Lucky's Cafe - April 28, 2010

Last week's burger quest took our group to Lucky's Cafe on Oak Lawn Avenue near Lemmon Avenue. Lucky's Cafe has been open for over twenty years and specializes in diner foods such as meat loaf, grilled chicken sandwiches, chicken fried steak and chicken, omelets, pancakes and hamburgers. We walked into the restaurant and were promptly seated by a server. The restaurant is very open with an open kitchen in the back where great smells and sounds were welcoming guests to enjoy their meal. I ordered a medium cooked Bull's Eye Burger which was described as half-pound wood-grilled burger topped with sauteed onions, bacon and cheddar served open-face on a whole wheat bun for $6.99. It was almost as if Lucky's had created the perfect menu item for me. About ten minutes later, the following burger arrived at the table:





The thick patty was placed on top of the bottom bun and then topped with bacon, sauteed onions and shredded cheddar on top of the onions. The top half of the whole wheat bun was slightly toasted and topped with fresh tomatoes, pickles, lettuce and purple onions. I took off the vegetables and made a nice salad and then took my first bite. I noticed that the bun was somewhat dry and bland. The bacon was cooked crispy and had a nice salty flavor. The patty was cooked to well done and was somewhat dry and unseasoned. It did have some nice grill marks from being cooked over wood-fire and I could taste some smokey flavors from the grilling. I would have liked to have seen the cheese get placed directly on the patty so that it would have melted more over the patty. The sauteed onions had good flavor and a little bit of caramelization on them but still added a nice crunch to each bite of the burger. The fries were larger shoestring style and were crunchy and were very tasty.


Overall, I thought that Lucky's Cafe served an average burger. It had fresh ingredients but they didn't blend well to create a great burger. The whole wheat bun was probably a healthier option but it detracted from the overall burger. The patty could have used some more seasoning and not cooked past medium to medium well. I will continue to visit Lucky's Cafe for their great breakfast items and chicken fried chicken but a burger probably won't be my first choice of menu items.


Ratings (1-25):


Bun - 15, whole wheat bun slightly toasted, dry and bland


Meat - 17, thick patty cooked over wood-fire, crispy bacon was highlight of burger


Appearance - 17, fresh ingredients, well put together burger


Taste - 17, tasty bacon and sauteed onions, patty could have used some seasoning, flavorful cheddar cheese


Overall - 66