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Lunch @ Wiener & Still Champion this Friday, 1/30, Noon

Lunch @ Wiener & Still Champion this Friday, 1/30, Noon
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  • Lunch @ Wiener & Still Champion this Friday, 1/30, Noon

    Post #1 - January 27th, 2009, 2:29 pm
    Post #1 - January 27th, 2009, 2:29 pm Post #1 - January 27th, 2009, 2:29 pm
    I haven't been to Wiener & Still Champion in a while, and I have a major hankering for a burger and fries. Anyone care to join me and a few Evanstonians for lunch this Friday at noon?

    Wiener and Still Champion
    802 Dempster
    Evanston
    847-869-0100
    Last edited by happy_stomach on January 28th, 2009, 8:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
  • Post #2 - January 27th, 2009, 11:31 pm
    Post #2 - January 27th, 2009, 11:31 pm Post #2 - January 27th, 2009, 11:31 pm
    I'm there. It'll be the one-week anniversary of my single-handedly almost complete destruction of Gus' business.
    Last edited by nr706 on January 28th, 2009, 11:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
  • Post #3 - January 28th, 2009, 12:48 am
    Post #3 - January 28th, 2009, 12:48 am Post #3 - January 28th, 2009, 12:48 am
    I'll try to make it.
    I used to think the brain was the most important part of the body. Then I realized who was telling me that.
  • Post #4 - January 28th, 2009, 10:26 am
    Post #4 - January 28th, 2009, 10:26 am Post #4 - January 28th, 2009, 10:26 am
    Oooh... I'm a strong maybe.
    Did you know there is an LTHforum Flickr group? I just found it...
  • Post #5 - January 28th, 2009, 10:31 am
    Post #5 - January 28th, 2009, 10:31 am Post #5 - January 28th, 2009, 10:31 am
    Also in the strong maybe category for 2.
  • Post #6 - January 28th, 2009, 11:05 am
    Post #6 - January 28th, 2009, 11:05 am Post #6 - January 28th, 2009, 11:05 am
    With all I have heard about his cheese fries I will make a strong effort to make it. Might bring a first time friend too.
    "Very good... but not my favorite." ~ Johnny Depp as Roux the Gypsy in Chocolat
  • Post #7 - January 28th, 2009, 11:34 am
    Post #7 - January 28th, 2009, 11:34 am Post #7 - January 28th, 2009, 11:34 am
    nr706 wrote:I'm there. It'll be the one-week anniversary of my single-handedly almost complete destruction of Gus' business.


    I hope you plan to share this story over corn dogs--and I plan to be there to hear it....
    "Life is a combination of magic and pasta." -- Federico Fellini

    "You're not going to like it in Chicago. The wind comes howling in from the lake. And there's practically no opera season at all--and the Lord only knows whether they've ever heard of lobster Newburg." --Charles Foster Kane, Citizen Kane.
  • Post #8 - January 29th, 2009, 1:06 am
    Post #8 - January 29th, 2009, 1:06 am Post #8 - January 29th, 2009, 1:06 am
    I'm a maybe too. (Will MHays slap me around for my last post if I show up? Will it be worth it, to see tarte tatin again and meet the mysterious Panther in the Den? Hmmm... at least I'll get a hot dog and cheese fries out of it ...)
    "Your swimming suit matches your eyes, you hold your nose before diving, loving you has made me bananas!"
  • Post #9 - January 29th, 2009, 9:42 am
    Post #9 - January 29th, 2009, 9:42 am Post #9 - January 29th, 2009, 9:42 am
    tarte tatin wrote:
    nr706 wrote:I'm there. It'll be the one-week anniversary of my single-handedly almost complete destruction of Gus' business.


    I hope you plan to share this story over corn dogs--and I plan to be there to hear it....

    And recap it here, too, for those of us who cannot attend on Friday. :D

    =R=
    By protecting others, you save yourself. If you only think of yourself, you'll only destroy yourself. --Kambei Shimada

    Every human interaction is an opportunity for disappointment --RS

    There's a horse loose in a hospital --JM

    That don't impress me much --Shania Twain
  • Post #10 - January 29th, 2009, 11:34 am
    Post #10 - January 29th, 2009, 11:34 am Post #10 - January 29th, 2009, 11:34 am
    Here's an e-mail I received recently:
    I see some people are meeting for lunch at Wiener and Still Champion on Friday. That place is still open? I heard it closed because of the counter help.
  • Post #11 - January 29th, 2009, 12:04 pm
    Post #11 - January 29th, 2009, 12:04 pm Post #11 - January 29th, 2009, 12:04 pm
    That's an interesting email...WASC has been open every time i have driven past lately.
    I used to think the brain was the most important part of the body. Then I realized who was telling me that.
  • Post #12 - January 29th, 2009, 12:07 pm
    Post #12 - January 29th, 2009, 12:07 pm Post #12 - January 29th, 2009, 12:07 pm
    The e-mail was a joke aimed at my last-minute counter-handling skills.
  • Post #13 - January 30th, 2009, 1:46 pm
    Post #13 - January 30th, 2009, 1:46 pm Post #13 - January 30th, 2009, 1:46 pm
    Thanks, everyone, for coming to lunch today. And, MelT, I hope you enjoyed your first LTH event. Sorry again for being so late. (That's what I get for posting about savory rice krispie treats before lunch!)

    I guess I was hungrier than I thought because I completely cleared my basket of turkey burger and fries (and Gus gives *a lot* of fries) and...also enjoyed fried bacon, fried pickles and--a first for me--fried gyros. I thought the fried gyros were very, very good--the perfect size, shape and seasoning. Yet something else to crave from WaSC!
  • Post #14 - January 30th, 2009, 1:51 pm
    Post #14 - January 30th, 2009, 1:51 pm Post #14 - January 30th, 2009, 1:51 pm
    Sorry I couldn't make it, folks. The little one was sleeping and it didn't seem fair to wake her... even for friend gyros.
    Did you know there is an LTHforum Flickr group? I just found it...
  • Post #15 - January 30th, 2009, 4:14 pm
    Post #15 - January 30th, 2009, 4:14 pm Post #15 - January 30th, 2009, 4:14 pm
    I had a great time, really enjoyed the food and meeting Gus and the other LTHers there. I saw Panther in the Den took some food home with him and now I wish I'd done the same. Well, guess I'll just have to go back that much sooner!
    "Your swimming suit matches your eyes, you hold your nose before diving, loving you has made me bananas!"
  • Post #16 - January 30th, 2009, 4:18 pm
    Post #16 - January 30th, 2009, 4:18 pm Post #16 - January 30th, 2009, 4:18 pm
    Lovely to see everyone again! Hope to see some or all of you on our newly-updated Evanston Lunch Group date in February! Always good to have french fries and hotdogs in the dead of winter.
  • Post #17 - January 30th, 2009, 4:31 pm
    Post #17 - January 30th, 2009, 4:31 pm Post #17 - January 30th, 2009, 4:31 pm
    Well, I now have been to my first LTH event, and man it was a good one. It was also my first time to WaSC. It was perfect to try with a group. What a great group too. Thank you to everyone who made me feel welcome. It was fun to put faces to the screennames.

    We sampled the fried bacon, fried gyros, fried chili balls, fried pickels (getting the theme here?). . . plus I had a cheesburger with fries and a dippin dog with several dippin sauces. All were great, and preparred expertly to order by Gus and staff.

    One of the standouts were the fried gyros which really worked well, not nearly as over the top as it sounds. The flavorful gyros meat provided an assertive foil to the batter. I liked this even better than the fried bacon, which was good but a little went a long way. I could imagine eating a whole plate of the fried gyros.

    Another standout was the dippin dog. Gus hand batters these to order in perfectly corny and slightly sweet batter. The dippin sauces - I had the spicy aioli, Argentinian herb and garlic, and also kept stealing dips in another pot of curry ketchup - were a revelation. All serving double duty as fry dip and dog dip. The Argentinian was my favorite, mayo based with a nice blend of herbs. I took all 3 dips home with me for further testing.

    My favorite item was the fried chili balls. Little balls of tasty Cincinatti style chili miraculously wrapped in the corny batter and deep fried to a crispy on the outside, hot chili filled, perfectly balanced ball of "how did he do that?". The flavors worked perfectly together. If I could figure out how to make these for Superbowl Sunday, I would. However I bet it would involve me spending the entire weekend over the stove, and still end up with me unable to replicate the great flavors and textures, even if I could avoid ending up with a splattering pot of hot oil and leaking chili balls.

    All in all a great meal. . . now I need a nap.
    Today I caught that fish again, that lovely silver prince of fishes,
    And once again he offered me, if I would only set him free—
    Any one of a number of wonderful wishes... He was delicious! - Shel Silverstein
  • Post #18 - January 30th, 2009, 6:25 pm
    Post #18 - January 30th, 2009, 6:25 pm Post #18 - January 30th, 2009, 6:25 pm
    What a great group to break lunchtime bread(ing) with! :)

    Image

    We all ordered entrees but the shared fried treats were the talk of the day.

    The Fried Bacon, Gyro's and a side of Corndogs

    Image

    The Secret-Secret Fried Chili

    Image
    Image
    Dang! A bit out of focus.

    ... and Perfect Fries topped with the Perfect Cheese Topping (Merkt's)

    Image

    All in all a great time! Thanks for setting this up.
    "Very good... but not my favorite." ~ Johnny Depp as Roux the Gypsy in Chocolat

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