tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post5686471796353649238..comments2024-03-29T09:25:08.645-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/29/24: Bye bye BK LoungeNeil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-55143081328102822832022-09-27T14:23:37.725-05:002022-09-27T14:23:37.725-05:00UPDATE: The now-defunct BK is being replaced by y...UPDATE: The now-defunct BK is being replaced by yet another downtown Evanston office tower. Before the BK, there was an 1870s mansion on that corner that later became Latham House, an off-campus dorm and rooming house<br /><br />From 1947 to 1949, George McGovern lived there as a Northwestern grad student, while earning his MA in history. The century-old place was demolished in the mid-1970s, for the BK. Now it's the BK's turn. McGovern was a historical figure, born 100 years ago this summer, so I figure there oughta be a plaque. At the least.<br />Grizz 65https://www.blogger.com/profile/02892702223228764894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-7828433225510960952020-12-25T17:56:29.172-06:002020-12-25T17:56:29.172-06:00It's no doubt due less to coincidence and more...It's no doubt due less to coincidence and more to competition and zoning laws, but there are plenty of McDonald's next door to Burger Kings (and a KFC beyond that). I sometimes find myself sitting in my car at our McDonald's in town, munching my Sausage McMuffin and staring at the Burger King next door, wondering who goes there. Evidently someone does, as they have been side-by-side for decades, each getting an extensive remodeling in recent years (in McDonald's case, replacing the entire building). (...and yes, Burger King did have Whoppers in the 1970s, as one popular T-shirt of that era bore a "Home of the Whopper" logo with, um, a large arrow pointing downward. College humor.)<br /><br />I see them not so much for dining as for refueling, in that I know what I want before I go there, I know what it will taste like when I buy it, and then I will be on my way to more important matters of the day.<br /><br />So that's for refueling. For pure recreational enjoyment of the fast-food menu, with actual flavor to look forward to, we'll go the extra distance to find Culver's. Their double cheeseburgers are somehow engineered to give a maximum burst of flavor from every ingredient -- tomato, raw onion... -- and despite the confusing menu, and even if no one, employees included, can quite explain the difference between a ButterBurger and a Culver's Deluxe, it's safe to say that you will thoroughly enjoy it, even if you can't remember later on which one you ordered. Best to save your receipt.Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15875378656423252469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-13671080396911482282020-12-25T17:32:22.026-06:002020-12-25T17:32:22.026-06:00My Dad would take us to a dentist in Evanston, Che...My Dad would take us to a dentist in Evanston, Chester Oseda, circa 1960. On the way home he would stop at a McDonalds. Not the Waukegan Rd. Glenview store, had to be your Dempster location. I was a picky eater, didn't like the onions but loved the fresh cut fries. They lost their best product when they went to frozen. I'd stand on that tiled bench and watch them manuever the wall of fry baskets.JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08613528527379198505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-18694186645576540672020-12-24T22:46:56.493-06:002020-12-24T22:46:56.493-06:00Very good! Au Cheval indeed. You know your stuff!Very good! Au Cheval indeed. You know your stuff!Neil Steinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-37647881384620137752020-12-24T15:26:02.341-06:002020-12-24T15:26:02.341-06:00So, Neil, is today's photo from your house, or...So, Neil, is today's photo from your house, or Au Cheval, perhaps? Jakashnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-21888667150081155582020-12-24T14:39:59.355-06:002020-12-24T14:39:59.355-06:00My granddaughter got even with Ronald a few years ...My granddaughter got even with Ronald a few years ago by puking up the greasissimos hash browns all over his big yellow feet at 64th & Cicero. Needless to say, we never went back there again.<br /><br />johntatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088632798195131329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-43341396360108942072020-12-24T13:00:04.769-06:002020-12-24T13:00:04.769-06:00Ah, that last paragraph. That's gold, Jerry, ...Ah, that last paragraph. That's gold, Jerry, gold! <br /><br />It's hard to even remember now; it's been far longer for me since I've been in a BK, but I guess I'd have to say that the Whopper was my favorite fast-food creation. No mayo or cheese, both of which I consider unnecessary in a beefy assemblage. When thinking of BK or McD's I gotta say their respective mascots have made no impact on my estimation of them. They're surely both creepy, however. Jakashnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-72840615072917453312020-12-24T11:58:26.284-06:002020-12-24T11:58:26.284-06:00As a kid, circa 1970, the Burger King and McDonald...As a kid, circa 1970, the Burger King and McDonald's were next to each other. You could sit down inside the Burger King but had to eat in your car at the McDonald's. So me and Grandma always went for the Burger King. Food much better. But McDonald's always seems to me like the great American Story, if you take a turd and dress it up and market it well, you can be successful. Quality is not always the most important thing. But everyone agrees that Burger King mascot is creepy.Connellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18406704590565406630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-77085776104754264342020-12-24T11:05:30.452-06:002020-12-24T11:05:30.452-06:00Nope. I'm a Mickey D's guy through and thr...Nope. I'm a Mickey D's guy through and through. Have not been inside a Burger King in decades. There's no accounting for taste. Been a Mickey D's guy since I was eight, when the second-earliest franchise in the Midwest, if not the world (the very first one was in Des Plaines), opened at Dempster and Skokie Blvd. It's still there, having been enlarged and rebuilt several times over the last sixty years.<br /><br />I remember sitting in the back seat of our baby-sitter's '49 Ford and snarfing down fifteen-cent burgers and fries--and thinking: "These are so much better than Henry's or Richard's"...two long-gone Chicago-area drive-in chains that survived until the early Sixties. Both had franchises on Lincoln Avenue, near the present-day site of the Lincolnwood Lou Malnati's.<br /><br />The Mc Donald's on Dempster would send me and my kid sister postcards on our birthdays, good for free burgers. They also sent one to our sibling, Lucy, who was actually Lucky...our dog. If one of my parents didn't think up that scam, then it had to be my sister.<br />Grizz 65https://www.blogger.com/profile/02892702223228764894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-2254693193784602282020-12-24T10:42:04.239-06:002020-12-24T10:42:04.239-06:00All I can say is that when I lost my appetite afte...All I can say is that when I lost my appetite after surgery a few years ago, my first meal on the way home from the hospital consisted of 4 White Castles and fries. It was better than filet mignon.<br /><br />johntatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088632798195131329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-249268143768473312020-12-24T09:57:25.661-06:002020-12-24T09:57:25.661-06:00Arthur Treacher‘s fish and chips went away because...Arthur Treacher‘s fish and chips went away because the fish got too expensive. Some sort of acrimony between Iceland and other nearby fishing countries. I heard that on a podcastAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-75512256367811370462020-12-24T09:28:40.420-06:002020-12-24T09:28:40.420-06:00Culver's is a cut above for a once in a while ...Culver's is a cut above for a once in a while taste. privatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18413982311699012802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-4023716639361332442020-12-24T09:01:17.161-06:002020-12-24T09:01:17.161-06:00If you are a professional driver and need a quick ...If you are a professional driver and need a quick meal, a McDonalds hamburger is least likely to drip on your shirt. Otherwise, there is always a better option.JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08613528527379198505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-72769105566317016522020-12-24T08:32:55.445-06:002020-12-24T08:32:55.445-06:00I still have fond memories of the Whaler - a BK fi...I still have fond memories of the Whaler - a BK fish sandwich they stopped making decades ago. It was really big and good.J. Pabsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11566801024154623288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-75743211094471235312020-12-24T07:05:24.458-06:002020-12-24T07:05:24.458-06:00Actually, the BK Impossible Burger isn’t too bad. ...Actually, the BK Impossible Burger isn’t too bad. Driving to Chicago to visit or son our criteria for stopping was whether or not there was a BK at that exit. Trying to avoid eating meat, this Burger did the trick.Leshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16679840606511726447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-48901070829581047862020-12-24T02:48:11.611-06:002020-12-24T02:48:11.611-06:00For decades, until several years ago, if you wante...For decades, until several years ago, if you wanted to take out food from that Orrington St. BK, they gave you the bags, because some weird Evanston law prevented the employees from bagging your food. <br />Thankfully, that foolishness ended!Clark St.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09634234069783123180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-11024692625081421952020-12-24T00:17:15.831-06:002020-12-24T00:17:15.831-06:00Agree with you about McDonalds food, but once...I ...Agree with you about McDonalds food, but once...I was gone all day and literally didn't eat from like 10am to almost midnight when I was going home. I thought, shit, there's a Mickey Ds right down the street from me, I'll grab something because I was so hungry. I got a Big Mac, was home in 2 minutes and opened the box. It was almost like the golden light coming from the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. This magnificent burger that looked exactly like very ad you've seen showing the Big Mac. Not all squished flat, warm fluffy bun, hot burger, crisp lettuce and tomato, perfect amount of sauce. I almost couldn't eat it, it was so pretty. <br /><br />It never happened again. Maybe it was all a dream?Sharihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08682070791854744446noreply@blogger.com