Now that the sun is finally showing itself after disappearing for over 5 months, it is a great opportunity to explore the city! For those of you who have never been to Lincoln Park, it is filled with great shopping, nightlife and jazz music. Recently, Kuma’s Corner opened its second location (appropriately named Kuma’s Too) in Lincoln Park and one Saturday, I decided to make the trip up to try out these famous burgers.
Kuma’s Too is a burger joint and bar with a “heavy metal attitude,” which is apparent as soon as you walk in. With Metallica blasting through the speakers and the entire restaurant decorated in Black Sabbath memorabilia, it would be an understatement to say that I stood out. The restaurant was super packed when we arrived at 8PM and we were told that we would have to wait an hour to get a table for four. Having heard many great reviews of this place, I grew hungrier by the minute as I saw the food that was leaving the kitchen.
Kuma’s Too has a very unique menu, which contains dishes Hot Sausage Grit Fritters to a Make Your Mac & Cheese option. All of these options sounded great as a Prosciutto and Roasted Red Pepper Mac & Cheese passed me, but I knew I had to stay strong and order one of their famous burgers. Now, these burgers are anything bur ordinary! Kuma’s names all of their burgers after different heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden, Neurosis, and the Slayer. Each burger has a 10-ounce patty served between pretzel buns, with different toppings that correspond to the different bands. These toppings are not just your usual lettuce, tomato and onion, but are flavor-intensive ones that would probably be considered sides at any other burger joint. For example, the Megadeth burger is topped with a chorizo and red potato has, pico de gallo cayenne avocado cream and tortillas strips. In fact, their Slayer burger is just a pile of fries topped with a 10-ounce burger, chili, cherry peppers, Andouille, onions, jack cheese, and anger. Yes, anger.
As I looked at the entire menu, I felt like I was making the hardest decision of my life trying to choose what I wanted. I finally got it down to the Absu or the Plague Bringer, and with the advice of my server, Karen, decided on the Absu. The Absu, is topped with a tomatillo salsa, pepper jack cheese, a red onion avocado relish, queso fresco and breaded deep fried chiles. I have a very high spice tolerance, so I was ready to feel the burn!
After waiting just 15 minutes, our burgers were delivered and I was in shock. Bun included, it was the size of my face and I struggled just to get a full bite. The pepper jack cheese had been melted perfectly and the combination of tomatillo salsa and the avocado relish did a great job of providing heat and then a cooling sensation. The patty itself was really juicy and melted in your mouth with each bite and the fried chiles brought a nice crunch to the entire burger. I will say, that the fries were nothing special but I was too full from the burger to even think about eating any of them.
Despite the wait, I believe that this is a definite stop you have to make before graduating from UChicago! The surrounding areas are filled with shops so after your meal, feel free to walk off the food coma (maybe even make a visit to Molly’s Cupcakes like my group did!).
This is my first restaurant review with many more to come! If you are interested in my previous adventures, check my food blog out!