Weekend Special : Meatheads Burger & Fries

After working 5 hours at the lab (7 AM on a Saturday!) Yanfen decided we should take a lunch break! This time we went a bit off campus to go to Meatheads, a burger and fries place that opened recently. The outside is very modern looking, and sort of gives off a Chipotle vibe.

As soon as you walk in, there is a big board (again like Chipotle) that has different kinds of burger sizes (or a New England style hot dog...) and a 'build-your-own' topping and sauce guide. If you aren't feeling very creative you can get a 'chef-inspired' burger such as 'cajun sunrise' or 'NY reuben'. Tiffany got a 1/3 pound make your own burger ( lettuce, onions, pepperjack cheese, jalapenos, mayo, ketchup, A1 sauce and red peppers) while Yanfen got the 'Hawaiian' (1/3 pounds with pepperjack cheese, bacon, bacon ranch, lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions). We also shared some chiptole fries.

At the counter they had temporary tattoos, for 'family fun!' (according to the guy behind the counter)

The inside decor is pretty nice and relaxed, with black and white photos of old UIUC football games or buildings. They even have last year's football games scores hand written on a board. They also had one of those awesome new digital soda fountains where you can mix the most disgusting flavor sodas to your heart's content. The place was pretty busy, with what looked like many local people as well as a high school sport's team (they all had the same shirt).

Salt and pepper grinders!

You sit where you want and put the number at your table. We picked a hidden seating area so I'm surprised that the server found us!

There was a counter of different sauces, including ketchapeno, malt vinegar, A1 steak sauce and a chipotle ketchup.

Now let's see how the food fared...

Yanfen's Hawaiian 

Tiffany's random burger with the chipotle fries

Another view of the burger!

Tiffany accidentally poured all the A1 sauce to one side, making a messy burger! It fell apart as she ate it and was really messy!

Making a mess!

Good thing Yanfen had some buffalo wild wing wipes...

 

When we were done eating, we didn't know what we were suppose to do. We couldn't figure out if this counted as a sit down restaurant so we just sat there.. and waited for other people to finish...We were saved from embarrassment when a server saw that we were finished came to clear our table. We still don't know what the actual etiquette is...

When we were done, Yanfen did some more work in the lab, and we decided to put on the temporary tattoos!

Guess which arm is whose!

Final Review

Environment - 9/10

The decor was pretty nice, everything was extremely clean, and everything was stocked up (salt, napkins etc.) at the table and the servers were very helpful and kept asking us if everything's okay and if we needed anything.

The restaurant had two sitting areas, one area is a bit more secluded than the other. It would be a good place for a casual date or a place to hang out with friends!

Make your own burger - Tiffany

The first messy bite!

Taste: 5/10 Fullness: 9/10
Unfortunately for me, this burger wasn't the best tasting one I've ever had. They give you 2-3 patties ( I can't tell) of good beef (definitely not Mcdonalds!). I kind of wish that it was just one giant patty because then it wouldn't fall apart as much, and I think it wouldn't be as dry/soaked in oil.

On the other hand, they weren't stingy with the toppings and in fact, about half of my peppers were in the basket! I really liked the cheese, it was gooey and covered the whole burger.

The fries were only so-so for me; personally I thought they were kind of dry and the seasoning taste exactly like Red Robin's seasoning with an extra heap of salt. The table next to us got unseasoned fries and they looked a lot thicker, so maybe I'll try that one next time.

Waaay to much oil!

I also decided to try the soda machine, and ended up with the nastiest flavor of soda in the history of the world ( I'm pretty good at making nasty flavors). Of course this isn't the fault of the restaurant so I'll just rate my drink picking skills a 1/10 (for those curious is was a diet coke with raspberry and tasted as if you took diet coke and mixed it with a raspberry smirnoff, and decided to make undrinkable).

Price: 7/10
The price wasn't too bad, especially after eating a $4 deep fried twinkie..

Chef Inspired- Hawaiin - Yanfen

Taste: 7/10
 I knew I was taking a gamble getting this burger. Who has heard of a burger with pineapples, bacon, and jalapeños? The burger was actually better than I thought it would be. The pineapple added a sweat taste which was unexpected for a burger, but it was really good! The jalapeños were very fresh and the seeds were not taken out so it was way too spicy for me.

I loved the fries! I've never been to Red Robin but I loved the cajun spice.

Fullness: 7/10
I was pretty full after the meal but I could've eaten more given the chance.


Price: 7/10
The price wasn't too bad since my burger was only $6.50 but fries and drink were extra!

 

Price Check

Day 4:

Tiffany: ~$17.50 (We forgot the receipt..)
Yanfen: $0 (Thanks Tiffany!)

Overall:
Tiffany: $33.5
Yanfen: $40.2