Rise and Shine With Chicago's Best Breakfast Burgers
It’s no surprise that burgers dominate the comfort food landscape during lunch and dinner, but why wait more than an hour after waking up to indulge your cravings? Breakfast burgers have been on the rise in Chicago lately, and we’ve mapped out several spots where you can scratch that itch in the a.m.
Cochon Volant: The decadent “Les Cheeseburger Royale” gets a serious breakfast upgrade at the Loop’s Cochon Volant Brasserie. It’s a dish that has amassed considerable renown in the downtown area, thanks to chef Matt Ayala’s culinary dexterity and talent. Now he’s adjusted it for the morning set by offering it on an English muffin for a bun, piling it all up with two patties, thick-cut bacon, onion confit, American cheese, Dijonnaise, and house pickles. An over-easy egg can be added for a supplemental charge.
Grange Hall Burger Bar: Not surprisingly, this places knows burgers. While it tends to be more popular and crowded at night, burgers dominate the breakfast menu of this pastoral West Loop haven as well. Try the open-faced breakfast burger, an unusual and wholly individual creation that consists of grass-fed beef served atop cinnamon-raisin French toast with Canadian and applewood bacon, maple syrup, sharp cheddar and a sunny-side up egg.
Latinicity: One of the coolest, most unique, breakfast-iest burgers in town can be found at Latinicity. The massive Latin food hall also serves Sunday brunch, which includes the end all-be all of breakfast burgers served on Belgium-style waffles in lieu of buns. The patty itself is a choriburger, adjoined by bacon, chipotle cheese sauce, fried egg, crema fresca and pico de gallo.
Beef & Barley: If biscuits are your preference, Beef & Barley fits the bill nicely with their rendition of a breakfast burger. The beef is served on a buttery biscuit, accompanied by beer cheese, caramelized onions, pickled red onions, pickles, a chicken fried onion ring, and optional egg and bacon. Pro tip: order it with a side of maple syrup for drizzling/dunking. It adds a nice little splash of sweetness to compliment all that savory.
South Water Kitchen: Come hungry to South Water Kitchen, where chef Roger Waysok serves a mean half-pound breakfast burger at brunch. This thing is a beast, and especially fitting if you’ve got a hangover to cure. The patty is heaped with a fried egg, bacon and lettuce, tomato and onion on a chewy pretzel roll.
Butcher & the Burger: While this Lincoln Park eatery is almost entirely customizable with its grab bag assortment of burgers, buns, spices, sauces and toppings, it’s got the fixings to make one of the mightiest, breakfast-iest burgers in Chicago. Start with your choice of patty, which for all intents and purposes should be a house blend prime beef burger (or a sirloin steak burger if you want to create steak and eggs on a bun, essentially). Then opt for your spice blend of choice. Simple salt and pepper works well, as does the umami combo of garlic, ginger, scallions and sweet soy glaze. You can use a croissant as a bun, top it with caramelized onions, a fried egg (or even a duck egg) and thick-cut bacon and any kind of cheese imaginable.