Review: Indie Burger

By Amy Cavanaugh in Food on Apr 14, 2012 3:00PM

The burger boom continued in 2012, with Indie Burger’s opening last month in Lakeview (1034 W. Belmont Ave.). I stopped by this week, and while there are some kinks to work out, the new organic spot is off to a promising start.

Order at the counter and then grab a seat in a pew from a South Side church or a chair made from soda bottles. The space is sunny, with daisies on the table and napkins and organic ketchup and mustard tucked into cardboard Boylan soda carriers. Yes, it’s cute. Everything on the menu is organic or free range, but the prices aren’t as high as you’d expect—burgers and sandwiches are $7-$8, while sides are $2-$3.

The menu is refreshingly short, with just a hamburger and cheeseburger, plus an onion-topped Indie burger, for burger offerings, as well as three sandwiches and two salads. For sides, there are fries and onion rings, plus a few shakes and floats. I went with a cheeseburger, which started with a 1/3 of a pound of organic, grass-fed beef, which has a stronger meat taste than grain-fed beef. The meat was cooked well, with some pink in the center, which is how I like it. The burgers come topped with lettuce, raw onion, thin slices of pickle, and a trio of sauces—ketchup, mustard, and aioli, which is made with chipotle and horseradish. The saucy burger is tucked into an organic brioche bun a bit too thick for the sandwich, but with good flavor. Next time, I’d probably just get a burger with the aioli, which is sweet with a bit of nice tang, and hope that they doubled the amount on there. I also got a small order of fries, which came out a bit cooler than I’d like. But the fries were soft and dotted with large flecks of sea salt, which were points in their favor.

Indie Burger also serves breakfast, with a menu that offers egg, cheese, and sausage Panini, Bleeding Heart Bakery pastries, and a La Colombe salted caramel mocha.

As for the name? I’m guessing it has something to do with the music playing in the restaurant, but there’s also a listing of upcoming concerts in Chicago on Indie Burger’s website.