Au Cheval
The hype checks out! After many months of people telling me to try the burger at Au Cheval, I finally understand why people wait 3+ hours to eat there.
My visit was on a Wednesday around 5 pm. I knew going into this that there would be a long wait. Luckily, Lone Wolf is nearby and we were able to grab a few drinks at the bar while we waited. If you’re a 3 Floyds fan you’ll enjoy their draft list. Au Cheval uses a text system to let you know when your table is ready. Which means you can roam around the West loop while you wait. I also downloaded the app (they send you a link for it) and was able to see how many parties were ahead of us.
Our wait ended up being right around 2 hours so we were really hungry when we were finally seated. Our waitress was great and recommended an IPA to start with (one of the neighborhood favorites). I decided to order the double cheeseburger (long wait = me wanting a lot of food) and the fries.
While waiting for the food to come I got to look around the place and being that I was seated at the bar, was able to watch the burgers being crafted. The cooks are complete pros. They operate like a well-oiled machine.
The first thing I noticed about the dinner itself was its size. It’s amazingly small for the number of mouths it feeds. It was dimly lit and rock music was flooding the room. If you’re standing at the front door looking in, there is a long bar down the left side and booths down the right. There is a mixture of white exposed brick and dark wood paneling throughout. I’ve heard people say it could be a seen in a movie and I’d have to agree with that.
Once the food arrived I had to snap some pictures for this review. I was called out as a “first timer” by some nearby Au Cheval veterans, but I quickly tuned them out. This burger was calling out to me. It came open-faced allowing me to see what was going on inside. One thing to note right away: the double cheeseburger actually has 3 beef patties on it. For thin patties, these were cooked perfectly. A good amount of red in the middle which is exactly how I like it. The beef was placed between layers of heavy American cheese (rumor has it that they use regular good old Kraft singles). To top it off are pickles, some dijonnaise, and in my case, a large fried egg (egg and bacon are optional extras).
If you can look past the long wait this burger is most definitely recommended. Each bite was somehow better than the last and I was genuinely sad when it was over. When you go, make sure to get there at an “off” time. I’ve heard of people being able to sit immediately at 3-4 pm during weekdays.
For the time being, this burger is my favorite. Let me know what you think!
Address: 800 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607
Website: AuChevalChicago.com
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Legal Disclaimer: Chicago Burger Review did not receive compensation for this review.
