Photo: Caitlin Elsaesser
Photo: Caitlin Elsaesser
A walk by Epic Burger on State Street reveals nothing remarkable. The hamburger restaurant advertises its name with simple, red neon letters. The interior features simple, neon orange chairs and cafeteria style tables. Like any other fast food chain.
But Epic Burger is different. Its exterior doesn’t reveal the fact that its burgers are made from all natural beef. Or that its bacon is nitrate-free. Or that the milk in its shakes are organic. Even their packaging is biodegradable.
Epic’s understated approach to its organic and all natural foods is the point, says owner David Friedman.
“I don’t want to be the Whole Foods of hamburger joints,” he said. “I thought that would be intimidating.” Friedman wants to entice those who would not ordinarily seek out organic.
“If I opened a 30 seat organic café I would be just preaching to the choir,” he said. “Here, we get all types — students, police officers, people in sales.”
Friedman worries that the organic movement is exclusive to the privileged. He points out that in the poorest parts of Chicago, residents are hard pressed to find produce. His hunch is that once he can get people in his restaurant, they will get hooked.
The menu concept at Epic Burger is simple — a variety of burgers with a variety of toppings, including a choice of three Wisconsin cheeses — cheddar, havarti, or blue, fresh cut fries and organic shakes and malts. The burger combo is the best deal — at $10, customers get a burger, fries and a fountain drink.
All items on the menu are made to order. I ordered the burger combo, taking the sandwich with sautéed onions, blue cheese and the “special sauce,” Friedman’s mouth watering mysterious combination that includes pickle relish, chipotle peppers and mayonnaise.
Though the burger was messy, the perfect flavor combinations made the dribble worth it. The burger itself was flavorful: what came through above all was how much it tasted like beef — not an afterthought of beef, like some chains. Its edges were uneven and crispy, like a burger made on the family grill. The bun was almost as good as the meat — homemade from a local bakery, it had a hearty flavor and did not squish like cheaper breads do when bitten into. The fries were hot and crispy, the sea salt bringing out their natural flavors. I finished my meal with a peanut butter malt: made from organic milk and all natural ice cream, it was fresh and delicious.
This was a very big dinner, but amazingly I didn’t feel sick when done. Perhaps that’s the best judge of the food: customers leave satisfied, but not sick. Friedman says that he gets more compliments at Epic Burger than when he worked as a high end chef.
“People ask me, ‘what did you do to this?’” he said. Ironically, what makes the food so good is what’s not done to it. These questions, for Friedman, are the perfect segue to educating his customers about the all natural food he uses.
Friedman’s decision to start the restaurant reflects his varied background. Trained at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, he worked initially as a high end chef, and later as a consultant for national chains in product development. It was there that he learned about processed foods and how animals are treated in the industrial food industry. He gradually realized his work was not being true to his values and decided he had to open Epic Burger.
Friedman hopes to eventually make Epic Burger a national chain, but business hasn’t been easy so far. It’s challenging to find products that meet Friedman’s ethical standards — finding a small scale beef company he can oversee from beginning to end has been difficult. Keeping prices low is also an obstacle. He estimates that the natural beef and the compostable packaging he purchases are twice as much as standard products.
“A lot of people complain about the price,” he says. Yet he’s confident consumers will convert once they taste they difference in his products.
“The flavors turn people on, it reminds them of their childhood,” he says.
Epic Burger
517 S. State St.
Chicago, IL 60605
312-913-1373
epicburger.com
Caitlin Elsaesser is a freelance writer from Chicago.