Teddy's Burger Joint: Burgers and Then Some....

Teddy's Burger Joint, 2222 W. Southport Rd, is on the back corner of a little strip mall, and if it hadn't been for a billboard I saw out on SR 37, I'd never have found out about it.  They've tried to put up little directional signs here and there, but you really have to look for the place, which is in the little mall right behind Piper's.  We stopped in early on a Friday afternoon, and at that time there was only one other customer in the place.  I thought maybe they just opened and hadn't had a chance to get a good start yet, but when we asked how long they'd been in bidness they proudly said since October of 2010!  As we got closer to dinner time, though, the crowd started rolling in....  It's primarily a family place, but they have wine, draft beer(!), bottle beers ranging from imports to craft beers to American standards, and draft root beer, too!  The decor consists of a  polished concrete floor, rustic wood, exposed duct work (think Hooters' without the girls), and a fireplace with a mix of regular tables and wooden picnic tables.  The little woman said to make sure I mention that the draft beer is reeeeally cold, something she prizes (along with blistering hot soup and steak so rare it moos when you cut it... but that's another story or two).  The burger prices seem a bit steep until you consider that they come completely dressed and include fries and sandwich-length pickle slices. I had the Bison Burger, which is offered at market price (ten-something dollars, that day), and My Love had the Philly Burger, which was $8.69 or so.   She had a 23-ounce Sun King Wee-Mac ale (see previous post about beer-tasting at the local breweries) and I had a big Flat-12 Amber Ale.  The burgers were really decent, but lacked the deadly greasy goodness of Five Guys' semi-homemade big sliders, I think in an homage to halfway healthy eating.  The Bison Burger is very, very lean, and you can also get a Vegetarian Burger, as well as healthy whole-wheat buns and such.  The grilled onions and green peppers on the Philly Burger were outstanding!  For the kids there are 3.99 burger plates and  a play room with chalkboard walls and floor as well as a big TV on a kid-friendly channel, and there is a sandbox on the outdoor patio, which also has a number of picnic tables for good-weather dining.  I liked it, overall, although I haven't had a favorite burger there yet, but they have a number of variations, so we'll be back!  Oh, yeah, they have a small stage, too, for live music on weekend nights. Whoa!  What's not to like?