Don't waste your time! Mediocre food at best, simply a grab for your wallet by a bunch of Dollar Store wannabes. And they have the nerve to charge $10 to walk down two blocks of Belmont St. for what? read more

This was a good fun festival for 2022. Admission is by an suggested donation amount. Plenty of burger stands, live music, and drinks. The earlier you get there, the less crowded it is. The lines started to get extremely long by 5-6ish. A few stands took cash or venmo as a form of payment. I tried three different burgers and was amazed by none of them. read more

See all

CASH ONLY. I suppose the amount of ATMs around should have warned me of that when I came in but I didn't get the hint. The food vendors only took cash, but the booze booths were ok with credit. They said tips went to an animal shelter. We came here after realizing that the Southport Art fest closed at 7. The area was really nice, near a park and public transportation (the Belmont Bus). There were good options but since I'd had a lot of red meat already, I opted for fried green tomato slider from Broken Barrel. The beef one was good too. But the organization was kind of hectic. I felt for those on the grills in the heat! We had a nice surprise with Sixteen Candles performing old a$$ 80's songs. Somehow the website did not list them, or I just mis-read it. The crowds were friendly, lots of kids, decent drink selection, of course overpriced. I'd go again if I were already downtown near a train but from the South Side I don't know if I'd make the trip. We should have a South Side burger fest! The 'concerts' were kind of worth it though. read more

See all

Burgerfest is an excellent Chicago fest. Two stages on either ends where the crowds tend to hang out, all of the burger joints in the center with fast moving lines (seriously, the fastest of any fests I've attended in Chicago so far) and best of all, everything was fairly cheap! They were really pushing the $10/person donation, per usual, so beware. Full 1/2 pound burgers range from $7-$12, while sample sizes (which are sometimes single 1/4 pound patties with full bun and all the toppings, while other times are just sliders) are $5. They don't use tickets, and most vendors take cash or card. My one tiny qualm is that there are only 7-9 burger vendors. It's not too horrible because each of those places offers 2-3 options, but still. I wish that some new places would pop up, such as Au Cheval or DMK! PS- to all of my fellow dessert lovers, there is edible cookie dough for $3/scoop. Delish :) read more

Burgerfest - Kuma's Led Zeppelin burger. - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

Slightly better than some of the other festivals in the city. For 2016, they had the 10,000 Maniacs on Saturday night! That's right, no cover band (though every other band that played appeared to be just this) and These Are The Days to Remember montage-ing live and in person. Bah bam! Though Roscoe Village's Burgerfest is slightly better than some others, it still has a lot of room for improvement. More/better burger options are needed - for example, Kuma's is a mile from where the fest happens and has no presence! Aside from needing more vendors, more of the vendors need to offer smaller sizes of their burgers. Trying more things is fun and getting full after one full size burger isn't quite as exciting. There was also a stand called Doughy Delight selling raw cookie dough, ice cream and cookies, plus ice cream sandwiches with the last two options. Sadly, they were out of ice cream and half their cookies at 630pm. #stockfail Garbage cans were overflowing so trash was spilling out onto the street. Just some small things that could be improved upon for future years with this fest. Vendors that participated this year are: Hackney's, Square Bar, Butcher & The Burger, D.S Tequila Company, Dive Bar, Fatso's Last Stand, Flo Cafe & Bar, VPT, Select Cut Steakhouse, Reggie's Rock Club and Mrs. Murphy's & Sons. We did Hackney's and Square Bar - both were just fine and nothing mind blowing. Butcher & The Burger won best in show. Burgerfest had some of those typical carnival stands that are at every fest like the deep fried booth, tons of vendors selling their stuff, the pineapple juice in the half pineapples stand. I'm a sucker who loves those silly pineapple things! The mini size cost $8 and refills of the juice were $4. Roscoe Village Burgerfest was incredibly crowded on Saturday, as was to be expected. It's a decent fest, one of the better ones in the city....but it's still a Chicago festival and has all those same elements. Hit or miss, YMMV. $10 "donation" at the door. read more

See all

This was one of the best festivals this summer for carnivores. If you are not a meat eater, BF has vegan, pescatarian and vegetarian options too. The asking donation is not required but if you give, you are given a neon circle sticker to wear as your badge of honor for the day. Yes, there were lots of burgers to choose from. Salmon burgers, chorizo burgers, Kobe burgers, BBQ burgers, turkey burgers and mushroom burgers and specialty beef burgers. The Mac n cheese bacon burger seemed to be a big attraction. My personal favorites were the venison burger and the elote hash (vegetarian dish). The crowd was moderate and it made for a more enjoyable time. The other festivals on the same day proved to be an added benefit. Taste of Lakeview and Taste of Chicago were the competing festivals and both are also well attended. There were plenty of activities offered for kids and adults alike so it was a great event for people of all ages. I am looking forward to attending again next year. read more

See all

Located in hip Roscoe, it's a burger lovers paradise. The toughest decision you will make is which burger to eat or not, perhaps you will go slider sample on multiple options. There were many temptations to consider that included beef or lamb. If burgers is not your thing, no worries, they had other options to consider as well. I saw several Inventive nacho options that looked yummy. I also saw funnel cakes, doughnuts, and fried snicker bars. Beverages included lemonade, wine, sangria, and beer, and pina colada in the pineapple! I first tried the grumpy beer which was WAY too IPA for me, stuck with Goose 312 after that, always a safe bet. We ultimately did a one and done at APT with the APT which had the longest line because they were James Beard winners but to be honest, the burger was acceptable but award worthy? Not so sure about that. The most notable thing it had going for it was the branding on the bun. My friend tried the one with the jalepeno in it, said it had kick but was a keeper. Despite the crowds, the lines moved fairly quick and parking was not too hard to come by in some of the nearby neighborhoods, figure 3-4 blocks from the event. The crowd was definitely a mix and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Main stage music this night featured the 16 candles cover band on one end and the 90s band Cracker on the other. ("Don't you wanna go down? Like some junkie cosmonaut?) $10 to get in at the entrance complete with cash, credit card or ATM acceptance options (making it easy for you). There were also some cool vendors to shop, one that stuck out was the mexican lucha libre masks - cool! Starting at $25 and up. I really wanted to see the Kongos on Saturday night but other plans prevailed (1st world problems) Either way, some good quality entertainment being provided and kudos to the folks who live there. One building had a front row balcony seat to the Cracker stage and were watching the show from their open windows, doesn't get any more convenient than that ;) Prices were reasonable at $10/burger and $6/beer Tip - if you stay late chances are when the vendors are packing up they will be handing out food that they have left. If you are a bachelor, it's a good time to clean up. Case in point on the way out, Kuma's were handing out burgers wrapped in foil - You rock Kuma's! read more

See all

really wasn't blown away by burger options reggie's? ds tequila? i'm like....am i crazy i had no idea these places were known for burgers.... drink options great. music awesome loved boyband review they were the saving grace a long with 16 candles. also prepare for a legit shakedown at the gate as the suggested donation is more of a requested donation. they did accept credit cards and a lot of the tents were donating tips to charity. i hope they were making enough hourly to afford that. read more

Burgerfest - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The Roscoe Village Association "strongly requests" a $10 donation per person, or $20 per family. This gets you in the gates. From there, beers are $6, sangrias are $8, and burgers are $8 to $10. This year there were about ten burger vendors, and each of them offered three to four different burger options, and some even offered some sides ranging from $4 to $6. My only gripe is any lack of vegetarian options. I KNOW IT'S CALLED BURGERFEST, but still... This year there was one veggie burger, and it happened to be from the vendor who was offering the most blandly American burger style (American cheese, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard, onion.) How about some grilled onions? Maybe some marmalade? Even some chutney? This IS a showcase and a competition, after all, right? Anyhow, this veggie goes to Burgerfest for the live entertainment. There are two stages flanking the blocks closed down that encompass the festival, and they keep the music going all day long. Many bands or performers featured at local, which is great. Always support live local music. Some are cover bands, which can also be a crowd pleaser. But they also bring in some national acts. Over the years we've rocked out with 10,000 Maniacs and the Smithereens. Burgerfest is a family friendly event, with a "kids zone" area. Parents can buy tickets for their kids to climb a rock wall among other activities. Overall, not a bad festival. The lack of vegetarian options aside, with a $10 entrance fee, and another $8 to $10 per burger, they are not promoting or encouraging anyone to try several burgers offered because first of all, you'll be too full, and second of all, who wants to drop that kind of cash? read more

Burgerfest - The Purple Xperience, (Prince tribute band) on the main stage Burgerfest 2018. - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great food, bad directions and maybe a weird business model. First of all, there were no good directions on the Roscoe Village website 2016; not even something you could click on that would direct you to your Google maps app; that would help us find the location for the venue! My partner and I circled for 30 mins trying to find this place and stopped 2 locals; who had no idea of this festival or its location. The only specifics mentioned on the Roscoe Village site was "Diversey and Wellington". Yeah?? Wellington what? Diversey what? I mean, that doesn't help... avenue, street, harbor? I mean, help some tourists out!! That may be specific enough for a local, but it wasn't for us and Google maps was taking us in circles. Secondly, so we found out later that the 10 dollar entrance was merely a donation. Fine. It goes to the Chamber of Commerce to promote and pay for events such as these. BUT You have to pay again for each burger stand you want to try out. But these vendors were not merely serving small servings so you could "sample" each venue's burgers... they were selling full-size burgers!! So by the time I wanted to go sample another venue's burgers, I was already full!! It would have been better if each venue was offering small samples to try out; so you could go around and get an idea for each restaurant/venue's offerings. Then it was cash only; so you had to fork over 8 to 10 bucks for each burger/drink. It just seemed weird. It would have been better had they charged 25 bucks at the entrance, and then you could sample as much as you could from each vendor. I would have gladly paid that. But oh well. It was a small venue; you could only walk back and forth so much... from each street end to end. Good music; loud. Very little seating, so you had to eat standing up. Been there, done it. Never again. Too much work. My partner and I were commenting that we could have eaten at a local restaurant in the area of Roscoe for what we paid (entrance fee and forking over more cash for each burger); all while sitting down and having a nice ambience. If I knew we weren't going to be sampling bite size burgers from several vendors, we would have gone to a nice restaurant instead. read more

My boyfriend enjoyed an incredible bacon and macaroni and cheese burger while we listened to fun live music and explored Roscoe Village! I enjoyed a fresh and fruity sangria and stunning weather. Convenient location and not overly crowded. Could have used more beer selections. read more

Not well organized and too sectional. Was charged $20.00 entrance fee for family consisting of 2 adults and one child 4 years old , in addition we had to pay for every game she wanted to play. Food was over priced and substandard. Conclusion, it's the last time we will attend the Burgerfest! read more

Was ok. I had a burger expecting something more special, was just ok. The live music was amazing.

2018 Burger Fest was a blast! The band lineup was amazing! I really liked Hello Weekend! The burger selections were all fabulous. D.S. Tequila was my favorite. And lastly as funny as it sounds the festival layout had such a nice flow. A lot of festivals are packed and your shoulder to shoulder and can not move, but this was not bad at all. We were also able to find tables and chairs to actually sit and eat - super fun! read more

Burger Fest is for you if ... - You crave meat like diabetics crave insulin - You floss with bacon - You have your own week on the Discovery Channel - Your meal's last words were "Clever girl." - The bulls in Pamplona, Spain run from you The fest features all kinds of local burger-totin' bars and restaurants, from the classy to those where the 5-second rule applies even when the food is still on the plate. Most offer sliders for $5, like the double cheeseburger from Rockit Burger or the Mac & Cheese burger from Cortland's Garage. The $8 entrance fee is purely optional but gets you a sticker saying you attended the event. Does wearing a sticker saying you did something make you lame? Nonsense! I still wear my "I Voted!", "I Went to Confession", "World AIDS Conference 2009 attendee" and "Got My Balance and Alignment" stickers. There are some other distractions at this festival. A couple of vendors sell jewelry and art. There is also a table with a one-eyed, poorly-combed psychic. Fun fact: if you say her name three times, she'll pop back into the model of the town you have in your attic. And of course, there are 90s cover bands at either end of the fest. We watched the Dave Matthew's cover band, sang loudly to all the hit songs, and mumbled inaudibly during the lyrics of "Ants Marching." But this is a celebration of charred flesh and being a carnivore. To my veggie friends, sorry, no one has ever gotten his face immortalized on a wall for putting away a 44-ounce slab of quinoa. You know the reason you eat salad before the meat course? Same as why the Decemberists go on before Dylan. Ain't no one stickin' around if you switch the order up. Don't waste your time asking the booth staffs if their meat is "grass-fed" or "free range." Some of them patties were pumped so full of hormones they could've played outfield for the Yankees. Can't handle it? Go back to playing hacky-sack behind the quad you tree-molesting hippie!! Damnit, why am I so full of anger and excess back hair?!? You want a piece of this, holmes?? Answer me!!! read more

Went a couple years back. Yes, there are burgers but not the best of the best ( I thought this would be a place to really showcase burgers.) then the tents were pretty lame as well. (one "retailer" of what I'll call "fair clothing" had 2 tents.. as if, even the one was necessary) I guess they had to fill up spaces? Oh and there was also a really SAD pony ride where the ponies look over taxed .. which made me even sadder and not to mention that whole sad affair was situated right next to only real"sitting" area. read more