Monk's Pub

Ratings Guide:
Half handshake, half chest-bump hug – 5 stars
Chest bump – 4 stars
Fist bump – 3 stars
High five – 2 stars
Handshake – 1 star
Fone and fone – 0 stars
Manly ass slap – ½ star



Restaurant: Monk’s Pub
Location: 205 W. Lake St.


When I was living in St. Louis, finding a great burger was easy. In fact, finding a great burger was so easy there were debates about where the best burgers were. Some say Dooley’s downtown, a great excuse to get away from your desk and go eat lunch. Others would argue the Fatted Calf in Clayton. Or you could check out O’Connell’s Pub next to The Hill. Or head across the river to Fast Eddie’s Bon-Air. Or run into Chuck Berry while chowing on a great burger at Blueberry Hill. There are those who swear by the thin-cut burgers and ice-cold root beer at Carl’s Drive In. If you live near Dogtown you might argue that Seamus McDaniel’s grills the best burger. If you’re watching your weight you might suggest that the buffalo burgers at Trainwreck are the best red meat eats in town. The point is you had a ton of places to choose from. No matter where you were in the city, you had a great burger available. And no matter which one you claimed to be your favorite, you were right. Because they’re all great.

But I haven’t found the same options here in Chicago. Maybe because the heart attacks of choice here are stuffed pizza and hot dogs (one day I’m going to stuff a pizza with a hot dog). Maybe I just haven’t found those great burger places yet here in the city. A friend of mine (Denny) and I were talking one day and trying to decide what the best burgers in Chicago were, and we were both speechless. Neither of us could think of a great, memorable burger that we would go out of our way for. Sure, we’d had decent burgers, but nothing that would make us get on the phone one day and say, “I need a (insert burger joint name here) burger. I’m jonesin’ for one.” Then again, if I ever use the term jonesin’, I would hope my friend would immediately hang up on me. Anyway, we were throwing out some names, like The Billy Goat (more of an institution than a great burger), Under 55 (a great place for lunch in the Loop), InnJoy (tons of spices in their burger), and so on. But nothing that made our mouth water. Nothing that compared to the burger joints in St. Louis.

Quick tangent. One of the great things about St. Louis burgers is the tradition of putting a scoop of cheddar on your burger. Not a slice of cheddar cheese, but a scoop of real cheddar. Unreal. Placed on a hot burger, it melts slightly at the bottom but not at the top. I’m not even sure how to describe it, but if you make it to St. Louis and happen to be at a place that does it (Dooley’s, Fatted Calf, O’Connell’s), get it. And just for the record, if pressed, I would say that Fatted Calf is my favorite burger joint. But like I said, they are all so good there isn’t a wrong answer.

So, Denny and I decided that over the next year or so we would actually go on a quest to find the best burger places in the city. And I mean burger joint. Shortly after having this discussion I saw some article about the best burgers in Chicago, but they were all nice restaurants like Gibson’s and Rosebud and Naha’s and Wollensky’s Grill. I don’t count those. I’m talking about a joint. A place you don’t need a reservation. A place that you can sit in for hours and relax and not feel pressured to leave. And once we found some great burger joints, I would then rank them and write about them.

Well, I finally found a great burger joint here in the city. Monk’s Pub. I headed over there the other day for lunch with some co-workers. Actually, we didn’t really head over there; we kind of stumbled upon it. But I’m glad I did.

Channel 2 claims they’re the best burgers in the city. And if Channel 2 says it, then it must be true.

The best part about Monk’s is you have several burger choices. It’s not the standard hamburger or cheeseburger. They have like 20 different burger choices or something. I went with the jalapeño burger. Not sure what I was expecting, but it was just sliced jalapeños on top of my cheeseburger, not that I’m not complaining.

The burger was big like the Sunday paper and juicy like People Magazine. And perfectly cooked. I always have mine medium rare, and there was the perfect amount of juice/blood/grease to lightly soak the bun. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a burger this good. And on top of that, you have the choice between regular fries and “Cajun” fries. Here is my tip of the week – get the Cajun fries. They’re just curly fries, like the good kind you get at Arby’s. It was the perfect compliment to a great burger.

So, if you work in the city, or live near the Loop, and you’re looking for a good burger to sink your canines into, head to Monk’s Pub. You won’t be disappointed. And if you are, then I hate you.

Is it the best burger in the city? I doubt it. But, it’s the best I’ve found so far. So I’m giving it a chest bump.