I've never had Meatheads but I recently had a really good burger from Smashburger in Kansas City. It was quite a bit better than Five Guys and less expensive and besides they have fried pickles. That counts for a lot with me.

From their website it looks like they are opening several places in the Chicago area in the next few months.

stevez wrote:I'm looking forward to hearing your take on Meatheads. I found them pretty much interchangeable with 5 Guys. Approximately 1.25 steps up from the mega fast food chains, but not something I'd eat again given the plethora of much better Mom & Pop burger choices around here.

I think we are going tonight for dinner before heading west. The "cajun sunrise" looks interesting, or a make your own burger also topped with an egg.

I wish I had some good mom and pop options for burgers near my work, Portillo's is the only decent, quick burger I have found.

jimswside wrote:I wish I had some good mom and pop options for burgers near my work, Portillo's is the only decent, quick burger I have found.

What about Strats? Don't you work somewhere around there?

Strats Drive Thru
231 E North Ave
Villa Park, IL 60181
630-832-0435

stevez wrote:

jimswside wrote:I wish I had some good mom and pop options for burgers near my work, Portillo's is the only decent, quick burger I have found.

What about Strats? Don't you work somewhere around there?

Strats Drive Thru
231 E North Ave
Villa Park, IL 60181
630-832-0435

I work about 15 miles south of there(i work within view of Del Rheas(willowbrook), and within 5-10 minutes of Lao Sze Chuan. Katy's, & Chinese Kitchen for reference), but Ill make note of Strats as my travels take me to that area on occasion. thanks.

jimswside wrote:

stevez wrote:I'm looking forward to hearing your take on Meatheads. I found them pretty much interchangeable with 5 Guys. Approximately 1.25 steps up from the mega fast food chains, but not something I'd eat again given the plethora of much better Mom & Pop burger choices around here.

I think we are going tonight for dinner before heading west. The "cajun sunrise" looks interesting, or a make your own burger also topped with an egg.

I wish I had some good mom and pop options for burgers near my work, Portillo's is the only decent, quick burger I have found.

I've never had one, but the burgers at the Patio look really good.

Did up the Willowbrook location of Meatheads today for lunch. I liked what we had overall, and personally think Meatheads is a much better option than 5 Guys.

2 adults and a toddler, we had a kids New England style hot dog meal that came with fries and a small drink. I had a make your own burger(2 patties, mayo, ketchup, lettuce onion, pickle, jalapenos and a fried egg). Nice burger, however the egg was cooked so it did not have a runny yolk. I asked the manager about it and said they couldnt cook an egg with a runny yolk for liabilty reasons(thanks folks who are sue happy, and the folks who help them sue).

Burger was pretty good overall for what it was(esentially a fast food burger with meat cooked a bit more than I like my burgers), overall the total package was acceptable. With Kuma's and other places that will make a great burger cooked to a correct temp(rare for me), and then top it with a runny egg, plus being pretty decent on a grill myself I can be a little picky, and spoiled when it comes to what a burger should be.

We needed more food so a regular order of fries and another New England dog were ordered. Fries were pretty good, especially with a side of cheese to dip them in. Portions are not to big. The hot dog, a foot long, thin dog served on a toasted plain bun. I really liked the dog, and could see ordering it again, beefy, flavorfull, etc.

Overall a place that will be in my regular lunch rotation if I can get in the door. Line was out the door by 11:30 today.

jimswside wrote: I asked the manager about it and said they couldnt cook an egg with a runny yolk for liabilty reasons(thanks folks who are sue happy, and the folks who help them sue).

Innumerable places apparently can cook an egg with a runny yolk, from the IHOP to Fatburger to Alinea. It's a choice, like anything else. Some burger chain not wanting to fry eggs to order does not mean --> Mabel, take down Old Glory, the bad guys just won.

JeffB, patriot-lawyer. I like my eggs runny.

If that's their policy, why are they even bothering with the eggs in the first place? Who wants a completely cooked through egg on their burger?

jesteinf wrote:If that's their policy, why are they even bothering with the eggs in the first place?

write a letter/email and ask them.

its not my policy, and I was kind of shocked/disappointed when I discovered this to be the case with my order. With that said I wasnt going to debate the manager of the store over his reply.

Jimswside, if you are looking for a great burger near your work, I suggest Walsh’s Tavern. It is just a neighborhood type place. But I think its burgers beat Portillo’s, 5 Guys, and Meatheads.

This place is probably as close to you as Katy’s Dumplings is.

Walsh's Bar and Grill
202 W. Naperville Rd.
Westmont

D

dodger wrote:Jimswside, if you are looking for a great burger near your work, I suggest Walsh’s Tavern. It is just a neighborhood type place. But I think its burgers beat Portillo’s, 5 Guys, and Meatheads.

This place is probably as close to you as Katy’s Dumplings is.

Walsh's Bar and Grill
202 W. Naperville Rd.
Westmont

D

that is close, thanks for the lead.

I can't believe you've never been to Country House...they've been making great (albeit not inexpensive) burgers for decades.

http://burgerone.com/clarendon_hills/menu.asp#spec

I have been to all 3 Country House's quite a bit actually. Lived about 2 minutes from the Lisle location.

& I Actually cooked at the Lisle location back in the day.

I never got the love for their burger(they are good, but not great imho), I do like their reuben.

I agree that MH does a fine footlong chili dog... But what's up with the 4.50 price tag!!!!??? It's ONLY a gosh darn HOT DOG!

local597 wrote:I agree that MH does a fine footlong chili dog... But what's up with the 4.50 price tag!!!!??? It's ONLY a gosh darn HOT DOG!

all things considered i think that's a borderline fair price... a regular chili dog runs around 2.50 nowadays, and the footlong is probably twice the size.

My first time at Meatheads in Naperville, I thought the burger was worse that Five Guys in Northern Virginia/DC. But the couple of times I've stopped at Five Guys Bolingbrook, it's probably a draw. I've mentioned on the Five Guys thread that in their expansion they seem to have lowered the quality of their beef from their earlier days as a local NoVa concern.

If I had Poochies or Paradise Pup near me, or even a Fuddruckers (the one closed to me in their recent bankruptcy), I'd never stop at either. To me, Five Guys is primarily a "when I'm on the road" restaurant, (as is Chik-Fil-A in another food group), when time and standardized reasonable quality exceed my ability to explore.

The $6 after tax cost of either place's cheeseburger doesn't bother me.

These one step above fastfood chain burger places walk a fine line between where the customer thinks they are being ripped off and the nice feeling they get that its not a BK or McDs crap burger.

We really liked the hot dog @ Meatheads:

I just got back from Five Guys. I think that's how many my meal was meant to serve. I ordered a cheeseburger with everything but mushrooms and I thought I heard the woman say "double"... I realized later it was indeed a double patty, and that burger was huge. I should have gotten a mini. I also should not have gotten everything, because clearly there was too much mayo/mustard/ketchup; it was tasty, but it was a mess. The fries were also too generous for me, but tasty. I love fries with the skin still on.

I love the rosemary fries at smashburger. I think they are better because they serve them in a basket not a bag. Five guys puts it all in a bag and it causes the fries to go limp. Literally the fries serve five hungry guys. I can not tell which I like best its all good to me. I have not tried meat head yet but I noticed they opened on in Glen Ellyn on Roosevelt Rd near Market Plaza.

Pie Lady wrote:I just got back from Five Guys....I ordered a cheeseburger with everything but mushrooms and I thought I heard the woman say "double"... I realized later it was indeed a double patty, and that burger was huge...

You obviously aren't familiar with Five Guys, when you order a "burger" it's automatically a double unless you specify a "little burger"...

Nope, that was my first time. My next burger will be a mini.