jay2021 wrote:I spoke to the owner about the slice of raw onion for the Red Hot Ranch burger and he told me they were going to use the diced for all burgers. It seems the slice of raw onion causes things to slide a bit on the single cheeseburger making the sandwich a little harder to eat.

And it means they'd have to stock onions cut up two different ways: sliced for Burgers and diced for Hot Dogs. Not practical in a fast moving operation like RHR. Cut the onion once, one way, and be done with it.

Anyway, had my first visit here Monday evening. Got the Double RHR CheeseBurger and was very happy with the product. Excellent beefy flavor, griddled beautifully and nicely dressed. Only been to In N Out once, on a visit to Oakland/Berkley. I was much more impressed with RHR's Burger than the one I had on the west coast. Only quibble: the fries don't travel well when they're mashed on the bottom of the bag, suffocated by the Burger. There's gotta be a better way.

Buddy

Perhaps some of you can post a couple favorable Yelp reviews because RHR Lakeview isn't doing so great over there presently!

It take a few weeks for the derivative hive-think to catch up and kick in. Give it a few days.

Grabbed a burger there today--sans special sauce (not my thing) and I took it home (only a couple of blocks away) so that I could put pickles on it. Delicious!

Just finished a double sans tomato and I'm not sure I was crazy about it. I guess I prefer a drier burger. I'm kinda a purist and this burger was just too wet and sloppy. As soon as I finished, which I didn't, only ate about 3/4, I kinda just felt like I wouldn't be rushing back even though I live about 3 blocks away. A guilty pleasure I felt guilty for eating!

Will they add bacon to the In-N-Out clone?

I doubt they have bacon.

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:

jay2021 wrote:I spoke to the owner about the slice of raw onion for the Red Hot Ranch burger and he told me they were going to use the diced for all burgers. It seems the slice of raw onion causes things to slide a bit on the single cheeseburger making the sandwich a little harder to eat.

And it means they'd have to stock onions cut up two different ways: sliced for Burgers and diced for Hot Dogs. Not practical in a fast moving operation like RHR. Cut the onion once, one way, and be done with it.

I'm not sure I follow the logic here. Prep like cutting onions is done in advance, it has nothing to do with the speed of service. In N Out uses diced onions on their animal style and sliced on their regular burgers. They're a fast moving operation and they seem to have pulled it off. Stocking two different cuts of onion shouldn't be a challenge for a kitchen. I can understand the owner's concern about the sliding, but to say slicing an onion prohibits a kitchen in some way makes no sense at all.

I ate at the Ashland location today.

The fries were awesome and I didn't even ask for them well done!

A more philosophical question: does the fact that RHR is essentially a Gene and Jude's and INO clone matter?

Im much more a fan of a place with its own vision. Rather then the vision of other successful places.

This thread made me revisit RHR last night. The burger was good and for $5 w/fries, a great value IMO. As I originally said, I think the whole fact that they're trying to replicate In N Out is the shortfall. On its own, a great burger to be sure. The "forced" purchase of a fries is a downside when getting 2 dogs, though. Maybe a 2 dogs + 1 fries combo is in order.

Still not sure why they keep the lettuce, tomatoes and cheese out on a table at room temp, though. The only value of iceberg is its crunch and when it's room temp, it's just limp, tasteless and lacking texture.

When I was there, the lettuce and tomato were in a small fridge on side of the counter.

When the owners opened 35Th Street Red Hots it was an attempt to bring back the depression style or minimalist hot dog.
Many of those places had disappeared over the years and it's refreshing to want to bring that product back. Obviously they
were successful which led to the Red Hot Ranch on Western Ave. and now Red Hot Ranch on Ashland.
As far as trying to clone In N Out I think they just wanted to offer a flat griddle hamburger with trimming similar to In N Out.
I have eaten In N Out burgers for many years and frankly I think the RHR Burger is better and the RHR fries are in a different
galaxy than In and Out.

Used to live by the Western Ave location, and this was one of a handful of places that I really miss from the neighborhood.

Luckily this new one popped up so close to my new digs! Stumbled in very late last night. Can't say if it was closer to 1 or closer to 3. I wanted to try the burger, and I thought it was great. Just a well done burger, really beefy and satisfying. Only been to an In-N-Out once a few years ago, and this is just as good as I remember.

I'm still a huge depression dog fan though, and I didn't satisfy my craving. So I'm going to have to stumble back in soon and get one of those.

Very very excited that I got a place like this close by and open late.

jay2021 wrote:As far as trying to clone In N Out I think they just wanted to offer a flat griddle hamburger with trimming similar to In N Out.
I have eaten In N Out burgers for many years and frankly I think the RHR Burger is better and the RHR fries are in a different
galaxy than In and Out.

"The Lakeview location of Redhot Ranch will feature similar food but with the addition of burgers similar to the ones served at In-N-Out, Nemerow said"

The owner himself made the comparison to In N Out.

The burger is similar to In N Out but IMHO better. Using diced instead of sliced onions is something I have no problem with.
In fact I like diced better. As strong as onions have been of late a slice would be too much for me.

Max wrote:This thread made me revisit RHR last night. The burger was good and for $5 w/fries, a great value IMO. As I originally said, I think the whole fact that they're trying to replicate In N Out is the shortfall. On its own, a great burger to be sure. The "forced" purchase of a fries is a downside when getting 2 dogs, though. Maybe a 2 dogs + 1 fries combo is in order.

Still not sure why they keep the lettuce, tomatoes and cheese out on a table at room temp, though. The only value of iceberg is its crunch and when it's room temp, it's just limp, tasteless and lacking texture.

That's a double cheeseburger with fries for $5...

I stopped in on Saturday for one of those, and a hot dog. They asked me if I wanted both orders of fries, I responded that just one was ok. They took 50 cents the price of the dog when they rang me up. Dunno if this is a new option (certainly the first time I've ever been asked about multiple fries at any RHR location) or if I was just lucky.

Good god, that's a hell of a burger. Especially for the price. RHR knocking it out of the ballpark. Close on the heels of Top Notch for my favorite griddle burger in Chicago.

Digging the Double Dog

Redhot Ranch, Ashland

clogoodie wrote:I stopped in on Saturday for one of those, and a hot dog. They asked me if I wanted both orders of fries, I responded that just one was ok. They took 50 cents the price of the dog when they rang me up. Dunno if this is a new option (certainly the first time I've ever been asked about multiple fries at any RHR location) or if I was just lucky.

They did this for me at the Bunny Hutch when I ate there, I usually gave the extra fries to a coworker if I took food back to my office.

I made my maiden voyage to the Ashland Ave. RHR today. I wanted to see how the burgers stacked up to those they were preparing at the Bunny Hutch in anticipation of this location opening up.

Redhot Ranch Ashland Ave. Location


Upon placing my order for a double RHR cheeseburger, the owner looked at me quizzically and said something about me usually being a hot dog guy. I assured him that this was for purely scientific purposes. The burger itself, made from two balls of beef that were smashed down on the flattop so the edges of the resulting patties get caramelized and lacy, was very juicy and beefy tasting. For those keeping score, both lettuce and tomato were taken directly from a small fridge next to the grill before being put on my burger.

Redhot Ranch Ashland - Double RHR Cheeseburger


In the words of Jules in Pulp Fiction, "That is a tasty burger." While a dog and 1/2 lb of shrimp will remain my go to order at RHR, I won't rule out the occasional burger as well. They are doing a great job at this location and I wish them well.

Redhot Ranch
3055 N. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657

Cold, snowy, blowing, small window for lunch. Redhot Ranch Western hit the spot.

I dig the double dog, polish a nice change of pace.

Redhot Ranch Western, Polish

It's been tough with this new location. I love the depression dogs. But whenever I come here, I am physically UNABLE to not order a double cheeseburger.

It is truly an outstanding double cheeseburger. And then you have the very good fresh cut fries. All for 5 dollars??? I don't understand why this place is not packed at 3 AM. This is a late night destination as far as I'm concerned, and very few places put out this quality of food after midnight. I really hope this place lasts.

I'm doing my part. Been there a handful of times now since the opening and similar to Jay, I can't not order that double cheeseburger. I finally got some of the fried shrimp last time as well and found them to be perfect, easily as good as Phils.

JayB wrote:It's been tough with this new location. I love the depression dogs. But whenever I come here, I am physically UNABLE to not order a double cheeseburger.

It is truly an outstanding double cheeseburger. And then you have the very good fresh cut fries. All for 5 dollars??? I don't understand why this place is not packed at 3 AM. This is a late night destination as far as I'm concerned, and very few places put out this quality of food after midnight. I really hope this place lasts.

Late night? This is an all-day destination! Those burgers are dangerously good and insanely cheap.

Had one this Saturday. As my friend Donny says "Those are good burgers"

Was in today for a Ranch double burger and noticed a sign indicating they now sell shakes, if remembering correctly, for $2.79. Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry were listed as options. Usually stuffed from my normal order but next time will be sure to order one for sure!

I had the Ranch-style double cheeseburger at about 12:30 on Friday night/Saturday morning (my first time at the Ashland location) and thought it was phenomenal; just a perfect representation of the style. Crispy edges, juicy meat, slightly pink interior and nicely seasoned. The toppings (special sauce, lettuce, tomato and diced raw onion) worked really well with the burger and elevated it to a ridiculously delicious munch. Fries were also perfect -- piping hot, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I ate it and even though I was full, it was so damned good I contemplated ordering another.

All told, 4 of us ordered 3 of the doubles, a hotdog and 1/2 pound of shrimp and the total was about $25, iirc. So as others have noted, not only is the food delicious, it's a great value, too.

=R=

Our favorite Red Hot Ranch double cheeseburger made the Dining Section in today's Chicago Tribune.
" In the $5-and-less category, you won't sample a finer cheeseburger in Chicago" -Kevin Pang, Cheeseburger Bureau Chief.
Check it out !!

Are the Ashland and Bunny Hutch burgers equally good? Hutch is easier to get to for us.

I don't think they have these burgers at the Bunny Hutch