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*GASP!*

Had a very nice lunch at Edzo's recently, where the quality level seems to be extremely consistent (relative to my previous visits). It was lunchtime on a Saturday and there was a long line, which came to about the door but the wait to order was maybe about 10 minutes. Seating was full but most customers were being very considerate, as urged by the sign on the wall, and not taking seats until after they ordered. A few patrons seemed to ignore this convention but for the most part, it was followed fairly and politely enforced by other customers.

For me, a double, griddled cheesburger . . .


Double, Griddled Cheeseburger
Really juicy with a great, beefy flavor

Our group shared a couple orders of "old" fries . . .


Old Fries with Cheddar (Old Fries with Garlic on left side of frame)
Super crispy and delicious.

One person in our party ordered a grilled chicken breast sandwich and it was very tasty, with a nice hit of sage. Corndog was not loved by the person who ordered it but they liked it well enough to finish it. Oreo Shake was fantastic. During our approximately 1-hour stay, the line ebbed and flowed but never really let up. Still, things were moving briskly throughout our stay and food was flying out from behind the counter at a consistent, rapid clip.

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

Man, that double-griddled looks good.....my daughter lives in Evanston....I've gotta make my way to what appears to be burger nirvana.......

i made my first, long overdue, visit to edzo's on saturday, with father and brother in tow. the line wasnt particularly long at 1pm as we ordered, grabbed some drinks and sat. my brother downed his lime soda and eddie brought him a second, on the house, apologizing for the long wait for our food (even tho none of us were complaining, nor we were thinking the wait was unreasonably long). it was a charming thing to do. the food was as good as expected- a single order of truffled fries (with the great spice house truffle salt) was enough for the 3 of us, and my double griddled burger was terrific, though i would have preferred it pink ( am i right in thinking you can only get a rare burger if it's the larger char burger?). a taste of one of his shakes will have to wait for another visit, as i couldnt ingest anything else. justjoan

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"the only things money can't buy are true love and homegrown tomatoes" (guy clark)

Yep, one can only specify the doneness of the meat when ordering the char burger at Edzo's.

Which is fine with me, because it's the only thing I ever order. We took the whole family to Edzo's on Sunday for a late lunch/early dinner (including the newest addition, who thankfully slept the whole time in his stroller without making a peep.) Everything was great, including my char burger, which was a perfect red/dark pink medium rare per my order. Husband enjoyed his double griddled burger and my lone meat eating kiddo enjoyed his single griddled cheese burger (plain, please.) Oh, and the fries were also so good I had to force myself to stop eating them long after I was full from my burger and milkshake.

Speaking of which, Eddie also graciously offered to split a shake order for our kids so that they wouldn't tank up on an entire milkshake and not eat their dinner. We tried the strawberry and balsamic shake, which was really fantastic, and a fudge shake as well (which was even more intensely chocolatey than the chocolate shake and is now officially my favorite shake order, period.) Overall we had a really great meal and can't wait to get back, although next time I can't say that I'll be so willing to split my milkshake with kids, sugar high or not...

I love the Hot Fudge shake too. My friend always has to have a malt, but after he tried the hot fudge shake, he said it doesn't even need it. It's been a long time since I had Edzo's, but it's tough to get to Evanston before 4:00 these days.

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Finally made it in to try the PB&B, a mere two months later. Loved it. That's something I can make at home, but food always tastes better when I don't have to do the dishes. That and a Nutella shake comprised a healthful lunch.

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As a mattra-fact, Pie Face, you are beginning to look almost human. - Barbara Bennett

Was at Edzo's Sunday and had my heart set on a patty melt so I did not order a special which sounds intriguing: "Farmer's Market Burger" which if I remember correctly featured an 8 oz. grilled Dietzler Farms patty, roasted red onion and yellow squash, arugula, a "good tomato" and corn mayo all for $14.

The guy at the next table had one and it looked amazing! Anyone tried this?

Ed changes the market burger every weekend based on what he can find/what inspires him at the Evanston Farmer's Market. I had one Father's Day weekend with Swiss chard, an interesting kind of pepper, and a fried cheese-stuffed squash blossom. Blurry pic here: http://yfrog.com/f/emotzfj/ It was excellent.

He posts the market burger of the weekend on his twitter feed: http://twitter.com/edlakin

I love this idea. I only wish I lived a bit closer to Edzo's so I could try it more often.

Best,
Michael

Took my sister, bro-in law and niece to Edzo's last Sunday. I hadn't been there since winter, so I was looking forward to it. I got to meet the great stevez there, so we chatted a little bit. My family and I had char burgers and loved them. My sister got the truffle fries which she loved, and I got a little surprise myself. Stevez came over as he was leaving and gave me the rest of his Old Fries and I have to say, they were probably better than the regular fries. I am definitely going to get them next time. My niece got a Nutella shake with banana that she was in love with. Great stuff as always Eddie.

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LADIES - Please check out my girlfriend's clothing site that might be of use to someone you know PM me for coupon

You smoosh the whole thing together or eat the squash blossom by itself and then the burger? I'm guessing the squash blossom was a solo act.

Looks good either way, just, for no reason I can figure, curious.

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Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

I smooshed, which was Ed's intention. Cheese oozed out and made a nice sauce with a crisp blossom on top of the burger.

Just learned that Edzo's will be closed for summer vacation from August 1 through August 10.

You have been warned!

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

Darn it! I guess we better go there after all tomorrow. I just don't know if I can do 2 burger joints with less than 24 hours between them.

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Ava-"If you get down and out, just get in the kitchen and bake a cake."- Jean Strickland

Horto In Urbs- Falling in love with Urban Vegetable Gardening

I have donw 2 burger joints with less than an hour between them.

Sometime it pays to have a friend along and share.

Of course, at Edzo's you always have the issue of thick and thin (double)!

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"Make Lunch, Not War" ~ Anon

On a recent visit to Edzo's, I tried the patty melt for the first time. Edzo's patty melt is served on marbled rye bread. I got the single (small), but the patty, which is a perfect size for the buns that they use, didn't really fill out the bread enough for my taste. Next time, I'll try one with a double griddled patty in it (large).

Edzo's Patty Melt


To go with the burger, I ordered Taylor Street Fries, which are fries covered with giardinara and Italian Beef gravy. The giardinara really gave the fires a nice zip, but I found the gravy to do little more than waterlog the usually crispy fries. After trying a bunch of the different kinds of fries Edzo's offers, I've finally hit on my preferred combination. From now on it's Old Fries with giardinara for me.

Edzo's Taylor Street Fries


I'm trying to get caught up with some old posts today. I'm sorry to post this during the week that Edzo's is closed for vacation.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

congratulations to eddie on the very positive review edzo's received in the september bon appetit magazine. it's mentioned in an article on cheap eats in chicago, page 42. justjoan

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"the only things money can't buy are true love and homegrown tomatoes" (guy clark)

thanks, joan, for the kind words and plug. here's a link for those who might want to read the article online (lots of other chicago places mentioned as well).

http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2010/09/chicago_cheap_eats

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http://edzos.com/
Edzo's Evanston on Facebook or Twitter.

Edzo's Lincoln Park on Facebook or Twitter.

oops, sorry eddie- i meant to include the link. btw, i've been reading your blog, which is well written and very interesting. the only downside of reading it is it makes me want a grass-finished burger, right now. jj

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"the only things money can't buy are true love and homegrown tomatoes" (guy clark)

Finally made my way up to Edzo's this past Saturday with the missus.....well worth the trip from the western suburbs....had the double twice griddled (with a fried egg slapped on), the garlic fries, and a blueberry shake....all top notch. Also enjoyed chatting briefly with the ever-friendly Eddie.....I will return!

I took my son and his friend, who had just taken the Northwestern admissions tour, to Edzo's for lunch. Everything was delicious, although my current ability to concentrate on work is nil since all blood is going to my stomach from my brain. My son declared his Nutella shake the best milk shake he's ever had. His friend decided that Edzo's was so great that not only would he apply to Northwestern but that he'd apply Early Decision--'cause the hamburgers were so fantastic!

That's probably a better reason than most.

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It isn't that I'm not full...

Perhaps the Admissions Office can pay Eddie a small subsidy for his help in recruiting students .

First time at Edzo's today...what an awesome place. Mr CM2772 came with me and we had a char burger/medium rare with cheddar and everything and a double grilled with cheese. We split a vanilla malt and each ordered fries--one of the garlic and old fries.

Everything was great...but the double grilled was better than the char for flavor and texture. My char was made exactly to order and no complaints other than, well, the grilled was just a smidge better. Old fries rock and are better than the garlic.

Next time I will try another type of shake (oh yeah, speciality flavors today were pumpkin pie and toasted almond) but it will be hard for me to order something else than the double grilled and old fries.

Were blueberry shakes still available?

Didn't see them but also didn't really look at the flavors. Already had decided on vanilla malt before I walked in. The specials were on a board on the wall (not the menu board).

Sorry can't help you here.

Edzo's Saturday lunch during a Northwestern home game is a busy place! Line to the door moved fast, tables opened in magical sync with new orders and Eddie was a smiling calm ringmaster, no megaphone necessary.

4/oz griddled burgers hit the spot, but old fries w/giardiniera, aka the Steve Z, were magical

Old Fries with giardiniera

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Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

I was at Edzo's today for lunch too - around 11:30 - noon. Wish I could have met you!



I definitely enjoyed my charburger, cooked perfectly medium rare. I've tried both Dietzler and Tallgrass upgrades along with the regular meat, and while all are very tasty, I wonder if I would be able to tell a difference in a blind taste test? I don't think my tastebuds are quite that smart. But I do feel good supporting the farms that Eddie uses.



It was my friend's first time at Edzo's and although his favorite burger ever is still Paradise Pup, where they use Merkt's cheddar on the burgers as well. He had cheese fries and a charburger and was very happy with his meal. He declared that Paradise Pup has a greasier burger, so I think I like Edzo's better.

I ate there for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and I thought my chocolate milk shake (no Nutella) was the best milk shake I have ever had. It was also huge - they give you a normal sized milk shake in a cup, and the leftover in the metal can in which it's made is almost as much as what's in the cup.

Oh yeah, my burger was great too!

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"we must all understand that we're not all going to agree on everything, so let's just accept it -- hell, let's cherish it -- and move on." - ronnie_suburban

I eat at Edzo's about once a month or so and their burgers are the best (double griddle, swiss, garlic butter, grilled onions), but the last 2 times I've been in their fries have tested terribly fishy (as in tasting like actual fish - not tasting suspicious). If I hadn't gotten carry out today I would have taken them back. These are regular (not old) fries. Seems they need to change the fryer oil a little more often.