Au Cheval

The Bacon & Egg Single Cheeseburger

Au Cheval popped up on my radar in the late 2010's when I was scoping out some restaurants in Chicago.  By that time, it was well known as one of the best burgers in Chicago and made a big enough splash that people would put it up against the national landscape of burgers.  I wasn't aware that when I first stumbled upon it, they were nearly ready to open their second location in NYC (it opened sometime in 2019).  So you can imagine how excited I was to try this place for the first time when we moved to the city.

In case you couldn't see in the photo, there's a couple of things that make this burger stand out. Bacon and an egg. Does that mean this burger is a breakfast burger? No - let me explain.  When you hear "Bacon", besides salivating, you probably start to think of the bacon you picked up at the grocery store the other week.  Something in a thin package that had words like "Smoked" or "Thick Cut" on the packaging.  Well, throw that image out the window. What I'm about to describe to you is in an entirely different league.

Next time I go to Au Cheval, I'm bringing a tape measure, because I'm pretty sure this bacon is somewhere between one-quarter to one-third of an inch thick.  That might sound like overkill, but the reality is this bacon probably doesn't even need to be chewed. I don't know how they cook it, but it seems to melt and fall apart in your mouth all at the same time - releasing a sweet & savory bacon like you've never tasted before.  Look, everyone loves bacon.  This will turn everything you know about bacon on its head. So stop worrying if this will taste like breakfast. 

With the bacon situation cleared up, there's really not much else to say except the egg only makes this more rich (and adds protein so you can lie to yourself that this is a relatively healthy choice).  You'll also want to know that the "single" burgers actually have two patties, so if you are insane enough to order a "double", you'll actually be getting three patties and you'll probably fall into your food coma before you pay the bill.

So - verdict on the burger? And no, I'm not going to talk about any other items on the menu here because there's no sense in getting anything but the burger here (you can get a side of fries and a house-made root beer if you want - and they're good - but I have a hard time paying that much for them).  So, this is probably the best burger I've ever had.  Everything was so flavorful and just looking at pictures of it makes me want to make a reservation ASAP.  Having said that, I had this place so built up in my mind that I was half expecting to shed a tear upon taking my first bite of this burger (it's happened with other things like the chocolate mochi XLB at Din Tai Fung).  Well I'm here to report that I did not cry.  Not that crying is the determining factor of flavor, but what I'm getting at is this burger isn't life changing.  Is it delicious? Absolutely. Will it be the best burger you've ever had? I'd imagine for most people it will be.  Just go into this meal expecting a good burger, and you'll be extremely satisfied.  Just make sure to plan ahead a bit because it can fill up with reservations in advance.