Fresser

If you don't mind schlepping, hop down to 53rd Street in Hyde Park (the #6 Jeffrey Express from the Loop will get you there) and go to Harold's Chicken Shack. They feature awesome fried chicken served on top of Wonder Bread & smothered in barbecue or hot sauce. The bulletproof glass in the restaurant only adds to the ambience.

I call 'em "broads."

I second this opionion. Frankly, I always thought Peach Snapple was a manly drink. Right, Cognac?

Fresser here with an suggestion: You can get lots of Chicago specialties on-line; try http://www.loumalnatis.com for deep-dish pizza, Vienna Beef hot dogs & such. Also, http://www.portillos.com makes a pretty tasty Eyetalian Beef Samwich. Unfortunately, Mr. Beef on Orleans does not ship out of state. Too bad--Jay Leno would probably order a bunch.

The third rule of Burger Club is: no forks, no knives.

Word. Say your Rosary. First you get down on your knees, Fiddle with your rosary. Bow your head with great respect and... Genuflect, Genuflect, Genuflect!

Frugal Fresser's Fried Rice Here's a yummy recipe for fried rice--you can add chicken, beef or even tofu for the vegetarians out there. You'll need the following: Four carrots, diced four celery stalks, diced one large onion, minced four chicken legs & thighs four eggs Cayenne pepper sauce 1 1/2 cups of rice soy sauce to taste First, preheat your broiler for about five minutes. This way, the chicken will sear & sizzle when you place it on the broiler. Remove any excess fat from the chicken and reserve this fat to stir-fry the veggies. Sprinkle garlic & onion powder liberally under the skin on the chicken thighs and place them on the broiler. Listen to the pretty sizzling noises. While the chicken is broiling, dice the carrots and celery. Don't dice them so finely as to create a brunoise; the veggies should add color and some texture, but they shouldn't make the diner feel like he or she is crunching a celery stalk. Then, toss the carrots & celery into a preheated skillet or wok with the chicken fat. Stir-fry them for about five to ten minutes, then add the minced onion. The onions won't take as long to cook. If you like, you can baste the chicken thighs in cayenne pepper sauce as they broil. This will make for a nice crispy skin. Turn the chicken every few minutes so it doesn't burn. While the chicken is broiling, cook up 1 1/2 cups of white rice. When the chicken is done, de-bone it and dice it coarsely. You can remove the skin first for a nosh if you like. Now beat the four eggs in a bowl. Add pepper if you like. Just when the rice is done, let it cool for about a minute and then pour the egg mixture on top of the rice. This will coat the individual grains and add a nice color. Now find a humongous pot and add the egg/rice mixture, the diced chicken and the sauteed vegetables. Sprinkle some soy sauce over the top and toss over medium heat until the colors of the veggies are well-distributed. Serve to Jews craving good Chinese food. Keywords: Main Dish, Side, Kosher, Intermediate, Beef, Chicken, Rice, Lunch, Chinese ( RG614 )

Oy gefilte!

Clooney just gets your leftovers, Al.

Thank god there's another Sox fan here. My daughter did the "OOOH-EEE-OOOH MAA-GGGLLII-OOO"cheer for everyone the other night and no one knew what she was doing. That's because you live on the North Side. Now if Iris would pat her chest & blow kisses, everyone would recognize her Sammy Sosa Cheer. Well, everyone except people from Bridgeport.

That would explain the line of cattle entering at the rear of the store. Honestly, Superdawg is a charming drive-in with carhop service & everything. And those pickled tomatoes are a wonderful (and tasty) touch.

They weren't being mean. That's just Chicago hospitality! Seriously, did you tell them that you're a famous food maven from Philly and then ask for permission to case the joint--ah, I mean photograph the place for publicity's sake?

Pita Inn's P.R. man here... The third store is now open on Milwaukee Avenue (just north of Golf Mill Shopping Mall) in Glenview. It is positively GORGEOUS! The dining room is twice the size of the Skokie location's, and Falah (the owner) has added fattoush and dolma (or dolmades, if you're Greek ) to the menu. What I noticed first, however, is the number of American flags that Falah has placed all over the restaurant. Just inside the lobby is a glass-bulb "ornament" in the design of Old Glory. The owner really loves the U.S.

I will bring a staple gun to tack down any up-turned collars.

Nightscotsman, You can ride shotgun in my slick PT Cruiser if you like. Hopefully Nero can join us.

Hop in my Chrysler, Nero! Now where is the big event going down?

Hey, Mikey! Actually, I was in Chicawgo (pronounced in the local dialect). This was back in 1990, and as a beefeater's kind of town, The Butcher Shop fit in as a kind of place to see your meat (displayed in the freezer case in the front) and grill it over open fire. Since somebody else was paying that night, I wasn't about to risk burning my own steak. Maybe they're a franchise?

A bunch of commodity traders I once worked for had our holiday party at a restaurant called The Butcher Shop. For some of the burly traders & clerks, it was indeed male bonding at its finest, as they poured beer on their steaks and grunted, "Ugh! Cook beef on fire!" Honestly, it was kind of a nice novelty, as the restaurant offered (for a fee) to cook our steaks for us.

Aye, Ronnie, I am officially sucrose-averse. This also means that I can't imbibe--much to the relief of Maggie, Aurora and others who have seen my wild side. Back on topic, the newest Pita Inn to open (just north of Golf Mill on Milwaukee Avenue) will have some new dishes, including fattoush, foul (pronounced "fool") and other fixins. I keep asking them to name a sandwich after me, but so far they demur.

The kibbeh is very good but they seem to be out of it about 50% of the time. Not sure why that is, but if you're in the mood and they have it, I think it's worth a try. =R= And I thought it was a conspiracy: "Sorry. No kibbeh today." I must have heard this fifty times before I finally got one. Anyway, the vegetarian dishes are the most consistent items on the menu. Their yogurt salad (with cucumber and mint) makes a wonderful topping for the falafel sandwich. Their tabbouleh is fresh and crisp, but it's intensely lemony. Sometimes the lemon is a bit overpowering Also, I like the baba ghanouj--it has a slightly chunky texture and nice garlic and lemon accents. Hummous is good as well, with a nutty flavor to it, but I prefer the baba. As for the meat, I frankly find the shawarma to be on the dry side, and it's a poor substitute for gyros. A better choice would be shish kebob, which they marinate and then broil. Maybe a little chewy, but pretty good. Probably the best item on the menu is the one I can't eat anymore: kinafa. It's a delectable dessert with a sweet cheese base (cheese halloumi, perhaps?) topped with grated carrots and pine nuts and flavored with honey. Get it warm with a Turkish coffee and you're in heaven.

None really, I just have never been overwhelmed by PI. The quality question I asked has more to deal with the question of, "could your business survive on the same prices as it charged in '89"? something has had to change. As posted above, it does not seem to be the employees, Also the positive posts above would suggest that it is not the food. Which leaves me with the impression that the PI margins were obscenly high to begin with or........ (you fill in the blank) Pita Inn's spokesman here... I have a hunch that Pita Inn's gross margins per item sold have declined over the years, but so have the owner's expenses. Falah bought the building a while ago (and now purchased the adjacent site for parking), so his overhead stays down. He also started baking pita bread in-house instead of purchasing it from a bakery, though Falah tells me that this move was to control the pita's quality. (Indeed, I do find his homemade pita to be fresher than the brand he served previously.) So, as I see it, his marginal costs decrease as he reaches a certain business volume (say, 1,000 sandwiches per day). At high business volumes, Falah can buy larger quantities of veggies, chickpeas, et cetera and get price breaks per unit on these commodities. So if the curve of his marginal cost function flattens out at high volumes while his price function is linear, he can make money as he keeps volume up. This concludes today's economics lecture.

Actually, employee turnover at Pita Inn is much lower than average for the industry. I've fressed there since 1989, and I know some employees have been there ever since. I know most of the employees by name, and they all say that Falah (the owner) treats them very well. Smart business practice, since well-trained employees and consistent faces behind the counter make the place consistent.

There's always room in the Fressermobile.

That's the shit. Is that a good or bad thing? "The shit" = good thing. Word.

Here are two more entries: Finger-lickin' pig-pickin! Trichinosis? Not here!