On a recent trip to Chicago, I was out in western suburb of Elmhurst for the night. Looking around for someplace new to try out I came across a burger joint/bar that I wasn't familiar with - HB Jones. I thought I'd give the place a try.
The back story on HB Jones centers on a fictional world explorer by the name of Horatio B. Jones whose favorite food - a good burger - kept him going in the face of danger while descending Mount Everest. Upon reaching base camp, Jones was rewarded with a burger of "Everest" proportions.
Cute story, but the real back story involves restaurateur Anthony Gambino - who owns Salseria in Elmhurst - and three investors - Bob Ceddia, Ken Patchak and Alfredo Luna. The group turned what was the former Good Earth Market in Elmhurst into the concept burger joint in December of 2012. Initially, the place was going to be called Hamburger Jones. However, they shorted the name of the restaurant to just HB Jones around the time it opened.
Hamburger Jones is located at the southeast corner of S. York and Vallette streets on the south side of Elmhurst. There's a parking lot in the rear of the building that is accessible off of E. Vallette. (see map)
The Good Earth Market featured a greenhouse in the back part of the building. The group turned the greenhouse into a four-seasons dining room with a small bar area. It was a nice night when I was there, but it was raining lightly off and on. There is a small outdoor patio dining area, but no one was seated out there due the rain.
The front part of the building that faces S. York features a dining room and a larger bar area. Most of the people in the place were seated out in the greenhouse. That's where I ended up seated for my meal.
As I was going through the food menu, my server for the evening - Samantha - came over to greet me and ask if I wanted something to drink. HB Jones has a number of Midwestern specialty beers and microbrews available and I ended up getting Bell's Two Hearted Ale.
The burgers on the menu at HB Jones all feature 10 ounce grilled beef patties. (For littler appetites, they also make 4 ounce "slider" burgers.) But they also have a number of other items including chicken sandwiches and wraps, skirt steak, meat loaf and pulled pork sandwiches, a slew of salads and soups, along with entrees such as ribs and meat loaf.
They have about a dozen specialty burgers on the menu that includes the Blue Cheese Wedge burger that features blue cheese, iceberg lettuce, sliced tomatoes and a raw red onion; as well as the Mexican Standoff that was topped with chorizo, Chihuahua cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo, jalapeno salsa and shredded lettuce. For the truly adventurous - and the truly hungry - the Jones Climbs Everest burger featured 3 - 10 ounce beef patties topped with American and Swiss cheese, bacon, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato and pickles and topped with a house-made Jonzy sauce (which is basically a 1000 Island dressing).
You can also "build your own burger" and I told Samantha that's the route that I was going to take. She showed me a piece of paper on the table that allowed me to pick out exactly what I wanted. Other than beef patties, you can also choose from ground turkey, Italian sausage, smashed meatball or a veggie patty. Four types of buns - classic, whole wheat, pretzel and kaiser - are available. Types of cheese includes American, Swiss, provolone, blue cheese, cheddar jack and Merkts sharp cheddar cheese spread all for a dollar upcharge.
They also have a number of free toppings including the regular compliment of condiments along with grilled or raw onions, jalapenos, the aforementioned Jonzy Sauce, and barbecue sauce. For a slight upcharge, you can get sauteed mushrooms, giardiniera, or fire-roasted jalapenos. And for a $2 buck upcharge, you can choose a fried egg (thought that was a little high priced for just one egg), thick cut bacon, chorizo or pulled pork added to the burger.
I ended up ordering a burger with sauteed mushrooms, Swiss cheese and thick cut bacon with a kaiser bun. For sides I had a choice of hand-cut fries, tater tots, garlic mashed potatoes, cole slaw, a veggie skewer or mac and cheese. For $4.00 more, you could get the salad bar that they have at HB Jones. I went with the fries. And I asked if I could get some mayo on the side to dip my fries into. Very European!
The burger that Samantha served me was huge. It featured a copious amount of Swiss cheese melted on top of the bacon and sauteed mushrooms. Large bread and butter pickles came on the side.
The burger, itself, was very good. It was cooked to a perfect medium with a hint of pink in the middle. And it was very juicy. It was a good 5 napkin burger, at least. The bun held together well with all the juiciness in the burger. But the bun wasn't all that large to where it was the right ratio of bun to burger. Sometimes you get a bun that is too large and it makes the burger sort of too bread-y. But the one at HB Jones was the right size.
The fries were very good, but I was having trouble finishing up the burger. For one of the first times in a long time, I left a couple three bites of the burger. It was not because it was bad - far from it. It was just a lot more food than I like to eat that late in the evening.
For my first visit to HB Jones, I'll have to say that I was pretty impressed with the burger. Their beer list is good and they also have a number of specialty - including ice cream - liquor drinks. Samantha's service was fine and I liked the greenhouse dining area at the place. The only quibble I had was that the burger was a little expensive - $14 bucks with all the toppings - but it was a big burger to start out. If you make it to HB Jones, make sure you bring your appetite.
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