Mac’s Local Eats opens near Forest Park

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Photography by Kevin A. Roberts

The popular four-patty Captain burger and #RipFries

There are very few food items worthy enough to wait in a long line for. Perhaps a pastel de nata at Pastéis de Belém, soup dumplings at Din Tai Fung, a beignet at Café du Monde… In St. Louis, a case could be made for a smashburger at Mac’s Local Eats, where, since 2017, loyalists have waited their turn for the burger, which has taken on superlative status.

After two years at Tamm Avenue Bar, owner Chris “Mac” McKenzie tired of the literal hole-in-the-wall arrangement. (“I could practically take your order and wash dishes at the same time,” he says.) So he moved the restaurant to larger quarters inside Bluewood Brewing. As “Best Local Burger” awards began stacking up like Mac’s lacy-edged patties, the lines grew longer, prompting yet another move.

Recently opened at 5656 Oakland, in the former Brew Hub Taproom space (and Highlander Pub & Grill and Krieger’s before that), Mac’s 3.0 now boasts 170 seats (including 50 on a covered side patio) and a double-wide order window, mitigating the anticipated lines. “But people expect to see lines at Mac’s,” McKenzie says. “It’s always been that way.”

So his goal is to keep improving the experience, like taking drink orders immediately and offering “line fries,” which McKenzie says is the best investment he ever made. (“Keeps people from getting hangry,” he says.)

Another upgrade: Guests nestled into saddle-brown, stitched leather barstools at the bar can order beers, burgers, Chili Crisp Marinated Celery, and Rip Fries (seasoned with Old Vienna Red Hot Riplets seasoning) from the bartender.

But the main attraction will forever be the burgers, made using the whole cow (expensive steak cuts and all), which is dry-aged for 28 days, concentrating the flavor. Fat is kept to a minimum, creating crispier, crunchier edges (a.k.a. the “meat skirt”). The burger buns then get toasted with lard, creating an umami bomb that wannabes have yet to copy.