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Wiener and Still Champion hit the spot before some light opera tonight. Fried pickles in this city don't come any better or more original than Gus's pickle chips with cuke dip, and the burgers were right on. I left thinking that the buns are a really remarkable part of the burger experience here, always tasting just-baked even late on a Saturday, and airy enough to let the patties do the talking. I forget fries come with just about everything and will bring a third friend next time to clear our baskets.

Wiener and Still Champion will be included on Sunday night's episode of Chicago's Best, 10pm on WGN ch 9. For those who've been curious about the Chicago's Best host, you might find this video of the taping interesting.

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That was a million times better than the Burt's segment. In the clip linked in your post, he really came off as a genuine and down-to-earth guy . . . and clearly, he really loved the food. Telling Gus that he's really good at what he does made for a very nice moment.

=R=

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A cocktail-filled Friday required some WASC therapy on Saturday. Mr. X and I split a cheddarburger and fries and had a dipping dog each. The Argentine herb and garlic dipping sauce was addictive. I concur with Mr. X's assessment: "That was the best lunch I've had in a long time."

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-Mary

Gus TV.

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Had a late lunch/early dinner at WaSC tonight and it made me wish I spent more time in Evanston. I was planning on getting a burger (we are hitting a ball game tomorrow night where I will more than likely eat a hot dog) but at the last moment, I could not resist the sweet siren song of the bacon dog.



The picky eater did get the burger which, as usual, came with what are my by-a-long-shot favorite fries in the Chicagoland area. The PE was particularly fond of the Texas Ranch dipping sauce. *Note - I swiped his burger before he had finished, it remains very high on my list.



Chili Bombs were just the thing to cap the meal off, although we did wind up bringing most of this home as we were stuffed.



I asked Gus if he had fried anything new lately and he mentioned that there would be a new menu in the next couple of weeks. Very much looking forward to my next trip.

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"Baseball is like church. Many attend. Few understand." Leo Durocher

Wow, is this place great! I'm so glad that I live nowhere near this place. Country Fried Bacon for an appetizer. Six huge pieces of bacon and two dippin' sauces. A dippin' dog just perfect with some yellow mustard and that batter is fantastic! The fries with Merkts cheddar is a meal in itself. I just think that for people that eat there on any kind of a regular basis, perhaps they could have a cardiologist standing by.

Shamefully, tonight was my first time in WaSC since my school days.

Fine, fine fries -- greasy like they're supposed to be. Not pomme frites, but good old fashioned hot dog stand stuff. Lots of crispy bits.

A pair of dippin' dogs was the star attraction: crisp sweet cornbread coating over a gen-u-wine kosher-style dog, not the usual bland forcemeat falsehood you get in a commercial corndog.

A bit of conversation with Gus (turns out we're practically neighbors) topped off a nice evening.

So far I'm on a two-GNR weekend, there's a shot at a third tomorrow.

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What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
-- Lin Yutang

All I can say is WOW. I loved this place so much. I went with the deep fried bacon-wrapped dog with Merkt's cheddar and it was awesome. The fries were outstanding. Just a notch better than Edzo's if forced to pick. I also did a dippin dog and I really liked the cornmeal batter on there. Just tasted like pure cornbread. I had two dippin sauces; spicy mayo and sweet bacon ketchup. Both of them were great. I liked the mayo with the fires and the ketchup one with the dippin dog. Had planned on ordering the deep fried bacon if I had any rooom left but there was none.





If this place was located within 30 miles of where I work or live I'd be there all the time.

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It seems Gus, the preeminent artist of the deep fry basket, has figured out a way to deep fry a seasoned flour coated disk of gravy, thus creating the poutine burger. I'm going to have to make a trip to Dempster Street very soon. Info at today's Evanston Patch: http://evanston.patch.com/articles/wien ... our-burger


http://www.wienerandstillchampion.com/2 ... gravy.html

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Edible, adj.: Good to eat, and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pig, a pig to a man, and a man to a worm. ~Ambrose Bierce

The deep fried gravy is, I believe, available (and worthwhile) for any burger there. Blow your mind and try it on a Nick D burger.

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Hey Gus ,

I was watching a rerun of "Everybody Hates Chris' and a lady on the show was talking about eating chicken-fried bananas. Of course you, being the master of all things fried, immediately came to mind. It gave me an idea for a variation on the theme. How about taking a banana, putting it on a stick and dipping it in batter, then frying it like a corn dog, dusting it with powdered sugar (and maybe cinnamon), and serving it with honey as a dipping sauce like Greek Loukoumades? Seems to me like somebody must have already done this, at some fair or flea market, but I've never personally seen it. If you're game, I'll spring for the bananas and powdered sugar (and volunteer to be the first guinea pig).

Dave

This needs to happen. Think of what a fantastic banana split that would make! Just BYOC from Andy's on Church.

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

Put it in a Krispy Kreme "bun" and you got a hell of a dessert dog.

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The cake is a lie

Let me know if you need a focus group for that fried banana, Gus.

all right , I'm in. I wonder if a tempura or corndog batter will work best.

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How fast can you eat a 3lb burger?

Thick pancake batter?

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Ed Fisher
my chicago food photos

RIP LTH.

I guess we can try all 3.

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How fast can you eat a 3lb burger?

I love science! We need Ted Allen to narrate/moderate, though.

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Food & Flowers: Andre Jordan's sweet doodle for a cold winter's day; diary of an unhappy restaurateur, circa 1881; winter project - try a terrarium

I vote for tempura. Once upon a time I had a dessert consisting of tempura bananas and homemade coconut ice cream, and it's haunted me ever since. The light tempura batter showcased the banana's creamy texture very well.

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

Cool, I am totally stoked about this. I have the same questions about the type of batter. Corn Dog batter would be great, just because of what it is, but the consistency might not be right. I like the original notion of "Chicken Fried bananas", but I think that was more a joke than a real thing. I sort of envision something that would be a banana covered in fried dough, a sort of banana eclair, but getting the banana to caramelize is important. Anyhow, with the wizard of deep frying involved, I know we will get it right.

Can't wait to come try these

May I suggest using the "baby"-type bananas? I'm thinking they'd be the perfect size.

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Food & Flowers: Andre Jordan's sweet doodle for a cold winter's day; diary of an unhappy restaurateur, circa 1881; winter project - try a terrarium

Damn. Where's the "Like" button?

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Another vote for tempura, though fried pancake batter is intriguing.

And maybe there needs to be a choice between honey or chocolate for dipping.

I despise Ted Allen, he is the reason I have a hard time watching any show he is on.

I was thinking these type of bananas would work better also. Not only are they less "banana shaped", so they would fit onto stick better, they re also much sweeter. I believe they are called "delicias" and come from Costa Rica.

BRAINSTORM: Wrap the cute little banana with a strip of par-cooked bacon. Dip in tempura batter; fry. Serve with some manner of peanut butter-based sauce - say, a sate sauce with coconut milk and a little bit of chile heat.


A new breakthrough on the Elvis-related food frontier. BOOM!

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Food & Flowers: Andre Jordan's sweet doodle for a cold winter's day; diary of an unhappy restaurateur, circa 1881; winter project - try a terrarium

I do like the peanut sauce idea.

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How fast can you eat a 3lb burger?

Rumor has it that WaSC will be featured in a segment of 190 North, on ABC7, Sunday Dec 16 @ 11 pm.

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