Smashburger in Batavia Grand Opening Today

We had nothing in the house for lunch today so I decided to try the new Smashburger at Randall Road and Fabyan Parkway in Batavia.

The restaurant is in a strip mall on the SE corner. It has good visibility from both Randall Road and Fabyan Pkwy, but the entrance to the strip mall is on Fabyan, so if you are heading south on Randall and see the sign you'll have to backtrack to get there.



I walked in shortly after noon and the dining room was full.




The menu is on the wall next to the door, but folks seemed to miss it for some reason. There were plenty of folks in Smashburger shirts makin sure that things were going well.



When i walked in there was no one at the counter so I was able to order right away. Within about 5 minutes, however, there was about 20 people in line. The counter has two registers and a cooler in the middle with bottle of beer available.



After I ordered and paid they took my name and asked me to have a seat. the food would be ready in about 5 minutes. I ordered a 1/3 lb classic Smashburger and a 1/3 lb. Windy City Burger (Cheddar cheese, haystack onions, lettuce, tomato and Gulden's mustard on a pretzel bun), an order of Smashfries (regular fries with olive oil and rosemary) and an order of sweet potato fries (also with olive oil and rosemary). The food was ready in just about 5 minutes. When the food was ready they called my name and I was out the door.

When i got home we took the food out of the bag. The carryout containers are like those that I have been seeing at some other restaurants lately, like flat chinese restaurant cardboard containers. The sandwich type was written on the top of each container. Inside, the burger was wrapped in paper and the fries were next to it.



Here is the Windy City burger and the pretzel bun...




This is where we noticed the only issue with the order. i had ordered Smashfries and Sweet Potato Fries and both burgers came with Smashfries. The ticket from the kitchen that was in the bag showed the order correctly, so the kitchen made a mistake. I can chalk this up to the grand opening.



Besides this mistake, the burgers were good. The pretzel bun was nice and soft and the burger was nicely cooked. The fries were crispy, and the addition of the rosemary was a nice touch. Was it the best burger I've eaten? No, but it was good enough to go back.

Smashburger
E. Fabyan Pkwy & Randal Rd.
842 N Randall Rd.
Batavia, Illinois 60510
630-593-5029
10AM - 10PM
http://www.smashburger.com/

Looking forward to getting there. There is already a write up in the Tribune and the Kane County Chronicle so I imagine they will be busy, that parking lot gets crazy enough just with the Trader Joe's.

Ron_L wrote:Here is the Windy City burger and the pretzel bun...




This is where we noticed the only issue with the order.

Man, I thought you were gonna say the tomatoes

Any chance one can get one cooked rare or at least medium rare?

I went on Saturday. I thought it was OK, but I like 5 Guys better. The chocolate malt was good, fries and onion strings were average. 20.00 bucks for 2 regular burgers w/fries and onion strings, a malt and a drink. Glad I tried it, don't really care if I go back.

We went on Friday, enjoyed it. Like the Rosemary Fries...could have used few more. Burger was very juicy and tasty...liked it allot more than 5 guys. Will diffidently be going back. Theres not many good places in that area a welcomed addition

Vital Information wrote:
Man, I thought you were gonna say the tomatoes

I think that goes without saying this time of the year

I was concerned I'd never get to Smashburger because there wasn't much on the menu for my vegetarian partner to have but we made it today and my partner even gives it two thumbs up. I had a Create Your Own burger, burger on whole wheat with blue cheese and Smashfries while my partner had a Caesar salad and Veggie Frites. The small salad came in a large red bowl and was all romaine, arugula and mixed greens, no iceberg lettuce! It also had large shaved pieces of parmesan and whole wheat croutons. It normally comes with chicken. The veggie frites were asparagus, carrots, green beans and sweet potato, had no coating and were flash fried like you would in a wok. What hasn't been mentioned before but when you eat in, everything is served in odd shaped wire containers lined with paper and they use real metal utensils! We went right at 11 today and by the time our food arrived a line had formed but it appeared they go through quickly. My partner was already talking about when we go back!

I checked this place out a few days ago while visiting a friend out in Geneva.

Burgers were very good. Fresh-tasting, loosely-packed meat, cooked thoroughly (as expected at a place like this), nice sear and browning where the griddle met the meat, seasoned nicely, and one of the better egg-twist type buns I've had.

Sides were altogether lacking. I will say that we took everything to go and ate it at my friend's house about a five minute drive away, but everything was room temp, bordering on cold, and soggy. Tried the smash fries (dusted with herbs), fried pickles, sweet potato fries and the veggie fries. All were ludicrously small portions, served in these plastic coated chinese take-out style containers that allowed steam to build up in the container and sog out the fried items. I think this stuff might be better if eaten in-house. They should really re-think those to-go containers, which seem expensive and add nothing to the experience.

I ordered regular fries too, but they didn't put'em in the bag. Fries are shoestring, McD's style, skin off. The fried veggie side was a joke....probably 6-8 small sticks of asparagus, green beans, and ...maybe carrot...deep fried without any breading or coating, and tossed in a chinese food to-go container to steam itself to sogginess.

Shakes were....so so. I didn't see them make the shakes because I wasn't paying close attention. They have an old-fashioned spindle machine and ice cream dipping cabinet right up by the registers, but I'd swear the shakes seemed to be made with soft-serv. They had that distinctive over-vanilla flavor that usually goes along with soft serv. But they were cold and quite thick and creamy. Nothing to ooh and ahh over, but fine and serviceable.

All in all....it's another fresh(er) food, nice(r) dining experience that chipotle pioneered, but with burgers. fairly similar to meatheads. I'd go back for the burger, if I happened to be close by.

So... is it possible to talk them into a medium rare burger?

I really think you need to eat in. The veggie frites we had were excellent. Carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes and asparagus and very generous and crisp. I live 5 minutes away too and would never dream of taking it home. And yes you can get rare.

As a note to elakin...... I would love to go to your place but Evanston isn't on our horizon!!!

I asked for medium rare on 2 occasions and was told no. Despite this I still like the burgers a lot and would go back. I agree that the food probably doesn't travel well and is best ate in house.

elakin wrote:Burgers were very good. Fresh-tasting, loosely-packed meat, cooked thoroughly (as expected at a place like this), nice sear and browning where the griddle met the meat, seasoned nicely, and one of the better egg-twist type buns I've had.

I stand with the expert on this one - Smashburger is among the front of the pack for a chain fast-food burger. I enjoyed a second Spicy Baja at a location in MN earlier this week and found the ingredients very fresh and the ratios just right. The kitchen pass-through was directly behind the register, so my request for "can I get it medium rare here?" was met with a wink and a backward glance, and the grill guy obliged; YMMV, but that seems less likely to happen at a Five Guys. Really airy though flavorful bun, juicy burger, and well composed ingredients. I have not tried the fries or other sides, but just for the sandwich this edges Five Guys, Fuddrucker's, and Tom and Eddie's, and seemed worth the upcharge from the bottom tier chains. I'll still have a franchise soft spot for Steak 'n Shake - and a That's-A-Burger, WasC, or Edzo's this ain't - but they seem to be doing most things as right as the format allows them.

Looks like a Red Robin to me. Anyone been to both?

razbry wrote:Looks like a Red Robin to me. Anyone been to both?

It's nothing like Red Robin other than possibly decor. Smashburger's menu is pretty simple and you get to choose how your burger is composed unless you pick something like The Windy City or Swiss Mushroom.

http://www.smashburger.com/menu_main.php

LikestoEatout wrote:

razbry wrote:Looks like a Red Robin to me. Anyone been to both?

It's nothing like Red Robin other than possibly decor. Smashburger's menu is pretty simple and you get to choose how your burger is composed unless you pick something like The Windy City or Swiss Mushroom.

http://www.smashburger.com/menu_main.php

I have now been to both. I have to say, Red Robin sucks. I've been to one twice now and there won't be a third time. I think they have creative menu ideas that are not very well executed. Also, Red Robin is more of a sit-down place whereas Smashburger is more "fast casual" along the lines of, say, Portillo's where it takes longer than McD's or Wendy's to get your food but still no more than a few minutes -- and as with Portillo's, well worth the extra wait. (For the record, I still prefer Portillo's.)

As for Smashburger... a little pricey but very good. They had some interesting sides including sweet potato fries and a chunky beef chili with jalapeno slices. The chili was solid and the burger was juicy, tasty, and perfectly seasoned. Their onion stacks were quite good but don't quite live up to the ones I use as my benchmark, namely those from Famous Dave's. Finally, the french fries tasted like any other fries you'd find at a corner burger shack as if dumped frozen out of a bag into the fryer. The fries were the only letdown, but since I don't order fries very often that's hardly a deal breaker for me.

I took my son to see Tron at the IMAX (in 3D no less) in Batavia yesterday...and lo and behold there was Smashburger. So we bought our movie tickets early and went for a burger. NOTHING like Red Robin (which I really do not like...especially when the bird comes around and flaps it's wings at your table). Anyway, I had the Windy City Burger, and my son had a burger with bacon, cheese and a haystack. Both very nice burgers. I also had the fried veggies...kind of limp, but tasted OK. My son had the Smashburger fries, which I thought were unique with a taste of rosemary. In my opinion, the upscale prices were worth the quality. I would love to see a store open in DeKalb.

I met Phil W. at the Batavia Smashburger today for lunch. This time we ate at the restaurant. It makes a big difference since the food did not spend time in a closed, steamy box

This time I tried a Big Mushroom and Swiss Smashburger. I enjoyed it and would try it again. I also tried the Fried Pickles and would order them again, too. They were pretty typical dill pickle chips battered and fried. The batter was nice and crispy and complimented the chips well.



I also had a bottle of Green River

had the all american burger .
it was great & would have no problem going back
had the hay string onion rings
great to meet ron L there

Had my 3rd visit to Smashburger today and left feeling kind of meh. At first I was enthusiastic about their food and now chalk that up to it just being something different. Actually the main reason we went back was we had filled out their online survey and had coupons for free sides. This visit the order process was chaotic, at one register the worker clearly was new and had to keep asking the other what to do. I had the Create your own burger plain but with blue cheese and Smashfries. The burger came light on the blue cheese and I have decided that the Smashfries are too oily for me though I know that oil is and ingredient. My partner ordered a Caesar salad and fried pickles but was delivered a different salad that was fairly quickly corrected. The fired pickles are interesting... pretty good and very pickley tasting but way too salty. I sat facing the kitchen and after my partner's incorrect order, I saw 3 other orders being returned due to errors. The staff seemed chaotic on a whole and didn't seem they knew where to be. If this was opening week I'd understand but they've been open over a month. I decided this was probably my last visit, I have other places that serve a good burger made more to my liking (rarish) in a more relaxed atmosphere.

We went for the first time yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. The service was great, the prices are right, the food was delicious! We had a cheeseburger, spicy Baja, and a windy city burger. All we delicious, the bread was good, the ingredients were fresh. I thought the 5 and 6 dollar cost was very reasonable. We also had the rosemary fries, yummy and my personal high light? The fried pickles were fabulous. I'm kind of a freak for them and good ones are hard to find

We will definitely be back to try other things as well as retry the things we ate yesterday!

Smashburger's website lists these locations coming soon:
Bolingbrook (Spring 2011)
Schaumburg (Spring 2011)
Darien (Spring 2011)
Oak Lawn (Summer 2011)
Arlington Heights (Summer 2011)

Saturday I went up the street a little bit and had a burger at Tom and Eddie's which I found more to my liking. On top of that, Five Guys is opening just a few doors from Tom and Eddies. Lots of competition to Smashburger.

LikestoEatout wrote:Saturday I went up the street a little bit and had a burger at Tom and Eddie's which I found more to my liking. On top of that, Five Guys is opening just a few doors from Tom and Eddies. Lots of competition to Smashburger.

It's not such a bad idea to have them all close by. Just like when you see McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's all next to each other. This is just at the next price level.

LikestoEatout wrote:I was concerned I'd never get to Smashburger because there wasn't much on the menu for my vegetarian partner to have but we made it today and my partner even gives it two thumbs up. I had a Create Your Own burger, burger on whole wheat with blue cheese and Smashfries while my partner had a Caesar salad and Veggie Frites. The small salad came in a large red bowl and was all romaine, arugula and mixed greens, no iceberg lettuce! It also had large shaved pieces of parmesan and whole wheat croutons. It normally comes with chicken. The veggie frites were asparagus, carrots, green beans and sweet potato, had no coating and were flash fried like you would in a wok. What hasn't been mentioned before but when you eat in, everything is served in odd shaped wire containers lined with paper and they use real metal utensils! We went right at 11 today and by the time our food arrived a line had formed but it appeared they go through quickly. My partner was already talking about when we go back!

I was just at the Oak Lawn location, and they offer a black bean burger there. I thought it was quite good - it consisted mostly of black beans without much filler. A little salty when I got a bite without much bun (I chose the multigrain option), but overall, I really liked it and would order it again. One of my friends had a wedge salad that looked really good and fresh, and she loved it. We did have an order of the veggie frites, which were tasty, but I do wish that places would offer a non-fried option for vegetable sides (like Culver's, which offers steamed green beans).

I've been to the Darien location a couple of times as it's next to my choice of dry cleaner. It's rather antiseptic in decor, but not as bland as Five Guys.

The burger is average, the meat is nowhere as tasty as a Paradise Pup or a Poochie's. I like the bun choices, and I like the sweet potato fries. I was very disappointed in their fried pickles, however, I was expecting a nice big kosher oval cut up into some 1.5 oz chunks, not a bunch of hamburger pickles. Mikshakes are marginal.

It's sort of a three-way race for me between Smashburger, Five Guys, or a Portillo's Double Cheeseburger - all around the same price point, all have their weaknesses. None of them are really worth $6.50 after tax when an In-N-Out 3x3 is about $4.45, but it's good to have options.

Finally got to try Smashburger, albeit the Schaumburg location. I ordered the BBQ, Bacon and Cheddar burger. It was actually very good. My only real complaint about the burger itself was the cheese was basically flavorless.

I also had the haystacks onion rings. Just the fact that they offer them puts them way ahead of Five Guys in my book. Unfortunately I got my order to go so I'm sure both the burger and the onion rings would have been better eaten in the restaurant. But it was still pretty good.

But one major problem... Looked up the nutritional facts on the website after eating. I expected lots of calories and fat. What I wasn't expecting was the sodium content. I didn't even get the big smash, just the regular size burger. And between the burger and onion rings it was almost 3500mg of sodium. Would have been a little better without the bacon. But that's huge.

So I would say, if you have high blood pressure, it's probably not a good lunch option. But if you don't have high blood pressure, and you want it, this is your place.

midas wrote:Finally got to try Smashburger, albeit the Schaumburg location. I ordered the BBQ, Bacon and Cheddar burger. It was actually very good. My only real complaint about the burger itself was the cheese was basically flavorless.

I also had the haystacks onion rings. Just the fact that they offer them puts them way ahead of Five Guys in my book. Unfortunately I got my order to go so I'm sure both the burger and the onion rings would have been better eaten in the restaurant. But it was still pretty good.

But one major problem... Looked up the nutritional facts on the website after eating. I expected lots of calories and fat. What I wasn't expecting was the sodium content. I didn't even get the big smash, just the regular size burger. And between the burger and onion rings it was almost 3500mg of sodium. Would have been a little better without the bacon. But that's huge.

So I would say, if you have high blood pressure, it's probably not a good lunch option. But if you don't have high blood pressure, and you want it, this is your place.

Im no doctor but if u have high blood pressure, Id suggest that u not eat a burger and onion rings from anywhere