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“Could use a little more bourbon in the pears,” my 81-year-old father-in-law remarked one recent Saturday morning at Kuma’s Corner, a death metal tattoo burger bar in the Avondale neighborhood on the North Side. “Huh?” my husband said, thrashing music overhead. “Bourbon! In my pears!” my father-in-law said, hoisting his dripping Lair of the Minotaur burger (10-ounce burger, brie, pancetta, caramelized onions and bourbon-soaked pear on a pretzel bun, $12).Kuma’s Corner is a cult favorite, the kind of place people rhapsodize about in online food forums — that is, busy at 2 p.m. on a Monday and where people wait more than an hour in line to have a perfectly cooked monster burger with a name like Plague Bringer (roasted garlic mayo, tortilla strips, fresh garlic, hot sauce, jalapenos, pepper jack cheese, $12).

Located on an unassuming strip of Belmont, west of the river, Kuma’s is tiny (maybe 50 seats, with a small outdoor patio), often loud (this is death metal, after all) and casual (of course). It is, in some ways, the ground beef counterpart to another cult-favorite just a stone’s throw away, Hot Doug’s. Both restaurants developed devoted followings by taking something pedestrian (the burger, the hot dog) and cleverly (and tastily) elevating it (bring on the boozy pears, the foie gras).

And so Kuma’s serves the High On Fire ($12), a juicy burger topped with sriracha hot chile sauce for some sweet heat, prosciutto for some smoky chew, roasted red pepper and grilled pineapple for some more sweetness and sweet chile paste to bring it all together. And it serves the Kuma, its signature burger, which comes with bacon for a bit of smoke, cheddar for a sharp bite and a fried egg that oozes its rich yolk into the crevices of the burger, making it all the more lush.

All two dozen burgers arrive with a choice of excellent fries or crunchy housemade chips. The beer list, too, is long and interesting. Our only quibble was uneven service. On one visit, our waitress was outright nasty, snapping at us and making us feel unwelcome. On another, our waitress was all sun and efficiency, happily describing the special burger, called Insect Warfare. We prefer sun and efficiency. Especially with tattoos.

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Kuma’s Corner

2900 W. Belmont Ave.

773-604-8769

www.kumas-corner.com

Hours: 11:30 a.m.-2 a.m. Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-3 a.m. Sat., noon to midnight Sun.

Credit cards: All

Noise: Expect thrashing guitars

Delivery: No

Parking: Not a problem along this stretch of Belmont

Price: Burger and a beer runs between $15 and $20 (excluding tax and tip)

Don’t miss: The Kuma will make you always want a fried egg on your burger. The High on Fire is a study in sweet and spicy and the Metallica (buffalo sauce, bacon and blue cheese dressing, $10) is a spicy creamy hot mess.

Take a pass: On the BBQ pork fries. Nothing special, especially for $9.

Best for: An outing with burger-loving foodies.

Ratings key:

4 forks, don’t miss it

3 forks, one of the best

2 forks, very good

1 fork, good

Cheap Eats reviews restaurants where entrees are $13 or less. Reviews are based on anonymous visits by Tribune staff members; meals are paid for by the Tribune.

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