Chicagoist.com - October 20, 2008 If you can't find a quality burger in Chicago, then you either aren't trying or are someone who has a "Meat is Murder" sticker on your fixed gear bike. From the oversized monstrosities at Kuma's to the classics served up at Top Notch Beefburger, the sliders in constant production at Scott's Hamburger Heaven to the gourmet bite-sized noshes at Minnie's, there's a burger for everyone. Epic Burger in the South Loop posits itself as "a more mindful burger." That means that customers get all-natural burgers, cage-free eggs, nitrate-free bacon, fresh cut fries cooked in trans fat-free cooking oil, and menus and seating made from recycled materials. Stopped in over the weekend and ordered an Epic Burger on whole wheat bun with bacon and horseradish havarti, with a side of fries and bottle of Izze sparkling juice. All burgers come with "Epic Sauce," a proprietary recipe that looks an awful lot like McDonald's Big Mac "special sauce," but not enough to determine the taste. The horseradish really came through on the cheese and a good ratio of beef to beef fat made for a tasty burger. The service is efficient: customers are handed an order number and servers bring the food to them when it's ready. The dining area is wide and airy, with Cartoon Network playing on a couple of flat screens and tasteful light fixtures overhead. Epic Burger a perfect quick pick-up restaurant for the nexus of colleges situated near its South Loop location.

ONE MORE THING TO SMILE ABOUT ? Heidi and Christopher Portwine sample trans-fat-free fries at Mel?s Diner in Universal Studios Orlando. Universal announced in December of 2006 that all Universal theme parks in the United States will offer healthy side dishes and trans-fat free foods for adults and children alike. At select locations, kids? meals will come with a choice of fruit or trans-fat-free fries and adults will be able to select either a side salad or trans-fat-free fries. Universal parks on both coasts will also begin cooking and frying with 100 percent trans-fat-free oil at many facilities.