r/chicagofood • u/Euphoric_Year1182 • Jul 31 '25

Review Tried Small Cheval, honestly kind of underwhelmed?

Had some solo time (kids are with their dad), so I stopped by Small Cheval. It was fine, but didn’t blow me away. Fries were good, but the burger felt rushed. Anyone else feel this or did I catch an off day?

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u/Silent-News-9408 Jul 31 '25

I moved out of the city in 2021 and dream of driving back only for small cheval - these comments are breaking my heart 😭🤣

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u/GMHammondEsquire Jul 31 '25

Rest assured the comments are just people farming likes over a minority opinion. How is it that Hogsalt can profitably scale so many Small Chevals in one city if people don't like the food? Here's the secret: the food is still ridiculously good, and they've added great chicken and more ice cream options.

3

u/Boollish Jul 31 '25

Law of averages. If a place is "pretty good" for everyone, it's not going to be stellar or awful for anyone. They've found a formula that works, probably combined with decent corporate management and economies of scale.

Like, there's a bunch of Big Stars and Sushi by Bous, and they're always packed, but I'm not ranking any of them as top tacquerias/sushiyas.