1021 West Armitage Avenue, Chicago IL 60614
Phone: 773.697.3735
Fax: 773.697.3739
Open from 7:30AM-9PM Mondays, 7:30-10PM Tue-Thurs, 7:30AM-12AM Friday, 8AM-12AM Saturday
Chef/Owner Allen Sternweiler
Allen Sternweiler has spent the past several decades in Chicago earning a reputation as a world-class, dedicated chef with an exceptional talent for game meats, in addition to a well-rounded repertoire of market-driven American cuisine with European influences.
After graduating from Johnson & Wales College with an associates degree in culinary arts, Sternweiler joined the team at Chicago’s Printer’s Row Restaurant, working his way from line cook to chef de cuisine/restaurant manager and earning the restaurant a three-star review from the Chicago Tribune. In 1996, Sternweiler received distinction as one of the country’s leading culinary talents when he was appointed executive chef at Harvest on Huron, where he was recognized as one of the country’s top wild game chefs by Wine Spectator magazine in 1997 and again commanded a three-star nod from Chicago Tribune’s dining critics. After a six-year tenure at the beloved Chicago dining destination, Sternweiler transformed the restaurant into Allen’s New American Café, where he continued to garner critical acclaim – including yet another three-star review from the Chicago Tribune and the award as “Favorite Chicago Chef” from the newspaper’s 2002 readers poll – and a tremendously loyal following from Chicagoans and visitors to the city alike.
At Butcher & the Burger, Sternweiler brings a long-time dream to fruition, offering Chicagoans an innovative dining concept that marries a butcher shop and made-to-order burger counter, featuring prime cuts of locally sourced meats and an assortment of all-natural signature seasoning blends.
ABOUT:
Butcher & the Burger is like nothing you’ve seen before…at least not under one roof. While a neighborhood burger counter at heart, It’s also a dash of old fashion butcher shop with a pinch of culinary artistry mixed in. Butcher & the Burger is the newest offering from acclaimed Chicago chef Al Sternweiler and business partner Josh Woodward.
With our vintage meat-locker stocked with only the highest quality beef, seafood, fowl, pork and game in town, B&B steps away from the typical burger guys. We offer specialties like grass-fed beef; fresh salmon, shrimp, house raised pork and seasonal game such as boar, venison, bison, elk, and ostrich. Our house favorites like prime angus burger and cube steaks and home-made vegan burgers are just a hint of what you’ll find in our shop. Want to put in an order for some special steak cuts, order your organic Thanksgiving turkey or pick up a suckling pig for a summer roast? Just stop in and we’ll be pleased to fill your order.
While burgers are mostly what we’re serving in-house, you can pick a protein from the butcher case and take home patties, meatballs or loafs. Grab some fresh ground patties for a cook-out, some meatballs and marinara to add to your pasta at home or a house-made meatloaf all ready to pop in the oven for a quick and hearty meal.
But back to the burgers, because we love our burgers. Once you select your protein, you can have it simply prepared with salt and pepper, or you can choose from our house-blended, all natural seasoning mixes and watch as our butcher blends it, patties it and tosses it onto our char broiler, proudly made right here in Chicago by Emberglo; the healthier way to cook a burger.
Top it off with a locally made artisanal cheese or one of the standards. Add your toppings from a long list including lettuce, tomato, raw onion, griddled onion, mayo, wasabi mayo, pickle chips, ketchup, yellow mustard, Dijon mustard, BBQ sauce, American cheese, cheddar, mozzarella, Swiss, blue, or chevre (at no added charge), or add any of our fine extras such as Benton’s Tennessee mountain smoked bacon, fried egg, avocado, black truffle aioli or foie gras. Choose your bun from wheat, pretzel, brioche, or croissant—especially for breakfast!
And whoever thinks burgers aren’t a breakfast food is about to learn a thing or two. Butcher & the Burger will open bright and early, offering the best coffee program in the neighborhood, serving Café du Monde beignets and a selection of breakfast burgers that will start your day off right. Try a natural turkey patty with a farm fresh egg sitting proud on a butter croissant, a side of Benton’s bacon and fresh cup of Café du Monde coffee—a rich blend of dark roast coffee and chicory that’s been a tradition in New Orleans for over 200 years. We’ll make café au lait like the French but we’ll also be serving café con leche, coladas, and cortoditos the authentic Cuban way. If you don’t know what that means yet, we guarantee you are in for a real treat, possibly even an addiction.
And what kind of burger joint would be complete without a selection of home made frozen custard? We’ll be making our own specialty flavors daily and serving them up in the shop, or packing up a pint or two for you to take home. Sure we’ll have the classics, but since we really are about the culinary arts, don’t be surprised to find Chef Al putting out very limited edition flavors like vanilla-curry, smoked bacon brittle, or sweet and salty espresso bean, follow us on twitter, cause when these guy come out of the freezer, they’ll be gone just about as fast as we can let you know they’re in.
Since we believe that the more you know about the sources of the foods you consume, the better you will eat- we are offering regular classes on all sorts of great things culinary. Every program will include a very special meal related to the class; making Monday nights a great time to step out of your ordinary dining routine. All classes are BYOB, and we’ll offer up pairing suggestions to our attendees. We’ll also be working with our good friend Christopher Donovan, of House of Glunz, to create some very special wine, beer, & spirits pairings. Our opening course schedule will teach you how to butcher a side of beef (plus you’ll leave with one of our vintage B&B coolers packed with prime cuts); a meatloaf workshop, chili school, “Cooking Right for Kids”, Chef Govind Armstrong’s surf & turf and organic Christmas dinner demonstrations, Chef Al Sternweiler’s frikadellen course, and many more. Classes will be small and intimate, often limited to 10, so check our website when registration opens, cause spots will fill up quick.
By now, you might get the idea that Butcher & the Burger isn’t just another burger shop. While the love of burgers brought us together, our vision is to bring the neighborhood a truly special place where foodies and the uninitiated alike can stop in and always find something special in store. We’ll be opening up in August and we look forward to serving you then!