This is the status quo, in my experience. Everybody knows those burgers take 15-20 minutes each, so they try to call their orders in; not getting through is one of the reasons I don't get TAB as often as I would like (it's only 10 minutes from my office).

I got to type about it yesterday and talk about it tonight: That's-A-Burger was my candidate for overlooked Chicago hamburgers on a call in to Nick DiGilio on WGN. The conversation was stimulated by the "Hamburger America" guide by George Motz:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertain ... 6646.story

Top Notch and Billy Goat were the only two Chicago-area spots to make his list of 100 nation-wide (one criterion being that the restaurant had to be around and into hamburgers for 20 years). He had not heard of That's-A-Burger, and I wasn't sure when they were founded. George is less concerned with quality than with history and local memory, but he did pick two good ones (although TAB edges Top Notch and blows away Billy Goat). If I had more time, I was going to mention Hand-Burger as well, along with LTH, which I mentioned to the producer but didn't get to on-air.

Kuma's, Poag Mahone's, and Duke of Perth are my other current faves. Rosebud (E. Walton location) I also admire for quality and balance, but it's just not a burger place for me. Twisted Spoke is frustrating but can be magnificent if they honor medium-rare.

Time for an LTH burger book. On this topic, there's apparently market demand for every list out there, judging from the slew of recent articles and pamphlets.

Just got bought lunch at Wildfire. Their 'stuffed burger of the day' was a southwest burger, with pepperjack cheese inside, lettuce, pico de gallo and guacamole outside.

The burger, aside from having too many condiments for a true appreciation, had a wonderful grilled steak flavor, and was perfectly dark pink throughout (ordered medium rare). An $11 burger with fries is more than I'll pay for lunch, but when somebody else is buying, this one is high on my list, certainly higher than similar offerings from, say, Blackies or Bogie's Barn (neither of which I'll shake a stick at).

The regular burger at Wildfire is $9 (inc fries) & is a nice bargain in that neck of the woods, particularly for the quality of the beef. I'm not a fan of too many toppings but that Southwest burger sounds pretty good, I'll have to try one of the burger specials rather than my usual blue cheese option next time. It (& a bunch of other burger & sandwich options) are all available for dinner too at the same price as lunch. We've frequently done pre-theater burgers there either at the bar or a really early reservation (assuming we remember to make one).

Need a little guidance - I've never been a bleu cheese guy, but am developing a taste for it. If it's on a burger, I cannot imagine dressing the burger with ketchup. Mayo and quality mustard sound about right?

Ghazi,
Many folks around here will discourage you from using ketchup on burgers at all. I'm not much of a fan of mustard or mayo, and for that matter, if your burger is moist and beefy, you shouldn't need any of those damp condiments.

Bleu cheese dressing is usually mayo-based, so a thin schmear of mayo may be complementary to some cheese grilled atop your burger, and prevent meat juices from sogging your bun. I personally like a little chipotle paste (not chipotle mayo, but rather a Rick Bayless recipe that's basically dried chipotles, brown sugar, oil and garlic, with the chiles soaked, fried, ground, then fried with the other ingredients. Quite a kick) with my burgers. Another option -- maybe not an ideal item in combination with the chipotle, is a tender young mustard green: nice sharp kick balances the creamy cheese. Other than that, a slice of ripe beefsteak tomato is probably all you need.

I like bacon and horseradish on a bleu cheese burger. Maybe some grilled onions. But of course the bacon and grilled onions, I like those on just about any burger.

The proper way: bleu, grilled onions, and Dijon mustard, on a rye bun - NOT bread. This combination is best achieved at Hackney's, IMO.

My way, blue cheese, raw red onion, bacon if I feel indulgent, no mayo or ketchup & a little dijon or similar only if adding bacon.

The Peppercanister does an interesting blue cheese, chopped green olives & bacon burger which I quite enjoy. I like the sharp contrast of the olives or raw onion, rather than grilled.

Just to add to the list: I had a great pub burger recently at Govnor's Public House in Lake in the Hills.

whiskeybent wrote: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.

I had an Atlantic burger twice last week and echo the sentiments, a superior bar burger, cooked as I ordered it (medium) with some tasty fries. Tuesday night the Mrs. and I were looking for a quick late dinner, stopped at Atlantic and behold, on Tuesdays for $5 you get a burger (slightly smaller than the regular menu burger but just as tasy) and a 20 oz. Bud Light draft. Hit the spot. Nice atmosphere, terrific bartenders, I may go there to watch the Bears tomorrow.

This is sort of random, but there is a hamburger place on Lincoln east of Ashland, maybe more east by Southport....and it looks old I believe on the sign it says steamed burgers? Sorry I am trying to figure out the name of this place and if anyone likes it?

Shaggywillis wrote:This is sort of random, but there is a hamburger place on Lincoln east of Ashland, maybe more east by Southport....and it looks old I believe on the sign it says steamed burgers? Sorry I am trying to figure out the name of this place and if anyone likes it?

I'm guessing you mean Muskie's. I have not been in years, actually years and years, but my vague recollection is that of a better than decent grilled burger and hand cut fries.


Muskie's Hamburgers
2878 N. Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL
773-883-1633

I'm shocked that no one has mentioned last Monday's episode of 'How I Met Your Mother', "The Best Burger In New York". The premise is that the gang goes out in search of a burger place that Marshall ate at eight years prior and has been unable to find since (Regis Philbin is also involved, though I'm note entirely sure why). Along those lines, has anyone here been to a place once, loved it, but were unable to return for one reason or another?

For what it's worth, I'm a big fan of this show, though this episode isn't one of their better ones. Still, their ruminations on burgers -- and specifically on that search for that perfect burger -- should speak to some of us here.

It's also made me want to get up to Kuma's or the Paramount Room this weekend.

I got too try David Burke's dry aged burger during its $5 debut last week and thought so-so of it. First off the burger was brought back to me, I didnt eat there. I dont think my opinion would of changed much regardless.



I thought it was a little dry and that kind of makes sense but it was also cooked pretty well done. I liked the combo of the bacon-mayo, grilled onions and spinach but thought that the roll was too big compared to the patty. Too much bun not enough beef. I much, much prefer when the patty is larger than the bun and not vice versa esp. to this extent.



The truth of the matter is that if it was always $5 I would def. recommend that and a drink for lunch. But the only time in going to pay $15 for a burger is going to be when im stuck in the middle of no where and craving something like TAB, Paradise Pup or Top Notch. Then ill have one fed-ex'd.

What can I say im a burger purist. I love the places that do burgers and maybe a few other things and thats it. The ones that specialize in grease and stick to what they've been doing for years. David Burke's does steak and they do that really well, best in the city...they should stick to that.

David Burke's Primehouse
616 N Rush St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 660-6000

Da Beef wrote:I liked the combo of the bacon-mayo, grilled onions and spinach but thought that the roll was too big compared to the patty. Too much bun not enough beef. I much, much prefer when the patty is larger than the bun and not vice versa esp. to this extent.

One thing I didn't mention here, but probably should have, is that when I once had the burger prior to this $5 special, and paid full price, my recollection is that it (the patty) was a lot bigger. Maybe someone else here can confirm/deny, but I'm guessing that DB's pared down the burger size for this special. That may account for the skimpy bun:patty ratio.

I'm guessing you mean Muskie's. I have not been in years, actually years and years, but my vague recollection is that of a better than decent grilled burger and hand cut fries.

It sounds like Muskie's except for the steamed part, which is definitely not right; Muskie's grills over a gas fire (and as noted here, they are pretty good).

Stopped at Schoops in Michigan City yesterday while having fun in the area. Actually we stopped twice.

That was a great burger! During my first stop I had the double cheese with everything, onions grilled and a fried egg on top. Crispy edges, big, beautiful and juicy as all get out, Juicy as in "all over my face and running thru my beard, Juicy".

The burger was so big I had a tough time wrapping my big mouth around it and resorted to a bite low and then a bite high until some of the contents was pressed out and I could proceed as normal. I didn't dare put it down as the bun was hard pressed to keep the stuffing in.

Second stop right before making the drive home I had the single "Mickey" cheese burger (2 slices of cheese) again with grilled onions and the fried egg and the sandwich suffered from too much salad (lettuce and tomato) to beef ratio. I wouldn't suggest cutting back on the salad but just going with the extra patty.

The fries, not fresh cut and not cooked very well, the chocolate shake was 'just right' thick and tasty, but the soup, Cream of Chicken with Noodles was "stand a spoon up" thick and had some nice chunks of chicken and vegetables.

The decor was '50's rock and roll complete with a replica Wurlitzer jukebox by the front door. Not nearly as bright and shiny as Steak n Shake.

On the menu they have listed several locations in IL; Chicago Heights, Calumet City, Bloomingdale, Orland Park and Monee that I am eager to check out (even though I have read that some suffer from 'Mall-itus').

So far the best of the 'Thin Burgers' I have tried so far (IE: Steak n Shake, Epic Burger) and definitely worth a visit when passing thru.

Schoop's Hamburgers
4105 Franklin St
Michigan City, IN 46360
(219) 872-0170

Shaggywillis wrote:This is sort of random, but there is a hamburger place on Lincoln east of Ashland, maybe more east by Southport....and it looks old I believe on the sign it says steamed burgers? Sorry I am trying to figure out the name of this place and if anyone likes it?

I hope we can figure this place out. I have a fondness in my heart for steamed burgers (White Castle and the now closed Cock Robin) and would stop by to check it out.

It doesn't sound like Muskies but that is another place I need ot visit too.

Maybe I will make a trip and run Lincoln in the area described to find out!

Stay tuned...

Stopped by the Chicago outpost of The Counter yesterday afternoon. In a nutshell...good vanilla malted, decent burger, horrible fries, way over priced. To flesh it out more - our waitress "warned" us when we ordered our burgers that they would actually come out medium rare (rather than the medium passed as medium rare at many places) and she was right, they were perfectly cooked. We picked our own toppings (figjustin=1/3 lb beef, Tillamook cheddar, grilled onions, jalapenos, pepperoncini, scallions, ranch, regular bun, me=1/3 lb beef, sharp provolone, roasted red pepper, pepperoncini, raw onion, garlic aioli, honey wheat bun). Liked the wheat bun, the onion was nice and thinly cut, and again, both perfectly cooked (although I do like a little more char). The fries and fried pickles were delivered before the burgers which I thought was strange (timing shouldn't be that hard when all your serving is burgers and fried goodies) - the fries were originally delivered cool so we sent them back, unfortunately the quality of the fries was low so the heat didn't improved them that much (not worth $4). The pickles were sliced too thinly for frying (IMO), but were at least hot.

Steep prices will keep me from running back and I'd probably head to Duke of Perth for a burger in the immediate vicinity.

The Counter
666 W. Diversey Pkwy.

Duke of Perth
2913 N. Clark St.

From Aloha eats.

Not on the menu but I went ahead and asked for one to be made because I knew it would taste good.


The loco T: cheeseburger with a fried egg and gravy

Aloha Eats
2534 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 935-6828

Panther in the Den wrote:
On the menu they have listed several locations in IL; Chicago Heights, Calumet City, Bloomingdale, Orland Park and Monee that I am eager to check out (even though I have read that some suffer from 'Mall-itus').

So far the best of the 'Thin Burgers' I have tried so far (IE: Steak n Shake, Epic Burger) and definitely worth a visit when passing thru.

Schoop's Hamburgers
4105 Franklin St
Michigan City, IN 46360
(219) 872-0170

I go to the Schoop's in South Hammond off 80/94, it's right over the border and opposite Cabela's. Same kind of decor and is not in a mall. The food is also really good (heard about the others) and they have a bigger selection of items. Love the Mickey but I always ask for easy mustard, sometimes a little can go a long way. They do a good carry-out business so it is easy to pull off the expressway and grab a burger for the road.

Schoop's Hamburger
7235 Indianapolis Blvd
Hammond, IN 46324
219-845-7090

Speaking of Schoops, I just saw some local NBC related (I think) show (ed: 24/7 Chicago) that featured restaurateur Jerry Kleiner's favorite south side picks. I was impressed. He dragged the crew down to Old Fashioned for apple fritters, Schoops for burgers, and a good-looking chicken place I don't know.

(Edited to correct info)

Burgers are so subjective and they can vary in so many ways, so when talking about a "good" burger, it really depends on what type of burger you're looking for. Here's an unexpected entry:

I've had consistently good burgers at Chuck's in Burbank. I used to work not far from there, so we'd end up at Chuck's maybe 2-3 times a week. While the specials board often called to our tastes, occasionally, we'd just want a burger. Like many other things, Chuck's delivered.

I liked his burger because it wasn't messy or overly greasy. I'd always order mine with bleu cheese on the side. It came dressed with lettuce, tomato, and his signature sauce - a creamy, tangy bit of excellence. If you order the burger deluxe, it comes with two sides, and you can always make one of those sides a cup of Chuck's Red -- which is, in my opinion, an almost-perfect lunch. The only complaint I ever had about the burger was that the buns were a bit too big and fluffy for my taste. A small gripe, really.

Chuck's Southern Comforts Cafe - website
5557 W 79th St.
Burbank, IL 60459
(708) 229-8700

aschie30 wrote:Are burgers the only thing to eat around LTH lately?

Guilty as charged (browse up)

The best sports bar burger in the city. While Glascott's doesnt serve food, it is connected to the Athenian Room. When I want to go get a damn fine burger and to pair with it: a few brews for a reasonable price and watch all NFL and MLB games, then this is the place.


charred feta burger with their amazing Greek fries.

Athenian Room
807 W Webster Ave
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 348-5155

Glasscott's
2158 N Halsted St # 1
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 281-1205

My Top 5 Burger Places in Chicago:

5. The Duke of Perth (Clark & Diversey)

A traditional, no frills, chicago style, burger. Pretty cheap too.

4. The Counter (Diversey & Halsted)

Building your own burger is fun. Eating it is even more fun. The burger is huge. Try the sweet potato fries.
Side note: atmosphere is pretty odd

3. Rosebud (Walton & Michigan)

Not what most people go to Rosebud for, but its fantastic. The Rosebud Hamburger is 100% USDA Prime and one of the best upscale burgers in the city, second only to Bandera.

2. Bandera (Michigan & Grand)

Gourmet burger that is set over the top by the seasonings. Not quite sure what it is, but it blows Rosebud out of the water. Our guess is some secret mexican spices, but who knows. All we know is its a damn good burger.

1. Kuma’s Corner (Belmont & Elston)

This really doesn’t even need to be said. If you like burgers, you’ve already been to Kuma’s Corner. If you haven’t been here yet, WTF are you waiting for?
The biggest variety of burger options, with bigger burgers than you can imagine.
This place may very well be the unhealthiest place in Chicago, but it sure is delicious.

My wife and were looking for someplace to have a late lunch and a beer yesterday afternoon in the Oak Park area. I scratched my head for a bit and then remembered it had been years since we had been to Goldyburger. Hit there about 1:30 and there was a good crowd. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and my wife a bleu cheese burger. Burgers were great, cooked as ordered, right out of the fryer fries.....everything just right. I really enjoy the neighborhood "joint" feel to the place.

Oooof, am I full. And it's been 4 hours.

Finally made it to Kuma's Corner. Tried to go a month or so ago, and there was an hour and 45 minute wait, at about 1:30 on a Saturday. So today, we got there at about 11:50, and were the second group seated

Thought about getting the slayer with a fried egg addition and extra anger, or the ridiculous sounding one with the chicago style hot dog on top (whatsit, the Goblin Cock?), but decided to keep it simple and had the kuma burger, medium rare, becuase you can't go wrong with a fried egg. Next time I'll ask for some mayo, to get the whole burger grease/ blood / egg yolk / mayo combination going which is really as good as any French sauce , but there really wasn't a single anything about this burger that was lacking, objectionable, or honestly that could even be improved upon unless it would be adding mayo. The burger against which all other burgers shall be judged, and most likely found lacking. It was even the perfect size, any bigger would just be stupid and showing off, kind of gauche. Any smaller and it wouldn't be thick enough to sear and still leave medium rare.

The previous standard was from Kansas City, at the Westport Flea Market (bacon, cheddar, mayo), but this was a slightly better patty, a much better bun, better cheese, slightly better bacon, and actual produce instead of foodservice bagged product. And of course, the egg, which even looked like a very good egg, the yolk had a nice orangey hue to it and it was perfectly cooked.

My wife had the special, the Morbid Angel, which had parmesan cheese, mozarella, pesto, and possibly prosciutto? It was tasty, but honestly mine was better. Although the odd thing is, mine was medium rare, and bleeding on the plate, hers was medium and only slightly drippy, but hers was bright pink almost all the way through, and at a glance mine almost looked medium well except for the all the yummy bloody juice... Who knows? Had a Chambly Noire (my favorite beer, when I can find it on tap) and a Surly Bender (they were out of the coffee bender, but actually the regular was better, the coffee is a bit much). The wife had the Brown Shugga, by whoever makes that. Tasty as well.

All in all, a perfect weekend lunch.

And now I need to go to the gym and squat and deadlift or something. Or maybe run a half marathon.

Upscale Sliders?

If you like sliders you need to go to Wells on Wells. Although Wells has the typical local bar feel, its amazing food makes up for the ambiance. The sliders I had were a major step up from my usual drunken white castle fix. These little pieces of heaven came topped with blue cheese crumbles and caramelized onions, and had a cut of meat that could rival that of any steakhouse. On the side were some of the best homemade potato chips I have ever eaten.

And as if the food wasn’t good enough, Wells is open until 2am on the weeknights and 3am on the weekends. So, next time you are in the mood for a late night burger, or just don’t feel like being stuck in your bathroom for the next three days from white castle, I recommend that you try these filet sliders (in fact I insist on it).

Wells on Wells
(North & Wells)
http://www.wellsonwells.com

Shaggywillis wrote:This is sort of random, but there is a hamburger place on Lincoln east of Ashland, maybe more east by Southport....and it looks old I believe on the sign it says steamed burgers? Sorry I am trying to figure out the name of this place and if anyone likes it?

Had an afternoon to burn so My Bride and I went on a Steamed Burger hunt. Started at Southport and Lincoln and headed along Lincoln to a few blocks past Ashland. We did drive slow, pulling over to allow traffic to pass. Turned around and took the slow drive back to a few blocks past Southport.

Didn't see anything.

On a positive note we were able to stop at Muskies for a burger and a dog. Very good! Cooked as ordered to a perfect medium rare and the hot grill sealed in the juices. Not a sloppy juicy but a burst in your mouth, juicy. Nice char flavor too. The bun was strong enough to keep the whole thing together.

Even though we ate them right off the grill I did notice the patty cooling quickly against the cold lettuce. The pickle spear was mild and leaning towards the cucumber side with a nice and fresh crunch.

Next visit? The double cheeseburger and maybe a side of the mac-n-cheese bites.

Panther in the Den wrote:

Shaggywillis wrote:This is sort of random, but there is a hamburger place on Lincoln east of Ashland, maybe more east by Southport....and it looks old I believe on the sign it says steamed burgers? Sorry I am trying to figure out the name of this place and if anyone likes it?

Had an afternoon to burn so My Bride and I went on a Steamed Burger hunt. Started at Southport and Lincoln and headed along Lincoln to a few blocks past Ashland. We did drive slow, pulling over to allow traffic to pass. Turned around and took the slow drive back to a few blocks past Southport.

Didn't see anything.

On a positive note we were able to stop at Muskies for a burger and a dog. Very good! Cooked as ordered to a perfect medium rare and the hot grill sealed in the juices. Not a sloppy juicy but a burst in your mouth, juicy. Nice char flavor too. The bun was strong enough to keep the whole thing together.

Even though we ate them right off the grill I did notice the patty cooling quickly against the cold lettuce. The pickle spear was mild and leaning towards the cucumber side with a nice and fresh crunch.

Next visit? The double cheeseburger and maybe a side of the mac-n-cheese bites.

As a avid groupie of the slider I can assure you that there isn't any type of sliders or steamed burgers ala Ted's in CT. I have a list of virtually every old school slider joint in the country that I intend to try before any of them close their doors for good and there isnt one in my backyard nor is there anything like the steamed cheeseburgers found in New England.

There was a time when there was a place at 1550 W. Fullerton or thereabouts called Glen's or Glenn's hamburgers and they were the real deal. A true little grease pit and my favorite place to eat breakfast as a real young youth, they would open very early. I almost remember as if they steamed them atop a bed of onions but they weren't sliders.

Muskie's has always been solid and never dissapoint's but for some reason I always forget about it even though its so close to me. I rarely go eating anywhere that isn't at least 15 miles away from my house anymore with the hopes of finding someplace new along the way.