Octave Grill in Chesterton, IN

For quite a while I have been hearing about how good the burgers are at Octave Grill in Chesterton, Indiana. One friend even mentioned it in the same breath as the famed Au Cheval, which has not only been named as best burger in Chicago, but as best burger in the county by the Daily Mail and in the Top 5 Burgers in America by the Food Network.

I finally made it there and hubby and I strayed from the basic and tried a couple of their unique menu items. He got the "Chanute" - grass-fed beef with crimini mushrooms, Carr Vally hot pepper jack, bacon, blue cheese sauce, greens, tomato and onion. I went for the "Fried Cheese," which was pretty amazing. It had a fried cheese patty on top of the burger - so think "mozzarella sticks" in flattened form. It was crispy and gooey and accompanied by roasted red peppers, olive tapenade and lemon aioli with greens, tomato and onion. I'd for sure rank it up there in my top 10 burgers I've had - and I've had plenty of burgers in my day.

We got there for a late lunch on a Sunday afternoon as snow was falling outside and the temp was dropping. The place was pretty full and we were pointed toward two small available tables. I'm so glad we picked the one we did. Within a couple minutes of sitting down we were chatting away with our table neighbors. 

It was a husband and wife and he was having her take pictures of him in various poses with different props (like a book about birds of the dunes) to send to their adult kids so they could see what they were missing out on. He was hilarious and he and my hubby hit it off instantly. When someone in a group at a nearby table said very loudly something about doctors being A*& H!@#s, the guy next to us called out, "Hey, I'm a doctor." He wasn't really a doctor. He was a retired police officer. But totally was like something my husband would do. 

Anyway, we chatted with them for the entire time we were there. I guess it's not an entirely Midwest thing, but have you ever been in another part of the county and had this happen? We really had a blast dining beside them and Carlos, if you happen to read this, send us a message via Facebook or Instagram. We'd love to meet up there for burgers and brews and a double date again sometime! By the way, Carlos ordered the "Chica" - with Red Barns Heritage white cheddar, chorizo sausage link, pico de gallo, baja sauce on a pretzel roll (it looked sooooo good!) Oh, and if you like tots they are one of your side options - and there's not an extra charge for them.

I did order a dessert (they're written on a chalkboard on the wall) and forgot to note exactly what it was. I believe it was a chocolate stout cake. I also snapped a pic below of the brownie and ice cream Carlos' wife ordered (I never did get her name!)


Carlos said that years ago he read about Octave Grill in a magazine article and tried it a couple years ago and they've been coming back ever since. Even though it's a bit of a trek for us, it was well worth it. The Au Cheval comparison wasn't really that far off. I loved the place and would be inclined to call it the Au Cheval of Northwest Indiana. 

Octave Grill

105 S. Calumet

Chesterton, IN

219.395.8494

octavegrill.com