Why it’s this week’s Best Bite: I don’t usually blog about burgers, but this one was memorable enough to merit an exception. A friend treated me to a belated birthday dinner at Butcher & the Burger, which she had always raved about but I’d never visited – and let’s just say that being introduced to this place was a birthday gift in itself. The menu allows you to customize your entire burger, all the way down to the spice blend in your patty, so I had several tough decisions to make. I ended up choosing the house blend of natural, local beef with Grandma’s Onion Soup spices on a classic split-top bun. The patty itself was everything I could have wanted: well-seasoned, cooked to picture-perfect medium, and terrifically juicy (though it was the liquid from the caramelized onions that sent the burger into extra-messy territory). The spongy bun did its best to soak everything up, concealing layers of creamy goat cheese and sriracha-spiked mayo. Lettuce, tomato, and avocado rounded out the contrasting textures. The burger evoked backyard grilling and gourmet gastropub fare in equal measure, which made it one of the best I’ve had in Chicago. And I couldn’t resist stealing a couple sips of the thick chocolate milkshake across the table, a tried-and-true combination of velvety frozen custard and chocolate syrup.
The details: Butcher & the Burger, 1021 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago.
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