Friday, November 2, 2018

Kuma’s Corner (Original Location) – Chicago, IL


After a hard night of tiki-drinking, there’s no better place to go with a pounding headache than to a heavy metal bar. That bar also happens to serve the best burger in Chicago and one of my top 5 burger places I’ve ever been to. Let’s just say that between the black metal they were playing loudly over the bar speakers and the sitting-next-to-the-sun daylight streaming through the windows, it was a sunglasses-on sort of burger feast. I’m also amazed that I’ve never written about this place before. My apologies on not spreading the love. Sometimes you have to wait an hour or two to get a seat (literally), and other times, when you walk in right when they open, you get seated right away.

I could go on and on about Kuma’s Corner. It really is an incredible place. Don’t let the heavy metal part of this fool you. It’s an upscale burger place – Think caramelized pears, chicken strips, fried giardinera, crab cakes, whiskey soaked dill pickles, braised venison, or pork chops as toppings on a wonderful beef patty. THAT’s the kind of fancy stuff you get here. Most of the burgers and sandwiches are named after metal bands, which is fun for a guy like me. They also cater to vegans and vegetarians by offering substitutes to beef patties, like chicken breasts, and a few different non-meat substitutes that are apparently some of the best in the business. These folks support local bands and craft beers, and also give back to the communities they’re in. Each month, they have a new over-the-top burger that a portion of the profits go to some local charity picked by the staff. Really smart and HUMAN.

The menu always takes a while to go through, since everything looks incredible. They have mac and cheese, tons of burger options, other amazing sandwiches, and a few salad options. Then they have a large craft beer list. I’d always encourage you to check out the Burger of the Month, though. It’s sort of a thing there. This particular trip, I knew I needed to have it. It was called the Dillinger Escape Plan – a band I do NOT support for a number of reasons involving d-baggery on stage – and the proceeds were going to a good cause. This burger will blow your mind.

It’s a 10 oz beef patty on a bed of spicy potatoes O’Brien, monterey jack cheese, country fried steak, chorizo & poblano sausage gravy, a fried egg, and chives. It’s a wonderfully delicious mess.

D.Rough got the Sourvein – 10 oz beef patty covered in deep fried blackened chicken tenders, Applewood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, Belgian waffle strips, maple syrup, and raspberry aioli. Brilliant.

We didn’t realize that both of us basically ordered brunch-style burgers. Also, neither of us had beer.

On the DEP burger, the chorizo sausage gravy was simply killer. It went so well with the chicken fried steak that it was insane. The fried egg drizzled everything nicely and cheese was a nice surprise every once in a while. Well done on this very special burger plate.

The Sourvein burger was a challenge to eat, due to its height, but was basically chicken and waffles on top of a burger. The raspberry aioli was a really well thought out touch and everything was magical. Loved this burger!

If you’ve never been here, you need to go. It’s so good they had to open up three additional locations to keep the crowds manageable. I haven’t been to any of the new locations, but they look cleaner and less dive-bar-style than the original one. But I’m guessing the food is just as awesome. I’ve got friends that live in Chicago that post about Kuma’s all the time and I’m always jealous. I was long overdue for a visit here and I’m glad it happened…even though I was ready for a nap and still had 6.5 more hours to drive back to Minneapolis…

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