Why doesn't Schoops have a cult-like following?

You're telling me this puppy isnt as good as or better than the In N Outs/5 Guys/Shake Shacks of the world? 90% of the people I know in Chicago have never even heard of it. A man can only do so much evangelizing!

90% of people in Chicago probably don't know about it because there aren't any in Chicago. I had to google it myself. Looks like I've got some driving to do

Whadayamean? They got that song! "The Schoop Schoop Song".

There are a fair amount of people on here who know about Schoop's. Constant comparisons when discussing Edzo's or anyone who does a good griddled patty. I like the Green River on tap too.

114% agree with you.

Definitely my favorite griddle burger in the world. My folks have a condo up in Mich. City and that is my first and/or last stop every visit.

hoppy2468 wrote:Whadayamean? They got that song! "The Schoop Schoop Song".

Apparently, not many folks sang that song in my Chicagoland neighborhood....

http://www.yelp.com/biz/schoops-hamburg ... kory-hills

Ron

RobK wrote:There are a fair amount of people on here who know about Schoop's. Constant comparisons when discussing Edzo's or anyone who does a good griddled patty. I like the Green River on tap too.

On here, thats absolutely true. In fact, I credit LTH for introducing me to that glorious patty. But outside of our medium sized foodie bubble I don't think it gets nearly the love it deserves.

cheffjeff wrote:114% agree with you.

Definitely my favorite griddle burger in the world. My folks have a condo up in Mich. City and that is my first and/or last stop every visit.

My folks have a place in Michiana as well and I grew up eating these at the Marquette Mall in Michigan City during summer breaks. Favorite griddled patty in the world, agreed.

mrefjl wrote:90% of people in Chicago probably don't know about it because there aren't any in Chicago. I had to google it myself. Looks like I've got some driving to do

They once had a location on the NE corner of Irving Pk & Lincoln about 20 some years ago.

Artie wrote:

mrefjl wrote:90% of people in Chicago probably don't know about it because there aren't any in Chicago. I had to google it myself. Looks like I've got some driving to do

They once had a location on the NE corner of Irving Pk & Lincoln about 20 some years ago.

Like near The Globe? Talk about the perfect 3am drunk food. How the hell did that place not make it?

I think we should arrange a trip to Orland Park.

i can't recommend carryout from Schoop's. the last time I ordered from the one in Munster, the 10 minute car ride home in wrapped paper effectively steamed the burger, resulting in a loss of any crispness to the patty - it was pretty gross by that point. we vowed to only eat our Schoop's "in" going forward. they wrapped the fries, too. it was all in all, a pretty terrible meal actually.

jfibro wrote:i can't recommend carryout from Schoop's. the last time I ordered from the one in Munster, the 10 minute car ride home in wrapped paper effectively steamed the burger, resulting in a loss of any crispness to the patty - it was pretty gross by that point. we vowed to only eat our Schoop's "in" going forward. they wrapped the fries, too. it was all in all, a pretty terrible meal actually.

That might explain my one and only Schoops experience. I was working in Chicago Heights and tried the one there. Brought it back to the shop and it was meh. It does look good from the picture posted above so maybe if I'm in the area I'll give it a try if I can eat it there. But carryout is a no-no.

I've wanted to try Schoops for a long time as Steak N Shake style burgers are my favorite. I've been to Miner-Dunn in Highland and that was pretty good. I tried to go to a Schoops in Hammond one night but it was closed early and looked like a dump. It's obviously a south suburban/NW Indiana thing. And from what I've heard, Schoop's is good, but probably not cult worthy. It's amazing to see how many raved about restaurants are on the north side/suburbs vs the south side/suburbs. It's like two different worlds.

Commbrkdwn wrote:

Artie wrote:

mrefjl wrote:90% of people in Chicago probably don't know about it because there aren't any in Chicago. I had to google it myself. Looks like I've got some driving to do

They once had a location on the NE corner of Irving Pk & Lincoln about 20 some years ago.

Like near The Globe? Talk about the perfect 3am drunk food. How the hell did that place not make it?

Yup. I think the current tenant is a cell phone store. I went there a few times, even took my then young daughters there. We loved it, but the place never took off. I'm pretty sure they ran normal fast food business hours, so the drunk business went elsewhere.

Buddy

Ram4 wrote:I've wanted to try Schoops for a long time as Steak N Shake style burgers are my favorite. I've been to Miner-Dunn in Highland and that was pretty good. I tried to go to a Schoops in Hammond one night but it was closed early and looked like a dump. It's obviously a south suburban/NW Indiana thing. And from what I've heard, Schoop's is good, but probably not cult worthy. It's amazing to see how many raved about restaurants are on the north side/suburbs vs the south side/suburbs. It's like two different worlds.

I like Schoops a lot (get the Mickey), but I find their locations somewhat variable, with the one in Hammond easily qualifying for bottom of the barrel status.

Schoops Mickey

Pie Lady wrote:I think we should arrange a trip to Orland Park.

Our accountant is in Orland Park, so once a year, I drive out there, have our taxes done, and stop at Fatburger for lunch (this year I stopped at the new Chik-fil-a). But looking at the pics that Commbrkdown (great song, by the way) posted, I think Schoop's might have to be the official lunch of 2012 taxes.

Ram4 wrote:I've wanted to try Schoops for a long time as Steak N Shake style burgers are my favorite. I've been to Miner-Dunn in Highland and that was pretty good. I tried to go to a Schoops in Hammond one night but it was closed early and looked like a dump. It's obviously a south suburban/NW Indiana thing. And from what I've heard, Schoop's is good, but probably not cult worthy. It's amazing to see how many raved about restaurants are on the north side/suburbs vs the south side/suburbs. It's like two different worlds.

You're in the north suburbs, so no doubt what you've heard about a south-suburban institution like Schoop's is wrong.

I'm only half-kidding. Lots of "institutions" (perhaps even a GNR or three) look like dumps from the outside. Yet such comments seem to be made, for the most part, about places in the south suburbs.

There are so few south-suburban places discussed on LTH because most of its membership would appear to live in the city of Chicago and its north suburbs, and there is a stigma-of-sorts about the south suburbs that has existed for decades, and clearly continues to exist. And in the case of NW Indiana, all of its discussions on LTH seem to get pigeon-holed into one or two generic topics which tend to be ignored by all but a select few members.

Finally, a tiny bit of history about Schoop's. The first restaurant with that name on the door is the one in Munster, which opened in 1960 and changed its name to Schoop's in 1964. I'm not sure why the Schoop's website chose to rewrite history, but here is a photo of the Munster location, taken in late 1960:



The Schoop's in Hammond by Bread Basket (on Indpls Blvd between 171st and 173rd) is IMO the most consistent in quality. The Munster location can put out the best burger, but it's a crapshoot. I'd also add that the owners of Schoop's also own a large butcher shop in Munster (Howard & Sons), and the Schoop's burger meat is sourced fresh from them.

Commbrkdwn wrote:90% of the people I know in Chicago have never even heard of it.

As MarkH says, it's mostly because Schoop's is based in Northwest Indiana. It doesn't matter that Schoop's (in Whiting IN) is closer to downtown Chicago than the often-discussed Paradise Pup. The actual distance is less important than the psychological distance.

Actually Schoop's has been fairly well covered in other media. For example, Kevin Pang has written lovingly in the Chicago Tribune about those lacy-edged patties: Sampling South Side Institutions (7 May 2009); 10 Burgers that Add Up to Awesomeness (27 August 2009); Burgers Eaten, Lessons Learned (5 November 2009); Cheeseburgers Done Right (15 September 2011). But I guess people don't read newspapers any more.

For my money (a bit less than $5), Schoop's makes one of the best burgers around. I don't think there are many places that come close in the griddle-cooked, crispy-edged category. Here's one from the Munster shop that I enjoyed last year.



And don't forget Schoop's exemplary onion rings.



Edited first sentence to cite MarkH (name was inadvertently omitted).

I think my stepsons are on to me--I'm in it for the Schoops They are NWI-based (Highland/Schererville) and I bug them to go there all the time. Along with Toons, it's the only food we all agree on. I've been to the locations in St. John's, Schererville (most recently the site of the birthday lunch for the 12 year old--my suggestion of course!!) and Highland--all wonderful and absolutely consistent. Carryout wouldn't be an issue because I seriously doubt I'd ever make it out of their parking lot with an order. Any time anyone wants to check it out, just let me know. And, by the way, Miner Dunn, while a perfectly nice place, isn't worth mentioning in the same sentence as Schoops...

In my (pretty vast, but probably not as vast as Mark H or other denizens of NWI) experience, the St. John's location is the best of the bunch in terms of the quality of the finished burger. YMMV.

I think the reason Schoop's doesn't have a cult-like following like the OP asked is shown in the comments from some of the fans of the place in this thread. Namely, consistency is a huge problem for Schoop's. The first time I went, I got a burger that absorbed more oil than I thought possible and had nothing resembling a crust. I've since had a couple of, for the price, outstanding burgers at Schoop's. But despite my assurances, the two people who joined on that maiden venture refuse to give the place another shot.

Interesting. I've been twice to Mich City and twice to Crown Point and thought the burger was petty consistent all 4x

I've eaten at 3 different locations at least 15 times between them and have no consistency issues to report.

Is there a location that would be easily accessable if you were on the Skyway/tollway headed towards the Detroit area?

bw77 wrote:Is there a location that would be easily accessable if you were on the Skyway/tollway headed towards the Detroit area?

Here is a link to a Google map, at their website, of all the locations:

http://www.schoophamburgers.com/locations.html

=R=

Thanks. I didn't realize there were so many. Looks like Whiting involves the least detour.

Maybe Schoop's on the way there and Calumet Fisheries on the way back!

bw77 wrote:Maybe Schoop's on the way there and Calumet Fisheries on the way back!

A glorious plan!

=R=

bw77 wrote:Is there a location that would be easily accessable if you were on the Skyway/tollway headed towards the Detroit area?

The one in Highland on 45th is only 5 minutes south of the Cline exit.

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Maybe Schoops is one of those places that you have to grow up with to love. For example, I still think Steak N Shake is the best version of this 30's style hands down. There's just something about the meat blend they use. I finally tried Schoops last year (Michigan City) and it was good, but I don't remember wanting to go back anytime soon. In fact, I'd probably get Miner-Dunn over Schoops because Miner-Dunn has fresh cut fries that are way better than Schoops frozen fries and they give you a dessert at the end. Then again, Steak N Shake's fries are nothing special either, but the burger is. Anyway, I'll probably have Schoops again just to make sure!