Dillinger’s Bar and Grill ~ Ma’Barker and Capone Burger ~ 4 out of 5

dillingersbarandgrill.com

Yet again we find ourselves dining from another Lincoln Park establishment. The trend we see in Lincoln Park when it comes to burgers is quantity over quality. A burger isn’t hard to find in one of Chicago’s most popular neighborhoods, but finding the best is. This bar is less known than many others, as well as new to the scene. In comes Dillinger’s Bar. We didn’t have any intentions of coming here for a burger till we walked by and saw a sign that claimed they had the best burgers. It was an offer we couldn’t refuse. This bar which we believe opened last year, has a 30’s mobster them sporting some popular “Public Enemies” across the menu and with the décor.

Dillinger’s has an excellent burger menu with plenty of choices to choose from, many of which are unique and creative. Our mouths began to salivate. I went with the Ma’Barker which is a 10 oz. burger with Pepper Jack cheese, grilled pineapple, jalapenos, jumbo onion ring, topped with a teriyaki glaze. I requested this medium rare. MM went chose the Capone which was described as a burger drenched in buffalo sauce, topped with bacon, Blue Cheese crumbles, and Caramelized Onions. This burger was requested medium.

Both burgers arrived on a pretzel bun—one of our favorite burger buns—which kept it tidy and was toasted to a perfect crispiness. The burger was cooked to perfection, seasoned nicely without being overbearing, and full of taste. The sweetness of the pineapple and jumbo onion ring went together perfectly with the spiciness’ of the fresh jalapenos, which were also spicy as opposed to bland. I actually would have appreciated more jalapenos as there were only 4 or so, but they were so good. The BBQ sauce didn’t seem to be any regular grocery style BBQ sauce, but instead a zesty flavorful BBQ sauce we don’t think we’ve had anywhere else. The Capone burger came out with two very large pieces of bacon across it and a generous portion of blue cheese atop it. The burger wasn’t “drenched” as describe, but had a splash of buffalo sauce across it and then a full cup on the side. Again, the taste of all the ingredients just flowed together perfectly; even the crispy bacon went well with the buffalo.

The presentation of the burgers as they brought them out was somewhat lackluster and probably our biggest gripe (we only rate on the burger itself though). Also, the fries were actually pretty good, but as you can see in the picture, you only get about 10 fries. We aren’t huge on fries, but we were pretty disappointed to only get 10 of something so good that normally comes in mounds.

We hadn’t heard about this place in any capacity other than they had a beer pong tournament fundraiser on this particular Thursday night which we had tons of fun participating in. The restaurant wasn’t over packed, and was pretty comfortable to eat in as well as play beer pong and socialized with other patrons. This was almost a diamond in the rough find for us as the only reason we ordered burgers was due to the claim they had the best. It may not be the best in Chicago, but its close. We recommend trying out Dillinger’s even if you aren’t burger fiends like us. We will definitely be back, and perhaps we’ll try the burger challenge! Let us know what you think!

Ma’Barker ($12) – 10 oz. burger with melted Pepper jack cheese, grilled pineapple, and chopped jalapeño topped with a jumbo onion ring and drizzled with a teriyaki glaze.

Capone ($10) - Drenched in buffalo sauce, topped with bacon, Blue Cheese crumbles, and caramelized onions.

2470 N Lincoln Ave

Chicago, IL 60614

773.697.4752

–@ChiBurgerBlog

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