Epic Burger

David Friedman opened Epic Burger in Chicago in 2008. The burgers are smashed patties of Creekstone Farms Black Angus beef on Turano brioche buns, and the chicken is all-natural and halal. In 2020 David Grossman bought a majority stake and became chief executive.

In 2023 Epic Burger bought what was left of a rival, Meatheads Burgers & Fries, a chain from Bloomington, Illinois, that had once had seventeen restaurants and had gone bankrupt in 2021. The Meatheads sites were converted one by one, starting in Northbrook and Naperville. Today Epic has about ten restaurants around Chicago.

The menu is short and Chicago-flavoured: smashed single, double and triple burgers with aged cheddar and the house Epic sauce, a patty melt with giardiniera, a honey hot chicken sandwich and a Vienna Beef hot dog dressed with mustard, tomato, pickle, onion and giardiniera. Calories are listed for most items.

About ten restaurants in Chicago and its suburbs.

• Whataburger (United States, since 1950). A Texas institution with a burger too big for one hand. Also built on beef, cooked onions, cheese and a double stack.
• Habit Burger & Grill (United States, since 1969). The chargrilled burger Consumer Reports once called the best in America. Also built on beef, cooked onions, cheese and a double stack.
• A&W Restaurants (United States, since 1919). America’s oldest drive-in chain, and the burger that lost to bad maths. Also built on beef, cheese and a double stack.
• Elevation Burger (United States, since 2005). The Virginia chain that called itself the first organic burger joint, with fries cooked in olive oil. Also built on beef, cheese and a double stack.