Thumbs up for Ted's in Evanston

A while ago, I posted a link to an article about Ted's Snack Shop in Evanston. We stopped in for breakfast the other day and can't wait to get back. Ted's is an odd cross between a Nighthawks-style breakfast counter and a Sunday (though they aren't open on Sunday) brunch place: the decor is spartan, but has a feminine touch to it, despite the fact that the original counter and what are probably reupholstered versions of the original stools are still there. There are about 5 or 6 4-tops and a couple of 2-tops surrounding the place; it makes Patty's look big. Since it was our first visit, we stuck to the basics: I had a one-egg breakfast that mercifully came with only one egg, but also with delightful crispy hash browns and some basic sausage links that were pretty good. Coffee was also good and refilled quickly.


(sorry for the cell phone shots)

The spouse got the two-by-two, nice pancakes remeniscent of Annie's in Skokie and some hearty bacon with his eggs.



Both meals showed attention to details and were made from scratch. We also enjoyed the banter - the place hasn't been open that long but clearly already has regulars - one guy began jibing the sole waitress for being slow (she wasn't) as she was dishing out other people's orders, and she shot back "hey, my ears aren't busy, just yell out your order, I can hear it from here." She stopped by to ask if we'd liked the food - I'd cleaned my plate, so I asked her what she thought that might mean; she picked the plate up, put it on the kitchen counter and said, smiling, "Hey, this customer wants their money back." Hash slinger in the back didn't even look up, just grinned and slung potatoes and eggs with extra vigour. The two breakfasts and coffees ran us about $13, not including tip.

I noticed that there's lunch fare as well, along with "dinners" (no dinnertime hours,) which I will be back to explore. I took a couple shots of the menu, here they are:

I certainly walked by this place a lot growing up, coming home from King Lab or ETHS. But I never stopped in.

Will have to try it sometime.

I was a little late for Patty's Diner, so I ended up at Ted's for a late lunch a month or so ago. While it's not quite Patty's, it's good. We got into a long discussion with the personable owners, who were related to the original Ted. They said that previously, their family had leased the space to another operator, who ultimately skipped out on bills and was in general not a very good person to do business with. So after being closed for a couple of years, the family that owns the building re-opened it. They do diner food well - I'll be back.

I'll toss in another thumbs up for Ted's. The food isn't unusual; it's your standard American meat and potatoes. But it's well prepared and attractively priced. The folks who run it are working hard and friendly and really appreciate the business, and make even a first-time customer feel like a member of the family.

There was an article in the Roundtable when Ted's re-opened; click here.

I stopped in early this morning for breakfast. I had two eggs over easy, hash browns with Italian sausage, wheat toast and coffee. I really enjoyed the hash browns. They had a very nice crunch, were cooked through and yet not burned. Italian sausage was split and flattened and fried. The sausage was a bit tough, but had a nice spice.

This is a very local place and as mentioned above everyone seems to know each other. Despite being an "outsider" I felt welcomed. It was fast, good, friendly and inexpensive and I was off to work in no time. I intend to stop in periodically on the way to work. Obviously, there aren't too many places around like this anymore.