Fresser
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Posts posted by Fresser
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Olive Garden always reminds me of a gentleman I who used to work with. When we'd meet for lunch, it was always at the Olive Garden...and he would always say:
"I've traveled all over Italy (only he pronounced it as it-lee) and I tell you, nothing I ate was as good as the Olive Garden"
I bet this guy was Tim Zagat in disguise.
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thinking about tomorrow morning...
gevalia coffee, TJ freshly squeezed OJ, niman ranch bacon, country biscuits and sex in bed. Probably wont get all those...
What--you ran out of coffee?
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Did you all like the illustration? Would you like to see more of them in future articles?
I liked the Evil Raisin Man picture.
Makes me wonder how you'd illustrate other types of foods. How about a slab of bleu cheese with a moustache and wrinkled-up nose?
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How many eGullet noshers have visited Pita Inn?
I've eaten here since 1989 and they have never raised their prices.
Amazing when you consider that nothing on the menu costs over $6.00, and most platters (including your choice of kifta, shawarma or shish kebab with rice, salad & pita) cost under $5.00.Anyway, the fine gent who owns Pita Inn is opening a third (flagship) store just north of Golf Mill Mall on Milwaukee Avenue in Glenview. He already rents out most of the space next to his Skokie store for his pita bakery & Middle Eastern groceries, so he's the man on the move.
Their web site is http://www.pitainn.com.
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Very funky interior with Lewis Carroll quotes on the wall, and a wise-cracking counter staff, half middle-aged with Brooklyn accents, half very young and very gay.
I can't imagine a gay waiter getting sassy.
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awbrig - how do you rank Gibson's in the realm of Chicago steakhouses?
Hallo, Craig!
I'm not Awbrig (who is?
) but I'll offer my two cents on this topic. As far as "Star-factor," Gibson's definitely is the place to see-and-be-seen. Celebrities often pop in there (Jack Nicholson has been sighted), and the prime Rush Street location makes Gibson's popular for power-brokers and glamorous types. But frankly, I think there's better steak to be had elsewhere in Chicago.
When a friend and I went to Gibson's, we both ordered the W.R.'s Chicago Cut--a bone-in ribeye. For a well-marbled cut, this ribeye lacked the musky flavor that I've enjoyed elsewhere. I understand that Gibson's wet-ages their beef (as opposed to dry-aging), so perhaps this had something to do with it.
Also, the table next to us had ordered a medium-rare NY strip, which had arrived closer to medium-well. They asked if our steaks were cooked properly, and indeed, they weren't quite as we had ordered them.
Most Chicago steakhouses have their own distinctive atmospheres: Gene & Georgetti is a "regular-guy" steakhouse, with less glitz, a long wooden bar and a genuine pop-up (non-electronic) cash register. Imagine the "Cheers" bar that serves steaks to well-dressed clientele and you'll get the idea.
Morton's is clubbier inside than Gene & Georgetti, and less glitzy than Gibson's.
Has anybody tried the Paddle Steak at Iron Mike's Grille?
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Great pictures. I have always like Gibsons for ‘guys night out”.
Will the camera ever turn on the famous awbrig?
Here ya go...
Allison & I at le Cirque
Awbrig,
Tell Alison that she looks stunning in that pink dress!
Now what is the dapper Emory going to wear to the Hema's dinner? In the Gibson's photos, Em looked like such a stud in that zoot suit & power tie.
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In light of Rail Paul's comment on meeting single women at the CF, I just spoke with the boy who made the vulva observation (an ex-boyfriend, so that was a big stretch). (H)e observed, penetratingly, that this MAY have been intentional!
This begs the question of how restaurants attract female diners.
Giant phallic symbols masquerading as architectural columns?
Fresser, you WOULD think that.
Purely a marketing ploy.
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In light of Rail Paul's comment on meeting single women at the CF, I just spoke with the boy who made the vulva observation (an ex-boyfriend, so that was a big stretch). (H)e observed, penetratingly, that this MAY have been intentional!
This begs the question of how restaurants attract female diners.
Giant phallic symbols masquerading as architectural columns?
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I was always fond of the cheese-and-cracker packages that came with a little plastic spreader for the cheese.
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The restaurant design looks like Art Deco meets King Tut.
I guess my question is whats going on here? Why are so many people willing to wait so long to eat at these restaurants? Any thoughts?
My drinking mate's comment on the Chicago Cheesecake Factory was: "wow, this place looks like vulva!" at which point we were asked to leave.
Didn't get a chance to eat.
Maybe your friend meant to say, "This place looks like buttah!"
I've fressed at the Factory a couple of times, and I think the attraction is this: dessert! People have sweets on their minds the minute they walk through the door, and any entrees are just a prelude to the big sucrose rush at the end.
Thought the food is tasty, I really don't think anyone heads there for a mile-high salad.
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A restaurant in the Wicker Park section of Chicago serves pizza that seems inspired by Sally's Apizza. The place is called "Piece," and its menu says that its recipe, "(I)s inspired by New Haven-style pizza." Though Piece did not mention Sally's by name, thanks to Fat Guy, I caught the reference.
Piece served us the pie on wax paper with a blistered crust, and frankly, it was the finest I've ever tried here in Chicago (admittedly a deep-dish kind o' town.) All the ingredients screamed, "Fresh!" and the crust was cracker-crisp.
Has anyone else tried it?
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I'd only put a hat on my steak if it's REALLY cold.
OH NO!!! Hats of Meat, For Meat!!
That is really funny, especially the base-bull cap made of ground beef with a flank steak visor
Maybe I'll make one for the Baltimore get-together in April.
I bet that in Milwaukee they'd make a bratwurst hat.
Is it true that in Milwaukee hot dogs are known as "tube steaks"?
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nightscotsman Posted: Jan 14 2003, 07:13 PM
Sounds like a very nice drink - I'll have to try it. Thanks so much to Dale for taking the time to think of us. Is it just me or does the name sound kind of.... uh.... gay?
Re: Our signature drink, the flaming GullyUm, nobody told you eGullet is a gay site?
I'm guessing 1 liter but I'll ask Dale today.
I thought Gumby was an icon of virility.
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Toppings on steak are for tourists.
I'm not a big fan of butter on steak; chalk it up to my sort-of-kosher upbringing.
You go, Girl!
The idea of putting butter on a steak makes me shiver. 
Note to the non-M.O.T.'s: mixing beef and dairy is traif (non-kosher) in Jewish dietary law.
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How do you folks top your steaks?
The purist in me says that a properly charred steak should be eaten au natural. True, Lugers serves a salad dressing in a gravy boat that many ladle on their steaks (check the label, eGulletarians: their vaunted "steak sauce" is indeed meant for salad!
) Frankly, I thought that said "sauce," though robust & flavorful, masked the flavor of their steak.Some restaurants even go so far as to blanket a ribeye steak in bleu cheese. This is barbaric.
(And I love a good, pungent bleu cheese). A common preparation is to wrap filet mignon in bacon, but I think this is due to the low marbling (and thus bland flavor) of a filet.Frankly, if I want cheese on a steak, I'll have a cheezborger, cheezborger!
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Also, Thank you to Steven a/k/a Fat-Guy, for his comprehensive review of steak cuts. It was invaluable!
Where did you find Fat Guy's Guide to Meat? Was it on the original fat-guy.com site or on eGullet?
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Schielke Posted: Mar 12 2003, 04:47 PM
That flaming pop tart is no joke, a roomate of mine put one in the toaster and then went to the restroom for a minute. When he came back, there were 2 foot flames coming from the toaster. Stupid pop tart.
Since we're on the topic of flaming snack foods, visit http://www.twinkiesproject.com and click on the "Rapid Oxidation" link.
Please note that no toaster was involved.
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Havent had one in who know hows long, but Ive had a few beers and am ready to try them again....
This one has white frosting...are you suppossed to but butter on these things before or after you put them in the toaster?
Share your Pop Tarts story or advice...
Advice from Fire Marshall Bill: Do not butter said 'Tarts before placing them in the toaster.
The ensuing grease fire will toast more than your tasty pastry! -
What kind of "arrogance" or gruffness do you all speak of when discussing the foreboding Luger's waitstaff? When a New Jersey friend and I (a Chicagoan) ate at Luger's we found the bartenders & waitstaff to be most gracious--even if the waiter did choose to amuse himself at my expense.
We declined to look at menus, followed the "Steak for Two, creamed spinach, hash browns" script. Herr Waiter nodded approvingly and bowed out. Five minutes later, he came back and intoned to me gravely, "I'm sorry, Sir, but we're out of steak tonight. We only have fish."
I had traveled from Chicago (partially) for this meal! My jaw unhinged. I looked ashen-faced at the waiter, at my friend, then back at the waiter--who blurted out "Hahahahaa!!!" as did my less-gullible friend.
Chum & I agreed that if the waiter teases me, it means he likes me!
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Here in Chicago, I met a (black) New Yorker who said he was stunned when, passing by a downtown pizza joint, he saw black people in the kitchen preparing pizza. He blurted out, "In New York, you never see a brother makin' a pizza!"
He continued, "I wouldn't trust (the pizza). In NYC, it could be the depths of Spanish Harlem, the worst section of the Bronx, but they bring in an Italian guy to make the pizza!" I burst out laughing,
as did the guys in the kitchen when I told them the story. Uptight New Yorker, we figured. But yesterday I met another New Yorker--a genuine goomba, this one--and he echoed the sentiment: he wouldn't trust a pizzeria where the food was made by non-Italians.Now seriously: how hard is it to make a pizza? You roll it out, mark it with a "P," put it in the oven for Luigi and me!
Yes, Steve, I know that making a pizza of the quality at Sally's in New Haven requires skill & training, but is it genetically coded?Da Bears!!
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Several have mentioned Gibsons in the Good grub in Chicawgo topic as serving one of Chicago's finest steaks. Any other nominees?
I ate at Gibsons with friends and found the food unremarkable considering what we paid for it. They serve a bone-in ribeye (my favorite cut), but the wet-aged steak lacked the musky, pungent flavor that I've found in other ribeyes. Honestly, it was pretty bland.
Also, my steak was cooked closer to medium-well than medium; a lady at an adjacent table who ordered her steak medium-rare also was served a medium-well steak. True, she could have sent it back, but...
Frankly, I find Gibsons to be a "beautiful people" hangout, given its proximity to the Rush Street area.
What others do fellow carnivores enjoy? Gene & Georgetti has an atmosphere evocative of Peter Lugers, and there are some good smaller steakhouses.
Pita Inn in Skokie
in The Heartland: Dining
Posted
Pita Inn doesn't serve "gyros" per se, but rather shawarma--more of a Middle Eastern version of gyros. Also, Pita Inn's shawarma is made of beef, whereas traditional gyros is made from beef, lamb & yummy spices.