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With all of the burger discussion going on around here lately, I felt it was time to revisit an old favorite; Paradise Pup in Des Plaines. Paradise Pup often gets somewhat neglected in the winter months, since part of the charm of the place is being able to eat your burgers/dogs at the picnic tables set up in the parking lot. During the winter, those that choose to "eat in" have to jostle each other for the few spots available along the windows.

I wasn't about to let several inches of snow on the ground or temperatures in the teens divert me from my burger quest, though. I met Hammond for lunch on Wednesday and we ordered up two fine examples of burgerdom along with a couple of dogs as appetizers. While the burgers were cooking, our hot dogs were served. I was a little disappointed in my hot dog. It didn't seem to have the nice snap I remembered from orders past. It could have been due to the fact that it was winter time and not as many dogs were being served as in the summer months. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on this one until I try again after the spring thaw.

The burgers were a different story, though. They came served on a nice kaiser roll style egg bun and were nicely cooked. I ordered a swiss cheese burger and David had the Merkt's Cheddar burger. We both opted out of the fries. I'm not a big fan of the battered, spiced style of fries that they serve (they also offer regular crinkle cut) and I felt that a burger and hot dog were enough for me to eat that day for lunch. My conclusion is that even in winter, Paradise Pup cranks our one hell of a burger!

Merkt's Cheddar burger (left) and Swiss Cheese Burger


Paradise Pup
1742 S. River Road
Des Plaines, IL
847-699-8590

I know the name is Paradise PUP, but in all the times I've been there, I don't think I ever heard anybody actually order a hot dog.

And let me just add, you are a rat-fink for posting those pictures. Now I have an urge to go stand in line in the cold and get some burgers.

It's true that probably 65% of all orders are for burgers (with maybe 25% ordering the excellent marinated chicken breasts), but I've always been a fan of their overlooked hot dogs as well.

does the PP burger travel well? ie, can i take it 5 miles down the road to Gene & Jude's? i haven't been to either, but i work right there...

I don't know. I've never traveled one any farther than the Issac Walton League picinic grounds across the street. They do a whopping carryout business, though.

I must be missing something. Why do you want to bring a PP burger to G&J's?

Incidentally, the PP burger was really juicy, and I can see why eating these on the outside tables is the way to go. I felt the Merkt's got a little lost in the sandwich, and Stevez suggested that this may have been due to unnecessary frills like lettuce and tomato, and he may be right.

The bun was great, and this is no small issue. Cheapo buns tend to fall apart, and under the weight of this very serious burger, a bun with some backbone is called for.

Hammond

I love the burgers at the pup. But, I'm usually in a hurry, so jumbo chardog with mustard, relish and grilled onions is my more frequent order.

The jumbo is big and plump with lots of flavor from the grill.

The burger, IMO, doesn't travel well. The bun tends to disintegrate. The best traveling burger that I know of in the general area is the double cheese from Bob-O's. It actually seems to benefit from a melding period.

Will,

This is not the first time you have mentioned Bob -O's. It's on my list for next week!

Bob-O's burger is a bit different Steve. two thin patties versus two garagntuan ones.

Don't get me wrong, because I like Bob-O's, but I don't think that their burger compares to the Pup's. I think that it's only ok. But definitely go there for their beef -- they make a very nice cheesy beef. They also serve a decent Polish and a decent chicken teriyaki sandwich. Stay far away from their onion rings.

They travel fine for short distances, I found.
I have clients nearby on Devon and also Higgins. I forwarded each of them the story from the Trib on the 5 best burgers in Chicago and how I was going to purchase some and bring them in for a lunch.
I could tell at first they were "oh boy, we must be one of your important clients "

Needless to say after chowing on these wonderful burgers, they do indeed feel very special and ask frequently when is the next time I'm stopping by w/PP burgers for lunch!!

Baranby's thin crust from the location at Touhy & Wolf is another lunch hit.

I am not a char dog fan, never have been having been raised on Chicago dogs. The PP char dog is the only one I'll eat as it is good but the burgers do outshine the dogs for sure.

Not crazy about the shakes, I don't consider it a high quality product.

FWIW, a couple clients familiar with PP ALWAYS get the teriyaki chicken sandwiches. I have yet to try them.

Has anyone ever had a beef from here? Just moved to Des Plaines and a well-respected beef enthusiast friend of mine said Pup's beefs were top-notch. Is this true?

I have to disagree about the beef. I love Pup's teriyaki chicken sandwich and burgers -- they're both outstanding. This past fall, I decided to try their beef and it was just ok -- slightly dry, and just not all that flavorful. If you really want a beef and you don't mind driving a bit away from the Pup, I think your best options are Johnnie's in Arlington Heights and Bob-O's (especially if you crave cheese on the beef), which is around Irving Park and Cumberland.

At the risk of sounding doctrinaire, it seems to me that the best Italian beeves usually come from places that have this dish as their main offering: Al's, Johnnie's, etc. Any place that simply has it on the menu along with a lot of other stuff seems to falter.

Hammond

A really good beef joint is Jay's. There are several locations:

4418 N. Narragansett

9732 Irving Park Road-Schiller Park

20 W. Golf Rd. -Des plaines

I could not agree with you more. A few months ago, I went on a hot dog crusade throughout the Loop to find the best dog, and I was amazed at how bad the dogs were at some of the places. My basic conclusion was this: if it's at the bottom of the menu, it's an afterthought. The best dog places had their dogs at the top and had a few different kinds.

By the way, my favorite dog in the Loop is at Fast Track. Very, very nice effort there.

Well after settling into Des Plaines I have finally made a few trips over to the Pup. Simply, the greatest burger I've had, particularly the Cheddar burger with real Merkt's cheese. That is simply phenominal. Dogs are of course very good, and fries are above average. Have not yet unclogged enough space in my arteries to wolf down an order of three-layered fries (sour cream, cheese, bacon) but look forward to doing so shortly.

My only "beef" with the Pup is the service. Granted, there is a high demand for their products and as such, there are always a lot of people there. The reason it took me a while to go there was because there are always long lines. However, I think they are quite inefficient in how they service people, falling into that trap of each worker being in charge of an entire order, from taking it, to cooking it, to giving it to the customer. This creates a lot of confusion and slows down the entire process. Some of the better places I've been where there is high demand (i.e. Johnnie's) have each worker in charge of one thing: one does the ordering, a handful actually cook the meal, and then there is a person to put it all together and give the bag to the customer.

That's just my view. The quality of the Pup overcomes this, but I know I'm in for a full 45 mintues if I want to go to the Pup for lunch.

Wanted to report on one of the best burgers I have had in a long time, the cheddar burger at Paradise Pup. Simply delicious, cooked just right and very juicy. I had a cheddar burger with everything on it and with onions.

The wait is indeed long, as others have reported. We went on a Saturday and it probably took us 30+ minutes till we got our burgers. It was a nice day and we sat outside eating the burgers fries. Fries were a bit of a disappointment - we got the regular fries and they turned out to be crinkle cut fries, and I am not a fan of those.

I saw people ordering creole fries, and those weren't crinkle cut fries, they were regular cut fries with seasoning on top. I am wondering if they offer those regular cut fries, just without the seasoning. Does anyone know? I will have to explore this next time we go.

All in all a great experience, thank you, LTH, for introducing us to the Pup!

All the fries are frozen so there is no option for non-krinkle plain fries.

Paradise Pup is half the reason I live in Des Plaines. Have always thought they could serve customers more efficiently but that crew is dedicated. When I leave for work around 7am they are already there getting things ready.

all of their burger options can be had with a black bread (pumpernickle/dark rye?) which i think goes real well with their beef, merkt's cheddar and grilled onions

Definitely try the burger with rye. Nice sourness against the sweet grilled onions. Also, I think they butter both sides of the rye. Because there wasn't enough fat in the sandwich already.

Hubby, kids and I were out this afternoon house hunting and we were HUNGRY!!! We passed Paradise Pup and it was ten minutes to closing, but we stopped and were we glad we did!!! Best burger EVER!!!! I got a plain cheddar burger and I can't stop thinking about how tasty it was! Nice guys behind the counter and juicy flavorful hamburgers with that cheese.....OMG the cheese!!!! The fries were also great! And we traveled back to Niles with all of it. Hubby hit the nail on the head when he said the fries were straight versions of Arby's curly fries.

Does anyone know what came of the footage the Food Network shot there a couple months back?

I was in PP just a few weeks ago and they have a signed photo of Guy Fieri up on the wall. Looks like they will be a part of Diners, Drive Ins and Dives soon so I am checking that website weekly to see when it will broadcast. The site only has the past and current week's episodes posted.

P.S. Went in at 11:00 am on a Saturday, no LINE

I heard once that the best hope against having a burger bun disintegrate is to spread a thin layer of may on the top and bottom buns. Since the juices can't penetrate the fats in the mayo the bun stays intact longer. This method may not work too well for a burger that's wrapped (and therefore steaming) in wax paper.

The Diner, Drive-Ins and Dives will air on Monday 11/26.

... beautiful... just beautiful...

~GS

Was in there today and they are showing the Food Network show tonight (11/23) at 8:30 PM.

The show was pretty good. I was a little surprised to see how much time they spent on the Italian Beef. I don't think I've ever seen anybody ever order one there. I wouldn't endure that line for a beef no matter how good.