Western Ave. to Berwyn

We're planning a trip to Fitzgerald's from Evanston. We'll probably take Western down; can you recommend some worthwhile restaurants on the way? Or if there's a better way to get there from Evanston, a recommendation on that route? No Thai or Pizza or Fancy.

Thanks!

Pie Lady wrote:We're planning a trip to Fitzgerald's from Evanston. We'll probably take Western down; can you recommend some worthwhile restaurants on the way? Or if there's a better way to get there from Evanston, a recommendation on that route? No Thai or Pizza or Fancy.

Thanks!

If it were up to me, I'd stop at Smoque (not altogether out of your way, McCormick/Kimball to Irving and then to Pulaski) and either hop on the expressway or take Cicero down from there. But that's just me.

Pie Lady-

Take a look at the map of GNRs. There are many options on Western from Khan BBQ on the north end to Red Hot Ranch further south.

If I were you, I couldn't drive right past Khan's hungry. Just couldn't do it. I'd never make it past, especially since Sticky Rice (Thai) is off the table. San Soo Gab San would be hard to drive by for me as well.

Options in the destination hood:

If you don't make it out that way often, and you like Italian, consider Gaetano's in Forest Park. It's worth the little bit of extra effort.

Capri is right next door to Fitzgerald's and it's very (little step up from "red sauce") solid Italian.
Autre Monde is on Roosevelt and close as well.

Big Guy's Sausage Stand is just a few blocks W of Fitzgerald's on Roosevelt - it's super "not fancy" tho.

There's also old school, red sauce Italian at Al's in Cicero on Cermak.

FYI, unless you were making a point of it, getting from Evanston to Berwyn via Western/Roosevelt is not the most efficient way of doing things. Edens--Kennedy--Ike would make way more sense. And if you did want surface streets, I'd go to Nagle/Narragansett/Ridgeland, at least for better efficiency, if not better chow. The one great place you'd be near on route would be Superdawg at Nagle and Devon. Wait to you get to Roosevelt. Chris has some great ideas, with Big Guys being an especially good one. You could also detour slightly for Katy's.

IF you were trekking West from Western on Roosevelt, there's La Quebrada @ Cicero. I was just there a few weeks ago, and honestly, not nearly as good as memories, but if you hit it right, you may still have a nice meal. It's like the Mexican equivalent of a classic Chicago Greek diner.

If you were taking VI's route, a stop for a beef at Jay's on Narragansett and Montrose would be high on my list.

Jay's Beef
4418 N Narragansett
Harwood Heights, IL 60706
(708) 867 - 6733

Honey 1

What a fun trip and interesting question! Is the goal to have one great meal along the way, or graze at multiple stops? If the latter, a couple of my favorite dishes along Western are the carne asada at Los Nopales (4544 N. Western), and a pound of fried jumbo shrimp at Joey's Shrimp House (1432 N. Western). As you'd be further along your route, I'd also get a beer at Joey's from their varied selection.

If you wanted to use Smassey's menu but save yourself a stop, Las Asadas (for tacos asadas) and Red Hot Ranch (for shrimp) are right across the street from each other on Western north of Armitage. But your query made me think it might be fun to do a Western Ave. grub crawl some day.

Big Guy's may be the best not Thai or pizza or fancy option in the (immediate) area, but it's also so fast I'd say ... maybe after the show. But there's also the possibility of Freddy's nearby (don't have to get pizza), which is worth the effort.

Honestly, it takes so long to get from Evanston to Berwyn by any means that I would focus on just betting here and eating in the general 'hood, especially if you have a show to catch.

RUB BBQ has terrific Q and is a frequent poster on LTH.

http://www.backcountryq.com

6954 N. Western Ave.
Chicago
773-675-1410