Where to buy great burger buns?

I'm about to head up to Paulina right now. Grabbing some steaks and pork fat to grind burger patties for tomorrow's Bear game.

Really, i was looking to buy some good pretzel rolls so I could do my best replica of a Kuma's burger, but your guys' suggestions are welcome.

Where do you guys go (in chicago) to get good, fresh burger buns, pretzel roll or otherwise?

Thanks and Bear Down

Dave

RAB grilled burgers last Sunday night. We were at Costco and didn't want to make an additional stop for burger buns. We went with their ciabatta rolls, which worked out nicely. They come in bags of eight and were super-fresh. The great thing about them is that they held the rare half-pound burgers and toppings well. Nothing falling out the sides, which can be a problem with a wimpier bun. We toasted them, and enjoyed the nice chew. It's not a typical burger bun, but it served our purposes very well. (Btw, the ciabatta rolls also make for a great pan bagnat, which I enjoyed for lunch twice this week. The ciabatta does a great job soaking up the yummy oil.)

We've also bought kaiser rolls and brioche-like buns at Whole Foods. The problem I've found with WF, though, is that not every WF has the same baked goods.

I did a quick search of "pretzel rolls," and justjoan in the Kuma's thread mentions that they have them at Olivia's Market in Wicker Park, which isn't too terribly far from Paulina's.

REB wrote:I did a quick search of "pretzel rolls," and justjoan in the Kuma's thread mentions that they have them at Olivia's Market in Wicker Park, which isn't too terribly far from Paulina's.

If those are from Labriola Bread,they're the best I've ever had.

The ones at Olivia's are indeed LaBriola, and they're quite good, but they're oval, not round.

I thought I saw pretzel rolls at the meat counter at Paulina a few weeks ago. Did not try them so can't vouch for quality. You might give them a call to check if they have them and what bakery they are from.

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I'm headed up to Paulina right now, so i'll see what they got.

We're not leaving until around 2 tomorrow, so i've got time to run some errands tomorrow morning, so if there are any other suggestions you guys have, post 'em up.

I don't shop at WF, so that one is kind of out, but i've got beer to grab at Costco, so i'll check those out.

Dave

The Lincoln Quality Meat Market at Lincoln and Leland advertises pretzel breads and rolls, so I'd give them a call and see what they say.

I'm looking forward to seeing how those burgers turn out.

Not much help now, but for future reference the best Pretzel rolls I have ever had are from the bakery vendor at the Farmers Market at the School @ Melrose and Broadway. All I know is that they are there from Spring to Thanksgiving and they are located in St. Charles. Also have fabulous Scones and Muffins.

Has anyone checked out some of the local bakeries, such as Red Hen and Fox & Obel. I'm wondering if any of the local bakeries make a really good bun, maybe a brioche bun. I'm not as much a fan of the pretzel buns.

Harvestime carries the laBriola pretzel roll in the round form. Plus a lot of other LaBriola products.

They come four to a package for four bucks - which is a lot but they are a superior product.

To paraphrase Sir Mix-A-Lot:

"I don't want none unless you got LaBriola Buns, hun."

If you're looking in the SW burbs, Brookhaven in Burr Ridge has the LaBriola pretzel rolls. They are outstanding. I have not seen them at the Darien location which is too bad because that's more often on my route.

In a couple of weeks, I am going to run the Chicago Marathon and we are having a party at my brother's house in Edgewater Glen afterwards. The Mrs. is going to make some burgers for the party, but wanted to know if there was a place between Naperville and Edgewater Glen that someone would recommend for good burger buns. I was thinking of Labriola, but they do not sell their pretzel buns retail. Red Hen was another thought, but they were slightly out of the way.

Any help would be great.

That all depends. What's Edgewater Glen?

Its a sub neighborhood of Edgewater...

North boundary : Devon
South boundary: Hollywood/Ridge
East Boundary: Broadway
West Boundary: Clark/Ashland

I was thinking of Labriola, but they do not sell their pretzel buns retail.

Actually, if you search the forum, the LaBriola pretzel rolls are available at many outlets. Happy Foods on Devon/Central has them occasionally. I've seen them at Fresh Farms on Touhy pretty much every time I've been there (in the bread racks just past the cheese and cured meat islands).

KevinT wrote:In a couple of weeks, I am going to run the Chicago Marathon and we are having a party at my brother's house in Edgewater Glen afterwards. The Mrs. is going to make some burgers for the party, but wanted to know if there was a place between Naperville and Edgewater Glen that someone would recommend for good burger buns. I was thinking of Labriola, but they do not sell their pretzel buns retail. Red Hen was another thought, but they were slightly out of the way.

Any help would be great.

As Norman said, Labriola sells the pretzel buns retail. I saw them yesterday at Olivia's Market at Wabansia and Damen, along with some non-Labriola brioche hamburger buns that looked pretty good, too.

spinynorman99 wrote:

I was thinking of Labriola, but they do not sell their pretzel buns retail.

Actually, if you search the forum, the LaBriola pretzel rolls are available at many outlets. Happy Foods on Devon/Central has them occasionally. I've seen them at Fresh Farms on Touhy pretty much every time I've been there (in the bread racks just past the cheese and cured meat islands).

I've also been using the Fresh Farms Challa rolls/buns that they bake in house. They're my current favorite bun, but I'm fickle when it come to buns so that will change sooner than later.

LaBriola lists their retail outlets on their website. You might try calling one convenient to you to see if they carry pretzel rolls:

http://www.labriolabaking.com/locations.htm

stevez wrote:

spinynorman99 wrote:

I was thinking of Labriola, but they do not sell their pretzel buns retail.

Actually, if you search the forum, the LaBriola pretzel rolls are available at many outlets. Happy Foods on Devon/Central has them occasionally. I've seen them at Fresh Farms on Touhy pretty much every time I've been there (in the bread racks just past the cheese and cured meat islands).

I've also been using the Fresh Farms Challa rolls/buns that they bake in house. They're my current favorite bun, but I'm fickle when it come to buns so that will change sooner than later.

I'll second the Fresh Farms Challa rolls, if you like a heavier bun (depends on the style of burger what kind of bun) I never saw the pretzel rolls, will look for those! Does Argo bakery have any interesting bun-like breads that would be good on hamburgers? I've spent too much time focusing on other things there....

Tel Aviv bakery also makes a great challa roll. They make some like the Queen Esther sausage rolls that are filled with onions, like those sold at Romanian Kosher Sausage (except round). Unfortunately, as has been stated elswhere, Tel Aviv has a fast turnover, and are frequently out of stuff (but there is usually some interesting substitute).

Tel-Aviv Kosher Bakery
2944 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 764-8877

Last time I was in Red Hen, probably a couple of months ago, I asked and they did not have buns, which is too bad. Olivia's is pretty close, and they usually have both brioche and pretzel buns, both of which are pretty good.

Dynamite pretzel rolls and buns at Mamma Susi, the Turano bakeshop:

6501 W Roosevelt Rd
(between Gunderson Ave & Scoville Ave)
Berwyn, Il 60402

I get the little ones on Sunday fresh, freeze them right away, and then use them throughout the week for packing lunch for the teacher. They also microwave perfectly for snacking with some Honeycup Mustard.

My search for the perfect hamburger bun has ended. Nicole's Divine Crackers, mentioned in this thread, makes fantastic brioche hamburger buns. In fact, it's a damn good brioche on its own, but when lightly toasted and lightly buttered, I can't think of a better vehicle for a good burger. As far as brioche goes, I thought they were a little on the light end of the butter ratio, which to me makes sense for a burger bun. They're not cheap, but who says that a burger and its bun has to be cheap (and all of the components still cost far less than what I'd pay at a restaurant for a top burger).

for the pretzel bun fans among us, I've found that Trader Joe's makes a decent enough imitation of the Labriola or Highland Baking Company (the ones that Kuma's uses are from Highland) round pretzel buns. They come in 4 packs for ~$2.69, practically a bargain. They usually have them at the TJ's on Lincoln just north of Addison, they are occasionally out of stock but they're there probably 75% of the time.

The only place I've found the Labriola buns is Harvest Time Foods on Lawrence. Paulina Meat Market and Dinkel's Bakery (on Lincoln, just north of Belmont) also has pretzel buns but from the times I've sampled them, they seem to have a significantly different texture than the burger pretzel buns from TJs/Labriola/Highland; it's hard to describe but the buns from Paulina/Dinkels are much more like a big soft pretzel than a bun.

Caputo's sells the Labriola pretzel buns in a 4 pack.

Fresh Farms also sells the LaBriola pretzel buns (and Happy Foods has them occasionally)

Brioche rolls at Trader Joe's are pretty epic.