Spritz Burger
3819 N. Broadway St.Chicago, IL 60613
Lakeview
773-868-9866
spritzburger.com
Hours: Dinner: Tuesday-Saturday
Closed Monday
Sunday brunch
Our Review
Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh, aka the Food Network's Hearty Boys, have pooled their semicelebrity with gal pal Gale Gand (ex-Tru) to open a burger joint in the space that formerly housed their comfort-food spot Hearty. Apart from the image of a ferocious giant chipmunk sipping a soda on the back wall, Spritz Burger feels little different from its predecessor; likewise, there's little to distinguish Spritz Burger from others on the crowded upscale-burger bandwagon. In fact, the 13 beef (and other) burgers seem almost ancillary in light of McDonagh's seltzer-spiked cocktails and Gand's half-dozen twists on nostalgic desserts. The thick grass-fed patties are piled with frequently unstable toppings, a la Kuma's et al, the most extreme example (apart, perhaps, from a poutine burger) being the Madron, an open-face patty piled with Havarti, onion, a fried egg, hollandaise, and two leathery slices of Spam. Served on a slab of savory bread pudding, it's a landslide waiting to happen. The balance of the menu is devoted to salads and American comfort-food appetizers and entrees, many deep-fried. Better by far are those cocktails, made with house-made syrups, and Gand's sweets, best enjoyed in the $9 trio option, which allows you to pick three from a list including her signature lemon meringue pie and a float made with her proprietary root beer. Read the full review >>
Price: $$
Payment Type: MasterCard, Visa, AmEx, Discover
Bar Details
Drinking Malort with soda is about as proper as sipping a first-growth Bordeaux on the rocks, but that's the way they pour it at Spritz Burger. Hearty Boy Steve McDonagh has come up with a list of seltzer-spiked cocktails (hence the spritzed Malort) that includes balanced potions such as a Tom Collins rounded with house-made grilled-pineapple syrup or a concoction of rum and batavia arrack with Thai curry flavors. Excepting that watered-down Malort, this is one of the more likably contrarian cocktail programs in the city right now. —Mike Sula
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Spritz Burger: Last seat on the burger bandwagon
The Hearty Boys team up with pastry chef Gale Gand for a burger joint.
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