Tom & Eddie’s, a new restaurant that opens to the public this Friday at the Yorktown Mall in Lombard, has built its menu around a line of nine cheeseburgers.
But when the business began welcoming invitation-only guests on Monday, there was one humongous “cheeseburger” that nobody was allowed to touch, let alone eat.
That’s because it’s one of the most expensive—and exquisitely decorated—cakes ever to grace a restaurant opening.
Made by Diane Eenigenburg, owner of La Petite Sweet in Westmont, it is being served only after Grand Opening ribbon-cutting ceremonies on Friday morning at 348 Yorktown Center at The Shops on Butterfield.
From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. for three straight days, the remarkably authentic-looking “Cheeseburger Cake” is standing in a corner of Tom & Eddie’s. Overnight, it goes into a freezer for storage.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, to ensure its protection from those who may succumb to finger-foraging temptation, Tom & Eddie’s retained a security guard to stand watch over the cake. The 24-year-old, Brad Anderson, was immediately deputized as a “Good Taste Guard,” in keeping with the restaurant’s pledge to “put good taste in everything we do.”
“Our Good Taste Guard is going to make sure nobody messes with it,” said Ed Rensi, Tom & Eddie’s co-founder. “This is one serious mission and this is one very valuable cake.”
Eenigenburg has made an assortment of creative cakes for Rensi in the past, including birthday cakes for family members.
And La Petite Sweet has built an impressive reputation the past few years, with productions bearing price tags in the thousands of dollars. They have included a 250-pound cake for the “Jersey Boys” musical wrap party, one that was shaped like a kidney (for a girl who had her kidney removed) as well as her first effort, a 22-inch trophy bass fish that looked stunningly like the real deal.
But never has she heard of a security officer being called in to protect her work.
The Good Taste Guard will remain by the cake’s side for the rest of the week, letting customers take photos of the mega-treat—but never letting down his defenses.
“You never know what might happen when good taste grabs you,” Rensi noted. “There’s the sweet tooth factor, there’s uncontrollable drooling. We’re headed into uncharted waters here and this just feels like the responsible thing to do.”
The 45-pound cake is artfully designed like a gigantic Tried & True burger (one of the restaurant’s nine signature burgers), complete with the appearance of lettuce, vine-ripened tomatoes, pickles and other condiments. A faux strawberry shake and chips—both of which are also edible—colorfully round out the culinary creation.
It is comprised of 25 pounds of fondant (a sugar icing); eight pounds of a butter cream concoction whose recipe Rensi is keeping close to his vest; and a variety of other ingredients, including 20 eggs.
Rensi commissioned Eenigenburg to create the masterpiece for Tom & Eddie’s Grand Opening. He wanted it on display during the restaurant’s “soft opening from Monday through Wednesday, which the restaurant has dubbed “Sneak Peek & Eats.”
“It is the largest cheeseburger cake in Northern Illinois and perhaps the United States,” Rensi declared. “It’s a magnificent piece of art. La Petite Sweet has done a fabulous job with it.”
“Everybody keeps asking the question, `Is it real?’” Rensi continued. “It is absolutely real.”
Indeed, on Monday, most guests had no idea that it was a cake, with some nearly touching it out of curiosity. With so much hustle and bustle occurring throughout Tom & Eddie’s as they work to refine operations in time for Friday’s public debut, it became apparent that the cake required stepped-up security.
At 11 a.m. Tuesday, as the second of three “Sneak Peek & Eats” days began, Anderson reported for duty. The strapping 6-foot, 205-pound Navy Reservist’s sole mission: keep prying hands away.
Guests on Tuesday understood the extra layer of “Cheeseburger Cake” security containment.
“I think it’s just gorgeous,” said Mary Ann Krebs of Oswego. “It’s amazing.”
Another was Cathy Crawford of Plainfield, who gaped at it for nearly a full minute with her mother-in-law and two sons. “I think it’s better even than what they’re doing on the Food Network with those cake contests,” Crawford said.
With Tom & Eddie’s opening next in Geneva (in the fall) and Deerfield (in the winter), Rensi plans to have “Cheeseburger Cakes” be part of those launches—and a security guard will be seriously considered in those instances as well.
Tom & Eddie’s Grand Opening begins at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 27 and features a host of activities and prizes. The day’s excitement will include, for one winner, a free burger meal every week for the rest of his or her life and the same deal, for one year, for 80 others.
For more information about Tom & Eddie’s, including events revolving around its Grand Opening, visit www.tomandeddies.com and www.facebook.com/tomandeddies.
La Petite Sweet is at 31 N. Cass Ave., and online at www.lapetitesweet.com.
