Mike Evans gingerly sipping his Scotch, Matt Maloney unabashedly knocking back Appletinis rye Manhattans as the night devolved into what can only be described as armchair entrepreneurship. The two revisited a question they had asked in unison earlier that evening while working late and dreaming of dinner:

“Why, given the available technology on this earth, is there not a website that will tell us who delivers?” And from that question and a few scribbles on a mustard-stained bar napkin, this Internet giant was born.

With an eye toward becoming the best destination for ordering food online, they began immediately. Working the phones tirelessly to discover who delivered, hitting the freezing Chicago streets to talk to restaurants about the then-novel feature of online ordering and staking their claim as an authority on the Second City's restaurant scene.

Diners poured in and investors took note. More employees were hired; the service expanded. From Chicago to San Francisco, San Francisco to Boston. By early 2011, we had reached 13 cities and secured four rounds of funding. We'd grown into and out of three offices and brought on over 100 employees.

And then, in early autumn of 2011, came the biggest moment in our short but exceptional history – we raised 50 million in cash and used a chunk of it to acquire a little company known as Dotmenu. And by little, we mean huge. See, Dotmenu ran these other companies, Allmenus and Campusfood. Overnight, we were in 50 new cities, on over 400 college campuses and in possession of the nation’s largest restaurant database.

Needless to say, we’ve grown a little bit. But the mission hasn’t changed; the plan for 2012 is the same as it was way back in 2004: to be the best place in the universe for finding and ordering food. We’ll keep working on that. You keep eating.

Matt Maloney is the co–founder and CEO of GrubHub. Before starting what is arguably the most impressive company on earth with his chum Mike Evans, Matt earned a degree in physiology from Michigan State University. Shortly thereafter, he took a left turn and headed to the University of Chicago where he would pick up a master's degree in computer science.

While working as a software engineer at Chicago–based Apartments.com, Matt met Mike and the two of them founded GrubHub. In late 2007, Matt had his robe embroidered with the phrase “Internet King,” and took to wearing it around the office. At the time, it was considered a premature gesture.

By early 2011, no one was questioning his decision.

Mike Evans is the co–founder and COO of GrubHub. Not terribly long ago, he was an intelligent southern transplant wandering the cobbled streets of Boston while attending MIT. After picking up a pile of degrees and an even larger pile of debt, he decided that he had better move somewhere and get a job. That somewhere was Chicago and that job was with Apartments.com, where he would befriend Matt Maloney and kick off this adventure.

To celebrate increasing success, Mike purchased a fedora in late 2010 and has seamlessly transitioned from regular entrepreneur into hat–wearing entrepreneur, a move not every man can make.

Mike Evans, however, is not every man.