Jake Moran's - Mundelein

I pulled into Jake Moran's on Route 45 in Mundelein for lunch yesterday, and boy, am I glad I did.

The interior, full of wood panelling, open windows, and slowly rotating ceiling fans, reminds me of a Wisconsin roadhouse.

The handful of people on hand for lunch were an even mix of men and women, and some of them said they'd been coming there for years.

I ordered a medium-rare cheddar cheeseburger with grilled onions, lettuce, and tomato. It came out on a buttery toasted bun, big, sloppy, juicy, and cooked just right. I passed on ordering fries or onion rings with it because I know my eyes are usually bigger than my stomach, and I made the right decision, because the burger was plenty. That said, I liked the side of cole slaw and even the crisp and cold pickle spear.

I learned that Jake Moran is not the name of the owner/chef, but rather the name of the owner/chef's grandfather, after whom he named the bar. But I learned that people who come in are always calling him Jake anyway and he doesn't mind because if they like the food and the locals keep coming in, it's a nice tribute to his grandfather. Most of this I learned from the waitress/bartender, Kelly. She and I commiserated about the discomfort of a woman alone walking into a bar/burger joint filled with just men, but despite my earlier trepidation, I did not feel at all uncomfortable stopping at Jake Moran's. One of the two women having lunch near me told me she'd been coming there for more than 20 years, and that in fact she had typed up and photocopied one of the earlier versions of the menu.

I also learned that a brother owns and runs the pizza place in town, Emil's (started by the father?), and another brother owns and runs another restaurant in the area, the name of which escapes me at the moment.

In addition to the burgers, they're especially proud of their filet mignon sandwiches and broasted chicken and potatoes, which is available every day but is a special on Sundays. On the cool side, I expressed an interest in trying the BLT on one of the hotter days that I know will be coming up soon, and Kelly assured me it is really good too.

I liked the fact that the lunchtime conversation was pleasant, and that the waitress knew the regulars so well (one guy who arrived just before I left, she put his drink in front of him just as he sat down; I asked her how she knew what he was going to want, and she said that she knew him and she'd seen him pulling into the parking lot.)

The chef and owner (his name is either Bill or Bob, sorry, I forgot that too), is a man of few words, but he did come out to talk to me about what brought me in and how I liked my burger.

They are open late, til 3 am (all week, or just weekends? can't remember), which is rare for the north suburbs, and the kitchen is open til 9 pm, though I heard they're thinking of keeping the kitchen open til 11 pm, if they can work out the availability of the owner and other chef.

Personally I would say that Jake Moran's definitely has the feel of a GNR. I will keep going back to try more things. I give Jake Moran's two thumbs up, I'm glad I learned of it via the LTH Forum, and I'll be happy to meet any LTHers there for lunch or dinner any time.

Jake Moran's
57 S Lake St
Mundelein, IL 60060-2711
847-566-5152

Nice write up.

I don't know if I'd go so far as calling it a GNR or even a possible candidate, but I do remember them making a great Fillet minion burger and very a passable hamburger.

I see a need for more field data collection before proceeding to data analysis. A neighbor and I are going there this evening to try the broasted chicken.

Glad you enjoyed my recommendation. I need to get back there; I haven’t been in a couple of months.

D.

Thank you, Dodger, for prompting me to try Jake Moran's. My neighbor and I went on Sunday, but alas, the chef hadn't been able to get in and so we couldn't get the broasted chicken. (Maybe a scheduling difficulty due to the holiday weekend?) We'll try again another time soon.

In the meantime, we had to eat something, so we drove up Route 45 to Wayne's Pizza (my first time) and had a double-decker thin-crust pizza with sausage, onions, and plenty of cheese. Tasted great and tided us over.

Resurrecting an old thread, and an old favorite...

Jake Moran's ain't much to look at, and the menu isn't expansive in the least. But it's clean, and they serve a great burger in my eyes. It has been our default for many years, and it's especially welcome after a round of golf. Post-griddling, the high-end ground beef (maybe ground chuck, certainly NOT ground round) weighs probably between a third to just under a half pound, fitting perfectly between a toasted, glaze-top soft bun. With the typical toppings and condiments, and crinkle-cut fries slightly less thick than Superdawg's but just as tasty, it's darn near perfectly-proportioned. Yes, umami...

Can't vouch for other items because I never vary in my order. Bar drinks are cheap and good.

Jake Moran's probably isn't GNR-worthy other than the fact that they concentrate on that one thing (like Jack Palance in 'City Slickers'), and that one thing is very, very good.

I went there a couple months ago and we were pleased with our no frills burger. They were pretty good and it was a great local place to hang out. Probably one of the better burgers in the area.

I haven't been to Jake Moran's for a while because, well, I haven't left the comfort of the cave much at all, but I'm curious to see if they'll be doing Reuben's and corned beef sandwiches next week, so I'll try to stop by and see.

If you are looking for great corned beef, check out Smokin T's in Long Grove. I had some last year and it was VG.

I also like Jake Moran's burgers.

Smokin' T's
3976 Illinois Route 22
Long Grove, IL

(Route 22 & Old McHenry Road)

Also - smokintsbbq.com

D.