White Castle - Single Cheeseburger

Hey! Alright! Someone is actually reading this one.



This was my initial thought about White Castle. The Porcelain Palace. But White Castle is better than that. Sure the food isn't great and may give you the schlitz in the morning but you don't go for good food. You don't need to read this entry to know without a doubt that it is not only a destination burger but The Destination Burger! There is a movie about just this topic!

The Slyder has history and should be shown respect. They aren't just to be consumed when you're intoxicated or at 3am. The problem is that the whole "Crave" thing only hits when you're intoxicated and at 3am. When was the last time you had a Slyder during daylight hours, and dawn after an all nighter does not count. But hey I have fond memories of them growing up. And they (because you can't eat just one) do qualify as burgers...so here we go.




I selected the single cheeseburger for this initial blog. It is so cute in it's little box.


I don't usually have the time or inclination to add anything to this burger. But if I remember to ask for mayo at the Drive Thru or get it home where mayo is a plenty, it really is better (for me). Not taste wise unless you pour it on, but it helps me deal with the onion.



This burger is very difficult to photograph. It is very grey under there. And the bread and patty mush together making separation difficult. But if ever there was a burger you weren't supposed to dissect for your blog, here it is.



But we progress. The mini patty with it's 5 holes are "steamed-grilled on a bed of onion and served with pickle on a soft bun". They taste like...well, White Castle. I know that's not really a description, but nothing else tastes like them. Not Krystal's, and certainly not all the LGB fake sliders in bars. This is a unique blend of onion, pickle and just enough "meat" to bring it together. The single in this case was purchased for it's classic appeal. I used to get the double bacon but that is a bit of a rip off price wise. My favorite is the double. I have yet to try all of the other flavors and don't know if I will. My stomach wants no part of a spicy pepper jack slider. And it's on the fence about the French Onion. I may sandwich them between some fish or chicken for padding.

Everyone needs to have a Slyder in their lifetime. It's something you can't avoid, they're an American Icon. Also no one should make it through college without a middle of the night run for a few 30 packs with 7 people in a 2 door car. But take my advice, if you find yourself there at 3am, get something to eat with the Slyders. Cheese sticks. Chicken rings. Maybe just a fish or chicken sandwich. Resist the Crave for the Classic Slyder by itself. Your tummy will thank you in the morning, or whenever you awake from your stupor.

Pinky's

Pinky's is in downtown Chicago in the downstairs atrium of the Thompson Center or State of IL Building if you're old school. With so many choices down there I can see how you may never make it here if you are only an occasional visitor. Be a shame to miss this burger though.


I think back to my younger days (as I am 30 now), and my mom would ask me how I knew I did not like something unless I had tried it. Now there are a few foods that even now I will not try (mostly raw or very spicy) that I don't need to try to find out I don't like them. But the Gyro Burger shouldn't have been in that category.


I can't believe it took this long to try this.

Some background on Pinky's, the regular cheese burger is bad. Not seasoned well, frozen thin patty and messy. In fact all the food is big and messy.



See. I was splitting this with my friend Chuck so we went for the 1/2 pound Double Gyros Cheeseburger. I don't recommend going at it alone.

This was a freakin amazing looking burger. Sheer size and mess was promising.

So we have top bun, Tzatziki (cucumber) sauce, grilled onion, gyro meat, cheese, burger, cheese, burger, lettuce, catsup, mustard, and bottom bun.

Fantastic. Really I am ashamed to that it took me 30 years to try this. I have been to many a small Gyro place that had bad burgers and never thought to try or ask for a gyro burger. I mean it's right there. Unlike bacon that they may not serve, the gyro meat is a readily available topping that really adds something to the burger.

Especially the bad burger. It does not matter that the patty isn't the greatest. In fact it may help. Follow me here. The thin fried patty had little give. Well neither does gyro meat. The whole thing just melts in your mouth. You do have to down this one quickly because of the mess. The bun is not up for the job. But it is the correct bun for fast melt in your mouth burger. Another reason not to go about the 1/2 pound double burger by yourself, it may take too long.

Fries. Pretty good. Fresh and soft like Al's Italian Beef. They all seem to be well done but not hard.

The only issue / oddity is no salt on them. That's a bit of a pain when you want to snack on the way back to the office.

The Gyro Burger itself is a destination burger. Regardless of where you get it. You should try one in your lifetime. Go to Pinky's for the Gyro Cheese Burger if you are in the Thompson Center for business or the area in general. Honestly take a pass on the regular cheeseburger and go for this one. If you like gyro and burgers it's a natural fit. I don't know why it took me so long to figure it out.

Pinky's

100 W. Randolph

312-372-4472

English 2 - Turkey Burger

I had been thinking that I need to cut my beef intake. So I thought a great inaugural Turkey Burger would be the big version of the LGB I had at English. Again with the wrongness. And again of feeling as if I got a bad one. So let's begin.


I love the packaging.

I came in and ordered. Then sat right at the bar waiting. There seemed little to no way to mix up my order with the 3 other people in there for lunch.


I was so excited to get back to the office and enjoy.

Good fries with a hint of garlic. Bit soggy from the walk but still good. And while it looks like a good plug of goat cheese mushroom paste, it was not.

Panini press working overtime today.

There is not much positive to say about this. The goat cheese mushroom blend that was so great on the LGB, was a bit dry here. The mushroom was lost under the cheese. And the cheese, while plentiful, was dry. I was actually sad about this burger.

I know turkey is not juicy like beef, but dry. And where are my shrooms? Come on!

And back to bad toppings.

I don't want that piece of tomato with the belly button no matter how bad the shortage.

Disappointing. Just plain disappointing. The LGB showed such promise I was sure this would be my new favorite turkey burger. I just knew I would be buying goat cheese mushroom paste by itself. But this was a huge letdown.

Back to it being a bad one. The turkey was flavored well but cooked too long. I could have overlooked that if the cheese was not dry and the mushroom was plentiful. I doubt this burger fails on all levels every day. But it did today.

The truth is I will be back. It's close to my job and has a good beer selection. The truth is I will have this burger again. My friend Julie is about to work across the street. But I will have the LGB or Fish and Chips next time.

English

444 N Lasalle St

Chicago, IL 60610

(312) 222-6200

Paradise Pup

In doing burger research I found many positive reviews on Paradise Pup. So when I found myself within a 15 minute drive one Saturday afternoon I decided I would not be this north and west again anytime soon so I better check it out. Not to say I should have kept driving, but it should have been better for as hungry as I was. I did accept that the burger is not the specialty food at this establishment, but was assured in my readings that it was something special.

I arrived at about 4:30 and they close at 5 or so they say. Here is what the line looked at 5:30 after I got my food.

Yes I said after.

There were about 10-15 more people in line when I arrived. I thought this line is going to move quickly and it will be worth the wait. Wrong and wrong. After about 5 minutes in line I called Jeff. He and I talked for 45min, until I reached the doorway. I was starving and thirsty by then.

Having had more than enough time to study the menu, I decided on the Char Bacon Cheese Burger. I was having issues deciding between that and the Char Cheddar because I did not want to miss out on Merkts (the best cheese spread in the world http://www.merkts.com/). But ask and you shall receive. I was given a choice of slice or soft cheese. Soft of course. I thought I had discovered a secret to this burger. If people don't know to ask, then they may be stuck with regular cheese.

After a few minutes I got my bag and went to my car. Yes there are tables outside. But when dining alone I did not want to take up a whole one.

Cajun fries are the fry of choice up here.Let it be said that they are good but not great. Cooked well but what else can you say about the standard non-curly Cajun fry?

On to the burger.

This is an attractive burger and challah (thank you Nat & Adam) bun.

Good amount of grilled onion and bacon. Not enough cheese though. It's just a thin layer of the good stuff.

Nice patty that they grill in front of you. Looks frozen but was not.

They even left some pink in it. Note: Thin cheese.

So here we have another burger that on paper is perfect but just did not live up to the billing. Maybe it was the long wait, but that should have made me more appreciative. It just was not seasoned all that well. And the toppings did not pick up there the burger left off. If you remember (or need to read) the Rick's post, the cheese is dripping all over. That would have helped. The onion was a bit too plentiful and also overcooked. The flavor was not overwhelming, but the texture was. Bacon got lost on the big bun. And bottom bun was not great.

Just plain sloppy in my opinion. And not wonderful juiciness.

My fellow bloggers bottom line this one as "wet". Very true. They also note how a return trip is not necessary. I tend to agree (but only for the burger).

If I found myself in the area again I would go and try the Char Pup before I got another burger. And if the line was more than 3 people out the door, I may not do that. I am glad I went and had one for myself though. The 3 way fries may be worth the price of admission another time. It also may be worth asking for extra cheese on the side if you give the burger a try. That will not make the meat better though. They did give me a free refill on my diet coke. Which was nice.

This place will always be packed at certain times of the day. It is very popular. I've seen that it was on Food Network. Curiosity got me in. It will get others as well. I wonder if it used to be better and has changed over time. This is such an icon that you have to go for yourself. Just don't be shocked if it is not spectacular.

Paradise Pup

1724 S River Rd

Des Plaines, IL 60018-2253

Phone: (847) 699-8590

O'Sullivan's Pub

Best Burger in Forest Park!!!


Wait, I know for a fact there is a McDonald's down the street.


I am starting to not give pity points for burgers that may be suffering from one bad cook. Sure this burger may be great six out of seven nights a week. Maybe the person on the grill that night, or hell just for my burger had a brain cramp, but some things are just not acceptable.


Lets sidebar about a wonderful evening before I tell you why this is not even the Best Burger on Madison St., let alone all of Forest Park.

We were out for my friend Brooke's 30th birthday celebration. Which was a great night. This place excels in appetizers and has a decent draft beer selection. We sat outside in what was a private patio area until later at night and we were down to a few tables. We were trying to make it to midnight to do shots. A failed mission. But admirable since we had been drinking since 6ish.

So after the family had left and it was just the 30-something set left, we made our push toward midnight and needed to refuel. On to the burger. I took a photo of the menu, but it had too much glare to fix. Nor can I find one online.


This is the Hugh Burger with cheddar for $7.95 and I added bacon for $.95. I also upgraded to O-rings for I don't know how much and they were the best aspect of the meal.

The menu does say it comes with lots of pickles. No lie there.

Funny thing is I took all these photos with Brooke's point and shoot in the dark. Forgive the focus but they hold up pretty well I think.

Good amount of bacon for less than a buck. Cheese suffered from bad placement in the photo, but was weak regardless.

I could rave on the onion rings all day. They were fantastic. Which in a way makes the burger even more disappointing. In theory the same person was responsible for cooking both. It is hard to understand how the rings were executed to perfection (as were the earlier appetizers) but the burger was well...sub par.

This burger was over charred. And tasted like it.

I could not get over the extreme char taste. No catsup or mustard would dull the taste either. That's one that you can't mask easily.

Also this was during Tomato Crisis 08. There was not one for miles to help moisten / flavor this burger. So whether it was the char, lack of cheese or filling up on onion rings, I only finished half. I took the other home hoping for more enjoyment in the morning.

Part II

So now we can inspect this burger in a proper light.

It's a basic frozen patty that was left on the grill too long. This failed to meet my burger expectations and I think it would fail yours as well. The fault of the burger, no. The fault of the cook, yes. The fault of management for not serving it properly...oh yes.

Once I got it in my kitchen I added a big plug of cheese, an onion ring and BBQ sauce.

Doesn't that look better? It does to me. While I have already admitted that the BBQ Bacon Cheddar with onion ring is one of my burgers of choice, there was nothing else to do with this half. It worked out pretty well. This burger never was juicy so that was not lost the morning after. The BBQ sauce helped my taste buds deal with the extreme char. The o-ring and cheese gave it a dimension previously missing.

So we know it is not a destination burger. But can it be salvaged? Maybe. But why. I have been up and down Madison St. and I know I have had better burgers. I am also sure that this burger was an anomaly. I'm sure the one our friend Beckman had earlier that night was better. If I went back the next day it might have been awesome. But again why bother. This burger aside from a poorly cooked patty lacked basic burger understanding. Serve it with more cheese. Serve it with BBQ sauce on the side. Serve it with a few onion rings on top. No specialty burger is offered(I think there is a melt on rye, but I can't read my menu photo). You have the choice of American, Swiss. Provolone, Bleu, Cheddar, and Pepperjack cheeses. Pepperjack and Bleu maybe. But the rest don't seem like they will hold up with the char mishap.

And therein lies the problem.

If you have a sub par patty that is susceptible to a sub par cooking method or personnel, then overcompensate so that the experience is still good. A great burger when poorly executed is still very good or at least acceptable. While a good burger poorly executed is not worth your time.

Also grilled onion and mushroom are offered for $.45 each. They should be free. They would add a needed dimension of taste that should not have to cost extra. Bacon for under a buck though, that's nice.

If you go there, you may not be disappointed. I know I got a bad one. But I doubt you will rave that it is the best burger in Forest Park, or even Madison St. Walk up the block and go to Horan's or Healy's & compare for yourself.

O'Sullivan's Public House

7244 Madison St,

Forest Park, IL 60130

Veggie Version 2

This will be much better but short.


I felt it important to share that I am still learning how to prepare a great Veggie Burger. When I get on various Veggie Burger kicks I generally start slow and get more extravagant as the days go past. This was not one of my more experimental but still very good.

We all know what the naked veggie burger looks like by now, so no need to repeat that photo.

Here it is when I decided to take photos of it and blog it.

It's nearly finished cooking and that's cheddar cheese with my new favorite, Lawry's season salt. The addition of season salt did wonders for this veggie burger. Again I am still using Boca Grillers so they need all the help they can get but will only have a top rank of 7.5 or 8.

Next addition is chunky Gorgonzola dressing.

Both cheeses added taste but the Gorgonzola added a creamy quality with a bite.

This is the best use of the on sale $1 for 8 buns. The bread does not soak up any extra juices because there aren't any. When Jeff goes to the store next perhaps he will get us some Morning Star products to blog.

Top Notch

Always a classic.


There is not much to say about this cheeseburger except that helped me have a burger revelation.

Top Notch is on the Southside of Chicago on 95th St. I think you have to know it's there to find it. The good thing it that everyone on the Southside knows it's there on 95th. They may not know exactly where but will have a general idea. If you don't live nearby, or go often, this is a place you will drive by in your adulthood and remember going to as a child. Like "oh yea, I remember that place".

Go back. It's still great.

Look @ how good I'm getting @ posting the menu.

I selected a #2 the 1/2lb double deluxe beefburger with cheese. This menu made me recognize a truly great burger and how it should be served. First, they don't make it hard to get onion. It's right there for free grilled or raw. Basic or deluxe. This also goes for the pickle which I respect while I don't always like them. Next is price. My double burger is under $7 with fries and their specialty burgers are priced so that they are a deal and use ingredients that are not listed a la carte. This leads me to believe Top Notch gave thought as to which and how much of each topping worked best. See the Western with it's use of 3. I am puzzled though by all of them having green pepper. I don't like green pepper but may try a special burger someday even though it's served on all of them. But then I think why mess with a cheeseburger that is great without adding much?

This is how it was served. I don't know why I keep getting them bun first.

That's better. See just the right amount of onion.

Apparently "unique" is Top Notch speak for awesome.

These fries were great. Nice and crispy with great flavor that didn't need anything additional. Also they were irregular in size leading me to think they were fresh. If not they are still great and cooked in very clean oil.

Toppings were on the side which I like, but oddly wet which I don't like. BTW, this was the last tomato I had for weeks.

Yea the bun has a bald spot. But it was soft without disintegrating under the juiciness. This burger draws comparison to the Schoop's. It is less crispy but still cooked well. The bun is less attractive but more hearty. The extra slice of cheese is not messy at all. But Schoop's offers their burger with catsup and there is a major difference. This was my revelation: some burgers demand mustard...only. This is one of them. I started eating this one plain and it was great. Then my side of mayo arrived and after I put some on, I added mustard. What a difference. This is a classic burger and should be eaten as such. If Top Notch took away the option and just served all classic (IE non special, beefburgers) with mustard they will help uncorrupt generations of us who love catsup because of Mc Donalds.

To the meat.

Double patty from the back and side...but

TaDa. Looks like a single patty from the middle.

I don't know how the middle fuses with the edges remaining distinct. I also don't care because it works. The meat is basic and uncomplicated. It will appeal to all ages. It's simplicity is elegant and when you add the mustard it really comes alive. This is a special mustard to beef relation. Not all burgers benefit from it. Some need BBQ, some catsup, some mayo. But I have found that a simple fried great quality patty will become special with mustard.

I would now be remiss if I did not mention that this is one of the two burgers mentioned in Hamburger America for Chicago (see Trib Article). The other we will get to later. But I'll give you a hint a Goat is involved. For that fact alone you should make a pilgrimage to Top Notch. If someone (George Motz) who has eaten thousands of of burgers, made a documentary, wrote a book, and blog about burgers chose this as one of the two best in Chicago, curiosity alone should get you in the door. But if that doesn't matter to you and you just want a burger the way a classic burger should be made then go. Take your kids. Introduce them to mustard.

Breakfast? That's funny to me. Can I get a burger omelet?

Click on menu for link to site or http://www.topnotchbeverly.com/index.html

Because of the tomato crisis I may take a hiatus.

Fake Johnny B's V1

I thought the first recipe was a bit lacking in ambition.


Upon first tasting the Johnny Buccelli's Uncle Vito in Columbus, OH, I knew I was going to try and make one at home. You now can learn from my experience and perhaps your first version will be the only one because you get it right.

The first thing I prepared was the grilled onion. I like Vidalia or any sweet onion. Grilled in sesame oil because that's what I had.

Next the meat. I am not the biggest fan of Italian sausage in the first place. So I approached it with a bit of fear that it would be overwhelming. Do not repeat this mistake. I elected for a 2-1 beef to sausage ratio and I used regular mild instead of spicy sausage.

One pound of beef in tray, one pound of beef in bowl and one pound of sausage in tray.

After combining I added very little seasoning of salt and pepper. I shaped the first one about a 1/2 inch thick and a bit bigger than the bun. Note I did not go and buy new buns. So these were going to go on my normal $1 on sale buns.

I heated the pan and set it to fry. My cousin Gary (who is a Chef, not just some guy) says hot pan and cold meat so the meat does not stick.



While that was cooking I added the mushrooms to the onions.

I noticed the burger was cooking a bit fast so I used my heat diffuser for the other side. That's it peeking out from under the pan.

When it was done I cut some tomato and chose an "Ultimate" blue cheese dressing to complete my burger.

I must admit, it photographs well.

This was a pretty good first attempt. This burger is messy because of the onions and mushrooms. It is also drippy because of the burger and the blue cheese dressing. If I had paid for it I would be criticizing the bun all day. But in this case I knew I was making it too thick for the small bun.

Aside from the physical issues it tasted great for a beef burger with a hint of sausage. But it feel short for a burger that is a blend of tastes. For my next one I think a 1-1 beef to spicy sausage will be better. With a bigger and better bun also I think the toppings will not fall off, and the juiciness will be better absorbed.

The next day I fried two for lunch. My tip would be to only cook them 2/3 the way. This will compensate for having to microwave them later. This method worked out pretty well. Sorry no photos. But they are drippy and we were hungry.

If you give it a try you'll need:

1-2lb ground beef

1lb ground Italian sausage (try spicy)

onion to grill

sliced mushroom to grill with onion

a decent bun

Blue cheese dressing

tomato is optional

Good luck!

By the way. As I was cooking I was also cleaning the kitchen, and broke a glass...with my hand in it. Look at the way it broke in a "D" pattern. That was fun trying to wiggle my hand out.