kuma’s corner

i’ve been hemming and hawing about whether i wanted to write a post about kuma’s corner even though i’ve never been. i’d seen it featured on an episode of diners, drive-ins, and dives a few weeks back and have been obsessed with figuring out how i can go back to chicago to eat at this joint.

first of all, they’re known for their burgers -best burgers in chicago, supposedly. all the bugers are named after metal bands. remember way back in junior high when you used to listen to iron maiden and pantera? yeah, they’re immortalized here in burger form. take the slayer burger, how rad does this sound? it’s described as a pile of fries topped with 1/2 lb burger, chili, cherry peppers, andouille, onions, jack cheese, and anger. whaaat??

i think the burger i want to try the most is the kuma burger (btw, kuma is not a metal band – it’s the name of the owner’s dog, and it also means some gibberish in japanese), which comes with bacon, cheddar, and a fried egg. [everything tastes better with a fried egg on top, doesn't it?] OH,OH, OH!!  and the part that sold me on coming here? all the burgers come on pretzel buns. fucking phenomenal. and i believe they have bourbon on tap – which seemed like a brilliant idea at first until someone told me how disgustingly dirty taps can be…

so anyhow, rather than wait however long to scrape together cash to fly my ass out to chicago, i thought i would write about the awesomeness of this place pre-eats. i’m pretty sure it’s not going to disappoint. and since i’ve never been to kuma’s corner (alas..), all these photos are stolen from other people – pioneers, if you will.