I found an online article titled Timeout Chicago 2007 Battle of the Burgers and I had some free time and put some pushpins on a Google Map.

Enjoy!

That is particularly helpful to me. Thanks!

Let me put in a word for ndg's blog, which I'm following into its third calendar year; I'm an admirer of the photography as much as the candor. We share some key favorites - That's-A-Burger (my #1), Kuma's, and Rosebud for the conventional beef (escalating from bulletproof glass to white tablecloths, with a stop in nipplestuds), and May Street and Hot Chocolate for the savory. Any chance for a mid-game recap or ranking to date for those that aren't keeping up, ndg?

I'll add Paramount, Five Guys, Top Notch, Superdawg, Hamburger Heaven (Elmhurst), and even the lowly Portillo's (inconsistent though they be) for places I've happily devoured burger offerings lately. Poag's and Spoke have declined in quality from my perspective as a long-time diner at both. I need to give Epic Burger a second shot, and find out if Hand-Burger is still open [crickets].

The last burger I had at R. J. Grunt's was much improved over any burger I've had there since 1974. I've ordered them rarely (no pun intended) because they haven't been to my liking--thin, dry, overcooked, tasting much more of whatever toppings they had than the meat itself. But for some reason on Friday I took a flyer on the burger again, and it was a whole different animal. Thicker, juicier, cooked pretty accurately to a medium rare order (if anything, a touch on the rare side of this, which was all to the good as far as I'm concerned). Hopefully not a "one-off" but an example of a new burger philosophy at Grunt's.

Thanks for the kind words, Santander. We are, indeed, still at it, even though we're down in the dregs of the list and kind of waiting for the rest of these places to go out of business before we attempt to eat at any of them (although I am glad that we made it to Tavish; it was Adam's call). I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't made it to Paramount Room or Epic Burger yet, to say nothing of Top-Notch, which really looks like my kind of place. I revisited Kuma's around Christmas and it definitely held up. I used to always prepare for Yom Kippur with a Hackneyburger, which remains one of my favorites.

I recently gave Epic Burger a second shot before i checked out Spamalot. It was moderately above average but nothing special. The patties reminded me of Culvers, which served up quite possibly the finest chain burger i've ever laid mouth on yesterday. It was sublime. Don't get me wrong, i love Culvers anyway, but yesterday's offering was simply off the charts by any standard. I'd opt for Culvers or Portillo's chain offerings before Epic Burger any day of the week.

Made it to Kumas on Saturday and partook in the Dark Throne. Great burger, and my second fave joint after Paradise Pup. They were, however, busy as hell and managed to overcook every burger at the table.

Rene G wrote:Overall I liked the Chuck Wagon and particularly enjoyed some of the menu names. I'm a bit of a sucker for that sort of thing (hence my interest in the Big Baby). Are there any other places in the north suburbs that serve a Losh?

ReneG, have you ever tried an Apollo burger, the namesake burger of Apollo Burger, an unappealing burger spot around O'Hare that rents out an old Bakers Square or something to that like.



similar to the Nikki special ala Chuck Wagon but it is char broiled and served with corned beef and coleslaw on top all on a sesame seed bun.


It was better than I thought it would be. maybe I was just really hungry, which is why I stopped in, but it was alright and at $4.95 with fries not all that bad pricewise. I doubt I'll ever be back so it wasn't great either but I had to try it because I too am a sucker for the special named burgers and sandwiches on menus.

Apollo Burgers
13 S York Rd
Bensenville, IL 60106
(630) 616-8677

Da Beef wrote:ReneG, have you ever tried an Apollo burger, the namesake burger of Apollo Burger, an unappealing burger spot around O'Hare that rents out an old Bakers Square or something to that like.

Very interesting, I didn't realize you could get a Salt Lake City style burger around here. That corned beef burger is modeled after the pastrami burger popularized by Crown Burger, a Greek owned business started in SLC in the late 1970s. Crown Burger was so popular that a bunch of local imitators followed: Apollo Burgers, Astro Burger, Atlantis Burgers, Olympus Burger etc. There's a great article on the history of the pastrami burger here.

It's not quite clear to me if the Bensenville Apollo is related to the Utah chain. I suspect not. Even though the "Apollo Burgers" fonts are nearly identical (see the Apollo Burgers website), the sign layout is slightly different at the O'Hare business. They've slipped in the words "Char Broil" instead of "Char-Broiled" at the bottom as on the Utah signs (Crown, Apollo and Astro all use this term). Also I think the original Apollo (itself a ripoff of Crown) serves only pastrami burgers, not corned beef, and cole slaw is not one of the usual toppings. Finally, the Apollo Burgers website lists only locations in Utah.

It will be interesting to see if these SLC-style burgers become popular around here. Since hearing about the glories of pastrami burgers (not to mention fry sauce) from a SLC-native coworker a decade ago, I thought this meat-on-meat combination would be a natural in Chicago.

By the way, in the burger photo above I don't notice any fry sauce with your fries. Apollo does offer the pinkish condiment, don't they?

Rene G wrote:It will be interesting to see if these SLC-style burgers become popular around here.

Does the Pinsk count?

That corned beef burger is modeled after the pastrami burger popularized by Crown Burger, a Greek owned business started in SLC in the late 1970s.

I definitely remember seeing (and may even have taken a picture of) a sign in L.A. offering Pastrami Burgers when I went there as a kid in 1972. (Could that be my first food photo?) No idea what the precise makeup of it was, but a burger with some pastrami on it seems a safe guess.

Mike G wrote:I definitely remember seeing (and may even have taken a picture of) a sign in L.A. offering Pastrami Burgers when I went there as a kid in 1972. (Could that be my first food photo?) No idea what the precise makeup of it was, but a burger with some pastrami on it seems a safe guess.

Check the link in my post above. If you scroll down a little bit, the LA pastrami burgers are discussed briefly.

The California origins of the pastrami burger are also discussed in the wonderfully detailed "Greeks Bearing Burgers" article I linked to above. I think they're still pretty popular in Los Angeles. I remember talking with TonyC about them last year in LA, but never got around to trying one. Still, I think it's fair to say that they don't dominate the burger scene there as they do in Salt Lake City.

I'd completely forgotten that pastrami burgers, and even Apollo Burgers in Bensenville, had been discussed in some detail in the Kuma's thread. Honestly, my eyes glaze over a bit whenever I see that thread jump to the top yet again.

Rene G wrote:It will be interesting to see if these SLC-style burgers become popular around here. Since hearing about the glories of pastrami burgers (not to mention fry sauce) from a SLC-native coworker a decade ago, I thought this meat-on-meat combination would be a natural in Chicago.

By the way, in the burger photo above I don't notice any fry sauce with your fries. Apollo does offer the pinkish condiment, don't they?

Thats a great article, I always love learning the popular regional foods and their history and for whats its worth the guy working the place that day at Apollo in Bensenville was definitely Greek. I actually don't remember if it was corned beef or pastrami when I ate the thing a few months back. It looks like corned beef in the picture to me so thats what I assumed. I just called and asked the young girl who picked up "what was on the apollo burger, corned beef or pastrami", and she said "yeah" and I asked which one and she said "both, they are the same thing" haha so I'm not quite sure. I actually put the side of cole slaw on the burger and also remember there being some of the orange thousand island sauce on the bottom but not served with fries. The resemblance it has to the Utah apollo burgers is very interesting and amusing. The whole thing reminds me of McDowell's from Coming to America.

Regarding pastrami burgers (or sandwiches topped with pastrami as a condiment), I'm pretty sure Erik M told me that that style is referred to as "colossal" in the L.A. area. My limited experience with the style was not positive. The pastrami used is generally lousy -- overly salty and chewy beyond anything pleasant.

=R=

Now if only the Romanburger (from Mr. Hero a Ohio sandwich chain) could be resurrected in the Chicago area.

Romanburger®



A "must-have" sandwich! Start with a fresh Italian roll and our special blend of Mr. Hero® mayonnaise with shredded lettuce, tomato, and onion. Add to that a sprinkle of our special oil 'n spice. Then slide on two grilled, juicy burgers topped with melted Swiss-American cheese, lightly grilled Genoa salami and Italian luncheon loaf. The result is a pure delight that's only available at Mr. Hero!

There used to be a location (1990ish) out on the west side of Naperville near Aurora and Ogden that I used to frequent when I worked in the area. I took several friends there to enjoy.

Then I found out that location had closed and searched out another on the far southside (maybe the last in the area?) and visited there a few times. I have since lost the address and do not know if they are still around (a Google search indicates no).

Panther in the Den wrote:Now if only the Romanburger (from Mr. Hero a Ohio sandwich chain) could be resurrected in the Chicago area.

Interesting, haven't seen one of those in my explorations. The Lincoln Burger found in Northwest Indiana is somewhat similar. Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions and tomatoes on a French roll bun. These are actually very good, I want one right now.

Lincoln's O
2813 Highway Av (just east of Kennedy)
Highland IN
219-923-4144

Da Beef wrote:

Panther in the Den wrote:Now if only the Romanburger (from Mr. Hero a Ohio sandwich chain) could be resurrected in the Chicago area.

Interesting, haven't seen one of those in my explorations. The Lincoln Burger found in Northwest Indiana is somewhat similar. Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions and tomatoes on a French roll bun. These are actually very good, I want one right now.

Lincoln's O
2813 Highway Av (just east of Kennedy)
Highland IN
219-923-4144

Philly's Best has a very good rendition of your beloved Lincoln Burger. My Bride is not too fond of the traditional Philly Beef but when she discovered the burger there, she is willing to visit any time. Maybe I can talk them into putting the requisite salami and luncheon loaf on it?

The pastrami at the Crown mini-chain in SLC isn't half bad (was just there last month, coincidentally, and stopped by an Apollo near the airport). But, yeah, most of the pastrami on hand at the LA and SLC joints isn't too good.

The bottom line for me is that almost all of this stuff is a mess that leans on the fallacy that bad+bad+bad cubed = good. Kind of like securitizing bad mortgages.

The Mr. Hero chain is not unlike Mr. Submarine here, IMO, and placing a food service patty on a bad roll with sad shredded iceberg isn't convincing me. I think I'll drop by Schoops to recalibrate....

Rene G wrote:

c8w wrote:BTW, was reading some paper while there waiting for my tacos the last time, and it mentioned "Harmony Hamburgers" on 106th, apparently been in existance since 1953 or soome such, 79 year old woman running it and currently being helped (over summer) by 10-12 yr old grandkids etc. Ever tried it? Any good?

I haven’t seen the article but will try to find it. Thanks for mentioning it. Two weeks ago I made my first stop at Harmony Hamburgers in years. Nothing has changed, in fact I doubt much has changed in 50 years. I had a long and fascinating talk with the owner and her son who has a law practice around the corner. I learned a lot about the history of Chicago and the East Side (the family has deep roots in the area). Although there are several very old businesses on 106th Street, Harmony is the only one still under original ownership. I managed to find room for a burger, your basic thin, griddle-cooked, old-fashioned burger complete with good (though greasy) grilled onions.

Harmony Hamburgers, Looking South Across 106th Street

This picture was taken in June. Sadly, since then the closet-sized tamale shop has closed.

Harmony Hamburgers
3643 E 106th St
Chicago
773-731-4615

When I drove by Harmony hamburgers last month it caught my eye because it had that old school look and I had never seen it before or read about it on here and thats rare. Then yesterday when this thread was being discussed I got the taste for a burger and scooped my buddy at Randolph and the lake with thoughts of a Nikki special and I remembered Harmony on 106th near the lake and I started driving. We got there about 2 or 3 and it was exactly how described by c8w on the forum in the newspaper article from 2005 to this day in 2009. The grandma was there with her son the lawyer who was in pictures on the wall with all sorts of powerful political people from around the country and a couple grand kids who were maybe 7 or 8 and everyone was helping run the place which had a steady flow of neighborhood traffic. I'm happy to report it still hasn't changed.







Just like ReneG I doubt this place has ever changed and based on the few descriptions on this board, it hasn't. The double cheese reminded me of a very good cafeteria style burger and of a place I used to go to when I was real young called Glenn's Hamburgers on Fullerton just east of Ashland. It tasted like a old school burger, I really enjoyed it for the fact it brought me back to my favorite spot Glenn's circa 1990 which had been there since the 50's as well. The cheese was melted perfectly and the burger at under $3 might be the best of that price in the city (three and change with fries). I had forgot to search it on the forum after spotting it but I knew that if it was discussed that ReneG would be the one to have been there. No shocker I found a post by him hidden in a Pupuseria thread. I now have a new lunch stop on my trips up to the Michigan City/Michigan area this summer.

Quick Note: I think that the double cheese could qualify as a big baby but it might of had two slices because it was real cheesy in a good way. I always go just mustard, onions and pickles on my mine but ketchup is offered.

Harmony Hamburgers
3643 E 106th St
Chicago
773-731-4615
Closed Sundays

Da Beef wrote:. . . but it is char broiled and served with corned beef and coleslaw on top all on a sesame seed bun.

It was better than I thought it would be. maybe I was just really hungry, which is why I stopped in, but it was alright and at $4.95 with fries not all that bad pricewise. I doubt I'll ever be back so it wasn't great either but I had to try it because I too am a sucker for the special named burgers and sandwiches on menus.

You almost had me fooled with the corned beef and coleslaw. If it hadn't been for the Apollo name, the Salt Lake City connection wouldn't have been apparent.



I couldn't resist going to Bensenville for an Apollo Burger (now $5.50). As you say, not a great burger but not awful either. As far as I know it's the only place around here for a SLC-style pastrami burger so for that reason alone I thought it worth visiting.

Da Beef wrote:I actually don't remember if it was corned beef or pastrami when I ate the thing a few months back. It looks like corned beef in the picture to me so thats what I assumed. I just called and asked the young girl who picked up "what was on the apollo burger, corned beef or pastrami", and she said "yeah" and I asked which one and she said "both, they are the same thing" haha so I'm not quite sure.

I understand your confusion; it sure looks like corned beef in your picture. It's too bad the woman you spoke with didn't think to glance at the menu where the mystery meat is clearly described as pastrami. I guess they can call it whatever they want but it's unlike any pastrami I've ever eaten. Considered as corned beef, it's not very good either.



The Bensenville Apollo Burgers menu is an oddity—a mix of Chicago fast food and Salt Lake City burgers. There's no question about the SLC influence. The description of the Apollo Burger is virtually identical to the Utah version. Ditto for the Golden Burger—sub garlic bread for the sesame seed bun (doesn't reading that make your stomach churn just a little?). The clincher is the fry sauce. You can read more about this vile pinkish substance in the excellent "My Oh My Do We Love Fry Sauce."

Da Beef wrote:I actually put the side of cole slaw on the burger and also remember there being some of the orange thousand island sauce on the bottom but not served with fries.

That was fry sauce. They add a good amount to the burger and have half a dozen squirt bottles on the counter so each customer can drown the fries too. Pretending I was in Utah, I grabbed a bottle and went to work. I'm not a mayonnaise lover so not surprisingly my first experience with fry sauce was not a happy one. It wasn't so bad on the burger where it melded with all the other ingredients but I thought it was disgusting on the fries. What with the burger, the fries and the creamy slaw I'm sure I got my quarterly allotment of mayonnaise in a single sitting.





After finishing my burger (but not the sauce-soaked fries) I tried to get some information on the restaurant's background but the workers were unable to help.

Thanks for mentioning this place. While it sure wasn't the culinary highlight of my year, it was an interesting way to spend part of an afternoon.

Apollo Burgers
13 S York Rd
Bensenville IL
630-616-8677

It looks like you let your Dreamsicle melt all over your fries.

deesher wrote:This thread is a bit long but I haven't seen anyone mention Naha. They serve an outstanding Angus Beef Burger with Your Choice of Cheese, Caramelized Onions and Crisp Potato Fries at lunch for $10. There may be some better burgers in the city, but Naha consistently turns out a very fine one.

Totally agree. What distinguishes Naha's burger from the pack, in my opinion, is the fragrant woodsy notes. (I believe that it is grilled over wood.) Not the cheapest burger at $15, but the quality cannot be questioned. It is served with a stoneground mustard aioli and carmelized onions, in addition to ketchup:







(Please forgive the camera phone pics.)

If you're getting the Naha burger, the gouda cheese is the perfect smokey compliment.

The Cuban pressed burger is a special at Fredhots every now and then. Quite a bite is my best description.

Oh man, that wins photo of the month, and it hasn't been a slacker month by any means.

I've always enjoyed Jury's burgers, but last week I tried their patty melt and loved it - very good flavored beef, plenty of good sauteed onions, and crispy rye toast. And I'm always a fan of their thick steak fries.

I haven't seen mention of it on LTH, but the Tallgrass burger at Big Jones easily sits near the top of my "Best Chicago Burgers" list. The $14 price tag is a bit hefty, but the burger, made with house-brewed worcestershire, fontina, wild mushrooms, and aioli is the only one that can compete with Paramount Room for the best in Chicago in my book. It comes with a heap of fries and a green goddess-type sauce on the side. We ordered it on the server's recommendation and were immensely pleased.

Went to Rosebud Steakhouse to retry their supposedly incredible burger.

Overrated. Quality beef on a bun does not a legend make. First, it was overcooked well past the requested the medium doneness. There wasn't a molecule of pink in that burger when it was brought to the table. I was starving and tired and dove into it because i didn't want to wait for another one to be prepared.

Even then, the flavor was nothig more than what you'd expect from a slab of ground beef on your backyard grill. Truly uninspiring and unmemorable.

. . did I mention they also completely forgot to bring out our appetizer. Not a good showing from the Rosebud Steakhouse yesterday.

Well, let the bashing begin!

Jeff Ruby at Chicago Magazine has penned The Best Burgers in Chicago, in which he lists his top 30 burgers, in order . . .

Jeff Ruby @ Chicago Magazine wrote:1. Prairie Grass Cafe (601 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook; 847-205-4433)
2. HotChocolate (1747 N. Damen Ave.; 773-489-1747)
3. Kuma’s Corner (2900 W. Belmont Ave.; 773-604-8769)
4. Custom House (500 S. Dearborn St., 312-523-0200)
5. Marc Burger (Macy’s, 111 N. State St., 7th floor; 312-781-3693)
6. Naha (500 N. Clark St.; 312-321-6242)
7. Abigail’s Bistro (493 Roger Williams Ave., Highland Park; 847-849-1009)
8. Top Notch Beefburgers (2116 W. 95th St.; 773-445-7218)
9. David Burke’s Primehouse (The James, 616 N. Rush St.; 312-660-6000)
10. Cortland’s Garage (1645 W. Cortland St.; 773-862-7877)
11. That’s-A-Burger (2134 E. 71st St.; 493-2080)
12. Bull & Bear (431 N. Wells St.; 312-527-5973)
13. The Capital Grille (633 N. St. Clair St., 312-337-9400)
14. Hop Häus (7545 N. Clark St.; 773-262-3783)
15. District Bar (170 W. Ontario St.; 312-337-3477)
16. Zak’s Place (112 S. Washington St., Hinsdale, 630-323-9257)
17. Duchamp (2118 N. Damen Ave.; 773-235-6434)
18. Small Bar (2049 W. Division St.; 773-772-2727)
19. Flub a Dub Chub (3021 N. Broadway; 773-857-6500)
20. Erwin (2925 N. Halsted St.; 773-528-7200)
21. Cross-Rhodes (913 Chicago Ave., Evanston, 847-475-4475)
22. Nightwood (2119 S. Halsted St.; 312-526-3385)
23. Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab (60 E. Grand St. 312-379-5637)
24. Paradise Pup (1724 S. River Rd., Des Plaines; 847-699-8590)
25. Yoshi’s Cafe (3257 N. Halsted St.; 773-248-6160)
26. Bin 36 (339 N. Dearborn St.; 312-755-9463)
27. Five Guys (2140 N. Clybourn St.; 773-327-5953)
28. Moody’s Pub (5910 N. Broadway, 773-275-2696)
29. Epic Burger (517 S. State St.; 312-913-1373)
30. The Assembly (2570 Hassell Rd., Hoffman Estates; 847-843-3993)

Lists are lists, so take this one for what it's worth but since the folks who own Prairie Grass Cafe are friends of mine, I was thrilled to see them atop the heap. They do turn out a very nice burger there. I've probably only had a third of these burgers, so I'm in no position to judge the list, though I was pleased to not see Hackney's on this list. I think they have a pretty over-rated burger, considering it's their signature item.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Well, let the bashing begin!

Jeff Ruby at Chicago Magazine has penned The Best Burgers in Chicago, in which he lists his top 30 burgers, in order.=R=

I guess they've got to write about something and burgers always seem to be a very popular subject. But what strikes me as funny is how simple the perfect burger can be and just how easy it is to screw it up. For example, give me a stale bun or a medium burger when I've asked for medium rare and what one person calls the best burger turns into a poor burger. And the stale bun/overcooked burger issue has happened to me at some of the very same places at which I have enjoyed some of my very favorite burgers. I'll be curious to read the article to find out what qualifies as a great burger though.

What I would also like to add is that I'm getting a little frustrated with the trend of adding a zillion toppings on a burger (sorry Kuma's and the like which I admit that I appreciate at times). If you give me a really good quality beef patty (6 oz. works), seasoned with just salt and pepper, cooked medium rare with a nice char and a fresh, soft bun, I'll be pretty damn happy (ok, maybe some cheddar and a couple of sweet onion slices, but too many toppings and all of a sudden the beef can't shine).