Wednesday, March 29, 2017

The Region

-Got beef?
The Burgers of Chi


When I read there was a new burger joint opening in Roscoe Village I was intrigued. When I further read that the place would be serving Schoop's inspired burgers I became even more interested. The Region takes it's name from the nickname given to the Northwest Indiana region of the Chicagoland spectrum. Yes, part of Chicagoland is located in Indiana. No, this isn't up for debate. Neither is the fact that one of the best burgers in all of Chicagoland is found throughout Northwest Indiana. For those not in the know the place I'm talking about is called Schoop's and I've featured them before.

Newly Opened in Roscoe Village 

The owner of The Region grew up in the Region and was obviously a fan of Schoop's. While they call these NWI style burgers I think a better description is Schoop's style as there's not tons of places (that I'm aware of) doing smashed crispy burgers in the Region other than Schoop's. Alright time to stop nitpicking. I visited The Region just yesterday and they already seem to be a neighborhood favorite. Around noon the place was full albeit it's a small space with just a few tables and maybe 12 seats total. Thus lots of neighbors were taking to-go orders. Those orders were most exclusively burgers as that's pretty much what they do here. The menu can be seen below. But I should also note that there's one other part to it sporting a chicken sandwich and a PB&J for the kiddos. That's it.

The Menu (click pics to enhance)

The Region offers singles and doubles. Each patty starts out as a 7 oz ball of beef before being smashed. This is a pretty good size for a single. I always get singles at Schoop's bc I feel like the doubles throw it off as far as balance. So how was it? Compared to Schoop's they certainly shared alot of similarities with the patty itself being the most similar. They do a really nice smash job. Everything at The Region includes mayo based "Region Sauce", relish, and onion. I didn't have a problem with this combo but I wound up wishing they mimicked the toppings style of Schoop's as well. The onion was a small single ring and thus I only tasted it near the middle of the burger. The bites around the edges were bare. Schoop's tackles this by using diced onion. The bun could've been softer and also bigger. The first bites were basically beef and maybe a bit of bun. Schoop's most popular burger is the "Mickey" which includes two slices of American cheese which is what I think this burger needed as well as a few more toppings in the Schoop's style. If you're going to replicate something you might as well go all in. That said this was a burger I'll be back for. I think they have a damn good product in a location that was desperate for something in this style. Best of luck to them.

Schoop's style Cheeseburgers at The Region

The Region
2057 W Roscoe St
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 857-2874

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