A New "Best Burger in the City" at Fat Dan's Deli

Sobro. That's the annoying portmanteau of a phrase that people use to describe the area just south of Broadripple's main drag. When you get there you'll probably find a couple things 1. Annoying hipsters everywhere (You're a 25 year old man. Your handle bar mustache just makes you look like a moron.) and 2. a lot of cool independent restaurants with good food and good beer. Just in case you couldn't figure it out by my parenthetical commentary I go for the latter rather than the former. Over the weekend I decided to make the trek down there from my home on the far North side to find a gem known as Fat Dan's Deli.

As some of you might know Fat Dan's used to be located right on Broadripple Ave and is known for a being a place known for Chicago favorites such as Italian beef and real Chicago style hotdogs. After disappearing from that location for a few months they have reopened with a vengence at the new location at 54th and College across from the Fresh Market and right next door to Twenty Tap.  While the former location had limited seating and you ordered at the counter the new restaurant is much larger, has a bar area with good craft beers on tap (as well as the Chicago favorite Old Style), and table service.  The last time I visited Fat Dan's I got the dipped Italian Beef with melt-your-face gardinera and it was fantastic so this time I wanted to try something different. I had heard good things about the burgers so I wanted to see for myself.

I decided to go with the Wells St Fat Burger with an order of "The Best Fries in the Universe". This version of their "Fat Burger" line included grilled onions, bacon, bbq sauce, and gorgonzola cheese. At first you might think those are some pretty assertive flavors to put on one burger, and you'd be right but man it works in a great way. The onions had that wonderful sweetness, the bbq sauce added tang, the bacon was fairly thick and had a wonderful smokiness and great chew, and the gorgonzola probably would have been out of place on most burgers but here it was necessary to not get covered up by the other flavors. A slice of  Swiss or American would have just faded into the background.  Also, the burger itself was excellent and cooked perfectly to medium just as I asked. That in and of itself is a rarity in this city.  The fries, served in a giant pile on butcher paper with your sandwich, are easily a big enough portion for 2 or 3 and are absolutely delicious. They are not only the great fresh cut, double fried, variety but they are also perfectly seasoned. I also liked the addition of some cottage fry pieces in with the regular french fry cut variety.  The burger was $8.50 and the fries were $3.75. A little on the high side, but well within reason for the great quality you're getting. There are plenty of restaurants charging twice or 3 times that much for burgers that are of lesser quality.

Rating 10/10 Perfect score. I rarely hand those out, but this is literally a can't miss. The service was great. The burger is the best in the city. The fries are the best in the city. And it won't break the bank. Get there asap.