Burger Joint

Burger Joint closed-​and I thought Burger Joint would make a stronger showing after the closure of Graham Elliot. Yes, I thought olé Graham was feeling the fine dining heat from Burger Joint and now both are closed. Maybe this was part of a greater plan between these two fine dining establishments-​time will tell! And no way can the River North Subway take up all of the River North fine dining slack. When Tippling House opens, no one will be happier than I. I’m just glad I was not the lucky person getting the last cheeseburger out of the fridge at Burger Joint, just as I was glad to not be the person getting the last «miniature soft shell crab and vulcanized skate wing with spritz foam melon and artichoke» out of the fridge at Graham Elliot. RIP Burger Joint, I loved thee at one time. Off to the gym!

I was on my way back to work from the bank when Burger Joint caught my eye. Entering was a little strange, since Burger Joint is in the basement. The décor was wonderful, very rustic yet pop art modern. I got a basic cheese burger and the feta fries. They were both good. The cheese burger was simple and the bun to burger patty ratio was ideal, however I prefer a little more flavor to my basic burger patty. The fries probably would’ve been better had I eaten them right away instead of taking it all the way back to the office. It was a little bit congealed together and had to be eaten with a fork, but you could tell that the flavors were great.
I will be back to this place and perhaps order one of their specialty burgers and eat in some of those feta fries.
There’s a lot of seating and wasn’t busy during what would be considered the late lunch hour.

I must admit, their specialty burger was considerably better than I imagine it would be. I never imagined gyro meat and buffalo sauce would go together so well.
The fries suck though. I’ve had the «poutine”(mozzarella cheese?) and the feta fries and both weren’t worth it. Oh yea, it’s sickeningly expensive. But you can do worse in the citigroup center

I ordered the gyro and substituted the poutin fries. I think I paid around $ 15.
The gyro meat was excellent. I was disappointed with their cucumber sauce. It is not tzatziki sauce and they don’t put much on at all. I even got a side of it and that came in a tiny, little cup.
The poutin is not your «real» poutin. It is mozzarella cheese with gravy on fries. It was a healthy portion (pun intended), but I’m just not a fan of their fries.
My friends had the burger and said it was great so maybe I would give that a try if we ever go back, but I’m not sure the value is there. Prices are pretty steep for the quality and quantity of food.
One really nice thing about this place is that there are a couple tables to sit at in the back and gives more privacy that eating in the open area with the other thousand Ogilvie Food Court patrons.

Disclaimer: I did not patron their River North location, rather their West Loop location at 500 W. Madison Street. (Perhaps I missed their West Loop listing on here?)
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Are you ready for another overpriced, mediocre, «trendy» (or in this case wannabe) burger joint? Well look no further! Burger Joint Chicago provides that experience and then some.
I was thrilled to see that something was going to take over the vacant Pizza Hut location within the CitiGroup center… to my dismay, a sign popped up that it was yet another burger establishment (as in they seem to be popping up everywhere). So, being the optimist that I am, I went ahead and gave them a try during their grand opening.
What did I encounter? Chaos… which is typical for a new establishment. It took a good 10 — 15 minutes to get my order, which was just a simple burger and fries. After receiving my order I proceeded back to my office, unwrapped what appeared to be a stellar looking burger, and took my first bite. Ready for the grand reveal? It was… well… bland. Just your typical burger with American cheese (yuck!). Suffice it to say, the bun was the best part of the whole meal, fries included.
Now, I am a firm believer in second chances so that is exactly what I did today. I wandered down to the food court and waiting for a brief period in line. After someone very rudely cut in front of me, I just wondered myself up to the counter to a shocked employee. This time, I wanted to try the turkey burger… no dice. «We’re out». Seriously? You are a new restaurant in a major metropolitan area, inside one of the biggest transit hubs of the city. You’re out?! Fine. Given my immediate distaste for this place I just ordered a simple burger and fries. I attempted to make friendly conversation with the employee regarding how «I suppose it is a good thing that you out, it shows you’re doing good business». Well, friends, that failed as she had no clue what I was talking about and couldn’t be any more uninterested in what I had to say…
Cut to me waiting for a good 10 minutes, again, for yet another simple burger and friends. Needless to say, I probably will not be going back anytime soon. Sorry, Burger Joint Chicago, you earn my FAIL award. Get your act together, get some friendly staff, and speed up the process of your production.

I’ve been waiting for this place to open up in the Ogilvie Food court for awhile as it seemed like construction for this place was taking forever!!! Worth the wait, although pretty pricey for a burger as you will have to shell out $ 8 for a specialty burger alone!
I work in the Ogilvie building so getting decent burger, I would have to walk to either Portillos, Al’s Beef or Monk’s tavern! Now that Burger Joint is here, I can save some time!
Try the:
Poutine (Who doesn’t like a lot of fries with gravy and small blocks of cheese???)
Hangover Burger (Fried Egg on top of your burger!)
Fries (Greasy and good, just as they should be!)
Chicken sandwich (Ask to make with the Tzatzike sauce, its fantastic!)
Serve beer!
Avoid the:
Merkts cheddar fries (Solid cheese in a small container??? At least heat up the cheese, right?)
Polish (Pretty plain here, I guess I have high standards for a Polish. I’m used to quality and taste like the ones they serve at Portillos and Al’s Beef!

Food is typical hot dog and burger joint… nothing special, BUT our order was completely wrong after very explicit order details so I am completely turned off to this place.
Restaurant did offer to compensate mistakes but we had to go back to the restaurant to receive corrected order. (Not esay when you are busy at work)

I saw this place was finally open last night when I was waiting for my train, so I decided to check it out today. I had the Sonoma burger, which is a turkey burger with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and provolone. It was awesome. The butter bun was a good addition, and it’s saying a lot since I’m not usually into the turkey thing.
Service was OK, not amazing, not terrible. The manager was still training a couple of the register girls, but the one who took my order was nice.
There are 2 entrances to this place, on the street and one from inside the train station next to the Panda Express. The décor wasn’t bad, standard no ceiling painted pipes look. There’s no burger place to compete with in that little nook inside the station, so it’s a decent location.
There was lots of beer on tap, probably 7 or 8 taps, and it looked to be a full bar. The pear and mango salad they had in the cooler looked really good, I may have to go back for that. The different fries like feta, ranch, etc. you could get sounded great, but for $ 4 each I’m not sure it’s worth it.
One of the problems is the prices for the extra stuff. My burger was $ 8, which isn’t horrible because it was good, but they asked if I wanted to make it a meal, so then my fries were an extra $ 2, and my drink was an extra $ 2, which brought my total to $ 12. Most places just give you fries, and most places won’t charge full price if you get the meal.
All in all, the food was good, a little pricey, and I wouldn’t mind going back for that salad, but this definitely wouldn’t be a daily stop for me, mainly because of the prices.

Sometimes you just want a big burger, fat and grease be damned. This place has a variety to choose from, and plenty of seating in their cavernous cavern. Plus wifi.

This place is right by my new job and I could not be more excited about it after having lunch there today.
I ordered the chicken pita and feta fries to go. The chicken on the pita was extremely well seasoned and tender. The pita was also nice and warm and a great complement for the chicken.
The feta fries were out of this world and definitely made the meal! The portion was enormous (I barely made it through half of them). The fries were perfectly cooked, fresh cut and crunchy and warm and the feta was the perfect partner for them.
I took my food to go but my overall impression of Burger Joint was that it was clean, welcoming and the kind of spot I wouldn’t mind eating lunch.
Finally, I think it’s definitely worth noting that this places definitely exceeds the expectations I had after reading the Unilocal reviews.
I hope to be back soon, but not too soon, this place could be dangerous on the waistline!

There are a few problems with this place that would make it much better if they addressed them.
1: The food is too expensive. The portions are the same as similar restaurants in the area, but a gyro meal was $ 11.50. Lets fix that.
2: For the price, the quality is not much better than anything else around. The gyro was dry and the fries were not very good.
I won’t be coming back unless I hear they fix these things. I was not happy with this visit.

The first time I came here was for lunch. I had the crazy greek burger with a side of cheese fries. It was SO darn good that I had to come back a second time.
The second time I came in was late at night, maybe around 3pm, after a rough night out on the town.
I forgot which burger I had but I definitely ordered cheese fries and they were SO good.
If you come here, make sure to order cheese fries!
The cheese is like crack. no joke.
There’s street parking and plenty of parking around lunch time but good luck if you come during dinner/​late night hours.

for its buttery buns, piping hot soup, and crispy fries, how does this place not have 5 stars???
Perhaps I am partial because the owner is Canadian?
The décor in this place is really fantastic. Not fast food-​y at all. I also enjoy how the entire staff helps each other out. Again, very Canadian. The cook came and took my order because the other staff were answering phones/​cleaning tables. That’s a good sign– they were actually cleaning!
I’m not sure why people hate on this place. It’s good! I’ve never been during a crazy lunch rush period so I can’t comment on the wait time.
What I can say is that a new location is opening in my ‘hood, the West Loop. WIN for Alicia!

Normally I would give their burgers and fries a 4 star rating. Last time I went I got cheese fries. The cheese was super gross. It was a cold lump with seperated oil or other liquid sitting on top. I tried to contact them about this, but never got a response. Guess they don’t need my business.
In general they would get a 3 star, 4 for food and 2 for service, but they are being downgraded because of the poor food and even worse service of my most recent trip.

3 guys, a girl, and a burger joint.
That was my lunch plan last week in the 100 degree weather, and yes, we did walk 8 blocks to get there and a staggering 8 back.
After hearing some rave reviews of so called joint and its burgers, we set a date for our meaty adventure. All I wanted was a cheeseburger from a place a little more upscale than McDonald’s.
I looked at the simple menu of burgers, fries, shakes, and gyros before we went and decided on just a cheeseburger.
The cheeseburger was great, not too big, not too small. They have deals if you want fries and a drink but I was «trying» to be good… at a burger place. I really enjoyed my cheeseburger (see the pic) but I was bummed to hear that I could have added a ton of more free toppings likes jalapenos! I was disappointed in not examining the menu more closely and also not being offered any said free toppings by the cashier. I guess they won’t offer to supersize you if it doesn’t cost you extra. :(
Anywho, I did try some fries and I really liked them. I think you can get a whole range of seasoned fries that looked pretty awesome, but maybe I’ll save that for a hungover day. My main guff is that it’s a little more expensive than I thought, esp if you do a «deal» meal. Almost $ 10 for a burger, fries, and drink. –no thanks
Will I be back? Maybe baby.

I’ve got to say, either I haven’t tried very many good burgers, was that drunk, or the place has turned itself around because I had the opposite experience of most of the reviewers here.
Boyfriend and I ordered a cheeseburger and fries to share. The cheeseburger looks like the cheeseburger of my dreams, it is what the McDonald’s burgers aspire to in pictures. The burger came out perfectly constructed, freshly cut slices of tomato, crisp lettuce, melted American cheese, thick beef patty, on a beautifully browned and buttery bun. The beef patty was exceptionally juicy and flavorful. I think the quality of meat in the Midwest is just that much better. My boyfriend’s definition of «splitting it» was very skewed that night. I took one bite and then watched in horror as he devoured the rest, saving only a wee bit of patty and a hunk of bun. The fries were mediocre, a bit too salty for my taste and the batch had a few soggy ones thrown in there.
I would recommend going to this place for a simple, traditional American cheeseburger, no bells, whistles, 20 year aged gruyère, etc. Straightforward, delicious, satisfying.

I had been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for this place. And I think I’ll wait a little longer before I go back. Convenient? Yes. Late hours? Yes.
Good lunch spot? Well, given the competition in the area, I’d choose the competition.
I was very excited to try the Crazy Greek burger the week they opened. And I did get to try it, but although it was a crazy combination for a burger, the taste didn’t quite leave me crazy to have it again. The fries were a similar story. Although it’s exciting to have different dipping cheese sauces, it’s also very vital to have a tasty fry to dip, and unfortunately it wasn’t quite there.
Normally, it would be a slam dunk for a place to give you the option to put on such delights as: fried egg, advocado, Merkt (MERKT!!) cheddar and gorgonzola, but toppings are only one aspect of a tasty experience.
To be fair, many of my co-​workers enjoy other items on the list, but personally, if I can’t enjoy the burger at Burger Joint… what’s the point? What’s. The. Point?
(Once I get a chance to review this as a late night stop for food, my opinion may quickly change. We’ll see!)

As I continue on my burger quest, I find myself here at the Burger Joint. The location is in the sub level (basement) of the building. The place was completely empty on a Monday night, in fact we were the only customers here.
The young lady behind the counter was very friendly and extremely helpful. She taught us some fun facts like: the tables are all reclaimed wood and the photos of Chicago on the wall were taken by one of the owners. That was some cool stuff to learn, but will it make my burger taste better?
We ordered the Greek Burger which seems to be there signature sandwich here. We also decided to upgrade our fries to the spicy feta fries.
The fries just didn’t look appealing but they tasted really good. The flavors worked. The fries were cooked well done which allowed them to maintain crunchy the whole time. Some of the feta melted. It would have been nice if it all melted. The jalapenos also added a nice spicy… I felt a little sweat on my forehead after digging in.
My one star is for the burger. This place is called the burger joint, so the burger patty should be amazing. The patty is really thin and the burger is really greasy. The gyro meat on top is an interesting concept but I don’t know if these two meats were suppose to ever meet!!! It is really a greasy mess and would have probably tasted amazing if I was drunk but I was completely sober! It was also really expensive…10 bucks for a thin burger with fries and a drink. It was not worth it plus I asked if the burgers were organic or grass feed. I was told that they didn’t know but they did know the quality of meat was high. You would think the staff would know that. If it was organic grass fed beef, then I know it would have had it printed all over menu.
I am sorry to say that this burger is not high on my list of best burgers in Chicago. In fact, it is kind of towards the bottom. For the price, the patty needs to be larger so you feel like you are getting your money’s worth. I also noticed that all of the 4 star and 5 star reviews were for the Gyro… maybe they should change the name to the Gyro Joint. There signature burger comes with Gyros, so go Greek my friends and get out of the Burger Market.
I will probably never come back here sober but I can not stop my drunk side at 4am from falling victim to a greasy burger here. In fact, it may even save me from a hangover one day!!!

My first review of this place was bad, my second and current review is much worse. We went to the Burger Joint because we did not want to drive around the block to hit Portillo’s drive thru and there was no street parking during the evening rush near M Burger.
Ordering food at this venue, while it appears easy, is much more of a task than the proprietors of the Burger Joint are ready to admit. Cheese on one’s burger is an additional $.60, per the menu. Cheese on one’s burger is an additional $ 1.00, per the receipt. Mushrooms and Jalapenos on your burger are listed as free, per the menu. Mushrooms and Jalapenos on your burger are not free, per the cashier.
Burger joint: Please FIX your Menu Board to reflect reality.
We ordered a Gyro combo and a Cheeseburger combo. The cashier hands me a bag full of food like its McDonalds to-​go. I ask, «do you have a tray or something?» They have no trays. I could care less about getting grease and other foodstuffs on their tables and chairs, but what about my french fries? Without a tray I must leave them on the table slightly shielded by a couple of thinnest napkins on the market. Why do I have to put forth this effort to protect my fries from the table?
Combos come with fries and a drink. The fries were sort of tasty, mostly grease, all soggy and wet.
My gyro was horrendous. For a place with a few «Greek» dishes and delights, the gyro was a real head-​scratcher. How did they make such a generic, tasteless item? Not only that, but then have the balls to sell such an item to the general public? Some of the gyro meat was crunchy on the ends. It was more of a chore to choke it down than it should have been.
She had a cheeseburger with «everything». While we know «everything» is a loaded word here in Chicago in regards to burgers and hotdogs. They had more optional items available than «everything» items. I don’t get it; again FIX your Menu Board. Back to the burger, it sucked. It was really, really dry, a complete 180 degree turn from my first Burger Joint experience. The veggies on the burger were clearly from the day before– or prepped at 9am this morning. During my first visit, I found out every burger is served the same way– ‘done’. This ‘done’ burger was far crappier. I had to bury the sucker in ketchup to help lubricate my throat and get that disaster in my belly.
Burger joint: your food is crappy. You have demonstrated that your business operates below McDonalds. While your store is located in River North, I think that I would find your food on the far west side of the City, at a hole-​in-​the-​wall dump stuck between two Checks Cashed stores, with a flashing blue light camera at the corner.
By the way, house or techno or whatever the crap was that you were playing at 6pm should not be on your playlist. Play that crap for the club kids at 3am. You have several ginormous televisions running espn and other sports shows– turn that volume on.
Burger joint, you will find that your late night business model will not work as you would have liked. The Hop Haus has a 4am liquor license (across the street) and they serve true gourmet burgers and kick-​ass waffle fries. Go figure, pay an extra $ 1 or 2 for the gourmet burger and one can drink alcohol while they enjoy said burger! I think your future is along the lines of Eggsperience. At first they were open 24−7−365, now they close at 4pm most days. Note: People that spend $ 200 on bottle service at one of the many nearby nightclubs are not going to purchase dog-​shit gyros for $ 8 (more than once).
At over $ 9 per plate (er… paper sack) after tax, avoid this disaster.

Pretty good, Burger Joint… Welcome to the ‘hood.
This new burger joint is on the smaller side, down a little flight of stairs (in an old gallery space), which opens up to a modern dining room and large order/​pickup counter. You line up, order, then wait for your number to be called.
Came here for lunch today with my man (a surprise Halloween lunch!) and I enjoyed it — though, I wish they had a veggie burger option. I was surprised and disappointed that they didn’t. With the name «Burger Joint» they really mean that. It’s a place for burgers. And (mostly) only burgers. They do have a few hot dog options, and the only other option besides that is a chicken pita sandwich. That’s what I went with.
The pita was loaded with lots of grilled chicken, served with big tomato slices, lettuce and mayo. It was really fresh and good. The fries were great too — a large portion of them and they are the thick, fresh cut kind — brown and crunchy and salty. Delish.
The place was a little noisy, but I think just because it was so busy today. TVs line the walls, and there are thick wooden tables throughout the dining room. It’s a quick in-​and-​out type of place — good for lunch. I’d come back… And I hope they expand the menu to include a couple other non-​meat lunch options.