The Region

The Region in Roscoe Village is just four wooden tables, a grill, and a chalkboard menu with burgers, hot dogs, fries, and milkshakes. So on the surface, there’s nothing to differentiate this small counter-service spot from any of Chicago’s 59,746 other casual fast food places. Except for the fantastic burgers.

There are a few sizes you can opt for here, but the way to go is the Diggity Dos burger. It’s made with two 7 oz. griddled patties that have crispy edges draped over the sides of the bun. And it looks the way it does because the meat is pressed extremely thin on a flat top grill, which is apparently what they do in Northwest Indiana (a.k.a. “the Region”). The resulting caramelized, laced edges is what makes the burgers here so excellent - and honestly hideous.

But that burger isn’t the only way to go here. If you’re not incredibly hungry, the patty melt is a quarter the size and comes with American cheese and grilled onions. Get a side of the onion rings and maybe a milkshake, and you’ll be set. But to be honest, we still prefer the Diggity Dos, even though we can hardly pick it up.

Food Rundown

French Fries

Thick, fresh-cut french fries, ideal for cleaning up the excess special sauce from your burger.

photo credit: Sandy Noto

Onion Rings

We typically go for these crispy onion rings over the fries, because great onion rings are much harder to find than good fries.

photo credit: Sandy Noto

Diggity Dos Burger

This burger is the reason you’re here, and it’s absolutely delicious. The patties are buttery and juicy on the inside, have caramelized edges, and come with cheese, relish, onion, and a special sauce. There are smaller and bigger versions, but the Diggity Dos is the perfect size - for taste, price, and being (somewhat) manageable.

photo credit: Sandy Noto

Patty Melt

This sandwich is 3.5 ounces of beef on grilled white bread with American cheese, grilled onions, and a side of special sauce for dipping. Compared to the Diggity Dos, this thing looks tiny, but it’s excellent and should still fill you up.

Shakes

The shakes here are fine. You won’t regret getting one if you always get a shake with your burger wherever you go.