bopNgrill Umami Cheeseburger
Eat It Like a Man! miLam takes a break from manning the kitchen in order to burn up the pavement, looking for a hideaway to add to our list of incredible Chicago restaurants. We’re pleased to treat you to the dope sheet on these neat offbeat eats.
In the 3rd edition of our Eat It series, miLam reviews the bopNgrill Umami cheeseburger, in Rogers Park. bopNgrill does Korean-American fusion. A few of their dishes bring kimchi into play. That’s right, kimchi.
Eat It, Chicago. 3rd edition
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There’s Korean fusion going on at bopNgrill in Rogers Park, and I’m hooked.
I love a good cheeseburger. It’s my favorite food. I sort all cheeseburgers into three categories:
- I’ll have another one, thank you
- Whatever
- I hope I never have to waste my appetite on one more of those
Of the burgers in the first category, I don’t rank them. Hell no. I love them all on their own terms, more-or-less equally. A Billy Goat Cheezeborger isn’t trying to be a Five Guys, and a Five Guys isn’t trying to be the Charbroiled Hamburger at Gibsons. I get around to eating them all, and loving them for what they are.
bopNgrill has several signature burgers.
Damnit!
I can’t eat cheeseburgers as often as I’d like; they’re too heavy. Therefore, when I do eat one, I want it to count. This afternoon I had an Umami burger, and damnit, it counted!
The Umami is one of the signature burgers at bopNgrill. I was intrigued by nearly every one of the signature choices. There were three Chicago cops finishing up their lunch as I came in, and I could see that one of them was chowing on Kimchi fries. You may need to bring your emotional support service animal with you if you’re afraid of Kimchi. In the meantime, don’t fear the Umami. It comes with truffled mushroom duxelle, sun-dried tomato confit, togarashi mayo, bacon, smoked Gouda: all stuff you know you love, but you never knew how you’d love it on slab of meaty beef.
Storefront
Good fucking god!
I could not believe this burger. Once I took my first bite, I didn’t want to put the thing down. The flavors of all the added elements seemed to point directly at the burger, which was so beautifully beefy. It was tender, juicy, and peppery. The Gouda was the perfect complement, both in terms of flavor and texture. The bun was also amazing. It was rustic, toasted over an open fire, but soft. It was substantial enough to soak up the burger’s juices without turning to mush, but in my mouth, it seemed to step out of the way so that my taste buds remained focused squarely on the beef.
Here’s a review[1] at Serious Eats Chicago, with some great info about bopNgrill. And here’s some more bopNgrill info.
3/3/14 12:15 – 1 PM
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Notes:
See Also:
And While You’re at It, See This, Too:
SpritzBurger Review
Illinois Bar and Grill
Sunflower
Look out! Here comes our next post:
Eat It, Chicago! Back Issues:
Eat It reviews restaurants. For cafés that serve food, choose “Log On” from the “categories” list in the right column of this page.
- 1st edition: Gino’s River East
- 2nd edition: Spritzburger
Image Creds: hover over an image or over a green-colored caption to display source; click to jump to source.
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Hey, I went to bop-n-grill last weekend, and I cannot say that I had as rave a review as yours. Changing gears: I love the layout of your blog, by the way. Very clean.
I promise you that the burger I had was every bit as fantastic as I describe. I was so excited about it, that I dragged some friends back there with me, and I’m sorry to say, that experience wasn’t quite as good as the first. The first time, I was there at an off time; maybe the cook had all his time and energy to spend on my order. The second time, it was fairly crowded, and maybe the prep wasn’t as good. I’m not sure. But I guess quality varies.