Best Chicago Burgers: Kuma's Corner Review

If it's one thing Chicagoans love, it's hamburgers. These sandwiches are simply a staple when it comes to Chicago cuisine, so when I started planning everything I was going to do while I was home for winter break, it seemed obvious to hunt down the best burger in the entire city. I started by checking out Time Out Chicago, a website dedicated to everything you could imagine doing in the city and surrounding suburbs. Luckily, Time Out Chicago has a list of the best burgers in Chicago with a break down by category. I know I wanted to find a real burger place, nothing fancy or expensive.

The "pub burger" category winner is Kuma's Corner, which I had already heard of but had never been to. I then checked out Yelp and I was in awe with what I saw. Kuma's Corner (located at 2900 W Belmont) has over 1,800 reviews and a solid 4.5 star rating. There seemed to be a consensus; the food was amazing and close to life-changing. I knew I had to check the place out.

The first time I went to Kuma's Corner was around 2PM on a Wednesday. My brother and sister tagged along and we were excited to try the food. When we arrived we could barely get in the door because the tiny restaurant was so packed. Loud metal music was blaring, the lights were dimly lit, and smoke from grilled burgers hung in the air. I finally was able to squeeze through the crowd and make my way to a hostess in the corner who was jotting down names of prospective diners. I gave her my name and my party number, to which she replied the wait would be two hours. I think at that point, most people would say "no thanks" and leave, but the only thing I was thinking was "it must be worth the wait." I think the hostess saw a bit of hungry despair on my face because she casually told me that I could always come back. It sounded feasible since I wanted to head to a store further downtown anyway. I left with my brother and sister to kill time. We got back at the restaurant around 3:30PM thinking we had time to spare, but when I went to the hostess she told me she had called my name about three minutes ago. My heart sank. I figured we'd be dropped to the bottom of the list and it would be a lost cause at that point. She told me to just wait a few minutes and that we would get the next table. When our names were called around five minutes later, we were led through the crowds of people, trying to squeeze between other diners, trying to wait until they were done sipping their beer in case we accidentally bumped them.

To my surprise, we actually were seated at the best table in the house, located all the way in the far back right corner. All of the diners seated towards the front seemed to have the unfortunate pleasure of having people hover around them and bump into them often. Our table was so out of the way, the only person who walked by was our waitress. As soon as we sat down, we were greeted by a tattoo-clad waitress who took our drink order. Kuma's Corner has a great selection of beer and even has bourbon on tap, but we all opted for RC (they don't have Coke or Pepsi) since there were free refills.

Next on the agenda was to figure out what we were going to eat. First we looked through the appetizers and the BBQ Pork Fries sounded heavenly. We then decided on our burgers and I ordered the Clutch, a 10-oz burger topped with smoked gouda, jack, cheddar, and Swiss cheese sandwiched between a pretzel bun. My sister went with the Kuma Burger, topped with a fried egg, cheddar, and bacon and my brother ordered the Led Zeppelin, the same 10-oz burger with BBQ pulled pork, cheddar, pickles, and bacon. Our fries came out first like we hoped and they were absolutely delicious. The crisp waffle fries were topped with tons of BBQ pulled pork, melted jack cheese, and green onions for a little garnish. We devoured them in about 5 minutes and were ready for the next course.

It took a little longer for our burgers to come out, but it was well worth it. The burgers were gigantic and came with more delicious waffle fries. My burger cooked at medium was perfect. The meat was well seasoned and the variety of cheeses complemented the dense pretzel bun and hearty helping of beef. My brother and sister raved between bites and it seemed as though we all couldn't inhale the food fast enough. By the time we were done we were winded and we ended up sitting there for a good 15 minutes so that we could avoid cramps later. The waitress was nice and kept the refills coming. By the time we got the check the restaurant was a little less crowded, but people were still waiting. Our checked was about $60 with each burger costing $13, plus the $10 appetizer, and $2 drinks, plus tax.

Overall, Kuma's Corner was well worth the drive, the wait, and the money. It's easily one of the best burger places in Chicago. Since my first visit, I've been back two more times and each time has been an experience. Here is the low-down on everything you need to know before heading to Kuma's Corner.

Location: 2900 W Belmont. Chicago, IL
Website:kumascorner.com
Hours: 11:30AM - 2:00 AM (Monday - Friday), 11:30AM - 3:00AM (Saturday), 11:30AM - 12:00AM (Sunday). Closed on holidays (see website)
Best time to go: 30 minutes before opening, late afternoon on weekdays
Price Range: $10 - $13 burgers, $10 appetizers
Food substitutions: Additional ingredients are $2 each.
Reservations: No
Wheelchair accessible: Yes
Vegetarian friendly: Yes, burger can be substituted for veggie patty.
Other house rules: No parties larger than 6, no split checks, no wait times given over phone, no table saving, entire party must be present to be seated.