Papa Marcos Grill and Kabob

Another place Greedy Eater 2 and I stopped at yesterday was Papa Marcos Grill and Kabob. Papa Marcos is located in Waukegan, IL. They serve Mediterranean food along with American style food. We found this place on Yelp. They had excellent reviews and we wanted to eat at a non-chain restaurant.

Greedy Eater 2 and I decided to each order a Mediterranean dish. Greedy Eater 2 ordered the Beef Kafta Sandwich. It consisted of beef kafta, lettuce, tomato, onion and tahini sauce wrapped in a pita-like bread. I ordered the Chicken Shawerma Sandwich. It consisted of chicken, lettuce, tomato, onion and tahini sauce wrapped in a pita-like bread.

The sandwiches came wrapped in aluminum foil. We decided to split the sandwiches so we could try each other's sandwich. Both sandwiches were very good. The tahini sauce tasted great. The main ingredients of the sauce consisted of sesame seed paste, kosher salt, olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic cloves, and parsley. Both the beef kafta and the chicken were well-seasoned and flavorful.

The owner was very nice and knowledgeable. We definitely plan on going back to try other items on their menu.

The Doughnut Vault

Greedy Eater 2 and I decided to take a road trip yesterday and head north to the Chicago area. As always, we make a point to stop by restaurants that we've heard about. Plus, it's been a while since we've posted anything.

The first place we went to was The Doughnut Vault. This place is known for long lines of customers waiting to get these freshly made doughnuts. A primary thought that came to mind was what is so special about these doughnuts that people will stand in line, sometimes over an hour, to buy. So Greedy Eater 2 and I wanted to find out. First, a couple of things about The Doughnut Vault:

• On Saturdays The Doughnut Vault opens at 9:30.  Tuesday through Friday they open at 8:00. They stay open until they sell out.
• The Doughnut Vault is not big at all. The space is big enough for about 10 people to stand in a single-file line. There is only one person who gets your doughnuts and also works the cash register. 
• They only take cash. 
• Everyday they're open, they have a specialty doughnut (i.e., Birthday Cake, Mocha Glazed, Pistachio, Powdered Sugar Stack, etc.), in addition to their standard doughnuts.
• All of the standard doughnuts, except for the Buttermilk Old Fashioned, cost $3 each. The Buttermilk costs $2 each.
• They serve coffee that is $1/cup.

We got there around 9:45 and there was already a line of customers around the corner of the building. We stood in line for about 45 minutes.While standing in line we could smell the doughnuts. A customer in front of us told us that the doughnuts are well worth the wait.We hoped he was right.

We got in the small space and it smelled awesome! The specialty doughnut of the day was Mocha. We decided to get a dozen of doughnuts that consisted of Buttermilk Old Fashioned (2), Gingerbread Stack (1), Chestnut Glazed (1), Vanilla Glazed (2), Chocolate Glazed (2), Jelly (2), and Mocha (2).

We went back to the car and each devoured a doughnut. They looked, smelled, and tasted really good. The size of the doughnuts are bigger than the run of the mill doughnuts. The doughnuts are deep-fried goodness, and they were well-coated with icing and sugar. The jelly doughnut was the best of them all. There was plenty of jelly and it didn't taste like jelly out of a jar.

Personally, we felt the Doughnut Vault was worth the stop. We would definitely recommend as a place to get doughnuts if you're in Chicago, don't mind standing in line, and don't mind the price.