Smokin' Chokin' and Chowing with the King: Grant's Wonderburger

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Grant's Wonderburger

-Got beef?
The Burgers of Chi

The further away you go from the North over to the southside of Chicago the more old school the city becomes. Many of the old time hamburger favorites of people who grew up in now popular northside neighborhoods are long gone. The old buildings they were in have been torn down or their longtime owners who were always there cooking, have passed. So with them went their places. Lucky for those on the southside some of the longtime burger favorites remain. One of these is Grants Wonderburger over on Kedzie and 111th in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood.

Since 1954 in Chicago's Mount Greenwood Neighborhood

Grant's has been a part of this area of the southside since the day they opened. Aside from the fact they've changed buildings a few times, within a block radius each time, everything else remains the same. You can see that when you read THIS old Tribune article from 1994 about Grant's. Everything they talk about still stands pat today. From the outside you can see the grill in the window as you pass by and inside theres a handful of tables as well as a counter with old school stools which still spin today or at least did the last time I was there a year or so back.

View from the stools

Grant's has been all in the family since it's beginning and despite a few additions to the menu for the health conscious, the namesake Wonderburger and their signature curly fries remain the favorites and I'd imagine much like the place itself they also have remained the same. They take a small patty of fresh-ground beef and cook that on a griddle. They come served on a toasted bun with cheese, shredded lettuce, onions and Wonder Sauce. The sauce itself is a sweet and spicy concoction and nothing similar to your normal mayo based thousand island sauce or stuff like that. The curly fries arent to be missed either. Unlike most places that sell them, these come fresh cut skin on and always cooked to perfection. There's no doubt that if I grew up on Grant's I would have a taste for it a few times a month no matter where I was at in life. Check them out.