One of my favorite fast-food places around here is Buffalo Joe’s in Evanston, home of the best hot wings in the Chicago area.
Becky had an order of mild wings, and I opted for the spicy (I’ve had the “suicide” wings in the past, but wasn’t up for it today) while Emma had a hotdog. We also had a couple orders of cross-cut fries (cleverly, by 1980s standards, called “buffalo chips”).
I wasn’t a big fan of spicy chicken wings until I had Joe’s in the late 1980s. Since then, I have yet to find wings that even come close to Joe’s. A warning, though: these things can’t be good for you– first the wings are deep-fried, then they’re put in a huge steel bowl and doused with a sauce that has to have a high percentage of butter along with hot sauce and various other seasonings (Joe’s does not, as some have suggested, use Frank’s or Tabasco) and tossed right in front of you. My eyes are watering just thinking about it.
The wings are served with a small side of ranch dressing and a little tray of celery sticks, both of which are meant to cut the heat. When you see this coming at you, be sure to have a lot of napkins standing by:

Afterwards, we took a walk to Fountain Square, and then across the street to Jamba Juice. We learned that the “Strawberry Tsunami,” which was removed from Jamba’s menu boards in December, is now called the “Strawberry Surfrider.”

It was a refreshing day, despite the heat.