- Address:
- 1645 W. Cortland St., Chicago, IL, 60622
- Phone:
- 773-862-7877
- Overall User Rating:
-
(27 ratings)
- Hours:
- 6 p.m.-2 a.m. Monday through Thursday; 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday; 4 p.m.-3 a.m. Saturday; closed Sunday.
Burgerelli's breakdown The burger: A half-pound of 100 percent Angus beef should have put me in burger heaven. So why, oh why, did I find myself in burger purgatory? I ordered one burger medium, but it arrived medium well. I tried another medium rare; it came out medium. The bun: The brioche-style bun was a thing of beauty, properly toasted and bearing grill marks to prove it. A near-perfect bun-to-burger ratio (an all-too-often overlooked aspect of a burger’s merit) added to my glee. The fixings: Here’s where Cortland’s Garage sets itself apart. Toppings include everything from cranberry-apple relish to giardiniera, and that’s just the beginning. The barbecue sauce-marinated Ashland Burger ($10) was dressed with gouda and more house-made sauce, which did wonders for the overcooked patty. The Cortland Burger ($11) was piled with white cheddar, avocado, smoked bacon, mayo and "crispy" onion strings. The potential nearly blew the Great Burgerelli’s mind! Alas, those crispy onion strings turned out to be chewy onion strings. Everything else: Cortland’s offers a choice of fries—chili-lime fries, parmesan fries, sweet potato fries—onion strings or tater tots with every burger. Tots, of course, are so innately good that they’re nearly impossible to sabotage. Cortland’s were no exception. But to my dismay, the fries were undercooked. As you might guess, the Great Burgerelli does not take such transgressions lightly.
Burgerelli’s bottom line: If variety is your thing and clever names amuse you, Cortland’s Garage makes a fine after-work stop. The Great Burgerelli’s quest for the perfect burger, however, will not end here.
The Great Burgerelli is a connoisseur of burgers. gburgerelli@tribune.com
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