NAV MAN wrote: How long is it gonna take to get from the South Loop to Top Notch, eat, get a shake on and get back?

Take 94 to 95th then head west NAV MAN, head west. If there ain't no traffic it should take you 'bout an hour back and forth.

Habibi wrote:

NAV MAN wrote: How long is it gonna take to get from the South Loop to Top Notch, eat, get a shake on and get back?

Take 94 to 95th then head west NAV MAN, head west. If there ain't no traffic it should take you 'bout an hour back and forth.

There is a quicker way. Take 94 to 57, get off at Halsted, follow 99th street to Longwood Drive, go right until you hit 95th street, go left and its about two blocks down. That'll save you at least 10 minutes each way.

Also, if you can stand it, Rainbow Cone is a few short blocks away from Top Notch and they make a terrific starwberry banana shake.

Mikey wrote:I haven't tried one, but the adult milkshakes at The Counter look really good.

Actually the regular milkshakes there are pretty good, but I wouldn't make a trip for it.

thegooch wrote:

Habibi wrote:

NAV MAN wrote: How long is it gonna take to get from the South Loop to Top Notch, eat, get a shake on and get back?

Take 94 to 95th then head west NAV MAN, head west. If there ain't no traffic it should take you 'bout an hour back and forth.

There is a quicker way. Take 94 to 57, get off at Halsted, follow 99th street to Longwood Drive, go right until you hit 95th street, go left and its about two blocks down. That'll save you at least 10 minutes each way.

This is indeed shorter and quicker - I happened to be at Top-Notch this Saturday (urged on by this thread)... and thats how they rec'd I head back up north.

The vanilla-malt was still absolutely terrific, and the fries were very good (just as tasty as ever, fresh and cooked in beef-tallow.. except they werent as crisp as they sometimes are, when theyre unbelievable).. the cheeseburger this time was just ok.

BTW, Top-Notch is a ways west if you take 95th off the Dan Ryan.. but you can do what I did, make a pit-stop halfway there and drop in at Jimmy Jamm's. Where the incredibly nice owners will load you up with delicious samples of all kinds of things, and you can pick up pies-by-the-slice which are quite excellent. (One of these days, I'll try their "loaded yam" which sounds like its quite something too). And if you go at non-traffic times, its really a pretty quick drive.

c8w

There is a Top Notch mish scheduled for lunch tomorrow at the NAV CORP. The directions are much appreciated. Probabyl looking at 50-60 minutes of drive time but how long is the actual dining time? NAV MAN has no problem burying a Beef Burger and washing it down with a shake with a quickness, but coworker IDID has a history of slow eating and Pasta pronto has no respect for anything.

Hoping to make this door to door 100 minutes max.

Definitely call Brown Sack before going. I called today, just to confirm they were closed, & the outgoing message mentioned dates for vacation. I didn't pay much attention because all this talk of shakes & I wanted it earlier today. <sigh>

pairs4life wrote:Definitely call Brown Sack before going. I called today, just to confirm they were closed, & the outgoing message mentioned dates for vacation. I didn't pay much attention because all this talk of shakes & I wanted it earlier today. <sigh>

Pairs4Life, If your ever gonna listen to the NAV MAN, listen to the NAV MAN now. This past sunday proved it, If there is a will there is a shake.

Looks like it has been about 10 days now.

I imagine that the Nav Man is compiling his results...

Panther in the Den wrote:Looks like it has been about 10 days now.

I imagine that the Nav Man is compiling his results...

And if there aren't pictures, I am hand-illustrating the results based on imagination.

gleam wrote:suzie's has dozens of flavors but their shakes are terrible. I took two sips of mine and tossed the rest.

Skip the weird ones and order one of the fresh-fruit flavors. Susie's makes a fine strawberry shake.

No mention of Irazu?

LAZ wrote:No mention of Irazu?

Irazu was mentioned on page one of this thread.

LAZ wrote:

gleam wrote:suzie's has dozens of flavors but their shakes are terrible. I took two sips of mine and tossed the rest.

Skip the weird ones and order one of the fresh-fruit flavors. Susie's makes a fine strawberry shake.

No mention of Irazu?

I'm sorry, I just can't believe that. I had an oreo shake, not a particularly weird variety, and it was just terrible. They start with poor quality ice cream and then add too much milk to it, I think. I can't imagine ever giving them another chance, and I have low standards.

Since I have a profound love of milkshakes, I had to stop at Big Star on my walk home yesterday for the Dolce de Leche shake. I waved back and forth in trying to determine if I liked it, thought it was okay, or loved it. My first sip was a salty bite, but over time it grew on me. Best milkshake ever? No. Good? Yes. Worth the trip if you do not live in the area? Ehhh, I would say no.

Best milkshake ever? No. Good? Yes. Worth the trip if you do not live in the area? Ehhh, I would say no.

Shaggywillis, nothing beats a nice self posed and answered series of questions. The NAV MAN solutes you.

Panther in the Den wrote:Looks like it has been about 10 days now.

I imagine that the Nav Man is compiling his results...

Panther, nobody said anything about those days being consecutive. Dont try to trip up the NAV MAN. You cant eat and eater.

Santander wrote:

Panther in the Den wrote:Looks like it has been about 10 days now.

I imagine that the Nav Man is compiling his results...

And if there aren't pictures, I am hand-illustrating the results based on imagination.

Hope you are a realist Santander. You can guess what the NAV MAN thinks of modern art.

Shaggywillis, nothing beats a nice self posed and answered series of questions. The NAV MAN solutes you.

Thanks

I believe Edzo's has been mentioned. Personally their oreo shake is the 2nd best milk shake I've ever had. Check it if you haven't already.

NAV MAN,

In your 'hood, just learned that you can get milkshakes at Hot Chocolate. They have to be at least decent with Mindy Segal's ice cream. Pricey though. I think I saw $6.

Hot Chocolate
1747 N. Damen Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647
773-489-1747

I had that at Hot Chocolate once. It was a good shake, but I couldn't help but think that I'd just paid three times as much for one third as much.

Mike G wrote:I had that at Hot Chocolate once. It was a good shake, but I couldn't help but think that I'd just paid three times as much for one third as much.

Agreed completely. A perfectly good shake, but you get very little for a very steep price.

Shaggywillis wrote:Personally their oreo shake is the 2nd best milk shake I've ever had.

Did you mention what your first favorite was?

Hope you don't mind, NAV MAN, but I might have to try this ten-day milkshake diet one of these days.

Pie Lady wrote:Hope you don't mind, NAV MAN, but I might have to try this ten-day milkshake diet one of these days.

"Did you go to Hollywood Upstairs Medical College too?"

I didn't go to a party college, I went to Bovine University.

Anyway, NAV MAN's Patented* Milkshake Diet still sounds healthier than this.

*patent pending

I'm not much of a shake guy, but two places blow my mind. . which conveniently happen to be among my top burger spots:

1) Paradise Pup - Very Berry Raspberry (seasonal), strawberry and choco-banana. (My shakeaholic brother deemed the strawberry the best shake he's ever had).

2) Edzo's - Nutella. I want to bathe in this.

Ghazi wrote:I'm not much of a shake guy, but two places blow my mind. . which conveniently happen to be among my top burger spots:

1) Paradise Pup - Very Berry Raspberry (seasonal), strawberry and choco-banana. (My shakeaholic brother deemed the strawberry the best shake he's ever had).

2) Edzo's - Nutella. I want to bathe in this.

Had the Very Berry Raspberry today - played a hunch that there wouldn't be much of a lunch crowd after the heavy rain all morning, and walked straight up to the counter with zero line for the first time ever at Paradise Pup. Good shake, but it didn't touch the chocolate banana, which is likely the only shake I'll order there in the future.

I really need to make it to Edzo's for so many different things, including that Nutella shake.

Did you mention what your first favorite was?

Hey Pielady, it's in Manhattan, The Stand toasted marshmallow shake. I believe I talked about it on the Edzo's thread, but it is really amazing and the toasted marshmallow taste is from a real marshmallow not chemical flavoring. It changed my life.

Edzo's - Nutella. I want to bathe in this.

I hate to say it, but it's just okay, I wasn't as impressed as I was hoping. The oreo kills it, at least for me. Though my next trip I'm hoping to try the Mexican chocolate.

Shaggywillis wrote:

Did you mention what your first favorite was?

Hey Pielady, it's in Manhattan, The Stand toasted marshmallow shake. I believe I talked about it on the Edzo's thread, but it is really amazing and the toasted marshmallow taste is from a real marshmallow not chemical flavoring. It changed my life.

Sounds delish! Wish I talked to you before my trip to NY in 2008...
If you're ever in Toronto, head to Greg's. I was amazed by their toasted marshmallow ice cream.
750 Spadina Avenue
Toronto, ON M5S 2J2, Canada
(416) 962-4734

Shaggywillis wrote:

Did you mention what your first favorite was?

Hey Pielady, it's in Manhattan, The Stand toasted marshmallow shake. I believe I talked about it on the Edzo's thread, but it is really amazing and the toasted marshmallow taste is from a real marshmallow not chemical flavoring. It changed my life.

Edzo's - Nutella. I want to bathe in this.

I hate to say it, but it's just okay, I wasn't as impressed as I was hoping. The oreo kills it, at least for me. Though my next trip I'm hoping to try the Mexican chocolate.

I adore Edzo's Mexican Chocolate Shake & I'm not a fan of chocolate.

OK, I have a frequently recurring emergency. My wife is pregnant and chocolate peanut butter shakes are the food my baby craves. Anything on the west side, cicero, berwyn, oak park area? I'm not talking holy grail, just something better than your run-of-the-mill. Any recommendations? Oh yeah, late hours a plus!