This Restaurant Makes The Best Burger In IL, Popular Food Website Says

ACROSS ILLINOIS —Small Cheval serves the best burger in Illinois, according to a report from Chowhound, a website for food aficionados or, alternatively, food nerds.

The list titled “The Hands Down Best Burger in Every Single US State” features a variety of preparation methods. It was released just in time for National Hamburger Day, which is Wednesday, May 28.

There’s no one way to prepare a burger. Even those claiming to be “classic” burgers have major differences, especially in the toppings.

To find the best burgers among what the research firm IBS World estimates are more than 80,000 burger joints and restaurants across the country, Chowhound looked first at restaurants that excel in both classic and creative burger preparations. The process also included taste testing, online research, and outreach on local social media communities and to trusted contacts in the restaurant and food media industries.

Here’s what Chowhound liked about the burgers at Small Cheval:

By default, burgers come "house style" with a perfectly ratioed dijonnaise sauce, onions, and pickles, with the option to add bacon, lettuce, tomato, truffle, and white cheese sauce. On the flipside, the milkshake menu (both as-is and spiked) is extensive, with standouts like salted caramel and cookies and cream

The restaurant is a more-casual spin-off of the Chicago landmark, Au Cheval. The burger menu at Small Cheval, which has locations across Chicago and one suburban location in Rosemont, is simple and includes its signature double cheeseburger and its signature double hamburger. You can have that topped with bacon, lettuce or tomato if you'd like.

One burger aficionado stopping out to the Wicker Park location had this to say:

We came for lunch carryouts on a weekday. Our burgers were very delicious. I have eaten here before and will return. I recommend for eating or carryouts. Fresh and delicious. I had the plant based burger, others had beef burgers with cheese. All excellent.

Here's what a different visitor of the Rosemont location liked about the Small Cheval there:

The place is clean and beautifully decorated. In addition, the staff was very pleasant. The burgers were tasty and the fries were freshly made with great flavor.

The full 50-state list offers some intriguing takes on what is widely regarded as America’s favorite sandwich. Some are made with grass-fed wagyu beef, others with ground turkey, and still more with salmon and other critters. Some may not contain meat at all. Cheeses vary from classic American to blue cheese to goat cheese.

In Hawaii, the Honolulu Burger Co. presents the “Alpha Elvis,” which has bacon, banana and peanut butter, or the “Loco-Moco,” made with Spam, bacon, an egg, and mushroom gravy.

And then there’s Mike Duffy’s in St. Louis, Missouri, whose offerings include the award-winning Cajun burger with hot jalapeños and Cajun aioli or the fully customizable and vegetarian black bean and quinoa burger. The restaurant also allows substitutions of bison or salmon.

“Whether you’re a burger traditionalist or an avant-garde burger consumer, the restaurants on this lineup will have a solid option for both schools of thought,” Chowhound’s Jane Godiner wrote.

• News You Can Use: Get The Latest Local News (For Free!) With One Quick Tap