I stopped off to see a dealer in Champaign, IL on my way to Indianapolis recently. It was late in the day and I offered to take one of the guys out for dinner. He declined, saying that he had to go look at furniture with his wife. He said, "Believe me, I'd rather go out with you."
Then he said, "Hey! You're a big burger nut. There's this place here in town that opened up last year called Big Mouth's. You really ought to go check it out."
Big Mouth's is a small Chicago-style hot dog place that happens to serve burgers, as well. It began in November of 2006 in Normal, IL by two former Illinois State University students, Nick Lavorato (right) and Matt Martin. They wanted to bring the taste of Chicago-style hot dogs and char-grilled burgers to Chicago area students going to college in downstate Illinois and across the Midwest. They're looking to expand into Madison, WI and West Lafayette, IN in the coming months.
The concept is pretty simple - they came up with a fun little place that caters to the daytime lunch crowd and to the late night partiers coming out of the bars. Big Mouth's is open until 3 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings to accommodate the hungry bar patrons at closing time.
They opened their second location in Champaign in the heart of the University of Illinois' Campustown area (see map). They stuck with the same decor theme as the original location in Normal - orange walls, some picnic tables and regular chair and tables. Big Mouth's doesn't serve beer, which is OK. They also serve their Chicago-style dogs either char-grilled or steamed. If I had to choose between the two, I'd still take a steamed Chicago dog over a grilled one.
I got into the Big Mouth's in Champaign around 7:00 p.m. It was a rainy evening and I was able to find some parking on the street around the block from the location. The front door of the place was literally torn off and I didn't know it. I grabbed for the handle and it fell into my shoulder. OK, not a pleasant beginning for my first visit. I asked one of the guys at the counter what was up with the door and he said, "Oh, man! Is it broken again? Well, we'll have to try to fix it."
The menu is affixed to the wall and you order at the counter. They call out your name for pick up when the order comes up. But the names they've given their signature "Big Mouth Menu" items show that Lavorato and Martin have watched a lot of the same movies and television programs that I have over the years.
Their "Big Mouth Menu" includes the "Sonny Corleone" (James Caan's character from "The Godfather") which is two char-grilled Chicago dogs. The "Al Czervic" (Rodney Dangerfield's character in "Caddyshack") which consists of two grilled Polish sausages. The "Fred Sanford" (Redd Foxx's character from "Sanford and Son") that is a double cheeseburger. The "Johnny Drama" (named after Kevin Dillon's character on HBO's "Entourage") which is a double chicken sandwich. And there's the "Jackie Burkhart" (named after Mila Kunis' character on "That 70's Show") that's a double veggie burger. Each Big Mouth Meal comes with an order of french fries, a 32 oz. pop and a fried Twinkie. Now, I've never had a fried Twinkie, but I understand at 2:15 in the morning they're pretty tasty.
Big Mouth's in Champaign also had "The Farley", an homage to the late comedian Chris Farley that consists of two one-pound char-grilled hamburger patties topped with french fries, mayo, ketchup, mustard, pickles and onions. Now, that would be interesting to see.
Even though the "Fred Sanford" was tempting, I just got the regular char-grilled cheeseburger and a pop. I got grilled onions on it and passed on the mayo.
Since I was the only one in the place at the time, I took a look around at some of the artwork on the walls. I understand Lavorato and a friend of his went to great lengths to find some of the kitschy items they hung on the walls.
After about 15 minutes, I got my cheeseburger. I have to say it was very good. Very messy, but very good. Unlike some cheddar cheese burgers I've gotten in the recent past, the cheese didn't overpower or detract from the taste of the burger. The grilled onions also were very good. I normally don't get grilled onions as they seem to give me heartburn, but these were a very tasty compliment to the burger. And my stomach wasn't upset.
While Big Mouth's may not be the best burger I've ever tried, it's a good one. I may have to try a burger and a Chicago dog sometime when I'm really hungry in Normal or Champaign. Their motto says it all "Big Meals for Big Mouths". Unless you really try, you'll never leave Big Mouth's hungry.
(Update - Big Mouth's closed in the summer of 2011. I have no story as to what happened to the place, other than it closed.)
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