Sausage King will stay a pop-up

"Fuck you, here's some awesome food" [View this email in your browser]( [READER Logo]( [Food & Drink]( | September 6, 2024 The King is in exile. Gabe Babcock, the once and future [Sausage King of Milwaukee Avenue]( has had a rough summer. In August he was forced to abdicate his Logan Square throne (the AC sucked, there was no bar, and no one but the drunkest off-duty line cooks could find it).  A short flirtation in a ghost kitchen went south PDQ and then the King caught COVID. It’s all forced him to reevaluate his priorities.  “Sausage King is going to stay a pop-up,” he says. “That concept just doesn't work in a brick-and-mortar. It works as a renegade, rogue, show-up-and-‘Fuck-you-here's-some-awesome-food' kind of thing.”  That’s what he’ll decree this September 9 when the Sausage King of Milwaukee Avenue returns to [Monday Night Foodball]( the Reader's weekly chef pop-up at [Frank and Mary’s Tavern](.  The King’s going rogue with a full menu of scratch-made American junk food signatures, best digested in the presence of liquid intoxicants; including a Pimiento cheese smashburger, and its poultry-embiggened double smash, the McGangbang; plus the G-spot gyro, alongside the deep-fried outrage Cop Porn Chicken nuggets; and cinnamon twists.  The King is dead. Long live this King, this September 9 from 5 PM until sellout at 2905 N. Elston in the Empire of Avondale.  Meanwhile Foodball abides with Morgan Street Snacks on September 16, followed by a brand-new autumnal schedule. [Checking out the cookbook clubs of the Chicago Public Library]( The popular nonfiction category lends itself to exploring other cultures. by [Charlie Kolodziej]( | [Read more]( → [Reader Bites]( celebrates dishes, drinks, and atmospheres from the Chicagoland food scene. Have you had a recent food or drink experience that you can’t stop thinking about? Share it with us at [fooddrink@chicagoreader.com](mailto:fooddrink@chicagoreader.com?subject=Reader%20Bites&body=). [Rajas con queso bagel sandwich at the Stockyard Coffeehouse]( The outcome was exactly what I’d been looking for: a crisp exterior thanks to the bagel and a warm, soft interior with a little bit of spice. The melted cheese, onions, and poblano peppers become one savory topping, while the bacon adds the saltiness and breakfastesque flavor I crave in the morning. (You can also add avocado or other toppings for an extra charge.) —S. Nicole Lane [an illustration of kunefe on a plate]( [Bernice never imagined she’d be running Bernice’s Tavern]( March 2015 | And now Bernice Badauskas’s first name has graced the Bridgeport building for half a century. by [James Porter]( | [Read more]( → [Tempesta Market is the house that nduja built]( February 2018 | If you go: Get the Dante, the nine-layer sandwich that will live on to eternity. by [Mike Sula]( | [Read more]( → [The Bulgarian table, from sudjuk to shopska]( August 2011 | A primer on Bulgarian eats, and where to get them. by [Izidora Angel]( | [Read more]( → Get the latest issue of the Chicago Reader Thursday, September 5, 2024 [READ ONLINE: VOL. 53, NO. 31]( [VIEW/DOWNLOAD ISSUE (PDF)]( [Facebook icon]( [Instagram icon]( [Twitter icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( [YouTube icon]( [Website icon]( [Logo] You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from the Chicago Reader. Want fewer emails from us? [Click here to choose what you want us to send you](. Or, [unsubscribe from all Reader emails](. We’ll miss you! [Sign up for emails from the Chicago Reader]( | [Forward this e-mail to a friend]( © 2024 Chicago Reader. All rights reserved. Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616