I just want a burger

I crave hamburgers. I have been ordering more patties than ever and daydreaming about one of Chicago’s epic burger joints—Kuma’s Corner. I tried to go there a couple of months back; I knew that long lines ensued, but the night I suggested the Mecca, I had no idea what was in store for my crew.

We arrived at the crowded bar and were slowly greeted by the hipster-pierced host who told us to expect two hours (of standing shoulder to shoulder next to the constantly opening front door) before sitting down. I was willing to wait for the grub, others were ready to eat; decision: onward and outward.

We hopped in our cars and headed to a different neighborhood to find a new bar, a new grill. The next stop, Hopleaf, turned us away with a two-and-a-half hour wait. We quickly sent Brian running up and down Lincoln Avenue in the freezing cold to find a no-wait eatery. He returned cold and out of breath with one promising establishment… that will remain nameless. The troops rallied and walked into the café extremely hungry, loud, and somewhat slaphappy. The hunt for dinner was now at the one and a half hour mark. We settled in at our table, ordered our drinks, and started noshing on pitas and hummus. Each group member scoured the menu and was ultimately lost at what to order. We had gone out with the thought of a Kuma’s burger, tried for Hopleaf and now were settling on this place. It did not sit well.

We discussed leaving, but where to? Any good food had a wait, but we did not want to compromise. “No, we were eating here.” Amidst the, should we go, should we stay conversation, our friend, Billy found a hair on his pita. “Really, we should leave.” “No, no, no… this place will do.” We soon found out that hair number one had some friends, two actually. Yes, this was terribly disgusting, but since we had not eaten, we could not stop laughing about the situation. Jeff practically spit out his beer he was laughing so hard. People were staring—we were those people. The ones who were mistakenly intoxicated, who could not stop laughing at their table and left without ordering anything except a round of drinks.

We ended up at a late night Mexican joint where we still had to wait 10 minutes before sitting down. The waitress served us our tacos and burritos respectively and they were devoured immediately. There was no talking, only eating. It was 11:15pm and we were somehow content with our night—really.

Although we were weirdly satisfied with our Chicago food hunt, it did not change the fact that I needed to fill the belly with a seriously delicious burger. I finally took matters into my own hands and constructed one heck-of-a burger, two months later. But it was worth the wait.



Burger

Ingredients:
1 part ground bison
1 part ground chuck
1 egg
a few generous splashes worstechire sauce
minced garlic

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl with hands. Form small to medium height patties. Grill outside or on a grill pan for 6 to 7 minutes on either side or until desired doneness.

Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:
1 yellow onion- julienne
olive oil
s and p
champagne vinegar

Heat a small skillet over medium to high heat. Add olive oil and onions. Cook onions until caramelized (approximately 7 to 10 minutes). Season with salt and pepper. Finally add a couple splashes of champagne vinegar and cook off, remove from heat.

Cilantro Mayo

Ingredients:
good mayonnaise
chopped cilantro
fresh cracked pepper

Combine.

Other Garnishes:
sliced tomato
spinach
sliced avocado
ketchup
and always serve on a toasted bun