I know one of my fine fellow bloggers on this site has already written about Flirty Cupcakes, the truck-based business that travels Chicago and the suburbs in a baby blue and pink van. If you live and work in the city it’s probably not terribly hard to catch up with the Flirty van. If you’re a suburban mom, whose days are full of busy nothings, it’s a tad more difficult. It’s taken me three months to finally get my Flirty fix.

I first learned about Flirty while writing the “Now Open” section of the Chicago Windy City Guide, one of my other writing gigs. I had long despaired of ever making it to one of the cute cupcake boutiques that are popular among city dwellers, even though I do get downtown occasionally. They’re just not that close to where I’m going, and I do have a five-year-old boy with me. So I thought, this would be perfect, if I could catch up with the Flirty Cupcakes van sometime and try it out. So I followed the business on Facebook.

Follow several months of frustration as I get, every day, updates on where the Flirty van is going to be. Usually in Chicago. When I’m in Chicago, the Flirty van is nowhere close. Once I was taking my son to a photo shoot near the Mag Mile (he does very occasional work as a model) and I decided that afterwards, we’d take a cab to wherever the Flirty van was parked. Well, we ran out of time, but apparently the van ran out of cupcakes and never made it to that stop anyway.

When it does come out to the suburbs on some weekends, I’m way too busy to make it out there. I think I recall one day the Flirty van was scheduled to be at Ikea in Schaumburg, about a half hour away from me. I, on the other hand, was scheduled to be at book club, taking care of a friend’s cat, running some errands that couldn’t be put off, and doing a bevy of other things that just would not allow me to get away. I thought about trying to sneak it in between errands, but just couldn’t swing it.

You know how something small, because you can’t have it, becomes this big thing, this giant obstacle, this great quest? That’s how I felt about Flirty Cupcakes. I’d groan when I realized the Flirty van was parked on the very Chicago spot where I’d stood the previous day. I’d try to shuffle my schedule around so that I could make a Flirty run in the afternoon, which never quite worked. I’d dream about the start of school, when I’d have extra time to get away while my kid is in kindergarten, only to realize that the Flirty van doesn’t get out early enough to allow me to grab my cupcakes and be back in time to pick him up. I’d religiously check every weekend schedule in hopes they’d come out somewhere I could actually be. I posted Facebook pleas to please, please come to Glenview. Or Skokie. Or Evanston. Someplace near me.

But now, finally, my quest is over, and it is successful. Whew! I was volunteering in the western suburbs yesterday, and I knew that the Flirty van would be in Arlington Heights, which is considered to be a northwestern suburb. That means my husband was watching my son, and they were going to be watching the Iowa football game in the afternoon after I was finished with my volunteer gig (with the Brookfield Zoo) so I didn’t have to be back immediately. Flirty Cupcakes was going to be at the corner of Campbell and Vail at 1:15 p.m., and my volunteer shift was over at 12:15.

So after I was done I got in my car, checked my iPad to see that the Flirty Cupcakes plan hadn’t changed, set my GPS and drove through terrible traffic to get to Arlington Heights at about 1:25. As I got there, you can’t imagine my anticipation. Every mile, every landmark brought me closer. I couldn’t believe I was actually going to get my cupcakes! I also needed to get to a bank, although I didn’t see one on my route and decided my #1 priority was to find the cupcakes. So I skipped it. With change, I had $23 in my wallet and I wasn’t sure how many cupcakes I could get for that. I also didn’t know if Flirty Cupcakes would take credit cards.

I finally saw the van, parked right where it should be. I was sure my eyes were playing tricks on me at first, because surely that couldn’t be it. I think I was expecting Big Blue to be bigger and more noticeable, like an ice cream truck playing tinned music. Instead it was a sleek little van, colored baby blue with pink accents. There was already a line of about 19 people. I was able to park just past the intersection and get in line. I spent the rest of my time in line (about 20 minutes) talking with other first-time Flirty consumers then calculating how many $3.25 cupcakes I could buy for $23, and what if I decided to get a set of $5.25 minis instead? Previously I’d been so focused on the search that I had never really given any thought to what flavor or how many cupcakes I’d actually buy if I got to the truck. And it suddenly occurred to me that I could get all the cupcakes they had, if they took credit cards.

They did. I actually took one of everything. Hey, who knows when I’ll be able to catch the truck again? Here’s the list of what I scored:

1. Devil in Disguise (a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting)

2. No Plain Jane (vanilla cupcake with Italian vanilla buttercream frosting)

3. PB&C (peanut butter cupcake with chocolate ganache)

4. The Curious George (banana chocolate cupcake with light salted caramel Italian buttercream)

5. The McDreamy (chocolate cupcake with cream cheese and chocolate frosting)

6. CBFF (chocolate cupcake with Nutella ganache)

7. Coconut Nuts (vanilla cupcake with toasted coconut frosting)

8. Mocha Me Smile (chocolate with mocha ganache, I think; a special, and I got the very last one)

9. Lemon Poppyseed (another special, lemon poppyseed cupcake with lemon frosting)

And I also got two sets of minis. Each set of four contains four cupcakes; that day it included the Devil in Disguise, the Curious George, the No Plain Jane and I can’t remember the last one but it looks chocolatey. I’m going to guess that it’s the McDreamy.

Now you can imagine my torture when I realized I had to take  all my delicious-looking cupcakes home without tasting a bite. I had missed lunch in order to get there; I had also forgotten both my phone and my camera in my haste to get out the door in the morning, and I wanted to take a picture of my victorious trip to the cupcake van. But no. I waited. I even had a sandwich when I got home.

Then I tasted them all, but I ate the entire red velvet cupcake because I have a thing for red velvet cupcakes. The minis and the rest I’m saving for a cupcake tasting that I’m holding when a few of my friends come over this afternoon.

Success! By the way, the cupcakes are really delicious, and I’d have to say they were worth the quest. Moist and not crumbly, with great flavor and aesthetic appeal. They come in little individual plastic containers that keep them from moving, so none of them even got jarred on the drive home. Beyond the red velvet, No Plain Jane and the Lemon Poppyseed were my favorites. And though I’m not really a chocolate cake person, I found that Flirty’s chocolate cupcakes are really divine with whatever frosting is put upon them.

Flirty Cupcakes may be coming to a Chicago neighborhood near you; you can check the website for updates, but it’s easy to follow Flirty on Facebook or Twitter as well to get your updates that way.

Flirty Cupcakes
http://www.flirtycupcakes.com/

If you ever find yourself on the far north end of Western Avenue searching for a place to eat, I highly suggest San Soo Gab San. It’s a difficult place to spot, and I would have missed it myself if I hadn’t been intrigued by the neon sign advertising their business hours of 10am-5am. Friday night, we decided to give it a try.

Moments after we were seated, our order was taken, and a bowl of smoking wood charcoal was set between us. As the coals began to catch, our server filled the table with 24 small plates of Korean delights. Some of it we could recognize (kimchi, jorim, namul, dumplings, etc.), and most of it we couldn’t place.

For the barbecue, we ordered marinated beef and spicy chicken to cook over the fire. I believe the quality of meat at San Soo Gab San is worth noting here. It wasn’t slathered in marinade to hide poor cuts—both plates of meat were lightly dressed in marinade to enhance what were already excellent pieces of beef and chicken.

The bustling restaurant made for a lovely evening of conversation and grilling as we flipped our food over the fire and feasted on the plethora of side dishes that had taken over our table. Our servers were extremely attentive—the grate over our fire was changed twice to prevent our table from being too smoky, and we were checked on often.

Two orders of meat alongside the small plates, soup, and rice yielded way too much food for two people—but the leftovers were excellent, so I recommend ordering as much as you like for your group!

San Soo Gab San

5247 North Western Avenue

Chicago, IL 60625

773.334.1589

Transit: CTA Bus 49, 49B to Western and Berwyn

It’s been a hectic August for me. My son’s summer camp ended right smack in the middle of August, and his half-day school kindergarten year didn’t start until just today. This means that for the past few weeks we’ve been on a bit of an enforced vacation–I’ve tried to work, but couldn’t do too much with him bouncing around the house, so instead we spent a lot of time outside enjoying the dog days of summer. This means that we ate out a lot and spent more money than we should, going to places like Legoland, Navy Pier, the Chicago Comic Con and the mall, and then swimming in our condo complex’s pool whenever we could. We also celebrated two birthdays during this time. My husband and my mother-in-law have theirs on 8/18 and 8/19, so we let my MIL pick the place. She picked Hackney’s.

Ever since I first moved to the Chicago area I’ve understood that Hackney’s was that traditional place that everyone has been to and everyone knows about, but isn’t trendy or hip or discussed ad nauseum. It’s been around so long that every local’s parents have fond memories of it. Of course I’ve gone there myself for after-parties and political organizing parties and things of the sort. It’s been a really long time since I thought to just go and have a meal there, but now that I’ve rediscovered it I’m determined I won’t forget about the place again.

When I think of Hackney’s I think of the restaurant’s signature French fried onions–I call them the Borg Wall of Onions because I’m a big geek and the big greasy concoction comes to you as a giant square and you pick off pieces. I understand Jay Leno once made a joke on the air about this dish, because locals understood that Hackney’s “half onion” meant half of a whole onion, and he was thinking one half of an onion ring. Or something like that. The story’s posted in the Lake Street Glenview restaurant right in front; I’ve certainly gotten it partly wrong but if you visit you can read it yourself.

Mainly Hackney’s is known for its burgers on daily-baked rye bread and American grill-style eats–the six Chicago locations all offer the onions and burgers but beyond that have carved out their own identities when it comes to menu items. The burgers are excellent, and you can order a half of one if you, like me, aren’t going to be able to finish a whole. I’d also recommend the Inside Out Burger, which was apparently featured on Food Network at one time. This Hackneyburger is stuffed with bacon and cheddar cheese. I’m also looking forward to trying the Bleu Cheeseburger, which is stuffed with bleu cheese (what can I say? Lately I’ve been all about burgers and fries).

You’ll find that each Hackey’s location provides an elegant, old-fashioned atmosphere, one that’s club-like and traditional but also quite distinctive. Hackney’s on Harms in Glenview is the original location (opened in 1939); there is another location in Glenview, one in Wheeling, one in Lake Zurich, Palos Park and Chicago’s Printer’s Row. Several have patios. Don’t look for your usual chain restaurant with big windows and awnings–look for the horse-and-carriage sign in front of what looks like a rather cozy house. Hackney’s is basically one of those local favorites with a ton of history that visitors might overlook in favor of flashier names, but it’s worth a stop if you’re interested in a family-run restaurant that’s truly an integrated part of the community.

Hackney’s on Lake (my local one)
1514 E. Lake Ave., Glenview 60025
(847) 724-7171
www.hackneys.net