friend & I split a Big Baby & Pettit Burger from Nicky's hot dogs (6142 S Archer Ave). Both our halves were gone in seconds, it is a good thing we had driven away from Nicky's or else I think we would have marched right back in and bought more.

Big Baby was stellar. As has been pointed out, the order of assembly makes a big difference in how the flavors are tasted.

Rene G wrote:

David Hammond wrote:Had the Big Baby at Little Market Brasserie last night:

[see above]

Little Market American Brasserie
10 E Delaware Pl
Chicago
312-640-8141
http://littlemarketbrasserie.com/

I have to say, I was expecting something much better than what I got last night. First let me say, that what I had looked a lot closer to Peter's picture than David's. And this was partially the problem, the burger had no sizzle. It was grey and seemingly cooked at a low temp to make it almost baked in texture and flavor. Now, the rest, the up-scaling of the whole thing. Uber-LTH Villain, Steve Plotnicki, is fond of saying that many of us want our food declasse. That once it's made "better", it does not taste the way we want/expect. Sadly, after Great Lakes pizza, I kinda agree with him. Give me the grease baby. In this instance (again), I found none of it really worked. For instance, the brioche bread did not merge into the meat juices like a good burger bun does. It stood there like a snobby neighbor not wanting to drink the PBR at the block party. Honestly, the condiments just tasted weird.

The benchmark for upscale, downscale burger remains Au Cheval.

Vital Information wrote:Now, the rest, the up-scaling of the whole thing. Uber-LTH Villain, Steve Plotnicki, is fond of saying that many of us want our food declasse. That once it's made "better", it does not taste the way we want/expect. Sadly, after Great Lakes pizza, I kinda agree with him. Give me the grease baby. In this instance (again), I found none of it really worked. For instance, the brioche bread did not merge into the meat juices like a good burger bun does. It stood there like a snobby neighbor not wanting to drink the PBR at the block party. Honestly, the condiments just tasted weird.

I enjoyed reading John Thorne's observations on designer burgers some 20 years ago. The following sentences summarize much of his essay, "Burger Heaven."

In Serious Pig, John Thorne wrote:When I lived in Boston, the "Best Burger" awards were consistently bestowed on a clean-scrubbed, wholesome place right across the street from Harvard Yard—Bartley's Burger Cottage, which serves what it is pleased to call "the hamburger with a college education." … Eventually you come to understand that you don't want a hamburger with a college education. You want one that flunked out of high school—or rather got kicked out, for bad attitude.

In another thread, stevez wrote:With the nomination for GNR status of both Nicky's and Schoop's, this appears to be the year of the regional burger chains. I'm gratified that in both cases, the flagships of the chains were singled out for GNR status and not the entire chains. This Nicky's is clearly operating at a different level than some of the other Nicky's outposts and I'm glad to support this nomination. I had a recent meal here, which I posted about in the main Big Baby thread.

I don't think Nicky's a chain in any meaningful sense of the word. Unlike Schoop's which franchises, the Nicky's locations operate independently these days (though one owner does run three). Of the handful of original Nicky's (those started by Nicky himself), I think all are now run by different people and some of their Big Babies would be unrecognizable to the founder. Many of the newer Nicky's simply "adopted" the Big Baby as well as the name of the business. "It's a good name," explained the operator of one of these newer places selling flame-grilled Big Babies garnished with lettuce and tomato.

Edit: Nickys started in summit, ill in 1966 and the name and burger joints have been around almost 50 years. The first original chicago nickys opened in 1967 on Archer&Austin. Then came 58th Kedzie and the rest followed.

Edit: Nickys started in summit, ill in 1966 and the name and burger joints have been around almost 50 years. The first original chicago nickys opened in 1967 on Archer&Austin. Then came 58th Kedzie and the rest followed.

Thanks for the info. Yes, the original Nicky's was on 63rd a few blocks west of Harlem, but it's only a memory now. When I wrote the original post in this thread almost a decade ago, that wasn't clear to me partly because the sign was so different and the Big Baby wasn't on the menu (at the time they sold only the quaintly-named "double cheeseburger"). Here's a lousy old photo of the place where it all started.

Birthplace of the Big Baby: Nicky's, 7509 W 63rd


Note the sign. I believe it was only with the second Nicky's (Archer & Austin) that the yellow and white keystone-shaped sign was introduced. Only a few of these old ones remain. As I've pointed out above, the Archer & Austin location has been meticulously maintained (both building and sign) and still serves a classic Big Baby, the best Baby to be had.

About a year ago the sign disappeared from Nicky's #1, the building was remodeled, and the business reopened as Rudy's Grill in July 2013.

7509 W 63rd, May 2013


No Big Baby at Rudy's. When I asked about it they explained, "The Big Baby is just a double cheeseburger." Just a double cheeseburger???

Rudy's Grill (was Nicky's #1)
7509 W 63rd St
Summit IL
708-594-1600

lets get a BUMP on this!...cause...why not?!

Sense the Western and 35th one is the right around the block from my apartment, i had to go grab one and reminded me of this thread.
Still so awesome Rene G did history and a cool run down on all of them. Grew up on these things and little Greek Chicago fast food places. From living in Gage Park to South Suburbs to Bridgeport and now McKinley Park all i ever had was Gryo joints with hot dogs, tamales, and big babys.

Keep that lettuce outa here!

Big Baby, just a South Side double cheeseburger or the Chicago-style burger?

The Big Baby, the double cheeseburger defined by a crown of grilled onions and widely beloved by generations of Chicago South Siders, has a documented history that dates back nearly 50 years, so why has it been denied the title of the Chicago-style burger?

Although the Chicago-style hot dog is well-known, and most Chicagoans can recite the ingredients without thought, there's no burger associated with the city. And yet, the Big Baby arguably deserves the title. And if you ask at least one fan who has studied the burger's origins, the fact that it was invented on the South Side, and not the North, is to blame.
...

Some co-workers and I are helping out at Greater Chicago Food Depository on a Saturday morning in Sept. To help turn out I offered to buy a big baby burger to each person who committed to helping out for a couple hours at GCFD.

Nicky's opens at 10:30am on Saturdays, I recall really enjoying that burger. Looking for feedback, is Nicky's still the spot our group should stop at? (GCFD is only ~12 mins away via car)

In my book (and others), Nicky's = Big Baby. The one on Archer is the one that is designated as a GNR.

Sweet Willie wrote:Some co-workers and I are helping out at Greater Chicago Food Depository on a Saturday morning in Sept. To help turn out I offered to buy a big baby burger to each person who committed to helping out for a couple hours at GCFD.

Nicky's opens at 10:30am on Saturdays, I recall really enjoying that burger. Looking for feedback, is Nicky's still the spot our group should stop at? (GCFD is only ~12 mins away via car)

The Nicky's on Archer and Austin is my favorite, but the one at Jacky's is a close second (5415 S. Pulaski) and many of the neighborhood folk swear by it vs Nicky's.

The Archer location of Nickys is indeed the best, but ive been finding myself over at the Kedzie location more.

Park on the street and run over to grab a Big Baby to go and bring that right over to Teds Firewater Saloon to enjoy. I was just there recently and the Big Baby was perfect. Grab a Budweiser ( or couple two tree ) and then unwrap that steamy goodness. The bar is perfect as well. Vegas Vacation was on the TVs with a few locals slamming MGD Drafts and the bartender Peggy is quintessential south side lady.

Dont be nervous, just head on in with that Big Baby and enjoy a slice of the South Side.

Teds Firewater Saloon
5834 S Kedzie Ave
Chicago, IL 60629

The classic with the correct order.
Perfect!


Nicky’s, The Real McCoy
2400 S Cicero Ave, Cicero

Last week's Curious City from WBEZ tells the interesting yet murky story of the origins of the Big Baby.

Link

BrendanR wrote:Last week's Curious City from WBEZ tells the interesting yet murky story of the origins of the Big Baby.

Link

In that article it's mentioned that Illinois Bar and Grill has a Big Baby. That's new to me. I live a block and a half from that place, and I don't ever recall seeing anything called a Big Baby on their menu. Maybe it's a special request thing? Or maybe there's some confusion. They have something called a "baby burger," but that's a 1/3 pound single patty version of their regular burger (which is I think 10 oz.)