Culver's

For dinner today, I stopped at the Culver's in Lyons, and had the breaded walleye pike dinner and some chocolate eclair custard for dessert. Two solid strikes right down the middle of the plate. The breading on their walleye is very light and the fish had good texture and flavor. I have never had the chocolate eclair custard before, but it is outstanding. I need a nap.

I had one of their chocolate shakes the other day and it was pretty darn good.

Nice, thick and chocolatey.

I like their custard second only to...

Hole In the Wall Custard
901 S Oak Park Ave, Oak Park
(708) 848-9910

Culver's of Lyons
8211 Ogden Ave, Lyons
(708) 442-0932

Culver's walleye dinner is a jewel in the fast food firmament.

They just opened one up in Rosemont, in the mall at Touhy and Mannheim, about 45 seconds from my home. Based on the potential extra calories in my life, I don't know if I should be thrilled or horrified.

Buddy

I had a couple of friends go there for lunch just the other day, it was packed! They were practically in line their entire lunch hour, just came back to their desks to eat. That was not drive thru but order at the counter. We work at Bryn Mawr & Cumberland, so we are close.

diane ck wrote:I had a couple of friends go there for lunch just the other day, it was packed! They were practically in line their entire lunch hour, just came back to their desks to eat. That was not drive thru but order at the counter. We work at Bryn Mawr & Cumberland, so we are close.

Huh. Went there for lunch Monday at about 12:15 or so and was able to step right up to the counter with no line at all. Still plenty of seating when I left about 40 minutes later as well.

Pot roast sandwich was decent. Chocolate shake was better than what I had from Steak N Shake a couple weeks ago, but nowhere near as good as the chocolate banana shake I got at nearby Paradise Pup today.

Still, it's convenient and I can see myself returning from time to time once training is over and I go from hour lunches to 30 minutes

The Culver's nearest me was pretty tasty, recently -- I got a Butterburger and Llama got a double. Not only was his juicier, but also butterier! Both were tasty, but the double was much moreso. I'll try the walleye next time I'm there.

Interesting story about the near adjacent Steak N Shake. The reason they can be so close to each other without violating any non-compete clauses in their leases is because their respective properties are owned by two different leasing agencies. I would love to have seen the look on the SNS manager's face when he found out Culver's was coming to the neighborhood.

Also, your point about Paradise Pup is well made. Ain't nobody gonna be walking away from Paradise Pup to go to Culver's, but it does present another choice for the area. I mean, man cannot live on three way fries and char cheddar burgers alone. Every once in a while you gotta have a crispy edged butter burger and a dish of frozen custard.

Buddy

Cogito wrote:For dinner today, I stopped at the Culver's in Lyons, and had the breaded walleye pike dinner and some chocolate eclair custard for dessert. Two solid strikes right down the middle of the plate. The breading on their walleye is very light and the fish had good texture and flavor. I have never had the chocolate eclair custard before, but it is outstanding. I need a nap.

That's funny, I drove by that Culver's on the way to Naf Naf tonight and was tempted, but pressed on...

*sigh* They need one in Chicago city limits, dang it.

Cogito wrote: The breading on their walleye is very light and the fish had good texture and flavor.

A few months ago, I tried the walleye at Culver's in Sheboygan and found it crisp, but thickly breaded and greasy. Maybe in the meantime they've refined their recipe.

I heartily endorse their pork tenderloin sammie......throw some mustard, onion, and a few dill pickle slices on, and you've got the makings of a pretty darned good meal...

Culvers overall is pretty solid as far as fast food.

I like their walleye, their burgers are pretty good, I also like the cheese curds, and their rootbeer. Ive never tried their pork tenderloin, but doubt it stacks up to the ones I can get out west here.

I am actually excited their Ottawa, IL. location is due to open in May, saves me the drive over to Morris.

The one thing that I don't understand about Culver's is how they can do such a nice job with burgers on a large scale but such a crappy job with fries.

I guess it's an illustration of the fact that "Edzo" Lakin pointed out in this SFOB video:

Burgers are not rocket science. Fries are a lot harder.

eatchicago wrote:The one thing that I don't understand about Culver's is how they can do such a nice job with burgers on a large scale but such a crappy job with fries.

I guess it's an illustration of the fact that "Edzo" Lakin pointed out in this SFOB video:

Burgers are not rocket science. Fries are a lot harder.

True, but - they don't even try! I've had better fries come from a bag in my home kitchen. The fact that Culver's fries consistently underperform Ore-Ida does not speak well for them.

Even so, on road trips we always greet the sight of Culver's with glee. I can't stand most fast food, and Culver's burgers are well above what you'd get at most any other chain.

eatchicago wrote:The one thing that I don't understand about Culver's is how they can do such a nice job with burgers on a large scale but such a crappy job with fries.

thats why I sub the cheese curds for the fries when I go.

I'm also a big fan of the walleye at Culvers. When walleye is not in season, I go for the pork tenderloin sandwich and the occasional butterburger.

Last week, the husband ordered the chipotle cheese curds. Never again. I had heartburn until the next morning.

Suzy

There is a good selection of other sides...

Culver's Menu wrote:Classic Sides
Seasoned Green Beans
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Cole Slaw

Premium Sides
Chili Cheddar Fries
Dairyland Cheese Curds
Onion Rings

The Onion Rings looked pretty good on my last visit!

cccpr wrote:*sigh* They need one in Chicago city limits, dang it.

Yes, because there's not much else to eat in the city of Chicago. We clearly need more fast food.

Maybe I should try Culver's again. I've had it a couple of times and was largely unimpressed. I can't say anything positive about it that isn't folllowed by the phrase "for a fast food place." There's one very close to my house, yet I haven't been there in years. The most memorable thing about it was how nice the people who worked there were. That certainly counts for a lot but it's still a relatively small aspect, compared to the food.

=R=

jesteinf wrote:

cccpr wrote:*sigh* They need one in Chicago city limits, dang it.

Yes, because there's not much else to eat in the city of Chicago. We clearly need more fast food.

apparently there is indeed nothing nearly as interesting to LTHForum members as Culver's.

Kennyz wrote:

jesteinf wrote:

cccpr wrote:*sigh* They need one in Chicago city limits, dang it.

Yes, because there's not much else to eat in the city of Chicago. We clearly need more fast food.

apparently there is indeed nothing nearly as interesting to LTHForum members as Culver's.

Wrong and wrong

Between Sonic, Fatburger, Chick-Fil-A, Five Guys and now Sconnie Culver's, I'm just about done with carpetbagger fast food joints. Wake me up when In and Out decides to come here.

Kennyz wrote:

jesteinf wrote:

cccpr wrote:*sigh* They need one in Chicago city limits, dang it.

Yes, because there's not much else to eat in the city of Chicago. We clearly need more fast food.

apparently there is indeed nothing nearly as interesting to LTHForum members as Culver's.

Hey, that's unfair! It seems to me that LTHers care a lot more about Yelp, Twitter, and Steve Plotnicki - this thread hasn't even cracked the second page yet.

jesteinf wrote:Wrong and wrong

LOL! You forgot this one.

=R=

Suzy,

Fair enough. This is the most interesting restaurant. There are other equally interesting subject matters.

Kennyz

ronnie_suburban wrote:

jesteinf wrote:Wrong and wrong

LOL! You forgot this one.

=R=

Thanks! Post edited above.

I'm as likely as anyone to piss on someone's enthusiasm for an out of town fast food franchise. As much as I like In-N-Out (just had one the other day at the best INO -- by Hollywood High), I'd rather eat burgers from a one-off diner. But I think my fellow snobs are missing something important about the recent Culver's posts: WALLEYE. How does Culver's WALLEYE compare to other fast food WALLEYE? For chissakes, I wish I could get WALLEYE somewhere in Chicago without looking so hard. Turns out the Culvers ran supper clubs in Baraboo before getting into the fast food biz. Some credit for keeping it real, plz.





WALLEYE

JeffB wrote:I'm as likely as anyone to piss on someone's enthusiasm for an out of town fast food franchise. As much as I like In-N-Out (just had one the other day at the best INO -- by Hollywood High), I'd rather eat burgers from a one-off diner. But I think my fellow snobs are missing something important about the recent Culver's posts: WALLEYE. How does Culver's WALLEYE compare to other fast food WALLEYE? For chissakes, I wish I could get WALLEYE somewhere in Chicago without looking so hard. Turns out the Culvers ran supper clubs in Baraboo before getting into the fast food biz. Some credit for keeping it real, plz.





WALLEYE

Sorry, Jeff, WALLEYE or not, I just can't stomach the prospect of 180 pages of LTH discussion dedicated to another carpetbaggin' fast food joint.

aschie30 wrote:I just can't stomach the prospect of 180 pages of LTH discussion dedicated to another carpetbaggin' fast food joint.

At this point, 33% of this thread is dedicated to discussion complaining about this thread. 7 or so more and we'll get to 50-50.

I, for one, look forward to LTHers achieving the elusive "Recursive 100% Complaint Thread": The thread that only exists to complain about itself.