I walked by a bar in my neighborhood offering $1 burgers. I saw the burgers they were offering. You'd be better off with the 99 cent menu at McD's. Hell, you'd be better off donating blood just to get the baloney sandwich and the cookie.

MJN wrote:There are about 30 bars or so in the city that offer $2 or less burgers on specific nights of the week, kind of a loss leader to get you in the door to spend money on drinks. I'm guessing most of them are ok, anyone know of any standouts in that category?

McCormick & Schmick's does 'em from 4-6PM at the bar, $1.99 for 1/3 to 1/2 lb. cheeseburger w/fries. But they cook 'em all medium-well and you cannot choose a custom order. Put a little mayo on and you can choke the medium-well down. They have an entire rotating menu of $1.99 bar foods at Happy Hour, some are pretty good. But the drink prices even things out somewhat if you have 2-3 beers, wines or cocktails.

Vital Information wrote:I really am not a big fan of the gas derived char burger. We've debated a bit before about how much gas one can taste, but I really find that an over-charred burger... picks up too many off flavors from the gas grill. It really detracted from what could have been a good burger.

Hmmm, interesting. What's your take on Pepper's on Van Buren? I've watched them make so many burgers...
With the flame a foot high off the grill, it would have to be gas, right?

~GS

I used to be a frequent flyer at peppers. For a quick greasy spoon lunch, you could do better. Burgers were the paper thin variety. Everything was pretty much low end quick grease joint stuff, but they could get away with it quite handily because of the needs of the customers around there.

Indeed, Beinlich's reigns supreme in the burgurworld. I have been going there since 1960? and it's consistently fantastic. The slaw which is creamy-styled has no peer, and if you obt for the potato chips instead of the more filling, yet delicious fries, they won't be stale. Do try the roast beef sandwich sometime. Check first with the waiter and if it's rare,your in for a treat.--it's a behemoth in size and the flavor and texture are memorable. Hard to find cold Michelob on draft anymore, but Beinlich's had had it on draft for decades-- a perfect accompanyment to the hamburger.

I still miss O'Connell's...a mwmorable hamburger. Anyone remmber this one?

I disagree about Pepper's. There are lots of other burger options around there for traders and trader groupies (you know who you are), but a flame-grilled double cheese with hot peppers at Pepper's has its own solid place. Give me two thin burgers over a formerly frozen mini meatloaf almost any day. For a completely different burger experience in the immediate vicinity, I will allow that the extremely hyped Poag Mahone's does make a fine, loosely packed and tasty burger, and is not afraid of rare meat.

The best burger in town, hands down, is at Kuma's Corner. They were making it with Kobe beef for a while, but switched to something else high quality, yet delicious, last time I was there. Anyhow, it's 1/2 pound of beef, with a fried egg and bacon on top. It sounds disgusting, but don't let that prevent you from ordering. The egg is more than a gimmick. When it squishes onto the beef, you're left with the most moist (I hate that word, but there's no better way to describe it), perfect, dripping patty ever.

Comes with shoestring french fries, salted with big thick kosher crystals. Seriously. That burger is so good it pulled a vegetarian over to the dark side who hadn't had meat in 10 years...

Incidentally, Kuma's Corner is very reasonably priced, and has a great beer menu, to boot! One of the best neighborhood bars around.

Kuma's Corner
2900 W. Belmont Ave.

p.s. If you can't stomach the fried egg on your burger, try the Kobe Beef Sliders with carmelized onions and gouda.

Hey Rachel2025: Sounds great...based on your description I'm giving Kumas a try. Given your tastes I wonder if you might like the "Loco Moco" at Aloha Grill... Two homade burger patties (not Kobe sadly)topped with two fried eggs smothered in brown gravy l over a big mound of sticky short grain Japanese rice. It takes a special sort to appreciate this dish (the most popular 'plate lunch' in Hawaii)... I like it , and suspect you might too.

By the way, the Kuma's burger with egg got some love in this thread:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=88425#88425

Not to say it shouldn't get some here too!

Mike G wrote:By the way, the Kuma's burger with egg got some love in this thread:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=88425#88425

Not to say it shouldn't get some here too!

Kuma's burgers are excellent and deserve loads of praise in this thread.

It is key to point out that Kuma's offers two burgers (besides the kobe sliders).

The Kuma Burger (referenced above) has cheddar, bacon, and fried egg. Served on an excellent pretzel roll. I learned a tip about eating this burger and I posted it in the thread Mike referenced.

The Kaijo Burger has blue cheese, bacon, and fried onions. Served on the pretzel roll. Also excellent.

Best,
Michael

To the fried egg point, I'd say a fried egg is a standard, but increasingly less common hamburger topping. You could always get a fried egg at Fatburger and Johnny Rockets, eg, and I always get one at Diner Grill. Fried eggs are good on lots of stuff: schnitzel/milanesa, pad kra praw, salad, etc.... What's not to like.

Then there's the hamburgueso de Mexico estillo Durango served at El Duranguito in Maywood (soon to be part of another post).

Here's a burger con tocino, jamon, aguacate, queso, mayonaisa, mustard, ketchup, lechuga y tomate; on a nice grilled seeded bun. Like they say, the sum's better than the parts

402 Lake St
Maywood, IL 60153
708-343-4584

mostaza y quechup

stevez wrote:I had a great cheeseburger today oat SRO in Printers Row. Add that one to the list.

Steve,

Been meaning to try SRO for quite a while now and, have to report, this is one of the few instances where you and I differ. Loved the feel of SRO, even thought, for a small place, the physical space was surprisingly comfortable, but the burger was somewhat bland, not quite tasteless, though if I had to ascribe a taste it would be that of generic preformed ground beef with a soupcon of filler.

Fries were pretty good, but crisp fries are always a treat, even if they are of the prefrozen food service variety. The only real annoyance was charging me .50c for sport peppers on my burger. Who the hell charges extra for sport peppers in Chicago?

Aroma of simmering chili provided a warm welcoming greeting, but even the terrific smelling chili, which had a decent spice level, was blah. Maybe due to the fact it was turkey chile.

Like the lovely aroma of mediocre chile the burgers looked good.



But just did not deliver, maybe I caught S.R.O. on an off day.

Enjoy,
Gary

S.R.O. (Standing Room Only)
610 S Dearborn
Chicago, IL 60605
312-360-1776

Gary -

SRO is known for their Turkey burger. Maybe you accidentally got one of those?

G Wiv wrote:Been meaning to try SRO for quite a while now and, have to report, this is one of the few instances where you and I differ.

It's been well over 2 years since I was last in SRO. Maybe things have changed.

leek wrote:SRO is known for their Turkey burger. Maybe you accidentally got one of those?

LeeK,

Good thought, but I doubt it, unless SRO's default burger is turkey not beef. I ordered the daily special, cheese burger, fries and a med drink,

S. R. O. 12.6.06


Enjoy,
Gary

Hello Michael,

Your comment about the Kaijo Burger just proves that I'm overdue for a Kuma's visit! It wasn't on the menu last time I ate there, though there have been several drinking visits in the interim. Perhaps I'll have to bring along the bf and do a side-by-side comparison (after a week of extra cardio to protect the heart, of course. hehe).

I'd like to add this for your consideraton.

Cheeseburger @ Feed


This is a mighty good looking burger which arrived cooked slightly more past the temperature ordered, but was pretty good nontheless. The fresh cut fires were good, but not as crispy as they look. Feed is one of those places that I always enjoy, but forget to put in my regular rotation. I've got to try to remedy that!

Feed
2803 W. Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL
773-489-4600

We went back to Feed after not eating there for some months for no reason other than forgetting that the intersection of Chicago and California existed. King's Thursday ordered the burger and was very favorably impressed-- I think she said "this is the best burger I've had in a long time." I thought it found a nice middle ground between a big bar burger and a thin greasy-spoon burger, having some of the substantiality of the former and most of the melding-through-grease-alchemy-into-a-whole-greater-than-the-parts thing of the best diner burgers.

I also ordered the catfish sandwich, having loved the catfish dinner when it was a special many moons ago, though it's no longer offered so far as I know, only the sandwich. (The difference is, sandwich has a bun and mayo and comes with fries, dinner had no bun, mustard sauce and more interesting sides.) But after I did so I saw someone apparently receiving the catfish dinner after all, probably makes sense since the only thing you'd need to add was the mustard sauce. I plan to investigate further next time, because that catfish dinner is still my favorite thing at Feed-- not that I don't like many other things as well.

I have not heard much mentioned of the underworld underground hot dog stand underneath Flash Taco at Damen and North, so I thought I would chime in on the surprising burger. It was quite substantial and surprising and truly char grilled over charcoal. I would rate it far superior to Weiners Circle. The double cheeseburger was likely in excess of a half pound, and WITH fresh cut fries, comes in at $4.25. I've seen similar hot dog stanbd burgers run close to double that in price. For the wealthy Wicker Park area, this is a real steal.

The downstairs is only 4 tables and the hiphop music playing there is too loud, but for grab and go it is worth it.

...charcoal? No. Gas, maybe with those flavorizer bars that make the fat/juices sizzle, but still gas.

It's an OK burger. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, though. And by out of my way, I mean cross two streets.

I will say that Underdog is generally decent. Unlike, say, swank frank across the street, fries are included in the price, and they aren't bad. Note that I haven't ordered anything besides hot dogs/polish sausage/burgers.

FWIW, the onion rings at Swank Frank are well above average.

I had a totally uninspired chili cheese burger at Tommy's Guitars & rock-n-roll Cafe this weekend. bleech is all i can say. the meat completely without seasoning as well was the chili. it was a watery chili that tasted as tho it were made with meat substitute rather than beef, and the beans were a bit toothsome. AND they don't serve fries with their sandwiches.

I've always wanted to like this place - how awesome is it to eat while surrounded with a bunch of cool guitars (and my fav was the Dimebag Darrel Lightning Electric Guitar Pack), but alas, the food failed me.

While driving over there I noticed that my beloved dive grill, the Lighthouse on the corner of chicago and western is now shuttered, and it had a sign directing folks to tommys. i didn't get the chance to ask our server if tommy's was planning on opening something in that location...

Tommy's Guitars & Cafe
tommysguitars.com
2500 W Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60622

gleam wrote:...charcoal? No. Gas, maybe with those flavorizer bars that make the fat/juices sizzle, but still gas.

They seem to grill the burgers on a contraption identical to the one at Charcoal Delights; underneath you can see charcoal. I am not saying this is destination food, only that the quality and preparation surprised me, and the price alone trumps similar beloved hot dog stand burgers. I mean, I am cheap. I do not want to spend 10 bucks in a hot dog stand for a burger and fries no matter how good.

Detailing, documenting, distinguishing among even the most minor of food discoveries is why I appreciate LTH forum. It is almost like being in grad school again. I do wish there was more focus on value, especially in the lower end chow. Lots of street food stuff has crept up in price mysteriously. Why is a pizza slice over $3 lately? When did a jr. burrito start to cost more than [I recall] the going rate for regular burritos? Finding a legit double cheeze for $4 with the fries tossed in is a big deal. Reminds me of the glory days of Demon Dogs.

I'd be really interested in a thread detailing good under-rated or lesser known places that have never really raised their prices.

Marco wrote:I have not heard much mentioned of the underworld underground hot dog stand underneath Flash Taco at Damen and North, so I thought I would chime in on the surprising burger. It was quite substantial and surprising and truly char grilled over charcoal. I would rate it far superior to Weiners Circle. The double cheeseburger was likely in excess of a half pound, and WITH fresh cut fries, comes in at $4.25. I've seen similar hot dog stanbd burgers run close to double that in price. For the wealthy Wicker Park area, this is a real steal.

The downstairs is only 4 tables and the hiphop music playing there is too loud, but for grab and go it is worth it.

Where is this place, again? Underneath Flash Taco? I dont really know Flash
Taco either - is this a basement of the place or something? And are they
open late, do you know? (Was on Damen only yesterday at near 1am,
if there was a good burger nearby at that hour it would be a Good Thing).

(BTW, any decent burgers available late anywhere there? Say 3000-4000
North Damen ish, or anywhere further north?)

c8w

c8w wrote:

Marco wrote:I have not heard much mentioned of the underworld underground hot dog stand underneath Flash Taco at Damen and North, so I thought I would chime in on the surprising burger. It was quite substantial and surprising and truly char grilled over charcoal. I would rate it far superior to Weiners Circle. The double cheeseburger was likely in excess of a half pound, and WITH fresh cut fries, comes in at $4.25. I've seen similar hot dog stanbd burgers run close to double that in price. For the wealthy Wicker Park area, this is a real steal.

The downstairs is only 4 tables and the hiphop music playing there is too loud, but for grab and go it is worth it.

Where is this place, again? Underneath Flash Taco? I dont really know Flash
Taco either - is this a basement of the place or something? And are they
open late, do you know? (Was on Damen only yesterday at near 1am,
if there was a good burger nearby at that hour it would be a Good Thing).

(BTW, any decent burgers available late anywhere there? Say 3000-4000
North Damen ish, or anywhere further north?)

c8w

The place underneath Flash Taco is called Underdogg. I believe it is open as late as Flash Taco. (As it's been several years since my bar-crawling days in Wicker Park, I can't say that I've ever been there or can vouch for it.)

Perhaps I missed mention of it in my browsing of this thread, but if not I am suprised no one has mentioned Portillo's burgers.

I had never actually been much of a fan of Portillo's until my fiance was craving her favorite Veggie Croissant sandwich on the way home from the hospital one day, so I told her to grab me "whatever". What she came back with was a double cheeseburger that rivalled most of my favorite respected hamburger places.

I think it is the consistency of their burger that really does it for me. It isn't pressed or formed too much so it retains a loose, almost crumbly texture. It also has a nice balance of grease and char, and a great bun.

I certainly know that since then, I have made her stop to pick up dinner at Portillo's on her way home from work quite a few more times (though the single cheeseburger is plenty).

Jamie

c8w wrote:Where is this place, again? Underneath Flash Taco? I dont really know Flash
Taco either - is this a basement of the place or something? And are they
open late, do you know? (Was on Damen only yesterday at near 1am,
if there was a good burger nearby at that hour it would be a Good Thing).

During my days visiting Wicker Park 4-5 years ago (for weekly meetings of a group from church), a bunch of us would make it a regular habit to grab a burrito from Flash Taco at 9 or 10 P.M., as we met only a block of two away from the intersection of North Avenue, Damen, and Milwaukee where Flash actually resides. The prices for the burritos went up during my time there, but we managed to squeeze some decent value from those bulky (and leaky) wraps for what we paid. It was a group favorite, usually over Penny's noodle shop next door.

Flash Taco
1570 N Damen Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 772-1917

Some important numbers...

Business Hours :
Mon - Fri: 9am - 5am
Sat: 10am - 6am
Sun: 10am - 3am

Delivery Hours : 10am - Midnight

I never visited Underdog during my jaunts to Wicker Park, but I should make it a point to try their dogs and burgers sometime -- and maybe relive my beef burrito days at Flash Taco. At any rate, hope some of this helps!

--Dan

It's downstate and has the atmosphere of a toolshed, but Gunner Buc's in Mattoon has the best burgers I've ever eaten. And they're cheap, too. You have to build your own burger, but that only guarantees you get what you want.

Working my way thru the list we decided to visit The Twisted Spoke after picking up my son from the train station.

I have heard about The Fatboy burger. I even have hear rumors of ballot box stuffing when there is an online poll of Best Burger in Chicago polls.

It was a big burger nicely prepared. The grind was a little fine for my taste but the bacon (good quality! ... and thick) and BBQ sauce were a nice touch.

I went full bore and ordered a Double Fatty and the bakery style bun was no match for all of the ingredients. I attempted to order it with 'everything' and the waitress warned me that that would include all four cheeses. I held my order to just one of the cheese offerings.

Halfway thru the Double it disintegrated in my hands with half of one patty falling onto the plate. Maybe if I had cut it in half?

We started the meal with the Portabella Fingers. A large portion, ightly breaded (maybe too lightly) with a nice bite to the dipping sauce. The chicken noodle soup was good too.

Great fries! Nicely browned with a good flavor.

Several members of our party had to take part of the large portions home to enjoy the next day.

Here is the menu for your pre-dining pleasure...



Menu Page 1
Menu Page 2
Menu Page 3
Menu Page 4
Menu Page 5
Menu Page 6
Menu Page 7

Only drawback is that it was that the restaurant was cold on the near zero and windy night.