midwest

week 11: edzo's burger shop

in ,

i didn't come out of the womb liking condiments and accouterments.
no, no, no.
i came out of the womb a plain cheeseburger gal.
to the point where,
i'd force mum to double,
and triple check
that there were 
no pickles 
on my burger king plain cheeseburger. 


well, sheesh, i guess i've really grown up 
because just the other day,
i walked into what is nominated in time out chicago for one of chicago's best new restaurants,
and ordered a single burger
with everything.

and it's a darned good thing i did,
because everything is what makes an edzo's burger
pretty freaking awesome.

{i feel the terminology,
 "pretty freaking awesome" 
is fitting for food from a place with walls so bright you need sunshades.}

it wasn't just the meat.
it wasn't just the bun.
it wasn't just the mustard...
or any of the other accouterments.
it was really about how all of the friends worked together in peace and harmony.
the full package, if you will.

which, you know, is a different experience from 
the famed/illustrious minetta tavern black label burger.
but for lunch,
i more appreciate patties that are small enough to have the option of getting one, two, or six,
and paired with some veggies.

also on the menu was
angry fries
fries with jalepoños and jalapeño juices.

they weren't crispy.
but they weren't soggy,
they had a sort of chewy texture that i've never met in a fry before.
satisfying it was. 
and a fork it required.

friend becca got a
nutella milkshake
yes, that's right, she got a 
nutella milkshake
{!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!}

and it really is as good as it sounds.
it's just one of those ideas that makes you smack your forehead and say, 
"why didn't i think of that?"

oh, and of course i mooched.

friends billy and julia got 
bacon
on their burgers.
kids, that's not kosher!

and billy got
trufffffffffle fries
dang those were goooooood. 
mainly because, it was like,
would you like some fries with that parmesan cheese?
 i think they would have been better triple or quadruple fried,
but the taste was mighty awesome.


edzo's is totally a solid lunch place.
especially if you have three free hours in the middle of the day to submit to food coma afterwards.
which, i promise you, 
you will get food coma.
{worth it}


i wonder which of my next 41 restaurants will give me worse food coma...


xoxo


yeh


edzo's burger shop is on orrington & davis in evanston, il. 
closed mondays. every other day open from 10:30 am - 4:00 only, 
so that ed can eat dinner with his family. how cute is that?



things chicago has that new york has not {love to both though}

in , , , , ,
ok, new york's got:

out-of-this-world food stands
&

...but may chicago please have a few seconds of fame??


1. dim sum
i've been totally spoiled rotten with chicago dim sum all my life
{particularly furama}
that new york's just doesn't cut it, flavor wise or variety wise.

2. sisters
stoop in the center, mia on the right.
boy are they silly.

"you can pick your nose, 
and you can pick your friends,
but you can't pick your sisters."
-mia, as she picks her nose.




3. hot dogs
NUH UH said the big fat juicy chicago dog,
complete with a bazillion toppings.
and it's kosher.
and superdawg is one of america's last drive-ins. 

4. pizza
part of my soul dies every time i walk past 
on central park west.
there's really no place to get good chicago pizza other than chicago.
{unless you're like mum and you order twelve lou malnati's pizzas to be overnighted on dry ice to tampa}

5. extremely tall people of the male kind
roomie thinks it's the midwestern diet.
i think it's the dim sum.
but it's true, 
i tower over a majority of my guy friends in the east.
but in chicago?
i'm a munchkin.

6. a mediumly casual schnitzel
in new york, it's either, drup a hundo on a nice meal at wallsé,
or fear for your life eating on the street in front of schnitzel truck.
no in between.
chicago's got it,
at kuhn's. 


...and one thing i'm glad that new york doesn't have...

extremely mysterious restaurant names
mado? green zebra? the publican?
i'm confused.
they don't give us anything to work with, like,
"bar and burger," "noodle bar," or even "bakery" tacked on the end.



either way,
chicago, you will forever be my home.
and
new york, you will forever be the city that i live in right now.
and i love you both.
but i am sad to leave home today :-(


xoxo


yeh





kafein

in


is awkwardly cool.

first it was cool because EVERYBODY went there in high school as soon as they got their licenses.
then it suddenly became uncool because EVERYBODY went there...
{i think by now we've all grown up enough to appreciate its little coffeehouse charm}



and i like going there because:

 1. their white chocolate almond lattes are heavenly!

2. sometimes i like to relive that little bit {ok a LOT} 
of high school awkwardness that plagued me...

3. they have open mic night on mondays, 
with cool one-man bands like
collages
{animal collective + mgmt + owl city}




...just another place i like to go to when i'm home...

xoxo

yeh

kafein is in evanston, il 
{on chicago ave between church and davis}

week 10: taxim

in ,
{meet one of taxim's newest cooks}


ok, so i used to throw tantrums.
i was that kid screaming and crying in the grocery store when mum wouldn't buy me fruit roll ups,
and when pops tried to make me practice piano,
and when i started kindergarten.

and another common trigger for my tantrums?

greek food.
legit, i actually threw fits when we'd go out for greek. 

so imagine my excitement:

mum: stoop just got a new job!
me: where?
mum: a hip schmancy new restaurant called 
me: what kind of food?
mum: greek! {and before i could say anything} ...we're going there this sunday!



20-year-olds don't throw fits.


they try new things,
 like dandelions
and halloúmi cheese...

and duck gýros...
{quack quack}

and lamb sausage...
{maaaaaaaaa}


and some of the things,
they really enjoy!
like this tasty phyllo dough with goat cheese and leeks {made by sister}

and

the pork bellies with honey


and also, they respectfully bow out when they know that other people would much more appreciate shellfish
 and fish with googly eyes. 


...and they watch as mum takes full advantage of the wine flights.


ok,
sorry,
i'm being vague.

it was good.

good in the way that,
kobe bryant is good at basketball.
i know he's like, one of the best, and i appreciate that,
but i wouldn't exactly go out of my way to see a basketball game.
is that fair?

some of the things were really very tasty.
in fact, i demanded that we get two of the phyllo dough things because they were that tasty.
and the lamb sausage was very good as well.

but when all of the seafood came out,
and when stoop shoved an octopus tentacle in my face,
i ran the other way.
i think i've met my new foods quota for the week.

maybe i'll try a googly eyed fish in one of the 42 restaurants that i have left...


xoxo


yeh


taxim is located in wicker park, chicago.
 mention this blog and maybe sister stoop will give you a free phyllo dough thing. 
{hear that, stoop?}