Have a Look at the Nook
On the main street of a small town, the Burger Nook is tucked in right next to Pizza Mike's. It's not the cleanest place, not the cheapest place or the place you will find the best burger in Herrin. But its where you will find the locals. Popular for breakfast, they open at 6:00 AM. They are closed Sundays but open all the other weekdays. Coffee is served with real milk or cream, not those icky packages of powder. Food is served with a smile. The sandwiches are good, burgers are ok. The white pie is something to savour.    [10 Jan 2000 17:25:35]

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Recommended Dishes: the mysterious white pie; the ingredients are a secret

     ­SheDragon   

My second home as a kid
I grew up eating at Burger Nook (and, later, working there as a teenager), and I must take issue with some of the previous reviewer's assertions.

When I was a kid, we ate at Burger Nook because it was most certainly the best burger in town. Even when B&J's and Don's Drive-In were still operating, Burger Nook had the best sandwiches going. It had the added advantage of offering the best bargain in Southern Illinois: Six cheeseburgers or seven hamburgers for one low price (when I worked there, the price was $3.60, but that was almost 15 years ago, so I'm sure that price has been adjusted for inflation). But the real joy was in a double cheeseburger with bacon and grilled onions and a big order of well-done fries, fat and brown and crispy, washed down with a cherry Coke -- made from fountain Coke with a splash of cherry syrup added (or, if you preferred, chocolate or vanilla) and served over that perfect crushed ice that seems to be indigenous to mom-and-pop diners of a certain vintage.

Burger Nook is the standard against which I judge all other diners. I know of only two hamburger shops that come close: the Eat-Rite Diner in St. Louis, and Brownie's in Tulsa.

I moved 500 miles away from Burger Nook in 2004. When I'm home, my family doesn't even have to ask where I want to eat. If Burger Nook is open, we're going there.

And, as the previous reviewer mentioned, you will, indeed, find the locals there ... which makes it a primo place to catch up on the latest news from home while I'm savoring a little taste of my childhood.

On a cold day, have a bowl of chili. Doctored up with extra hot sauce, it's a nice way to clear your sinuses and drive away the winter blahs. And the barbecue, served hot or mild, with zippy chow slathered all over the bun, is one of life's great pleasures.    [23 Jan 2006 02:19:06]

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Recommended Dishes: Double cheeseburger, fries, chili

     ­Emily   

Burger Nook update
Burger Nook has gone non-smoking (hooray!) It has one of the best Italian beef sandwiches anywhere around, served on a hoagie with pepperoncini on the side. MMMmmmm!

Two walls are covered with caricatures of their regular customers. The likenesses are not very good, but where else could you be immortalized in Magic Marker beside a big cigar-store Indian?    [24 Jan 2006 00:40:10]

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     ­Anonymous