Top Notch Beefburgers – Do Not Refuse To Eat This Classic

Top Notch Beefburgers
http://www.yelp.com/biz/top-notch-beef-burgers-chicago
2116 West 95th Street
Chicago, IL 60643

THE CONQUEST
You’ve probably not heard much about Top Notch Beefburger because it isn’t owned by some Chef made famous by 23 minutes of TV time or because it’s located on an stretch of urban thoroughfare next to some glitzy hotel or a shopping center boasting all the latest of fashion & technologies. In fact, it’s just the opposite. It’s in a section of South Chicago called Beverly which is close to just about nothing you’ve heard about on TV. The brown paneling and leather booth seats are stereotypically what one would expect in just such an establishment.  For 70 years, Top Notch has been serving fresh, never frozen Burgers that they grind themselves in house. It’s the kind of old school, luncheonette / diner that hungry Americans grew up eating.  Whomever convinced Swedish punk band Refused that the Classics go out of style never at ate Top Notch Beefburger.

While recently in Chicago for the 2012 edition of the Food Film Festival, I had a chance to check out Top Notch. Festival curator and Burger lover George Motz grabbed a couple of us, including his son, for a pilgrimage to eat a Burger 7 decades in the making. George is my number one source for Burgers, especially the classics and one of my fave people to Burger Conquest with. When George says “you’ve gotta eat this Burger,” you should.

THE BURGER
The patty from Top Notch Beefburger is made from house ground, U.S. Choice Ground Round Steaks. It’s a hearty-beefy-juicy-savory burst of Burger that you won’t soon forget. You can order them 1/4 LB or 1/2 LB but it’s suggest that you get the latter? Why? Perfect Bun to Patty ratio. The bun, speaking of, is a Toasted White Squishy Bun with Sesame Seeds, which just adds more of that classic American Burger appeal. Order it with cooked Onions and if you are like George or me, you’ll discard the Lettuce, Tomatoes & Mayo.The Beef, Toasted Bun, Onions and Cheese are all you need to reach a Burger Touchdown.

Let’s not forget about the Burger’s buddy, the Fries. If you are a classic Fry lover, buckle up for a big win. Top Notch uses fresh cut fries that are also never frozen. They are long, crispy, golden and delicious.

The Top Notch Beefburger is so good that your your first thought after just one bite will be “I’m going to need a second one of these.”

Take my words as serious, you need to eat this Burger. When you’re there, be sure to look up at the photos above the kitchen window to see these 5 smiling mugs:

9 out of 10 Ounces
-Rev

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
580 Burgers

November 16, 2012 – 1:36 pm

The Rev Meter for Social Community
“The Rev Meter” is a social community meter for assessing how optimized a bar or restaurant is with social networking. By taking what I consider to be the 10 most important social networks and creating a point system, I can accurately asses how well your business is using social networking as a tool. My goal here is to educate and assist great business to better effectively use these tools.

Top Notch Beefburger scores a 3 on The Rev Meter.

SCORING:
4 points or less You’ve missed the 5 basics and are less than optimized
5 points You’ve covered the basics, which is better than most but far from optimized.
6 to 9 points You’re doing better than most and on your way to becoming a well respected social community whiz.
10 points Congrats on a perfect score!