If Eva Carpenter were a menu item at Cheesie’s Pub & Grub, she’d be "The Tenderizer." With two types of cheese, two kinds of sauce, bacon and chicken tenders in between Texas toast, the 25-year-old best personifies the sandwich. The barbecue sauce represents her Missouri roots and the hot sauce embodies her spicy personality, mixed together to even out the flavors. And the bacon, because everyone loves bacon.
“Everyone that orders 'The Tenderizer,' they’re just so surprised," Carpenter says. "They’re kind of scared to try it. But once they get to know it, they’re like, it’s fucking awesome.”
The Cheesie’s manager found herself in Evanston after being accepted on scholarship as an intern at the Jump Rhythm Jazz Project. She moved into a sublet in September and while walking through downtown, she saw Cheesie’s being built. Carpenter called the number for the restaurant's Belmont location, went down for an interview and landed the job at the local franchise's new location. Since then, she’s been serving up grilled cheese sandwiches while becoming one of Evanston’s most memorable personalities.
If you've ever been on a drunchie visit to Cheesie’s, you’ve probably seen Carpenter jamming out to the Spice Girls and taking orders from Northwestern students. A fan of cheetah print, the Warrensburg (just outside of Kansas City) native graduated from Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance performance. She now dances with Jump Rhythm Jazz Project when she isn’t working at the late night hotspot.
Carpenter says she was welcomed to the Northwestern scene with open arms. She currently lives with seven frat guys who planned a spaghetti dinner for her recent birthday. But other than the group of NU students that she shares a house with, Carpenter has enjoyed working at a locale routinely visited by Wildcats.
Weinberg senior Michael Guhin is one of Carpenter's housemates. "I immediately loved her. She's bright, energetic, hliarious. She's just really upbeat, chipper and a lot of fun," Guhin says. He and another housemate recently stopped by Cheesie's to say happy birthday to Carpenter, but ended up hanging out for hours and even helped clean up.
“We get a wide range of students. We get the students who feel like they're entitled, but then, the majority of students, they're great. Especially in a town like this, they're looking for a place where they can just like, chill, hang out, have a grilled cheese, have a beer if they want to." Carpenter says. “We’re cheesy here. So we're singing to 'Hakuna Matata,' and like, all the other college students are like 'fuck yes!' And they're also singing with us, and dancing with us. I mean, that's what I love about Northwestern students. They’re here to have a good time.”
Going back to the sandwich comparison: “Sometimes I intimidate people. 'The Tenderizer' is a very intimidating sandwich. Not everyone wnill just dive right into 'The Tenderizer.' They usually just go for 'The Original,' which is great. But I’m not plain Jane.”
But Carpenter's most surprising trait is not her spicy but sweet personality—it's that she's lactose intolerant.