Popular Claim Company brings gold mine of a menu to Vernon Hills

The popular Chicagoland hangout The Claim Company has arrived in Vernon Hills, attached to Hawthorn Mall. It brings with it the same lightly mining-themed menu and decor repeat customers at the Northbrook Court location have come to expect, including DIY burgers and salads and standard American fare like pot roast and barbecue. The restaurant has a full bar and a few martini and margarita specialties. My husband and I had dinner there recently, and we saw all types of customers come through - from families with kids to teenagers spending time at the mall to sports fans entranced by the many televisions spread around the restaurant.

For our appetizer, we had the pretzel bites with honey Dijon sauce and Merkts cheese sauce on the side. Fans of cheesy pretzel bites will enjoy this - there wasn't an overwhelming amount of salt on the pretzels, which were delightfully chewy and fresh, and the cheese sauce was the standard Merkts delicious. We didn't care for the honey Dijon sauce, though; it was a little on the sour side and a bit greasy.

For dinner, I had the pot roast sliders (three mini pot roast sandwiches with crispy onion straws on them) and the Claim Company chips. The order came with au jus on the side, and it was definitely worth having. On their own, the sliders are a little dry with a slightly spicy kick from the onions. The au jus brought all the flavors together and added a juicy punch that drew me in. I also enjoyed the chips; sometimes homemade chips can be needlessly greasy, but these were cooked to a perfect crispiness. And don't think you won't be full after just these three small sliders. They had an ample amount of meat, and I could hardly finish my plate.

My husband built his own burger for dinner. Five signature preselected versions are available, but building it yourself gets you a choice of six burger types, seven breads, eight cheeses, 12 toppings and five sauces. He decided on a beef burger (known on the menu as The Original Motherlode) with sautéed onions, sautéed mushrooms, bacon and aged cheddar on a pretzel bun with the herb garlic mayo. We were pleasantly surprised when it arrived - it was big and juicy and cooked to a perfect medium, just as ordered. He got it with what appeared to be hand-cut fries. They were perfect for dipping in the herb garlic mayo; the sauce was too tangy and delicious to be relegated to just the burger though. So we also used it on leftover pretzel bites and some of my chips.

For dessert, I chose the flourless chocolate cake dessert shot. The other options are carrot cake, hot fudge sundae or candy bar sundae with one candy choice from Heath Bars, Snickers, M&M's or Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. My addiction to flourless chocolate cake now has a new outlet. It was only served in a shot glass - perfect for people like me who were too full from dinner, or someone who just wants a taste - but that small package was full of flavor. The cake itself was dense and rich with the characteristic bitterness of a good dark chocolate. Be careful if you eat it all in one bite, though. It comes with a berry sauce that, while delicious, was molten hot and burned my tongue. But in my opinion ... totally worth it.

<i>Restaurant reviews are based on one anonymous visit. The Daily Herald does not publish reviews of restaurants it cannot recommend.</i>