Hamburger Mary's

Hamburger Mary's
5400 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Andersonville
Hamburger Mary's website

One word to describe the atmosphere at Hamburger Mary's: FUN! This burger and beer joint in Andersonville is kitschy, retro, and campy. Added bonus: they brew their own beer!


Well they have more than just burgers on the menu here, but we did not come to Hamburger Mary's to try their fish-n-chips. I got the suggestively raunchy sounding Guacamole B.J. burger. The B. and J. stand for Bacon and Jack cheese. Add a heaping dollop of guac and a side of sweet potato fries and you've got one tasty burger. The burgers price in at about $10 a piece, but each is a half pound of natural angus beef goodness. Jenn got the blackbean mushroom "burger": a vegan blackbean patty topped with a trio of sauteed mushrooms (shitake, portobella and button) and melted swiss cheese. The nice thing about this place is that for any of their unique burger styles you can choose either beef, turkey burger, blackbean burger, chicken breast and even lamb or buffalo. As for the beer: good but not great. I think our consumption of delicious microbrews throughout the years has spoiled us to the point where good homebrewed beer is always better than domestic macros on tap, but nothing to really write home about.

Guacamole B.J. Burger with Sweet Potato Fries

Mushroom Blackbean Burger with Seasoned Fries

Needless to say, both of our burgers were excellent. The atmosphere is great and the prices aren't too bad for the quality you are getting. Our one minor complaint was with the service. I think I asked for a bottle of ketchup at one point and didn't receive any for about ten minutes. But hey, it WAS a busy night. Despite this minor blunder, Hamburger Mary's is pretty amazing. We give Hamburger Mary's an 8.6 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 9.3
Value: 8.5
Atmosphere: 9.1
Customer Service: 7.4
Overall: 8.6

Portillo's

Portillo's
100 West Ontario St.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: River North
Portillo's website
Every once in awhile we get a craving for fast food burgers and fries, and instead of settling for low quality garbage like McDonalds and Burger King, we go to places like Portillo's. Portillo's is a fast food joint with multiple locations throughout the Chicagoland area, and specialize in hot dogs, hamburgers and Italian beef. While we normally don't review chain restaurants, we thought Portillo's would be an exception.


I got the bacon cheeseburger and crinkle fries. The burgers are pretty good for fast food. Nothing great, but certainly a step up from typical fast food burgers. All ingredients tasted fresh, which is often uncommon for fast food. They also had a number of vegetarian options on the menu including veggie sandwiches, tuna sandwiches and a number of soups and salads. Jenn got the grilled veggie sandwich: veggies, including grilled portabella mushrooms along with fresh mozzarella piled on grilled focaccia bread. The bread was fresh and chewy and the cheese was warm and gooey (sandwich not pictured).

Bacon Cheeseburger with Crinkle Fries

So next time you have a craving for fast food in Chicago, choose Portillo's instead of the usual junk. While you may have to pay a few dollars more than for something similar from McDonalds or Burger King, Portillo's is well worth it. We give Portillo's an 8.4 out of 10
Quality of Food: 8.4
Value: 8.6
Atmosphere: 8.4
Customer Service: 8.2
Overall: 8.4

The Bad Apple

The Bad Apple
4300 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: North Center
Bad Apple's website

Craving burgers and beers last Saturday night, we ventured to The Bad Apple, a fairly new bar on Lincoln Avenue in North Center. The Bad Apple is known for their creatively topped burgers and an immense and impressive beer menu. There are 15 burgers (2 are veggie) to choose from such as Elvis's Last Supper (bacon & peanut butter) and The Edmund Fig-Gerald (Edmund Fitzgerald porter, fig and bacon relish, goat cheese and smoked onion).


I had a hard time choosing from the many creative burger choices, but ended up picking the El Dorado, a burger topped with spicy corn and black bean salsa and freshly sliced avocado. The burgers are crafted with hormone-free all-natural beef, and despite the wide array of toppings, the the flavor of the beef was not overwhelmed. The burger was juicy and flavorful and the toppings worked excellently with the beef. This was one excellent burger.

El Dorado Burger

Jenn got the Strange Famous, a house-made wild mushroom, seitan, chick pea and corn burger topped with spinach, goat cheese, carmelized onion and Sage marmalade. The "burger" tasted freshly homemade and not frozen or pre-packaged. All burgers are served with house-cut fries, which can be upgraded with seasonings such as curry, creole and sweet & spicy chipotle. We somehow overlooked this on the menu, so we only got the regular non-seasoned fries, which were ok.

Strange Famous veggie burger

In addition to the great burgers, the customer service was also excellent and the beer menu was immense and reasonably priced for a hip, up-and-coming bar (several micro-brew bottles were around $4). The burgers are reasonably priced as well, with most around $8 or $9. Hopefully they will stay reasonably priced as this place will undoubtedly become more and more popular if they continue doing things right. We will certainly be back for more. We give The Bad Apple an 8.6 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.9
Value: 8.3
Atmosphere: 8.5
Customer Service: 8.8
Overall: 8.6

Jury's

Jury's Food & Drink
4337 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: North Center
Jury's website
We ventured to Jury's last week with our friends Brad and Lindsey in search of a delicious burger. Jury's has been awarded with several "Chicago Best of.." awards and lists, so we knew we were in for a treat. It was even listed as one of the top 10 hamburgers in the world according to National Geographic.


We sat in a cozy enclosed patio area in back of the restaurant. Jenn ordered the veggie burger and I got "The Judge", a 1/2 pound burger topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, sliced avocado and the usual trimmings of raw onion, roma tomatoes and romaine lettuce. I honestly thought I might have trouble downing a half pounder, but when a burger is this good, it's easier than expected. The burgers are cooked to order and all toppings were fresh. I don't think I've ever had an avocado on a burger before, but it has quickly become one of my new favorite toppings. Jenn's veggie burger was very good, but not great. She's had better she said. In addition to the burgers, we recommend Jury's onion rings, which are HUGE and fried to perfection.

The Judge

Veggie Burger (half eaten)

In all, our meal was about $20 total (sans drinks). Not bad for some above average burgers and some pretty amazing onion rings. While our burgers were delicious, I'm not sure we would agree with National Geographic that they are one of the 10 best in the world. But still worth checking out! We give Jury's an 8.5 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.5
Value: 8.0
Atmosphere: 8.8
Customer Service: 8.7
Overall: 8.5

Celtic Crown

Celtic Crown
4301 North Western Ave.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: North Center
Celtic Crown's website
Celtic Crown is an Irish Pub/Sports Bar located on Western Avenue. If you are in the mood for a decent burger on a Monday, this is the place to be.


Monday is $2 burger day (or $3 deluxe burger with cheese and fries) and we couldn't pass up the deal. The burgers are large (1/2 lb I believe) and cooked to preference. Add a slice of cheese and crinkle fries (or tater tots!) for only a dollar more, and it's still a pretty fantastic deal.

The burger was satisfying, but not great. The crinkle fries (or tots) are hard to pass up. Jenn got the Veggie Flatbread Sandwich and tater tots. The veggies were large and fresh, and it was an overall decent sandwich. The beer selection isn't that great (standard Bud/Miller/Corona/Sam Adams, etc), but it seems that everyday they have a different drink and/or dinner special.

Cheeseburger and Crinkle Fries

Veggie Flatbread Sandwich and Tots

Again, nothing incredibly spectacular about this place, but the Monday $2 burger deal is hard to pass up. We give the Celtic Crown an 8.2 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.1
Value: 8.5
Atmosphere: 8.2
Customer Service: 8.1
Overall: 8.2

Elephant & Castle Pub and Restaurant

Elephant & Castle Pub and Restaurant
111 West Adams Street
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Loop
Elephant & Castle's website
Elephant & Castle is a pub/restaurant with British inspired pub food. There are 22 locations across North America, including Toronto, Boston, San Francisco and three locations in Chicago. We went to the location on Adams Street, which is in the loop and right next door to Club Quarters.


E&C boasts British pub classics like fish and chips and sheperd's pie and of course provides a great variety of beer and whiskey from the British Isles. They also have their own unique takes on pub food like Guiness Meatloaf and Jameson's Chicken. We were in the mood for burgers and beer so burgers and beer we got. I got the Union Jack Beef Burger, a burger basted with Guinness BBQ sauce and topped with bacon and jack cheese. Jenn got the Veggie burger, which was topped with bruschetta tomatoes and pesto mayo. The burgers were well-sized and came with generous toppings that worked well with each other. Add English chips and the obligatory Newcastle and/or Harp and you get satisfying and filling pub food at a moderate price.

Union Jack Beef Burger

Veggie Burger

There's nothing incredibly amazing about this place, but if you're looking for pretty good pub food, great service and a comforting atmosphere, Elephant & Castle is a great place to stop. We give it an 8.2 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.1
Value: 7.8
Atmosphere: 8.3
Customer Service: 8.4
Overall: 8.2