Burger Boss Elmwood Park

Burger Boss opened yesterday, 4/4, for business. I drove by and saw a line inside, so when DH got home, we went over for dinner. The girl at the counter said it had been busy all day. There were quite a few people behind the counter, two registers, several cooks and a runner or two. The line ahead of us was short and moved quickly. There are lots of options. I'll scan in the menu later, but basically there are 6 specialty burgers, a create your own option, fresh cut regular and sweet potato fries with a variety of dipping sauces, shakes, smoothies, beer and wine. Kids meal include a burger, grilled cheese and chicken, milk or apple juice. You can get a 1/3 lb, 1/2 lb burger, chicken or portobello on most specialty sandwiches.

There was a bit of a wait for our food to come out, but nothing excessive, especially given it was their opening day. Another group that ordered about when we did waited a bit longer. I thought my burger, the 1/3 lb Elmwood Park Boss, and DH's, the 1/3 lb 8am Burger, were both very good. Fresh lettuce, decent tomato, good balance of toppings to burger, brioche that wasn't greasy and was nicely toasted. Vanilla shake was good. It came with a huge, bubble tea type straw maybe 3/8" in diameter. I definitely like it better than any of the close by burger options, and way better than 5 Guys - both burger and fries. DH's succinct evaluation, "Quite good."

There was way more seating than I expected - the place is long and narrow. I had neither my camera or phone with me so no pics, sorry. Although it was pretty full when we arrived, it wasn't too loud.

Burger Boss
7512 W North Ave
Elmwood Park
708-452-7288

just a few doors west of Johnnie's

burger boss 1 by marmish6


burger boss 2 by marmish6

After reading Marmish's review I suddenly found myself hungry so I enlisted my eldest daughter for a short drive and after dinner snack.
We both went semi-minimalist to try to gage the burger on it's own merits - burger w/ cheddar and Boss Sauce.

I don't think the boss sauce added much but the burger didn't need it.
Really good beefy flavor, nice browning from the griddle, maybe a tad dry because of the thinness of the patties (if your a fan of thick burgers this probably ain't your kind of place). The cheese seemed to be actual cheddar and had a nice tang.
The fries are really good as noted above. Nice and crisp on the outside, good potato flavor, nicely salted and not too greasy.

Better than 5 guys but honestly not sure if it's enough to knock the Big Mickey off it's perch in my list of local favorites for thin patty burgers (for thick burgers I'm stickin' w/ Goldyburger).

"Boss Sauce" would be what now?

seebee wrote:"Boss Sauce" would be what now?

I asked the kid behind the register and got the standard response - "WE don't even know what's in it!"
Honestly there was so little on the burger as to be almost unnoticeable.

It's certainly nearby and I'm interested in trying, but am I the only one finding the menu a bit on the steep side, and that's not even before the add-ons.

seebee wrote:"Boss Sauce" would be what now?

I saw that listed and thought, Wow, could that be a rendition of what Joe Danno used to serve at Bucket O' Suds?! But no: it's mayo, ketchup, mustard...and that's all they'd tell me, but there's more in there.

I had the Elmwood Park Boss:



Also available on a pretzel roll.

Vital Information wrote:It's certainly nearby and I'm interested in trying, but am I the only one finding the menu a bit on the steep side, and that's not even before the add-ons.

You're not alone.

Went in last night for the first time, and I'll definitely return. Did the create-your-own option, and because I sort of had had a hankering for a Big Mac (no judgments, please), I created my own with the 1/3 pound burger (2 patties), thousand island, lettuce, cheese, and onions -- on a brioche bun (they didn't have sesame seed buns, and that was totally fine with me). Food came hot, ingredients were fresh, and I particularly liked that for the thinner-style patty, there was a lot of flavor. One of my big complaints about some of the places that do really thin patties is that I never taste much flavor in the beef and while admittedly with such burgers, I think the experience is about the sum of the parts, rather than individual components, I found at Burger Boss that the patties themselves had flavor and the whole concoction hung together quite well, too. Fries were good but could have used a touch of salt in my opinion. Looking forward to returning.

But no: it's mayo, ketchup, mustard...and that's all they'd tell me, but there's more in there.

So, it's Jack-in-the-Box Secret Sauce? That was a blend of catsup, mayo, mustard, and their approximation of A-1 steak sauce. Good stuff, really.

rehorn wrote:Went in last night for the first time, and I'll definitely return. Did the create-your-own option, and because I sort of had had a hankering for a Big Mac (no judgments, please), I created my own with the 1/3 pound burger (2 patties), thousand island, lettuce, cheese, and onions -- on a brioche bun (they didn't have sesame seed buns, and that was totally fine with me). Food came hot, ingredients were fresh, and I particularly liked that for the thinner-style patty, there was a lot of flavor. One of my big complaints about some of the places that do really thin patties is that I never taste much flavor in the beef and while admittedly with such burgers, I think the experience is about the sum of the parts, rather than individual components, I found at Burger Boss that the patties themselves had flavor and the whole concoction hung together quite well, too. Fries were good but could have used a touch of salt in my opinion. Looking forward to returning.

This assessment seems just right to me, particularly the beef flavor of the burgers. Sparse and relatively bland cheese options are a weak link, and the fries haven't been consistent [they've gone to a more matchstick cut since those depicted below], but burger / bun combos we've tried have been great, and the shakes are throwbacky (I think all are vanilla ice cream based with lots of syrup and whipped cream, or at least were on one early visit). The sandwich clearly edges Five Guys for me in this rough pricepoint.

It's heresy, I'm sure, but I love the taste and texture of the limp-fried fresh cut french fry (ain't no bleeping frite, thats fo sho) that appears to be depicted in Santander's photo above. I've often referred to this style of french frying as "Chicago", if only because my first (and favorite) experiences with fresh cut fries were at places like my home, Demon Dogs, Doggie Diner and the better gyro joints of the near northwest suburbs.

Don't get me wrong - this is an easy style to mess up. It can lead to mush, mash and just plain unsanitary outcomes - try picking apart a mound of fried potato mush covered in salt and ketchup with two friends. It ain't finna happen without someone getting someone else's ketchup on their finger.

At its apotheosis, however, this style of fry produces a mound of potato that peels apart into tender, buttery, fried starch heaven. Like a young tulip illuminated by the moon, this thing is tender. And it absolutely needs to be covered in salt and ketchup.

It's heresy, I'm sure, but I love the taste and texture of the limp-fried fresh cut french fry (ain't no bleeping frite, thats fo sho

I totally agree. I cannot stand super brown, super crispy fries. They remind me of bad potato chips. However, i did enjoy the Frite place in the French Market, but they were crispy but not super brown.

Boy, this place was quite good. Easily accommodated four adults and five kids this afternoon without getting flustered. Burgers and fries were top notch (to, um, coin a phrase), and didn't leave me with the ... saturated feeling I get from Five Guys. I got a pretty boring burger, my wife the kids burger (to get the single patty). But our dining companions went a little more nuts, with fried eggs and cheese and guac and bacon and stuff and loved their creations.

My chocolate shake was pretty good, too.

Had lunch here yesterday and thought it was great. I'd echo the thoughts of Vitesse98 regarding the comparison to Five Guys and disagree with the comment about the burger being dry. I'm not a fan of skinny fries in general (I always seem to have trouble eating them without a fork) but these were tasty. Strawberry milkshake was thick and the perfect accompaniment for the current "heat wave" we are experiencing.

~$20 bucks for two combos with milkshakes was okay in terms of price. In terms of number of people in there, only one table was taken when we got there around 11:50 but I'd say a dozen or so came in before we left an hour later and they did another dozen or so takeout orders.

I went there the other night for some carryout. I went with the 1/2 pound "8am" burger, the wife just had a regular burger. Each of us had an order of fries and we ordered a couple of dipping sauces for the fries.

I thought the Burgers and the Brioche buns were excellent. Lots of flavor in the burger and the toppings, although the fried egg on top of the burger was a little over done for my taste. That may have been because of the extra cooking it would have done in the car on the trip home (5-10 mins) with the residual heat from the burger and being wrapped.

The fries did not hold up well on the ride home. By the time we got there they were way to limp for my liking. I think because of the thinness of their cut, they would be much better fresh in the restaurant than after a short trip in a bag to get soggy. The first few I ate out of the bag on the way home were fine. I find this to be true with all fries, whether it be 5 guys, Mr. D's, Hot Dougs, McDonalds, etc. Extended time in the bag is just not conducive to a "crisp" french fry, which is why I usually eat them all right out of the bag on the way to whereever I may be going.

In terms of the dipping sauces, I would say they are probably not worth the .50 that they charge. For the carryout portions, they are just a small container's worth. Probably not enough to cover a whole order of fries. If i'm going to have to pay extra for a condiment, it should cover the portion it is meant for. Taste wise, of the 3 sauces I tried, none of them would rate as a "must have". Boss Sauce is basically a thousand Island with some mustard and other flavors that I can't quite place, others have speculated what it is on this thread, but it really doesn't matter. Honey mustard sauce is a pretty standard version. Not sure if it was "homemade",although it had the look that it may have been. It had a pretty good balance between the mustard and the sweet. I was looking forward to the Spicy Chipolte sauce, but there was just something missing in it. It did not have the depth of flavor that I would have liked to see. It tasted a little more like a powdered/ground chipolte mixed with mayo. Again, none of the sauces were bad or inedible, just not something that I would go out of my way for.

Overall, I think it was a pretty good meal. I think Eating there would enhance the product, especially the fries. The Burger had nice flavor, the buns were good and the toppings were fresh. I will return and try a shake next time.

This place is VERY close to where I live, and it would be highly useful if good. Yet, after two visits, I'd find myself hard pressed for a return. Not that long after opening, my wife and I went for lunch. She liked it more than I. I found the burger just really bland. Now, given the several good reviews (above), I thought, maybe we hit it before some kink-removing. Well, for my tastes, no.

As in the first visit, I just found the burger especially void of flavor. Pretty much nothing from the boss sauce to the jalepenos offered much in the way of palate pleasure. The fries, as mentioned, come over-cooked (in the name of crisp?). On this visit, they came way over salted too. Was not there some conversation somewhere about one dish being highly salted to compensate for a plain dish. I'm not sure that their intent here, and regardless, the saline intensity of the fries did not "balance" the burger.

I went there in the middle of the afternoon a couple of weeks ago all prepared to have a burger and chocolate shake, when the waitress informed me they wee totally out of ice cream. I have not been back since.....maybe I will give it another try at some point.

To be honest, I'm always a little surprised when folks complain about a burger's lack of flavor, as I've never considered any burger, great or not, as particularly flavorful, per se. Fresh, sure. But for flavor I pass on ground beef and go for sausages and things with a bit of, you know ... flavor.

I asked what the boss sauce was, and they told me it's an "amped up" version of thousand island.

No food can accurately be described as "amped up." I did like the place, though.

Vitesse98 wrote:........... I've never considered any burger, great or not, as particularly flavorful, per se. Fresh, sure. But for flavor I pass on ground beef and go for sausages and things with a bit of, you know ... flavor.

Is beef not a flavor?

Turkey Bahn Mi at Burger Boss

In 1986, I bet on my first Kentucky Derby. The horse was Ferdinand, and my friend Patrick Barclay chose him based on the fact that the rider was the legendary Willie Shoemaker and that, also according to legend, the horse was fed Guinness (Patrick’s favorite brew) every day. Ferdinand won, paid out around 18-1, and our measly $20 bets paid off over $300. Buoyed by our unexpected windfall, we became convinced that we were “professional gamblers.” We continued to bet on the race every year since, losing regularly (we won only one other time, when we confused our horse's number with another horse's pole position and accidentally won with Silver Charm, 1997).

Still, every year about this time, Patrick comes to Oak Park, we drive to Maywood the night before the Derby, and put down our money, which almost surely will be lost, though we continually assure each other that “this is our year.”

Part of our Derby ritual is a stop for dinner, usually at Johnnie’s. This past weekend, however, the weather was inclement, we didn’t want to eat outside, so we stopped at Burger Boss in Elmwood Park.

Patrick rolled his eyes when I ordered the Turkey Bahn Mi (he went with beef), but it was by far one of the tastiest burgers I’ve had in a very long time. I got the double, which was two ground turkey patties, in a close-to-traditional Bahn Mi preparation (except for the burgers and the bun).

Bahn Mi is a Vietnamese sandwich: a roll of French bread (reflection of the French occupation of Indochina) with some protein (pate, tofu, chicken) and a lot of fresh vegetables: slivered radish and carrots, cilantro, sliced cucumbers and jalapenos. If you get a Bahn Mi sandwich on the streets of Saigon, the meat inside would likely not be turkey, but I thought the lightly griddled bird meat was a beautiful complement to the vegetables, and with a perky sriracha mayonnaise, this was a fantastic sandwich. For the French bread, Burger Boss substitutes a brioche, which is probably better in some ways, as it’s kind of difficult to put meat patties in a French roll and the softer brioche bun makes it all a little easier to eat. I actually wanted to eat a second one of these burgers immediately after finishing the first. I didn’t do that, but I do plan to return to Burger Boss during the month.



Honestly, and it kind of embarrasses me to say this, but I liked the Turkey Bahn Mi better than any actual, traditional, by-book Bahn Mi sandwich that I’ve had here, in Vietnam or anywhere else. It was juicier, warmer and so a little tastier, perhaps, and way more satisfying. Again, I feel like a tool saying I like this burger version more than the real thing, but hey, there’s no arguing taste.

The Turkey Bahn Mi is going to be the signature burger at Burger Boss throughout the month of May. I’m guessing after that they take it off the menu for a while.

I enjoyed the Turkey Bahn Mi more than most burgers.

And, of course, we lost our Derby bets (Vicar’s in Trouble – and it seemed like a sure thing!)