Returning to the Windy City (and America's Dairyland) Day2

After a full first day in Chicago and dealing with the fun traffic, I had some thinking to do.  The weather forecast for the next day didn't look great; wind gusts with snow flurries throughout the day, all of that coupled with the fact that it was a Friday and Halloween made me rethink my plans.  I had planned to get to a few places in he morning that were not too far from the hotel and then go into Chicago to try a few places in the evening.  I decided to scrap those plans and try to get to all of the places in the morning and early afternoon and not head into town, but head north to a place in Wisconsin and one in a small town just south of the Illinois-Wisconsin border. 

I left the hotel pretty early and headed north on the Tri-State Thruway, a toll highway that connects Illinois with Indiana and Wisconsin.  The ride was pretty fast as most of the traffic was headed south into the Chicago area.  I passed a town called Gurnee, which is home to big mall and the Six Flags Great America amusement park.  I was headed to the town of Kenosha, which is just over the state line.  The place I was headed was in the older downtown area of Kenosha.  This place, although I hadn't planned to visit on this trip, is one I have always wanted to visit from the time I saw it featured on an episode from the first season of "Diner's Drive-ins and Dives".  I arrived at "Frank's Diner" about 9am and entered a place that reminded me of the small diners in Massachusetts, that I had visited several years ago.  One think I noticed as soon as I entered the diner was that the people (especially the staff at Frank's) take Halloween very seriously!  The staff was dressed as zombies, with the two owners dressed as Cheerleader zombies!

Frank's Diner in Kenosha, Wisconsin - It's not as big as it looks!

Frank's is a pretty small place with a small area of tables and a counter of about 20 seats.  The place was very busy, but I got a counter seat almost immediately, a great seat right in front of the grill, where all the cooking action takes place.  Frank's is only open from 6a to 130p and specializes in breakfasts and their signature dish is the Garbage Plate.  The pancakes and French Toast looked pretty awesome, too.  Thankfully they also have 1/2 sized Garbage Plate (I am pretty sure the full size could feed a couple of NFL offensive linemen!)  I chose the 1/2 Garbage Plate.  The plate consisted of 3 eggs scrambled into Hash Brown potatoes, peppers, and onions with the choice of meats (or meats) and choice of cheese.  The meat choices were bacon, sausage, ham, corned beef hash, and spam and the cheese choices were Swiss, American, and Cheddar.  I chose sausage and Cheddar.  by the way, the full Garbage Plate has more of everything and 5 eggs!  As I waited I was able to watch the two owners work the grill (they call themselves "The Grill Girls").  It was quite a show! 

Frank's Grill at work!

I watched the first group of meals being made and those ladies really can cook!  It was sort of cool watching the process, it seemed like they could make about 7 or 8 meals on the grill and do the Fried and Poached eggs on the nearby stove.  I really didn't have to wait that long to get my meal and although I don't really like eggs, this Garbage Plate was really good, I think all the other stuff made the eggs go down easier!

The HALF Garbage Plate at Frank's

 The meal had two huge slices of homemade bread alongside and it really complimented the meal, the bread was crusty and soft in the middle.  As I finished I waited to get the owners to sign my book, but I wasn't sure if it would be possible as they were really busy and there was a line of about 10 people waiting.  As I was about to give up, the owner and cook looked over and asked me f I wanted to get the book signed?  They were great and both of the owners signed and commented to each other that they looked the same as they did when their pictures were taken during filming over 7 years ago.  The other cool thing I noticed was that they have a lot of regulars, the staff knows them by name and what they want, not menu or order needed!  This place is a must if you are in the area!

From Frank's I headed south back to the Chicago area.  I stopped at a place that was really in the middle of nowhere, I am still not sure how Guy found this one!  It is in the town of Wadsworth, Illinois, but all I know of Wadsworth is a traffic light along the Skokie Highway with a gas station and a restaurant!  "The Shanty" is a nice looking place that unfortunately was closed at the time I got there and it didn't look like it was gong to open anytime soon, so after waiting for a few minutes I decided to head back to the Chicago area.

The Shanty in Wadsworth, Illinois

It took a good hour to drive back into the Chicago area and I must say that the traffic was really good!  I had three more places that I wanted to get to and decided to go to a place that looked very fun on the DDD episode.  I arrived at this building that looked like a Gothic style house from the  early 20th century but was home to a very cool place, "Kuma's Corner".  Kuma's features burgers that are named after Heavy Metal Rock bands.  The Black Sabbath Burger is one of their most popular.  It opens at 1130a and I got there a few minutes early.  I was standing outside and saw some other walk in and they said they were open and the place already had about 15 people!  I was told to take any seat at the bar. 

Kuma's Corner

I looked over their menu and saw that are a real burger joint, with a full bar and about 20 beers on tap.  I was thankful that they had special smaller lunch burgers and I decided on a Greek inspired burger with Goat Cheese, Taziki sauce and Kalamata Olives.  the burger was delicious, cooked medium and as Guy would describe "down your arms juicy".  While I was there, the place got packed and really loud, the local 20 something's really like their burgers!

My Kuma's Corner Burger

Kuma's hard working kitchen staff

I also tried the Root Beer they had on tap and it was pretty good.  If you like a good burger Kuma's is the place, and the prices were pretty reasonable.  Most of the burgers are very hot and spicy!

I headed to a place just a few minutes away, "90 Miles Cuban Café".  This place is very small and very popular!  They have mostly "stand up" seating and the place was packed.  I looked over the menu and it was filled with specialties from Cuba, but I looked on the counter and they had a glass display of Cuban Sweets, so I decided to get two Guava Pastelito's which are like Fruit Turnovers and got them to go, I figured I would eat them later and maybe on the flight home!

90 Miles Cuban Café on Clybourn Avenue in Chicago

I continued on to my last planned stop on the trip about a 15 minute drive away and my first time to try a place that specializes in the cuisine of Costa Rica, welcome to "Irazu".  The first thing I noticed was that they advertise that they are a BYOB restaurant, they don't sell it but allow it.  It is sort of a strange layout.  You walk into an almost tent like structure with tables and space heaters.  Then there is a large indoor carry-out area and they were doing a big carry-out lunch business!  As I walked further on there was an indoor dining area with pictures and memorabilia of Costa Rica.  Irazu sponsors a Costa Rican neighborhood festival each year. 

Irazu - A Chicago Restaurant celebrating Costa Rica

The sign to good Costa Rican food!

I looked over the menu and wanted something traditional and light.  They feature both savory and sweet empanadas so I decided to try a Sweet Plantain Empanada and a Pineapple Empanada.  They came out very fast and they both had a unique flavor.  They weren't as sweet as I thought they would be but they were both very tasty, I don't think they could have been any better!

My Empanada  Plate

On the top is the Plantain Empanada and on the bottom is the Pineapple Empanada

As I was about to head out, I asked my server if she could sign or get someone to sign my book and she went and got the owner.  He had a big smile on his face and we chatted for a moment and then he went back in.  When the server returned she brought me their specialty drink, the Oatmeal Milk Shake.  It was delicious and I really appreciated the gift.  It tasted to me almost like a shake made from Rice Pudding and had a ground cinnamon garnish.  My official visit was over and as I got back to the car I checked one thing on the GPS and decided to go back to Rex to see Joey and Anthony and their Halloween costumes.  I arrived and the place was pretty busy and as I walked around I heard, "Hey Bill, you're back!"  Anthony, although born and raised in Chicago, was dressed as the Quarterback of his favorite team, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots.  We chatted more about his background and the restaurant.  Then they called Joey out and he was in full Guy Fieri gear!  He gave me his card and we got a few more photos taken.  They are great guys and really welcoming to everyone who enter their shop!

Pretty uncanny ain't it!

Joey "That Guy" and me

I was now done with the DDD trip and although it looked like the trip home might be another long adventure, the Gods of Standby smiled on me and I got home earlier than expected and my Triple D count is now 390!