Au Cheval – Living My Best Life

When articles came out stating there was a burger in Chicago better then Au Cheval, we had to try it! Many people were claiming that The Loyalist burger was better then the infamous Au Cheval burger. It was time for me to figure out the validity of that myself. The Loyalist is located under Smyth…there is an arrow that directs you exactly to the right spot. We went St. Patty’s Day weekend on Saturday night and ironically there was no wait. We got seated immediately, which was \thrilling because we heard there is usually a line there depending on what time you go. For starters, the ambiance was nice. It was in the basement and there were tall tables, booths and bar seats. The drinks were good too…I ordered a green drink in the St. Patrick’s Day spirit. We were so excited for the burger we couldn’t even wait. We ordered the Loyalist cheeseburger and we weren’t disappointed. It was cooked just right, it was nice and juicy and there were caramelized AND raw onions on it. The fries were served with a side of garlic aïoli and vinegar which paired great with the burger. Even though it wasn’t “better then Au Cheval” in my opinion, it was pretty satisfying! I think the two burgers are very different and both amazing in their own ways.

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I can’t believe that I tried my first Au Cheval burger less then a year ago, but now I know what all the hype was about. I truly was missing out, until I finally went last fall, I was told that it was “the best burger ever”. There are some tricks on how to get a table at Au Cheval.

Go with a small group ≤ 4 people
Go on off peak hours, like after 11:30 pm
Go prepared to wait, and be ready to have a drink while waiting– doesn’t make the wait as bad!

I have been fortunate to usually go to Au Cheval with seasoned veterans, and I don’t think I have ever waited over 20 minutes for a table.

I keep it pretty simple at Au Cheval, always ordering the same exact thing. A single burger + the juicy thick cut bacon and an Old Fashioned. This last time, I went outside of the normal order and got fries, which came with a side of mouth watering garlic aïoli sauce– best add on ever!

There was a little hiccup in the burger last winter…they changed their bun and it was very disappointing. Fortunately the OG bun is back and the burger is better then ever!