Five Guys-Downers Grove

A Five Guys opened up a few months ago down the road from work. I have heard good things about there burgers, actually it is said that they have the best burger. My Executive Chef at work mentioned the other day that hey had gone to Five Guys in the city and that he liked it, and the fries were fresh cut. Since i am house sitting in Downers Grove, i thought i would give it a try. I first went to the internet and looked Five guys up. I was impressed, they had it so you could order online. Yeah, really. I said what the hell, i want to look at the menu anyway. I put in the zip code and picked the Downers Grove Five Guys. From there i could choose witch type of burger i wanted, as well as dogs, sandwiches, fries and pop. I choose a little cheese burger, then i choose my unlimited toppings. I looked them all over and decided on the "all the way" this is ketchup, mustard, mayo, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, grilled onions and mushrooms. I also choose a large fry. The fries as mentioned above are fresh cut fries. I placed my order, paid with a debt card, $14 dollars. Once paid and i had given my phone number and email address i was quoted a time that it would be ready for pickup. It also stated that my fries would not be cooked until i arrived to pick up my order. This i liked, i mean who likes soggy, tepid fries? Not me that's for sure. It took me about 10 minutes to get to Five Guys, once i entered i bypassed the register and headed for the pickup line. I got there, told them my name, and no a moment later my fresh cut fries were being dropped into the fryer. Once the fries were done, the gentleman grabs the brown bag my cheeseburger is in and grabs a large cup. He fills the cup full, i mean full. He then proceeds to put the cup of fries in the brown bag, it begins to bleed grease. At that moment he then puts more, yes more fries into the brown bag. At this moment my stomach growls. I get back to the place i am house sitting and begin to survey my meal, i immediately go for the fries, outstanding. Crisp, moist, seasoned to perfection. I open my foiled cheeseburger, still piping hot and dig in, i knew i had chose wisely when i got the "all the way". I am for sure going back here and will be having another burger and some more fresh cut fries. Also when you eat in at Five Guys, you get free peanuts while you wait!!!

Scoobys-Downers Grove

4319 Prince Street Downers Grove, IL 60515: I have passed by Scoobys on so many occasions and always said to myself, I have to get there for lunch. The place reminds me of a old school drive-in. I am here and it Saturday afternoon. I finally made it, i walk in and there is no line, actually there is no one in the place. The flat screen TV in the corner is on. The Olympics are on and they have indoor volleyball on. I walk around the corner to the counter and study the menu. Mind you it 3 in the afternoon and i have not had anything to eat. I take a few minutes and survey the menu, and finally have my choices. I step up to the counter and start to jabber off my order, one hot dog, with the works, a spicy Italian beef, large pop and a order of fries. The fries here are fresh cut. My total is a little over 13 dollars, i give them 15 and sit down and await my lunch feast. Within 5-7 minutes i had my meal, i grab a squirt bottle of ketchup and begin to evaluate my purchase. I am not joking by no means but the food was picturesque. See for yourself below. The hot dog was great, moist, the identifiable neon green relish squirting out from the sides, the sport peppers, pickles were just as fresh making this a perfect marriage of toppings and meat in tube form. The Italian beef was a monster in itself. I for sure did not know how i was going to take on such a gentle beast of beef dripping in beef juices topped with a mild jardiniere. I suddenly just pick it up and shove a corner of it into my mouth. I was greeted with a perfect combination of bread, beef and juice. After that one bite i knew this was going to take a while to eat. The fries, i cant say enough about the fries, as said above, they are fresh cut and well worth the price. They have a perfect balance of crispness, salt and seasoning which pairs well with anything on this menu here at Scoobys. For my first visit i cant complain, and will for sure be coming back with friends, hell even by myself until there food tells me other wise.

Strata

I can see you now looking at this and wondering what a strata is. To me strata is a fancy name fore bread pudding. And when i mean bread pudding i don't mean the usual sweet one found on buffets served with a cinnamon sugar sauce. I have been talking about making one for a while and i finally had a reason too. I had received my first plate in the mail and had to use mint in the recipe. I decided to make one with asparagus, mushrooms, Swiss cheese and of course mint. I had some left over Texas toast, so i tore that up and left out to dry. I sliced up the mushrooms, chopped the asparagus and sauteed fork tender, adding the mint last as to not diminish the flavor of this delicate herb. I then put the filling on a plate to cool. I then began to make my custard of milk and eggs. For every egg, i used 1 cup of milk. For the amount i had, i did 4 eggs and 4 cups of milk. whisk this together, add a pinch of salt and pepper. I then took the torn dry Texas toast, put it in a bowl. Add your room temp veggies. Add your egg and milk mixture and mix together using your hands. Place in a baking pan. I placed in pre-heated oven of 350 degrees covered with foil for 10 minutes, removed foil and drop temp to 300 degrees for another 30-40 minutes. You want to be able to put a toothpick in and have it come out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. During this cooling time, i warmed the bacon marmalade, I also added a little Vermont Maple Syrup. I turned the burner down and set aside. I cut out a square, placed on the plate and poured the bacon marmalade over top, it slowly creeping down the strata like slow moving lava. It looks as good as it tastes people.....Check it out here and here: