Who are these people
A week or so ago, I was talking with a woman from Great Britain. We were talking about Private Eye Magazine, an interesting magazine that combined satire, politics and a bit or muckracking, but written in a fashion and code that was difficult to decipher. I never knew at what point I would "get it", but I never did. Still, it's inspired me to write first on Chowhounnd and now here (and on LTH) in my own code. But I am willing to explain at least some of the stuff, and since I've recently been lucky enough to get some included in some great food blog sites, I thought I'd link to this post for a little backstory.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Big Fatty, Smokey Chickens
Pico Rico
Once upon a time, Cathy2 and I discussed a possible talk for the Culinary Historians on "How to Chowhound." Perhaps one day. But I have a secret weapon that cannot necessarily be taught. The eagle eye of the Condiment Queen. We planned on going to Trader Joe's today (for their preternaturally good decaf coffee--I actually think that TJ's decaf is better than their caf, explain dat). Our lunch plan was to have no lunch plan. Drive east, probably to somewhere in Wicker Park or perhaps a cemita. Then, she spotted it. It's not really easy, the signage is small, a pollo a carbon place called Pico Rico. One deep breath when we entered, and we knew we where in the right spot.
Pico Rico cooks their chicken with a roitissere over smoldering piles on hardwood charcoal, the sweet smell of wood wafting around the room. We ordered the whole chicken plus three sides for $14.99. It is not the cheapest roast chicken deal in town, but these were huge, fatty birds. Birds that really stood up to the coals. For sides, we got white rice, red beans, yuca con mojo de ajo (and an extra order of patacones or fried green plaintains).
I've complained before that their is at times a reliance of photographs over words in the foodie world, but I SO wished I had my own digital camera when the food arrived. Two plates, one with chicken, one with rice/plaintains/yucca, plus the bowl of brick red beans, a narrow palate range, would have seen highly impressionist. The succulent fat would still glisten in the digital picture. We truly feasted with our eyes for a few minutes. Of course, the sensory experience was helped by aromas that would be hard to capture. The mojo from the yucca fought with the citrus-anniotte marinade for our olfactory attention. Believe me, it tasted just as good. Not just the chicken either. All of the sides, even the white rice tasted great.
Also, there were no secrets at Pico Rico. Salsa de aji, at least their salsa de aji, was described to us as chimichurri with jalepeno. He gave us the ingredients: parsley, cilantro, jalepeno, and olive oil. He said it was better when made my hand, but he needed to use a blender. The chicken marinade: orange juice, anchiotte, garlic and salt. The charcoal, Royal Oak, well that I learned because there were lots of bags laying around. Still, you can watch the chickens cook very easily. Go for the chicken and the lessons.
The owners are Ecuadorian, and there a a few other Ecuadorian items on the menu, goat stew, seco de chivo; some pork dishes, but we only had the chicken, and in fact may be hard pressed to ever NOT have the chicken.
Pico Rico
4107 W. North
Chicago, IL
773-252-Rico (7426)
PS
We never made it to Trader Joe's. A few doors down from Pico Rico is a thrift shop. As great as lunch was, it pales next to what I found at that thrift shop. Two sport coats once belonging to Kup--no joke! One cashmere (purchased for $2!), the other made by legendary Michigan Ave. tailor, Pucci (with a lining as nice as the jacket itself.). Hopefully, it was not the same Pucci suit Kup was buried in.
Pico Rico
Once upon a time, Cathy2 and I discussed a possible talk for the Culinary Historians on "How to Chowhound." Perhaps one day. But I have a secret weapon that cannot necessarily be taught. The eagle eye of the Condiment Queen. We planned on going to Trader Joe's today (for their preternaturally good decaf coffee--I actually think that TJ's decaf is better than their caf, explain dat). Our lunch plan was to have no lunch plan. Drive east, probably to somewhere in Wicker Park or perhaps a cemita. Then, she spotted it. It's not really easy, the signage is small, a pollo a carbon place called Pico Rico. One deep breath when we entered, and we knew we where in the right spot.
Pico Rico cooks their chicken with a roitissere over smoldering piles on hardwood charcoal, the sweet smell of wood wafting around the room. We ordered the whole chicken plus three sides for $14.99. It is not the cheapest roast chicken deal in town, but these were huge, fatty birds. Birds that really stood up to the coals. For sides, we got white rice, red beans, yuca con mojo de ajo (and an extra order of patacones or fried green plaintains).
I've complained before that their is at times a reliance of photographs over words in the foodie world, but I SO wished I had my own digital camera when the food arrived. Two plates, one with chicken, one with rice/plaintains/yucca, plus the bowl of brick red beans, a narrow palate range, would have seen highly impressionist. The succulent fat would still glisten in the digital picture. We truly feasted with our eyes for a few minutes. Of course, the sensory experience was helped by aromas that would be hard to capture. The mojo from the yucca fought with the citrus-anniotte marinade for our olfactory attention. Believe me, it tasted just as good. Not just the chicken either. All of the sides, even the white rice tasted great.
Also, there were no secrets at Pico Rico. Salsa de aji, at least their salsa de aji, was described to us as chimichurri with jalepeno. He gave us the ingredients: parsley, cilantro, jalepeno, and olive oil. He said it was better when made my hand, but he needed to use a blender. The chicken marinade: orange juice, anchiotte, garlic and salt. The charcoal, Royal Oak, well that I learned because there were lots of bags laying around. Still, you can watch the chickens cook very easily. Go for the chicken and the lessons.
The owners are Ecuadorian, and there a a few other Ecuadorian items on the menu, goat stew, seco de chivo; some pork dishes, but we only had the chicken, and in fact may be hard pressed to ever NOT have the chicken.
Pico Rico
4107 W. North
Chicago, IL
773-252-Rico (7426)
PS
We never made it to Trader Joe's. A few doors down from Pico Rico is a thrift shop. As great as lunch was, it pales next to what I found at that thrift shop. Two sport coats once belonging to Kup--no joke! One cashmere (purchased for $2!), the other made by legendary Michigan Ave. tailor, Pucci (with a lining as nice as the jacket itself.). Hopefully, it was not the same Pucci suit Kup was buried in.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
L'Affair Continues
[Note, I misreported the name of the restaurant below. It is called Zasciankek.]
The other night myself and several other chowhounds and chowhounditas went to Zasciankek for a little dinner and floor show [had to be there to see the kidz do some kinda Supreme's type of dance routine.] We tried more soups, chicken noodle, tripe, mushroom, dishes done with potato pancakes and regular pancakes, two variations of chicken breast and other fried things. It was all good and satisfying, although I've had better goulash (too much sour cream muted the flavors). Still, as foreshadowed the other day, come to see the dumplings.
We were all very keen on trying the Silensian dumplings. And these turn about to be about the lightest potato based product you will ever taste. They look like big globs of stiff mashed potatoes, but when you bite in, it take a few seconds for your teeth to hit anything. After that pause through light goo, where you take in the earthy mushroom gravy, you hit a firmer layer. This mantle yields gently to the mouth, leaving a wonderful contrast of chew and air. It is possible to get other gravies besides the mushroom. Essentially, think of these as giant, better than gnocchi, gnocchi.
And as good as the dumpling were, the pierogies were better. They did not come out until late in the meal, and I am not sure if they make the entire package to order or it was just slowly cooked. The wrappers were so clearly homemade, so exquisitely, perfectly flawed. Dough wrapped just to the point of breaking, and you could taste where the hand had fixed any over exuberance. The pierogies were equally light and substantial. A sauce of clarified butter with just enough long cooked onions for sweet-bitter contrast set things off right. If the filling was junk, these pierogies would have still tasted great, but needless to say, the fillings were good too.
There are certain small, apparently unpublicized (yet hardly unknown) places, La Quebrada, Spoon Thai, this place, that it just takes one or two visits to know the place is special. I will always adore Halina's for simple and delicious Polish food, but I will continue cheating on her for sure at Zasciankek.
[Note, I misreported the name of the restaurant below. It is called Zasciankek.]
The other night myself and several other chowhounds and chowhounditas went to Zasciankek for a little dinner and floor show [had to be there to see the kidz do some kinda Supreme's type of dance routine.] We tried more soups, chicken noodle, tripe, mushroom, dishes done with potato pancakes and regular pancakes, two variations of chicken breast and other fried things. It was all good and satisfying, although I've had better goulash (too much sour cream muted the flavors). Still, as foreshadowed the other day, come to see the dumplings.
We were all very keen on trying the Silensian dumplings. And these turn about to be about the lightest potato based product you will ever taste. They look like big globs of stiff mashed potatoes, but when you bite in, it take a few seconds for your teeth to hit anything. After that pause through light goo, where you take in the earthy mushroom gravy, you hit a firmer layer. This mantle yields gently to the mouth, leaving a wonderful contrast of chew and air. It is possible to get other gravies besides the mushroom. Essentially, think of these as giant, better than gnocchi, gnocchi.
And as good as the dumpling were, the pierogies were better. They did not come out until late in the meal, and I am not sure if they make the entire package to order or it was just slowly cooked. The wrappers were so clearly homemade, so exquisitely, perfectly flawed. Dough wrapped just to the point of breaking, and you could taste where the hand had fixed any over exuberance. The pierogies were equally light and substantial. A sauce of clarified butter with just enough long cooked onions for sweet-bitter contrast set things off right. If the filling was junk, these pierogies would have still tasted great, but needless to say, the fillings were good too.
There are certain small, apparently unpublicized (yet hardly unknown) places, La Quebrada, Spoon Thai, this place, that it just takes one or two visits to know the place is special. I will always adore Halina's for simple and delicious Polish food, but I will continue cheating on her for sure at Zasciankek.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Think Global Eat Local* (cont.)
Beware the mango in Baltimore sez Chez Pim. Now if I can only wean the Condiment Queen of her year-round berry habit.
*Think yiddish, dress British - As told to me by Evil Ronnie
Beware the mango in Baltimore sez Chez Pim. Now if I can only wean the Condiment Queen of her year-round berry habit.
*Think yiddish, dress British - As told to me by Evil Ronnie
The Italian Beef
Many years ago, I went to school in Washington DC. In one of those initial dorm sessions where you get to know everybody, I asked the seemingly innocuous question, where could I get a good Italian beef sammy. After all, what does a kid from the Chicago area want when he's hungrier for more than a hot dog. Believe me, that moment of derision followed by the revelation that no one really knew what was an Italian beef has stuck with me the rest of my life. People around the USA eat things like the Italian beef: french dip, beef-on-weck, even cheesesteaks, but no one else eats the Italian beef.
The distinguishing feature of Chicago's beef sandwich is the lack of substantial condiment to the beef. LA dips get slathered with a spicy mustard. 'Weck's get nose clearing horseradish and the ample salt crusted bun. Philly beef is thoroughly hidden in extras. Roast beef satisfies, but it needs something. Chicago beef adds its succor from a jus or gravy that houses the meat for a substantial period before service. This gravy gets highly influenced by those dreaded dried spices, especially garlic powder and oregano. Beef users adjust the amount of gravy per sandwich by asking for their sandwiches dry, wet, juicy, dipped, whatever. But no matter how much gravy is added to the Italian beef sandwich, the meat will already carry the spiced flavor through out. Although the Italian beef needs no frill, it does often get two compliments.
First, many eaters add peppers to their beef. The peppers can either be sweet, some kind of cooked green bell pepper, or hot, a/k/a giardinara, a mix of chopped things in oil. (See here for additional information on giardinara). The peppers do not so much as dress the meat but add another flavor dimension. The second way to adjust the beef sandwich is to throw an Italian sausage onto the bun too. Known around town as a combo, the sausage leavens the meat mass with pork fat, char and a contrasting texture.
Several hounds led by by Dickson and George R have been exploring various Italian beef stands around town. It has been a great process. At first, it seemed that they were all great, but over time, we've found some awful beef too. Below is my general summary based on tastings so far.
Unique and fab in taste and garnish
Al's - 1079 W. Taylor, Chicago - Al's differs from all other Italian beefs, firstly by a different spice mix, mysterious but with strong hits of fennel seed; secondly by the consistency of the meat, more shredded than smoothly sliced; third by its giardinara, thin slices of celery heated up with red pepper flakes instead of the typical chopped sport pepper. Great charcoal grilled sausage.
Best of the "typical beefs"
Johnnies - 7500 W. North, Elmwood Park - On one of the beefathons, we visited Carm's in Hillside (see below). Really good. Then we went to Johnnie's. Taste is always subjective, and it is hard to explain why one thing just tastes better. Johnnies just tastes better. Nothing stands out, the gravy, the cut of beef, the giardinara. Just balance and the best of the beef's that is like all the other beefs, just better. Also grills their sausage over real hardwood charcoal. This is one of the best smelling restaurants in Chicagoland.
2nd best, slightly unconventional beef
Freddy's in Cicero - 1600 S. 61st Ave, Cicero - Distinguished by a tomatoey gravy (it's subtle), it is a stellar beef.
Third best, slightly unconventional beef
J&C Bombacigno's - 558 W. Van Burean, Chicago - Uses a different roll than most beef stands, Dakota Pride. Unlike the standard Gonella bread, J&C's bread is lighter but also crisper. Yet, because of its nature, the sammy dissolves somewhere between the third and fifth bite. The way you are scooping bread, meat and gravy after a while, with a couple of fingers, reminds you of eating Moroccan or Ethiopian food. The gravy is a bit oily, in a delicious way, and the only one that ever so slightly mimics Al's.
Next best beef's, all normal style
Carm's Hillside - 1801 S. Wolf, Hillside - See Johnnies above. Well balanced, tastes great, and only against Johnnies doe it seem less.
Chickies - 2839 S. Pulaski - Enhanced from a giardinara that is thin sliced jalepenos instead, although the oil tempers what looks to be too spicy.
Patio - 1503 W. Taylor - A much lesser known stand than its neighbor on Taylor, Al's, but gives the visitor to "Little Italy" a chance to have the regular Chicago beef, done very, very well. Gets their beef cooked from Serrielli's (which deserves a post).
Reaching for greatness but not quite
Mr. Beef - 666 N. Orleans, Chicago - I have a thing against Mr. Beef. It started when they started wrapping the sammy's ahead of time. But I also take out my distaste for Jay Leno on Mr. Beef (he loves it). Lastly, for ages, the folks on e-Gullet would proclaim Mr. Beef the best in Chicago with NO sense of other places. I had to hate it. Yet, on the first beefathon, I was surprised to find that, when served fresh, it is not bad at all. The giardinara is dominated by raw celery.
Dino and Nick's - 2035 N. Pulaski - With Al's, the most aggressively seasoned beef, but there is no mystery to this mix. Lots of garlic and lots of oregano. Some find it too, I like it.
Max's - 5754 Western - Another beef place most interesting for its giardinara. The giardiara oil is tinted red, and there is much speculation about its secret ingredients. I taste something quite Asian in the sauce, wondering if it's chile oil.
Boston BBQ - 2932 W Chicago - I admit, the coolest thing about this ancient beef stand was the its old fashioned sign with the neon and lotsa light-bulbs. With that sign gone, it is just a respectable beef.
Buena Beef - Various locations - Uses the lighter Turano bread, has a gravy dominated by black pepper, and offers a giardinara heavy with chunks of celery and whole olives. Lots of bells and whistles, but it does not taste quite as good as, say Johnnies.
Finely Average
Frannies - 4304 River Road, Schiller Park - Advertises "virgin" beef. Which is nothing special.
Carm's on Polk - 1057 W. Polk, Chicago - Another choice in the old neighborhood, but this one is not nearly as good. Too fatty.
Tores - 2804 N. Western Avenue Chicago - Edible, I have no problem here, as compared to the places below, but I would not run out of my way for it.
Below Average
Jay's - A few locations - Incredibly tough beef, who thought that was possible.
Roma's - 4237 N. Cicero, Chicago - Ronny takes huge pride in his product, and perhaps I caught them on an atypical day.
Satchell's - 4700 W Cermak, Cicero - Once considered among the giants, now seems to be phoning it in.
Gutter
Quick Bite - 5155 N. Western, Chicago - Really awful, odd, chemical taste.
Too afraid to try
Beefee - Multiple locations - On TV, I saw they add some spice mix to the beef after finishing it on the grill. Two things that confirm my worst fears.
Many years ago, I went to school in Washington DC. In one of those initial dorm sessions where you get to know everybody, I asked the seemingly innocuous question, where could I get a good Italian beef sammy. After all, what does a kid from the Chicago area want when he's hungrier for more than a hot dog. Believe me, that moment of derision followed by the revelation that no one really knew what was an Italian beef has stuck with me the rest of my life. People around the USA eat things like the Italian beef: french dip, beef-on-weck, even cheesesteaks, but no one else eats the Italian beef.
The distinguishing feature of Chicago's beef sandwich is the lack of substantial condiment to the beef. LA dips get slathered with a spicy mustard. 'Weck's get nose clearing horseradish and the ample salt crusted bun. Philly beef is thoroughly hidden in extras. Roast beef satisfies, but it needs something. Chicago beef adds its succor from a jus or gravy that houses the meat for a substantial period before service. This gravy gets highly influenced by those dreaded dried spices, especially garlic powder and oregano. Beef users adjust the amount of gravy per sandwich by asking for their sandwiches dry, wet, juicy, dipped, whatever. But no matter how much gravy is added to the Italian beef sandwich, the meat will already carry the spiced flavor through out. Although the Italian beef needs no frill, it does often get two compliments.
First, many eaters add peppers to their beef. The peppers can either be sweet, some kind of cooked green bell pepper, or hot, a/k/a giardinara, a mix of chopped things in oil. (See here for additional information on giardinara). The peppers do not so much as dress the meat but add another flavor dimension. The second way to adjust the beef sandwich is to throw an Italian sausage onto the bun too. Known around town as a combo, the sausage leavens the meat mass with pork fat, char and a contrasting texture.
Several hounds led by by Dickson and George R have been exploring various Italian beef stands around town. It has been a great process. At first, it seemed that they were all great, but over time, we've found some awful beef too. Below is my general summary based on tastings so far.
Unique and fab in taste and garnish
Al's - 1079 W. Taylor, Chicago - Al's differs from all other Italian beefs, firstly by a different spice mix, mysterious but with strong hits of fennel seed; secondly by the consistency of the meat, more shredded than smoothly sliced; third by its giardinara, thin slices of celery heated up with red pepper flakes instead of the typical chopped sport pepper. Great charcoal grilled sausage.
Best of the "typical beefs"
Johnnies - 7500 W. North, Elmwood Park - On one of the beefathons, we visited Carm's in Hillside (see below). Really good. Then we went to Johnnie's. Taste is always subjective, and it is hard to explain why one thing just tastes better. Johnnies just tastes better. Nothing stands out, the gravy, the cut of beef, the giardinara. Just balance and the best of the beef's that is like all the other beefs, just better. Also grills their sausage over real hardwood charcoal. This is one of the best smelling restaurants in Chicagoland.
2nd best, slightly unconventional beef
Freddy's in Cicero - 1600 S. 61st Ave, Cicero - Distinguished by a tomatoey gravy (it's subtle), it is a stellar beef.
Third best, slightly unconventional beef
J&C Bombacigno's - 558 W. Van Burean, Chicago - Uses a different roll than most beef stands, Dakota Pride. Unlike the standard Gonella bread, J&C's bread is lighter but also crisper. Yet, because of its nature, the sammy dissolves somewhere between the third and fifth bite. The way you are scooping bread, meat and gravy after a while, with a couple of fingers, reminds you of eating Moroccan or Ethiopian food. The gravy is a bit oily, in a delicious way, and the only one that ever so slightly mimics Al's.
Next best beef's, all normal style
Carm's Hillside - 1801 S. Wolf, Hillside - See Johnnies above. Well balanced, tastes great, and only against Johnnies doe it seem less.
Chickies - 2839 S. Pulaski - Enhanced from a giardinara that is thin sliced jalepenos instead, although the oil tempers what looks to be too spicy.
Patio - 1503 W. Taylor - A much lesser known stand than its neighbor on Taylor, Al's, but gives the visitor to "Little Italy" a chance to have the regular Chicago beef, done very, very well. Gets their beef cooked from Serrielli's (which deserves a post).
Reaching for greatness but not quite
Mr. Beef - 666 N. Orleans, Chicago - I have a thing against Mr. Beef. It started when they started wrapping the sammy's ahead of time. But I also take out my distaste for Jay Leno on Mr. Beef (he loves it). Lastly, for ages, the folks on e-Gullet would proclaim Mr. Beef the best in Chicago with NO sense of other places. I had to hate it. Yet, on the first beefathon, I was surprised to find that, when served fresh, it is not bad at all. The giardinara is dominated by raw celery.
Dino and Nick's - 2035 N. Pulaski - With Al's, the most aggressively seasoned beef, but there is no mystery to this mix. Lots of garlic and lots of oregano. Some find it too, I like it.
Max's - 5754 Western - Another beef place most interesting for its giardinara. The giardiara oil is tinted red, and there is much speculation about its secret ingredients. I taste something quite Asian in the sauce, wondering if it's chile oil.
Boston BBQ - 2932 W Chicago - I admit, the coolest thing about this ancient beef stand was the its old fashioned sign with the neon and lotsa light-bulbs. With that sign gone, it is just a respectable beef.
Buena Beef - Various locations - Uses the lighter Turano bread, has a gravy dominated by black pepper, and offers a giardinara heavy with chunks of celery and whole olives. Lots of bells and whistles, but it does not taste quite as good as, say Johnnies.
Finely Average
Frannies - 4304 River Road, Schiller Park - Advertises "virgin" beef. Which is nothing special.
Carm's on Polk - 1057 W. Polk, Chicago - Another choice in the old neighborhood, but this one is not nearly as good. Too fatty.
Tores - 2804 N. Western Avenue Chicago - Edible, I have no problem here, as compared to the places below, but I would not run out of my way for it.
Below Average
Jay's - A few locations - Incredibly tough beef, who thought that was possible.
Roma's - 4237 N. Cicero, Chicago - Ronny takes huge pride in his product, and perhaps I caught them on an atypical day.
Satchell's - 4700 W Cermak, Cicero - Once considered among the giants, now seems to be phoning it in.
Gutter
Quick Bite - 5155 N. Western, Chicago - Really awful, odd, chemical taste.
Too afraid to try
Beefee - Multiple locations - On TV, I saw they add some spice mix to the beef after finishing it on the grill. Two things that confirm my worst fears.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Cheating on Halina
About a month or so, I poked my head into Zascianek, a Polish restaurant on Belmont a few blocks west of Central. The bilingual menu with selections under veal, beef, pork and chicken seemed interesting--veal tongue anyone? Moreover, the place was packed (early on a Sunday night). I've been wanting to return since, especially as it is a lot closer than my darling Halina.
The Condiment Queen and I had lunch there today. Yes, I am not gonna draw too much of a conclusion from one meal, but boy was it good. Really good. One must have soup at a Polish restaurant (no?). There are three regulars: chicken noodle, tripe and red borsht, plus a soup of the day. We went with the SOTD, pickle. And boy did it taste like pickle. I admired the high thriftiness of the kitchen that took probably those last pickles from the jar and combined them with a smooth and creamy stock (and a potato or two for contrast) to make a great soup. Then again, I do not think I have had a bad soup at a Polish place.
I was curious to try the contractor's special, the menu has a lot of dishes that are mysterious in name. I s'pose it is something to keep you fortified for a hard day's worth (or reward you after a hard day's worth). It's an oblong potato pancake underneath a breaded pork cutlet, both the pork and the pancake are the same size. Next comes a ladle of mushroom gravy, finally two slices of cheese are melted on top. Out of guilt, I only at 1/2. It was like a Polish version of ReneG's Diner Grill Slinger. Good too. Crisply fried, fresh mushrooms, I could taste the potatoes in the potato pancake, and the cheese gave it a unifying element as it dribbled down.
My wife ordered boiled beef with a horseradish-apple gravy. Sauce on the side was noted upon ordering but not in execution from the kitchen. The meat was a tad stringy but in a good way. It came with two mounds of pure mashed potatoes topped with fried onions. Both dishes came with a tri-part mix of homemade salads.
The woman in the kitchen, Anna I believe, was glad we came. We talked chow a bit and she showed me what her dumplings looked like. I am eager to continue the relationship.
Zascianek
5752 W. Belmont
Chicago, IL
About a month or so, I poked my head into Zascianek, a Polish restaurant on Belmont a few blocks west of Central. The bilingual menu with selections under veal, beef, pork and chicken seemed interesting--veal tongue anyone? Moreover, the place was packed (early on a Sunday night). I've been wanting to return since, especially as it is a lot closer than my darling Halina.
The Condiment Queen and I had lunch there today. Yes, I am not gonna draw too much of a conclusion from one meal, but boy was it good. Really good. One must have soup at a Polish restaurant (no?). There are three regulars: chicken noodle, tripe and red borsht, plus a soup of the day. We went with the SOTD, pickle. And boy did it taste like pickle. I admired the high thriftiness of the kitchen that took probably those last pickles from the jar and combined them with a smooth and creamy stock (and a potato or two for contrast) to make a great soup. Then again, I do not think I have had a bad soup at a Polish place.
I was curious to try the contractor's special, the menu has a lot of dishes that are mysterious in name. I s'pose it is something to keep you fortified for a hard day's worth (or reward you after a hard day's worth). It's an oblong potato pancake underneath a breaded pork cutlet, both the pork and the pancake are the same size. Next comes a ladle of mushroom gravy, finally two slices of cheese are melted on top. Out of guilt, I only at 1/2. It was like a Polish version of ReneG's Diner Grill Slinger. Good too. Crisply fried, fresh mushrooms, I could taste the potatoes in the potato pancake, and the cheese gave it a unifying element as it dribbled down.
My wife ordered boiled beef with a horseradish-apple gravy. Sauce on the side was noted upon ordering but not in execution from the kitchen. The meat was a tad stringy but in a good way. It came with two mounds of pure mashed potatoes topped with fried onions. Both dishes came with a tri-part mix of homemade salads.
The woman in the kitchen, Anna I believe, was glad we came. We talked chow a bit and she showed me what her dumplings looked like. I am eager to continue the relationship.
Zascianek
5752 W. Belmont
Chicago, IL
More Time in Wisconsin
We were driving from Oconomowoc to Oak Park on Sunday. After extensive research, it was decided that it was only to Milwaukee that we would get decent chow. The first and last place that came to mind for Milwaukee, the place I most want to try in the land of butter was the Jewish deli, Jake's. A quick check on the chow hot-line, however, educated me of no Jake-y's on Sundays. We ended at Mader's, which was the choice all a long of the Condiment Queen. Later, we arrived too late for hot ham and buns (PLEASE EXPLAIN!) but had an early dinner of burgers and custard at Omega. We finished the day with some shopping at Woodman's in Kenosha. Wisconsin remains a great chow state.
We pulled into Mader's lot around 1 PM and were initially disappointed to learn it was buffet. By the end of the meal we realized this was an intensely good deal. The buffet encompasses most of the Mader menu. More aptly put, most of the Mader's menu is no different from what is on the buffet. In other words, if you ordered sausage or sauerbraten, it's coming from the same holding cell regardless of whether you can see it. Same thing with appetizers of various Usinger meats. There are little secrets on this buffet. Which means it is food that works very well on the buffet. Fat brats and even fatter knockwursts in an onion broth, goulash that tasted almost of Texas chile and kessler ribs with sauerkraut all went down well with my New Glarus Spotted Cow beer. Before these hot meats, I ate a bunch of Milwaukee cold cuts, some herring and a big portion of smoked coho salmon--how can they get that in Wisconsin? Roast beef stood up amazingly well to the heat lamp but dessert were like school food--sheet cakes with plain frostings.
We parked between Glorioso Brothers and Peter Sciortino's Bakery on Brady Street, just north of downtown Milwaukee, both advertising hot ham and fresh buns, only to find both places just closed for the day. Must come earlier to find out. So, we wandered the shops a bit, later getting one of the most over-extracted espressos I have ever tasted at Anodyne. We got a bum lead on a custard place that turned out to be Cold Stone Creamery!!! Around 5ish, we started south on in Rt. 32, passing through some more of Milwaukee's frozen in time neighborhoods, also got to drive right up to a lake freighter, something you cannot do in Chicago. We decided to stop at the Milwaukee chain Omega for custard and burgers. Omega is just the place to have handy on a Sunday evening. Nothing extraordinary. No gobs of butter on the burger, just a discreet swipe on the soft bun, yet the burger had that real taste I also associate with Fatburger or In'n Out. Again, the custard was not extraordinary yet real tasting. It fortified us to wander Woodman's.
A few years ago, there was some debate on Chowhound on whether Woodman's was a great store or just a big store. I would say that for a long time on Sunday night, I was in the big, just big category. As has been noted, the store is claustrophobic, poorly organized and filled with a lot of just stuff. The produce is cheap but seemed on the verge of spoilage (similar to Stanley's in Chicago), and granted it was Sunday night, but the bakery stuff did not impress--hey if I skipped the kringle you know it is not so impressive. Still, the longer I wandered Woodman's, the more it grew on me. Within all those miles of shelves are tons of Wisconsin products, all those honeys and door county preserves and summer sausages and cheese spreads but always a few dollars less than at the specialty shops. We spent a while ruminating over which Wisconsin mustards to take home. Of course, there was the Tenuta's giardinaras, and we bought a jar of the finely diced mix. The selection of Usinger and Klements sausage was huge. Most interesting to me was a range of wild caught smoked fishes from different Wisconsin providers. In addition to the more common chubs and whitefish, there was smoked blue fish, smoke lake (i.e., larger) trout and even smoked carp. Woodman's is well worth the time even if it is not a great store.
[All addresses Milwaukee unless stated otherwise]
Jake's Deli - 1634 North Mader's - 1041 N Old World 3rd St
Glorioso Brothers 1020 East Brady Street.
Peter Sciortino's Bakery 1101 E. Brady Street
Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. 1208 E. Brady Street
Omega Custard and Burgers - 32 and Kinnickinnic (among other locations)
Woodman's - Just off of Highway 50 and I-94, Kenosha
We were driving from Oconomowoc to Oak Park on Sunday. After extensive research, it was decided that it was only to Milwaukee that we would get decent chow. The first and last place that came to mind for Milwaukee, the place I most want to try in the land of butter was the Jewish deli, Jake's. A quick check on the chow hot-line, however, educated me of no Jake-y's on Sundays. We ended at Mader's, which was the choice all a long of the Condiment Queen. Later, we arrived too late for hot ham and buns (PLEASE EXPLAIN!) but had an early dinner of burgers and custard at Omega. We finished the day with some shopping at Woodman's in Kenosha. Wisconsin remains a great chow state.
We pulled into Mader's lot around 1 PM and were initially disappointed to learn it was buffet. By the end of the meal we realized this was an intensely good deal. The buffet encompasses most of the Mader menu. More aptly put, most of the Mader's menu is no different from what is on the buffet. In other words, if you ordered sausage or sauerbraten, it's coming from the same holding cell regardless of whether you can see it. Same thing with appetizers of various Usinger meats. There are little secrets on this buffet. Which means it is food that works very well on the buffet. Fat brats and even fatter knockwursts in an onion broth, goulash that tasted almost of Texas chile and kessler ribs with sauerkraut all went down well with my New Glarus Spotted Cow beer. Before these hot meats, I ate a bunch of Milwaukee cold cuts, some herring and a big portion of smoked coho salmon--how can they get that in Wisconsin? Roast beef stood up amazingly well to the heat lamp but dessert were like school food--sheet cakes with plain frostings.
We parked between Glorioso Brothers and Peter Sciortino's Bakery on Brady Street, just north of downtown Milwaukee, both advertising hot ham and fresh buns, only to find both places just closed for the day. Must come earlier to find out. So, we wandered the shops a bit, later getting one of the most over-extracted espressos I have ever tasted at Anodyne. We got a bum lead on a custard place that turned out to be Cold Stone Creamery!!! Around 5ish, we started south on in Rt. 32, passing through some more of Milwaukee's frozen in time neighborhoods, also got to drive right up to a lake freighter, something you cannot do in Chicago. We decided to stop at the Milwaukee chain Omega for custard and burgers. Omega is just the place to have handy on a Sunday evening. Nothing extraordinary. No gobs of butter on the burger, just a discreet swipe on the soft bun, yet the burger had that real taste I also associate with Fatburger or In'n Out. Again, the custard was not extraordinary yet real tasting. It fortified us to wander Woodman's.
A few years ago, there was some debate on Chowhound on whether Woodman's was a great store or just a big store. I would say that for a long time on Sunday night, I was in the big, just big category. As has been noted, the store is claustrophobic, poorly organized and filled with a lot of just stuff. The produce is cheap but seemed on the verge of spoilage (similar to Stanley's in Chicago), and granted it was Sunday night, but the bakery stuff did not impress--hey if I skipped the kringle you know it is not so impressive. Still, the longer I wandered Woodman's, the more it grew on me. Within all those miles of shelves are tons of Wisconsin products, all those honeys and door county preserves and summer sausages and cheese spreads but always a few dollars less than at the specialty shops. We spent a while ruminating over which Wisconsin mustards to take home. Of course, there was the Tenuta's giardinaras, and we bought a jar of the finely diced mix. The selection of Usinger and Klements sausage was huge. Most interesting to me was a range of wild caught smoked fishes from different Wisconsin providers. In addition to the more common chubs and whitefish, there was smoked blue fish, smoke lake (i.e., larger) trout and even smoked carp. Woodman's is well worth the time even if it is not a great store.
[All addresses Milwaukee unless stated otherwise]
Jake's Deli - 1634 North Mader's - 1041 N Old World 3rd St
Glorioso Brothers 1020 East Brady Street.
Peter Sciortino's Bakery 1101 E. Brady Street
Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. 1208 E. Brady Street
Omega Custard and Burgers - 32 and Kinnickinnic (among other locations)
Woodman's - Just off of Highway 50 and I-94, Kenosha
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Food Blogs
On LTHForum.com, Ann Fisher introduced me to a new food blog. It got me on a ten minute food blog digression. As always, Kipblog keeps on top of all the blogs (food). One of these days, I'll update my page...
On LTHForum.com, Ann Fisher introduced me to a new food blog. It got me on a ten minute food blog digression. As always, Kipblog keeps on top of all the blogs (food). One of these days, I'll update my page...
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Fried Herring Found! (Not exactly available...)
I'm still working on my manifesto, you know local and sustainable, hunting's OK if you eat what you catch, the sage advice from Evil Ronnie, "think yiddish, dress british." One plank will surely be about the value of river and lake fish. Creatures we seldom truly appreciate as we rush off for the next Pantagonian tooth-fish and extra fatty o-toro.
Luckily, in Eastern North Carolina, someone else still cares about real fish (and real pie). Gosh, I wish this place was closer. Check out the nice plate of fried herring.
Cyprus Grill
1244 Brown Rd.
Jamesville, NC
Open only during the herring season!
I'm still working on my manifesto, you know local and sustainable, hunting's OK if you eat what you catch, the sage advice from Evil Ronnie, "think yiddish, dress british." One plank will surely be about the value of river and lake fish. Creatures we seldom truly appreciate as we rush off for the next Pantagonian tooth-fish and extra fatty o-toro.
Luckily, in Eastern North Carolina, someone else still cares about real fish (and real pie). Gosh, I wish this place was closer. Check out the nice plate of fried herring.
Cyprus Grill
1244 Brown Rd.
Jamesville, NC
Open only during the herring season!
Round Mound O' Executive Salad - Club Lago
Did the cookie exchange yesterday with AF O'Neil at one of our favorite places, Club Lago. We both thought we'd have a date with our pal Guido, but when we saw a couple of salads being served at a neighboring table, we revised our orders. I am forever indebeted to John M and Jeff B who introduced the world to the saline treasure that is the Club Lago Executive Salad (or more accurately put, introduced ME to the Club Lago Executive Salad). Still, while I love the salad, I usually find it too small for a lunch (and not worth its $).
Yesterday, when I saw the bigger salads at the other table, I asked our waitress, are all salads that big. She pointed to the section on the menu with the luncheon salads, the grilled calamari, the tuna, etc., and said they were all that big. I said yes, but what about the Executive. She did hem a bit, saying that it had to do with the pile-worthyness of the ingredients, essentially that the chopped onions or what not took up more room on the salads I was seeing. Undaunted, I said I wanted the Executve and make sure it was as big. It was. The family and I have been watching SuperSize Me the last few days. This was super-sized, and surely enough calories to send Morgan Spurlock into cardiac arrest. But as they say, moderation. Do not eat an Executive Salad daily, but when you do...You eat. You eat blue cheese and bacon and anchovies and olives and dressing until the sodium chloride produces a near-giddy toxicity in your body. Plus, it is crunchy and squishy and soft and crisp too. 1000 layers of salt.
I cannot say for sure if the Club Lago has extended the size of their Executive Salad because they have heard the cry of chowhounds, or yesterday was a lucky abberation. I hope someone else can do some research as I think I need to let the bloating go down before my next order.
Club Lago
331 W. Superior St
Chicago, IL
(312) 951-2849
Did the cookie exchange yesterday with AF O'Neil at one of our favorite places, Club Lago. We both thought we'd have a date with our pal Guido, but when we saw a couple of salads being served at a neighboring table, we revised our orders. I am forever indebeted to John M and Jeff B who introduced the world to the saline treasure that is the Club Lago Executive Salad (or more accurately put, introduced ME to the Club Lago Executive Salad). Still, while I love the salad, I usually find it too small for a lunch (and not worth its $).
Yesterday, when I saw the bigger salads at the other table, I asked our waitress, are all salads that big. She pointed to the section on the menu with the luncheon salads, the grilled calamari, the tuna, etc., and said they were all that big. I said yes, but what about the Executive. She did hem a bit, saying that it had to do with the pile-worthyness of the ingredients, essentially that the chopped onions or what not took up more room on the salads I was seeing. Undaunted, I said I wanted the Executve and make sure it was as big. It was. The family and I have been watching SuperSize Me the last few days. This was super-sized, and surely enough calories to send Morgan Spurlock into cardiac arrest. But as they say, moderation. Do not eat an Executive Salad daily, but when you do...You eat. You eat blue cheese and bacon and anchovies and olives and dressing until the sodium chloride produces a near-giddy toxicity in your body. Plus, it is crunchy and squishy and soft and crisp too. 1000 layers of salt.
I cannot say for sure if the Club Lago has extended the size of their Executive Salad because they have heard the cry of chowhounds, or yesterday was a lucky abberation. I hope someone else can do some research as I think I need to let the bloating go down before my next order.
Club Lago
331 W. Superior St
Chicago, IL
(312) 951-2849
Monday, February 28, 2005
Return to the Scene of the Krime
Kewpies and a Kringle
Surely, a place called Kewpie's possesses a child like quality. That is a reminding of child like quality. Kewpie's gleaming tile floor remind me intensely of school cafeterias, and the stainless steel trimmed formica tables existed in everyone's kitchen once upon a time. The effect was so profound that my Dad exclaimed how much the burgers reminded him of when he was a kid before taking one single bite. Mom at least waiting to sample her Kewpie burger, said it reminded her of McDonalds when it first got started.
The Kewpie burger gets started as one big kewpie loaf of meat. One grill man begins the kooking process by hacking off chunks of meat, then whacking, turning it into a patty. He retains responsibility for the burger for a few more columns, flipping and a-pounding. A second grill man takes over for the last two columns. By keeping a couple of kids busy, the burger is well cooked but NOT over cooked by the time it ends up in your bun. It gets a strong dose of catsup, and here is a case where the maligned condiment acts more as a sauce. The pickles were inside the bun but my heart went flippity-flop nonetheless. Fries are crinkle cut but nothing special, but the homemade rootbeer is nicely dry the way I like it (although not nearly as complex or medical as modern yuppie root beers). With a kringle, it makes a fine lunch.
But where to kringle. It was a decision vexing me all day. I so had loved Bendsten's. Yet, I was a connoisseur. Should not I take in another kringle to compare. Surefire pleasure or chow-science. I went back and fourth. Finally, I decided I had to try Larsen's kringle just to see. And it is a story with a happy ending. Larson's had a strawberry kringle out to sample. And it aint Bendsten's. Too much shortening coffeecake and not enough sucrose injected crust. I got a few donuts so as not to hurt their feelings and headed back to Bendsten's. Of course, now I had to ruminate a long time over which variety. Pecan it was.
Kewpies and a Kringle
Surely, a place called Kewpie's possesses a child like quality. That is a reminding of child like quality. Kewpie's gleaming tile floor remind me intensely of school cafeterias, and the stainless steel trimmed formica tables existed in everyone's kitchen once upon a time. The effect was so profound that my Dad exclaimed how much the burgers reminded him of when he was a kid before taking one single bite. Mom at least waiting to sample her Kewpie burger, said it reminded her of McDonalds when it first got started.
The Kewpie burger gets started as one big kewpie loaf of meat. One grill man begins the kooking process by hacking off chunks of meat, then whacking, turning it into a patty. He retains responsibility for the burger for a few more columns, flipping and a-pounding. A second grill man takes over for the last two columns. By keeping a couple of kids busy, the burger is well cooked but NOT over cooked by the time it ends up in your bun. It gets a strong dose of catsup, and here is a case where the maligned condiment acts more as a sauce. The pickles were inside the bun but my heart went flippity-flop nonetheless. Fries are crinkle cut but nothing special, but the homemade rootbeer is nicely dry the way I like it (although not nearly as complex or medical as modern yuppie root beers). With a kringle, it makes a fine lunch.
But where to kringle. It was a decision vexing me all day. I so had loved Bendsten's. Yet, I was a connoisseur. Should not I take in another kringle to compare. Surefire pleasure or chow-science. I went back and fourth. Finally, I decided I had to try Larsen's kringle just to see. And it is a story with a happy ending. Larson's had a strawberry kringle out to sample. And it aint Bendsten's. Too much shortening coffeecake and not enough sucrose injected crust. I got a few donuts so as not to hurt their feelings and headed back to Bendsten's. Of course, now I had to ruminate a long time over which variety. Pecan it was.
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Kringle Follow Up Follow-Up
I realized that after I wrote this, I just kinda assumed everyone would know what a Racine kringle is, but for those who do not, I add the following notes:
It seems that in the early 20th century a pack of Danes (shall we call them Great Danes?) picked themselves up and moved to Racine Wisconsin, a minor industrial town somewhere between Chicago and Milwaukee. And if Milwaukee is mostly Chicago frozen than I suppose Racine is a stunted version of Milwaukee. Anyways, the Danes kinda peaked in Racine when Frank Lloyd Wright designed (perhaps) the greatest commercial building ever. The Johnson Wax HQ. And the Dane's opened bakeries, including Bendsten's selling various pastries. Somehow, however, they settled as their calling card, their collective speciality, their gift to their new world word, the kringle.
I believe, but am not positive, that in Denmark, the kringle is a holiday pastry, a buche noel, a pannetone, a figgy pudding. In Racine, it is the raison d'etre for visiting the town (well that at the Johnson Wax buidling). It is an oval pastry, about the shape of a miniture Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It can be filled or just garnished with nuts. In fact, pecans are considered the classic kringle decor, and in nod to real agriculture that warms my little sustainable heart, the kringleries in Racine right now either are not selling pecan kringles or selling them at an up-charge 'cause of an apparant pecan shortage. Besides being oval, the other distinguising visual feature of a kringle, especially compared to normal coffee cake is its flatness. As I noted above, the flatness comes from packing a thousand layer of flavor into something less than an inch.
I realized that after I wrote this, I just kinda assumed everyone would know what a Racine kringle is, but for those who do not, I add the following notes:
It seems that in the early 20th century a pack of Danes (shall we call them Great Danes?) picked themselves up and moved to Racine Wisconsin, a minor industrial town somewhere between Chicago and Milwaukee. And if Milwaukee is mostly Chicago frozen than I suppose Racine is a stunted version of Milwaukee. Anyways, the Danes kinda peaked in Racine when Frank Lloyd Wright designed (perhaps) the greatest commercial building ever. The Johnson Wax HQ. And the Dane's opened bakeries, including Bendsten's selling various pastries. Somehow, however, they settled as their calling card, their collective speciality, their gift to their new world word, the kringle.
I believe, but am not positive, that in Denmark, the kringle is a holiday pastry, a buche noel, a pannetone, a figgy pudding. In Racine, it is the raison d'etre for visiting the town (well that at the Johnson Wax buidling). It is an oval pastry, about the shape of a miniture Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It can be filled or just garnished with nuts. In fact, pecans are considered the classic kringle decor, and in nod to real agriculture that warms my little sustainable heart, the kringleries in Racine right now either are not selling pecan kringles or selling them at an up-charge 'cause of an apparant pecan shortage. Besides being oval, the other distinguising visual feature of a kringle, especially compared to normal coffee cake is its flatness. As I noted above, the flatness comes from packing a thousand layer of flavor into something less than an inch.
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Kringle Follow-up
The Bendsten's kringle has been gone for several days, and I have yet to post. As I mentioned to a fellow kringle lover the other day, I wish to expound on the kringle but fear my skills will not do it justice. Perhaps, the mere fact that I ate a Bendsten's kringle pretty much solo in about two days makes a statement. Yet, when do hounds associate mere gluttony with sublime taste? I could not stop myself from eating this pastry because it was so good.
Great. How many times shall I say it. Great. The five letter word of one with little else to say. I shant have a post on kringles just saying great, great, great, great, great, great, great. How was the kringle great. Well, as someone else who recently ate a Bendsten's kringle knows, the defining feature is crisp. You think of Danish pastry as buttery, flaky, rich. Does crisp come to mind? The Bendsten kringle was krisp. Crisp almost in an odd way because it was both crisp and moist. It is as if a thousand layers of pastry were crushed under a hydraulic press. Inside the kringle you can still see some of the layers, like certain types of geology, but it was one stone. And it was like the heat of that press altered those top layers into something burnished. Inside could be gooey--and I would be remiss to say that it was great goo, not at all cloying or artificial tasting. In fact, the balance of the interior layers and the fillings against those top layers of crunch made that crispness all the more remarkable. Yes, it was great!
Luckily for me, I reside not in Racine, but its neighbor 100 miles south. My waistline cannot stand very many kringles in the house. I have no willpower around a Bendsten's kringle. Like some crazed rat in an experiment, I eat kringle until my stomach aches. I eat kringle past when my stomach aches because its pleasure overrides all other sensations. It is only the revelation that I have hacked off my third chunk of kringle that gets me to stop. Hack I say. The urge for kringle was so strong that after the initial try, after I was initially hooked, I did not wait for plate or knife. I would reach into the kringle bag and rip out some kringle. Eat it in bliss and then rip out another slab. And you wonder how I could eat that in a mere two days.
In conclusion, please get your own Bendsten's kringle to learn what my words cannot describe. What's more, I have concluded that one cannot actually control their kringle consumption. It is actually something someone should buy for someone else. Purchase Bendsten's kringles for me. Ration me. Help me eat a regular portion of kringle. We will all benefit.
The Bendsten's kringle has been gone for several days, and I have yet to post. As I mentioned to a fellow kringle lover the other day, I wish to expound on the kringle but fear my skills will not do it justice. Perhaps, the mere fact that I ate a Bendsten's kringle pretty much solo in about two days makes a statement. Yet, when do hounds associate mere gluttony with sublime taste? I could not stop myself from eating this pastry because it was so good.
Great. How many times shall I say it. Great. The five letter word of one with little else to say. I shant have a post on kringles just saying great, great, great, great, great, great, great. How was the kringle great. Well, as someone else who recently ate a Bendsten's kringle knows, the defining feature is crisp. You think of Danish pastry as buttery, flaky, rich. Does crisp come to mind? The Bendsten kringle was krisp. Crisp almost in an odd way because it was both crisp and moist. It is as if a thousand layers of pastry were crushed under a hydraulic press. Inside the kringle you can still see some of the layers, like certain types of geology, but it was one stone. And it was like the heat of that press altered those top layers into something burnished. Inside could be gooey--and I would be remiss to say that it was great goo, not at all cloying or artificial tasting. In fact, the balance of the interior layers and the fillings against those top layers of crunch made that crispness all the more remarkable. Yes, it was great!
Luckily for me, I reside not in Racine, but its neighbor 100 miles south. My waistline cannot stand very many kringles in the house. I have no willpower around a Bendsten's kringle. Like some crazed rat in an experiment, I eat kringle until my stomach aches. I eat kringle past when my stomach aches because its pleasure overrides all other sensations. It is only the revelation that I have hacked off my third chunk of kringle that gets me to stop. Hack I say. The urge for kringle was so strong that after the initial try, after I was initially hooked, I did not wait for plate or knife. I would reach into the kringle bag and rip out some kringle. Eat it in bliss and then rip out another slab. And you wonder how I could eat that in a mere two days.
In conclusion, please get your own Bendsten's kringle to learn what my words cannot describe. What's more, I have concluded that one cannot actually control their kringle consumption. It is actually something someone should buy for someone else. Purchase Bendsten's kringles for me. Ration me. Help me eat a regular portion of kringle. We will all benefit.
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Kewpie was Klosed. We Still Kringled
Probably like a lot of families, the VI family vacillates between Saturday’s crammed with plans and Saturday’s devoid of obligations—actually like most families, we have much less of the latter. But we did yesterday. A plan less day. And we were not gonna let that go to waste (especially with the false spring weather). We reduced our choices to Strongbow Inn, for an out of season Thanksgiving lunch or Racine for the never visited “Hamburg with pickle on top, Makes your heart go flippity-flop” Kewpie’s (plus a Kringle for dessert). Well, you can see the math here right? Racine = burger AND kringle, Valparaiso = just turkey lunch. It was off to Wisconsin. And of course, Wisconsin is one of the most chowiest states around. It would be a FULL day of eating.
Travel north to Wisconsin just a few times and you know exactly when you cross the border. I am not sure the reason for the boundary between Illinois and Wisconsin. It follows no river or other obvious line. Yet, it is very apparent when you are in the state to the north of ours—and I do not mean just because all the cars fly their green and yellow flags, and the frontage roads are lined with adult book stores. Physically, the state looks different, even before you hit any rolling kettle moraine. And Illinois does not have cheese shops off of Interstate exits.
It does take two exits to get to the cheese. One must be a patient traveler in Wisconsin. The Mars Cheese Castle beckons, but Bobby Nelson seems 100% more real. In fact, Bobby Nelson’s Cheese Shop is so obviously non-obvious, that I feared it would be less good in a Larry David kinda way. Mars is big and prominent and looks of many recent additions. It is right there. Bobby Nelson’s is small, retro, and with Wall Drug allure, the mysterious sign advertising, mitt or mittout. Since this is Wisconsin, that chowiest of states, both places are worth a visit. Yes, Bobby Nelson’s is better, more real, with an engaging owner who runs through the mitt and mittout (with or without garlic) and talks up the bison-pheasant farm made by 400 lb Tiny who runs a nearby bison farm. At Bobby Nelson's, we also pick up some smoke salmon and the de rigueur cheese shaped like the state of Wisconsin. I wanted to buy nearly everyone of the Koepsel Door County canned products, so instead got none. Mars has a huge and intriguing selection of Wisconsin booze, a classic backwoods Wisconsin bar where one can eat cheese spread and drink brandy old fashions, and a ton of other things to buy--this would be the ideal store to shop up pre-Super Bowl. The irony of the day is, that Mars, while not as good as Bobby Nelson’s, turned out to be better than a few shops in Racine not geared towards tourists. And since this was Wisconsin, we picked up excellent cheddar cheese bread and King of Clubs cheese spread (preternaturally delicious) at Mars.
The road to Kewpie’s goes right through Old Racine, once the heart of Danish America. Which means the oval flaky pastry called kringle. We stopped for kringle. Put money in the meter, then decided lunch should come before dessert. We continued on downtown, where we found, to our sadness, Kewpie took the week off for vacation. Undaunted, we immediately turned to a place we saw on the way towards Kewpie, The Balkan Restaurant. After all, I figured, one of the most famous place’s in Racine’s northern suburb, Milwaukee, was the Serbian Three Brothers, why not in Racine proper. (I’ve never been to 3 Brothers, but years ago, it used to bother me that the Stern’s included the ethnic place for Milwaukee in their book, but did not include similar places from Chicago.)
While we still crave a Kewpie burger, Balkan highly satisfied. The owners come from Slavic Macedonia. They limit their traditional fare to a few items, borek wedges served with hime-made chicken barley soup, sarma (stuffed cabbage) and kebapi, the archetypical Balkan “sausage” of ground meat and baking soda. Many a time, I have not loved kebapi (or its variations), but this place fried them real well and served them with a highly spicy red pepper-eggplant condiment. Great. Chunks of potato, American fries, crisp on one side, also helped ease the pain of missing Kewpie.
If seeking out tiny hamburger chains is Dad’s thing, the chowhounditas HAVE to get up close and personal with any major body of water. From Balkan, we walked to the edge of Lake Michigan. There, a panic attack hit me worse than the one over controlling myself with Bobby Nelson’s inventory. Would the kringle shops still be open? Bakeries do close early on weekends, no? Luckily, I have noted Racine-phile, Chowhound SethZ’s number on the speed dial. He did not know exactly when the Danish bakeries closed, but he was kind enough to get me some needed telephone numbers. Finding out I had (at least) a few hours to spare, let me enjoy the lakefront, plus time to shop downtown Racine’s Century Market. Earlier in the day, we theorized that there would be a relationship between the quality of food shops and their distance to the Interstate, but Century and later Borzynski proved us wrong. This store was nothing special and had way less Wisconsin stuff than Bobby Nelson or Mars. Because we are chowists, we bought out nearly all the vintage cook books at a bookstore on 6th Avenue (including Luchow’s German Cookbook from 1952 and a 1948 Scandinavian book). Still, there was the problem that the Kondiment Kween demanded an espresso before her daily cut-off at 3 PM.
Downtown Racine is no Harlem Avenue. We returned though to Old Racine for coffee and pastry. Bendsten’s, probably considered the best kringlery has a café, but it looked pathetic. We decided to get a few kringles (well one for us and one for SethZ). JeffB notes that this is the best version of coffee cake he’s ever had, and he passes on the fact that the pastry is about 85% fat. Down the street from Bendsten’s is Wilson’s Coffee and Tea. They roast their own coffee but over extract their espresso. I ran across the street to Larsen’s, one of Bendsten’s prime kringle rivals. I skipped the kringels here (knowing by the time I finished my Bendsten's kringle, the other would be stale) but took full advantage of Larsen's end of day special. Most of the donuts and Danish cost only 25 cents. The one I ate on the spot, a cherry diamond, tasted only worth 25 cents, too dense and sweet, but the cake donut I had the next day was good—and I have about $2 still to try. We also picked up 2 half pounds of Wilson’s coffee. Hopefully the beans beat the brew.
And we could not leave this stretch of Racine without trying DeRango “the Pizza” King. It cost less than $6 for a 12 inch, cheese heavy, thin-thin pizza. A little too much garlic powder in the sauce made it a tad less than ideal for me.
On the way out of Racine we visited Borzynski’s Farm Market. I finally gave in and bought expensive Wisconsin cherry jam and expensive Wisconsin Kallas honey (for the impending household honey tasting). As I mentioned above, this place was not as impressive as Mars or Bobby Nelson.
I would say our last chow stop of the day was Miro’s Charcoal House Little Europe, but after dinner and when the kidz should have been hitting the hay, we caught the outlet mall still open. There, there is a gourmet shop where Ms. VI picked up some needed glass bowls, and I got an extra bitter orange marmalade from Maxim’s de Paris (really!). Our original plan was Ray Ratigan's, but Miro's tempted from the expressway. It need’s its own report, which I will do.
Bobby Nelson's Cheese Shop Fine Cheese, Gifts
2924 120th Ave.
Kenosha, WI
Mars Cheese Factory
2800 120th Ave
Kenosha, WI
Kewpie's
520 Wisconsin Ave
Racine, WI
Three Brothers
2414 S. St. Clair
Milwaukee, WI
The Balkan Restaurant "A Bit of Balkan"
605 Sixth Street
Racine, WI
Martha Merrell's Books
312 Sixth Street
Racine, WI
Century Market
506 Sixth Street
Racine, WI
Bendtsen's Bakery
3200 Washington
Racine, WI
Wilson's Coffee and Tea
3306 Washington
Racine, WI
Larsen Bakery
3311 Washington
Racine, WI
DeRango "The Pizza King"
3114 Washington Ave.
Racine, WI
Borzynski's Farm and Floral Market
11600 Washington
Racine, WI
Miro's Charcoal House Little Europe
6613 120th Ave.
Kenosha, WI
Le Gourmet Chef
11211 120th Ave.
Pleaasant Prarie, WI
Probably like a lot of families, the VI family vacillates between Saturday’s crammed with plans and Saturday’s devoid of obligations—actually like most families, we have much less of the latter. But we did yesterday. A plan less day. And we were not gonna let that go to waste (especially with the false spring weather). We reduced our choices to Strongbow Inn, for an out of season Thanksgiving lunch or Racine for the never visited “Hamburg with pickle on top, Makes your heart go flippity-flop” Kewpie’s (plus a Kringle for dessert). Well, you can see the math here right? Racine = burger AND kringle, Valparaiso = just turkey lunch. It was off to Wisconsin. And of course, Wisconsin is one of the most chowiest states around. It would be a FULL day of eating.
Travel north to Wisconsin just a few times and you know exactly when you cross the border. I am not sure the reason for the boundary between Illinois and Wisconsin. It follows no river or other obvious line. Yet, it is very apparent when you are in the state to the north of ours—and I do not mean just because all the cars fly their green and yellow flags, and the frontage roads are lined with adult book stores. Physically, the state looks different, even before you hit any rolling kettle moraine. And Illinois does not have cheese shops off of Interstate exits.
It does take two exits to get to the cheese. One must be a patient traveler in Wisconsin. The Mars Cheese Castle beckons, but Bobby Nelson seems 100% more real. In fact, Bobby Nelson’s Cheese Shop is so obviously non-obvious, that I feared it would be less good in a Larry David kinda way. Mars is big and prominent and looks of many recent additions. It is right there. Bobby Nelson’s is small, retro, and with Wall Drug allure, the mysterious sign advertising, mitt or mittout. Since this is Wisconsin, that chowiest of states, both places are worth a visit. Yes, Bobby Nelson’s is better, more real, with an engaging owner who runs through the mitt and mittout (with or without garlic) and talks up the bison-pheasant farm made by 400 lb Tiny who runs a nearby bison farm. At Bobby Nelson's, we also pick up some smoke salmon and the de rigueur cheese shaped like the state of Wisconsin. I wanted to buy nearly everyone of the Koepsel Door County canned products, so instead got none. Mars has a huge and intriguing selection of Wisconsin booze, a classic backwoods Wisconsin bar where one can eat cheese spread and drink brandy old fashions, and a ton of other things to buy--this would be the ideal store to shop up pre-Super Bowl. The irony of the day is, that Mars, while not as good as Bobby Nelson’s, turned out to be better than a few shops in Racine not geared towards tourists. And since this was Wisconsin, we picked up excellent cheddar cheese bread and King of Clubs cheese spread (preternaturally delicious) at Mars.
The road to Kewpie’s goes right through Old Racine, once the heart of Danish America. Which means the oval flaky pastry called kringle. We stopped for kringle. Put money in the meter, then decided lunch should come before dessert. We continued on downtown, where we found, to our sadness, Kewpie took the week off for vacation. Undaunted, we immediately turned to a place we saw on the way towards Kewpie, The Balkan Restaurant. After all, I figured, one of the most famous place’s in Racine’s northern suburb, Milwaukee, was the Serbian Three Brothers, why not in Racine proper. (I’ve never been to 3 Brothers, but years ago, it used to bother me that the Stern’s included the ethnic place for Milwaukee in their book, but did not include similar places from Chicago.)
While we still crave a Kewpie burger, Balkan highly satisfied. The owners come from Slavic Macedonia. They limit their traditional fare to a few items, borek wedges served with hime-made chicken barley soup, sarma (stuffed cabbage) and kebapi, the archetypical Balkan “sausage” of ground meat and baking soda. Many a time, I have not loved kebapi (or its variations), but this place fried them real well and served them with a highly spicy red pepper-eggplant condiment. Great. Chunks of potato, American fries, crisp on one side, also helped ease the pain of missing Kewpie.
If seeking out tiny hamburger chains is Dad’s thing, the chowhounditas HAVE to get up close and personal with any major body of water. From Balkan, we walked to the edge of Lake Michigan. There, a panic attack hit me worse than the one over controlling myself with Bobby Nelson’s inventory. Would the kringle shops still be open? Bakeries do close early on weekends, no? Luckily, I have noted Racine-phile, Chowhound SethZ’s number on the speed dial. He did not know exactly when the Danish bakeries closed, but he was kind enough to get me some needed telephone numbers. Finding out I had (at least) a few hours to spare, let me enjoy the lakefront, plus time to shop downtown Racine’s Century Market. Earlier in the day, we theorized that there would be a relationship between the quality of food shops and their distance to the Interstate, but Century and later Borzynski proved us wrong. This store was nothing special and had way less Wisconsin stuff than Bobby Nelson or Mars. Because we are chowists, we bought out nearly all the vintage cook books at a bookstore on 6th Avenue (including Luchow’s German Cookbook from 1952 and a 1948 Scandinavian book). Still, there was the problem that the Kondiment Kween demanded an espresso before her daily cut-off at 3 PM.
Downtown Racine is no Harlem Avenue. We returned though to Old Racine for coffee and pastry. Bendsten’s, probably considered the best kringlery has a café, but it looked pathetic. We decided to get a few kringles (well one for us and one for SethZ). JeffB notes that this is the best version of coffee cake he’s ever had, and he passes on the fact that the pastry is about 85% fat. Down the street from Bendsten’s is Wilson’s Coffee and Tea. They roast their own coffee but over extract their espresso. I ran across the street to Larsen’s, one of Bendsten’s prime kringle rivals. I skipped the kringels here (knowing by the time I finished my Bendsten's kringle, the other would be stale) but took full advantage of Larsen's end of day special. Most of the donuts and Danish cost only 25 cents. The one I ate on the spot, a cherry diamond, tasted only worth 25 cents, too dense and sweet, but the cake donut I had the next day was good—and I have about $2 still to try. We also picked up 2 half pounds of Wilson’s coffee. Hopefully the beans beat the brew.
And we could not leave this stretch of Racine without trying DeRango “the Pizza” King. It cost less than $6 for a 12 inch, cheese heavy, thin-thin pizza. A little too much garlic powder in the sauce made it a tad less than ideal for me.
On the way out of Racine we visited Borzynski’s Farm Market. I finally gave in and bought expensive Wisconsin cherry jam and expensive Wisconsin Kallas honey (for the impending household honey tasting). As I mentioned above, this place was not as impressive as Mars or Bobby Nelson.
I would say our last chow stop of the day was Miro’s Charcoal House Little Europe, but after dinner and when the kidz should have been hitting the hay, we caught the outlet mall still open. There, there is a gourmet shop where Ms. VI picked up some needed glass bowls, and I got an extra bitter orange marmalade from Maxim’s de Paris (really!). Our original plan was Ray Ratigan's, but Miro's tempted from the expressway. It need’s its own report, which I will do.
Bobby Nelson's Cheese Shop Fine Cheese, Gifts
2924 120th Ave.
Kenosha, WI
Mars Cheese Factory
2800 120th Ave
Kenosha, WI
Kewpie's
520 Wisconsin Ave
Racine, WI
Three Brothers
2414 S. St. Clair
Milwaukee, WI
The Balkan Restaurant "A Bit of Balkan"
605 Sixth Street
Racine, WI
Martha Merrell's Books
312 Sixth Street
Racine, WI
Century Market
506 Sixth Street
Racine, WI
Bendtsen's Bakery
3200 Washington
Racine, WI
Wilson's Coffee and Tea
3306 Washington
Racine, WI
Larsen Bakery
3311 Washington
Racine, WI
DeRango "The Pizza King"
3114 Washington Ave.
Racine, WI
Borzynski's Farm and Floral Market
11600 Washington
Racine, WI
Miro's Charcoal House Little Europe
6613 120th Ave.
Kenosha, WI
Le Gourmet Chef
11211 120th Ave.
Pleaasant Prarie, WI
Friday, February 04, 2005
Oranges Continued
While Oranges do have a long shelf live, they do not last that long. So, I thought it prudent to do our orange tasting with what we had in-house. Tasters were me, the two Chowhounditas and the Condiment Queen.
1. Blood Orange - Sunkist, purchased at Trader Joe's - One taster declared this the best; another declared it tied for best. Inside the orange is not orange (of course) but dark ruby red. It smells much different than the other oranges too, an aroma called after much debate, "unique." In the mouth, it was both strongly sweet and strongly sour, mimicking raspberries. In the best Wonka-way, it managed to change as was eaten.
2. Temple Orange - Florida - This was the favorite orange of two tasters and tied for favorite from a third. The inside of this orange is very bright, not like a real orange but like a picture of an orange. In fact, this is the orange's orange. One taster described its flavor as "classic", and it had a strong citrusy smell or smell associated with orange sprays. It was not too sweet, with some astringency on the tongue. One taster found it close to a grapefruit. As I have noted before, lots of seeds.
3. Clementine - "Darling" - Spain - Also from Trader Joe's - The orange itself has an intense odor, so strong one person called it medicinal. The flesh of this orange was much firmer than the previous two, but the flavor was also much fainter than the first two. One taster described the orange as watery. This was the least favorite of two tasters.
4. Navel - Heller - Florida - This orange had a pronounced lemony scent, and the taste was also more sour than the above oranges with just the barest bit of sweetness at the finish. This orange has a very meaty and pulpy fruit. The pleasure of this orange comes from the way it feels in the mouth. A texture orange not a taste orange.
5. Organic Tangerine - Florida (Not an orange per se!) - We all picked up melon aromas from this fruit, one taster found it smelled a lot like a cantaloupe The flavor itself was flat and overly sweet. Two of the tasters found this their least favorite.
While Oranges do have a long shelf live, they do not last that long. So, I thought it prudent to do our orange tasting with what we had in-house. Tasters were me, the two Chowhounditas and the Condiment Queen.
1. Blood Orange - Sunkist, purchased at Trader Joe's - One taster declared this the best; another declared it tied for best. Inside the orange is not orange (of course) but dark ruby red. It smells much different than the other oranges too, an aroma called after much debate, "unique." In the mouth, it was both strongly sweet and strongly sour, mimicking raspberries. In the best Wonka-way, it managed to change as was eaten.
2. Temple Orange - Florida - This was the favorite orange of two tasters and tied for favorite from a third. The inside of this orange is very bright, not like a real orange but like a picture of an orange. In fact, this is the orange's orange. One taster described its flavor as "classic", and it had a strong citrusy smell or smell associated with orange sprays. It was not too sweet, with some astringency on the tongue. One taster found it close to a grapefruit. As I have noted before, lots of seeds.
3. Clementine - "Darling" - Spain - Also from Trader Joe's - The orange itself has an intense odor, so strong one person called it medicinal. The flesh of this orange was much firmer than the previous two, but the flavor was also much fainter than the first two. One taster described the orange as watery. This was the least favorite of two tasters.
4. Navel - Heller - Florida - This orange had a pronounced lemony scent, and the taste was also more sour than the above oranges with just the barest bit of sweetness at the finish. This orange has a very meaty and pulpy fruit. The pleasure of this orange comes from the way it feels in the mouth. A texture orange not a taste orange.
5. Organic Tangerine - Florida (Not an orange per se!) - We all picked up melon aromas from this fruit, one taster found it smelled a lot like a cantaloupe The flavor itself was flat and overly sweet. Two of the tasters found this their least favorite.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Oranges
Think global, eat local. The farmer's market mantra has been popular for several years. It is something I think highly desirable. I do, however, allow certain gross deviations. One is for bananas. Bananas are one of the few fruit that ripen off the vine, and thus long time from farm to mouth does not hamper things that much. Another is for citrus. I drop my eat local rule for citrus for the same reason as for bananas, that citrus travels well. More important to my sensibility, good citrus has a defined seasonality to it. For instance, Texas grapefruit are not currently in market. And, of course, I like the variety of varieties.
At present, we have five types of oranges at the Bungalow: Temple (River) oranges from Florida; blood oranges from California (Sunkist); clementines from Spain; navel oranges from Florida; and navel oranges from California. Myself and the chowhounditas plan on conducting a more formal tasting soon--I want to add mineolas first. I would say, that right now, I am especially keen on the Temple oranges. These oranges, so quaintly, still have seeds. Lots of seeds. And the skin does not break away so easily. You can see why Navel's control the market. Yet, this is a great orange, musky and sweet.
To be continued.
Think global, eat local. The farmer's market mantra has been popular for several years. It is something I think highly desirable. I do, however, allow certain gross deviations. One is for bananas. Bananas are one of the few fruit that ripen off the vine, and thus long time from farm to mouth does not hamper things that much. Another is for citrus. I drop my eat local rule for citrus for the same reason as for bananas, that citrus travels well. More important to my sensibility, good citrus has a defined seasonality to it. For instance, Texas grapefruit are not currently in market. And, of course, I like the variety of varieties.
At present, we have five types of oranges at the Bungalow: Temple (River) oranges from Florida; blood oranges from California (Sunkist); clementines from Spain; navel oranges from Florida; and navel oranges from California. Myself and the chowhounditas plan on conducting a more formal tasting soon--I want to add mineolas first. I would say, that right now, I am especially keen on the Temple oranges. These oranges, so quaintly, still have seeds. Lots of seeds. And the skin does not break away so easily. You can see why Navel's control the market. Yet, this is a great orange, musky and sweet.
To be continued.
Sunday, January 30, 2005
My History of Drinking Coffee in Chicago
1981 - Graduate high school. Celebrate. Must attend to job early next day. Discover coffee. Drink it black 'cause I'm a Man and thus do not bother to ever appreciate said coffee.
81-85 - Master the art of scheduling all classes after 2 PM. Mostly skip coffee.
85 - Visit Europe. Gosh, coffee tastes good, especially in the AM mixed with milk. Real men drink brown coffee. Of course cafe express is much better.
87-89 - Coffee shops start opening in the States. When I am not whiling away my law school years at Cooter Browns, I visit newly hip coffee shops like PJs. Start drinking coffee more regularly even though it does not taste like Europe.
Early 90's - Starbucks arrives in Chicago. More reason to drink coffee. Still, no matter how hard I try, I cannot get their lattes to taste like I remember. Is it the 2 shots of espresso to a small latte, less coffee, steamed 1/2-1/2? Turn mostly to the dopio, and learn it is nice to ditch the office mid-afternoon for such drink.
93 - Visit Boston, wander the North End. Drink an espresso at some cafe. This will remain the standard for USA coffee for a long, long time.
96 - Visit Seattle - Yes the coffee was good, but no North End.
99 - Begin working at home.
01 - Move to Oak Park, discover a lot of coffee houses near by.
01-04 - Visit assorted coffee shops around Harlem Avenue, but mostly Caffe Italia. Wonder, however which really are the best, and which ones approach Euro or even North End quality. Compare coffee notes with fellow coffee freak, SethZ.
Late 04 - Talk with SethZ about assessing various coffee shops.
Early 05 - Drink coffee at Salerno's in Berwyn. Is this the best in Chicago?
Slightly later 05 - 20 espressos and a big baby - Round up a few hounds to see which really is the best espresso in vertical tasting. Think we will finish with Nicky's Big Baby, next to Salerno's.
1/29/05 - 8 AM-10:15 AM - Skip typical morning coffee in anticipation of tasting. By 9:30 am yelling at kidz and muttering at wife. Coffee Monster.
1/29/05 11 AM - Meet at Bungalow, drink small drams of girlie Scotch to set our focus.
1/29/05 - 12:05 PM - Bar Cafe San Francesco [sic] - Nina, President but not present. Requisite Fox Sports World soccer games on. Mostly empty tables. We gather around two tables. We are very happy. Wonderfully tiny cup of espresso. Nearly as much crema as coffee, rich but mild.
1/29/05 - 12:21 PM - City Lights Bar and Grill - And espresso bar. Still cleaning up from last night's crowd, but willing to rev up the espresso machine for us tasters. More coffee less flavor. Much thinner than San Francesco with faint flavors.
1/29/05 - 12:33 - Cafe Cappuccino - Drive 1 block. Very Euro feeling cafe, with wide array of customers, but also Fox Sports World. Fairly authentic looking cornettos, but we are just here for the coffee. Just as thin as City Lights but while City Lights was annoyingly bland, this was even more annoyingly sour. Great atmosphere, crappy coffee.
1/29/05 - 12:44 - L.A. Caffe - L.A. stands for the owners, not the city. Noticeable more for its huge satellite dishes than any other signage. While it looks uninviting from the outside, sharing a strip mall with a liquor store, inside they are quite friendly. They explain their raison d'être is soccer, especially Italian soccer. Huge assortment of almanacs and such to settle arguments. No Fox Sports World, but RAI. With the schedule of the day's games on a chalk board. Weak coffee though. Or is it too much coffee?
1/29/05 - 1:01 PM - Rivera Italian deli - Sensory overload, aged provolone cheese and giardinara aromas battling with caffeine high.
1/29/05 - 1:08 - Bar Nazionale - Rivera guys tell us to eat our subs here. What an odd idea, a coffee bar on Harlem. An empty coffee shop. TV actually showing channel other than soccer. My experiences here in the past had been so-so coffee. Not today, but palate pleasing chocolately cup of coffee not agreeing with throbbing head.
1/29/05 - 1:29 PM - Palermo Bakery - This is an espressoathon, but who does not have room for a few sweets? These are the best Italian pastries I have had outside of NY. Ideal sfogliatelle, not the least bit soggy or chewy. Also very good mini-donut with cream filling and spongy cake colored to look like a watermelon. A plus in Palermo's pastry case is the stuff comes in three sizes. Espresso. Of course, but the merest sip sends a pain straight to the aorta. I stop.
1/29/05 - 1:33 PM - Winter sun very bright on Harlem Avenue. Act of squatting down to sit in car not easy. Bang my head. Luckily my head is numb.
1/29/05 - 1:44 PM - Cafe Amante - Another empty Euro night club masquerading as a day time coffee shop. Design elements include four types of business cards on table and non-working "wall of water." Drink a tiny bit of Rene G's sugar-less espresso. Who does not put sugar in their espresso.
1/29/05 - 1:58 PM - Cafe Versace - Similar look and feel to Caffe Italia down the block, but they have their own tiny coffee roaster. Others say the coffee is very good, but I stick to water. No apparent connection to haute couture. Odd feeling of belt growing tighter at waist. Numb face. Drink three glasses of water.
1/29/05 - 2:05 PM - Caffe Italia - I know what their coffee tastes like. Instead, I get generous pour of Courvessier VSOP for $4.50. This IS a good place. Head hurts.
1/29/05 - 2:21 PM - Leaving Caffe Italia - Realize that as an exercise in inebriation, coffee does not cut it. There is alterness and there is pain. We are never witty. We never look better then when we start (and after all these Euro coffee shops we never look that good) and we never get bulletproof.
1/29/05 - 2:28 PM - Leave Harlem, turning west on Grand. Stop at La Spiga D'Oro Bakery. Seth Z somehow intimates proprietress by asking if canoli's are made to order. No, frozen. No coffee, but we can buy an espresso maker here for $18.
1/29/05 - 2:38 PM - Drive around the circle that is "downtown" Elmwood Park. Is that an espresso bar? Cafe La Feme, with two femme holding court. Clean and empty. They make espresso's from pods. It's not me, but this coffee has no taste.
1/29/05 - 2:46 PM - Did I say I have a headache.
1/30/05 - 7:45 AM - Make regular pot of coffee. Mistake.
1/30/05 - 6:15 PM - My tummy hurts. Is it the espresso. The shrimp shells I ate the other day at Islas Marias?
1/30/05 - 9:05 PM - Can we decrlare a winner? Of course, there are many more espresso's in Chicago to try, but I learned this is a marathon not a sprint. But so far, three stand above the rest: Caffe Italia, the only one that I know can do it on more than one occasion. Cafe Versace, and the winner of day Chicago's first espresso-athon, Bar Cafe San Francesco.
1/30/05 - 9:11 PM - Kudos to SethZ, Erik M, OPMark, ReneG and the Condiment Queen who provided cover. I was mildly concerned that a few of the shops along Harlem would be a bit off putting, and I wanted just enough of a crowd to ensure comfort but not too much as to upset anyone. Instead, we found warm welcomes everywhere. And Signor Zurer, alone, managed to have a coffee at each stop.
1/31/05 - Will I be able to have a cup of coffee?
Bar Cafe San Francesco
3815 N. Harlem
City Lights Bar and Grill
3809 N. Harlem
Cafe Cappuccino
3719 N. Harlem
L.A. Caffe
3502 N. Harlem
Riviera Market
3220 N. Harlem
Bar Nazionale
3222 N. Harlem
Palermo Bakery
3317 N. Harlem
Cafe Amante
3308 N. Harlem
Cafe Versace
2661 N. Harlem
Caffe Italia
2625 N. Harlem
La Spiga D'Oro Bakery
21 1/2 Conti Parkway
Elmwood Park, IL
La Femme Cafe
Conti
Elmwood Park
Salerno's
7111 W. Roosevelt
Berwyn, IL
1981 - Graduate high school. Celebrate. Must attend to job early next day. Discover coffee. Drink it black 'cause I'm a Man and thus do not bother to ever appreciate said coffee.
81-85 - Master the art of scheduling all classes after 2 PM. Mostly skip coffee.
85 - Visit Europe. Gosh, coffee tastes good, especially in the AM mixed with milk. Real men drink brown coffee. Of course cafe express is much better.
87-89 - Coffee shops start opening in the States. When I am not whiling away my law school years at Cooter Browns, I visit newly hip coffee shops like PJs. Start drinking coffee more regularly even though it does not taste like Europe.
Early 90's - Starbucks arrives in Chicago. More reason to drink coffee. Still, no matter how hard I try, I cannot get their lattes to taste like I remember. Is it the 2 shots of espresso to a small latte, less coffee, steamed 1/2-1/2? Turn mostly to the dopio, and learn it is nice to ditch the office mid-afternoon for such drink.
93 - Visit Boston, wander the North End. Drink an espresso at some cafe. This will remain the standard for USA coffee for a long, long time.
96 - Visit Seattle - Yes the coffee was good, but no North End.
99 - Begin working at home.
01 - Move to Oak Park, discover a lot of coffee houses near by.
01-04 - Visit assorted coffee shops around Harlem Avenue, but mostly Caffe Italia. Wonder, however which really are the best, and which ones approach Euro or even North End quality. Compare coffee notes with fellow coffee freak, SethZ.
Late 04 - Talk with SethZ about assessing various coffee shops.
Early 05 - Drink coffee at Salerno's in Berwyn. Is this the best in Chicago?
Slightly later 05 - 20 espressos and a big baby - Round up a few hounds to see which really is the best espresso in vertical tasting. Think we will finish with Nicky's Big Baby, next to Salerno's.
1/29/05 - 8 AM-10:15 AM - Skip typical morning coffee in anticipation of tasting. By 9:30 am yelling at kidz and muttering at wife. Coffee Monster.
1/29/05 11 AM - Meet at Bungalow, drink small drams of girlie Scotch to set our focus.
1/29/05 - 12:05 PM - Bar Cafe San Francesco [sic] - Nina, President but not present. Requisite Fox Sports World soccer games on. Mostly empty tables. We gather around two tables. We are very happy. Wonderfully tiny cup of espresso. Nearly as much crema as coffee, rich but mild.
1/29/05 - 12:21 PM - City Lights Bar and Grill - And espresso bar. Still cleaning up from last night's crowd, but willing to rev up the espresso machine for us tasters. More coffee less flavor. Much thinner than San Francesco with faint flavors.
1/29/05 - 12:33 - Cafe Cappuccino - Drive 1 block. Very Euro feeling cafe, with wide array of customers, but also Fox Sports World. Fairly authentic looking cornettos, but we are just here for the coffee. Just as thin as City Lights but while City Lights was annoyingly bland, this was even more annoyingly sour. Great atmosphere, crappy coffee.
1/29/05 - 12:44 - L.A. Caffe - L.A. stands for the owners, not the city. Noticeable more for its huge satellite dishes than any other signage. While it looks uninviting from the outside, sharing a strip mall with a liquor store, inside they are quite friendly. They explain their raison d'être is soccer, especially Italian soccer. Huge assortment of almanacs and such to settle arguments. No Fox Sports World, but RAI. With the schedule of the day's games on a chalk board. Weak coffee though. Or is it too much coffee?
1/29/05 - 1:01 PM - Rivera Italian deli - Sensory overload, aged provolone cheese and giardinara aromas battling with caffeine high.
1/29/05 - 1:08 - Bar Nazionale - Rivera guys tell us to eat our subs here. What an odd idea, a coffee bar on Harlem. An empty coffee shop. TV actually showing channel other than soccer. My experiences here in the past had been so-so coffee. Not today, but palate pleasing chocolately cup of coffee not agreeing with throbbing head.
1/29/05 - 1:29 PM - Palermo Bakery - This is an espressoathon, but who does not have room for a few sweets? These are the best Italian pastries I have had outside of NY. Ideal sfogliatelle, not the least bit soggy or chewy. Also very good mini-donut with cream filling and spongy cake colored to look like a watermelon. A plus in Palermo's pastry case is the stuff comes in three sizes. Espresso. Of course, but the merest sip sends a pain straight to the aorta. I stop.
1/29/05 - 1:33 PM - Winter sun very bright on Harlem Avenue. Act of squatting down to sit in car not easy. Bang my head. Luckily my head is numb.
1/29/05 - 1:44 PM - Cafe Amante - Another empty Euro night club masquerading as a day time coffee shop. Design elements include four types of business cards on table and non-working "wall of water." Drink a tiny bit of Rene G's sugar-less espresso. Who does not put sugar in their espresso.
1/29/05 - 1:58 PM - Cafe Versace - Similar look and feel to Caffe Italia down the block, but they have their own tiny coffee roaster. Others say the coffee is very good, but I stick to water. No apparent connection to haute couture. Odd feeling of belt growing tighter at waist. Numb face. Drink three glasses of water.
1/29/05 - 2:05 PM - Caffe Italia - I know what their coffee tastes like. Instead, I get generous pour of Courvessier VSOP for $4.50. This IS a good place. Head hurts.
1/29/05 - 2:21 PM - Leaving Caffe Italia - Realize that as an exercise in inebriation, coffee does not cut it. There is alterness and there is pain. We are never witty. We never look better then when we start (and after all these Euro coffee shops we never look that good) and we never get bulletproof.
1/29/05 - 2:28 PM - Leave Harlem, turning west on Grand. Stop at La Spiga D'Oro Bakery. Seth Z somehow intimates proprietress by asking if canoli's are made to order. No, frozen. No coffee, but we can buy an espresso maker here for $18.
1/29/05 - 2:38 PM - Drive around the circle that is "downtown" Elmwood Park. Is that an espresso bar? Cafe La Feme, with two femme holding court. Clean and empty. They make espresso's from pods. It's not me, but this coffee has no taste.
1/29/05 - 2:46 PM - Did I say I have a headache.
1/30/05 - 7:45 AM - Make regular pot of coffee. Mistake.
1/30/05 - 6:15 PM - My tummy hurts. Is it the espresso. The shrimp shells I ate the other day at Islas Marias?
1/30/05 - 9:05 PM - Can we decrlare a winner? Of course, there are many more espresso's in Chicago to try, but I learned this is a marathon not a sprint. But so far, three stand above the rest: Caffe Italia, the only one that I know can do it on more than one occasion. Cafe Versace, and the winner of day Chicago's first espresso-athon, Bar Cafe San Francesco.
1/30/05 - 9:11 PM - Kudos to SethZ, Erik M, OPMark, ReneG and the Condiment Queen who provided cover. I was mildly concerned that a few of the shops along Harlem would be a bit off putting, and I wanted just enough of a crowd to ensure comfort but not too much as to upset anyone. Instead, we found warm welcomes everywhere. And Signor Zurer, alone, managed to have a coffee at each stop.
1/31/05 - Will I be able to have a cup of coffee?
Bar Cafe San Francesco
3815 N. Harlem
City Lights Bar and Grill
3809 N. Harlem
Cafe Cappuccino
3719 N. Harlem
L.A. Caffe
3502 N. Harlem
Riviera Market
3220 N. Harlem
Bar Nazionale
3222 N. Harlem
Palermo Bakery
3317 N. Harlem
Cafe Amante
3308 N. Harlem
Cafe Versace
2661 N. Harlem
Caffe Italia
2625 N. Harlem
La Spiga D'Oro Bakery
21 1/2 Conti Parkway
Elmwood Park, IL
La Femme Cafe
Conti
Elmwood Park
Salerno's
7111 W. Roosevelt
Berwyn, IL
Le Coq Again
Another recent meal at Le Coq. I started with the salad lyonaise, which I have had there before. I like this salad of curly endive, not over-cooked bacon (a bit too thin this time to be lardons), runny poached egg (to be incorporated over the salad) and mustard vinaigrette, but I would have liked it a lot more if they used about six less ounces of dressing. I moved on to the cassolet special, which was not so much cassolet but grilled meats and a pot of beans. Still good, especially the crisped up duck confit leg, but the lamb chop and garlic sausage were not far behind. The Condiment Queen had a stellar if unconventional bouillabaisse. Mostly shellfish, clams, scallops, mussels, in a large platter, with broth acting as a moat, a couple of croutons as drawbridges, and a large swirl of rouille as, I'm not sure where the metaphor goes. She loved it, finishing it all. Neither of us got dessert, but I took a nibble of carmel soaked spice cake order by one of our dining companions. Carmelicious.
We had a bottle of Chapoutier Crozes Hermitage (1999). More nicely biodynamic wine. I thought this was one not as luxuriously heavy as the Cote du Rhone we had by the glass a few weeks ago (but still good). Sometimes more expensive wines are not better wines!
Another recent meal at Le Coq. I started with the salad lyonaise, which I have had there before. I like this salad of curly endive, not over-cooked bacon (a bit too thin this time to be lardons), runny poached egg (to be incorporated over the salad) and mustard vinaigrette, but I would have liked it a lot more if they used about six less ounces of dressing. I moved on to the cassolet special, which was not so much cassolet but grilled meats and a pot of beans. Still good, especially the crisped up duck confit leg, but the lamb chop and garlic sausage were not far behind. The Condiment Queen had a stellar if unconventional bouillabaisse. Mostly shellfish, clams, scallops, mussels, in a large platter, with broth acting as a moat, a couple of croutons as drawbridges, and a large swirl of rouille as, I'm not sure where the metaphor goes. She loved it, finishing it all. Neither of us got dessert, but I took a nibble of carmel soaked spice cake order by one of our dining companions. Carmelicious.
We had a bottle of Chapoutier Crozes Hermitage (1999). More nicely biodynamic wine. I thought this was one not as luxuriously heavy as the Cote du Rhone we had by the glass a few weeks ago (but still good). Sometimes more expensive wines are not better wines!
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Thai in Chicago
It really amazes me that the level of Thai food is so high in Chicago (and of course, not at the most famous Chicago Thai, Arun's.) I recently visited two of the best in Chicago.
Spoon Thai
A LTHForum.com dinner was organized for the weekend visit of sergeant-At-Arms, Shirley the Hammer, at Spoon. Not a huge crowd, but a huge amount of food:
Ja plon, or something like that. - A small crab shell stuffed with cheap crab meat (claw meat), small shrimps and perhaps squid. Well done. I mean the fying was perfect. But more of a snackin' item.
Whole mudfish, fried and then put in red curry with a few vegetables - spicy and good
Pork neck laab - fatty in a great way, very spicy
Exploded catfish salad, bigger pieces of catfish, maybe a bit too cold, still good
Fried chicken - yea
Nam prik with vegetables and small fish - artfully presented, and the nam prik was (well, was what you want in a nam prik, direct, smelly, spicy, mysterious...)
Rice cooked with shrimp paste, with sweet pork and other things to eat with it - smelled a lot worse when cooking
Catfish custard - A Spoon Thai classic, steamed soft fish in a delicate yet spicy custard block
Boat noodles - not really a dinner dish, but very well done
Ice cream in pineapple - nothing special
As at any hound gathering the company was foodly intense as well. It was also the first time at Spoon that there was leftover sticky rice.
Spoon Thai
4608 N. Western Ave
Chicago, IL
TAC Quick
I am slowly catching up to others at this terrific spot under the El Tracks. With the kidz off of school, we used the chance to roam afar for lunch. Met the Zim family and Erik for lunch. Because of a vegetarian and the kidz we had to cater our ordering a bit towards their needs.
Pad thai folded in omelet - nice idea to create "something" out of this warhorse, nice presentation too, with the condiments put in little piles on the outside of the main item.
Papaya salad - ordered "medium" and with tiny shrimps on the side, but it still had plenty of flavor and heat.
Green curry "fish cake" - not so much fish cake, but fish balls - Erik notes that TAC makes their own fish balls. Truthfully, they tasted like pretty much any fish ball, but they were good. The green curry was a bit gloppy, yet spicy and sweet at the same time.
Crispy pork on greens - This is one of Erik's favorite dishes here. I liked the heavily flavored greens, tons of garlic, but I was less keen on the pork, which was more like cracklin's
Braised pork belly with eggs and tofu - The best dish in the house? - Very rich broth, almost too sweet on the tongue but with flavors that bloom and emerge in the mouth, including a nice hot finish. The fatty pork pretty much "literally" melted in the mouth. The eggs and tofu were good for the non meat eaters.
Grilled chicken over curry rice - Loved the spicy curry rice, more Malaysian tasting than Thai. Hardly got to try the chicken, but from its curry marinade, looked great.
Ginger tofu - For others. I sampled a jalepeno.
I believe there is one more dish, but it is slipping my mind.
3930 N. Sheridan Rd.
Chicago
It really amazes me that the level of Thai food is so high in Chicago (and of course, not at the most famous Chicago Thai, Arun's.) I recently visited two of the best in Chicago.
Spoon Thai
A LTHForum.com dinner was organized for the weekend visit of sergeant-At-Arms, Shirley the Hammer, at Spoon. Not a huge crowd, but a huge amount of food:
Ja plon, or something like that. - A small crab shell stuffed with cheap crab meat (claw meat), small shrimps and perhaps squid. Well done. I mean the fying was perfect. But more of a snackin' item.
Whole mudfish, fried and then put in red curry with a few vegetables - spicy and good
Pork neck laab - fatty in a great way, very spicy
Exploded catfish salad, bigger pieces of catfish, maybe a bit too cold, still good
Fried chicken - yea
Nam prik with vegetables and small fish - artfully presented, and the nam prik was (well, was what you want in a nam prik, direct, smelly, spicy, mysterious...)
Rice cooked with shrimp paste, with sweet pork and other things to eat with it - smelled a lot worse when cooking
Catfish custard - A Spoon Thai classic, steamed soft fish in a delicate yet spicy custard block
Boat noodles - not really a dinner dish, but very well done
Ice cream in pineapple - nothing special
As at any hound gathering the company was foodly intense as well. It was also the first time at Spoon that there was leftover sticky rice.
Spoon Thai
4608 N. Western Ave
Chicago, IL
TAC Quick
I am slowly catching up to others at this terrific spot under the El Tracks. With the kidz off of school, we used the chance to roam afar for lunch. Met the Zim family and Erik for lunch. Because of a vegetarian and the kidz we had to cater our ordering a bit towards their needs.
Pad thai folded in omelet - nice idea to create "something" out of this warhorse, nice presentation too, with the condiments put in little piles on the outside of the main item.
Papaya salad - ordered "medium" and with tiny shrimps on the side, but it still had plenty of flavor and heat.
Green curry "fish cake" - not so much fish cake, but fish balls - Erik notes that TAC makes their own fish balls. Truthfully, they tasted like pretty much any fish ball, but they were good. The green curry was a bit gloppy, yet spicy and sweet at the same time.
Crispy pork on greens - This is one of Erik's favorite dishes here. I liked the heavily flavored greens, tons of garlic, but I was less keen on the pork, which was more like cracklin's
Braised pork belly with eggs and tofu - The best dish in the house? - Very rich broth, almost too sweet on the tongue but with flavors that bloom and emerge in the mouth, including a nice hot finish. The fatty pork pretty much "literally" melted in the mouth. The eggs and tofu were good for the non meat eaters.
Grilled chicken over curry rice - Loved the spicy curry rice, more Malaysian tasting than Thai. Hardly got to try the chicken, but from its curry marinade, looked great.
Ginger tofu - For others. I sampled a jalepeno.
I believe there is one more dish, but it is slipping my mind.
3930 N. Sheridan Rd.
Chicago
Le Coq, Your Neighborhood Bistro
We had another excellent if slightly flawed meal at Le Coq on Saturday. For a change, we got shunted off to the alcove near the front window. It meant that the Condiment Queen and I sat perpendicular to each other. Perhaps not as romantic. Worse, the place at various times got too full, and the waiters (and waiters) got stuffed into the space around us. Still, I enjoy the hyper-real décor and spirit of Le Coq. It is the kinda place you want in your front yard.
Our dinner did slip just a bit on one plate, my wife’s skate. Meals begin with a complimentary taste, and ours began with a small cup of cold potato soup—yes I know why cold potato soup in January, but the menu also had a medley of summer vegetables in harissa broth on it. Outstanding soup, tasting like supreme liquid mashed potatoes. We noticed the intense underlying flavor of butter in the soup, and I commented on how Le Coq’s chef does not fear the butter. Yet, with the skate, the butter went too far. It sogged up the fish, leaving the whole dish mushy and unpleasant.
All the rest of the plates tasted fine. We started with two raw fish dishes, house-made gravlax and tuna tartare in a caper dressing. Gravlax is one of those dishes that an even average version tastes great. This one was not average. What made it (more) special was a texture verging on leather, but not quite, think proscuitto. Pickled onions, avocado and crème fraiche nicely garnished the salmon. Those prickly capers contrasted equally well to the raw tuna. My short ribs were not fatty at all, although with a bit of cow gelatin (to slightly paraphrase Bob Kopinski). Opera cake finished us off well.
Wine by the glass was a biodynamic, horn-o-crap, Chaputier Cote de Rhone, heavy and fruity. Le Coq is doing a dinner with Chaputier wines in Februrary. With our Restaurants.com certificate, the meal came to $62, which was a nice surprise (and that with expensive options).
Cafe Le Coq
734 W Lake, Oak Park
We had another excellent if slightly flawed meal at Le Coq on Saturday. For a change, we got shunted off to the alcove near the front window. It meant that the Condiment Queen and I sat perpendicular to each other. Perhaps not as romantic. Worse, the place at various times got too full, and the waiters (and waiters) got stuffed into the space around us. Still, I enjoy the hyper-real décor and spirit of Le Coq. It is the kinda place you want in your front yard.
Our dinner did slip just a bit on one plate, my wife’s skate. Meals begin with a complimentary taste, and ours began with a small cup of cold potato soup—yes I know why cold potato soup in January, but the menu also had a medley of summer vegetables in harissa broth on it. Outstanding soup, tasting like supreme liquid mashed potatoes. We noticed the intense underlying flavor of butter in the soup, and I commented on how Le Coq’s chef does not fear the butter. Yet, with the skate, the butter went too far. It sogged up the fish, leaving the whole dish mushy and unpleasant.
All the rest of the plates tasted fine. We started with two raw fish dishes, house-made gravlax and tuna tartare in a caper dressing. Gravlax is one of those dishes that an even average version tastes great. This one was not average. What made it (more) special was a texture verging on leather, but not quite, think proscuitto. Pickled onions, avocado and crème fraiche nicely garnished the salmon. Those prickly capers contrasted equally well to the raw tuna. My short ribs were not fatty at all, although with a bit of cow gelatin (to slightly paraphrase Bob Kopinski). Opera cake finished us off well.
Wine by the glass was a biodynamic, horn-o-crap, Chaputier Cote de Rhone, heavy and fruity. Le Coq is doing a dinner with Chaputier wines in Februrary. With our Restaurants.com certificate, the meal came to $62, which was a nice surprise (and that with expensive options).
Cafe Le Coq
734 W Lake, Oak Park
Monday, January 03, 2005
Florida
I spent 8 days in South Florida, roaming pretty far for chow. And eating a LOT of ice cream. When I drove the ship, so to speak, we ate very well. When we had to cede to family harmony, not as well. Overall, I love eating in South Florida, and would love to have more time to explore. I mean, I never got to anything Brazilian, never had seafood along Miami River, never had a Cuban sammy, never tried the Argentinean store, Estancia Argentina in Aventura, never visited my favorite Israeli place, Pita Plus (also in Aventura), never tried the churro place on north Collins, never tried any of the Russian places on north Collins, never tried El Rey de Chivito on north Collins, never made it to the other Jamiacan ice cream place (York Castle), and never had the two things I most wanted to try this trip: roti shops and Haitian. But I am not complaining...
[UPDATE: I actually spent 10 days in Florida, but one day was of such average chow, I forgot it entirely in my write-up. I also fixed a few errors below.]
Day 1
a) Ice cream at Gelatoria Parmalat on the fastly malling (malled) Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. Amazing what has happened to this street in recent years. Anyways, while Parmalat is one big fraud committing conglomerate who packages its milk in very non-chowish aseptic boxes, they do manage to make some awfully good ice cream. As in Italy, one can squeeze as many flavors as desired in the cup, and I enjoyed chocolate, french vanilla, and something else. Soft and rich.
b) El Rey de Chivito - Actually we sat down at this Argentinean fast foodish place, thought about it, but then bagged it due to a combination of not knowing what the heck a chivito was--some kind of pork sandwich? which could be had Canadians believe it or not, too lound music and nothing apparent for the kidz to eat. Later learned it was like a South American cheesesteak and that I should have gone. Some day.
c) Campo Argentinea - Miami has a LOT of Argentinean steak house. I doubt I will get the chance to do a very comprehensive search/ranking. This one was not only the best one I have been to, but very good period (or you know what I mean, it does not take a lot of sampling to know it's good...); For $16.95, I got the mixed grill for one, which was like the mixed grill for five. It came with two cuts of beef, skirt and something else, sweetbreads, some other offal called, literally on the menu, "entrails", a sausage of the frankfurter/andouille/kilbasa kind, with a fairly coarse cut of meat; the best blood sausage I have had, as I said on Chowhound, really the only blood sausage I have ever liked, and well that's it. The bad thing, is I could have had it for two for only three dollars more. The chowhounditas had an especially tasty and rich ravioli stuffed with mashed potato in a cream sauce. The only down note were the "french fries provencal", fries with chimichurri. But another up note was the proveleta, cheese melted in a cast iron pot, about as good as any saganaki you'll ever had, showed in oregano.
Day 2
a) Marion Bagels - Somewhere in Plantation, we drove around in circles looking for a decent/open place on 12/25. Did I say we ate well so far? Well, this place was not bad, but nothing special. Actually really tasteless nova. I do not even think I have the name of the place right...
b) Rascal House - Still the best deli in the USA in my book. The only iffines is which relishes your table will get. We got a meager portion originally, new pickles and cucumber salad (a new one for me), but when our next-door-neighbor table paid, we snagged all of theirs, adding sour pickles, beets (terrific) and cole slaw to the mix. God was the corned beef good and the Jewish cassolet, cholent, almost as good, and the bread, they bake some great bread.
c) Gelato 44. There is a very cool strip mall just south Rascal House on Collins with a Russian deli (picked up two interesting beers), a Peruvian place and a combo Colombian-sushi house (very Miami, no?). Also inside this mall was the well-done Argentinean ice cream house, Gelato 44. Pretty much all the flavors we tried including flan, bon-bon (chocolate-nut), dulce de leche, lemon and (especially) chocolate, were good.
Day 3
a) Donna Caribbean Restaurant - Very high on my too try list in S. Florida has been Caribbean food (especially roti shops). I read that around 441 (aka State Rt 7) and Sunrise Blvd were some good places. We drove St Rt 7 for a while this morning passing not only a ton of Jamaican places but pho shops, HK style BBQ, chaat places and more--it was like a tropical version of Da'Bomb. We had no idea which place to try, and we finally shanghai'd a woman who sent us to Donna. The ironic thing was that there are four other Donna locations, including 3 a lot closer to where we are staying. We got there at the cusp of breakfast and lunch and had to wait a while for the switch. Also, some things, like the jerk, were not ready. Still, loved the oxtails, liked the curry chicken, was just above OK with the brown stew chicken, but also loved the cabbage cooked with tons of allspice and the dumplin [sic] leftover from breakfast.
b)Granja - You know I have been talking about this place for years without ever remember its name or exact location. I am sure you can find me mentioning it in one form or another in lots of posts. We went out of way yesterday to find it, and today we tried it. The way some anticipate eagerly a return to French Laundry, I was near-giddy as we returned here. Roasted chicken and sauces green and red, along with assorted South American starches. Stood up well to memories. For future reference it is on Sheridan and 441 NW corner.
Day 4 `
a)More Jamaican. We were at the Swap Shop in Sunrise, so did we have much choice? As I noted the other day SR 7 is chow-heaven. It did not take much scoping to find Auntie I's on SR 7. A peek thru the window showed the requisite chow mix of extended families, single older men (West Indian alter kokkers) and cops. Unlike Donna's the previous day, there were no limitations on the food availability. Plus, AI offers combo plates, so we really tried a lot. Best were the jerk chicken, the soggy in a really good way Westminster style fried chicken and the soft "spinner" dumplings in the beef stew. The curries, goat and chicken were both surprisingly (too) mild. Very warm but very slow service.
b) Tropitaste - In the Lauderhill Mall. We were just too full to try one of the several very tempting pastry shops, but who is ever too full for ice cream? Especially when it comes from Jamaica in flavors like kola champagne, stout and grapenut-pistachio? Tropitaste is one of those magically transforming places, filled with assorted rastas and ruffians with bad cases of the munchies. Besides the ice cream, they can get all sorts of weird drinks (Ms. VI got used to, after a lot of drinking, the odd fruity taste of Irish Moss) and vegetarian dishes.
c) Strombolli - In some mall on University near Broward Blvd. We actually turned the chowdar off just to get a quick dinner. It did LOOK quite New Yawkish, down to the pizza tosser in white tee who was so generic looking he seemed sent over from a SNL skit. I am one who does not worship anyways at the alter of the slice, I care little if my pizza comes in squares (a Chicago thing), nor whether it is foldable, so on one hand, I just do not have a horse in this race. On the other, the pizza was pretty blah. We did not look for good chow, and we surely did not find it. My wife, who spent substantial time living in Brooklyn, detested her eggplant parma hero.
Day 5
a) The Pit BBQ - Way out in the boonies, US 41. The Pit, with its actual, grandfathered in pit, glorious aroma, its screened windows, its leaning walls, and its menu of frog legs and smoked meats, is a reminder that while Rascal House may be the best deli in the USA and one can easily be transported to all sorts of parts of the Americas south, Florida remains in the south of the USA. The meat was just a bit too mild for me, it needed a bit of rub or something, but the smoke did not fail at all. And in nods to neighbors both east and west on Rt 41, one could have their Q with chimichurri and fry bread. Really worth the drive IMHO.
b) Wajiro's - Rt 41/SW 8th St. slightly back towards civilization. I like Cuban food enough, but honestly aside from the coffee and the sandwiches, I have not found Cuban food in Miami to be any better than the Cuban food in Chicago. Until, perhaps, Wajiro's. And not everything we had was great. Dinner got off to such a start with a big plate of thin plantain chips, mariquitas, with a gaaaalic galore dippin' sauce. Then, both the combination pork plate--roast shank, fried chunks and thin chops--and the black beans were SO good, that they more than made up for inferior shrimp and overly moist roast chicken. More tasty things included totally carmelized sweet plaintains, very yellow chicken soup, rich flan and a fine mojito for the Condiment Queen who could relax on the long drive back up to Davie.
Day 6
a) Diner with big menu in Davie. Big enough that I am always tempted, but when the food arrives, I always think I ordered the wrong thing.
b) Slightly more upscale diner with big menu and lotsa salads, also in Davie. Not worth more bandwidth.
Day 7
a) Joe's Stone Crab - This probably remains my favorite dining spot in the USA, but I gotta say, the stone crabs were very mediocre this time. That's never happened to me before. While a few were as expected, rich, sweet, firm, most were bland and watery. Methinks frozen? Everything else at the table was as expected or even better than expected. The twin engines of South Beach value retained their awesomeness: $5.95 for a big plate of fried oysters or for a 1/2 fried chicken. As I say, not just awesome deals, but very good food too. All of the sides, french fried sweets, stuffed tomatoes and garlic spinach accented the meal they way there supposed to, and the lunch only, garlic heavy, with sweet onions, Salad Armand did its job of filling me up.
b) Leccalecca - Hey what happened to Miami Beach. Three years and they turn the place into a mall. Still, amongst the Bannana Republics and such, there are a few real places. This is a gelato place run by an Italian with very limited command of this country's language (perhaps his Spanish is better). It was general "base" gelato, meaning gelato made from canned base imported from Italy. It still made for pretty good ice cream, not great, but good enough.
c) Jersey John's (or Joe's or something like that) - We were so stuck in traffic getting back from Miami Beach to Davie, that we ended up punting on dinner and picking up wings from this take-out place in Pembroke Pines. The sauce on the side fried wings were suprisingly good and served a need.
Day 8
a) Lox and bagels bought to go from Best Deli in Plantain. Really luscious, awfully salty (i.e., ideal) hand sliced belly lox, but the bagels were just average. Does anyone boil bagels anymore? I would return, however, for the smoked fishes. The smoked fishes in Florida are so much better than found in Chicago.
b) Agreed to go to Sunrise Swap Shop again on condition of trying another Jamaican ice cream place (York Castle), then stayed at the flea market too close to dinner to get ice cream (did get a very, very good Cafe Cubano, an OK meat patty and an awful empanada at the market. The Swap Shop has a pretty good farmer's market too, with lots of Caribbean stuff. Picked up a kind of banana, "boola" that I had never seen, boxy and short (but bigger than baby bananas), it had a starchy taste with sweet undertones.
c) Rustic Inn, Hollywood - The Condiment Queen has fine childhood memories of this place, and many, many, many years later, it hit the spot. With a pretty large group of people, so I ended trying a fair amount of things. The best things were the first things, conch chowder, spicy but not too, conch salad, fried gator nuggets and especially good fried frog legs (tastes like chicken, well a little but not quite). The signature garlic crabs, not whole but in crab halfs were good but flawed. Clearly from frozen crabs or some odd far away source (time of year), the claw meat held up much better than the lump meat. A whole small grilled pompano, however, was all good. Grilled softshell crabs, on the other hand, were all bad. Key west style sauted shrimp were about on the level of the garlic crabs, mixed. Still, very worth it, and the kidz surely liked the tradition of pounding away at the table with their (un-necessary) mallets when ever anyone's birthday was announced.
Day 9
a) Rascal House - Yea, there was a lot of things to try, but I'm always ready to have another meal at Rascal House. Really crowded at noon when we arrived which was a great mixed blessing. Long wait. When we sat down we were now in lunch relish zone, but we impressed on them the need to put some food in some very antsy kidz and we got the usually VERY difficult achievement of getting plates of little danish's, coffee cake, mini-muffins AND all the pickles. As I noted above, these are probably the best things in the house, the way some fancy-schmancy places use their highest creativity for the amuse. The mini prune danish was preternaturally good, many layers, ideally crisp on the outside, moist on the inside, we WERE lucky. Oh, and the pastrami, Ms. VI and I got pastrami and corned beef sammy's to share 1/2's. The corned beef is good, meaty and rich, but the pastrami is perfect. A few weeks ago, I had bbq'd brisket in Austin that had been steamed past the point of succor. Rascal House manages to get their meat nicely soft, yet the blackened edges stayed crisp. Plus, the black-pink color scheme, like Joe's stone crabs said South Florida.
b) Dulcianna - This is a branch of an Argentinean gelato place right next to Rascal House. It has a board explaining the flavors, which is a nice addition, but it was, well a bit more corporate tasting than Gelato 44 in the mall just south. Still good though.
c) Cafe Cubano and an interesting cold sammy with Spanish chorizo and Serrano ham from the Versailles outlet at the Miami Airport. Reinforced the notion that we ate very wll for 8 days.
VI
I spent 8 days in South Florida, roaming pretty far for chow. And eating a LOT of ice cream. When I drove the ship, so to speak, we ate very well. When we had to cede to family harmony, not as well. Overall, I love eating in South Florida, and would love to have more time to explore. I mean, I never got to anything Brazilian, never had seafood along Miami River, never had a Cuban sammy, never tried the Argentinean store, Estancia Argentina in Aventura, never visited my favorite Israeli place, Pita Plus (also in Aventura), never tried the churro place on north Collins, never tried any of the Russian places on north Collins, never tried El Rey de Chivito on north Collins, never made it to the other Jamiacan ice cream place (York Castle), and never had the two things I most wanted to try this trip: roti shops and Haitian. But I am not complaining...
[UPDATE: I actually spent 10 days in Florida, but one day was of such average chow, I forgot it entirely in my write-up. I also fixed a few errors below.]
Day 1
a) Ice cream at Gelatoria Parmalat on the fastly malling (malled) Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. Amazing what has happened to this street in recent years. Anyways, while Parmalat is one big fraud committing conglomerate who packages its milk in very non-chowish aseptic boxes, they do manage to make some awfully good ice cream. As in Italy, one can squeeze as many flavors as desired in the cup, and I enjoyed chocolate, french vanilla, and something else. Soft and rich.
b) El Rey de Chivito - Actually we sat down at this Argentinean fast foodish place, thought about it, but then bagged it due to a combination of not knowing what the heck a chivito was--some kind of pork sandwich? which could be had Canadians believe it or not, too lound music and nothing apparent for the kidz to eat. Later learned it was like a South American cheesesteak and that I should have gone. Some day.
c) Campo Argentinea - Miami has a LOT of Argentinean steak house. I doubt I will get the chance to do a very comprehensive search/ranking. This one was not only the best one I have been to, but very good period (or you know what I mean, it does not take a lot of sampling to know it's good...); For $16.95, I got the mixed grill for one, which was like the mixed grill for five. It came with two cuts of beef, skirt and something else, sweetbreads, some other offal called, literally on the menu, "entrails", a sausage of the frankfurter/andouille/kilbasa kind, with a fairly coarse cut of meat; the best blood sausage I have had, as I said on Chowhound, really the only blood sausage I have ever liked, and well that's it. The bad thing, is I could have had it for two for only three dollars more. The chowhounditas had an especially tasty and rich ravioli stuffed with mashed potato in a cream sauce. The only down note were the "french fries provencal", fries with chimichurri. But another up note was the proveleta, cheese melted in a cast iron pot, about as good as any saganaki you'll ever had, showed in oregano.
Day 2
a) Marion Bagels - Somewhere in Plantation, we drove around in circles looking for a decent/open place on 12/25. Did I say we ate well so far? Well, this place was not bad, but nothing special. Actually really tasteless nova. I do not even think I have the name of the place right...
b) Rascal House - Still the best deli in the USA in my book. The only iffines is which relishes your table will get. We got a meager portion originally, new pickles and cucumber salad (a new one for me), but when our next-door-neighbor table paid, we snagged all of theirs, adding sour pickles, beets (terrific) and cole slaw to the mix. God was the corned beef good and the Jewish cassolet, cholent, almost as good, and the bread, they bake some great bread.
c) Gelato 44. There is a very cool strip mall just south Rascal House on Collins with a Russian deli (picked up two interesting beers), a Peruvian place and a combo Colombian-sushi house (very Miami, no?). Also inside this mall was the well-done Argentinean ice cream house, Gelato 44. Pretty much all the flavors we tried including flan, bon-bon (chocolate-nut), dulce de leche, lemon and (especially) chocolate, were good.
Day 3
a) Donna Caribbean Restaurant - Very high on my too try list in S. Florida has been Caribbean food (especially roti shops). I read that around 441 (aka State Rt 7) and Sunrise Blvd were some good places. We drove St Rt 7 for a while this morning passing not only a ton of Jamaican places but pho shops, HK style BBQ, chaat places and more--it was like a tropical version of Da'Bomb. We had no idea which place to try, and we finally shanghai'd a woman who sent us to Donna. The ironic thing was that there are four other Donna locations, including 3 a lot closer to where we are staying. We got there at the cusp of breakfast and lunch and had to wait a while for the switch. Also, some things, like the jerk, were not ready. Still, loved the oxtails, liked the curry chicken, was just above OK with the brown stew chicken, but also loved the cabbage cooked with tons of allspice and the dumplin [sic] leftover from breakfast.
b)Granja - You know I have been talking about this place for years without ever remember its name or exact location. I am sure you can find me mentioning it in one form or another in lots of posts. We went out of way yesterday to find it, and today we tried it. The way some anticipate eagerly a return to French Laundry, I was near-giddy as we returned here. Roasted chicken and sauces green and red, along with assorted South American starches. Stood up well to memories. For future reference it is on Sheridan and 441 NW corner.
Day 4 `
a)More Jamaican. We were at the Swap Shop in Sunrise, so did we have much choice? As I noted the other day SR 7 is chow-heaven. It did not take much scoping to find Auntie I's on SR 7. A peek thru the window showed the requisite chow mix of extended families, single older men (West Indian alter kokkers) and cops. Unlike Donna's the previous day, there were no limitations on the food availability. Plus, AI offers combo plates, so we really tried a lot. Best were the jerk chicken, the soggy in a really good way Westminster style fried chicken and the soft "spinner" dumplings in the beef stew. The curries, goat and chicken were both surprisingly (too) mild. Very warm but very slow service.
b) Tropitaste - In the Lauderhill Mall. We were just too full to try one of the several very tempting pastry shops, but who is ever too full for ice cream? Especially when it comes from Jamaica in flavors like kola champagne, stout and grapenut-pistachio? Tropitaste is one of those magically transforming places, filled with assorted rastas and ruffians with bad cases of the munchies. Besides the ice cream, they can get all sorts of weird drinks (Ms. VI got used to, after a lot of drinking, the odd fruity taste of Irish Moss) and vegetarian dishes.
c) Strombolli - In some mall on University near Broward Blvd. We actually turned the chowdar off just to get a quick dinner. It did LOOK quite New Yawkish, down to the pizza tosser in white tee who was so generic looking he seemed sent over from a SNL skit. I am one who does not worship anyways at the alter of the slice, I care little if my pizza comes in squares (a Chicago thing), nor whether it is foldable, so on one hand, I just do not have a horse in this race. On the other, the pizza was pretty blah. We did not look for good chow, and we surely did not find it. My wife, who spent substantial time living in Brooklyn, detested her eggplant parma hero.
Day 5
a) The Pit BBQ - Way out in the boonies, US 41. The Pit, with its actual, grandfathered in pit, glorious aroma, its screened windows, its leaning walls, and its menu of frog legs and smoked meats, is a reminder that while Rascal House may be the best deli in the USA and one can easily be transported to all sorts of parts of the Americas south, Florida remains in the south of the USA. The meat was just a bit too mild for me, it needed a bit of rub or something, but the smoke did not fail at all. And in nods to neighbors both east and west on Rt 41, one could have their Q with chimichurri and fry bread. Really worth the drive IMHO.
b) Wajiro's - Rt 41/SW 8th St. slightly back towards civilization. I like Cuban food enough, but honestly aside from the coffee and the sandwiches, I have not found Cuban food in Miami to be any better than the Cuban food in Chicago. Until, perhaps, Wajiro's. And not everything we had was great. Dinner got off to such a start with a big plate of thin plantain chips, mariquitas, with a gaaaalic galore dippin' sauce. Then, both the combination pork plate--roast shank, fried chunks and thin chops--and the black beans were SO good, that they more than made up for inferior shrimp and overly moist roast chicken. More tasty things included totally carmelized sweet plaintains, very yellow chicken soup, rich flan and a fine mojito for the Condiment Queen who could relax on the long drive back up to Davie.
Day 6
a) Diner with big menu in Davie. Big enough that I am always tempted, but when the food arrives, I always think I ordered the wrong thing.
b) Slightly more upscale diner with big menu and lotsa salads, also in Davie. Not worth more bandwidth.
Day 7
a) Joe's Stone Crab - This probably remains my favorite dining spot in the USA, but I gotta say, the stone crabs were very mediocre this time. That's never happened to me before. While a few were as expected, rich, sweet, firm, most were bland and watery. Methinks frozen? Everything else at the table was as expected or even better than expected. The twin engines of South Beach value retained their awesomeness: $5.95 for a big plate of fried oysters or for a 1/2 fried chicken. As I say, not just awesome deals, but very good food too. All of the sides, french fried sweets, stuffed tomatoes and garlic spinach accented the meal they way there supposed to, and the lunch only, garlic heavy, with sweet onions, Salad Armand did its job of filling me up.
b) Leccalecca - Hey what happened to Miami Beach. Three years and they turn the place into a mall. Still, amongst the Bannana Republics and such, there are a few real places. This is a gelato place run by an Italian with very limited command of this country's language (perhaps his Spanish is better). It was general "base" gelato, meaning gelato made from canned base imported from Italy. It still made for pretty good ice cream, not great, but good enough.
c) Jersey John's (or Joe's or something like that) - We were so stuck in traffic getting back from Miami Beach to Davie, that we ended up punting on dinner and picking up wings from this take-out place in Pembroke Pines. The sauce on the side fried wings were suprisingly good and served a need.
Day 8
a) Lox and bagels bought to go from Best Deli in Plantain. Really luscious, awfully salty (i.e., ideal) hand sliced belly lox, but the bagels were just average. Does anyone boil bagels anymore? I would return, however, for the smoked fishes. The smoked fishes in Florida are so much better than found in Chicago.
b) Agreed to go to Sunrise Swap Shop again on condition of trying another Jamaican ice cream place (York Castle), then stayed at the flea market too close to dinner to get ice cream (did get a very, very good Cafe Cubano, an OK meat patty and an awful empanada at the market. The Swap Shop has a pretty good farmer's market too, with lots of Caribbean stuff. Picked up a kind of banana, "boola" that I had never seen, boxy and short (but bigger than baby bananas), it had a starchy taste with sweet undertones.
c) Rustic Inn, Hollywood - The Condiment Queen has fine childhood memories of this place, and many, many, many years later, it hit the spot. With a pretty large group of people, so I ended trying a fair amount of things. The best things were the first things, conch chowder, spicy but not too, conch salad, fried gator nuggets and especially good fried frog legs (tastes like chicken, well a little but not quite). The signature garlic crabs, not whole but in crab halfs were good but flawed. Clearly from frozen crabs or some odd far away source (time of year), the claw meat held up much better than the lump meat. A whole small grilled pompano, however, was all good. Grilled softshell crabs, on the other hand, were all bad. Key west style sauted shrimp were about on the level of the garlic crabs, mixed. Still, very worth it, and the kidz surely liked the tradition of pounding away at the table with their (un-necessary) mallets when ever anyone's birthday was announced.
Day 9
a) Rascal House - Yea, there was a lot of things to try, but I'm always ready to have another meal at Rascal House. Really crowded at noon when we arrived which was a great mixed blessing. Long wait. When we sat down we were now in lunch relish zone, but we impressed on them the need to put some food in some very antsy kidz and we got the usually VERY difficult achievement of getting plates of little danish's, coffee cake, mini-muffins AND all the pickles. As I noted above, these are probably the best things in the house, the way some fancy-schmancy places use their highest creativity for the amuse. The mini prune danish was preternaturally good, many layers, ideally crisp on the outside, moist on the inside, we WERE lucky. Oh, and the pastrami, Ms. VI and I got pastrami and corned beef sammy's to share 1/2's. The corned beef is good, meaty and rich, but the pastrami is perfect. A few weeks ago, I had bbq'd brisket in Austin that had been steamed past the point of succor. Rascal House manages to get their meat nicely soft, yet the blackened edges stayed crisp. Plus, the black-pink color scheme, like Joe's stone crabs said South Florida.
b) Dulcianna - This is a branch of an Argentinean gelato place right next to Rascal House. It has a board explaining the flavors, which is a nice addition, but it was, well a bit more corporate tasting than Gelato 44 in the mall just south. Still good though.
c) Cafe Cubano and an interesting cold sammy with Spanish chorizo and Serrano ham from the Versailles outlet at the Miami Airport. Reinforced the notion that we ate very wll for 8 days.
VI
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Same ol' same ol
Smith and Wollensky, Great Diner; Sabri Nehari, Greasy-Good; Peninsula, Great Tea/Lousy Tea
In the last 48 hours, I have visited three of my favorite places in Chicago. Here's a quick re-cap, but the bottom line, nothing's changed (thank God!).
Smith and Wollensky
It was not wine week, and as I was soon off to a business meeting, I had no wine, but even sober, I love this place. It remains, to me, not so much a steakhouse, but a great American diner. The burger was maybe even more delicious than ever, the steak sammy remains an ideal lunch combo--$15 for a thin prime ribeye steak, plenty of fresh-cut fries, better than decent cole slaw and even a nice pickle. The chowhounditas split the truffled mac and cheese, which one daughter liked a lot more than the other. After taking her first bite, she says, "hey it has mushrooms too." Service was ideal, with the pit boss system also used to great effect at Hugo's Frog Bar and all the Emeril restaurants. The other thing about S&W, it just seems so urbane. If you rarely see men well dressed these days, it seems you rarely see men at S&W not well dressed. I loved the image of these two older gentleman at the bar (or as the kidz would call it, the counter) in perfect chalk-striped suits, imbiding on amber manhattan cocktails (like extras from a Thin Man movie).
Sabri Nehari
Bread and meat, robust, spicy and with all the right amounts of grease, what could be better on the coldest day of the year? The signature nehari was as good as always, but my favorite dish of the night was the lamb gosht, more red than usual but with a huge amount of ghee that counter-balanced all of the spices.
Afternoon Tea - Peninsula Hotel
One of the chowhounditas was especially not happy when confronted with the the kidz tea menu. With her mom's sense of justice, she just knew she was getting a raw deal (actually that is a very un-fair analogy, because the Condiment Queen knows a real raw deal when she sees one). Still, when Hannah's deal arrived it changed her completely! On a clear glass plate, she (and Sophia) got a small burger (but a very nice looking burger), a shot glass of fries, a shot glass of jelly bellies, a shot glass of jello w/real whipped cream, a terrific fudge brownie, and "tea sammy's" of peanutbutter and ham and cheese (crustless). It was supposed to come with hot chocolate, but the kidz wanted tea--and ordered the mint melange. The parents, of course, knew we'd like our tea. Great scones, cookies, sammy's, a mint chocolate souffle, what was not to like? My only complaint with the Peninsula's tea is the tea. It's just too weak. And they do not bring milk with the tea.
Smith and Wollensky, Great Diner; Sabri Nehari, Greasy-Good; Peninsula, Great Tea/Lousy Tea
In the last 48 hours, I have visited three of my favorite places in Chicago. Here's a quick re-cap, but the bottom line, nothing's changed (thank God!).
Smith and Wollensky
It was not wine week, and as I was soon off to a business meeting, I had no wine, but even sober, I love this place. It remains, to me, not so much a steakhouse, but a great American diner. The burger was maybe even more delicious than ever, the steak sammy remains an ideal lunch combo--$15 for a thin prime ribeye steak, plenty of fresh-cut fries, better than decent cole slaw and even a nice pickle. The chowhounditas split the truffled mac and cheese, which one daughter liked a lot more than the other. After taking her first bite, she says, "hey it has mushrooms too." Service was ideal, with the pit boss system also used to great effect at Hugo's Frog Bar and all the Emeril restaurants. The other thing about S&W, it just seems so urbane. If you rarely see men well dressed these days, it seems you rarely see men at S&W not well dressed. I loved the image of these two older gentleman at the bar (or as the kidz would call it, the counter) in perfect chalk-striped suits, imbiding on amber manhattan cocktails (like extras from a Thin Man movie).
Sabri Nehari
Bread and meat, robust, spicy and with all the right amounts of grease, what could be better on the coldest day of the year? The signature nehari was as good as always, but my favorite dish of the night was the lamb gosht, more red than usual but with a huge amount of ghee that counter-balanced all of the spices.
Afternoon Tea - Peninsula Hotel
One of the chowhounditas was especially not happy when confronted with the the kidz tea menu. With her mom's sense of justice, she just knew she was getting a raw deal (actually that is a very un-fair analogy, because the Condiment Queen knows a real raw deal when she sees one). Still, when Hannah's deal arrived it changed her completely! On a clear glass plate, she (and Sophia) got a small burger (but a very nice looking burger), a shot glass of fries, a shot glass of jelly bellies, a shot glass of jello w/real whipped cream, a terrific fudge brownie, and "tea sammy's" of peanutbutter and ham and cheese (crustless). It was supposed to come with hot chocolate, but the kidz wanted tea--and ordered the mint melange. The parents, of course, knew we'd like our tea. Great scones, cookies, sammy's, a mint chocolate souffle, what was not to like? My only complaint with the Peninsula's tea is the tea. It's just too weak. And they do not bring milk with the tea.
Monday, November 15, 2004
Getting Sauced - Babylon Eatery
Babylon Kitchen appeared yesterday at the right time, when Mom and Dad were hungry and tired after a trip to Costco (kidz quenched by that amazing rubber pizza that tastes not bad did not share the need to eat). And Babylon might not be the place I would go to in search of Arabian food, but I cannot say I did not enjoy my food last night, especially the sauces. Babylon reminds me of a place in New York City, where you run across good and inexpensive ethnic eateries outside of ethnic enclaves, with good enough food. Like NYC, inexpensive is relative.
The chowhounditas, while sated on pizza have a need to consume, experience. They dickered over what to share, finally agreeing on the falafel sandwich. Now, $4 for a falafel sammy is not that expensive, but not the dirt cheap falafel found in other parts of the city. Still, the falafel, shaped like tiny Bedouin tents, gets thrown in the fryer after we ordered them. As it has been said 1,000 times before, a fresh falafel is a fine falafel. I do not think the thin pita used was a concession to low carb mania, but I liked it that way. The Condiment Queen got the vegetarian combo. I tried the baba ganoush and the grape leaves and liked both. The grape leaves had that tight-dense structure that requires recent handiwork, and the baba had that nice smoky flavor from too long on the grill. I did not try the hummus, but Sophia lapped it up (Forcing Ms. VI into my plate of mixed shwarma).
I liked the shwarma least. If the falafel benefited greatly by getting ready for us, the shwarma suffered awfully from not being ready for us. I should have know better because the two spits of shwarma, meat and chicken really looked spent, yet we all have our benchmarks. They fry the shwarma in a pan to get it ready to eat. It did not get slimy or otherwise yucky as some re-heated shwarma gets. I actually was fine with the dry, shall we say arid (crisp?) texture, but the shwarma also lacked much in the way of flavors. Luckily, Babylon supplied a real good hot sauce. With a bit of investigating, I learned that Babylon's Mexican cook put together the hot sauce. He said it included chile de arbol, but I really think it included that canned chipoltle chiles in adobado, it had that smoky flavor. Another good sauce, that also seemed borrowed, was a green sauce served on some fried potatoes. The sauce had the same look, although not quite the same kick as the green sauce served at the Peruvian restaurant around the corner from Babylon.
Like I say, Babylon does not come close to the hospitality of Steve's Shish Kebab House or Salaam. At the last second, I threw an order of torshi, pickles, into the order, again to try. Again, the pickles were good enough but darn too few for the price. If I was in the area, say coming home from Costco again, I would probably return to Babylon for the food though.
Babylon Eatery
2023 N. Damen Ave
773-342-7482
Babylon Kitchen appeared yesterday at the right time, when Mom and Dad were hungry and tired after a trip to Costco (kidz quenched by that amazing rubber pizza that tastes not bad did not share the need to eat). And Babylon might not be the place I would go to in search of Arabian food, but I cannot say I did not enjoy my food last night, especially the sauces. Babylon reminds me of a place in New York City, where you run across good and inexpensive ethnic eateries outside of ethnic enclaves, with good enough food. Like NYC, inexpensive is relative.
The chowhounditas, while sated on pizza have a need to consume, experience. They dickered over what to share, finally agreeing on the falafel sandwich. Now, $4 for a falafel sammy is not that expensive, but not the dirt cheap falafel found in other parts of the city. Still, the falafel, shaped like tiny Bedouin tents, gets thrown in the fryer after we ordered them. As it has been said 1,000 times before, a fresh falafel is a fine falafel. I do not think the thin pita used was a concession to low carb mania, but I liked it that way. The Condiment Queen got the vegetarian combo. I tried the baba ganoush and the grape leaves and liked both. The grape leaves had that tight-dense structure that requires recent handiwork, and the baba had that nice smoky flavor from too long on the grill. I did not try the hummus, but Sophia lapped it up (Forcing Ms. VI into my plate of mixed shwarma).
I liked the shwarma least. If the falafel benefited greatly by getting ready for us, the shwarma suffered awfully from not being ready for us. I should have know better because the two spits of shwarma, meat and chicken really looked spent, yet we all have our benchmarks. They fry the shwarma in a pan to get it ready to eat. It did not get slimy or otherwise yucky as some re-heated shwarma gets. I actually was fine with the dry, shall we say arid (crisp?) texture, but the shwarma also lacked much in the way of flavors. Luckily, Babylon supplied a real good hot sauce. With a bit of investigating, I learned that Babylon's Mexican cook put together the hot sauce. He said it included chile de arbol, but I really think it included that canned chipoltle chiles in adobado, it had that smoky flavor. Another good sauce, that also seemed borrowed, was a green sauce served on some fried potatoes. The sauce had the same look, although not quite the same kick as the green sauce served at the Peruvian restaurant around the corner from Babylon.
Like I say, Babylon does not come close to the hospitality of Steve's Shish Kebab House or Salaam. At the last second, I threw an order of torshi, pickles, into the order, again to try. Again, the pickles were good enough but darn too few for the price. If I was in the area, say coming home from Costco again, I would probably return to Babylon for the food though.
Babylon Eatery
2023 N. Damen Ave
773-342-7482
Monday, November 08, 2004
Places Already Mentioned - Less Satisfied Edition
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, I got to go to three places I generally enjoy, but in each case, I enjoyed them less than usual. I offer this not so much as "downhill alerts", just data points. Mostly, it goes to show, it's not all good.
The Colombian Place on Fullerton near Kedzie - Gloria's
There has been a place offering Colombian food, especially roasted chicken on Fullerton just west of Kedzie for about 6 or so years. For many years, it was owned by the same family that owned Flying Chicken of various locations on Lincoln. Sometime in recent times, the place on Fullerton changed ownership. While it is not widely noted on-site, I believe the current name is Gloria's. Now, I have been a few times since Gloria took over. Until Friday, I found the quality the same--very good. Not Friday. The roast chicken had a very off taste, like maybe it was just old, the grilled chicken breast was devoid of any marinade and hence was devoid of much taste. Only a grilled steak satisfied. Some sides were decent enough. (Sorry, I do not have the exact address)
Grota
With the demise of the Slovakian restaurant, Happy Noodle, can the 2900 block of N. Central still carry weight as the best chow block in Chicago? After a week of pain and anguish, I thought a bit of pigging out would help. Groto, for a while, has been our favorite Polish buffet. And yes, for $6.75, it was worth it, but it was not quite as worth it as usual. Some of the things that always "make" the buffets for me, paled. The potato pancakes were especially greasy, and the blintzes were not much better. I still liked the stuffed cabbage a lot and all the cold salads and Polish style spareribs, and the buffet included soup, like all Polish soup, that would be delicious to the extreme. Again, it was more than enough good food for the money, but in the past, I have not had anything to quibble with at Grota besides weak coffee. Saturday, the results were mixed. (3112 N. Central, Chicago, IL)
El Guanaco
We met SethZ and Kerensa for my new passion, pupusas last night. Like Grota, there was still a lot of great things on the table, especially for the money, but it was not all good this time. The biggest disappointment was the homemade sausage. Like the Colombian chicken above, it just tasted too old. The herbs seemed dead. The other problem with the dinner was, you just cannot share pupusas across six people. It was just unsatisfying eating the slices. I liked fried yucca with bits of chicharron and a slightly spicy red sauce, but no one else liked it that much. A pastel de carne, which I had not had before, was worth ordering. (6345 W. Grand, Chicago, IL)
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, I got to go to three places I generally enjoy, but in each case, I enjoyed them less than usual. I offer this not so much as "downhill alerts", just data points. Mostly, it goes to show, it's not all good.
The Colombian Place on Fullerton near Kedzie - Gloria's
There has been a place offering Colombian food, especially roasted chicken on Fullerton just west of Kedzie for about 6 or so years. For many years, it was owned by the same family that owned Flying Chicken of various locations on Lincoln. Sometime in recent times, the place on Fullerton changed ownership. While it is not widely noted on-site, I believe the current name is Gloria's. Now, I have been a few times since Gloria took over. Until Friday, I found the quality the same--very good. Not Friday. The roast chicken had a very off taste, like maybe it was just old, the grilled chicken breast was devoid of any marinade and hence was devoid of much taste. Only a grilled steak satisfied. Some sides were decent enough. (Sorry, I do not have the exact address)
Grota
With the demise of the Slovakian restaurant, Happy Noodle, can the 2900 block of N. Central still carry weight as the best chow block in Chicago? After a week of pain and anguish, I thought a bit of pigging out would help. Groto, for a while, has been our favorite Polish buffet. And yes, for $6.75, it was worth it, but it was not quite as worth it as usual. Some of the things that always "make" the buffets for me, paled. The potato pancakes were especially greasy, and the blintzes were not much better. I still liked the stuffed cabbage a lot and all the cold salads and Polish style spareribs, and the buffet included soup, like all Polish soup, that would be delicious to the extreme. Again, it was more than enough good food for the money, but in the past, I have not had anything to quibble with at Grota besides weak coffee. Saturday, the results were mixed. (3112 N. Central, Chicago, IL)
El Guanaco
We met SethZ and Kerensa for my new passion, pupusas last night. Like Grota, there was still a lot of great things on the table, especially for the money, but it was not all good this time. The biggest disappointment was the homemade sausage. Like the Colombian chicken above, it just tasted too old. The herbs seemed dead. The other problem with the dinner was, you just cannot share pupusas across six people. It was just unsatisfying eating the slices. I liked fried yucca with bits of chicharron and a slightly spicy red sauce, but no one else liked it that much. A pastel de carne, which I had not had before, was worth ordering. (6345 W. Grand, Chicago, IL)
Monday, November 01, 2004
Cannot Get Enough of the "New" Mandarin Kitchen
The Condiment Queen could, push come to shove, eat Chinese food more often than me, but she has a much greater need for variety. I'm quite comfortable camping out one place, one place being the garish Mandarin Kitchen. Right now I would offer Shanghainese food as my favorite form of Chinese food. Plus, I would offer that Shaghai food more closely "fits" our climate in Chicago than other kinds of Chinese food. Which is just a few reasons that I want to keep on eating at the Mandarin Kitchen. Really liking the food helps too. I especially like Mandarin Kitchen with the Brilliant One, who like at all Chinese outings with him, enables a little deeper menu probing.
The ever competitive B1 HAD to have some kind of Shanghainese soup mentioned on the Vancouver Chowhound board. There was no way I could have ever got to this dish without him unless I had ordered the dish purely at random*. We were told that this was a very homestyle dish, and just the tureen alone, when it showed up at the table with its various burn marks and other dings and dangs, seemed straight from someone's kitchen. Surely, this soupish item did not seem like "casserole with fresh pork and salt pork." See here for more on this delicious soup.
We had two dishes that looked quite similar, the classic Shanghainese braise of rock sugar, dark soy and vinegar. One contained meatballs, the other chicken with chestnuts. It was worth having both. I really liked the chestnuts that got just soft enough in the braise, and the flavors of liquid did just enough to off-set the heaviness of chestnuts.
The flounder with seaweed was still as tasty as Seth Z previously described, but it was not quite as salty this time. I prefer the saltier version, but the enormously charming Idee, who manages The New Mandarin Kitchen, sez that Shanghainese prefer it less salty. I suppose the version Seth and I had, that we liked so much before was the less authentic version.
Cold appetizers, yesterday tendon in chile oil and peanuts with seaweed (sea moss) and hot appetizers, complimentary vegetable dumplings and the de rigueur soup dumplings were as good as always.
It is gonna be hard to get me to another restaurant in Chinatown in the near term.
The New Mandarin Kitchen
2143 S Archer
Chicago
*It goes without saying that but for Seth Z's dinner at the famous New Green Bo in NYC, I would never know of the value of fish with seaweed. As I have said 100's of times, it is amazing how much better my eating has gotten since the discovery of Chowhound/LTHForum.com
The Condiment Queen could, push come to shove, eat Chinese food more often than me, but she has a much greater need for variety. I'm quite comfortable camping out one place, one place being the garish Mandarin Kitchen. Right now I would offer Shanghainese food as my favorite form of Chinese food. Plus, I would offer that Shaghai food more closely "fits" our climate in Chicago than other kinds of Chinese food. Which is just a few reasons that I want to keep on eating at the Mandarin Kitchen. Really liking the food helps too. I especially like Mandarin Kitchen with the Brilliant One, who like at all Chinese outings with him, enables a little deeper menu probing.
The ever competitive B1 HAD to have some kind of Shanghainese soup mentioned on the Vancouver Chowhound board. There was no way I could have ever got to this dish without him unless I had ordered the dish purely at random*. We were told that this was a very homestyle dish, and just the tureen alone, when it showed up at the table with its various burn marks and other dings and dangs, seemed straight from someone's kitchen. Surely, this soupish item did not seem like "casserole with fresh pork and salt pork." See here for more on this delicious soup.
We had two dishes that looked quite similar, the classic Shanghainese braise of rock sugar, dark soy and vinegar. One contained meatballs, the other chicken with chestnuts. It was worth having both. I really liked the chestnuts that got just soft enough in the braise, and the flavors of liquid did just enough to off-set the heaviness of chestnuts.
The flounder with seaweed was still as tasty as Seth Z previously described, but it was not quite as salty this time. I prefer the saltier version, but the enormously charming Idee, who manages The New Mandarin Kitchen, sez that Shanghainese prefer it less salty. I suppose the version Seth and I had, that we liked so much before was the less authentic version.
Cold appetizers, yesterday tendon in chile oil and peanuts with seaweed (sea moss) and hot appetizers, complimentary vegetable dumplings and the de rigueur soup dumplings were as good as always.
It is gonna be hard to get me to another restaurant in Chinatown in the near term.
The New Mandarin Kitchen
2143 S Archer
Chicago
*It goes without saying that but for Seth Z's dinner at the famous New Green Bo in NYC, I would never know of the value of fish with seaweed. As I have said 100's of times, it is amazing how much better my eating has gotten since the discovery of Chowhound/LTHForum.com
Sunday, October 31, 2004
The best of all was an 80 year old African American man who said to me: “When I first started I wasn’t even allowed to vote. Then, when I did, they was trying to intimidate me. But now I see all these folks here to make sure that my vote counts. This is the first time in my life that I feel like when I cast my vote it’s actually gonna be heard.”
Via Talking Points Memo
Via Talking Points Memo
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Monday, October 25, 2004
Can We Talk - Places Mentioned Again
What's the rule for reposing. Does one need new information about a place. Must there changes? Should we regularly update our old posts?
Here's a quick rundown on recent meals at places I have written about before:
Yum Thai
Has the attention made this strip mall Thai better? I have been twice in recent weeks and the food was as good if not better than ever, and they have hired a few extra servers. Rumors abound of a new version of the "secret" menu. Until then, you can work off of the old foodfirst version. An orange soup-curry from the Thai menu on a recent visit was too hot for some of my dining companions. You might love it. I nearly always order one dish from the regular menu, a dish of grilled steak, too much garlic, too much sliced fresh peppers and a bit of dressing. Amazing. Chewy rice noodles have been especially good too. 7748 W. Madison, Forest Park, IL.
(708) 366-8888
La Quebrada
Breakfast has to be a winner when the chilequiles come from fresh made tortillas. A recent order of ceviche Acapulceno was a bit tiny, and it took a while to get the extra jalepenos needed to make it exactly as I like it, but once I settled in on this limey pleasure, I did not care about much else. 4859 W. Roosevelt Rd. Cicero, IL (and other locations)
Grand Slam Pizza
This is not "classic" Chicago thin pizza, Vito and Nick's style pizza with no border, but it is exceedingly good thin crust pizza. Lately, the crust has been a bit harder, and while I am no crisp fetishist, the extra cook only made this pizza better. Go here for coupons and other info.
Salerno's
OK, I do not think I have ever written about the Berwyn branch of this red sauce-aria. They have a great sampler, chicken parma, sauteed mushrooms (you wonder why until you cannot get enough of the mushrooms), cheese ravioli, sausage and meatball all drenched in that red sauce, Sunday sauce any day. 7111 Roosevelt Rd. Berwyn, IL
3-D Jerk Chicken
Not the best jerk chicken in Chicago, but...I wish this still used the jerry-rigged Weber under the hood instead of the gas fired Southern Pride as the meat, while well cooked, tastes a bit of gas (and I do not buy the idea that gas has no flavor). More than great chicken, the $7 chicken is one of the finest deals in Chicago. You get a 1/2 chicken well hacked, over a lot of gravied rice and beans, a slice of dough bread (always a reason to have jerk), a good portion of well cooked, peppery cabbage, and another good portion of sweet, sweet potatoes. The dish of jerk sauce, a Chicago thing, seems too small until you realize its scotch bonnet intensity requires not much more in the bucket. 5317 W. North Ave, Chicago. Take Out only (773-637-6518)
Thyme and Honey
$14.95 for home-made soup, several fried shrimps, a nicely flavored and tender butt steak, fresh made garlic mashed potatoes AND dessert. It made an unexpected fine dinner on a Saturday night when we meant to go to Chinatown but left too late. 100 S Oak Park, Oak Park
The "New" Mandarin Kitchen
I have yet to go here when I cannot possibly come close to ordering all the things I want. Too many good things. I keep on, however, veering to a few key dishes: homemade noodles, salty vegetable with minced tofu, soup dumplings, fresh sesame pancakes. They have lunch specials that are amazing deals at less than $5 for food, and they are worth it just for the boiled peanuts. Based on a post card, the hot pot looks well worthwhile to order. 2143 S Archer, Chicago
What's the rule for reposing. Does one need new information about a place. Must there changes? Should we regularly update our old posts?
Here's a quick rundown on recent meals at places I have written about before:
Yum Thai
Has the attention made this strip mall Thai better? I have been twice in recent weeks and the food was as good if not better than ever, and they have hired a few extra servers. Rumors abound of a new version of the "secret" menu. Until then, you can work off of the old foodfirst version. An orange soup-curry from the Thai menu on a recent visit was too hot for some of my dining companions. You might love it. I nearly always order one dish from the regular menu, a dish of grilled steak, too much garlic, too much sliced fresh peppers and a bit of dressing. Amazing. Chewy rice noodles have been especially good too. 7748 W. Madison, Forest Park, IL.
(708) 366-8888
La Quebrada
Breakfast has to be a winner when the chilequiles come from fresh made tortillas. A recent order of ceviche Acapulceno was a bit tiny, and it took a while to get the extra jalepenos needed to make it exactly as I like it, but once I settled in on this limey pleasure, I did not care about much else. 4859 W. Roosevelt Rd. Cicero, IL (and other locations)
Grand Slam Pizza
This is not "classic" Chicago thin pizza, Vito and Nick's style pizza with no border, but it is exceedingly good thin crust pizza. Lately, the crust has been a bit harder, and while I am no crisp fetishist, the extra cook only made this pizza better. Go here for coupons and other info.
Salerno's
OK, I do not think I have ever written about the Berwyn branch of this red sauce-aria. They have a great sampler, chicken parma, sauteed mushrooms (you wonder why until you cannot get enough of the mushrooms), cheese ravioli, sausage and meatball all drenched in that red sauce, Sunday sauce any day. 7111 Roosevelt Rd. Berwyn, IL
3-D Jerk Chicken
Not the best jerk chicken in Chicago, but...I wish this still used the jerry-rigged Weber under the hood instead of the gas fired Southern Pride as the meat, while well cooked, tastes a bit of gas (and I do not buy the idea that gas has no flavor). More than great chicken, the $7 chicken is one of the finest deals in Chicago. You get a 1/2 chicken well hacked, over a lot of gravied rice and beans, a slice of dough bread (always a reason to have jerk), a good portion of well cooked, peppery cabbage, and another good portion of sweet, sweet potatoes. The dish of jerk sauce, a Chicago thing, seems too small until you realize its scotch bonnet intensity requires not much more in the bucket. 5317 W. North Ave, Chicago. Take Out only (773-637-6518)
Thyme and Honey
$14.95 for home-made soup, several fried shrimps, a nicely flavored and tender butt steak, fresh made garlic mashed potatoes AND dessert. It made an unexpected fine dinner on a Saturday night when we meant to go to Chinatown but left too late. 100 S Oak Park, Oak Park
The "New" Mandarin Kitchen
I have yet to go here when I cannot possibly come close to ordering all the things I want. Too many good things. I keep on, however, veering to a few key dishes: homemade noodles, salty vegetable with minced tofu, soup dumplings, fresh sesame pancakes. They have lunch specials that are amazing deals at less than $5 for food, and they are worth it just for the boiled peanuts. Based on a post card, the hot pot looks well worthwhile to order. 2143 S Archer, Chicago
Monday, October 18, 2004
To Know Salvadoran Food Is to Love Salvadoran Food - El Guanaco
I was on a jury most of last week, inhibiting slightly the passing out of vital information, but on the other hand, I got an extra visit to El Guanaco before writing about it. I have become rather smitten of Salvadoran food, at least as served there.
Until a few weeks ago, my knowledge of Salvadoran food ended about at: pupusas, something I thought of as cole slaw, and fried bananas with sour cream eaten years and years ago in DC. With this Salvadoran place, El Guanaco, opening very close to me, I am starting to learn a bit more about this food. The majority of the items on the comida Salvadorena section of the menu at El Guanaco (the menu also includes comida Mexicana, Pizza--thin, pan and by the slice--and even a section of antojitos Colombianos*) are under $3 and only one item, a combination plate extends to $9.50. What this means, at least to the VI family, is that we order tapas style from El Guanaco, lots of plates of things to try. And thus, we are learning a bit more of Salvadoran food.
The oddest thing we have learned is that Salvadorans appear to appreciate a jarring array of flavors at the table. Of course there are pupusas, heavier than say a quesadilla, with a hot but not Zim hot red sauce and the vinegary and oregano dominated slaw. But there is also the fried plantain with sour cream, also quite heavy but not spicy at all. Sweet. Yet, not nearly as sweet as the empanada de platano con leche. This should be a dessert, but it is clearly not in the section called postres or desserts. It is like a plantain donut, covered with sugar but stuffed inside with a log of condensed milk. Also, highly sweet and highly unusual was a kind of atole we tried last visit--not on the menu, ask. It is served in two parts. Part one is a bowl of mashed, very, very, very ripe yucca with a few dumplings similar to the above sugared milk log. It is very sweet. Part two is a large wobbly bowl (placed in another bowl for balance) of something yellow, tasting mostly of licorice. One of the chowhounditas compared it to the candied fennel seeds eaten post dinner in Indian restaurants. Like I say, you get a lot of flavors quickly on the table.
My favorite thing so far on our table at El Guanaco is their home-made sausage, "estilo cojutepeque". It reminded me twice of Thai sausage, both with its loose mixture of pork and its high herbal element. It is served with a medium sized handmade Salvadoran style tortilla, essentially an unstuffed pupusa. Those pupusas, they do not match my all time favorite served at the Hollywood California weekly farmer's market, but pupusas by dint of being made to order are almost all universally at least good. The pupusas at El Guanco come with the usual cheese and beans and chicharron but also unusual (to us) stuffings of lorocco, some type of Salvadoran flower and ayote, a kind of squash. Sliced jalepenos can be added to any pupusa. The only quibble we have had with the pupusas at El Guanaco is that on both visits, the pupusas we got did not match what we ordered. So, for instance, we have had the lorocco twice, but I am not quite sure what it tastes like. We got a chicarron pupusa by mistake the other night. I liked it a lot more than the rest of the family. It is not the really goey chicarron served in Mexican stews, but neither is it bacon crisp like you would get at Colombian resturants, about like a confit or rillete (to continue to be cross-cultural in references).
Even though dinner might include those sweet things, order dessert. El Guanaco makes a highly delicious homemade cheesecake, a bit in the style of Eli's but with a much better crust. Also, I should add, on the sweetness front, El Guanaco serves a whole range of Salvadoran drinks, pops, agua frescas, atoles, and they are all sweet, very sweet too. The atole, however, does come with a nice chunk of corn on the cob.
El Guanaco is a very good place to continue to learn about Salvadoran food. The staff, son and daughter of Mom who is in the kitchen, speak excellent English, and they are keen on introducing you to their stuff.
*Which is also how I learned about the Colombian fare. I noticed the owner's younger kidz eating Colombian empanadas. It gave me my opportunity to ask about the Colombian antojitos section of the menu. It seems that Mom, upon arrival from El Salvador many years earlier, took a job in a Colombian restaurant, eventually managing it. There, she learned how to make killer empandadas, or so her son says. Perhaps I will try, but I am still anxious to become a bit more expert on Salvadoran food.
El Guanaco
6345 W. Grand
Chicago, IL
773-637-2915
I was on a jury most of last week, inhibiting slightly the passing out of vital information, but on the other hand, I got an extra visit to El Guanaco before writing about it. I have become rather smitten of Salvadoran food, at least as served there.
Until a few weeks ago, my knowledge of Salvadoran food ended about at: pupusas, something I thought of as cole slaw, and fried bananas with sour cream eaten years and years ago in DC. With this Salvadoran place, El Guanaco, opening very close to me, I am starting to learn a bit more about this food. The majority of the items on the comida Salvadorena section of the menu at El Guanaco (the menu also includes comida Mexicana, Pizza--thin, pan and by the slice--and even a section of antojitos Colombianos*) are under $3 and only one item, a combination plate extends to $9.50. What this means, at least to the VI family, is that we order tapas style from El Guanaco, lots of plates of things to try. And thus, we are learning a bit more of Salvadoran food.
The oddest thing we have learned is that Salvadorans appear to appreciate a jarring array of flavors at the table. Of course there are pupusas, heavier than say a quesadilla, with a hot but not Zim hot red sauce and the vinegary and oregano dominated slaw. But there is also the fried plantain with sour cream, also quite heavy but not spicy at all. Sweet. Yet, not nearly as sweet as the empanada de platano con leche. This should be a dessert, but it is clearly not in the section called postres or desserts. It is like a plantain donut, covered with sugar but stuffed inside with a log of condensed milk. Also, highly sweet and highly unusual was a kind of atole we tried last visit--not on the menu, ask. It is served in two parts. Part one is a bowl of mashed, very, very, very ripe yucca with a few dumplings similar to the above sugared milk log. It is very sweet. Part two is a large wobbly bowl (placed in another bowl for balance) of something yellow, tasting mostly of licorice. One of the chowhounditas compared it to the candied fennel seeds eaten post dinner in Indian restaurants. Like I say, you get a lot of flavors quickly on the table.
My favorite thing so far on our table at El Guanaco is their home-made sausage, "estilo cojutepeque". It reminded me twice of Thai sausage, both with its loose mixture of pork and its high herbal element. It is served with a medium sized handmade Salvadoran style tortilla, essentially an unstuffed pupusa. Those pupusas, they do not match my all time favorite served at the Hollywood California weekly farmer's market, but pupusas by dint of being made to order are almost all universally at least good. The pupusas at El Guanco come with the usual cheese and beans and chicharron but also unusual (to us) stuffings of lorocco, some type of Salvadoran flower and ayote, a kind of squash. Sliced jalepenos can be added to any pupusa. The only quibble we have had with the pupusas at El Guanaco is that on both visits, the pupusas we got did not match what we ordered. So, for instance, we have had the lorocco twice, but I am not quite sure what it tastes like. We got a chicarron pupusa by mistake the other night. I liked it a lot more than the rest of the family. It is not the really goey chicarron served in Mexican stews, but neither is it bacon crisp like you would get at Colombian resturants, about like a confit or rillete (to continue to be cross-cultural in references).
Even though dinner might include those sweet things, order dessert. El Guanaco makes a highly delicious homemade cheesecake, a bit in the style of Eli's but with a much better crust. Also, I should add, on the sweetness front, El Guanaco serves a whole range of Salvadoran drinks, pops, agua frescas, atoles, and they are all sweet, very sweet too. The atole, however, does come with a nice chunk of corn on the cob.
El Guanaco is a very good place to continue to learn about Salvadoran food. The staff, son and daughter of Mom who is in the kitchen, speak excellent English, and they are keen on introducing you to their stuff.
*Which is also how I learned about the Colombian fare. I noticed the owner's younger kidz eating Colombian empanadas. It gave me my opportunity to ask about the Colombian antojitos section of the menu. It seems that Mom, upon arrival from El Salvador many years earlier, took a job in a Colombian restaurant, eventually managing it. There, she learned how to make killer empandadas, or so her son says. Perhaps I will try, but I am still anxious to become a bit more expert on Salvadoran food.
El Guanaco
6345 W. Grand
Chicago, IL
773-637-2915
Friday, October 15, 2004
"What they are currently objecting to is the fact that their hypocrisy has been exposed. To which the only answer is: if you don't want to be exposed as a hypocrite, don't be one." Andrew Sullivan on Bush-Cheney and their "outrage" over the mention of Mary Cheney as a lesbian.
Monday, October 11, 2004
Slow Food Guide to Chicago + Sabri Nehari
I got my copy of The Slow Food Guide to Chicago the other night. In my humble, but vital opinion, this is (by far), the best guide book available for Chicago. OK, I have a vested interest, being one of the contributors, but I wrote about five pages worth of a 350+ page book. That's not a lot of pride in ownership.
Maybe like other contributors, the first thing I did was see where my name was, and unfortunately, like a few other contributors, I got my name spelled wrong. Next, we all played the what got left out game (or they put that in game). A few things jumped out at me. No MacArthurs in the soul food section, some of my favorite Colombian and Mexican places absent. Still, you can not judge a book like this from its inclusions or exclusions. Any collaborative effort will not be the exact book you would do. Yet, when you start looking at the book in its entirety, you find, clearly, the best, most complete, most thorough, most informative guide to Chicago's restaurants, markets and bars. I highly recommend finding this book ASAP.
You know this is a better guide book when you look in the neighborhood & suburbs index. First, Albany Park, and there are eight listings. Not only does this book range around the city from Austin to Wrigleyville, it includes more than a couple of, that's what that area's called neighborhoods. Did you know that La Oaxaquena was in Kilbourn Park--sounds like a new late night comedy collaboration. This book really covers ground. More important, the entries educate and entice. Ms. VI said to me after hearing me read some to her, "they remind me of Jonathan Gold's [guide to LA]." Could there be higher praise? I especially like the Polish section which really helps demystify. The BBQ section, slightly previewed a few months ago in the Reader, carries the eater to a bunch of interesting and "real" places. The best section, perhaps, is the final, on markets and shops. The Slow Food researchers cover the city like no one else. Not every shop is covered, but nearly any category of food shop (excluding Jewel) gets a spot.
Fueled by Slow Food prose, the Condiment Queen demanded that we visit my particular area of "expertise" last night, Da'Bomb. Specifically, we returned to Sabri Nehari, one of my favorite restaurants on the strip. We got a ton of there stuff: chicken chunks (boti), frontier chicken, lamb curry, strips of beef liver (not on purpose but turning out to be well worth the mistake), both kinds of samosas (their ground beef samosas are especially good), lentils featuring a lot of roasted garlic, tons of naan and pizza like wedges of parantha, and of course, the namesake dish, the nehari. And of course, the nehari was the best dish. The muddy brown sauce belied a hotter than usual sauce yesterday, but it was more than heat as wave after wave of flavor hit you as you soaked it up with the bread. I sat facing the kitchen door. Nearly every order came out the door the same way, huge stacks of naan and bowls of nehari. If you got nothing else, you would well appreciate Sabri.
Sabri Nehari
2511 W. Devon Ave
Chicago
(773) 743-6200
I got my copy of The Slow Food Guide to Chicago the other night. In my humble, but vital opinion, this is (by far), the best guide book available for Chicago. OK, I have a vested interest, being one of the contributors, but I wrote about five pages worth of a 350+ page book. That's not a lot of pride in ownership.
Maybe like other contributors, the first thing I did was see where my name was, and unfortunately, like a few other contributors, I got my name spelled wrong. Next, we all played the what got left out game (or they put that in game). A few things jumped out at me. No MacArthurs in the soul food section, some of my favorite Colombian and Mexican places absent. Still, you can not judge a book like this from its inclusions or exclusions. Any collaborative effort will not be the exact book you would do. Yet, when you start looking at the book in its entirety, you find, clearly, the best, most complete, most thorough, most informative guide to Chicago's restaurants, markets and bars. I highly recommend finding this book ASAP.
You know this is a better guide book when you look in the neighborhood & suburbs index. First, Albany Park, and there are eight listings. Not only does this book range around the city from Austin to Wrigleyville, it includes more than a couple of, that's what that area's called neighborhoods. Did you know that La Oaxaquena was in Kilbourn Park--sounds like a new late night comedy collaboration. This book really covers ground. More important, the entries educate and entice. Ms. VI said to me after hearing me read some to her, "they remind me of Jonathan Gold's [guide to LA]." Could there be higher praise? I especially like the Polish section which really helps demystify. The BBQ section, slightly previewed a few months ago in the Reader, carries the eater to a bunch of interesting and "real" places. The best section, perhaps, is the final, on markets and shops. The Slow Food researchers cover the city like no one else. Not every shop is covered, but nearly any category of food shop (excluding Jewel) gets a spot.
Fueled by Slow Food prose, the Condiment Queen demanded that we visit my particular area of "expertise" last night, Da'Bomb. Specifically, we returned to Sabri Nehari, one of my favorite restaurants on the strip. We got a ton of there stuff: chicken chunks (boti), frontier chicken, lamb curry, strips of beef liver (not on purpose but turning out to be well worth the mistake), both kinds of samosas (their ground beef samosas are especially good), lentils featuring a lot of roasted garlic, tons of naan and pizza like wedges of parantha, and of course, the namesake dish, the nehari. And of course, the nehari was the best dish. The muddy brown sauce belied a hotter than usual sauce yesterday, but it was more than heat as wave after wave of flavor hit you as you soaked it up with the bread. I sat facing the kitchen door. Nearly every order came out the door the same way, huge stacks of naan and bowls of nehari. If you got nothing else, you would well appreciate Sabri.
Sabri Nehari
2511 W. Devon Ave
Chicago
(773) 743-6200
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
