Meatheads Burgers and Fries: A carnivorous delight
In August 2008, while we were all busy watching the Olympics and could have really cared less, the Blockbuster Video at 1305 S. Neil St. closed its doors. For the next three years the building stood vacant, listed “for sale or for lease,” but without any takers. You may have driven past it, just north of Kirby, its blue-and-yellow marquee still intact, moldering in decay. It was starting to seem as if the building would just remain in that state, commerce free, until the prairies returned to swallow it up.
Fortunately, last fall, the building at 1305 S. Neil was spared that awful fate, when the Chicago-based hamburger chain Meatheads bought and remodeled the property, and turned a ramshackle business with old carpets, dirty windows, and a defining lack of character into a sleek and inviting new restaurant.
Now that Meatheads is open, some of you may be thinking: Why do we need another burger place in Champaign-Urbana? With Farren’s, the Esquire, Crane Alley, Black Dog, and several other local eateries serving up fine hamburgers, what’s the point? If you are thinking along those lines, a trip to Meatheads should change your mind.
On my recent visit to the Champaign location (the chain’s seventh, including two in Bloomington-Normal and four in the Chicago suburbs), I ordered a burger with roasted red peppers, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, pepper jack cheese, and bleu cheese sauce (these are only a small sampling of the available accoutrement), and it elevated my spirits (and blood sugar) into a state of mild euphoria. The combination of toppings complemented each other well and brought out subtle flavors in the meat, and I found that the just-about-perfect fries were paradoxically both ruined and improved by a deluge of malt vinegar. It was tremendous.
Pictured: not what Ryan ordered
In addition to burgers and fries, Meatheads also offers various styles of hot dogs and hand-dipped shakes (menu). The soda company of choice is Coca-Cola, which may prove disappointing for some folks. But few people will be disappointed by Meatheads’ snazzy soda fountain, which allows you to add flavor syrups with the push of a button. My choice, Cherry Sprite, functioned as a sort of madeleine, taking me back to the days when I was a little boy and Mom would use a glass of it (and Ritz crackers) as a cure-all for my upset stomach.
But I’m getting offtrack here. Meatheads. The quality of Meatheads’ food is only enhanced by the aesthetics of the restaurant. The building itself has a clean, modern design, with large windows allowing for a pleasant amount of natural light. The interior decor is hyper-local, not only featuring blown-up photographs of the Virginia Theatre marquee and other C-U treasures, but also dedicating one wall to the seasonal sports schedules of Champaign-Urbana high schools. And if that’s not enough to get you in the door, know that the booths in this place are gigantic, and could easily fit a Little League baseball team or a Catholic family circa 1954.
Featuring quality beef, crispy, hand-cut fries (with malt vinegar!), and a flavorful assortment of burger toppings, Meatheads is a welcome addition to the local restaurant landscape, and it is the best burger chain in Central Illinois. Some of you may find that statement to be a form of blasphemy, living as we do in the Land of the Takhomasak, but it’s true.
Location:
1305 S. Neil St.
(Northwest corner of Hessel Blvd. & Neil St.)
(217) 352-5555
Website
Hours:
Sunday–Thursday, 11:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
Friday–Saturday, 11:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m.
A meal at Meatheads, including a burger, fries, and a drink, costs around $8.00–9.00. The restaurant is semi-service.
~~*~~
All photos by Justine Bursoni
17 comments
William
Look for these exciting, upcoming articles:
Cold Stone Creamery - Best Ice Cream Chain in Central Illinois!
Potbelly’s - Best Sandwich Chain in Central Illinois!
William
Oh, the correct answer is Krekel’s.
Charles
@William
Kind of comedically and tragically reminiscent of this: http://www.theonion.com/articles/olive-garden-voted-best-italian-restaurant-in-annu,3256/
FWIW
i’ve eaten at meatheads twice now and its really good. thats just a fact.
but william, the author stated that meatheads is the best burger “chain” in central illinois. not the best overall. not anything else. that is a very fair argument to make.
god forbid someone open a restaurant in champaign and employ people and help generate some more economic development.
it might help if you were able to read before you start making innocuous claims about the review in question.
peace
Meatheads is the Lana Del Rey of local burger chains.
An article with the word “accoutrement,” but also “could care less.” Huh.
I tried going there for lunch today, but couldn’t. No parking. While that’s a nice problem for a restaurant to have, that may cause some people not to try a 2nd or 3rd time.
@6. As his editor, I take full responsibility for that. Damn it.
The burger I had when I went there was delicious, no doubt. Downside is there’s no combo for burgers + fries, but that’s not worth having a fuss over.
I believe when I went it cost about 23 dollars for 2 meals (including drinks)—so not terrible, but not a bargain by any stretch of the imagination.
I left that place so damn full though.
William
@ FWIW
Krekel’s is a chain.
It might help if you fact check your responses before . . .
champaignsupernova
@William - Krekel’s was a colossal disappointment when I had it last summer. Poor consistency and flavor profile in comparison to the depth of Jarling’s. To each their own!
@JohnSteinbacher - your LDR/Meatheads comparison was spot on!
C-U Later
Unfortunately i did not have the same experiences that some of you may have had. I went to meatheads the 2nd or 3rd night it was open and I was very disappointed. My burger was cold and soggy. I ordered one of their specialty burgers. A spicy one with jalapeños. My burger was not spicy and I believe ingredients were missing. The Fries weren’t very good either. What puts the nail in the coffin is the price. The meat in the burgers is as thin as a credit card and flavorless. I will not be a returning customer.
That seems like an odd experience to me. Basically everything you mentioned, apart from price, is contrary to what I’ve witnessed or heard about. You ate at the restaurant and the burger was cold? Seems more like the complaint of someone who took something home. And if there were ingredients missing, did you mention it to anyone? They forgot to put jalepeños on our chili fries one of the two times I’ve been, and when I walked up to the service area to mention it, someone immediately asked if there was a problem and then apologized and said they’d bring it right back out. And there were folks roaming around asking how everything was and if we needed anything. If anything, they were a little TOO courteous.
As far as patty size goes, I can’t say I had anything close to “credit-card thin.” Nor even “Steak ‘n Shake thin.” Seemed fine to me, actually. And you can add a patty for a dollar or so.
The price isn’t cheap, sure—but I didn’t find anything to be outrageous. It’s about what I expected when I was told it was similar to Five Guys. I think the place will continue to do well since it’s pretty quick on the service end, and is in a decent location. I’ve been on more of a burger kick than usual lately, and have found myself pulled towards Farren’s, Crane, and even Dublin in the last month. They’re obviously going to be superior, but Meatheads was a perfectly fine experience in my two trips.
Q-Tips
The second visit to Meatheads included what tasted like a stale bun. That’s the end of going to Meatheads for a while.
C-U Later
Im fine with missing ingredients and of course they fixed things what restaurant fights with the customer over things like that anymore. ( the way social media could affect them) My problem is that I am visiting you place of business within the first week of opening. missing ingredients maybe… cold and soggy.. HELL NO. There is no excuse. And are you kidding me? The patties at steak and shake are much bigger but forget chain stores. the places Mike mentions im sure have larger meatier patties. Meatheads is no substitute.
Allison
As a vegetarian, I actually enjoyed Meatheads! Got the only sammich w/o meat - the grilled cheese - with 3 kinds of cheese and avacado. Yum. And the cheese sauce for the fries is *really* delish. Not cheap, but even I enjoyed. it.
Yaya
Took us 3 different visits to get parking to try Meatheads. I’ll definitely go back again. Someone had told me the burgers were S&S thin, but ours were for sure thick enough to have some juice. Went with the traditional toppings and really enjoyed my sandwich. Love fresh cut fries and one order was plenty for two to share. The new Coke machines are a fun novelty - even if you’re a kid in your 50’s. Not a Farren’s burger, but then I didn’t expect it to be.
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The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!
Snell and the little Hitlers of the neighborhood association need to chill out. Legitimate businesses should have the freedom to exist without having to endure the slings and arrows of ignorant and misguided opposition.
represent, Matt.
Yeah, I’d agree that Transporter Room 3 is the worst house venue I’ve ever seen.
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@Dan - Wow. Unfortunately, I have to refrain from further comment due to a previous employment relationship. But with that brief context you might be able to imagine possible comments or responses I could have.
Oh, by the way, the “Champaign County YMCA” no longer exists. The official name is now the “Stephens Family YMCA” (the website has not been updated, but check out the latest program guide). And no, it’s not just the name of the building. It’s the name of the organization.
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