New gourmet burger place - Tom & Eddie's

2 ex-McD's execs have opened up their first of many planned restaurants in the Yorktown shopping area in Lombard off I-88 at Highland Avenue. Anyone been yet?

One of the founders (Eddie) is a friend of my sister's husband and I've expectedly heard great things from them on their first visit. Sounds like it has been very crowded the first week and they are garnering a fair amount of press coverage.

2 more locations are planned for Geneva and Deerfield.

http://www.tomandeddies.com/index.php

I worked with Ed Rensi in '85 to write the first McDonald's ingredients booklet. He and I disagreed on a copy point: he said silver bullets were for vampires, and I insisted they were for werewolves. We haven't spoken since. True story.

Werewolves, totally! You were right to stop speaking to him.

Buddy

Pretty soon there will be more gourmet burger places then fast food burger places.

Kind of like the of what Starbucks did to the simple cup of coffee.

David Hammond wrote:I worked with Ed Rensi in '85 to write the first McDonald's ingredients booklet. He and I disagreed on a copy point: he said silver bullets were for vampires, and I insisted they were for werewolves. We haven't spoken sense. True story.

Are these the guys who decided they could pinch a few penny's by not toasting the buns, putting the salt and pepper in with the ketchup, etc...
They thought McDonald's customers would eat anything, but were proven wrong when same store sales began to decline at an alarming rate.

Mikey wrote:

David Hammond wrote:I worked with Ed Rensi in '85 to write the first McDonald's ingredients booklet. He and I disagreed on a copy point: he said silver bullets were for vampires, and I insisted they were for werewolves. We haven't spoken sense. True story.

Are these the guys who decided they could pinch a few penny's by not toasting the buns, putting the salt and pepper in with the ketchup, etc...
They thought McDonald's customers would eat anything, but were proven wrong when same store sales began to decline at an alarming rate.

I wrote a bunch of training videos during that period and as I recall, the bun was "toasted" on the griddle. Never heard about the salt and pepper with ketchup.

per the Blade Trilogy they are also effective against Vampires, but not super Vampires such as the Blood God, Reapers and Dracula

HI,

Too bad the internet with all its fine information at your finger tips did not yet exist. This dispute would have been quickly resolved in a mere minute or less.

Not talking over silver bullets, that must have been some disagreement.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

Too bad the internet with all its fine information at your finger tips did not yet exist. This dispute would have been quickly resolved in a mere minute or less.

It was a dispute that was easily resolved. Ed Rensi won the argument and the reference to silver bullets and vampires appeared in the ingredients brochure.

That aside, I thought Rensi was a brilliant guy and he's s been in the griddled beef biz all is life; I'm intrigued by what he may come up with.

David Hammond wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

Too bad the internet with all its fine information at your finger tips did not yet exist. This dispute would have been quickly resolved in a mere minute or less.

It was a dispute that was easily resolved. Ed Rensi won the argument and the reference to silver bullets and vampires appeared in the ingredients brochure.

That aside, I thought Rensi was a brilliant guy and he's s been in the griddled beef biz all is life; I'm intrigued by what he may come up with.

Everyone knows that it's wooden stakes for vampires. Go to YouTube and search for "True Blood Wooden Bullets" to see a rather explicit clip showing the effects of a wooden bullet to the heart of a vampire.

Well my gosh, this thread certainly got off on a strange tangent.
Back to Tom & Eddie's...looking for feedback for those who go!

From the website...

OUR CHEESEBURGERS ARE MADE WITH FRESH 100% NATURAL ANGUS HAND-FORMED PATTIES. FOR BEST TASTE, ALL BURGERS ARE PREPARED TO A JUICY MEDIUM WELL.

Medium Well?!?!?

David Hammond wrote:<snip> We haven't spoken sense. True story.

For the record David, I think you usually do speak sense....as it were....

Diannie wrote:

David Hammond wrote:<snip> We haven't spoken sense. True story.

For the record David, I think you usually do speak sense....as it were....

Thank you, ma'am. Correcting now.

Diannie wrote:

David Hammond wrote:<snip> We haven't spoken sense. True story.

For the record David, I think you usually do speak sense....as it were....

This is a familiar missed steak: I fined it quite common that while Blaging I am righting in homophones, transcribing my thoughts using currant cymbals on my mined, in watt is essentially a streem of consciousness exorcise. Then I re-reed my pros and am laika, what was I smoqueing.

Santander wrote:

Diannie wrote:

David Hammond wrote:<snip> We haven't spoken sense. True story.

For the record David, I think you usually do speak sense....as it were....

This is a familiar missed steak: I fined it quite common that while Blaging I am righting in homophones, transcribing my thoughts using currant cymbals on my mined, in watt is essentially a streem of consciousness exorcise. Then I re-reed my pros and am laika, what was I smoqueing.

Yo, James Joyce, we get it.

(Spent 12 of last 48 hours at Taste of Melrose Park)

jkseger wrote:From the website...

OUR CHEESEBURGERS ARE MADE WITH FRESH 100% NATURAL ANGUS HAND-FORMED PATTIES. FOR BEST TASTE, ALL BURGERS ARE PREPARED TO A JUICY MEDIUM WELL.

Medium Well?!?!?

Juicy medium well is my favorite oxymoronic way to cook a burger.

Co-workers wanted to try this place out so I took one for the team.

I ordered the LOVE ME 'DEW • $9.29 Tom & Eddie's signature spicy mayonnaise, topped with melted Wisconsin Pepper Jack & Peppadew sweet piquante peepers on a gourmet roll.




The well done far from juicy burger was dry and bland. Not a whole lot of beefy flavor. For a near $10 burger, it was a pretty tiny burger. Seemed similar to a quarter pounder size. The potato chips were pretty good. Hot and fresh. Can't make up for the crappy beef though. One nice touch was the variety of Boylan's soda on the fountain machine.

Maybe the chicken sandwiches or hot dogs might be worth it, but the burger kind of sucks especially for near $10.

On our way home from the airport one night, we pulled off 88 onto highland ave to find something to eat. We walked up never having heard of it before. There was a lady outside greeting everyone. When we found out it was just another burger joint, we began to turn away but were handed a menu and a $5 off card "for next time". Well, after noticing they had milkshakes on the menu, we went in. It was 15 minutes before closing which is a big no no for me, but she insisted. We had a burger with sweet potato fries and a milkshake.

I nibbled on his burger (I prefer my meat dead), fries and drank my shake. We were first approached by a nice old man who asked how things were and that's when we found out it was their opening day. He offered to get us more fries, but being that it was late, we declined his kind offer. Even though he didn't say anything, I assumed he was an owner. A few minutes later, we were approached by another nice old man. That's when we learned a little bit about Tom and Eddie. Tom shared a bit about their history with McDonalds and the new business. I told him that I loved the thick boba straw for the milkshake. About time someone gave me a proper straw to drink my shake with.

We haven't been back yet... but I think about that milkshake often.

A Tom and Eddies is about to open in Geneva in the Geneva Commons mall off of Randall Road and south of Rte. 38. No details yet. It is within one of the strips that face Randall just south of the Red Lobster.

LikestoEatout wrote:A Tom and Eddies is about to open in Geneva in the Geneva Commons mall off of Randall Road and south of Rte. 38. No details yet. It is within one of the strips that face Randall just south of the Red Lobster.

The Geneva location's grand opening is Tuesday December 14th.

http://triblocal.com/geneva/community/stories/2010/11/find-the-tom-eddies-caddy-in-the-fox-valley/

Tom & Eddie's
The Shops at Geneva Commons
(Facing Randall Rd. between Crate & Barrel and the Vitamin Shoppe)
1042 Commons Drive
Geneva, IL 60134
Phone: 630-208-1351
http://www.tomandeddies.com

WCIBN wrote:

LikestoEatout wrote:A Tom and Eddies is about to open in Geneva in the Geneva Commons mall off of Randall Road and south of Rte. 38. No details yet. It is within one of the strips that face Randall just south of the Red Lobster.

The Geneva location's grand opening is Tuesday December 14th.

http://triblocal.com/geneva/community/stories/2010/11/find-the-tom-eddies-caddy-in-the-fox-valley/

Tom & Eddie's
The Shops at Geneva Commons
(Facing Randall Rd. between Crate & Barrel and the Vitamin Shoppe)
1042 Commons Drive
Geneva, IL 60134
Phone: 630-208-1351
http://www.tomandeddies.com

And it will be in competition with Smashburger about a mile south on Fabyan at Randall Road. Will be interesting to compare.

I finally got to Tom and Eddies in Geneva today and I must say, I like it a whole lot better than Smashburger. I had a make-your-own burger, just burger, blue cheese and a cibatta bun. I wasn't asked how I wanted it done but when it came it was juicy, a little pink in the middle and a nice beefy, grilled taste. It was also a pretty big burger and I almost couldn't finish it. I had the home made chips and they were thick, crisp and lightly salted. My partner was happy to see a grilled ahi tuna burger and had that with a side salad. The tuna came with a pretty strong wasabi dressing which was perfect for her taste. Both of us just drink plain water so at $10 each with no drinks, it's not cheap but to me, I liked it a lot better than Smashburger.

I visited the Lombard location soon after they opened. Sweet potatofries were the best part of my meal which included a burger with blue cheese. I agree with above posters as far as the price. I don't want to pay $10 for a burger and stand in line as if I were at McDonalds. The staff members were very friendly. But I've never been back. Also, the table set-up was a bit odd. There were three in our group from work and the majority of the tables were for two people (except big long tables for larger groups.) We just sat at one of those and were joined by moms and strollers. I have nothing against them (I was one back in the day), it's just that the atmosphere/food/price is not calling me back.

I was soooooo unimpressed on first and only visit.....the burger was simply average.....the atmosphere was very "fast food".....standing in line to place an order i'll do for Edzos....but I know Edzos....and this place is not an Edzos....by any stretch of the imagination....living in the Downers Grove area I wanted this to be good...it's not.

I haven't been to the Lombard location but I thought the Geneva store was spacious and laid out well. There are plenty of 4 tops including one long table that would seat 10. I walk with a rolling walker so spacing between tables is something I am very aware of and I found this really easy to get around. We did have to go to the counter and order but after that we were served by a very nice young man who brought the food and kept returning to see if we needed anything else. Nice china plates and silverware is also a plus for me as were a salt shaker and a pepper grinder at each table. We'll go back, not often, but partly because my fish eating vegetarian partner really liked the ahi tuna burger with wasabi and I thought my burger was pretty good.

The Deerfield location opened yesterday in Deerfield Square next to Whole Foods. My friend and I won combo meals for a year over the weekend, so I guess we'll be there frequently!

My friend and I tried Tom and Eddie's last night in Deerfield. We were surprised to see the restaurant virtually packed, and a line around 8:00. This location is quite hidden off the road, so you'd never see it if driving by. Anyway, we waited to order and one of the hosts gave us a small plate of homemade chips while in line. They were very good. I got a 1/2 pound burger (upgrade over the normal size) with bacon and haystack onions. I thought it was excellent, very good quality meat. The bacon was 3 little skimpy pieces, but they helped with flavor. I really liked the onions. The fries were pretty good too. My friend got the Ahi Tuna burger and thought it was decent, but he was expecting a piece of fish, not ground up like a burger. He was also shocked (and happy) to see they have a Boylan's Soda machine. They also have one of those Coke Freestyle machines that I hate (I'm not into flavored drinks, but it seems that kids love it). I also tried a chocolate shake which was pretty good too, though I am not a big shake lover. Could've used more chocolate. I did like my burger much more that say - Five Guys. The price point seems high for what you get. I almost want to compare it to a Chili's or TGIF burger price. So far, not too bad for the first visit.

Note, while they say they can only cook a burger medium well, they told me they will cook it anyway you want - even rare.

Tom and Eddie's
740 Waukegan Rd
Deerfield Square next to Whole Foods
Deerfield IL 60015
847-948-5117

Ram4 wrote: My friend got the Ahi Tuna burger and thought it was decent, but he was expecting a piece of fish, not ground up like a burger.

Tom and Eddie's
740 Waukegan Rd
Deerfield Square next to Whole Foods
Deerfield IL 60015
847-948-5117

Wow, that's a surprise. My partner had the ahi tuna at the Geneva location a few months ago and as I noted in a post above from that time, the fish was a solid grilled piece.

LikestoEatout wrote:

Ram4 wrote: My friend got the Ahi Tuna burger and thought it was decent, but he was expecting a piece of fish, not ground up like a burger.

Tom and Eddie's
740 Waukegan Rd
Deerfield Square next to Whole Foods
Deerfield IL 60015
847-948-5117

Wow, that's a surprise. My partner had the ahi tuna at the Geneva location a few months ago and as I noted in a post above from that time, the fish was a solid grilled piece.

I asked him again, and you may be right. What he was not happy about was his Tuna was cooked all the way through, and he didn't really see it being a solid piece of fish.