One of my favorite things about Chicagoland is never having to eat at the same place twice. I can try a restaurant, and if I hate it, I have several hundred others to choose from.
On the other hand, if I try one and love it, I feel bad for going back and not exploring what else Chicago has to offer.
Right now I'm hooked on just one.
When I first moved out here, Nick mentioned a burger joint he saw on one of those Man vs. Food type shows.
I looked it up and it sounded deeeelicious.
I knew when he came to visit his favorite baby sister, we were taking a special trip to Kuma's.
After battling traffic (he insisted on driving) and peeking into the tiny little corner bar, we were told we'd have a 45 minute wait until our table was ready.
On a Friday at 2 in the afternoon, the place was packed. We crossed the street and hung out at Square Bar, where there was no wait, and only one other table of customers.
We had a few drinks while our bellies grumbled. When it was time for our name to be called, we hurried across the street and were sat in a very cramped dining room.
The tables were small and backed up to the bar and (super tiny, 6 x 16) kitchen.
We put in our burger orders and were told it would be another 45 minutes until our mounds of perfectly cooked meat would be ready.
Knowing our stomachs wouldn't wait that long, we put in for some fried pickles and jalapeño poppers.
They had a nice crispy breading, and the chipotle-mayo and raspberry dipping sauces added to the scrumptious-ness.
Before we knew it, my Metallica burger (1 & 2 pics below), Nick's Kaijo burger, and Matt's Iron Maiden burger (3 pics down) were set before us.
Nick dug into his before I could capture its beauty.
Ohhh my gawwwd.
I was always my parent's "little eater".
I'm not sure I've ever met a meal that I couldn't proudly finish off.
Somehow half of my burger was still sitting there, and I was completely stuffed.
Knowing we weren't heading home afterwards, it pained me to know I couldn't take my tasty treat to finish later.
If this isn't a satisfied customer, I don't know what is...
Kuma's is a bit pricy, and they have some playful rules you must follow, but I cannot say enough times how much I enjoyed the food and atmosphere.
If you visit and happen to mention wanting a tasty burger, I'll hurry you over to Kuma's so we can go into food comas together.
p.s. sorry vegetarians, the meals for herbivores don't look particularly good here. I recommend sitting this one out.
p.s.s. don't mind the picture quality. I wasn't in a DSLR-lugging mood.
