Just curious, since I've been to Kuma's and thought the Kuma burger was outstanding, how do you guys compare the following burgers to the Kuma burger:

1)Rosebud
2)Grafton
3)Twisted Spoke
4)Erwins

Thanks,
B

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself in a Burger mood. But is was easter sunday and I couldn't find a close burger place that was open. After driving past a couple of different burger places, I finally settled on something totally different : a mix plate at Aloha Grill. But a funny thing happened.

After I ordered my BBQ mix plate, I noticed that Aloha Grill also offers burgers. I ask the counterwoman about the burgers and she told me that they used handformed patties. That was enough to get me to order one, in addition to the mix plate I already had coming.

The burger came as I was happily slopping macaroni and chicken into my mouth. I never went back to the mix plate. This was EXACTLY what I wanted. A very well proportioned patty on top of a traditional white hamburger bun with a nice tomato slice and some pickles. Not earth shattering, but a very good, well made burger. This isn't destination dining, but a great additional find on an otherwise great menu.

Wow, what are the odds, ive been meaning to do a post on the burgers at aloha grill forever and I will second the rec. Aloha grill is fast becoming my favorite place to grab quick food in the area (im averaging about 3 times per week) and the reason is due to the fact they do everything above average and the burger is no exception in fact all of their sandwich choices including the BBQ chicken and mahi mahi are outstanding. Im going to tab Aloha's fresh made burgers as the "best burger under $3 in the city". As far as dining in Lincoln Park goes this is one of he better choices due to the fact you wont find any place else like it in Chicago.

No reason for this picture except pure, gloppy food pornography.

Twisted Spoke
501 N. Ogden Ave.
312-666-1500

Last night, after watching Clayton Kershaw and the Great Lakes Loons spank the Kane County Cougers 3 - 0, we decided to stop at The Country House. TCH had posters all over the stadium touting their huge award winning burgers. The posters at the ballpark showed a burger at least 1/3 bigger than the bun it sat on.

The reality was somewhat different. Country House is a mini chain of sorts, having 3 restaurants spread across the hinterlands of the Western Suburbs. Upon entering, one is greeted by several plaques on the wall, each proclaiming the burger to be the best in Chicagoland. Despite the fact that they had some sort of duck medallion dish on the menu that was calling my name, I was compelled to try this highly touted burger. The burger itself is a 1/2 lb.-er that is flavorlessly charred over gas flames. The meat is unseasoned before hand, making for a somewhat bland burger that arrived well done despite being ordered medium. It is not the behemoth of the baseball stadium poster, but a burger that fits nicely in its bun (light and dark rye are also available). A saving grace are the sweet caramelized onions that can come on top of the burger. While I wouldn't say that this burger is even in the top 10 in Chicagoland, let alone the best, it's a perfectly serviceable bar burger. The outside deck (if you can manage to get a table) is very nice on a beautiful evening like last night. There is a pretty sizable beer list for those so inclined.

Country House Burger


Country House
2095 S. Kirk Road
Geneva, IL
630-208-8181
Locations in Clarendon Hills and Lisle as well

Had a really good burger at L. Woods on Saturday. It wan't grilled. It was fried. But nonetheless. I asked for medium rare, and I got medium rare. Nice eggy bun, that took the juice without giving up too much of its, um, bundum? I enjoyed it a lot. And the fact that you can get a chilled mug of Sprecters Root Beer doesn't hurt.

I have to say this is one of the Melman places I really don't have an issue with. Don't get me started on his other places. Good food. Attentive servers. Nice atmosphere. A good market across the street. New York Bagel right up the street. The only downside is that due to pricing, they've taken the shrimp cocktail off the menu. BOO. When I talked to a manager about it, he said they were throwing shrimp out. It seems to me as though that's something they could work out. Order less, run out. Win/win. Is shrimp cocktail a loss leader in places?

Had a burger at Mrs. Murphy's on Lincoln last night. Eh. Ordered Medium, got Well. Came with bacon, some sort of cheese, and an orangey sauce (that was good, if a bit hard to figure out what exactly it was). Normal food service fries. The bacon was also overcooked.

saps wrote:My updated top ten list: I stress "my". The list is never complete and always changing. Number 1 is never safe.

1AA- Rosebud Steakhouse

2. The Spot, Marengo, IL

Finally had a chance to try The Spot. My wife liked it even more than me, but I still thought it was a great burger (and interesting if slightly dangerous place). It's a BIG burger as will be apprant after I download my pic.

Has anyone tried Hop Haus on Franklin & Erie? I have a coupon and the wild boar burger is calling me, but I haven't heard the best news about it. Any thoughts? And if anyone can tell me the correct way to pronounce "coupon", I'd appreciate it. I say 'kewpon', my boyfriend says 'coopon'; is this a tomayto tomahto thing?

Pie Lady wrote:Has anyone tried Hop Haus on Franklin & Erie?

Hop Haus thread with a couple reviews

Best,
Michael

Has anyone tried Hop Haus on Franklin & Erie? I have a coupon and the wild boar burger is calling me, but I haven't heard the best news about it. Any thoughts?

Strange coincidence - I was there yesterday and had just that, the boar burger. My two cents? Shoulda tried the kangaroo. At least I've never had that before.

I ordered it medium rare, got a burger with a smidgen of pink in the middle. Comes with bacon, cheese (gouda, I think) and a peppercorny mayo spread on it. The bun - it was like one of those breathstrips that dissappear in your mouth. By the time I was through with the first half, the bun had literally disintegrated into nothing under my thumb.

Not only that - it tasted underbaked - like a dinner roll you took out of the oven a couple minute early.

Also had a Kelpie Seaweed beer, which was equally bland. Did nothing for me.

If someone wanted to go to Hop Haus and was determined to go, I'm sure I'd go back with 'em and give it another shot - like I said, the idea of kangaroo is intriguing although I'm sure less impressive than I've built it up to be - but I'm sure I'd try to steer 'em towards Kuma's.

How much is the coupon for? The boar-burger is about $13, so if you can knock it back to the $10 that Rosebud's or Kuma's charges, it'd be worth a shot just for comparison's sake.

Rosebud Steakhouse's "Best Burger in Chicago."

My verdict?

Very good in the "excessive" category. Huge, hard to bite into. High quality steak-tasting meat with subtle but apparent seasoning. Medium rare actually arrived medium rare, as you can see. Not wild about the effete skinny fries. All in all, well worth a try.

Yesterday seemed like it would be dud. Cloudy, cool, and gray - eh. Happy Memorial Day, I guess. Then, as if the gods were tired of my griping, the sun came out and the birds started chirping and all of a sudden, summer was in the air. And what do you do with an unexpected summer feeling? For me and the guy, only one thing suffices. We strap on our walking shoes and head on over to Moodys Pub. I know it's not the best burger. I know the fries can be limp with grease. But when they get it right, man alive, it's like heaven on a plate. Yesterday, they got it right. Perfectly medium rare cheddar burger with crisp fries. Sangria that was tart and not cloying. And the outdoor patio - practically shimmering with the late afternoon sun.

I wonder why I live in Chicago nine months out of the year. Days like yesterday make me remember

Since I don't have a car anymore, getting to some of the places talked about here is a logistical challenge for me. This weekend, however, I rented a car for some family events in the suburbs, and yesterday afternoon I drove from Rogers Park down Lake Shore Drive to E. 71st with a friend, to sample That's-A-Burger hamburgers.



It took about 20 minutes for the order to be complete; two or three people had ordered in front of us. We passed the time talking to one of the other customers, standing on the sidewalk out front.

Hamburgers in-hand, we drove to nearby Rainbow Beach (where I'd spent a good part of my childhood beach time), and enjoyed them while looking out onto the Chicago skyline - sitting on a park bench shaded by a large tree.

I liked the flavorful hamburger, and the fries which I think are as good as you get at Gene & Jude's. I ordered a cheeseburger, and my only disappointment was how the cheese seemed to have disappeared by the time I ate the burger. Next time, I'm going to order extra cheese.

The upside of the less-than-sufficient cheese presence, I suppose, was the ability to better enjoy the flavor of the meat.

It was a near perfect lazy-day outing.

That's-A-Burger
2134 East 71st Street
Chicago, IL 60649-2116
773.493.2080
(A couple of storefronts E. of Merrill Ave., on the N. side of the South Shore rail tracks running down the middle of E. 71st. St, between Jeffrey and South Shore Drive)

Leaving the tomato, lettuce, and pickle on the burger made it impossible to eat -- could not fit into my mouth...
Reminded me or erwins, the burger is too thick to comfortably eat...

The meat at rosebud was definitely high quality but overall, the kuma burger is more satisfying due to its ease of eating...

Thats my take!

Hamburger Mary is serving up some of the best burgers I've had in Chicago. The meat was tender, lots of cheese (which is crucial for my happiness) and really, don't be scared by the special sauce.
plus it's by that cute dog treat bakery in andersonville.

i like to eat vicariously through these boys, who blog about the best burgers in chicago. yum. i kind of want to be their friend.

peglegged_heart wrote:Hamburger Mary is serving up some of the best burgers I've had in Chicago. The meat was tender, lots of cheese (which is crucial for my happiness) and really, don't be scared by the special sauce.
plus it's by that cute dog treat bakery in andersonville.

There is a Hamburger Mary's thread floating around here somewhere. As far as i can recall, I don't think it was too positive.

gp60004 wrote:

peglegged_heart wrote:Hamburger Mary is serving up some of the best burgers I've had in Chicago. The meat was tender, lots of cheese (which is crucial for my happiness) and really, don't be scared by the special sauce.
plus it's by that cute dog treat bakery in andersonville.

There is a Hamburger Mary's thread floating around here somewhere. As far as i can recall, I don't think it was too positive.

Here you go

Best,
Michael

Nearly a year to the day later I found myself close enough to 95th street as to make Top-Notch Beefburger worth a try again. Again, I had no camera, but at least I was armed with the determination to try the 1/4-lb. burger, not the 1/2-lb., and see if the thinner patty cooked fast enough on the griddle to avoid becoming soggy and stewed like the 1/2-lb. did to my taste.

In a word, yes. In another word, there are few restaurants in Chicagoland more aptly named than Top-Notch Beefburger. The thinner patty, cooked to a bit of a sear on the outside (not as heavy as some places, but enough), served on a freshly-baked bun with those terrific fries cooked in beef tallow... well, I hate to say "best burger in Chicago" because, really, something like the burger has so many varieties that no one choice could ever exhaust the topic. But best burger in its old school grill-diner class? I think I would give it that prize, I do think I would. It tastes like real fresh beef, not a frozen patty-puck, it positively melts into the freshly-baked bread with delicious beefy cheesy oniony freshly-bakedy unctuousness, those fries are a Proustian rush of the bad old cooking-with-lard days before our food got healthier and we all got fatter... I've only been to the west one in Oak Lawn, which has all the atmosphere of a rest home mess hall, so I suppose I should dock it something for not being as 50s cool as Johnsen's Blue Hi-Top, but purely in terms of what's on your plate, the archetypal no-frills burger and fries, Top-Notch could hardly be bettered. That is... the 1/4-lb. burger and fries at Top Notch could hardly be bettered.

I had the displeasure of trying the burger at Twisted Spoke on Clark two weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon. I'm assuming it was the server's first day, so I won't judge too harshly his incompetence (asking one person's drink order, running away, coming back and asking the rest, etc.). However, we weren't asked how we wanted our burgers cooked. They ended up coming out medium, verging on medium well. They were small, dry, and almost flavorless. Some friends' burgers didn't have the requested toppings, and the fries were soggy.

Seeing as how I live so close to the Twisted Spoke, I figure I'll eventually give it a try again, but for now I think I'll look for better burger opportunities in the area.

Grafton Burger Report:

Took my G-friend to the Graf and both of us were sorely disappointed --- absolutely no flavor at all... like they forgot to put in the ingredients

My wife and I tried the Hop Haus, the new burger and brew joint from the Leona's family, last night for a quick bite before a show at the Goodman. We both went with the traditional burger with cheddar and bacon (I can't find the menu online, but they have 24 burgers or so including buffalo, kangaroo, venison, vegan, tuna, etc.).

I thought it was a very solid burger. Big, with a good outside char, yet cooked properly (medium). Fries were OK. Best touch was shredded dill pickle.

They had an extensive beer list, which we didn't have time to fully explore, alas.

The place has a real sports bar vibe, but welcomes families. I read somewhere the kitchen stays open until 4 a.m. every day.

Overall, I'm not sure it's worth a special trip, but if in the neighborhood I wouldn't hesitate going back. There's usually some street parking near Erie and Franklin, so that is a plus. And the service was also very good and prompt.

Here's a list from Restaurants and Institutions magazine of the best chain burgers. At least the loco moco from L&L Hawaiian Barbecue made the list...

http://www.rimag.com/archives/2007/07b/400-burgermania.asp

Yob burger at Kuma's: roasted red pepper, gouda and cheddar, bacon.

Mike G wrote:In a word, yes. In another word, there are few restaurants in Chicagoland more aptly named than Top-Notch Beefburger. The thinner patty, cooked to a bit of a sear on the outside (not as heavy as some places, but enough), served on a freshly-baked bun with those terrific fries cooked in beef tallow... well, I hate to say "best burger in Chicago" because, really, something like the burger has so many varieties that no one choice could ever exhaust the topic. But best burger in its old school grill-diner class? I think I would give it that prize, I do think I would. It tastes like real fresh beef, not a frozen patty-puck, it positively melts into the freshly-baked bread with delicious beefy cheesy oniony freshly-bakedy unctuousness, those fries are a Proustian rush of the bad old cooking-with-lard days before our food got healthier and we all got fatter... I've only been to the west one in Oak Lawn, which has all the atmosphere of a rest home mess hall, so I suppose I should dock it something for not being as 50s cool as Johnsen's Blue Hi-Top, but purely in terms of what's on your plate, the archetypal no-frills burger and fries, Top-Notch could hardly be bettered. That is... the 1/4-lb. burger and fries at Top Notch could hardly be bettered.

Stopped in at Top Notch a couple weeks ago as well... they do make a pretty
decent burger IMHO (however, I *do* think the burger can be bettered - its a
good burger, but not the best there is IMHO). However, as you say, the
burger-and-fries... thats hard to better, because their fries are IMHO by far
the best in Chicago. And I think their shake might well be the best in CHIcago
as well (well, at least their vanilla-malt might be, thats what I got). Thus, good
burger, fantastic fries, fantastic shake... overall one of the best combinations
in the city IMHO (Paradise Pup, for example, has IMHO a superior burger but
its fries and shake arent close to Top Notch).

For Beyond Chicagoland, BTW... I still find Todd's Grille in Oconomowoc WI to
be the best burger anywhere (Ive tried it a couple more times the past two
months, and its been awesome both times)... if youre ever anywhere near
the area you *must* stop in. The burger at The Spot in Kenosha was pretty
good too, and Cold Spring Inn in Whitewater Wisconsin makes a pretty
good bar burger as well (the 1/2 lb version)... however, the Cold Spring
Inn is I believe better known for its fish and pork etc (it feels like it would
be a quite excellent Wisconsin Supper Club in general).

c8w

Went to O'Donovan's for their Monday night $2 burger. It was fine, nothing special. Definitely a bargain. Fries (included) are industrial, I'd ask for them to be extra cooked next time. For sure worth $2, maybe even worth $5. My companions all got 2 each.

I don't think I ever thought I'd find myself saying this, but in the battle for bar-burger supremacy in the Lincoln Square area, the winner is...

The Atlantic Bar and Grill at Winnemac & Lincoln.

I have had both Atlantic's and Jury's in the past couple weeks, and found the Atlantic's to have one important quality that the Jury's burger lacked: Taste.

Atlantic's meat tasted fresher and far more seasoned/flavored, the fries didn't taste like they came out of an Oreida bag, and they had Chef sauce! The Irish equivalent of HP, from what my wife tells me. And to add to the semi-celtic authenticity of the place, footy on the telly and a fellow Scot for my wife to chat with over burgers.

Jury's was just blah. As Homer Simpson might say, "Borrrrrrrrrring." The National Geographic may know world travel and beautiful photography, but their knowledge on burgers is questionable at best.

I just got a new 'worthy' camera and decided to give it a whirl.

Last week I happened to be in the neighborhood of one of my favorite burger places, Paradise Pup.


They are a purveyor of Merkt's Cheddar on their burgers and dogs not unlike The Weiner Circle on Clark.


The menu is fairly standard for a typical hot dog stand. The option to have a 'char' dog is good and standard for the hamburgers. Prices pretty good too!




Toppings are typical Chicago. The option to have rye (grilled) for the burger is nice!


Grilled onions are a must! Sometimes I get both.


The fries are seasoned and coated. A nice crunch and a good flavor.


The large flower garden out front and the Corvette parked in back added a special touch to the visit.




All in all a great burger and a nice place to stop!

Paradise Pup
1724 S River Rd
Des Plaines, IL 60018
(847) 699-8590

Open Mon-Sat 11am-5pm Closed Sunday

Panther in the Den wrote:All in all a great burger and a nice place to stop!

A great burger and terrific pictures!

A '63 split window and a burger from the Pup. Very fine, indeed.