A Burger of Epic Proportions

This weekend was a weekend filled with friends for me, from college friends to former co-workers.  Though all of my friend dates were each wonderful in their own way, a fantastic surprise was lunch with my friend, Dara, and her husband, James, who were in town for James to present at the Chicago Humanities Festival.   While we were unable to attend his lecture on robots, we were able to discover a great burger place on the Near North Side with them. 

It was epic. 

Epic Burger has a rather unassuming storefront, easy to miss at street level if one is not looking for it.  Inside, it's decor is invitingly industrial, the natural wood and dark metal accented with red creating a warm, cozy space for lunch.  An open yet strategically divided layout makes the restaurant feel bigger than it is while still creating a distinct dining area.

 
The menu is fairly limited: the Epic Burger, turkey burger, chicken sandwich, and portobello sandwich are the basic items.  However the possibilities of what you can do with them are seemingly endless!  I ordered a junior turkey burger with Havarti cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion (raw), avocado, and EPIC SAUCE (basically a really yummy Thousand Island dressing) on a buttered and grilled whole wheat bun, while Michel had the Epic Burger with lettuce, tomato, pickle, grilled onions, epic sauce, cheddar, and a fried egg.  Dara and James each ordered their own variations, and sides included fries, salad, and one other thing that no one got and I can't remember.  (Why don't you just look it up, you ask?  Because their website appears to be a bit of fancy-looking nothing with a broken menu link.  Everything else about it was great, though!)  Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of our food because, well, we ate it all before even thinking to whip out the camera!  It was just that delicious!  I have to say, I was completely impressed with my turkey burger.  I always want to like a turkey burger, but they are usually very thick and very dry.  Epic Burger's patties are fairly thin and cooked quickly (but thoroughly), which resulted in such a flavorful, juicy turkey burger that I almost forgot it was turkey and not beef.  Almost.  Michel really enjoyed his beef burger and deemed it a very solid burger experience. 

The staff was incredibly friendly as well, welcoming us into the restaurant, walking each of us through the extensive ordering process, and checking in on our dining experience.  Overall, it was a delicious lunch with good friends!

The verdict?  I am awfully partial to my little cheeseburger with mayo and mushrooms from Five Guys, and Michel says it's no Bernie's Burger Bus (all you Houstonians who have not discovered the glory that is Bernie's and their Parmesan truffle fries, go now.  Just do it.  You can thank us later).  However, it is seriously one of the best turkey burgers I've had, and we were quite happy with our first Chicago burger experience!