DMK gives burger lovers plenty to smile about

If you're jones'n for a burger, you can get your fix at plenty of counter-service and drive-through joints around the suburbs. But if it's a burger experience you want, one without super-sized meals and plastic trays, head to DMK Burger Bar in Lombard.

The West suburban outpost of this acclaimed Chicago eatery (it's received props from national press including Bon Appetit) opened in the late summer where malldoms merge near the Lombard/Oak Brook border. Here celebrated chef Michael Kornick trades the baby octopus and heirloom cauliflower touted on the menu at his elegant mk restaurant near the Loop for dill pickles and barbecue sauce.

Yet his burgers and burger-friendly fare are no less mouthwatering and the service no less friendly and attentive.

The menu is straightforward, listing 14 burgers that you order by the number. Nine are beef-based, grass-fed beef, to be exact; the others range from lamb to salmon to the house-made veggie and grain patty. The buns, fresh-baked daily, have enough heft to support the patty, yet are light enough to let the burger remain the star of the show.

The menu is a la carte, so even though a bullet point states that every burger is $8, don't expect to walk out for much less than $20 a person, especially if you're tempted, as we were, by the homemade shakes and ice cream sandwiches. The triple-decker Big DMK costs $11 and you can double up the patties on the other burgers for $3 more.

You can start your meal with chili-rubbed onion straws served with homemade ketchup or bulk up on roughage with an impressive wedge salad sprinkled with crisp bacon, scallions, tomatoes and hard-boiled eggs and cloaked in luscious blue cheese dressing. The menu also offers fried okra and dill pickles with herbaceous ranch and deviled eggs (can't remember the last time I've seen those on a menu!) as a diversion before heading to the burgers and fries.

DMK serves well-portioned patties — nothing so thick that you can't get your mouth around it and end up leaving half of it on the plate. Plus, with the singular patty you've got plenty of room for the fries, which I'll get to in a moment.

The No. 1 burger claims that menu spot for a reason. With smoked bacon, red onions that have been brushed with balsamic vinegar, bold aged cheddar and artisan barbecue sauce, it was the top dog at our table, narrowly edging past the dreamy goat cheese-draped bison burger with spunky pickled onions and blueberry spiked barbecue sauce.

The Patty Melt is a solid interpretation of this burger house fave kicked up with a Louisiana-style mayo. The turkey burger was the weakest of the four we sampled. The Dijon-infused mayo had promise but was overpowered by the smokey Swiss cheese.

The hand-cut russet fries come in generous shareable portions or smaller sizes if you want to sample more than one, which you will want to do. The sweet potato fries get a huge thumbs-up, especially when dredged though the mildly hot lemony sauce. The fries flecked with Parmesan and drizzled with truffled cream are killer good, though next time we've pledged to try the Amish blue and bacon fries.

We passed on the grilled cheese and mac and cheese, though had we had kids in tow I think at least one of these (most likely grilled cheddar sans the roasted green chiles) would have found their way to the table.

Even on a Sunday evening the place drew a nice crowd. DMK Burger Bar doesn't take reservations, but it's also not the type of place where diners spend two hours at the table, so a long wait isn't predicted. And you might even find yourself wanting to linger at the bar so you can order another Daisy Cutter beer or try a seasonal cocktail.

Ÿ Restaurant reviews are based on one anonymous visit. The Daily Herald does not review restaurants it cannot recommend.

DMK Burger Bar

2370 Fountain Square Drive, Lombard, (630) 705-9020, <a href="http://dmkburgerbar.com">dmkburgerbar.com</a>

<b>Cuisine: </b>Unique burger combos

<b>Setting: </b>Upbeat urban with brick walls and tin ceiling

<b>Burgers: </b>$8 to $11

<b>Hours: </b>11 a.m. to midnight Monday through Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. to midnight Thursday through Sunday