BobNgrill Restaurant By Chef William Song

William Song's mother still makes his kimchi.

The second location of his quick-serve Evanston burger joint, BopNgrill, just opened in Rogers Park with the same bold-flavored, Korean-spiked menu as the first–but now that menu is available within city lines.

Go for top-heavy burgers like the Umami ($8), which packs more than five sources of the flavor between a brioche bun. In it, mayonnaise seasoned with mirin, sesame and the Japanese spice blend togarashi drips down the side of a savory pile of braised, truffled mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes cooked with pork fat and garlic, and, of course, the beef patty (pictured).

As for that cabbage kimchi, Ms. Song makes it weekly. ("I'm not really sure how she makes it. I've tried, but it's never as good," says her son.) William Song piles it into containers of breaded shrimp and chicken katsu over rice, or next to Korean-style short ribs soaked in his mother's marinade of garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, Asian pears, kiwis and apple juice.

For the kimchi burger, he stirs the same kimchi into mayonnaise and gives a handful a quick sauté to soften the cabbage's flavors before it joins bacon, cheddar cheese, cabbage and a fried egg atop its meaty throne.

BopNgrill, 6604 N. Sheridan Rd.; 773-654-3224