Acorn on Oak

The place was filled with Chicago luminaries, in its day, as attested by others reviewing. Alas, it's closed now, but yes, it did have the tremendously good Acorn Burger, perfectly seasoned and thick and juicy.  This particular area of the Gold Coast was known for good burgers, what with Hamburger Hamlet right around the corner, and several other "joints" trying to make the claim.

But Acorn on Oak did have the best -- cooked to order, even a medium-rare if you desired.  The fries were whole-cut and not greasy, and nothing was quite over-salted, but there was indeed plenty of sodium in everything, as if to induce you to enjoy an ice cold beer from the bar.  In those days I could somehow eat a whole Acorn Burger and still have room for at least 2 beers in frosty mugs, but now I'm not quite sure how I fit it all in.  :-)

Service was always good -- the place wasn't large, but it did have its cast of characters.  There were the media types from the Tribune and Sun Times, including one nationally-famous movie critic whom I spotted there on two occasions.

There were the legislators, but I think they were more sparse.  Mostly it was the locals -- the folks who lived in this Gold Cost area, and a bunch of guys who lived on the Magnificent Mile would make the short walk down Lake Shore Drive and round the corner to stop in.  It was the kind of place where you could spend several hours, arriving as early as mid-morning, when the place was often "open" a bit before its posted hours.

In the winter time, it was a nice, dark corner in which to hole up for the warmth of a drink or two, and some conversation.  You didn't need to know anybody there to join the conversation; you just had to be not stupid.  Chicago is a place where we love to give (and sometimes hear) opinions, and Acorn on Oak was a place where this would happen.

The occasional tourist would walk in, and they would stand out from the locals, but the place loved it -- A on O had gained a secret-clubbish cult following and the word was out about the burgers, especially.  So you might well see a suburban family, replete with a pair of teenagers, stopping in for a mid-afternoon lunch or early-supper amid a day of museums, biking, or whizzing to the top of the Hancock Tower.  The place wasn't killer-expensive, although not cheap by any means, but reasonable enough, and just enough of a rare-find to justify dining here versus the many other options they had -- Acorn on Oak gave them something to talk about, and the feeling that they knew something about Chicago others didn't.  And that's a feeling we all love, yes?

I thought of the place again today because I had just walked by the other day with a friend. He and I started swapping stories about the old joint.  We miss ya, Acorn on Oak.

Piano bar, white table clothes & napkins. Old school Pump Room waiters... Andy Warhol took me here for a burger & cocktail! Absolutely hands down the best burger in the world!!!!!! And the characters that frequented the joint--WOW!! No one but the in-crowd knew about this spot. Thats when Rush Street was the real deal Holyfield! LOVED IT!!!

Acorn on Oak closed many, many years ago.  I never saw Acorn on Oak in my lifetime, but my mother assures me I ate many an Acorn Burger in the womb.  The restaurant is dead, but the burger lives on at the Oak Tree in 900 N. Michigan.