Martellus Bennett wants you to eat “The Black Unicorn” burger he co-created for Chatter Box of Long Grove, but the eccentric Bears’ star doesn’t want you to be able to finish it. That was one of the few instructions Bennett — who lives in the Long Grove area and comes to the restaurant regularly with his wife and daughter — gave Chatter Box chef Matt Bassitt when they began brainstorming ideas for a burger a month or so ago.
“His whole thing was he wanted a burger people couldn’t finish, because he’s a big guy,” Bassitt said. “He didn’t want to do a normal burger. I was like ‘Let’s go with bison (meat)’ because he’s big and lean. It also has dinosaur kale because his nickname is “The Orange Dinosaur,” green tomatoes for color, Cajun cheddar, thick slices of smoked bacon, onion rings because he wanted to keep building the burger and likes onion rings and barbecue sauce made of Crown Royal because he drinks Crown Royal.
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“Everything on the burger has sweetness, but is still a little spicy. We wanted to show (Bennett’s) two sides. He’s a nice guy, but he has a fire to him.”
Bassitt said Bennett will be on hand at the Long Grove restaurant when the burger is officially added to the menu Friday, just in time for the Bears’ opening weekend. Only 83 “Black Unicorn” burgers will be sold that day in reference to Bennett’s No. 83 jersey.
“I’ve created a lot of cool stuff but nothing this delicious,” Bennett wrote on Instagram Sunday. “This Friday my first burger ‘The Black Unicorn’ will be available at Chatterbox of Long Grove, IL. It’s the best burger in the world btw. I’ve been in the kitchen with Chef Matt whipping that work.”
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