tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4388644319272658752024-03-13T08:07:13.752-05:00chicagomaticdocumenting the birth of edzo's burger shopEddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-15592408879447509112012-07-27T16:28:00.001-05:002012-07-27T16:28:25.816-05:00bacon fat fries<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6czvcxIcGQY/UBMGX3i5Q5I/AAAAAAAABD4/7cbLbU71Bzk/s1600/bacon+fat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6czvcxIcGQY/UBMGX3i5Q5I/AAAAAAAABD4/7cbLbU71Bzk/s400/bacon+fat.JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
Well, we're prepping for <a href="http://www.lollapalooza.com/" target="_blank">Lollapalooza</a>, which is next weekend. We're ordering and processing some really staggering amounts of food (we'll probably go through 15,000-17,000 pounds of idaho russet potatoes over the three days). So since we're in the process of cooking up more than 250 pounds of really great quality country bacon from <a href="http://www.broadbenthams.com/">Broadbent Farms</a> in Kentucky for our Wisconsin Bacon Cheddar Burger, we've got gallons of extra bacon fat on hand. <br />
<br />
So?<br />
<br />
No-brainer. <br />
<br />
BACON. FAT. FRIES.<br />
<br />
Yep, we're draining one of our fryers and filling it with the smoky, porky, delicious hickory-scented Broadbent bacon fat, and then cooking up fries special in the bacon fat and selling them to you for seven bucks.<br />
<br />
All weekend. Because we didn't want this fantastic fat to go to waste. <br />
<br />
Get in here.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-31526835243127614472012-07-08T12:56:00.001-05:002012-07-08T12:56:22.978-05:00big doin'sWell, I'm largely absent from blogging these days, but the urge
hasn't completely left me. Mostly I'm too busy running the restaurant
to take the time to sit down and blog, but we've been going through some
shifts in our plate tectonics over here lately, so maybe after all the
shifting, blogging is something that I'll have more time for. I hope
so.<br />
<br />
But not for a while.<br />
<br />
For the next six or nine months, I've got my work cut out for me.<br />
<br />
In early August, we will be a part of <a href="http://www.lollapalooza.com/experience/chow-town/">Lollapalooza's Chowtown</a>,
where we'll be a part of feeding the some-300,000 concert-goers at the
massive annual event. I'm psyched, but it's a daunting event to plan
for. I've been told by <a href="https://twitter.com/kumassous/">those in the know</a>
to expect to sell 3000-4000 burgers a day (plus fries to go with 'em).
I had to get my calculator out, but once I crunched all the numbers, I
decided that multiplied out to around two tons of <a href="http://www.slagelfamilyfarm.com/">Slagel Farms</a>
beef, more than 15,000 pounds of russet potatoes, 50 lbs. of white
truffle salt, 250 lbs. of Broadbent country bacon, and lord only knows
how many aprons, hand towels, spatulas, and other essential details that
I'll be hoping not to forget about. <br />
<br />
Suffice to say
I've been making a lot of lists and phone calls. Bread will be
delivered daily to the site by Highland, my normal supplier of buns.
Linens will be delivered and picked up daily. Armored truck for change
and drops is being worked on. Hotel room booked across the street.
Refrigerated truck + driver w/class C license nearly in place. Special
event insurance policy underwritten. Etc, etc, etc.... I'll be
thrilled when day 1 is over, I've got a read for how it'll all go, and I
can relax and just sell burgers and fries. Gonna be fun, but a ton of
work.<br />
<br />
Thankfully, Lollapalooza happens to fall within
the timeframe of our annual vacation. We close the shop every August
for 7-10 days and everyone takes a summer break. So, once I was asked
to be part of Lolla, I just added an extra few days onto the beginning
of our vacation. The restaurant will be closed from August 1st-15th.<br />
<br />
Then, once we've left it all in Grant Park and then gone up to <a href="http://www.wildernessresort.com/">Wisconsin</a>
for our annual battery re-charge, I will hurdle head-on into working
towards opening our second location of Edzo's, at 2218 N. Lincoln Ave.
in Lincoln Park. <br />
<br />
News of this was<a href="http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2012/06/18/edzos-burger-shop-expanding-into-city-late-fall.php"> broken</a> earlier than I'd planned, so many of you may have <a href="http://chicago.grubstreet.com/2012/06/edzos_signs_lease_in_lincoln_p.html">heard about it</a>
already. I was planning to make the announcement much closer to
Lollapalooza, in order to try and capitalize on some of the hype that
event will generate, but some <a href="https://twitter.com/aribendersky">nosy food blogger</a> sniffed out the info on some real-estate transaction public listing after I signed the lease, so the cat's out of the bag.<br />
<br />
Anyway,
I'm busy hiring people, training them, and trying to step away and
allow them to grow into autonomous employees that can help things to run
without my direct involvement 100% of the time. To be honest, that's
much more of a challenge for me than it is for them. I've been very
lucky to have found some very capable people with great experience and
they've been catching on quickly and taking control of stuff that I've
been the sole person responsible for since the restaurant opened nearly
three years ago. It's a challenge to relinquish control. I'm not
finding it easy. Yesterday I drove a load of stuff down to the Lincoln
Park location just to get out of their hair during service. Today, I'm
sitting composing a blog post at peak lunch rush time. Baby steps.<br />
<br />
Wish
me luck....gonna be a crazy 6-month-to-maybe-a-year scramble as
everything kind of falls into place (hopefully), but after it all shakes
out, we'll have two Edzo's and I might just have a little more time
available to write blog posts. Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-49636956024259905862012-03-08T09:48:00.002-06:002012-03-08T10:07:46.652-06:00directionsYesterday, after we'd closed, the phone rang and when I picked it up, the woman on the phone asked me which "express" she would need to take to get to Edzo's.<br /><br />I asked her to repeat her question, since I didn't understand it, and when I heard it again my assumption was that she meant "expressWAY", but it could've also been express train or bus...depending on where she was coming from and how she was intending on traveling here. But I didn't know that since she didn't actually even tell me where she was coming FROM.<br /><br />But as soon as it became clear that she was asking me for directions, I began to beg off. <br /><br />"Oh, you're asking me for directions? I see. No, sorry, I'm not good with directions and don't want to tell you the wrong thing and have you get lost." This is my standard (true) answer. <br /><br />"But I'm calling from South Holland," the woman on the phone says. <br /><br />I resisted the urge to make a crack about how it'd take a long time to get to Evanston from The Netherlands and told her that I truly have no idea where that even is, so I don't want to try to give her directions on how to get here.<br /><br />The caller yesterday seemed to understand and accept my rationale for not wanting to give her directions, but other callers have not been able to let go quite as easily. One woman calling from Skokie was so incredulous that I wouldn't walk her through the entire trip, turn-by-turn, that she just kept asking me the same question over and over again until I finally said a polite goodbye and hung up, and then she called back, insisting that I must give her directions or she wouldn't be able to come. <br /><br />I didn't give her directions. She came anyway. And scolded me for not being more helpful.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong. I'm fine with answering a few simple questions. Address, cross streets, "just a bit north of <a href="http://www.petemillers.com/">Pete Miller's</a>", Davis St. Purple line stop, etc, etc.... But I'm not going to tell you stuff like "turn right" here or there. I deal with north, south, east, west, not right and left. My wife used to (before the era of smart phones) ask for directions using the right/left format, and I always refused to accommodate what I view as a stubborn refusal to utilize the basic language of speaking about location and directions. <br /><br />Bottom line, if you can't be bothered to learn the basics about navigation, I'm not going to serve as your personal GPS.<br /><br />Oh, and while it occurs to me that a blog post might not be the best medium from which to send out this message to its intended audience, it seemed like a mildly interesting subject for a blog post. Happy Travels!Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-37504992446686580662012-01-18T09:47:00.005-06:002012-01-18T16:21:25.061-06:00can you describe the ruckus?Ok, so after my last blog post was <a href="http://automaticburger.blogspot.com/2012/01/im-hot.html">published</a>, a bit of a ruckus ensued.<br /><br />To be honest, I wrote that blog post in one furious spurt, clicked 'publish', and then kind of forgot all about the whole thing. After I got it out of my system, I felt better. I knew that I'd handled it pretty much the way I wanted to handle it, and kind of just closed my mental book on it when I put the blog post up.<br /><br />As luck would have it, Chicago's premier <a href="http://skyfullofbacon.com/blog/">food</a> <a href="http://grubstreet.com/author/michael%20gebert">blogger</a> just happened to be in line with his kids at the exact moment that the incident went down. So of course he <a href="http://chicago.grubstreet.com/2012/01/edzos_lays_down_the_law_of_sea.html">wrote about it</a> in his daily column. So I saw that, and got a chuckle about it, but then noticed the links to Yelp embedded in the Grubstreet piece, went and checked out the couple negative reviews that were (presumably) written by the aggrieved Rude Woman or her proxies and got a bit of a chuckle out of those.<br /><br />And then....I figured that'd be the end of it. A few folks were outraged on my behalf due to the Yelp reviews, but I wasn't at all concerned because Yelp routinely removes (or filters, actually) reviews that are clearly grudge-driven, or that contain insults, or whatever.<br /><br />But, of course, that wasn't the end of it.<br /><br />A flurry of *positive* posts followed the two negative reviews from Rude Woman or her proxies. Some of my regulars who read either the blog post or the Grubstreet article must've decided that it would be a nice idea to go sign onto Yelp and write a positive review of my restaurant. Or to respond to the claims made in the Rude Woman's (or her proxies') reviews.<br /><br />Which was nice. I was honestly touched. I did not, of course, ask anyone to do that, nor did I go sign up with a fake name or do it myself. As I've stated, there's really no need for that, since I figured that Yelp would pull the two negative reviews (as they've now done). I recognized a few of the positive reviewers by name or face when I read through them, and made a mental note to thank them for the support but to also let'em know that what they did was completely unncecessary (although the thought was much appreciated).<br /><br />But, of course, before I could do that (and before Yelp could pull some of the positive reviews that were clearly driven by a desire to respond to the negative reviewers), some folks read those positive reviews, assumed I was behind them, and wrote a negative review about me based on THAT assumption.<br /><br />Whew! You following all that? Crazy...convoluted, and with lots of assumptions piled atop more assumptions. Not a great recipe for solid factual info.<br /><br />Here's an example, from one of the original Rude Woman proxy reviews (by "Truth T"):<br /><br /><blockquote>After giving this dive a one star review, I want to downgrade it to negative 100 stars. All in the same day, I got 3 Yelp messages from people that obviously own the place or are related to the owner. All 3 of them (probably one person using 3 different yelp accounts). They all sent me nasty emails and they all happened to sign up for Yelp today. Then they all gave this dump 5 star reviews. Funny how they all signed up today and the only reviews they have is for this dump. Now we know the owner of Edzos has violated the Yelp rules. Perhaps the owner needs a lesson in customer service, much like Soggy Paws. Oh and when Soggy Paws kept doing this, that owner was banned from posting on Yelp.</blockquote><br />Interesting. "Truth T." seems to know quite a lot about Yelp's rules and politics, which makes sense considering the fact that the same day he wrote a terrible review about my restaurant, he wrote 26 other reviews on Yelp as well. Perhaps he knew that Yelp pulls one-star reviews written by people with very few other reviews and wrote a bunch of other reviews in order to try and ensure that his rants about my restaurant would stick.<br /><br />They didn't, though. Yelp removed his posts, along with those from "Ed S." of Munster, Indiana, who made a clear reference to the Rude Woman incident. In fact, all told (and this is to Yelp's credit) they removed everything from Rude Woman and her proxies, and most of the positive posts from folks who came to my defense. A couple still remain, but I'd wager that they'll be pulled pretty soon as well. All told, six reviews posted in the wake of the incident were placed into the "filtered" area, and four more were erased entirely for violating Yelp's rules of content.<br /><br />The review from "Ed S." just disappeared completely (perhaps he erased it himself), which is too bad because it contained one of my favorite lines from the entire episode. After going on and on about what a dick I am for trying to ensure that all of my customers get the opportunity to sit at a table while eating their food, he went on to talk about how horrible the food was, and stated that his burger "spurted blood and grease" at him as soon as he picked it up. I got a good laugh out of that visual along with some cognitive dissonance about the idea that lots of "blood and grease" is somehow a bad thing when it comes to burgers. One guy on Twitter quoted that, saying "is that supposed to be a bad thing? I'll take two!"<br /><br /><br />Anyway, here are couple of choice excerpts from the fallout of the whole thing from various spots out there on the internet:<br /><br /><br />Some people felt compelled to comment kind of offhandedly on the situation, within the context of an actual substantive review--<br /><blockquote>I kind of don't want people to know about Edzo's, simply because every time I go, there's a line out the door. And sometimes people grab empty tables before ordering (I'm looking at you, certain Northwestern kiddos. Also, stop riding your bikes on the sidewalk), which is majorly rude and I hate it. And rude people don't deserve Edzo's food. But they still get it, because our world is not a just place. --Jasmine R. (5 stars)<br /></blockquote><br /><br />Some decided that responding directly to the Rude Woman (or her proxies') claims was the best way to go:<br /><br /><blockquote>Sorry, Ed S. is full of it. Angered over slights largely imagined...In short, yes, Edzo's gets crowded. But I've never seen Edzo himself be anything but pleasant to his customers. If he was being rude, perhaps he was merely returning it in kind..<br />--Fill B. (5 stars)<br /><br /><br />Interesting that the last two posters had such a terrible experience when all previous reviews -- hundreds of them -- seem to be in the 3-5 range. I have a feeling that there's something else going on with them. Not sure of their motives. But here's the real story.... --Julie C. (4 stars)<br /></blockquote><br /><br />Others just resorted to outright mockery of the entire Yelper phenomenon:<br /><br /><blockquote>Okay look. Listen to me right now please. This place is the best place in the world and there is nothing better in the whole wide world I mean that I really do for real. Their burgers are so darn good oh my gosh. Their fries (whether truffle or garlic or crazy or cheese or regular) are so darn good oh my gosh. Their shakes (whether nutella or chocolate or whatever) are so darn good oh my gosh. Basically, this place is so darn good oh my gosh. I love it. Go eat there. You'll love it too I hope. --JJ B. (5 stars)<br /></blockquote><br /><br />In addition to all that ruckus, there's also been endless comments from customers here in the restaurant, the overwhelming majority of them from some of my wise-ass regulars who walk in and put their coat on a six or an eight-top and then loudly ask if it's ok to hold a table before they order. But many were just folks who felt like it was important to note that they understood and supported my policy and my actions. Which is nice.<br /><br />Anyway, I just thought I'd do a little re-cap, since I had some positive things to say about Yelp and the way they deal with their reviews and wanted to note that. Yelp gets a very bad rap from food media types and professional amateur diners like the folks that frequent LTH Forum, but undeservedly, I think. I believe that the sheer volume of reviews that Yelp generates, along with their system for vetting posts, results in a pretty fair picture of most establishments.<br /><br />Truth be told, I found this whole ruckus pretty informative and educational. A big part of why it worked out that way, I think, was the fact that I vented my spleen in my original blog post and, after that, I wasn't very deeply invested in the whole thing emotionally. That allowed me to kind of step back and view everything more objectively, I think. Which was good. Laughing at this ruckus was really the appropriate response. The lessons I learned were a bonus.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-52110585181265697992012-01-07T16:41:00.003-06:002012-01-07T17:28:43.109-06:00I'm hotOk, I don't usually do this because writing a blog post when you're angry about something is usually a really bad idea. But, whatever. I'm pissed and need to get this out.<br /><br />We have 50 seats here at my restaurant. On a busy Saturday, like today, we sell about 400 burgers. About a third of the orders are placed as to-go orders. So, you can do the math. Long story short, it's damn busy and it is not an easy task to try and ensure that everyone who wants to dine in gets a place to sit and eat their burger.<br /><br />So, long ago, for this reason, we put up a sign politely asking people not to grab tables and occupy them until *after* they've placed their food order. We find that, regardless of how busy we are, if people follow this rule, we nearly always have enough room to fit everyone in.<br /><br />And don't think that because Edzo's is just a counter-service, order-your-food-and-grab-it-yourself-when-we-call-your-name kind of place, that I'm not paying attention to what's going on in the dining room. I am. I monitor everyone. I watch tables in order to make sure that the young mom with three kids gets a place to sit down, or that older woman with a walker doesn't get squeezed out, or to see if the guy in a wheelchair needs some help getting his drink out of the soda machine. To me, this is all part of the idea of providing hospitality to my customers. Serving them great food isn't good enough, if they're not provided with a comfortable environment in which to enjoy eating it.<br /><br />Usually, I don't have to enforce the "no table-grabbing" rule. Folks either just know about it, or they see the sign, which explains that this is the best way to ensure that everyone has a comfortable place to eat their food, and, since it (hopefully) makes sense, there's usually not a problem.<br /><br />Today was an extremely busy day, though. And Saturdays are often the day that we get the most new customers (who probably don't know the rules and maybe don't see the sign), and when it's so busy, folks start to stress about finding a table, and sometimes they can get a bit grabby. So it's not uncommon for me to have to go out into the dining room, politely point to the sign, and ask people to not save tables for their group until after they've ordered. When I do this, folks are usually extremely accommodating and even apologetic (which is unnecessary, I assume ignorance rather than malice).<br /><br />One woman today, however, was simply not able to accept the fact that she shouldn't have grabbed a six-top before her group even ordered. When I asked the person who was holding the table to get up so that two other groups (who already had their food in their hands) could sit down to eat, the woman rushed over and tried to tell me about the many reasons why it was absolutely essential that her group be permitted to make an exception to the rule. <br /><br />So she did know about the rule. She just decided that she was entitled to disregard it. As soon as I hear that, that's strike one. It's not that she didn't know. She knew, but decided that she was entitled to blow off the rule.<br /><br />I tried to politely explain to her that these other people were standing with their food in their hands, but nowhere to eat it, and that this is the exact reason why the rule exists; to prevent a situation in which a group of people THAT HAVEN'T EVEN ORDERED YET are occupying a table for 20 minutes while others with food in their hands have nowhere to sit and eat it.<br /><br />This woman wasn't hearing any of it. She, again, had a mouthful of extenuating circumstances that made her apparently inconsiderate behavior completely necessary. And, besides, she claimed, they were *almost* up to the front of the line. <br /><br />I didn't have time to continue arguing with her, and the folks with food either found a spot to eat or graciously agreed to take their order to go, so I just shook my head, walked away from Rude Woman, and allowed her to get her way. I did not try to hide my irritation with her. The rest of her group was clearly embarrassed by her behavior as well. But she got what she wanted.<br /><br />So they ordered, and then they got their food and ate. Comfortably. Unlike some of the other paying customers who got shut out of a comfortable table to sit at because of Rude Woman's selfishness. Ok...not ideal, but, again, folks were very gracious and understanding and I think they kind of got a sense of what was going on.<br /><br />Later, after the group was done eating, Rude Woman came up to the register to talk to me. Nevermind that she'd already gotten what she wanted. Nevermind that there was a line out the door and I was already juggling twelve tasks at once. Rude Woman wasn't entirely pleased with how the situation played out, so she was determined to put the screws to me.<br /><br />First of all, she says, it was rude of me to "embarrass her" in front of her group and the other customers. Seriously??? *I* embarrassed you? Because you chose to break a rule and you chose to be inconsiderate to your fellow diners and I had the nerve to actually call you on it? I do not think so, Rude Woman.<br /><br />"No, ma'am", I said, "if you were embarrassed, it was because of your rude, inconsiderate behavior. Not due to the fact that I pointed it out."<br /><br />She didn't like that.<br /><br />Then, she countered, I didn't charge her correctly for their food. "Why was it forty-eight dollars?" she asked. <br /><br />"I don't know, ma'am", I said, "lemme see your receipt".<br /><br />"I don't have a receipt, you didn't give it to me."<br /><br />Ok, then. So I go into the computer, find the name, and reprint her itemized receipt. Handing it to her, I say (irritation again evident), "ok, here's your itemized receipt, so you can go through that item by item and maybe you can find something to complain about."<br /><br />She didn't like that either. But, at this point, it was pretty clear that she was just pissed about being embarrassed, she believed that her embarrassment was my fault, and she wanted to make me pay for it. I was not about to allow that to happen. Personally, the way I feel about it is that if you're going to be a selfish inconsiderate jerk, then any feelings of embarrassment you might have about being a selfish inconsiderate jerk are your problem, not mine. I left plenty of room at the beginning for her to back out graciously and she chose not to do so. <br /><br />So she stood there and pored over the receipt for a few minutes. I ignored her and continued working through customers, taking orders, calling tickets and sending food out, trying not to let my irritation with this situation color my interactions with other customers. Her family, clearly embarrassed and uncomfortable, implored her to give it up and just leave, already. Eventually, she did.<br /><br />If that were the end of it, I wouldn't be hot right now. But it wasn't. So I am.<br /><br />A few minutes later, the phone rings. The caller ID tells me its a cell phone. I answer, and a very familar-sounding woman's voice asks for a manager. I respond that I'm the manager, and how can I help her.<br /><br />"No, she says, you're the guy who took my order. I want to speak to an owner or a manager."<br /><br />I chuckle, because now I know just exactly what this call is. <br /><br />"Yes, I'm the guy who took your order. I'm also the owner. AND the manager. How can I help you?"<br /><br />She keeps it up. "So, wait...you're the owner?"<br /><br />"Yup," I said.<br /><br />"Is there a manager?"<br /><br />"Just me," I said. "How can I help you? I have a huge line of people waiting to order right now, so I can't talk on the phone with you for very long".<br /><br />"......so you're the only manager, then?"<br /><br />[click]<br /><br />I just hung up. I explained it twice. I explained that many other people are waiting while you're asking me questions that I've already answered multiple times. Either tell me how I can help you or the phone call is over.<br /><br />Obviously, she wanted to go above my head to get me in trouble. In my situation, that obviously won't work, but it really pissed me off to think about the fact that this woman was doing this. She was the one who refused to follow our policy about table-grabbing. She got her way. But that wasn't enough for her. She felt embarrassed because I didn't allow her to get her way without pointing out that she was being rude and inconsiderate, so now she was going to try to get the poor counter guy in trouble. The poor counter guy, who was just trying to do his job and ensure that all the customers have a decent chance to have a burger comfortably, is going to, if Rude Woman has any say in it, get written up or maybe even fired for it.<br /><br />Nice. Really fucking nice. You can't let it go, can you Rude Woman? You got what you wanted, it's all over now, and you're in your car with a stomach full of freshly-ground burgers, hand-cut fries and great shakes, but rather than just be content, you've got to keep pushing it.<br /><br />So, yeah, I hung up on her. Right in mid-sentence. Click. Bubbye, now!<br /><br />She called back, of course. Multiple times. But thanks to the wonders of caller id, I could see when it was her and not answer. I let the machine pick it up a few times (after six rings each time--one thing you can damn sure say about Rude Woman, she doesn't give up easily).<br /><br />I don't have a pithy wrap-up paragraph for this blog post. I'm still hot, although less so now, I suppose, that I've vented this all out. There's no lesson here (except, possibly, don't be an asshole, but don't we all already know that lesson already).<br /><br />This incident put a real damper on an otherwise great day. We were super-busy, we cranked out tons of great food, and nearly everyone seemed very pleased with their Edzo's experience. So it bums me out that I'm dwelling on this one interaction and letting it get me down. I have very high standards and want every single customer to leave my restaurant super-pleased. Rude Woman didn't, and I suppose that was my fault. I could've done what was necessary to placate her and she would've left super-pleased, but I made a conscious decision not to do so.<br /><br />Was that the right call? The wrong one? I'm not entirely sure. But it's the one I went with at the moment, and I feel ok about it, even though the incident left a very bad taste in my mouth.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-27791255461983671402011-11-16T09:19:00.004-06:002011-11-16T10:21:46.402-06:00blood<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j-g7BQWtPK4/TsPjE1ntoNI/AAAAAAAABDw/VzWOPoxSK0I/s1600/photo.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 253px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j-g7BQWtPK4/TsPjE1ntoNI/AAAAAAAABDw/VzWOPoxSK0I/s400/photo.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675629627669586130" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Yesterday was by all measures a fairly normal Tuesday. A welcome respite of a less-busy restaurant after a weekend that included Veteran's Day, and the NU football game/parents weekend combo.<br /><br />But a sequence of random events happened that got me thinking about blood, and the thought of it as it relates to food and eating. It's a strange and interesting phenomenon how blood is this taboo that repulses people, but they'll gladly eat nearly every other part of whatever animal they're consuming.<br /><br />There is, of course, a deep multi-cultural history of rituals and beliefs relating to blood and the question of whether to partake of eating/drinking it. Lots has been written, including a really good <a href="http://www.foodarts.com/webfeature/show/id/3544">article</a> in Food Arts by Brad Farmerie.<br /><br />When customers come into Edzo's and say something about "blood" with regard to the burgers that they're ordering, they're under the impression that the red juice that drips out of a nicely-prepared burger is blood. It's not, of course.<br /><br />Now, I could try explaining to the guy trying to order a burger "medium, but with no blood" that all the blood is drained from the animal at the slaughterhouse and what he's seeing when he eats his medium burger is mostly just water that resides within the muscle tissue that is subsequently thrown off during the cooking process as the proteins in the meat tighten and shrink, pushing out the moisture.<br /><br />But that's not very appetizing. So it's kind of a hard situation to handle.<br /><br />Most of the time, folks that specifically talk about "blood" in their burgers want well-done, so it's not an issue that needs to be grappled with. They're just trying to tell me that they don't want to see any red or pink in their burger. Which, you know, I'm not in love with doing, but I'm happy to oblige for paying customers.<br /><br />But the "medium, no blood" requests are more difficult. I usually ask something like "so, you want a pink center?", and often the person says "oh, no!", so it's clear that they just don't actually understand what "medium" refers to. Yesterday, a woman asked for "medium, no blood" and when I asked about the pink center, she said "yes", enthusiastically. So I repeated it back to her "You want it pink, but with no blood?"<br /><br />"Yes," she said.<br /><br />Ok. I didn't bother trying to delve into the question of what distinction she would make between juice and blood, although I considered it. I just called it out and rung it up as a regular medium char burger.<br /><br />Coincidentally, this happened at a time when Rob and Allie Levitt from <a href="http://thebutcherandlarder.com/">The Butcher & The Larder</a> were in having lunch, so Rob and I were naturally chatting about beef as I bopped around the restaurant doing this and that.<br /><br />At one point, Rob and I were up by the counter talking, and the "no blood" lady comes up, holding her burger up above the paper tray. It looks awesome and it's just dripping juice, but she's making this "I'm kind of repulsed" face and is clearly not pleased. I try and reassure her that what she's seeing is not blood, but juice, and is a good thing, a sign of how fresh the beef is. I start to swap out her juice-filled paper tray for a new one, and Rob and I chuckle about the fact that her burger was made with beef from Slagel Farm that Rob cut and I ground, and that the animal was alive maybe 5 days ago.<br /><br />I tried explaining this to the lady in a way that she'd be able to understand, without getting into too much detail. This is an interesting thing that's happened as a result of this recent farm-to-table trend that's happening. Some people aren't quite ready to be so close to their food. Being closer to our food means sometimes seeing stuff that we believe we're supposed to be repulsed by.<br /><br />If someone truly believes that all moisture in a burger is "blood" and they believe that eating "blood" is repulsive, then they're not going to enjoy a juicy burger. Anyone who's stubbornly forced a kid to eat something and then watched them truly gag on it (or been forced to when they were a kid) knows this.<br /><br />But other people<span style="font-weight: bold;"> are</span> ready. Or maybe they're close to being ready, and they just need a bit of education in order to be able to get past their hang-ups. Thankfully, that was the case with yesterday's "no blood" lady. I explained to her about how the <a href="http://www.slagelfamilyfarm.com/">Slagel Farm</a> beef we get is free of hormones and antibiotics, and how it's sourced from a local farm that raises the cows using humane, sustainable methods, by a butcher who brings in one or two whole cows a week and cuts the meat himself, in his local butcher shop. And I gave her a brief glimpse into how we take care here in the shop to handle the meat minimally as we cut it, grind it and shape it into half-pound patties, waiting until it hits the fire to season it with just a bit of salt and pepper.<br /><br />And I explained that all of those factors combined are the reason that the burger has so much juice, which most people see not as repulsive "blood", but as a delicious liquid--almost like a small quantity of freshly-made beef 'stock--that is created during the cooking process, and is something to be savored. I see customers dipping the remnants of their buns into the puddles in the paper trays all the time.<br /><br />"Give it a minute to rest", I said, as I swapped out her paper tray for a fresh one. "Then cut it in half and take a look inside. If you want me to put it back on the fire and cook it all the way, I'll be happy to do that for you". She did as I suggested, and was over at her table quietly eating for a while. I went back and checked in on her after a bit and she seemed to be enjoying the burger, rosy pink center and all.<br /><br />So that was nice. I'm not entirely sure if she saw the light, or if she just didn't want to deal with asking me to cook it more. She didn't come up and rave about having a revelation or anything, but I wasn't expecting that. Hopefully she'll be back in soon and it will be interesting to see how she orders her burger next time.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-3188564875561110192011-04-15T22:08:00.003-05:002011-04-15T23:25:16.145-05:00HeldaI had a brief encounter with a customer today that has stayed with me.<br /><br />I work the counter at my restaurant every day and while I do a pretty good job being nice to every customer, I can sometimes be short or impatient with people. I take all the food/drink orders, work the cash register, answer the phones, and expedite the food myself, so it gets hectic at times.<br /><br />Today a woman walked in--a very short, older black woman with a wild frizz of hair. She looked like she weighed about 88 pounds. Wisp thin, gaunt. She seemed angry and suspicious, and somehow I felt like she was blaming me for whatever it was that she was so upset about.<br /><br />She was kind of muttering under her breath to herself, and she took a while looking at the menu. I greeted her a couple times and helped a couple other customers while she was figuring out what she wanted.<br /><br />When she was ready, she began asking me questions very tersely. Almost combative. Her lips were pursed with doubt and pessimism as she asked me what toppings we put on our hot dogs. She appeared to strongly disapprove of the way I quickly ran down the list of classic Chicago hot dog toppings. I got the feeling, via her facial expression, that if she were asked to name one term to describe me, the term she would choose would be "whippersnapper", and her use of that term would not be intended to be ironic. She looked me in the eye very intensely. As if her questions about sport peppers vs. giardiniera were of the utmost import and she had no patience for a fool like me who didn't view them similarly.<br /><br />Once it became evident that she wanted to order a hot dog, I turned the questions back on her, getting her order ("no mustard. tomato, pickle, sport pepper, celery salt. NO! MUSTARD! understand?") asking her if she wanted fries (no), and then whether she wanted a drink.<br /><br />She seemed shocked, and personally affronted that I would dare ask such things! My youthful impudence was clearly not appreciated at all. Yet she answered my questions quickly, tersely. Her inquiry about the price of my drink cup ($1.29) and whether said price included free refills (it does) felt downright adversarial. As if she, in the role of a consumer, had been taken advantage of many times in the past by shady soda fountain operators. <br /><br />At some point in the ordering process, I realized that this was a customer that certainly presented me with the opportunity to lose my patience and become short or rude in my responses to her. But I also realized that I was better served to see it simply as amusing. I took a deep breath and smiled genuinely and answered her questions, resigning myself to kill her with kindness. I asked her what her name was (Helda), which of course led to yet another round of incriminating looks down her nose at me, and then I took her four dollars, returned to her eighteen cents in change, and said "thanks," giving her a big smile.<br /><br />"When you fix me my drink, I want a Diet Pepsi with ice," she said.<br /><br />I paused. She said it so disdainfully. Out of the downturned corner of her mouth. Her head casually tossed back, almost as if she was spitting at me as she turned away from the counter. <br /><br />Now, customers help themselves to soda from the fountain here, but lots of people aren't aware of that, so they ask for "a Sprite, easy ice" or whatever, and I usually just let'em know drinks are self-serve and wave them over to the soda machine where they can help themselves.<br /><br />Part of me wanted to do that with Helda. But another part of me remembered I was supposed to be killing her with kindness, so I quietly asked Tufo, my <span style="font-style: italic;">batidero</span>, to go get her a Diet Pepsi with ice. <br /><br />Then, as Helda turned away from the counter, I realized that she was using a walker. Somehow I hadn't noticed this up until that moment. And she was moving incredibly slowly. She headed over to a two-top just opposite the counter where I take customers' orders--only three steps away--but it took her at least three or four full minutes to move herself away from the counter and slowly make her way over to the table and into her seat.<br /><br />We were busy, so I went right into helping the next customer. Helda got her hot dog and was quiet for a while. I was monitoring her but she seemed content. At one point as I passed by her table, I made eye contact and asked if everything was ok. She gave me a head nod signaling assent.<br /><br />She stayed for quite a while. Rodolfo bussed her table at one point, I think. Finally, when she got up to leave, she made a point of coming up to the counter and saying how great the hot dog was and that she'll "come back again sometime soon". And she gave me a big smile.<br /><br />Interactions like this one today with Helda make me happy to be in the restaurant industry. I'm gratified that I was able to improve her mood and hopefully her day, but I'm also grateful for the lessons that I get to take away from how the situation unfolded.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: monospace;"><br /></span>Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-23691023612400820892010-09-01T20:46:00.008-05:002010-09-08T20:26:15.473-05:00craziness, media and otherwiseWe have been awash in media coverage over the last week or so. As a result of a mini social-media <a href="http://twitter.com/edlakin/status/12397025073">coup</a> that I managed to pull off, Edzo's was named to <a href="http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2010/09/chicago_cheap_eats">a list</a> of nine great places for "cheap eats" in Chicago that <a href="http://www.bonappetit.com/">Bon Appetit</a> magazine published in their September issue. Truly, I'm honored to be mentioned in the same company as the others on the list.<br /><br />And, as often happens with this sort of stuff, it's really steamrolled. The BA list is just grist for the internet food news/blog mill, and the only thing food writin' folks like more than checking out a new list is assessing and critiquing the lists of others. So as a result of BA publishing their list, we've been mentioned in subsequent articles in/at the <a href="http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/thestew/2010/08/big-star-no-1-as-bon-appetit-names-chicago-best-us-cheap-eats-city.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+chicagotribune%2Fthestew+%28Chicago+Tribune+-+The+Stew%29">Tribune</a>, the <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/food/2659886,CST-NWS-cheapeats01.article">Sun-Times</a>, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/31/bon-appetit-names-chicago_n_700578.html#s133032">Huffington Post</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CDUQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcchicago.com%2Ffeast%2FBon-Appetit-Digs-Chicagos-Cheap-Eats.html&rct=j&q=bon%20appetit%20list%20chicago&ei=3zKITOL3CpCknQfa9fCpDA&usg=AFQjCNGL58Vfodb2OO6BFXqTILSWRAN4ug&sig2=V7gjdLbGmwC0tb4wXgr4Ug&cad=rja">NBC Chicago</a>, and a whole host of others.<br /><br />Then, as a result of posting some pics from my summer vacation on the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#%21/album.php?aid=193258&id=294223848719">Edzo's Facebook page</a>, I got a call from <a href="http://lklchu.typepad.com/about.html">Louisa Chu</a> who was researching an article about chefs' vacations. The piece ended up in last week's Sun-Times food section and it was a really <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/food/2657382,chef-vacations-work-090110.article">nicely done article</a> (the online version doesn't do the stunning layout of the print edition justice). Plus, one of the pics I sent her of Henry chowing down on a burger made it into the paper. The PR for the restaurant is great, but making my kid's day by putting his picture in the paper is especially sweet!<br /><br />And, then, hey, as long as we've got you on the line, Ed, could we ask you a few questions about your milkshakes? Um...sure. And, so, bam! This week's Sun-Times food section features <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/food/2681862,food-detective-edzos-milkshake-090810.article">an article</a> about the old <a href="http://www.sterlingmulti.com/mixer.html">Multimixer</a> we use to mix the shakes. And despite the fact that I'm quoted running down the quality of ice cream we use AND saying that our shakes are overpriced, the whole thing manages to come off as quite positive.<br /><br />And, of course, all coverage is good coverage. Just get the name and address right! Thanks, everyone, for the interest!Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-53350964769499173632010-08-29T09:00:00.007-05:002010-08-29T09:12:45.607-05:00the smell of the grill burning offEvery Sunday we "burn off" the grill, meaning we put a sheetpan on the grill face-down and turn it on high. This builds up the heat within the grill itself and burns off all the excess grease and little bits that drop down into the ceramic briquette area all week long. Once it burns off for a while, there's just some white powder left which is very easy to clean out. This keeps the grill running nice and hot and results in less white smoke coming off of it while we're cooking burgers all week.<br /><br />Anyway, this morning, as I pulled into the parking lot, with my car windows up, I smelled the grill-burning-off smell and immediately knew that Oscar was inside and working, remembered that it's Sunday, and thought that the vent fan must be doing it's job pretty well for me to smell that all the way out here.<br /><br />That momentary thought process, where I smelled something and drew a number of conclusions about what was going on in my kitchen is a perfect embodiment of what the job of cooking and running a restaurant is all about.<br /><br />People think cooking is about following recipes well, but it's not. It's about being in touch with your senses and then understanding the signs they're telling you. I am constantly in touch with the sounds, sights, smells, and feels of everything in the restaurant.<br /><br />I don't notice the ice machine above the fountain machine running, but if it stops running, things seem too quiet and I'll go investigate. I can tell from the sound when all the liquid has evaporated from a pan of sauteing onions or mushrooms and they go from stewing to frying. And I can hear it from across the room. While I'm talking to someone.<br /><br />Not only have I learned to smell something burning, but I can usually tell *what* in particular is burning, just by the specific smell. Burning toast, or marshmallows, or grill-grease-burnoff have decidedly different burning smells.<br /><br />This is the stuff that cooking and running restaurants is all about. Being very in touch with your senses and then being able to figure out what they're telling you before it turns into a problem (or shortly after).Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-90682711975978244412010-08-28T11:53:00.002-05:002010-08-28T16:01:56.567-05:00shit breaksIt's a fact of life in restaurants. Stuff breaks.<br /><br />A few days ago, at around 3pm, we all heard a crazy racket coming through the exhaust ducts, from up on the roof, and then the fan started making some very strange knocking noises. I went up and investigated and couldn't see anything obvious like a busted fan belt, so I called my guy, who promised to come early the next morning.<br /><br />But, 9am came and went, and then ten, and he's not showing up. By this time, the fan wasn't working at all, so I've got all the windows and doors flung open to try and vent the place, otherwise it'll get up in the 90's very quickly in here. <br /><br />As I was blanching fries that morning, I'm thinking about what I'll do if we have to get through the day without ventilation, and it would suck, but what can I do about it? So I just keep my head down and keep working, and try not to think about the fact that all the heat and smoke isn't going out like it's supposed to.<br /><br />It got fixed. It always does, and it wasn't a big deal...but the point is that, really, this kind of stuff is just par for the course. Something always fails, breaks, leaks, falls apart...and all you can do is just keep slogging through the work, just keep making sure you don't run out of beef or potatoes or buns.<br /><br />Then this morning, I go downstairs to receive a delivery of CO2 for the pop machine, and there's tons of water all over the floor down there. Coming from an active leak in the ceiling, right where my water supply for my soda machine is located above. <br /><br />So, upstairs I go to scope it out, and there's water all over the place in the same spot, but I can't really locate anything that looks like an active leak. So...try to eliminate some possibilities...check floor drains, water supplies, nothing. There's a very slight leak coming from where the fountain soda machine connects to the water supply, but I can't figure out why it would've caused so much water to come down, and why it would've leaked throughout the night, but not be leaking right now.<br /><br />So, again, what can I do, really? Mop up the messes, put a bucket on the floor under the spot, call Pepsi service to come out and take a look at it, and call the building super to come out and take a look at it. And....? Get back to work. <br /><br />It's hard because this stuff is upsetting, takes time away from what I'm working on, and tends to rattle me and throw me off my game a bit, but I still need to crank out my beef and potatoes and specials of the day, so that's what I've got to do.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-4060828449739806472010-08-16T11:54:00.003-05:002010-08-16T12:23:33.709-05:00good first week back<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S4ffauNO4p0/TGlzhARweoI/AAAAAAAABCM/bElmGYowdJg/s1600/DSC_9012.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_S4ffauNO4p0/TGlzhARweoI/AAAAAAAABCM/bElmGYowdJg/s400/DSC_9012.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506059030284499586" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />The first year of running a restaurant involves a lot of guessing. You try and keep good notes about why it was busy or slow, so you can plan accordingly for subsequent years.<br /><br />I've guessed wrong about busy/slow so many times now that my employees joke that if I say we're going to be really slammed, then they know to plan for a slow day.<br /><br />Our first week back post summer vacation was a busy one. And, as per the guessing-then-noting game described above, I'm not sure whether to chalk that up to folks needing their post-break fix, or if that's how it'll usually be the second week in August.<br /><br />It's nice to be able to assess our situation as we approach the conclusion of the first year. My small annual rent increase kicked in this month, so that provided a reminder that it's been a full year since I've been in the space that is now Edzo's.<br /><br />The POS system has been a great help during this past busy week. The lines move much faster now and the kitchen seems to be keeping up just fine, which has resulted in lots of busy days that don't "feel" quite as busy, since we don't quite get the huge crushes of people that we used to.<br /><br />Due to this, I've also been able to accommodate many more called in to-go orders than I could take before getting the POS. I was surprisingly able to take 4-5 call in orders this past Saturday between noon and one. In the past, I'd often take the phone off the hook during that time span.<br /><br />Last year at this time I was painting, surfing Craigslist, driving my rented red Ford F150 around looking for used deep fryers, and wondering when the time would come that I'd actually be able to cook some tasty food in the kitchen of my restaurant.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-90581702145764463142010-08-13T10:42:00.003-05:002010-08-13T11:05:40.144-05:00vacationThe restaurant was closed August 1st-10th so that the family and I could spend some quality time together, and I could do a lot more sleeping and sitting down than usual, and it was well worth it.<br /><br />We spent a few days at <a href="http://www.wildernessresort.com/">this crazy waterslide place</a> up in the dells, which was awesome, and I did a bit of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/elakin?v=box_3#%21/album.php?aid=193258&id=294223848719&ref=mf">burger research</a> as well (Wisconsin is always great for that). All in all, it was a really relaxing, refreshing, re-energizing time. I'm so glad I did it.<br /><br />I was anticipating taking a lot of flak from my customers about closing up for such a long spell, especially after reading some of the more negative <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/edzos-burger-shop-evanston#hrid:ykJdXFbELUiQK0NAd-xAag">things</a> that people sometimes have to say about our hours on some of the review sites.<br /><br />But, surprisingly, 99% of the comments I've received from customers have been super-positive. Nearly everyone jokingly said that they can't go that long without their bacon-double-cheese, their Nutella shake or truffle fries, but almost all of them also said stuff like "that's great, you deserve it, it's great that you put a priority on spending time with your family" and all sorts of nice remarks in that vein.<br /><br />And, even better, we've been totally slammed the first two days back, with lines out the door for at least a couple hours both days. With the money worries that closing down for 10 days while still paying rent, utilities, and my employees brings, that's really great to see.<br /><br />So thanks, everyone, so much, for supporting me and the restaurant, in so many ways! It's awesome to know that I can take time away and then come back to a busy, bustling restaurant.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-42334711985380428882010-07-13T18:13:00.003-05:002010-07-13T18:30:09.311-05:00POSBig news! Yesterday my new POS system was installed and today we went live. <br /><br />It went really well. The first day with a new or updated POS system can often be a complete disaster, because everybody is re-learning how to basically do anything having to do with how we communicate in the restaurant.<br /><br />But our menu is simple and the tech from the company that did the programming and I worked very closely to try and set up the screens and order tickets in a way that is very similar to what we were already doing, which was working ok, but this will speed things up significantly, I believe.<br /><br />The system we had in place was effective, but somewhat slow and cumbersome. I would take the order on an order sheet that I made up in MS Excel, using a pen. I'd circle all the desired condiments, write in special requests, then write the person's name at the top and indicate whether the order was "for here" or "to go". THEN, I would ring all that into my cash register, tell the customer the total, collect the money and make change or process the credit card. <br /><br />THEN I would take the register receipt, write the name plus "for here" or "to go" at the top of that, and pass the two pieces of paper into the kitchen, where one would go to the sandwich side and one would remain on the fries side. If they ordered shakes, I'd write a separate little slip for my shake guy, again writing the name and "for here" or "to go". Whew!<br /><br />The new system will require much less time and effort. I am taking the orders directly from the customer and entering them into the computer via the touch screen. No writing anything. The order-taking process still takes a bit of time, but that's really the nature of burgers and dogs, since everyone likes them topped their own way.<br /><br />But now, when I'm done entering the info, and I'm either collecting cash or processing the credit card, the printers in the kitchen start spitting out tickets, so the guys get that info quicker. Plus, they don't have to read my horrible handwriting.<br /><br />It was somewhat difficult today, and, to be honest, my brain hurts from thinking so much and studying all the various touch screen menus, desperately searching for the right key combination to enter "easy salt" or "no bun", but I can already see that this is going to make things considerably easier and faster in the not-so-distant future.<br /><br />Part of me is intimidated and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of computing power that this system offers me. Really the only reason I opted to buy a POS system was to make the ordering/ticket process faster and more efficient, but this thing can do everything; labor, time clock, reports of every conceivable combination, payroll, managing deliveries, invoices, food cost, etc.... I'm one of those people who always reads the manual, so I just printed all 27 pages off and am planning on geeking out to that tonight.<br /><br />So? Growth. Progress. Good stuff. Please be patient with us for a week or so while we move through the learning curve process, folks. It might get a bit hairy at times, but soon enough, I believe, you will see shorter lines at peak lunch hours and the amount of time that it takes from when you enter my front door to when you have food in your hand will be reduced quite a bit.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-12004869462915707112010-07-08T17:03:00.002-05:002010-07-08T17:38:21.161-05:00grass fedFinally!<br /><br />Ever since I started getting our <a href="http://www.dietzlerbeef.com/">Dietzler Farms</a> beef and offering it as an upgrade option for the burgers, folks have been mistakenly referring to it as "grass-fed".<br /><br />Of course, when someone tries to order it and says "I'd like to upgrade to the grass-fed beef", I feel compelled to point out the fact that the Dietzler Farms stuff isn't a grass-fed product.<br /><br />There's a lot of confusion about what's out there and how to best refer to it.<br /><br />The Dietzler beef, for instance, is local (they're about an hour and a half away), sustainable, humane, and natural (meaning they don't use antibiotics or growth hormones on the animals), but it's not grass-fed, and it's not organic.<br /><br />In fact, the term "grass fed" is itself a misnomer. We should actually be referring to this type of beef as "grass finished". The difference is important.<br /><br />All beef is grass-fed for most of its life, meaning that the cows either graze on grass or are given hay or straw as feed. Conventionally-raised cows, though, are "finished" on grain (usually corn and/or soybeans) for the last few months of their lives. This fattens them up quickly, allowing them to be brought to market faster, and results in the type of flavor and fat content that Americans generally associate with beef.<br /><br />The downside of this grain-finishing, though, is that it makes the meat far less healthy for us to eat. The fat from beef that's grain-finished is saturated. Look at it at room temp and you can see this clearly--it's white, thick, hard, and dense. Eating too much of this type of fat regularly, habitually isn't healthy.<br /><br />If you've seen <a href="http://www.foodincmovie.com/">Food, Inc.</a> you know the scoop. Grass fed (finished) beef is not finished with grain. The fat in grass-finished beef is considerably softer, more yellow than white, and it's nearly liquid at room temperature. Clear visible evidence of the fact that beef from grass-finished cattle is unsaturated. <br /><br />Even better, it's jammed full of beneficial Omega 3 and Omega 6 acids. These are the "good fats" that people seek out, often taking fish oil capsules to get them into their systems. They are thought to lower cholesterol and decrease cancer rates. They're the same amino acids that are often associated with wild salmon, except that grass-finished beef has TEN TIMES the amount of them per ounce.<br /><br />Now, don't get me wrong, the Dietzler Farms beef, even though it's grain finished, is a fantastic product. It's locally raised and only fed with food that's grown right there on the farm, so it's got a low impact on the environment. They raise the cows humanely and do not treat them with antibiotics or utilize growth hormones like rGBH, and the Dietzler beef is also dry aged, so the finished product is just jam-packed with big, beefy, minerally flavor. Grain-finished beef also carries the flavors that Americans have come to expect from beef.<br /><br />But I wanted to also offer a grass-fed (finished) option, for those who want to eat it for health reasons. <br /><br />It's not been easy. I tried to set up something with a number of small farms here in Illinois or Indiana, but most of them couldn't commit to getting me what I needed on a consistent basis, and quite a few of them only deal with beef that's been frozen, which rules them out for me.<br /><br />I tried a number of products, whatever I could get my hands on, but my standards made it difficult--I wanted only beef that had never been frozen, I wanted only whole muscle, not already-ground beef, and I wanted great flavor, which is sometimes not associated with grass-fed.<br /><br />After exploring the limited options (the stuff I bought at the Whole Foods butcher counter was terrific, but at $7.99/lb., not economically viable) I went with the big player in the grass-finished market; <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tallgrassbeef.com%2F&ei=8VI2TPOAOIzanAe_4Lz2Aw&usg=AFQjCNGd-7paS7aVb1A3jGsMGZIVpW6Kqg&sig2=VlafeysS1ijShTA0qiIlvw">Tallgrass Beef</a>. It took me a while to set up the distribution channel, but we did eventually manage to get it done, and now I believe I've got a steady enough supply to be able to commit to carrying the grass-finished beef as an everyday upgrade option.<br /><br />Today was the first day we used it. Butchered and ground it early this morning, and then we got to work cooking and tasting. It cooks a bit more slowly, due to the difference in the fat, and the color isn't quite that ruby red you expect in a medium or mid-rare burger, but I've got no complaints; the meat is very flavorful, quite juicy, and not at all a noticeable drop-off from the ultra-premium Dietzler stuff. I tried both a griddled and a char burger and was very pleased with both. <br /><br />It's not cheap, though. I'm charging $3 extra per four ounces for the upgrade to the grass-finished beef, and that's kind of a stretch, even. I should really be charging closer to four. So that means that if you buy an 8oz. char burger for $5.19, the upgrade will cost you six bucks--more than the price of the burger in the first place.<br /><br />So it's not for everybody. But for those that want to eat burgers and feel like they're not totally indulging and clogging their arteries, it's probably worth it, especially considering that the quality and flavor of this beef is so good.<br /><br />Get in here and check it out!Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-45618085058499993722010-07-03T09:33:00.004-05:002010-07-03T10:03:08.006-05:00happy fourth of july!Yes, it's been like forever since I made a blog post. So what? I'm running a restaurant here, as well as trying to also have a life.<br /><br />Anyway, it's July 3rd and I am unapologetically coasting into a long (2 days) holiday weekend. Seems like a good moment to bring this blog up into the present.<br /><br />We are nearly nine months into the life of this restaurant and things are going pretty darn well, I must say. I've been slogging out the six-day weeks of 10+ hours a day and have more or less gotten used to that routine, carving out bits of personal and/or downtime as is possible. My employees have proven to be extremely reliable and we've been blessed with nearly no turnover, and despite just having had to shell out nearly a thousand bucks for an air conditioner fix, I've been remarkably free of pricey maintenance expenditures as well.<br /><br />So? Partly lucky, partly by design, we're churning right along. The burgers continue to wow the customers and I've added some fun twists, trying out beef from different local farmers and offering it as an upgrade option over the standard burger. We've been getting Dietzler Farms' fantastic dry aged beef for months now, and even won <a href="http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/restaurants-bars/84646/eat-out-awards-critics-picks/2.html">an award</a> for it.<br /><br />The other big thing I've been doing recently is canvassing the Evanston Farmer's Market every Saturday and then high-tailing it back to the restaurant to put together a market burger special and farmer's market shake with whatever produce seems at its peak. It's resulted in some fun and interesting combinations like a burger topped with a deep fried fromage blanc-stuffed squash blossom and a Michigan black raspberry milkshake. Fun stuff!<br /><br />For those reading who might want to get updates about these kind of specials, you can follow me on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/edlakin">@edlakin</a>, or "like" us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1524843&id=1213117267#%21/pages/Evanston-IL/Edzos-Burger-Shop/294223848719">Facebook</a> to receive all the info about specials as well as loads of other blather from yours truly. Those two outlets for my musings are a big part of why this blog has been so quiet as of late.<br /><br />We won another "best of" thing recently as well, this one from the Chicago Reader, whose critics honored us with their award for <a href="http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/best-new-burger/BestOf?oid=2016442&feature=1989688">"best new burger"</a>, so my wife and I will be forced to attend yet another of these swanky cocktail receptions and pick that up in the coming week. Oh, the <a href="http://automaticburger.blogspot.com/2010/01/p-trap.html">glamour</a>!<br /><br />Well, actually this is only the second swanky cocktail and passed hors d'oeuvres thing that we've been invited to, but we'll take it whenever we can get it. We are blessed to have an incredibly active and vibrant food and food writing culture in Chicago, and I thank my lucky stars every single day that folks like the burgers and make the decision to pay attention to us in any way, shape, or form, whether it's in print, on blogs, Twitter, whatever.<br /><br />Looking back to a year ago, when I was sitting, waiting to see if the deal to purchase and lease this space wouldn't fall apart like our first deal did, I entertained zero notions that things would work out the way they have thus far. None. I hoped for far less, and would've considered myself extremely fortunate to be breaking even and paying myself on the day before the fourth of July, 2010.<br /><br />So I'll be toasting my good fortune and all the wonderful people in my life that have helped me and continue to help me make this happen every day--our customers, my employees, my family, and my wife, who runs pretty much every other aspect of our family's life while my attention and energy is near-exclusively focused on running this restaurant. Thanks so much, I could not do this without you!<br /><br />That said, happy fourth!Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-264000235195398182010-04-22T19:07:00.003-05:002010-04-22T19:14:12.474-05:00new postI think it might be univerally-known that if you title a blog post as "new post", you officially have nothing to say.<br /><br />Nonetheless, I'm posting. It's been more than a month since my last blog post and my SEO maximization team informs me that blogs need to stay current and keep people interested in order to continue to be relevant, even when they're running restaurants that are crazy-busy almost every day and win <a href="http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/restaurants-bars/84646/eat-out-awards-critics-picks/2.html">awards</a> (!) from local print media who we didn't even solicit or bribe in any way. <br /><br />So...not much to say or time to write lately. Busy running a restaurant, nailing up fancy plates mounted to "genuine piano wood" plaques to my wall, and trying to enjoy the beautiful weather we've been having this Spring.<br /><br />I'll try to not go another month between posts.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-32670145650825243802010-03-20T16:13:00.003-05:002010-03-20T16:31:29.671-05:00finger on the pulse (or not)Is it possible to be so insanely tuned in to your workplace that you notice a new or slightly different sound and figure out that a piece of your equipment isn't working properly?<br /><br />Sure. Of course. But is it also possible to be so completely clueless that you walk right by something potentially catastrophic and don't even notice? And to be both of these things at the same time?<br /><br />Yep. That was me today.<br /><br />First, the patting myself on the back part. I had a problem with my ice machine yesterday, the one that sits on top of the soda machine. It serves the dual purpose of providing ice for the drinks, but also cooling the water as it runs through the lines and mixes with the syrup. So no ice equals warm pop. Bleh.<br /><br />It was a minor problem, and the ice machine company was out here quick with bags of ice, and then a repair guy soon after, who said the problem was fixed and my ice machine was running A-OK!<br /><br />But I worked late last night and when I was here by myself with just the sounds of my compressors and cooling sheet metal to keep me company, I noticed that I didn't hear the familiar sporadic crash of the ice cubes falling down into the bin. At all.<br /><br />So I called the company again and scheduled them to come out this morning. Proactively. Just in case. So I didn't have to deal with a down ice machine in the midst of a busy Saturday.<br /><br />The same guy came out and gave me a look, but I explained to him that I hadn't heard the cubes dropping, so he reluctantly went up there and opened it up again. He came down with some piece of electronic circuitry and told me that my sensor was bad. "Must've just failed last night, after I was here", he said. "Yeah, or you missed it yesterday", I thought.<br /><br />Whatever. 20 minutes later, he's got a new one installed and I was hearing the familiar crash of cubes descending down into the bin. All was well and I was patting myself on the back for being so tuned into my restaurant that I sniffed that one out before it became an issue.<br /><br />Now for the clueless dunderhead story.<br /><br />The pilot on the oven often goes out overnight, and so when I crank everything up in the morning, the oven won't fire up. Sometimes I'm lazy and let Carlos or Luis lay down on the floor and hold the damn red button down for 2-4 minutes, but they just did it yesterday and had a heck of a time with it, so I figured I'd be nice and do it this morning.<br /><br />Only, instead of using a twisted up piece of paper towel to light the pilot, like they always do, I grabbed my propane torch and fired it up. I laid prone on the floor, resigned myself to holding down the damn button far longer than I think I'd need to, and shot the flame in there, lighting the pilot.<br /><br />After I finally let go of the button, the pilot stayed lit, I turned on the oven and it lit, and all was well. Again, I started patting myself on the back for doing it so much more quickly and easily than they were able to do it yesterday. I put away the torch and got to work.<br /><br />Then, later, there was this smell. Something like methane or sewage gas or something. I kept smelling it every time I went over near the shake station, and I could not for the life of me figure out what it was. Every time I passed by there, it was driving me crazy. Eventually I just figured that the floor drains were giving off some smell or something and stopped worrying about it.<br /><br />At about 11:00 when Tufo, my <span style="font-style: italic;">batidero</span> (milkshake guy) came in, he said he smelled gas and started hunting around the same area. I dismissed his claim, explaining (somewhat patronizingly) that it was just the floor drains giving off some kind of sewer smell and not to worry about it.<br /><br />He kept sniffing and hunting, and finally he pulls out the propane torch and proclaims "esta!".<br /><br />And he was right. That was, in fact, it. I had left the valve open on the propane torch and after I put it away, it was just quietly, slowly, releasing all the gas, which was what I had been smelling all day. Duh!<br /><br />Thankfully, the ice machine vindication happened after the propane torch move, so it made me feel a little better.<br /><br />Signed,<br /><br />Hyper-tuned-in-but-also-head-in-the-clouds-Lakin.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-43386935553899684342010-03-09T19:00:00.003-06:002010-03-09T19:03:16.245-06:0049-8 = Spring?Big difference between this Tuesday and last week. We sold eight shakes last Tuesday (Norberto and I always look to see how many we do on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, since those are the days we don't have a dedicated shake guy and have to split the duties), but today we did 49!<br /><br />Crazy. Give Chicagoans a 40+ degree day and all of a sudden everyone thinks spring has sprung. More than a few guys with shorts and flip flops today as well.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-15897257940940266002010-03-04T18:45:00.003-06:002010-03-04T19:16:48.132-06:00cooks' quirksThe fact that this is kind of a sidebar-type of post indicates that, overall, things are going pretty well. I've remedied most, if not all, of the breakage and equipment issues that I documented in my last post, and since then, we've been humming right along fairly nicely.<br /><br />We've been busy, but haven't yet had another insane weekend like the one that followed the Tribune article, and once you get through a period like that, even fairly busy days feel calmer. It's the same with equipment, and employees, both of which I've had issues with lately. For me, the looming sense that something might go wrong is always worse than it feels when it actually *does* go wrong, and then you run around and fix it or work around it.<br /><br />I was dreading dealing with the french fry cutter, but when I finally wrenched the failed plastic anchors out and relocated it, the whole job only took me about an hour, and now it feels much more solid.<br /><br />Same with employees. Up until this week, no one but Rodolfo had ever worked my disher/busser position. He needed to take a little time off, so this week we've had three different guys there. As usual, I get all nervous about what effect that might have on how things run, but, ultimately, everything goes fine, and at times, perhaps, even a bit better than they might've gone with the normal guy in place.<br /><br />Which brings me back to cooks' quirks. One thing that's always amused me is how different people have their own different little ways of doing things. This is one of the reasons why it's so difficult to attain consistency in restaurants; because cooks--the good ones at least--all believe that they alone know the one true best way to do just about every single aspect of their job.<br /><br />Whether it's cleaning various substances, washing/processing produce, doing prep, cooking for service, or quickly breaking down a station, just about every cook worth his salt is always striving to innovate in order to increase efficiency, speed, and quality.<br /><br />There's a lot of ingenuity going on in restaurants. Smart guys like Javier (who I worked with back at the old Nick & Tony's on Wacker) figure out cool ways of suspending a jug of canola oil with a plastic-wrap tether and then poking a hole in the bottom so it slowly streams oil into a bucket of vinaigrette fixin's and a running stick blender (which, more than likely, had its switch jimmied to allow for hands-free operation).<br /><br />Norberto, who runs my fry station, is an innovator. He's a nearly everyday employer of the plastic-wrap belt, brought in a power drill to bore slightly larger holes in the salt shaker, and he's constantly moving stuff around, re-jiggering, thinking about how to make his job and the restaurant more efficient and economize the movements needed to produce the dishes on his station.<br /><br />Sometimes it's obvious stuff. We were using three skinny bain maries in a countertop steam table unit we have, and we kept running out of the Merkt's cheese for the cheese fries and would have to heat up more during service. Finally Norberto suggested that we use third pans instead of the bains. Duh! Why didn't *I* think of that?<br /><br />Lots of it is experience, too. I remember a guy I worked for who, when trying out a new employee, would ask them to empty a gallon jug of mayonnaise into a large stainless bowl, and then watch to see how they did it.<br /><br />Guys with less or no experience (at least in the sort of prep work that this chef was interested in from his guys) would open it and start pulling it out of there with a spoon, rubber scraper, or whatever.<br /><br />The more seasoned prep guys would open the top, flip it upside down over the bowl, then give the bottom of the jug a few good stabs with a knife. The air that went in would break the suction, and the mayo would more or less slide right out of the jug, all in one piece.<br /><br />That's just one random example, but it shows the value of doing the mundane tasks over and over again, and learning how to do them faster, more efficiently, or better.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-85546067948846935862010-02-16T19:35:00.004-06:002010-02-16T20:08:28.114-06:00breakageStuff is breaking.<br /><br />In the last week or so, I've had issues of one kind or another with my meat grinder, my french fry cutter, the ice cream freezer, the stereo, and a bunch of other little things.<br /><br />It's more annoying than anything else. I had to run around a ton on my day off to chase down a replacement part for the grinder, bought two, and now am thinking I should probably just go ahead and buy a whole 'nother grinder to have on hand as a replacement.<br /><br />The french fry cutter is slowly coming unanchored from the wall it's mounted to, something I knew would happen eventually, so I shored it up a bit and then went online and bought a countertop model to have on hand as a backup.<br /><br />A couple weeks ago, the amplifier I use to run the music for the restaurant suddenly stopped making any sound for its entire right side (two of the four speakers), so I had to switch it out with an old amp I had at home.<br /><br />Sunday, the thermal pressure pot I use to keep the milk for the milkshakes cold and easily accessible shattered with a loud pop when I poured a half-gallon of cold milk into it, sending milk cascading majestically down the table onto my shoes.<br /><br />And then, today, right before we opened, I checked to see if I needed to load more ice cream into the dipping cabinet and found it warm inside, with a few inches of watery melt at the bottom waiting to be cleaned out, due to a GFCI outlet that's gone wonky.<br /><br />Hoo. Effing. Ray.<br /><br />My immediate reaction, with every semi-serious event like this, is to first, in my mind, panic. I run around a little bit, freak out for a moment, and then start figuring out how I can best deal with the situation. My cooks get a kick out of seeing me flustered, I think, since I generally don't get too shook up by anything. Once they're done laughing at my overreaction, they're quick to jump in and help remedy the situation.<br /><br />That's what happened today. I pushed the reset button, heard the freezer turn on, and then tossed what was in there and grabbed a new tub of ice cream from the walk-in freezer while Oscar bailed the water. We threw some towels in there, cleaned it out, and in just a few minutes, I had a nice, newly-defrosted dipping chest. No biggie.<br /><br />I think part of the reason I get so panicky when I first realize something's not working is that this whole restaurant thing still feels somewhat tenuous. I still don't trust the equipment, the building, really--the whole set-up and still walk in every day expecting to see fire damage or a flood or something.<br /><br />It's a totally irrational fear, I realize, since there have been restaurants operating out of this spot for years now, and they've managed to soldier through. But I can't help but extrapolate small, easily repaired, breakage to the point that it feels somehow indicative of a larger catastrophe that may or may not be imminent.<br /><br />All things considered, this is probably a helpful impulse, since it drives me to obsessively check to make sure all heat sources are turned off and, until recently, that the crappy GFCI reset button on the outlet that the ice cream freezer is plugged into didn't trip. Lesson learned. Can't let up.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm hoping that writing this post will stop the string of breakages.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-38555801080917339662010-01-29T18:19:00.004-06:002010-01-29T18:50:40.862-06:00mediaMedia of any kind helps, so my mindset from the get-go was to make time to talk to anyone who showed any interest in writing about Edzo's.<br /><br />I was hoping to get some coverage, and expected to get mentioned in maybe the Reader or Time Out, but it seems to have steamrolled and I've been lucky enough to get a ton of favorable reviews and features. You can check the Edzo's website's <a href="http://edzos.com/?page_id=8">media page</a> for a pretty long list, if you're interested.<br /><br />No one piece gave us a huge bump, although the weekend following Steve Dolinsky's Hungry Hound piece on the channel 7 news was insane. Mostly, it's been a slow steady build where all the media coverage has kind of had a longer-term cumulative effect.<br /><br />This week, though, was a little different. We were on the channel 7 show 190 North on Sunday night, and then in Thursday's Tribune. Tangible uptick in the number of people walking in the door this week.<br /><br />It's interesting, with all the buzz that surrounds social media, to think about. I'm active in social media as a way to promote the restaurant (duh!), and put in probably 5-6 hours a week total doing Twitter posts, updating Facebook status, and blogging, and have been since the summer, before the restaurant was open.<br /><br />It's been effective, I think. Not sure how much of the media coverage we'd have gotten if I hadn't done this stuff. But with all the talk about how important social media is, I'm quite surprised at how much more discernible and immediate an increase comes from an appearance in one of the more conventional forms of media, like TV or newspaper. The old, established media are still way bigger and more powerful.<br /><br />It's easy to forget how many people watch TV and/or read the daily newspaper every day. For me, at least, because I almost never look at either.<br /><br />Anyway, I thought it was high time that I wrote something about all the media coverage, which has been mostly very positive, and really...as long as they get the name and address correct.....<br /><br />Another thing that's been very weird is when someone does an anonymous review and eats here a few times, once I read the review I can usually remember the reviewer based on what they describe ordering or whatever interaction I had with them, and it causes this whole "ah, so he's THAT guy!" moment. And then usually a second or two after, I'm thankful that I didn't come off as rude to them or we didn't screw up their order.<br /><br />So, thanks, to all the fine media institutions who have talked about Edzo's, and also, anyone who watches or reads them. Keep it coming, every little bit helps!Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-45494456974255252882010-01-20T19:05:00.007-06:002010-01-20T23:13:12.309-06:00p-trapBack when I was fresh out of culinary school, and was running the kitchen at a successful little cafe in Wrigleyville, my first wife called me at work, all upset because my life "as a chef" was so much more glamorous--yes, that was the word she used--than hers.<br /><br />At the moment she called I was cleaning the convection oven and was actually wearing thick rubber gloves while holding the phone to talk to her, so I had to laugh at that one.<br /><br />There have been some moments that have followed, of course, that have felt glamorous, but that certainly wasn't one of them.<br /><br />I met with reps from <a href="http://www.dietzlerbeef.com/">Dietzler Farms</a> and <a href="http://www.nimanranch.com/index.aspx">Niman Ranch</a> this week, with both bringing me samples. I'm going to do a side-by-side tasting of the Niman, Dietzler, and our normal beef, which is standard issue IBP USDA choice stuff.<br /><br />What I'd like to do is have a rotating menu of featured local, natural, organic, humane, grass-fed, whatever, beef producers and offer this meat as an upgrade option for the burgers.<br /><br />So that felt kind of glamorous. They brought their glossy brochures and nicely explained all the benefits of their products (which I'll comment on at length at some point in the future), and I felt kind of cool. For a little while.<br /><br />And then this afternoon, I met with a group of students from Northwestern University <a href="http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/">Kellogg</a> School of Business Management, who have decided to use me for their class project, and so they're offering to do a whole marketing/demographic plan for me for for just the price of a few hours of my time. I'd be a fool to pass that up!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S4ffauNO4p0/S1ewG751B3I/AAAAAAAAA3w/v6jr_i1b7NY/s1600-h/kdk_1867.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S4ffauNO4p0/S1ewG751B3I/AAAAAAAAA3w/v6jr_i1b7NY/s400/kdk_1867.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429001509024368498" border="0" /></a>After my hifalutin marketing meeting with my team of very professional grad students, I'm thinking that, yeah, maybe my glamorous moment <span style="font-weight: bold;">has</span> finally arrived. But then I got started on my working-late list tonight and crawled up into the ceiling to clean compressors and change furnace filters, and then snaked out the p-trap with a wire hanger in hopes I can get the hand sink back to draining properly.<br /><br />And I did, so now it does! And I actually got it back together without creating any leaks!<br /><br />I prefer the small victories to the glamor, anyway, I think.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-76203425197001943362010-01-15T18:42:00.006-06:002010-01-16T17:04:49.335-06:00grilled onionsMe: "You want that with everything--ketchup, mustard, pickles, onions?"<br /><br />10-15 customers a day: "You guys got *grilled* onions?"<br /><br /><br />And, yes,of course, as any self-respecting burger and dog place should, I do have grilled onions.<br /><br />They're usually referred to as "grilled", but they're technically sauteed. Most places do theirs on the flattop, which perhaps explains the moniker. (I've never understood why people would call cooking on a flattop "grilling", but that's a different post).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_S4ffauNO4p0/S1EQ_8RiPUI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/PSYWoKC1gQ8/s1600-h/kdk_1862.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_S4ffauNO4p0/S1EQ_8RiPUI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/PSYWoKC1gQ8/s400/kdk_1862.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427137716655635778" border="0" /></a>The thing about doing grilled onions, though, is that they should be allowed to cook relatively slowly, so that they can fully soften and then caramelize. I've been places and ordered grilled onions only to see them start cooking the raw onion after I've ordered. Not good. One time I even saw a guy try and cook onions in one of those conveyor toasters the sub places use. Blech. Those aren't grilled onions!<br /><br />The slow cook allows you to coax all the sweetness out of the onions as they slowly stew in their own juices on the griddle and eliminates all the hot, crunchy rawness that onions can have. They're great.<br /><br />We use our grilled onions in the patty melts, of course, on the portobello mushroom sandwich, on whatever upon request, and on the classic Maxwell Polish, which is scored and charred on the grill, then slathered with yellow mustard and grilled onions. It's a true Chicago original.<br /><br />"Maxwell" refers to Maxwell Street, where the old market used to be, and <a href="http://chibbqking.blogspot.com/2009/11/chicagos-maxwell-street-polish.html">two places</a> down there are still churning them out as they have been for years; <a href="http://www.jimsoriginal.com/jimsoriginal/Welcome.html">Jim's Original</a> and <a href="http://expressgrillinc.com/">Maxwell Street Express Grill</a>, which are right across the street from each other.<br /><br />Both do a great Polish as well as the somewhat-less-famous pork chop sandwich. My dad loves to talk glowingly about how good the Polishes used to be at one or the other of these places, and he swears up and down that one day, when he asked the guy working the griddle what made the grilled onions so good, the guy showed him; he pulled out the trough under the griddle where all the scrapings and excess oil ended up, and carefully poured it over the pile of onions that was sizzling on the back of the grill.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-76307563498410306902010-01-05T17:47:00.007-06:002010-01-05T18:19:22.095-06:00they're back<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S4ffauNO4p0/S0PSD121yqI/AAAAAAAAA3I/q1doF3WGhYA/s1600-h/kdk_1838.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 372px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_S4ffauNO4p0/S0PSD121yqI/AAAAAAAAA3I/q1doF3WGhYA/s400/kdk_1838.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423409339722746530" border="0" /></a><br />...and they're hungry, apparently.<br /><br />Between the NU students being on break and closing up for a week, it's been a while since we've seen some of our regulars around here. Many returned today, with a vengeance.<br /><br />In a truly bizarre turn of events, the first six burgers we sold today were triples or bigger. Normally, we sell maybe one triple a day. Today, all told, six triples, a quad, and the pictured ridiculous stack of six patties.<br /><br />The orderer and consumer of the sixer was a guy named Taylor, who's done this before. He's an ROTC guy and works out a lot and can seriously eat. Last time I saw him, prior to Christmas break, he got a quad plus an order of loaded fries, ate everything, and then came back up and ordered a bratwurst. For dessert, I guess.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_S4ffauNO4p0/S0PUH8k48CI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/-MmCO-s3HjQ/s1600-h/taylor+munch+close.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 365px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_S4ffauNO4p0/S0PUH8k48CI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/-MmCO-s3HjQ/s400/taylor+munch+close.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423411609269235746" border="0" /></a> The crazy thing about Taylor is that he actually eats everything. Today he destroyed his six-stack quickly, and also an order of garlic fries. His friend was timing him as well. Ah....youth!<br /><br />Now, don't get me wrong--I'm not encouraging this kind of crazy gluttony. But I'm happy to sell people what they want. I did also clue a few of these guys in to another hot dog and hamburger <a href="http://www.wienerandstillchampion.com/">place</a> not very far from here, that's kind of got the <a href="http://www.wienerandstillchampion.com/2009/12/new-3lb-triple-undisputed-eating-record.html">market</a> <a href="http://www.wienerandstillchampion.com/2009/11/its-not-for-everyone.html">cornered</a> on these sort of belly-busting displays, so we'll see what happens if Taylor decides to walk a few extra blocks and trys to tackle the "triple undisputed".<br /><br />Be gentle with him, Gus.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438864431927265875.post-2343543404224499992009-12-31T15:36:00.005-06:002009-12-31T15:58:14.998-06:00varmintAfter being closed since the 25th, I returned to the restaurant today to receive deliveries, do some organizing and paperwork, and just generally get set up for the month to come.<br /><br />I'd actually managed to resist coming back here to check to make sure everything was okay during my days off, so of course I had visions of fires and floods running through my head as I opened the door.<br /><br />No water on the floor, no sign of fire damage, so that was good. But as I entered I noticed a lot of stuff all over the floor, menus, pens, cups...that kind of stuff, and my first thought was that we'd been burglarized.<br /><br />But the register and other obvious targets for thieves were untouched. There were these plastic shavings everywhere, and as I looked around I found a jar of Nutella in the floor drain that had it's lid gnawed clean through by something. And just as I started to say "what the..." out loud, something furry whizzed by my head.<br /><br />Squirrel!<br /><br />It was scampering around up in the vent hood above the hot line, so I went around and opened all the doors and grabbed a broomstick with which to politely suggest that Mr. Squirrel go find another place to squat.<br /><br />It became evident how the squirrel had gotten in as I tried to move him out. The lip under the front edge of the hood funnels air from outside up into the canopy to prevent the powerful fan from sucking out all the air from the dining area, and the squirrel had somehow gotten into the air intake on the side of the building, crawled through the vent tunnel, and come out the other side with a fierce craving for Nutella.<br /><br />After a few good swipes with the broom, he seemed agreeable to the idea of going back the way he came. I heard him running around up in the ceiling for a minute, and then appeared to head out, although I didn't actually see him on the outside.<br /><br />All day, of course, I've been listening to see if he comes back or emerges from some hiding place, but he's either gone or is a really quiet hider. I stuck the broom handle all the way up into the vent and set the flashlight nearby at the ready, but never got the chance to use it.<br /><br />(Sadly I didn't have the presence of mind to take some cell phone pictures while doing battle with the varmint, and I half hoped he'd return just so I could snap a couple shots for this post. But I'm glad he didn't return.)<br /><br /><blockquote>...my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit - ever. They're like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to fall back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. And that's all she wrote. -- Carl Spackler</blockquote><br /><br />Off to Home Depot for some chickenwire or something to put over the air intake.<br /><br />At least it wasn't a fire or flood! Thanks for reading. Happy New Year.Eddie Lakinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04026064693361555466noreply@blogger.com2