Monday, November 9, 2009
Food Chain / Food & Drink The Great Fried Hope
Posted by Michael Gebert on Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Edzo's Burger Shop from Michael Gebert on Vimeo.
Take one iconic American foodstuff, available all over Chicago— but rarely done well. Go back to the basics of the preconvenience-food era, and add a contemporary spin with exotic toppings. Watch lines form out the door.
It worked for Hot Doug's and the Violet Hour, and to judge by the excitement that greeted Edzo’s Burger Shop in Evanston when it opened last month (including a hat tip from the New York Times), it may be about to happen for former fine dining chef turned burgerpreneur Eddie Lakin, too. What got Lakin so much attention before anybody actually tasted one patty from his spatula was the fact that he blogged every step of the process of opening his restaurant, from dealings with the health inspector to his research trips into all-American burgerdom in Wisconsin:
Wisconsin has its own thing with burgers. The crispy griddled kind are most common, with buns that have been slathered with butter and plenty of cheese, usually American. I'm not generally a fan of American cheese, but with the thinner burgers, stacked up as doubles or triples, American is the best choice because of the great melting qualities it offers.
Lakin is serious about making classic, freshly ground burgers, fries, and shakes with a 2009 spin— his fresh-cut fries can be combined with a gleefully exotic array of toppings, from truffle salt to the juice and giardiniera of an Italian beef. The Reader will review Edzo’s in the next few weeks, but in the meantime, in this Sky Full of Bacon video, he grinds beef and talks about how he tinkered and experimented to create the perfect burger and fry, and what it's going to be like when life as a burger guy really sinks in.
Edzo’s Burger Shop, 1571 Sherman, Evanston, 847-864-3396
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Yeah, it's good, but it's not that good. Currently, the restaurant is skimping on the fries, and the burgers are okay, but the wait (at off-peak hours) was kind of long. I am not trying to say it isn't good and can't become great, but for right now I am going to prefer Poochie's
Let's see....
Opens freezer door after cutting raw meat,
After touching raw meat he turns on the grinder without washing hands,
Wipes nose and then loads fries into the fryer.
Yuck.
This is absolutely the best burger I ever tasted in the Chicago area. None of the other burger joints I tried can touch this. I'm jonesing for an Edzo's burger right now - it is destined to be a classic.
to ALX:
your comment seems to be looking for trouble. You see that this piece is an edited tape; there are cuts. Why not assume that he washes his hands between cuts in the tape? I love the "critics"; always assume the worst. This guy, in opening this burger venture is obviously trying to do something good, interesting; trying to make a contribution in other words. But sure, go ahead and try to cut his legs out from under; maybe he will fail and then you can gloat.
"Mr. Gebert, Are you an investor in Edzo's?"
Ha! No, I am just an unabashed admirer of hamburgers and fries made the right old way, and I know that as part of his research Eddie read things about classic hamburgers that I and others posted at LTHForum over the years, notably in this thread:
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f…
He actually referenced those threads as we talked, but I left that out, out of modesty I guess.
We've eaten there twice and the food was really, really great. The burgers have more flavor than any other fast food ones I've had in Chicago. Can't wait to go back!
I've eaten there twice already, too... two days in a row, in fact. Ed is a super friendly guy and makes you feel welcome there, and he makes great burgers. And fries. And milkshakes.
One thing that I think is awesome is that Edzo's offers thinner, 4 oz patties that are griddled (and available as a single, double or triple), as well as thicker, 8oz patties that are char-broiled. Whichever is your preferred style of burger, he's got you covered and each style is fantastic.
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