Tom & Eddie’s

Wonderful place. Welcoming for kids. The Bushel & Peck is back, which is huge. In my opinion, it’s their best burger and totally worth trying. Amazing. I miss some of the pop options (e.g., birch beer and flavored coke) — and maybe discounted or included drinks (such as combo meals) would ease some of that pain…

Tom and Eddie’s in Geneva, Illinois has closed in late summer 2014; there is a sign on the door thanking everyone for their patronage. Open for three years, it served wonderful burgers to those of us that knew about it.
I believe that Tom and Eddie’s failed for two reasons:
It was located in Geneva Commons shopping area, but was in an atrocious location. I only heard about this restaurant in spring of 2014. Tucked away, poor access and parking, and no street presence was a death knell for even a solid business like T&E’s.
And second, the name of the store says nothing about what is served inside. Add to that the orange awnings, and many thought this was solely an ice cream shop. Ben and Jerry’s, Emack and Bolio’s, Tom and Eddies’, that sort of thing.
The burgers were wonderful, the service great, the dining room clean. It was head and shoulders above the competition of Smashburger and Five Guys. But the marketing mavens at T&E’s need to change the issues that I have mentioned above to have future success, both in new locations and at established venues.

It was a slow and dreary Friday afternoon. I’d woken up early that same morning feeling hung over, despite not having drank anything the night before. I decided my life needed improving, and the only cure for my ailment was greasy food in my belly.
I went to Tom & Eddie’s because… I could. I ordered the Ampersand, large. I could tell from the face of the girl taking my order she was impressed by my prowess. I smiled courteously and quickly made off to the soda machine.
Once the burgers came it looked so deliciously oversized it took me 3 minutes to find a good side to bite into it. And as I did, my mouth was overran with flavor from this juicy piece of heaven. The skies opened up and angelic trumpets played as I took bite after bite.
And it was all over too soon. If I could change anything about this restaurant it would be for them to find some way of restraining people from eating that fast, and savoring the goodness so much longer.
Oh, also the guy two tables down was banging his plate with his knife. Sup with that guy?

With all the burger restaurants out there, I really do enjoy Tom & Eddies. I’ve been here a few times and each time has been enjoyable. They even have a lot of other options other than just burgers. I haven’t tried any of them, but if they are as good as the burgers, their chicken, turkey, tuna, salad options have to be pretty good, too.
You order at the counter and then a server will bring it to you when it’s ready. They clean up the tables when you’re done, so it’s a little step above being a total fast food experience.
You can choose from Chef created burgers or create your own. This last time I went, I had The Blue Chip burger. Very tasty, but between the garlic aioli and blue cheese cream, your breath will be seriously kickin’.
They make a mean shake, too. I’ve tried a few of them and was never disappointed.
The restaurant is clean, the staff was friendly. Great choice for the fancier burger at a reasonable price.

The burgers are pretty good, always some unusual concoctions on the menu. The service is always pretty good. Hardly any wait when I went.
Although the burgers to me were just ok, I’d say the shake is one of the best I’ve ever had. I had a peanut butter cup shake and it took all my efforts to slow down and not finish it within a minute of them bringing it out.
Only three stars cause I felt that I could take it or leave it… 5 guys is down the street and I like the burger there a lot more then Tom and Eddies. But it takes longer to get a burger at 5 guys.

Really good burger! I like the fact that you can build the burger according to your own preferences and their selections are far different from other burger places. The fries are good as well. Burgers are fresh and made to order. Kind of on the expensive side for a burger but you get what you pay for. So far my suburban choice for burgers. I would definitely recommend this if you have a love for burgers.

Five guys is better and also in the commons

They are located on the front of the Geneva Commons Mall near the road. This was my first time here. So, let me break it down by category and see where I end up.
I ordered a HotGarian large (½ lb) burger (medium done) with a side of sweet potato fries and a soda.
Ordering and Interior: You order at the counter, pay and take a small numbered sign to a seating area. You seat yourself. There is a metal contraption at the table that has directions on the side of it, but, essentially, you feed the numbered sign into it like a credit card and it must register which table you are at. There are directions on the side. The interior is clean, had enough tables for lunch, tables seemed to have been bussed because I didn’t not see one with a mess left on it from earlier customers. Also, a person did come by to see if everything was in order. 3 – 4 stars.
Burger: The burger consists of a ½ lb burger with a habanero-​pineapple salsa, Hungarian Pepper, Wisconsin Pepper Jack and a small amount of mayonnaise on a sesame seed roll. Medium done to me means slightly pink and juicy. It was that. Prior to starting to eat, I noticed the Pepper still had its stem on it and pulled it off. Whether that was «old world charm» or a mistake, I’m not sure at this point. But I’m glad I noticed it beforehand and not during. The «heat» came from the mayonnaise mixture and the salsa. It was okay but not a blast of heat. Otherwise, I didn’t taste the burger add ons too much. The flavor I remember was the heat and the taste of the burger itself. Those were great. One thing that I noticed that was a definite positive. I’ve been to 5 guys, Burgermonger, Burger 21, etc and my definition of a gourmet burger to this point was that the burger had to outlast the bun. Meaning the bun disintegrated prior to finishing the burger. Here, I’m glad to say, it didn’t. Somehow, the burger was juicy enough and the bun still lasted through the whole meal. Good job. 3 stars
Fries: The sweet potato fries were string fries, crispy and a lot of them. But that was that. Did nothing for me. 3 stars.
Soda: They have one of those all in one Coca Cola machines where you pick the soda and what is mixed in. 3 stars.
Price: 12 dollars and change. Gourmet burger pricy.
All in all, somewhere between a 3 and 4 stars at this point. Will I go back? Yes, probably try something else and see where this falls. Right now, 3 stars.

It’s easy to be critical on a place like this. The burger market has gotten greatly saturated in the last 3 – 5 years. However, I was pretty impressed by my experience with Tom & Eddies. I simply need to visit a few more times before they get 4 – 5 stars.
The interior is modern and clean, you FEEL like you wanna’ eat there. The menu is illuminated behind the registers, looks pretty cool. Their menu is diverse. It’s impossible to not find a combination that you would be interested in.
I had the Hot Garian. It was good. However I was expecting a LOT more flavor. While I enjoyed it, I was really excited for the patty to be memorable and it just didn’t win me over. But again, this was the only burger I’ve had so I will be trying more in the future.
I had a Reese’s shake, that was unbelievably good.
I’m looking forward to trying at least 5 of their other burgers.

Went there because of Chicago’s Best. Maybe it’s a little expensive, but overall I am indeed a fan of the place. Great variety of burgers AND fries (not only the plain typical ones). Everyone’s simply in a nice mood. Come and check it out for yourself! It’s worth it!

I am changing my review to four stars– I’ve had several more trips to Tom & Eddie’s since my original visit, and things there have only improved. First of all, they have amazing customer service– I have never seen an employee without a huge smile on their face or in a negative mood. Also, I love that they are frequently updating their menu, and have many new delicious options. I’ve also tried dessert– love the ice cream sandwich cookies– try them :)

My friend and I were trying to figure out somewhere to go for lunch after a movie when I remembered I had a Groupon for Tom and Eddie’s (2 burgers, 2 fries, and 2 drinks for $ 12.00). The restaurant was pretty empty when we got thier so we went right over and placed our order. I showed her the groupon and she said that we could get anything we wanted to order for the $ 24, I thought this was really nice, because this was a better deal then the actual groupon if you wanted a hotdog or chicken sandwich. We both ended up ordering the burgers with fries anyway… I figured if we went all the way to a burger place I had to try a burger.
They gave us a number and cups, we went on our way to get drinks. My friend was super excited because they have to new coke machines where you have over 60 different pop choices you can make. While he was making his soda mixture I noticed that they had barrel rootbeer in the fountain… OMG I was excited! This is the best rootbeer I’ve ever had!
We then went to sit down and put our number in this little machine so they knew where we were sitting to bring our food. Very cool idea! Our food came out 5 minutes later, super hot and super AMAZING!!! The burger was juicey and had a great flavor and the fries were the shoe string type, very crispy and yummy. They even gave me a bowl of extra pickes for my burger, boy did they know me :)
I can’t wait to come back and try something else!
**They sell beer here**

Our group of four was looking to catch a late lunch and Tom & Eddie’s was the venue chosen because of the outdoor patio.
I ordered an Ahi tuna burger, fries and a drink.
The Ahi burger was not at all what I was expecting. The ahi was some sort of a greenish/​greyish mass and did not look at all appetizing. Fortunately, the flavor was better than the appearance but for me, it was still just OK.
Their soft drink offerings include a Coca Cola «Freestyle» machine which dispenses up to 125 different options which is cool, but I choose to enjoy an excellent Boylan Cream Soda from the next fountain over. I can have Coke any time, but a good Boylan soda is a real treat.
All in all, the experience was entirely average for me and I don’t think I’d run back there any time soon.

So my mother goes to a «Tom & Eddies» and gets all excited about it. We had driven past the one located at the Geneva Commons for I think at least several years without giving it much thought.
My mother invited us out and there we go !!
I prefer my burgers to be just a great bun and a great piece of meat. I don’t really want a salad or another entrée stacked on top.
But I choose the «Love Me Dew» burger.
«LOVE ME ‘DEW
Tom & Eddie’s signature spicy mayonnaise, topped with melted Wisconsin Pepper Jack & Peppadew sweet piquante peppers on a gourmet roll.»
It was a very good burger despite having a lot on it.
The fries were good and there were plenty of them.
We were there at 5:30 pm and there were only about 10 customers, so the service was very good.
I don’t think that I have plans to go back since the burgers are $ 9.00

I have to say I’m shocked at the high-​star reviews but perhaps it was just what we ordered. My husband and I were starving so we decided to try Tom & Eddie’s. When we are starving this usually means whatever we eat will taste super-​scrumptious but this was not the case.
If I were rating the place on just the décor I’d give them 5-​stars for creating a bright and inviting atmosphere (it doesn’t hurt they use a lot of orange, which is my favorite color).
My husband ordered the Tried & True Burger w/​Fries, I got the Bleu Chip Burger w/​haystack onions and we shared a Strawberry Shake. The shake, while tasty, was not a thick shake, but more on the runny-​side. I was expecting a super-​thick shake because they use these HUGE wide straws in fun colors. I also thought the wide straw was a bit awkward to use. The shake did come with plenty of whipped cream and a yummy wafer cookie.
My husband said his burger was just «okay», nothing special, though we both liked the buns. He received just a small handful of fries, not what you would normally expect, whereas I with the haystock onions received a decent pile. Now I am a bleu cheese fan but I think my burger had more blue cheese on it than burger — it was overwhelming. And that particular burger also comes with avocado — which was completely lost in all the bleu cheese so you didn’t even taste the avocado.
My biggest concern about the burgers was their doneness. In higher end restaurants they ask how you want your burger done. I assume at places where they don’t ask the burgers are going to be medium-​well with no pink in the middle. This place did not ask and my husband’s burger was a little pink in the middle. My burger was actually medium-​RARE, very very pink. At home I’m all for making my burger that way but when I’m out I prefer no pink for ground beef just to play it safe.
Had the burgers been better and my husband received more fries I still don’t think it was worth $ 10 a piece.

Ya know that Seinfeld «yadda yadda» episode? Well, I would yadda yadda the burgers and go straight to telling you about their soda selection, which, by the way, was the only good thing about Tom & Eddie’s! True Story.
Anyway, I went on a Sunday night with my boyfriend and parents around 6:30pm. My parents, kidding around, suggested we go next door to a pizza place because T&E really didn’t seem too popular. But, I encouraged them to try new things and told them that the restaurant had good reviews.
Oooh… I should have listened to my parents. haha. Every person in my party had different burgers and different sides. The consensus was that all of our burgers were over cooked and dry, and the special toppings pertaining to each of our burgers just didn’t wow us. :(
Again, the only thing that did impress me was the soda area. There was machine that had hundreds of flavor combos of coke products. In addition, there was gourmet soda machine that was pretty unique. So yeah, sadly, that was my highlight of the meal!
The service was good though. The cashier and runners were nice and we received our food in a timely manner.
Overall– The menu appeared promising but it just didn’t cut it for me. You can find better burgers for a better price elsewhere! BUT if you’re in a mood for a soft drink, stop on by!

I went here while I was visiting one of my friends in the area and I wasn’t expecting much, but I was definitely surprised!
I ended up getting an Ampersand burger which has bacon, gouda cheese, bbq sauce, onions, and a fried egg (I love burgers with an egg in it!) and sweet potato fries on the side (AHH. I LOVE SPF!!). Unlike most burger places, this place definitely didn’t cake on the grease and it was still JUICY with flavor!
Service was AMAZING. My friend had ordered a milkshake, but she was unsatisfied with it. She didn’t really say anything until one of the workers asked; they replaced her milkshake right away and even gave us another milkshake with cookies! Everyone was extremely nice and made sure that our experience was a positive one!
The place was really clean and I loved that they had they had the coke freestyle machines! As for prices, I felt that it was about average (I paid about $ 15 for the burger and fries).
I feel that I definitely have to go here more often before giving it a full 5 stars, but as of now, the nearest location to me is in Deerfield.

Best Bacon Cheeseburger Ever.
EVER.
I first want to say that the people saying that Fuddrucker’s burgers are better, I’m not sure what planet you are living on. These burgers make Fuddruckers burgers seem like char broiled hockey pucks.
Here’s what isn’t great about Tom & Eddies for a «penny pincher»: It cost $ 43 for a family of four to eat there. But that didn’t bother me. Why, you ask? Because at a Unilocal Event I was able to tour the place and see what makes it cost that much. Many things are organic, almost all things are from Wisconsin or Illinois. I saw the meat. It comes from a ranch in Wisconsin. They don’t use fake, phony ingredients (like HFCS, uh, I mean «corn sugar») and even though it’s a burger place, you don’t feel like you ate a bunch of garbage.
Now that that is out of the way, here’s what’s great about this place:
The service here is fabulous. They are friendly and care that you are having a good experience.
The place is clean and relaxing. Not a huge fan of the orange. But, as Five Guys has their Red and White — Tom and Eddie’s has their orange.
The delivery time of the food. Not too slow. Not too fast. Enough time to make your Coke via the Freestyle machine, get your family all hyped up and ready to go.
The buns. I have seen a few reviews of people complaining that the bun was too soft. I have to disagree on this. These buns made Five Guys buns seem like they were bought as day-​olds at a 7 – 11. They are great.
The shakes. The Strawberry and Chocolate taste JUST LIKE McDonald’s shakes used to taste back when I was a kid. Back before HFCS (sorry, «corn sugar») and back before they used a powder mix for flavor. I am still craving another one.
The burger: juicy. hot. My son only likes burgers from Portillos… not anymore.
The sides: Sweet Potato Fries?! YES PLEASE. Onion haystack is decent. The chips are outstanding. The regular fries were just ok to me.
I could keep going, but I think what I’ll leave with is this: If you care about where your food comes from, and you care about said food tasting great — I insist that you try this place out. It’s just awesome.
Looking forward to a location opening closer to my home, sounds like they’ve got a boom of an expansion coming through 2012.

Great modern burger bistro with healthy options and amazing new classics.
If the great offerings don’t make you drool, you can always do the honors on your own with their make your own burger option.
There’s an option for vegetarians, and also an ahi tuna that’s to die for (spicy with wasabi), as well as a turkey burger option.
Their milkshakes are calories intensive but oh so delicious. They’re really hard to pass.
Fun, but somewhat busy during workday lunch hour.
Don’t miss the huge selection of hot sauces where you get your silverware behind the cash register area (the wall that divides the dining area and the entrance). Great sauce finds, including Sriracha and some funky ones right there that you don’t see anywhere else.
The Tom & Eddie’s @ Shops on Butterfield (Yorktown Shopping Center in Lombard IL) location is also great.

Gourmet burger places have jumped the shark. There are too many of them, and the differentiation has disappeared. Tom & Eddie’s honestly feels unnecessary. Hence, the «meh» vote.
Fuddruckers is better on almost every count…
Tuna burger was okay, but $ 10 at a fast food place for a sandwich is goofy. Bun was a loser, it had basically disappeared halfway through the sandwich. Avocado slices were great. Fries were just okay.
After the inevitable shakeout, I’ll revisit the survivors and update my reviews…