I didn't realize that Edzo's menu is the food menu at a Wrigleyville place called Deuce's and the Diamond Club:
http://chicago.eater.com/2014/10/29/709 ... igleyville

So there is a place to go in the city for Edzo's, albeit within a bar.

Dave148 wrote:

The owner of Edzo's Burger Shop, Eddie Lakin, cited a lack of traffic as the reason for closing.

"We just weren't making our rent basically," Lakin said. "I kind of held on for a while hoping it would turn around."

Edzo's original location in Evanston has been in the black since it opened, and had been helping keep the Lincoln Park shop afloat, according to Lakin.

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20141201 ... k-location

That's a shame in general (always hard to see good people not be able to make a business work), and particularly as we live close by (and my kids love it). I recall reading somewhere around the time that location opened that they were counting on a decent stream of construction workers from the two former hospital site projects in that immediate area (Childrens and Lincoln Park Hospital), but perhaps that turned out to be less demand than they anticipated. I will be interested to see how long the site sits vacant; there was a Cosi at Webster and Clark just across the street from the Frances Parker School that closed a while ago now due to inability to keep up with the rent and no signs of anything happening there. Seems like a hard rental market to make it work for a fast-food/fast-casual concept, although a new sandwich shop (Snarf's) just opened in the past couple of weeks at the corner of Lincoln and Webster in a space that formerly housed a 7-11, so seems at least some are willing to make a go of it there. I wonder if Edzo's would have had better success if it was just a little further north on Lincoln and could count more on the DePaul crowd, as it seems tailor-made for that market. While I'm not often in Evanston, will look to get to the Edzo's there when I am (as I am unlikely to frequent Deuces and the Diamond Club).

Very disappointing news, but I will now start visiting the new location in Deuce's and The Diamond Club in Wrigleyville.

Not nearly as convenient as the L.P. location but at least Edzo's will still exist in the city!

Good to hear Eddie cutting his losses and not dragging down Evanston with it. It's such a quality product, with all of Eddie's touches adding to it. Also good to hear Evanston's been in the black.

Are Deuce's and the Diamond Club two different places? I run up Clark Street all the time and have only seen Deuce's.

In any case, Deuce's ain't my scene from what I can tell (I'm middle aged, an "un-bro"...and a White Sox fan) so I guess it's Evanston for me. Or Red Hot Ranch on Ashland.

The char burger fans have spoken! Just kidding. I was shocked to see how empty (and small) the LP location was the one time I was over there. Sorry Eddie.

La Cuenta wrote:Are Deuce's and the Diamond Club two different places?

http://www.deucesandthediamondclub.com/

For those of us who didn't mind a messy pre-theater meal, the LP location was a great option before seeing a play at the Greenhouse Theater across the street. Sorry to learn of the shop's demise.

So finally went to Edzo's for the first time.

Didn't do any homework and got to the counter and asked which burger to get the 4oz or the 8oz. Guy recommended the 4oz so I got a double. Have to be honest, it was completely over done and dried out. Truffle fries were great and the shake was great too although for $5 it was on the small size.

So is the 8oz burger the one to get? Did I screw up getting the 4's? He never asked me how I wanted it cooked so I assume the 4s all get cooked the same? I did hear him calling out cooking temps but I assume those were for the 8s.

shakes wrote:So finally went to Edzo's for the first time.

Didn't do any homework and got to the counter and asked which burger to get the 4oz or the 8oz. Guy recommended the 4oz so I got a double. Have to be honest, it was completely over done and dried out. Truffle fries were great and the shake was great too although for $5 it was on the small size.

So is the 8oz burger the one to get? Did I screw up getting the 4's? He never asked me how I wanted it cooked so I assume the 4s all get cooked the same? I did hear him calling out cooking temps but I assume those were for the 8s.

You didn't do anything wrong. When it's done right, the double 4's are amazing. But I've had a bunch that were overcooked and I'm getting tired of the inconsistency. They do burgers all day, you'd think they'd master how to cook them. The 8oz is a charburger, so it's going to taste different (but still awesome).

One thing I've noticed with the griddle burgers is timing is everything. If they sit too long before going out, the magic is lost. They need to be eaten immediately with the juices dripping down! If you order more than one burger and one is a charburger, the cook(s) will start cooking both at the same time, which means the griddle burger sits and waits for the charburger to get done. I guess a nut like myself will just watch for the burger to come up and grab it immediately when it's done. Too much at stake!

Crack the whip Lakin!

Sunday lunch from Edzo's included a corn dog, turkey burger with cheddar and giardineria, Michigan raspberry shake and five onion fries (fries topped with fried leeks, crispy shallots, green onion, onion cream and one more thing I can't remember.) Great as always.

I stopped by Edzo's last Saturday for the first time in a while, since I was in the area. Unfortunately, the smash burger (while looking very good) was dry as well. I don't mind a medium-well smash burger as long as there's enough fat to keep it juicy. This was dry. Not bad for an average burger joint, but below what my expectations for Edzo's had been in the past. Fries were still excellent as usual. However the whole time I was eating, I was thinking about the Red Hot Ranch double with fries, right up there with OFD's apple fritter for best food quality for value in the city.

With about 7+ years since my last visit (Evanston is no longer in my regular orbit), 4 of us had dinner at Edzo's recently and I'm sad to say the experience was largely disappointing on a number of levels:

Extraordinarily long wait for our food. People who came in after us were served 10 minutes ahead of us. It wasn't like we had a complex order -- 4 burgers, 1 hot dog, 2 fries, 2 shakes -- but the staff clustered together assembling it as if they'd been asked to split an atom. It took over a half hour from when we ordered until we got our food. And the restaurant was well-staffed; and no more than 2/3 full.

One of our burgers was not condimented as ordered but we didn't have enough time to have it re-prepared

Hot dog was gray, washed out and tired, and tasted like it had been sitting in water hours longer than it should have. Zero snap. If this had been my first Chicago-style dog, it would have been my last.

Old fries were no crispier than the regular fries we'd ordered. Some were even soft.

Cashier was hacking and coughing so incessantly, there's absolutely no way this person should have been at work or anywhere near anyone else's food.

Not a great showing. It was a bummer that we'd strongly touted the place to the friends who were with us; who'd never been there before. I seriously doubt they'll ever return.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:With about 7+ years since my last visit (Evanston is no longer in my regular orbit), 4 of us had dinner at Edzo's recently and I'm sad to say the experience was largely disappointing on a number of levels:

Extraordinarily long wait for our food. People who came in after us were served 10 minutes ahead of us. It wasn't like we had a complex order -- 4 burgers, 1 hot dog, 2 fries, 2 shakes -- but the staff clustered together assembling it as if they'd been asked to split an atom. It took over a half hour from when we ordered until we got our food. And the restaurant was well-staffed; and no more than 2/3 full.

One of our burgers was not condimented as ordered but we didn't have enough time to have it re-prepared

Hot dog was gray, washed out and tired, and tasted like it had been sitting in water hours longer than it should have. Zero snap. If this had been my first Chicago-style dog, it would have been my last.

Old fries were no crispier than the regular fries we'd ordered. Some were even soft.

Cashier was hacking and coughing so incessantly, there's absolutely no way this person should have been at work or anywhere near anyone else's food.

Not a great showing. It was a bummer that we'd strongly touted the place to the friends who were with us; who'd never been there before. I seriously doubt they'll ever return.

=R=

Just as a data point...I made my first trip here in a couple years about a month ago (and my mom's 1st at the OG) and everything we ordered was on point, prepared as ordered, and served in a timely fashion.

May have just been an off day...which is unfortunate, but not a deal-breaker for a return some day.

I mostly lurk here, but I feel like I ought to stick up for Edzo's here, since I eat there at least every month or so (most recently on Saturday, a double-double animal style and loaded fries). I've had slow service days there (especially with any order that includes an inside-out grilled cheese, as the frico-ing takes a little extra time) but the food you describe doesn't seem indicative of their food to me.

I think (based on the last handful of times I've been in) Eddie isn't managing the restaurant day-to-day, and there's another guy who's stepped in. I've always found him to be really nice, but maybe the QC has slipped a little? Maybe I'll swing back in again soon and see if the results vary.

I’m unfortunatly with Ronnie on this. The last couple times I’ve been there the service has been BRUTAL, and the food not much better; which sucks bc I’m a long, loooong time Edzo’s guy and it bums me out to no end. Hopefully we’re the unlucky ones and everyone else is getting killer meals, bc Eddie is the man and I wish him and his restaurant nothing but the best.

I had a similar experience about a year ago.

A couple weeks ago, I had a small patty melt and side of fries at lunch and everything was top notch. Eddie was manning the register. I also noted that local restaurant owner Amy Morton was having shakes with her kids there at the same time, so maybe service was on point that afternoon? haha

I was there back in March. My service was fast enough (and it was a busy Friday night) but it seemed like others were waiting awhile.

I was most disappointed because I had gone specifically for the special seasonal shake, their version of the Shamrock Shake, and like vermouth in a martini, it was like someone just whispered "crème de menthe" towards the cup. Hardly any flavor other than the vanilla base in it.

I agree it was most consistent when Eddie was there all the time. I appreciate that the man needs a life outside of his restaurant and that's why he used to have more limited hours, and I appreciate that they kept the longer hours even after the other location closed. But it just seemed very...unmanaged, like no one knew what anyone else was doing on particular orders.

So stopped into Edzo's recently. Around 7pm on a weekend, there were 4 workers and maybe 5-6 other customers there. First timer, was looking forward to an experience that blows away most burger joints, although from recent posts here maybe quality can be inconsistent. No problem I think, it happens with pretty much any restaurant. Sometimes you'll get a meal that's well-made, hot and tasty and fresh. Sometimes you'll get something that seemed like it was reheated leftovers from last night. All depends on the cooks and other staff working there.

Ordered a double-double animal style, an 8oz charburger with cheddar, garlic fries, nutella shake, soda. Total was $36 w/ tax. Left a 5% tip. Quite a bit pricier than your typical fast food burger chain, but you get what you pay for, right?



Food came out pretty quick, about 5 mins or so. So that was good.



Hmm, these are supposed to be 4oz (1/4lb) patties on the double double. These patties don't even cover the bun. I'm thinking they were not smashed enough, but on closer inspection I don't think these patties have more than 2oz of meat in them.
Burger tasted ok though, I liked the sauce and the caramelized onions. The meat itself didn't have much flavor, certainly didn't have a nice char to it. But it was meat, so it wasn't all bad.



The charburger also didn't seem like it was 1/2lb pre-cooking weight, I've had and made quarter lb burgers before and the meat portions here definitely seemed less than advertised. It was cooked medium, which I asked for, but the patty didn't seem seasoned or flavorful enough. I thought grinding their own beef in-house you'd get a more intense beefy flavor, but this seemed like regular old ground beef you can get at any grocery, less any salt and pepper. I should have seasoned it myself after the first few bites though. It was tender, with no hard or chewy bits, so that's a plus.

I'll also give Edzo's marks for having plenty of condiments on hand, lots of ketchup and mustard bottles, S&P shakers and to go packets. So that's something.
The garlic fries had plenty of garlic flavor but even they seemed a bit 'old', a little too crispy without a lot of potato starch inside. I didn't ask for old fries maybe they just gave them to me?
Nutella shake was on point. The soda was maybe a little too carbonated and too little syrup but it was fine overall, a lot of places seem to have trouble getting their soda machines right.



The wife thought the food was ok, her chief complaint was the restaurant seemed dirty. There was some wetness on the floor near our table, not sure what from because it wasn't raining that day but they put paper towels around it as a fix. The place did seem a little worn out but I'm not expecting fancy environs from a burger joint. Still, franchised burger joints like culver's or shake shack seem to have much better upkeep. The only thing that kind of annoyed me, besides the food, was the front door kept banging closed pretty loudly every time someone entered or left. I'm thinking a few minutes with a screwdriver can fix the pneumatic opener. Or maybe it needs to be replaced.

Eddie wasn't working and I'd like to think if he was my meal would have been much better. But right now, honestly, even if price weren't an issue, I might have preferred a well-made McDonald's Quarter Pounder or BK Whopper meal compared to what I got at Edzo's. That's how disappointing it was to me, it barely surpassed the level of a bottom tier fast food joint.

Maybe I'll try it again when Eddie's behind the counter and get 'one of the best burgers' in Chicagoland.

I thought I was the only one that was underwhelmed by edzos. Always want it to be good but can't get past how bad the buns are.

Uther wrote:Hmm, these are supposed to be 4oz (1/4lb) patties on the double double.

Are you sure about that? Back when the animal style burgers were a special and not a permanent menu item, they were definitely smaller patties. In-n-Out patties, which is what Edzo's is openly copying here, are two ounces apiece. I do wonder how your negative reaction to the animal style patty size colored your overall experience at Edzo's. For example, while I think that the place definitely runs more smoothly when the boss is in the building, I'd be shocked if your half pound burger wasn't precisely weighed out.

Ah, you got me there. According to their menu, yes, the animal style double double is indeed two 2oz patties, not two 4oz patties. Still, would it have killed the grill man to smash those babies down a bit more so they actually fit on the bun? It was sort of awkward to have two ill-fitting patties, some bites you had one patty, other bites you had two. And a little seasoning, S+P or whatever, would have helped bring out the taste of the beef more. And a little more smashed would have put a nice char/crust on the patty to help the flavor.
The half lb cheddar burger didn't seem like it had as much beef as I've gotten with other half lb burgers but obviously I'm not weighing the patty after I get it. But I'll admit I could be very wrong and it could be exactly half a lb of beef pre cook weight. I think the patty was thick enough, didn't quite meet the edges of the bun but close, my chief complaint was again a relative lack of flavor in the meat. Again, more seasoning or more char would have helped in that regard. Maybe the cook was lacking experience?

The buns were ok IMO, they were a bit dry but the veggies and condiments helped mitigate that. They weren't toasted, maybe warming them up some would help with the dryness? That was one of the things I liked about Gene & Jude's hot dogs, the buns were steamed and made them warm and soft.

Steamed buns are de rigueur for Chicago hot dogs. If the stands you frequent don’t steam their buns you should have no trouble finding ones nearby that do.

A steamed hamburger bun, however, is not likely to provide sufficient support for the contents of a sufficiently hefty sandwich. I have never come across one.

I've never encountered a steamed hamburger bun either, but I was trying (and maybe failing) to make the point that warming up the bun by toasting on the grill for a bit would help soften it. That's what Red Hot Ranch does, and they use cheaper buns than Edzo's. Not sure if Edzo's regularly toasts their hamburger buns however.

Uther wrote:I've never encountered a steamed hamburger bun either, but I was trying (and maybe failing) to make the point that warming up the bun by toasting on the grill for a bit would help soften it. That's what Red Hot Ranch does, and they use cheaper buns than Edzo's. Not sure if Edzo's regularly toasts their hamburger buns however.

Red Hot Ranch toasts their buns on the griddle for about 10 seconds. That griddle is set between 450 & 550, so toasting time is extremely important. If you watch the process closely, they press the bun down while toasting which deaerates the bun, so when you bite into that double cheeseburger, the meat and cheese become the star, without a hint of bun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AEM1Tk_1co

Huh, didn't know about de-aerating buns. I always thought they pressed on the bun to get it toasted faster or more evenly. I actually don't mind the taste of bread and toppings in a burger, although I do not want the meat to be overshadowed.
I did note that at neither of the locations I went to did the cook wear gloves when pressing down on the buns. Well, at the Ashland location the cook did put on one glove when he saw me watching the process, which I appreciated, as he had a rather large bandage on one hand. Not even sure he put the glove on the bandaged hand, but whatever, nothing tasted off and we never got sick at either location.

Been a minute since I've been to Edzo's, kicking myself after today's lunch. Started with a corn dog dipped in Ketchapeno, Eddie's corn dog condiment of choice. Loved the corn dog, I'm more of a mustard guy. Great lacy griddled burger and fantastic crispy fries with a topknot of giardinara.

Add in Eddie's pitch-perfect hospitality and you have one of the best lunches in memory, and this is in a string of terrific lunches.

Edzo's, count me a Fan!