japan - but it was in my top 3 burgers of all time and I cannot wait to have another.