Great Burger Joints in the Greater Springfield, IL Area

If there's one thing you can get in the greater Springfield area, it's a great burger. I humbly present to you my three favorite places to score a truly outstanding burger.

The Boar's Nest (Athens, IL) is a repurposed garage decorated in lots of wood paneling and deer heads. The titular Boar has his head prominently displayed. Live music plays most weekends and the waitstaff is super friendly. An average meal will run you in the area of $7-10 per person with a drink. The Boar's Nest has outstanding food across the board. Their regular burgers are great, but for something special, you need to try their specialties. First is the Horseshoe. A central Illinois specialty, the Horseshoe is two pieces of bread and two hamburger patties covered in an obscene amount of fries and cheese sauce. It's a gastric bludgeon but it's just so good. The other must have is the Boar Burger. This features a patty that's half ground beef and half Italian sausage topped with ham, bacon, two kinds of cheese, fried onion petals and barbecue sauce.

Fulgenzi's Pizza and Pasta (Springfield, IL) is the self-proclaimed "home of the world's greatest hamburgers." While this claim is dubious, there is no doubt that the burgers are some of the best you can get in the area. Fulgenzi's is a casual restaurant with a large menu. Since we're talking about burgers, the obvious choice at Fulgenzi's is the Homerun Cheeseburger with bacon. Featuring four patties and a center bun, this baby can send your cardiologist into fits of apoplexy for a shade under ten bucks. However, you will die happy and full.

Finally, there is J&B's (Petersburg, IL). J&B's is a bar/restaurant on the square of a pleasant little town. It is very causal and plenty of flat screen tv's offer the game of the day. While their burgers are not the featured part of their menu, they are really good. The way to go is the Build-Your-Own-Burger that starts with their $4.00 cheeseburger and lets you pile on just about any topping you can imagine for 50 cents each. If you don't see the item you want on the list, you are encouraged to ask!

If you live in this area, there's really no excuse to end up at a fast food joint if you're hungry for a great burger. Try these places and you will not be disappointed!