The Smashed Crispy Burgers of Central Illinois

It's time for the next chapter in my 'Burger Americana' posts. We all know about Schoop's in Northwest Indiana and many of us are familiar with Carl's Drive-in down in St. Louis. Less of us are familiar with Workingman's Friend in Indianapolis. Up until last year I was pretty sure those spots were the main purveyors of the ultra smashed burger. But as it turns out there's an entire region of purveyors located in-between Schoop's and Carl's. What is a smashed crispy burger? Well in laymen terms its exactly that. A smashed ball of beef that turns into a patty with a glistening crust due to an extra hot flattop and little extra attention to detail when smashing. The edges get so crisp that the good ones produce meat chips, little pieces of crispy beef that fall off the patty when unwrapping. They're better than candy. What it's not is a smashed burger which is a style common in the Midwest and now elsewhere due to places like Smash Burger and Shake Shack, the latter of which was inspired by Steak 'n Shake which was founded in Normal Illinois in 1934. It actually started out as a gas station where they served fried chicken but the founding father knew that chicken shacks were a dime a dozen while good hamburgers weren't nearly as common. Staying on topic of the smashed crispy burger. I believe these places below, which make this style, are inspired by each other and it all goes back to Steak 'n Shake who probably served something similar back when it had just one location. Or was Steak n' Shake inspired by another unknown place in the area? I don't know if anyone has the correct answer as this is the first round-up of it's kind to go online.
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Just Hamburgers


Paxton, IL

This little nondescript spot is found about an hour and 45 minutes south of Chicago off I-57. I'd had them on my list for a long time. I found an article on them from 2011 in the 'Paxton Dealer' which says they were celebrating their 40th year of biz. So now they're nearing 45 years. Before its birth as a hamburger stand the building was a meat locker. To this day all the meat used in their burgers is cut by hand and ground on site. The product is, in my opinion, one of the best burgers you'll ever eat at the $3 price point they seek for each one. Not having too big of a menu allows for the specialty of the house to shine. They're only open from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 4-7 p.m and you should expect a line when you go. However because they're rightfully expecting everyone to order a burger they stay smashing them even before your order is placed. They say that most weekend days they serve more customers than minutes they're open. I'd put their product in the top half of the spots featured in this post.


Double Cheeseburger
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Butcher Boy Burgers


Rantoul, IL

Just a short 10 mile ride down from Paxton you'll find Butcher Boy Burgers in the town of Rantoul. According to something I read online they're located in a former Just Hamburgers location. The menu features a few things with the burgers and homemade pie being the popular things to eat. As can be expected some places do the smashed crispy burger better than others. Butcher Boy serves a burger thats better than it has to be but it also isn't as good as it could be. Aside from being greasier than most upon unwrapping I was also somewhat weary of it based on how fast it came out after being ordered. The smash job was average thus all in all it was a bottom halfer as far as rating.


Double Cheeseburger
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Krekel's


Decatur, IL

Krekel's is perhaps the most successful Steak 'n Shake spawn. Bill Krekel opened his first location in Decatur during the summer of 1953. Today they have seven locations with four of them in Decatur. The other outlets are located in Springfield, Pawnee, and Mt. Zion. The eldest location seen here is said to be the best due to the old age of the flattop. I've been to the location in Springfield and judging from my visit along with other pictures and peoples undying love for them I think they're very consistent from spot to spot. Krekel's and most other spots featured on here tend to use raw diced onion as the standard. I'm impartial as to diced or grilled, on this style they're both worthy. Krekel's makes one of the best burgers in the state and because I love this style I'd call it one of my favorites in the States. Cheap eats don't get much better.


Double Cheeseburger
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Green Gables


Hudson, IL

Green gables has a history that traces back to 1929. It was opened as a gas station and later they added a small grocery. When it was purchased in 1952 the new owner turned the gas stations into a bar/restaurant. According to the website this would be the reason Green Gables is what it is today. The old time feel is there waiting in the air.


Sitting at the bar

As you can see the flattop is tiny but it's responsible for large flavors producing one of most popular cheeseburgers in the region. In classic tavern tradition it's made by the bartender. The lady behind it wasn't new to the job but at first it seemed like she might've been, hacking away at the ball of beef with no rhythm whatsoever. Or was chaos her secret weapon? This one would be a beauty by the time it was fully dressed and the addition of grilled onion most certainly didn't hurt. The salty melted cheddar oozing into a crispy beef patty was mouth watering upon arrival and had me in love upon finishing it. A meat treat indeed. Nice call by swside.


Double Cheeseburger
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Sunrise Cafe


Springfield, IL

AKA Hamburger Dan's I posted about this place in the Springfield thread. It's a pretty lowkey spot that's gotten little press compared to some other restaurants in town but it's not to be missed by those in search of the smashed crispy burger. While the menu boasts most everything you'll find at a breakfast/lunch diner the clue is in the name. After all they don't call it Dan's Biscuits and Gravy. Look at that smash job!


Double Cheeseburger
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Dewey's Drive-In


Farmer City, IL

I think you need to be from around the area or visiting someone in it to know about this place. Reason being the summertime only operation is located away from the well traveled highways. I took a 45 minute detour on the way back from St. Louis to stop here. According to an article online it's a mimic of an old time favorite. Opened in 2011 it's an homage to an old town favorite that had a 51 year run before closing its doors. The remake seems so well done and thats because it sits in the same building that was originally a Swirly Top Dairy Bar. The recipes are said to be handed down and aside from the hand pressed burger the lemon ice cream is also a big seller.


Signature Lemon Ice Cream in a Cheery Dipped Cone

While it's possible this one stands out most due to the fact it's the most recent place of all these I ate at, the picture makes me think otherwise. It was a dandy and at just a little over $4 one of the more expensive ones if you can even call it that. The smash job was second to none with meat chips flying off upon opening. On this day it would be well worth the detour.


Double Cheeseburger
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The Shack


Clinton, IL

I cant seem to find much online about this popular burger stand but the sign outside said they've been around since 1920. I snapped some pics of a pic of the old building but I cant seem to pinpoint around what year it was when they started serving burgers. If it was in 1920 then its quite possible this place started the trend. The smash job was that of a skilled grillman and the burger was a dandy. They had tenderloins, horseshoes, and other regional favorites listed on the menu too. Anyone know anything interesting about Clinton's oldest restaurant?


Double Cheeseburger
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Gross' Burgers


Danville, IL

Another longtime spot on my list. When I was informed by the bosses that I'd making the rounds in and out of Vermilion County the first thing to reach my ind was the fact i;d finally be able to try Gross'. They've been at it since 1982 when they opened with the name Grunts. The current owner has a US Marines background and thus the inside is decked out in pictures and memorabilia. You know the drill by now. The beef is ground fresh on-site and formed into little balls that are smashed crispy on the flattop. I thought this burger was a little bit bigger than the rest, though the price didn't reflect that much. The bun was thicker too but the burger was on point. I've seen others pics from here where the burger looks more smashed than mine but I wasn't dissatisfied at all with what I got. I happily gobbled it down.


Double Cheeseburger
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Mike's Grill


Tilton, IL

Mike's was a spot where I could feel the nostalgia as I drove by. It wasn't on my radar but I spotted it while riding into Danville and wondered what all the craziness was about. Turn's out that then Governor nominee Bruce Rauner was making a strop on the campaign trail. I waited for his entourage to leave this classic old school drive-in that's been in business since 1958. It would be here that I learned a couple things about this style of a burger. Everything here means the whole shebang. Lettuce, tomato etc. Both f which have no business on a crispy smashed burger. Its all about the mustard, onion, and pickles. Put ketchup on if you must.


Cheeseburger, everything

The other lesson learned is that it's always best to go double. The meat to bun ration is perfect when there's two smashed patties involved. Mike's Grill didnt seem to smash with as much skill as some of the other spots and the wetness from the veggies seemed to take away some of the crispness.


The insides
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Burger King


Mattoon, IL

If you missed this thread you may be a little bit confused right now and thats ok. Before there was Burger King, there was Burger King. The behemoth tried to take the little guy to court and got served. Long story short no Burger King's can open within town limits. You can read the original thread to get an idea although I did find this recently. The original family that opened it sold the business although the new owners plan on keeping it the same. This means one of the best burgers under $3 you will ever find should remain available into the foreseeable future.


Double Cheeseburger
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Just Hamburgers
214 E Ottawa St
Paxton, IL 60957
(217) 379-4222

Butcher Boy Burgers
422 S Garrard St
Rantoul, IL 61866
(217) 215-0201

Krekel's
801 E Wood St
Decatur, IL 62521
(217) 429-1122

Green Gables
17485 E 2500 Rd N
Hudson, IL 61748
(309) 747-2496

Sunrise Cafe
1201 S 2nd St
Springfield, IL 62704
(217) 753-1311

Dewey's Drive-In
620 E Richardson St
Farmer City, IL 61842
(309) 928-3663

The Shack
506 S Grant St
Clinton, IL 61727
(217) 935-4646

Gross' Burgers
25 Henderson St
Danville, IL 61832
(217) 442-8848

Mike's Grill
2006 Georgetown Rd,
Tilton, IL 61833
(217) 446-6605

Burger King
1508 Charleston Avenue
Mattoon, IL 61938
(217) 234-8122

Why did I look at this thread before lunch?? So hungry now

Masterpiece status.

I love this style of burger - thank you so much for not only this new thread, but for the larger pics! Lots of new places to go. And yes - always get at least a double. Lettuce and tomato on this style of burger?! No chance.

If you are in the know, folks around here simply call it "Just" as in, "Heading over to Just want anything"? It was a regular stop on our Thursday night cycle rides, sadly it's too far from Juneau to be of much good but I'll be hitting up a couple of double cheese when I next get back. BTW, Paxton is getting to be a decent little restaurant town now after years of Hardee's being the only option. Humble Hog, a decent little BBQ place opened last year, and Chef Ben Grice is busy at work getting the kitchen built for his newest place, to follow with the "Farm to Table" concept which I hear ought to be open this Fall.

Da Beef (and other LTHers)—

Great job reporting on a great style of burgers.

Would you please consider expanding your reports to include a section about the Chicagoland area? We have seen comments on LTH about Kewpee in Racine and Steak-and-Shake, but there must be a considerable demand for this delightful style throughout our home area.

Crazy-For-Crispies unite! Seek the Smashed and spread the word! “Semper Smashed” is our motto.

jimd wrote:Da Beef (and other LTHers)—

Great job reporting on a great style of burgers.

Would you please consider expanding your reports to include a section about the Chicagoland area? We have seen comments on LTH about Kewpee in Racine and Steak-and-Shake, but there must be a considerable demand for this delightful style throughout our home area.

Crazy-For-Crispies unite! Seek the Smashed and spread the word! “Semper Smashed” is our motto.

There are lots of posts about places serving this style of burger in the immediate area. The only thing is that most of them are in their own threads. A few examples off the top of my head are GNR That's-A-Burger, Kevin's Hamburger Heaven, GNR Edzo'sand my current favorite, GNR Redhot Ranch on Ashland. Do some searching and you'll likely find others.

P.S. As usual, you've done a masterful job, Beef!

stevez wrote:

jimd wrote:Da Beef (and other LTHers)—

Great job reporting on a great style of burgers.

Would you please consider expanding your reports to include a section about the Chicagoland area? We have seen comments on LTH about Kewpee in Racine and Steak-and-Shake, but there must be a considerable demand for this delightful style throughout our home area.

Crazy-For-Crispies unite! Seek the Smashed and spread the word! “Semper Smashed” is our motto.

There are lots of posts about places serving this style of burger in the immediate area. The only thing is that most of them are in their own threads. A few examples off the top of my head are GNR That's-A-Burger, Kevin's Hamburger Heaven, GNR Edzo'sand my current favorite, GNR Redhot Ranch on Ashland. Do some searching and you'll likely find others.

P.S. As usual, you've done a masterful job, Beef!

Da Beef wrote:What is a smashed crispy burger? Well in laymen terms its exactly that. A smashed ball of beef that turns into a patty with a glistening crust due to an extra hot flattop and little extra attention to detail when smashing. The edges get so crisp that the good ones produce meat chips, little pieces of crispy beef that fall off the patty when unwrapping. They're better than candy. What it's not is a smashed burger which is a style common in the Midwest and now elsewhere due to places like Smash Burger and Shake Shack

With the exception of maybe Redhot Ranch, I wouldn't describe any of those spots as serving burgers that are smashed until crispy. Just smashed. There's a near endless amount of spots serving smashed burgers throughout the Midwest but only a select few are smashing them until crispy, and the majority of those spots are located in Central IL. Although The Food Lab seems to think he created them. Softie blocked me for daring to say he didn't. Muhahaha.

Krekel's is perhaps the most successful Steak 'n Shake spawn. Bill Krekel opened his first location in Decatur during the summer of 1953. Today they have seven locations with four of them in Decatur. The other outlets are located in Springfield, Pawnee, and Mt. Zion. The eldest location seen here is said to be the best due to the old age of the flattop. I've been to the location in Springfield and judging from my visit along with other pictures and peoples undying love for them I think they're very consistent from spot to spot. Krekel's and most other spots featured on here tend to use raw diced onion as the standard. I'm impartial as to diced or grilled, on this style they're both worthy. Krekel's makes one of the best burgers in the state and because I love this style I'd call it one of my favorites in the States. Cheap eats don't get much better.

Beef - allow me to suggest you add The Winery to your list. A Millikin University haunt for nearly as long as the institution has been around, the ancient flattop was not changed out during a recent top to bottom renovation because of the flavor it imparts. Single, double, or triple with cheese - heaven on a bun with a cheap draft (or two). And, like the Billy Goat - NO FRIES...chips!

The Winery
1093 W Main St
Decatur, IL
(217) 422-7976

Wow, this was excellent. Great round-up of this style of burger. Thanks!

Can not thank you enough for this. Wondering where you'd rank/place the Red Hot Ranch burger along with these.

Curious about the prohibition against lettuce and tomato/allowance for ketchup, but that's a very small point in this collection of many excellent points and insights about this style of burger which I feel I now must eat many more of. Superb, Titus.

nice post - also dig these types of burgers - been way to long since I hit Just Hamburgers

Da Beef wrote:
Green Gables


Hudson, IL

Green gables has a history that traces back to 1929. It was opened as a gas station and later they added a small grocery. When it was purchased in 1952 the new owner turned the gas stations into a bar/restaurant. According to the website this would be the reason Green Gables is what it is today. The old time feel is there waiting in the air.


Sitting at the bar

As you can see the flattop is tiny but it's responsible for large flavors producing one of most popular cheeseburgers in the region. In classic tavern tradition it's made by the bartender. The lady behind it wasn't new to the job but at first it seemed like she might've been, hacking away at the ball of beef with no rhythm whatsoever. Or was chaos her secret weapon? This one would be a beauty by the time it was fully dressed and the addition of grilled onion most certainly didn't hurt. The salty melted cheddar oozing into a crispy beef patty was mouth watering upon arrival and had me in love upon finishing it. A meat treat indeed. Nice call by swside.


Double Cheeseburger
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Green Gables has been a personal favorite since '13 - one of my favorite burgers in the state.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3635&hilit=green+gables&start=90

glad I got to make one of my visits to Green Gable with Dabeef along for the ride & it made the cut for one of the good ones.

Great spread! But I gotta ask - did you accumulate these photos and descriptions over an extended period (months or longer), or did you set out to spend a week or two going to one burger place after another after another?

Another great Da beef report. The perfect thread to read around dinnertime. I like the Workingman's Friend callout too. That's a true old-school classic place I'm proud to have in my home town of Indy.

Fantastic report! As my favorite style, I'd also like to find burgers like this in the city.

Davooda wrote:Beef - allow me to suggest you add The Winery to your list. A Millikin University haunt for nearly as long as the institution has been around, the ancient flattop was not changed out during a recent top to bottom renovation because of the flavor it imparts. Single, double, or triple with cheese - heaven on a bun with a cheap draft (or two). And, like the Billy Goat - NO FRIES...chips!

Winery was on my list but I wont be required to be back down that way until the Fall and I wanted to get this up over the summer. Looking forward to my visit.

Commbrkdwn wrote:Can not thank you enough for this. Wondering where you'd rank/place the Red Hot Ranch burger along with these.

It's the closest to this style that you will find in Chicagoland, to my knowledge anyway. Even more so than Schoop's which serves a much bigger, and double the price product than these spots featured. I've had some very good smashed crispy burgers at Redhot Ranch but I tend to get them the Redhot Ranch way, sauce and all. If you just got mustard, onion, and pickle it would be darn close to some of these spots. Of course alot of it comes down to the person on the flattop and their ability to smash until crispy.

David Hammond wrote:Curious about the prohibition against lettuce and tomato/allowance for ketchup, but that's a very small point in this collection of many excellent points and insights about this style of burger which I feel I now must eat many more of. Superb, Titus.

Most all of the spots featured only put mustard, onion, pickle, and maybe ketchup on their burgers when ordered with everything. But when I said everything at Mike's it came served as if it was a "deluxe" burger and it just didn't taste right. The lettuce and tomato take away some of the crispness in each bite and also the overall flavor profile which is beef/bun/mustard/onion/pickle mixed into one. As far as kethcup, thats just my personal preference as I don't even use it on fries. But I don't want to come off as an enforcer of no ketchup on a hamburger. Hot dogs are a different story.

nsxtasy wrote:Great spread! But I gotta ask - did you accumulate these photos and descriptions over an extended period (months or longer), or did you set out to spend a week or two going to one burger place after another after another?

It was a project. I was down that way for work here and there and started mapping out spots and would sometimes hit two in a day and other times just one. At least 8 months in the making, and longer if you take into account that two of the stops (Sunrise Cafe and Burger King) were visited years before I even thought about this being a regional burger style unknown to most of the state. Glad everyone enjoyed it, I know I did. haha.

I'm dead. Fucking dead, reading this in burger-barren India. Bravo.

Weird, my Google Maps now has a bunch of gold stars in the middle of Illinois...

Awesome post!

Da Beef wrote:I've had some very good smashed crispy burgers at Redhot Ranch

I've never had any of the burgers in Da Beef's amazing array of Central Illinois burgers, but agree Redhot Ranch Ashland seems to fit the bill.

Redhot Ranch Ashland

Da Beef wrote:but I tend to get them the Redhot Ranch way, sauce and all.

As do I, typically with a terrific natural casing double dog and crisp fries.

Redhot Ranch Ashland

An obvious one not on here is Cozy Dog on Route 66 in Springfield. But I have to say, I wasn't that impressed with the burger, nor was my girlfriend with their famous corn dogs.

Wow! Nice post...thanks

Thanks, man. I drive down 57 quite a bit and never saw much use in that crappy highway with limited exceptions in C-U and the far southern end of the state. I'm not seeing beer at any of these places, possibly making this genre inferior to the Cheesehead state's burger scene...

JeffB wrote:Thanks, man. I drive down 57 quite a bit and never saw much use in that crappy highway with limited exceptions in C-U...

There isn't much between here and C-U, but give Martinez Taco Store in Kankakee a try.

Da Beef wrote:Just Hamburgers


Paxton, IL

This little nondescript spot is found about an hour and 45 minutes south of Chicago off I-57.

You sure about that? Looking at the map it looks like its about 45 minutes south of Kanakakee which would put it in the 1.5 hours south of Chicago territory.

shakes wrote:

Da Beef wrote:Just Hamburgers


Paxton, IL

This little nondescript spot is found about an hour and 45 minutes south of Chicago off I-57.

You sure about that? Looking at the map it looks like its about 45 minutes south of Kanakakee which would put it in the 1.5 hours south of Chicago territory.

Isn't that basically what he said? ". . . an hour and 45 minutes south of Chicago . . ."

=R=

Guess 5 mins +/- further is a a deal breaker for some.

Also pretty sure in the OP, Green Gables and it's bartender being the one slinging the burgers was cited. GG has beer, no hard liquor. Another spot west if here(between. Bloomington & Peoria ), Haynes on Main in Mackinaw, Il. does smash burgers, with special sauce. Pretty sure I've written about them here somewhere. If not, Google them.

apparently I can't read. Could've sworn he said 45 minutes and then when I copied it into my post I still only saw it as 45 minutes.

For reference, I also suck at those pictures at the mall where there's a sail boat hidden in the dots.

That's a color-blindness test. Might wanna get that checked out...

Buddy

My favorite style of burger for sure - Not a big fan of a behemoth burger maybe more than once or twice a year - smash burgers are an almost daily crave.

Mentioned Haynes on Main upthread - over in Mackinaw, IL. maybe 30 mins se from peoria on the way to Bloomingtons.,



Like Green Gables upthread - this place serves beer - even shots(which Green Gables does not) -

At $7 for a single with choice of cheese and basic ingredients its on the high end of the smash burgers around - ill gladly pay a little more to enjoy this burger at a bar understanding they have a little more overhead than a carryout spot(which I enjoy as well) -

Beef from the local IGA - I went basic - Haynes sauce, pickles, onion, american cheese -



looks good right? it was. once I picked it up I took gander at the other side ... damnn..

lacy..



Granted this was the 1st bite of the day on this cruise down to Peoria, but man this was a fine burger.

Haynes on Main
108 S. Main Street
Mackinaw, IL.