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Was walking home from work and noticed that Tru's kitchen table space (visible on Huron street) is no longer there - in its place, it looks like there's a new burger/milkshakes concept that's being built. I have to assume it shares the kitchen space with Tru, and by the looks of it, the place will be ready really soon (I'd guess less than a week).

I caught a glimpse at part of the menu board - burgers, cheeseburgers, salads, chicken sandwiches etc etc in the $4-7 range.

Has anyone heard anything about this new spot? I'm rather itching for a good burger close to my workplace, and I hope this is it.

M Burger
161 E Huron
Chicago, IL 60611
312-254-8500

It's not unnamed - it's to be called Mburger. The Melman forces are already planting tweets about it on Twitter. To me, it seems sacreligious to sacrifice the pastry kitchen at Tru for the sake of yet another burger joint; your mileage may vary.

check this out

http://www.chicagomag.com/Radar/Dish/Ja ... Tru-Story/

*There were some rumors swirling about TRU opening a burger component, but it'll actually be a new Lettuce Entertain You launch next door. Rich Melman recently disclosed the fact that The M Burger, which will have a separate but adjacent kitchen born from part of TRU's, will focus on burgers and serve them in a counter-service setting. The M Burger, 676 N. St. Clair St., Chicago, IL 60611, No phone yet.

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GOOD TIMES!

Danke schoen, there's the info I was looking for

apparently MBurger (the new burger counter out of Tru's space) has opened as of today. burgers are $2.99, but they're corn/grain fed. kind of disappointing given where they're coming out of. also apparently they got rid of Tru's pastry kitchen and/or chef's table to make room for it

oops, posted in openings/closings, but apparently this opened today. they're grain/corn fed burgers though, only $2.99, but still disappointing.

Well, if you believe the press releases...

http://blogs.vocalo.org/dolinsky/2010/0 ... ss-release

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A shining moment for Dolinsky.

Dolinsky did an OK job on the follow-up, save for not calling the spokesperson out on this statement:



Since when is olive oil classified as a transfat? Why not just say, "We were going to cook with olive oil, really, until someone looked at the food cost ratios with respect to cost per use. . . "

Wednesday afternoon they were giving out samples of free burgers in the afternoon. I didn't make it over but my co workers are talking about how good it was. I might see if I can head over today and check it out. They did say that the milkshakes were underwhelming but that an employee commented they are 'working' on it.

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One Mint Julep was the cause of it all.

Hey y'all -

Got to try M Burger on opening day. And I'm happy to report that In N Out has come to Chicago. Well, not really, but there are similarities. The burger really reminded me of In N Out in that it's kinda small, comes in the little baggy with the burger sticking out has a nice soft plain bun (which is made in house and outstanding) and thinner patties. The fries are also partly skin on, similar to In N Out. They also have a secret menu, which not sure how secret it is if everyone knows and it's been published in all the write ups.

The burgers are cheap. Around $2.50 for a single, $4.30 for a double. They have an 'M burger' which comes with bacon and signature or secret sauce. I got a double 'M' and it was damn good. Although couldn't taste the sauce much, not sure if that's a good or bad thing, everything else was really fresh and tasty. The fries were starchy and good, very similar to In N Out as I mentioned. We got an extra bonus as they accidentally threw in a double cheese burger which me and a coworker split later. It was good even reheated in the toaster oven. Regular burgers come with L, T, O, P and catsup. They're kinda like a 30s style burger with lettuce on them. I recommend trying it out.

We sent our runner out to grab lunch for the office. He got there right at 11:30 and said 2 minutes later the line was down the block. The space is really small I guess, a counter and some high chairs. Probably would go off lunch/dinner hours if you want to give it a try.

Sorry for the un-descriptive post. Just wanted to get something down, super slammed here at the office. Maybe we should change the thread name? Thanks. Enjoy.

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the secret sauce is just a variation of thousand island, right?

Shhh! It's a secret.

Yes, shhh, it's a secret, just like the menu. Def wasn't just thousand island. Almost tasted like BBQ sauce, which is even more secret. But not really. Not sure exactly, wasn't that much on the burger.

Forgot this on the first post.

http://www.mburgerchicago.com/

161 E. Huron
Chicago, IL 60610
312-254-8500

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"I Like Food, Food Tastes Good" - The Descendants

I'm completely baffled by the concept of a "secret menu" at a burger joint. What might that be? Stuff the natives eat back in burgestan but would be too exotic for us here? Things for which there are no words in English so they can't be described on a menu except in Burgish runes?

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I'm amazed that they'd be making the buns in house, considering how small the house is. Where did you get this information?

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I love a good cheeseburger and even like a bad one, but...these people must think we are stupid. It's basically the same burger as McDonalds but with fresh onions. I tried the cheeseburger and was very disappointed because I was expecting something different. It was very small and very uninspired. I did ask for a side of the secret sauce which I was given without a fuss. I dipped my $1.99 small bag of fries to try and detect the secret ingredients. I would guess the usual Thousand Island base with some Tabasco but I think I tasted beer as well.

I will go back because I live in the neighborhood and because I hope there is something better to come. When I ordered I asked what the toppings were, expecting a list of gourmet sauces and something on the scale of shaved truffles. Now that I know there are some secret options (did they steal this from in-n-out?) I will investigate on my next visit.

This is my first post - as a serious burger girl I had to speak out.

I was unimpressed by my first visit - the line was out the door but I had time to kill, so I figured I'd wait. There were plenty of service kinks (wrong orders, orders gone missing) that I observed just in the time I was waiting, but that's forgivable since they're probably still working their kinks out.

Got a single patty cheeseburger and fries (this was a post-lunch snack). The burger was just so-so, and tasted a lot like a McD's burger. The meat was actually cooked to medium (I don't know if that was intentional or not, perhaps others can comment on the doneness of their burger). The bun was very large and it threw the balance of the burger. Double pattys will definitely be the way to go at this place.

The fries I received were actually pretty poor. Slightly soft (I noticed they had been sitting out for a while) and quite insipid. Some salt would have really improved it, although I'd still get them at the Golden Arches before here.

M Burger is just down the road from my workplace so I'll probably drop by and check it out again at some point. I really hope they get better, but I won't hold my breath. Otherwise, they'll likely be relying on the tourist flow for business...

I walked in around 4:30 today with high hopes. There were a couple women in front of me waiting to order and a girl who had just received her food. The line would not be moving anytime soon, however. The girl who had just received her bag wanted to talk to the manager about wanting to use her lettuce points and the register not taking them. Ok, fine no big deal, talk to the manager. The problem is everything came to a halt while they discussed it. The cashier was not taking orders, the cooks were not cooking. They were standing there with their mouths open. It gave me time to look around. The burgers were preformed in a box with the paper between them. The fries were pre-made and sitting in bags. it looked like McDonalds, not In n' Out. I love In n' Out.
So, they had already given this girl her entire order for free, and she was still insisting that they make sure the register that wouldn't take points had not actually used hers through some form of voodoo. At this point I squeezed through the line that had formed behind me and headed for the door.

I think you just edit the original post and change the Subject field there.

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Well I got drunk and I ate a chicken
I ate a chicken I found in my kitchen
Not just a leg and not just a wing
I'd like to let you know that I ate the whole damn thing

Working and living nearby, I've had a chance to visit M Burger 3 times since opening last week (hey, I work out). Between Corner Bakery, Panera, and Subway, I'm glad that this joint opened up in the neighborhood.

The burgers were inoffensive, and that's pretty much all I have to say about it.

I have to admit that the "Nurse Betty," the vegetarian option, did offend me a bit. In place of some sort of soy or wheat gluten patty, I got a thick slice of tasteless tomato, smeared avocado, and a slice of cheese. Isn't it a requirement to have some sort of protein in a burger? It is, however, my fault and I should've asked.

The fries definitely need some work. It was consistently a mixed bag of firm and soggy-greasy pieces. I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference between their fries and McDonald's in a side-by-side taste test.

I'm bitter because I was really hoping that this would somehow be in the same league as In-n-Out.

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Elakin -

Sorry. I mis-read. Not made in house, just says 'fresh baked'. Which means it can come from anywhere. I thought I read somewhere it was.

http://tinyurl.com/yey7xft

That being said. The place didn't blow me away. But I have to say I'm not hatin on it as other people are. I thought it was a cheap decent burger.

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"I Like Food, Food Tastes Good" - The Descendants

Had lunch today at M Burger this afternoon, wow really not impressed. Got a double M Burger, fries and a vanilla malt. In my opinion nowhere near as good as Edzo's, Weiner and Still Champion or DMK. The burger was too reminiscent of McDonald's, the fries were just okay (kinda Wendy'sesque, not as good as McD's, not in the same league as the fresh cut, double fried style at my two Evanston favorites...) and the malt was very tasty but not very malty. Not terrible but mediocre overall. I expected better and considering the competition in fast food burgers these days I doubt I'll go out of my way to return...

Sadly, I don't have a great report to give.

I went in on Friday for lunch and got an M Burger, some fries, and a shake. I think that the idea is there, of a 30's style burger, I think the execution is still somewhat off. While it was an okay buger, it didn't knock me down like I thought it would, or at least, I hoped it would. I don't think that they are nearly at the level of an In n Out Burger.

The lines were long, there were plenty of gaffs with the orders (which you'd expect for a newly opened place I guess), and possibly due to the space of the joint, the process was very very slow. Since I work only a block away I think that I had really hoped that this was going to be an excellent place for a burger and maybe I just set the bar too high.

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One Mint Julep was the cause of it all.

I decided to walk the few blocks to M Burger for lunch today. There was a line to the door when I got there and out the door when I left. I hadn't realized how small of a place it is! Counter seating for at most 10 people, not a lot of space to stand and wait for orders. It seemed smokey in there, but my coat doesn't seem to smell too much like burgers. I had a double cheeseburger with everything and fries. I thought everything was good -- burger patties were medium-rare and juicy, fries perfectly done. That said, I didn't think there was a lot of flavor. Texturally, everything was right on the burger -- pickles and lettuce were crispy, patties were juicy, bun was tender. But, everything lacked flavor. I'd go back because it was loads better than the last burger I had in the neighborhood. (Mr. J's I think. I chose poorly.) I did think the staff was very friendly and efficient.

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-Mary

I've actually read before that olive oil converts to a trans-fat when it's used at high temps. I'm not expert enough to judge a reliable resource for info on this subject (so I won't cite any), but from just from googling "Is olive oil a trans fat?" it looks like this is just a myth that's out there. It's sort of disturbing that a chef would perpetuate this. It seems pretty silly that we should start avoiding olive oil after it's been used for cooking for thousands of years. Somewhere, Michael Pollan's head is exploding.

Any experts want to chime in on this?

So I'm not hijacking the thread: I have not been to M Burger, but I work just down the street. From the reviews, here, I don't plan on rushing over. Maybe if I happen to pass by after work and there's no line, I'll be inclined to try it. The fact that someone up thread compared their fries to Wendy's fries does not inspire me to go.

You'd have to heat the oil to very high temperatures and for very long before you saw any appreciable isomerization to trans-fat, I think.

It seems to me that you wouldn't want to use olive oil for frying in any case - doesn't it have a significantly slower smoke point than canola oil? I'd imagine they wouldn't want to run the risk of burning the oil. Plus, it'd break down faster meaning they'd have to change out the oil more often.

Puppy nailed it. Olive oil is generally not used for frying because of its lower smoke point, lesser stability, and significantly higher cost. Although I will note that I worked for a chef in Italy who insisted that we always use only extra virgin olive oil for our deep fryer. We were frying only fish, though, changing the oil nearly every night, and the guy was a bit of a nutcase (I actually witnessed him throw a cleaver one time).

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I can't tell who Melman is mocking with this venture. Is it McDonald's, by showing them that he can replicate the Mickey D "special sauce" with his own "secret sauce" atop a tasteless patty, and replace their Golden Arches logo with some Golden Triangles of his own? Or is it locavore zealots, by demonstrating that "local" most definitely does not have to mean "tastes better", and that excessively labeling the provenance of every menu item is comical, especially when you highlight things like "russet potatoes from the Pacific Northwest." Ha! That's a good one.

Anyway, I think someone said it upthread: the burger was inoffensive (mostly). The concept, however, is another story.

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LEYE should stick with what they do well..concept restaurants and leave the fast food to the locals. Not impressed whatsoever with this place when this burger has to be a rendition of a plain old cheesburger with sauce (special or not). $3.00 for a vegetable sandwich(Nurse Betty???) and no protein? Too many great places to visit in Chicago besides this one again. Real disappointment and I will be suprised if it makes it past one location.

Additionally, I cannot believe that the legendary Chef Jean Joho would put his name on it by saying "emburger" according to the press release.

http://www.leye.com/restaurants/directory/m-burger