Burger Crew Meeting called to order on Friday, July 7th at 5:30pm (5th location – Burger Crew Does Chicago)
Members in attendance: Angela d. (that’s me!), Sumana, S., Trevor Y., Wayne T., Dennis K., and Innie C.
Slider member in attendance: Lucy Y.
Guests: Will G., Chris Y., and Marissa G.
I. Ordering
They only have 1 burger on the menu: Mott Burger (until 7pm) $18 – sweet potato shoestrings, hoisin aioli, pickled jalapenos, dill pickles, miso butter onions, american cheese. + $2 to add egg
Collectively we ordered 5 burgers. They also have a ton of great looking food there, so we also got 2 orders of the crispy chili cauliflower $19 (sweet & tangy sauce, Szechuan peppercorn, coriander, bean sprout salad), brussels sprouts $15 (lamb pancetta, maple brown butter, peanuts), char siu pork belly $26 (braised & sauteed in chinese style bbq, sweet soy, five spice, kohlrabi greens), and drinks (lychee paloma freeze, beer, listen to your elders, and a salted lime soda + gin).
II. The Burgers
The burgers were a great mix of sweet, salty, and savory. This is truly an umami burger. There were a lot of interesting ingredients, but nothing too overwhelming where it no longer had that burger essence.
The default burger comes with two patties (my kind of burger), and had a good meat-to-bun ratio. The patties had a good sear, but there was a little variance in terms of doneness (Wayne’s was more medium whereas ours was more medium rare).
The burger held together well and had a nice texture to it. The bun was crunchy in a good way. The cheese was properly gooey. The onions were yummy. The hoisin added an interesting note without being too overpowering. The yams added a nice crunch. And the jalapenos added a nice heat while the pickles brought the acid. I love the one-two punch of the pickles AND pickled jalapenos!
III. The Sides
All the other food was also amazing, but not if you’re watching your wallet. Trev thought the brussels sprouts were the winner, but the cauliflower was also excellent! The peanuts on top of the brussels sprouts were kid approved 👍🏽The pork belly was also legit, but hard to split among friends.
IV. Miscellaneous
So this place is fancy (read: expensive). When making reservations, parties of 5+ require a $10 deposit per person. Eek! So with such a large group, we divvyed up the reservations among 3 people. Thankfully, they were gracious and allowed us all to sit together. They give you a 90 minute limit for your reservation and there is a 20% large party gratuity automatically added. Parties of 8 or more usually need to do a prix fixe menu with a deposit so that the kitchen can handle to volume (or so we’ve been told).
They have indoor and outdoor seating. Outdoor had a great patio vibe to it. The burger is only available until 7pm so make sure to come early if you want to enjoy this burger.
They are kid friendly (had a high chair for Lucy and gave her a kiddie cup). And on a separate note, they are also parent friendly with stiff drinks 🥂
*Side note: Trev and I stayed in Chicago a while longer with the family and so we all went back to Mott Street for the Chef Menu ($188) and it was incredible.
V. Value
I ask the members how much they would pay for their burgers. We would pay anywhere from $15 to $17. So we thought they were a smidge overpriced.
VI. The Verdict
Inventive burger. Well balanced. Good meat. Great toppings. The ratings: 3.6, 3.9, 4.1, 4.3, 4.3, and 4.5
Next Burger Crew meeting will be held on Saturday, July 8th at The Region at 11am for some smash burgers!