Cogito wrote:Is the Nicky's at 24th St & Cicero Ave. owned by the same guy?
gleam wrote:Cogito wrote:Is the Nicky's at 24th St & Cicero Ave. owned by the same guy?
I wouldn't assume so by the name. Nicky's is a very common name for gyro stands on the south/southwest side, for whatever reason. Kind of like Ray's Original/Original Ray's in NYC.
Ann Fisher wrote:Nicky's on Roosevelt in Berwyn, formerly Kings and Queens, and home to the best gyros in the western burbs appears to have gone out of business.
Very sad.
Evan B. Druce wrote:A candidate for the easternmost Big Baby? Doesn't get much more east before Greek burger joints give way to BBQ and chicken joints than Hyde Park. Hyde Park Gyros on 53rd and Kenwood serves something called a Big Baby . . .
Evan B. Druce wrote:I don't know if Sammy's serves Big Babies, but I wouldn't be surprised, as it thoroughly passes the Greek burger joint test otherwise.
JSM wrote:Maxwell St. Express on 87th near Racine. The sign reads Big Baby,Gyros and Polish.
dbrick59 wrote:WHAT ABOUT SOTH SIDE SCHOOPS ? THEY MAKE AN EXCELLENT BURGER. I WOULD PUT THEM UP AGINIST ANY OTHER BURGER.
thepld wrote:Thought it was just a typical burger, which it pretty much is, but damn it is good. Such a cool thread, thanks!
Years ago Erik M. wrote:Rene G has adapted his original Big Baby report for this week's featured food article in Time Out Chicago.
Rene G wrote:Basically a Big Baby is two griddled beef patties with cheese on a toasted sesame seed bun. It comes dressed with mustard, ketchup, dill pickle, and grilled onion.
Rene G wrote:Basically a Big Baby is two griddled beef patties with cheese on a toasted sesame seed bun. It comes dressed with mustard, ketchup, dill pickle, and grilled onion. Upon ordering, the grillman slaps down two one-sixth pound patties onto the griddle and prods them a bit with the corner and edge of the spatula as they cook. The bun is placed alongside on the griddle to toast and catch a few spatters of fat. When the patties are almost done, a slice of American cheese is placed on one, and the other patty is put on top to hasten melting of the cheese. The bottom of the now-toasted bun gets squirts of mustard and ketchup, then 3 or 4 dill pickle slices are laid on. The burger stack is crowned with a tongful of pre-made grilled onions, transferred to the waiting bun, and the whole assembly is wrapped in a sheet of plain waxed paper. The price at Nicky's is $2.19 or two for $3.99. Not an elegant burger but greasy and good in a reassuringly old-fashioned way.
Cathy2 wrote:The method of cooking is distinctive: the patties getting cut into while cooking with a single piece of cheese in the middle that melts into the meat and pretty much disapeers.
iblock9 wrote:I am not trying to be argumentative, but is it the size of the patty and cutting it so the cheese melts in, the single piece of cheese and the griddle that make it a distinctive burger?
Marshall K wrote:I also believe a major draw of the Big Baby has always been price which I believe is currently around $2.25.
iblock9 wrote:Rene G wrote:Basically a Big Baby is two griddled beef patties with cheese on a toasted sesame seed bun. It comes dressed with mustard, ketchup, dill pickle, and grilled onion.
This sandwich existed before Nicky Vaginas called it a Big Baby.
Marco wrote:1. So is my McDouble technically a Big Baby? Since they took the 2nd cheese slice off the Double Cheeseburger, I have noticed the surviving single cheese slice is placed between the 2 small patties. And there are onions.
iblock9 wrote:However, the Big Baby is something I dont quite understand. Are we just talking about a double cheeseburger with grillled onion? I have certaintly had this sandwich at any number of hot dog stands all over town. Is it the fact that certain places call it a Big Baby that is of interest. I dont get it. This sandwich existed before Nicky Vaginas called it a Big Baby. I dont see myslef traveling down to Midway to try this when I can get a great, and I mean GREAT, double cheeseburger with grilled onions at Poochies. Please help me with what I am missing, besides the nostalgia for misspent, southside youth.
iblock9 wrote:I can get a griddled cheeseburger with grilled onions at The Chuck Wagon in Wilmette and they have been making them this way for 35 years.
Rene G wrote:At many Big Baby vendors the preparation is surprisingly invariant: always two small patties, always griddled, always a sesame seed bun (also griddled), always cheese between the patties, condiments (always ketchup, mustard and pickles, often applied in that order) always on the bottom, and—most important—always a big knot of greasy sautéed onions on top.
Cogito wrote:Panther, you're going to need to have your arteries flushed out soon. Count me as one of the people who can't really understand the "uniqueness" of the Big Baby. A double cheeseburger with grilled onions by another name still smells sweet.
David Hammond wrote:Cogito wrote:Panther, you're going to need to have your arteries flushed out soon. Count me as one of the people who can't really understand the "uniqueness" of the Big Baby. A double cheeseburger with grilled onions by another name still smells sweet.
I've had my share of Big Babies, and like ReneG, I'd never put them out there as gastronomic triumphs, but like him, I think it's downright fascinatin' that this burger configuration has taken root -- and apparently made a name for itself -- in a specific geographic area. It's not so much the taste of the thing but the fact of its existence that is so entertaining (at least to those of us so amused by such things).
David Hammond wrote:Cogito wrote:Panther, you're going to need to have your arteries flushed out soon. Count me as one of the people who can't really understand the "uniqueness" of the Big Baby. A double cheeseburger with grilled onions by another name still smells sweet.
I've had my share of Big Babies, and like ReneG, I'd never put them out there as gastronomic triumphs, but like him, I think it's downright fascinatin' that this burger configuration has taken root -- and apparently made a name for itself -- in a specific geographic area. It's not so much the taste of the thing but the fact of its existence that is so entertaining (at least to those of us so amused by such things).
Rene G wrote:iblock9 wrote:I can get a griddled cheeseburger with grilled onions at The Chuck Wagon in Wilmette and they have been making them this way for 35 years.
Interesting that you mention The Chuck Wagon. It's come up before in discussions of the Big Baby. I have yet to visit but I suspect their version of a Greek diner burger is close in spirit to a Big Baby.
Rene G wrote:Overall I liked the Chuck Wagon and particularly enjoyed some of the menu names. I'm a bit of a sucker for that sort of thing (hence my interest in the Big Baby). Are there any other places in the north suburbs that serve a Losh?
ronnie_suburban wrote:Rene G wrote:Overall I liked the Chuck Wagon and particularly enjoyed some of the menu names. I'm a bit of a sucker for that sort of thing (hence my interest in the Big Baby). Are there any other places in the north suburbs that serve a Losh?
I've never seen a Losh anywhere else and I'm pretty sure it's a newer item at Chuck Wagon. I also love their Waitress, which is kind of like the Gyros Melt at CND Gyros Lounge but better, for reasons that I have never completely analyzed.
=R=
Wikipedia (Armenian Cuisine) wrote:Grilled meats
Grilling (barbecue) is very popular in Armenia, and grilled meats are often the main course in restaurants and at family gatherings. Grilled meat is also eaten as fast food.
Khorovats (or khorovadz) – Armenian word for barbecued or grilled meats (the generic kebab in English), the most representative dish of Armenian cuisine enjoyed in restaurants, family gatherings, and as fast food. A typical khorovats is chunks of meat grilled on a skewer (shashlik), although steaks or chops grilled without skewers may be also included. In Armenia itself, khorovats is often made with the bone still in the meat (as lamb or pork chops). Western Armenians outside Armenia generally cook the meat with bones taken out and call it by the Turkish name shish kebab.
On the other hand, the word kebab in Armenia refers to uncased sausage-shaped patties from ground meat grilled on a skewer (called losh kebab or lule kebab by diasporan Armenians and Turks). In Armenia today, the most popular meat for khorovats (including losh kebab) is pork due to Soviet-era economic heritage. Armenians outside Armenia usually prefer lamb or beef depending on their background, and chicken is also popular.
Panther in the Den wrote:Sounds good!
Rene G wrote:Overall I liked the Chuck Wagon and particularly enjoyed some of the menu names. I'm a bit of a sucker for that sort of thing (hence my interest in the Big Baby). Are there any other places in the north suburbs that serve a Losh?