February 2014 – I don’t remember which location we went to, Chicago, USA
There’s apparently 5 Kuma’s locations in Chicago. I’m not sure which one we went to, but I feel like it was “the original” on Belmont Ave. I’m not sure what I’m basing that on. There was a lineup and about an hour wait to get in. We were really hungry so we put our names on the list and then went across the street and had nachos while we waited. Oddly I remember more about the nachos than about the burger I had at Kuma’s, so I guess I didn’t think it was as great as everyone else does.
This was pre Untappd, and I’m not one to take pictures of my food, so I have nothing to show from the restaurant. Here is a picture of me in Chicago instead.
We had the good fortune of being in Chicago during a Polar Vortex, so instead of the usual low of -4 Celsius it was around -25 every day. Not ideal for sightseeing.
We were in town to see Manowar, and that didn’t go smoothly either. The roof of the venue collapsed the morning of the show, and they had to move it to a new venue last minute. I guess they didn’t get the note about having the roof nailed down. 🙄 My apologies to anyone who got that reference.
We had to wait in line for nearly 2 hours to get into the show and, as mentioned, it was beyond freezing. The show in Detroit the previous night had been cancelled (we all know how much Manowar love cancelling shows!) and anyone with tickets for that show were told they could use them for Chicago. I guess they underestimated how many people would make the 5 hour drive, and with the new smaller venue a bunch of people didn’t get in. So as miserable and freezing as that lineup was, it turned out to be worth it.
I’m going to save my husband the trouble of commenting here and mention that I did in fact spend some of that 2 hours waiting in my friend’s car with the heat on. But I was still outside for most of it!!
Anyway, back to Kuma’s. I don’t remember much about the music or decor, I just remember that the burgers were named after bands. Looking at their website now I see they have Slayer, Metallica, Pantera, etc., burgers. They also have a different burger of the month at each location with names like Municipal Waste, Obituary, and Warbringer. I would order the Brujeria if I was there now! 🍔🌶
They have a pretty impressive beer list with 15 taps and more in bottles and cans. When we were there The Great IPA Craze hadn’t quite hit us yet at home, but but it had sure hit Chicago. So I’m going to assume I was drinking some type of IPA.
Looking at this menu is actually making me want to go back to Chicago.
It would probably be worth a trip for that deep dish pizza alone. 🍕
Fairy Lights and Vines 