South Side Cheap Eats: Steak & Egger

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Jun 9, 2006 3:45PM

Lest some of you think that Chicagoist is gonna take it easy after last night - although some of us probably should - today we give you a special Friday version of "South Side Cheap Eats". This one's a doozy, folks. It's been a Pilsen mainstay for as long as we can remember.

Steak & Egger has locations dotted along the near western suburbs, but it's their Pilsen location (mere steps from Chicagoist favorite May Street Cafe) that we made a beeline toward after leaving the party last night. Sometimes the munchies come down on you hard, and you can't wait until you get home to attack that pint of gelato in the freezer. You need food, and you need it right then.

Simply put, we got houngry on the bike ride home. The fine folks at Steak & Egger noticed this and served us up a piping hot bowl of chili and the "Mexican chicken" special, which we ordered spicy, with poached eggs and pancakes. The chili was decent, needing only a few dashes of hot sauce to coax it toward perfection. As for the chicken special, you can see from the photo that Chicagoist and the short order cook have different opinions of what "poached" means. In addition, the meal was too spicy, even for us. Green peppers were replaced with jalapenos, sliced lengthwise, with the seeds intact. If you find yourself in a similar situation at a Steak & Egger, order it mild, please.

Steak & Egger is probably best known for its hash browns; anybody who's gone before please let us know how they are. Otherwise, if you find yourself with a bad case of the bike munchies, cruising along 22nd, or just have to make it a point to eat solely at diners, Steak & Egger's for you. They're located at 1174 W. Cermak Road. Their phone number is (312) 226-5444. You know, in case you want to be a smart-ass and request a reservation. But you don't have to, because Steak & Egger is open all damned night!!!