George's First Reports
Friends: Paris is truly the film capital of the
universe. Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes, which
has yet to open in the US, is playing on eight screens
here. It may have a couple week run at the Music
Box when it finally comes to Chicago, unless Bill
Murray mania wins it the attention it deserves.
Murray is in only one of the ten or so ten minute
segments of this series of shorts that Jarmusch has
been filming over the years, all invovling two people
sitting and drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes or
alluding to such, but he overhwelms the film, which
abounds with Jarmusch's delightful,off-beat humor.
Murray is rip-roaing hilarious playing himself as a
waiter serving a couple of hip-hop artists and begging
them not to tell anyone he's working as a waiter, as
he drinks coffee from the pot that the hip hop artits
dont care to drink. They know the perils of caffeine,
and nicotine as well. My traveling companion Jesse
and I were hurting from our laughter.
It was a great way to rest our legs this afternoon
after spending all morning wandering around Paris on
our bikes with Jesse leading the way showing me all
his favorites places from when he spend 6 months here
as a student two years ago. Many of those favorite
sites were the many, many movie theatres that abound
here. Some offer a monthly pass letting one see
everything on their multiple screens, some of which
may be a part of a chain, for 18 or so Euros. There
is one that has a weekly triple feature starting at
midnight that concludes with breakfast, all for ten
Euros. Brown Bunny, last year's Cannes show-stopper,
which also awaits a US release, is playing. And there
is the usual Jarmusch retrospective going at one of
the theatres. He is a virtual deity here, or at least
royalty. One review referred to him as The Prince of
Independent Cinema. One of the first things Jesse did
when we began our explorations this morning after
arriving last night was to purchase the weekly booklet
that lists all the movie theatres and what's playing.
It is mind boggling. The Cannes poster, a tribute to
Marilyn Monroe's uplifted dress, is already on
display, even though the festival doesnt start for
nearly two weeks and is 500 miles away. But it is a
great national event and celebration. If we werent
headed there it would be difficult not to go movie
crazy, especially since we have crashing privileges
with a friend of Jesse's from his time here who lives
in the shadow of Sacre Coeur in Montmarte.
The bike is also celebrated here. As we biked the
21 miles from the airport to Montmarte last night on
our fully loaded bikes a passing bicyclist greeted us
with the exclamation "Bon Courage." As I guarded our
bikes this morning while Jesse was in the American
Express office changing money, the Bob Matter of Paris
came over and told me about a gathering of cylists
that happens on every Friday night, not just the last
Friday of every month as happens elsewhere across the
world. Even tho its not called a Critical Mass, my
new friend Michel said the bicylists proceed to take
over the streets, including the Champs Elysees, and
have a jolly good time like Crtical Massers the world
over. He said last Friday they had over 750 cyclists
and enthusiastically encouraged us to join in. He
even had a map that he gave me showing its starting
point just a block from Notre Dame. This 60 year old
gent went on on like some disciple preaching the
gospel of the bike, saying what a joy and how
worthwhile it is to ride and expressing great glee
over the three months of biking Europe that Jesse and
I have ahead of us. He said France is "late" on
bicycles compared to Holland and Denmark and Sweden,
but it is trying to catch up. But one thing France
isnt "late" on is the Tour de France, which he also
gushed over. He said he had his picture taken last
year with two of Lance's teammates on the Champs
Elysees at the conclusion of the race. He's never gone
to the mountains to witness first hand the dramatics
of the race, so he couldnt help but pound me on my
back to congratulate me for coming all the way from
America to do just that. He said he'd be rooting for
Lance to win number 6, just as I will be.
One more day in Paris and then on to former
Chicago bike messenger and Critical Masser Florence in
Tours, maybe a two day ride away.
Later, George
Friends, All early indications are France is a touring
cyclist's paradise. Except for having to set up our
tents in the rain twice, we have no complaints
whatsoever. Camping wild has been a snap, once in an
apple orchard and last night down a tractor path
alongside a field into a bit of a forest. We didnt
even have to wiat until the cover of dark to make our
camping clandestinem and for that we are grateful as
its not getting dark here until 9:30, All that extra
daylight will be nice later on when we are stronger
and can ride without tiring, but we're still finding
our legs. Jesse says his legs are just getting used
to their first real touring experience and they need
to be broken in like a young colt to the saddle.
Before long they will be eager to be at it and wont
want to stop.
The roads have been narrow and without any
shoulder, but the French appreciate and applaud anyone
on a bike, so they slow and wait patiently, if they
must, to pass us. The only disadvantage to the lack
of shoulders is there is no place for the abandoned
bungee cords and neckerchiefs and other stray items i
usually find along the road to turn up. But the
narrow country byways make for the most idyllic of
cycling. Whenever there is a squiggle in the road
ahead I imagine the l89 strong pelton of the Tour de
France ahead snaking down the road in all its
colourful splendor. There are fields of bright yellow
flowers of a soy bean in bloom along the road that
every Tour de France photographer would want to
include in the foreground of his shot of the peloton
racing past. The Tour in its 90 years has ridden just
about every road of France. A farmer we talked to for
about half an hour our first day on the road
mentioned, without us asking, that the Tour had passed
his farm 3 years ago. Its alway heartening to know tht
we are riding roads that many of the cycling greats
have also ridden. In Iceland the question I had for
everyone I met was if they ate putrefied shark meat.
Here it will be, when last did the Tour de France pass
here. And I imagine everyoe will brighten and have a
fond memory.
France is also a touring cyclist's dream with the
great variety of food it has to offer. The deli's in
the supermarkets all have tabouli and quiche lorraine
and potato salad, but not mere potato salad, but
potato salad with bits of ham. The French tuly love
food and when they have a passion for something, such
Friends, No one warned us when we went on line
yesterday at the LeBlanc library that it closed at
noon for lunch, thus the abrupt end to my previous
message. We were in a separate internet room with 8
computers that we had all to ourselves except for one
other person. We couldnt have been happier. We had
our lunch with us and had settled in for what we hoped
would be a couple hour break from the road. When we
were informed it was closing time, it was closing
time. We did manage to find another library at 5 pm,
but it had only one computer and closed at 5:30. We
were thwarted at another town in the middle of the
afternoon whose lone store that offered the internet
was inexplicably closed. As Jesse and I sat in the
tiny square of the small town waiting for the office
to open, we watched a parade of locals come by the
shop, check the door and walk off. In 30 minutes we
saw at least 20 people come and go, a veritable cross
section of the town. It was as entertaining as a Tati
movie watching their varied reactions of frustration.
After five or six, we couldnt help but laugh as each
person approached, anticipating their reaction. It
was better than being on the internet.
Anyway, when I left off yesterday, I was
commenting on the French devotion to meat, and was
about to add that friend Florence, who is a
vegetarian, deferred to the ways of her country and
put out a spread of meat along with cheese when we
overnighted with her and Rashid in Tours two days ago.
She said her family and friends think something is
seriously wrong with her after returning from America
a non-meat eater after being away nearly 20 years.
Jesse and I didnt need meat, but Florence thought we
might after biking 150 miles from Paris in two days,
so went overboard in welcoming us. We joyously arrived
at their apartment at 6 p.m., and gabbed non-stop
until nearly 2 a.m. like long lost friends who havent
seen each other in years, when, in fact, it had only
been ten months since she and Rashid had left Chicago.
Even if there hadnt been plenty to catch up on,
Florence and I could carry on for hours trading war
stories from the seven years we fought together on the
same battlefield--the streets of Chicago as bicycle
messengers. Jesse, too, could chip in a few stories
after messengering in Philadelphia for the past two
months. It was a shame that Jesse and I have no time
to spare to make it to Cannes, so we had to be off the
next day. Florence was off to school the first thing
in the morning, but Rashid was able to give us a quick
tour of Tours before we were on our way. Florence
even let him use her super light aluminum racing bike
to lead us around. This is the heart Chateau country
and Tours had one to offer, though it was quite
pint-sized compared to some of the monstrosities we
had seen as we bicycled along the Loire River.
From Florence our next destination is Craig
MacDonald, another Chicago bicyclist who lives six
months of the year in a town of 50 about 40 miles
north of the Mediterraen about 350 miles south of
Tours. I have a couple of bicycle parts to deliver.
We were hoping to be able to spend more than an
evening with him as Craig said he had loads of roads
he'd like to bicycle with us, but once again it
doesnt look as if time will allow. We arent making as
good time as we had hoped due to the rolling terrain.
We climbed over 4500 feet yesterday in 88 miles and
today in 30 miles we have climbed 2100 feet already.
Fortunately the temperature is cool, not even 60, so
we're not overheating, but it is extra cool in the
early morning. When it's raining, it's almost as cold
as Iceland in July.
We were saved having to set up camp in the rain
last night, but just barely. We camped just outside
Guret, which will be one of the finish line cities for
this year's Tour de France. We camped in a field that
was staked out for construction alongside the raod the
Tour riders will pass. Today we are riding roads that
will be part of the Tour's longest stage, 150 miles
from Limoges to St. Floret. I havent decided if I
will return to witness these stages or not. I'm
looking forward to being part of the throngs alongside
the road cheering the riders as they pass after a
truck driver today cheered me as he passed on a long
climb just as he would one of his favorite riders.
The race touches all here. Rashid even admitted to
being captivated by the hours of television coverage
he watched last summer, even tho he never really had
an interest in it when he was living in Chicago. He's
looking forward to watching it on tv again this July.
We go in to a couple of bakeries every day, Jesse
for a baguette and pastries and whatever, and I for
their more nutritional fare--quiches and potato
patties and pate's in a biscuit and other surprises.
They are always a delight giving a distinct local
flavor, and Jesse, with his fluency in French, often
has an interesting conversaton when we have the shop
to ourself. An older guy in the pastry shop in the
town with the closed internet shop told us about
visting Chicago. He said it wasnt anything like the
movies--it was clean and didnt have any gangsters.
Jesse is protecting me from any suggestions of
anti-Americanism I might have detected with my minimal
French. So far, everyone has been charming and
conversational. Jesse is greatly enhancing the
experience and saving me countelss frustrations, they
they too can be very telling aspects to one's travels.
But I will have a chance to experience France on my
own when we split off and Jesse heads to Berlin where
his girl friend will be studying this summer.
Later, George
Monday, May 24, 2004
George Writes and Bikes - From France
Vital Information is pleased to put out the writing and reports of George, the incredible biker. George occasionally gets around Chicago as a messenger, but whenever he gets a chance, he hits the world. Recent adventures include Iceland, Thailand, the Western USA and South America. You should well enjoy these reports.
Vital Information is pleased to put out the writing and reports of George, the incredible biker. George occasionally gets around Chicago as a messenger, but whenever he gets a chance, he hits the world. Recent adventures include Iceland, Thailand, the Western USA and South America. You should well enjoy these reports.
Saturday, May 22, 2004
Ned Beatty in the Kitchen
Last night, in a hurry to get to a party at the chowhoundita's school, we slapped together some turkey sandwiches (very fine turkey from Fox & Obel, thanks for asking). With about ten minutes to spare, I hauled out a cabbage and made cole slaw. That's what I do. I make cole slaw.
Everyone should have a dish. Thousands of Frenchmen know how to expertly swirl an omelet pan in such a way that the eggs always avoid the ashes of the Gitane. After all, in the other hand one would expect to find a glass of wine. Wiseguys learn red gravy as they go to the mattresses, and if they get caught, they fry steaks on the hot plate with garlic literally sliced razor thin. Whether seeking seduction or a sit-down or just a way to moisten up that turkey sammy, I make cole slaw.
It is not a dish that brings accolades. John Kass has not contacted me to take my five step cole slaw process. I cannot, like my friend Joan, impress people with birthday cole slaw. Cole slaw is never a star dish. It is the Ned Beatty of cuisine. You recognize the face each time, even as it takes on new accents, but you are not at the movie because of him. It seems odd, perhaps for some to think of me as committed to such an unassuming dish, as unassuming is surely not they way I am typically described.
Cole Slaw appeals to nearly everything I want and need out of the kitchen. First of all, it is cheap. I can almost always buy a cabbage for under a buck, and that one cabbage will always create as much cole slaw as I need. In fact, cabbage is a rather spiritual vegetable is it not. I mean ever notice how one tiny cabbage, smaller than a Chicago softball can suffice for both teams, the umpires and most of the cheering sections. I believe that cabbage was the food described in the bible as manna, as today it makes a fine topping to those twin desert staples, falafel and shwarma. Cabbage also appeals to my fetish for eating seasonal and eating local. I fantasize about going a whole winter with eating pretty much only cabbage from my root cellar, the way a Hasid wears the clothes of the shtetl, just to do it like they did it. For another thing, cole slaw plays to my kitchen skills. Rather, I shall say, cole slaw barely taxes any kitchen skill. I can take my chef knife, almost core the cabbage and then blast away like I have real knife art 'cause there is hardly a way to screw up cutting the cabbage for cole slaw. And if it does not work one way, I just turn the pieces around and try another. I've made cabbage with thin shreds, chips, platelets, food processor mince, box grater grate and all manner in between. Who cares.
No matter how I slice the stuff, I can make it taste good. I learned how to make cabbage from my mother, who unlike me, has a more impressive dish, rack of lamb. Hers is a no lose formula: salt, sugar, mayonnaise and vinegar mixed in parts until it tastes good. Of course, being a cole slaw specialist, I moved on from the basics. I'll add things. I mix up mayo with oil. I'll make it spicy. I'll make it garlic heady. With cole slaw, I can be of a thousand places. Yellow mustard and I've made it Carolina style [ed is that not Memphis style?]. Caraway seeds and it is something Nordic. Rice vinegar and not much else and is summo, Japanese cole slaw. The variations go on. If I was Chef G at Trio, I would make cabbage ice cream with aerated mayonnaise foam, but I am not. I am Ned Beatty.
Last night, in a hurry to get to a party at the chowhoundita's school, we slapped together some turkey sandwiches (very fine turkey from Fox & Obel, thanks for asking). With about ten minutes to spare, I hauled out a cabbage and made cole slaw. That's what I do. I make cole slaw.
Everyone should have a dish. Thousands of Frenchmen know how to expertly swirl an omelet pan in such a way that the eggs always avoid the ashes of the Gitane. After all, in the other hand one would expect to find a glass of wine. Wiseguys learn red gravy as they go to the mattresses, and if they get caught, they fry steaks on the hot plate with garlic literally sliced razor thin. Whether seeking seduction or a sit-down or just a way to moisten up that turkey sammy, I make cole slaw.
It is not a dish that brings accolades. John Kass has not contacted me to take my five step cole slaw process. I cannot, like my friend Joan, impress people with birthday cole slaw. Cole slaw is never a star dish. It is the Ned Beatty of cuisine. You recognize the face each time, even as it takes on new accents, but you are not at the movie because of him. It seems odd, perhaps for some to think of me as committed to such an unassuming dish, as unassuming is surely not they way I am typically described.
Cole Slaw appeals to nearly everything I want and need out of the kitchen. First of all, it is cheap. I can almost always buy a cabbage for under a buck, and that one cabbage will always create as much cole slaw as I need. In fact, cabbage is a rather spiritual vegetable is it not. I mean ever notice how one tiny cabbage, smaller than a Chicago softball can suffice for both teams, the umpires and most of the cheering sections. I believe that cabbage was the food described in the bible as manna, as today it makes a fine topping to those twin desert staples, falafel and shwarma. Cabbage also appeals to my fetish for eating seasonal and eating local. I fantasize about going a whole winter with eating pretty much only cabbage from my root cellar, the way a Hasid wears the clothes of the shtetl, just to do it like they did it. For another thing, cole slaw plays to my kitchen skills. Rather, I shall say, cole slaw barely taxes any kitchen skill. I can take my chef knife, almost core the cabbage and then blast away like I have real knife art 'cause there is hardly a way to screw up cutting the cabbage for cole slaw. And if it does not work one way, I just turn the pieces around and try another. I've made cabbage with thin shreds, chips, platelets, food processor mince, box grater grate and all manner in between. Who cares.
No matter how I slice the stuff, I can make it taste good. I learned how to make cabbage from my mother, who unlike me, has a more impressive dish, rack of lamb. Hers is a no lose formula: salt, sugar, mayonnaise and vinegar mixed in parts until it tastes good. Of course, being a cole slaw specialist, I moved on from the basics. I'll add things. I mix up mayo with oil. I'll make it spicy. I'll make it garlic heady. With cole slaw, I can be of a thousand places. Yellow mustard and I've made it Carolina style [ed is that not Memphis style?]. Caraway seeds and it is something Nordic. Rice vinegar and not much else and is summo, Japanese cole slaw. The variations go on. If I was Chef G at Trio, I would make cabbage ice cream with aerated mayonnaise foam, but I am not. I am Ned Beatty.
Friday, May 21, 2004
Hot Hot Tofu - So Dong Tofu
So Dong Tofu House – This place pretty much serves one thing, tofu soup. There are about 8 varieties on the menu, but at the end of the day, they hardly matter. You get this steaming, I mean steaming crock of filled with very fresh, soft tofu hiding under a very scary coating of red chili broth. You crack an egg into this cauldron. The heat sterilizes this for you do not worry, and you enjoy at the pace your Western tongue can stand. With your hot hot (both) tofu, you will get another crock of rice. You let your rice sizzle for a bit, creating a bottom layer of crispies known in the trade as “raspa”, then transfer your rice to a stainless steel metal bowl. Oddly to you (maybe), you then wash out the raspa with your hot tea. Eventually, you’ll be taking micro-sips from your 3 bowls, tofu, rice and barley soup with rice krispies. Panchan, again, is your only relief. It is a very intense and satisfying meal. 3307 W. Brn Mawr Chicago, IL
So Dong Tofu House – This place pretty much serves one thing, tofu soup. There are about 8 varieties on the menu, but at the end of the day, they hardly matter. You get this steaming, I mean steaming crock of filled with very fresh, soft tofu hiding under a very scary coating of red chili broth. You crack an egg into this cauldron. The heat sterilizes this for you do not worry, and you enjoy at the pace your Western tongue can stand. With your hot hot (both) tofu, you will get another crock of rice. You let your rice sizzle for a bit, creating a bottom layer of crispies known in the trade as “raspa”, then transfer your rice to a stainless steel metal bowl. Oddly to you (maybe), you then wash out the raspa with your hot tea. Eventually, you’ll be taking micro-sips from your 3 bowls, tofu, rice and barley soup with rice krispies. Panchan, again, is your only relief. It is a very intense and satisfying meal. 3307 W. Brn Mawr Chicago, IL
Todai Today
Not wanting to ruminate in front of a computer today, I accompanied the Condiment Queen to the edge city around Woodfield for some errands. We thought about Shaw's but ended at Todai the chain "seafood" restaurant in the mall. Think you come to this place for the all you can eat sushi? Maybe. But really come to Todai for the cookies. I do not know if I have had finer cookies in a restaurant.
We arrived at Todai a few minutes before opening. Not only does this negate too much waiting, it gets you a loud greeting and a bow from the staff. Then, one by one they lead you past the stations: desserts (try our special tofumitzu we were told), tempura, noodles, soup, hot food, fruit, salads and the reason for most other people, the sushi. My instinct said to start with hot foods, that with a buffet nothing hot could really be that good soon. Yet, my sense of meal decorum made me eat some salads first. Then the hot foods. Then the sushi. Then the cookies.
Last week on the listserv that a lot of Chicago foodies subscribe, there was debate on the nature of Asians in a restaurant as a mark of splendor. Todai would be the ideal location for the dueling positions to duke it out. For one thing, the majority Asian clientele was clearly to my trained eye soley Japanese. It represented a mix of peoples. For another thing, what do all these people know about food? Clearly, Todai speaks to various Asian sensibilities, some I understand, some remain hidden to me. The place is large, bright, technologically advanced and designed to the extreme. All it is missing is some Pokemon cards and a few hello kitty tchotkes to complete the scene. It seems a bit Vegas too, but having been to Asia and having been to Vegas, I know the difference.
OK, does Asian sensibilities mean fake crab and small shrimp. Todai uses a lot of both. I avoided the former and handled the latter fried twice as tempura and with breading fine. Most of the sushi tasted fine too. The kind of sushi that tastes very fine as all you can eat, but maybe not what you want at Katsu or Heat. The sushi selection included conch, mackerel with lemon zest, squid, snapper and a few other things that made this more than just combination A, so I liked also the fact that I could sample. Of the salads, they achieved about a 33% success rate, which is astonishing low for salad, stick with the winners, seaweed and cucumber and shredded cabbage. I took small samples of filet mignon with broccoli, chicken tempura and green lip mussels in the very Asian style of hot mayo, and as small samples, they were fine. None of that stuff would be worth a meal. Still, what I liked most about Todai, and most makes me want to return, the cookies and other desserts.
Know what? I skipped the tofumitzu (but could not resist another chance to say tofumitzu--if you know me as well as Ms. VI or the chowhounditas, you might know that I'm gonna spend the rest of the night, maybe the rest of the weekend saying tofumitzu.) I did not skip much else on the sweet table. Those used to mochi and fried green tea ice cream may be surprised by the dessert aesthetic in Asia. What Japan did once to European cars, they have also done with European desserts. Re-created them, yet accentuated the absolute details. Little jewels of cheesecake, cherry tart and almond bars seemed far better than their models. No place, however, does Japan out France France though is in the cookies. Dream cookies. Cookies that linger over your tongue for seconds then evaporate into thousands of molecules of chocolate, sugar and butter, so much butter.
Sushi and cookies, perhaps my execution menu.
Todai is in the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, IL
Not wanting to ruminate in front of a computer today, I accompanied the Condiment Queen to the edge city around Woodfield for some errands. We thought about Shaw's but ended at Todai the chain "seafood" restaurant in the mall. Think you come to this place for the all you can eat sushi? Maybe. But really come to Todai for the cookies. I do not know if I have had finer cookies in a restaurant.
We arrived at Todai a few minutes before opening. Not only does this negate too much waiting, it gets you a loud greeting and a bow from the staff. Then, one by one they lead you past the stations: desserts (try our special tofumitzu we were told), tempura, noodles, soup, hot food, fruit, salads and the reason for most other people, the sushi. My instinct said to start with hot foods, that with a buffet nothing hot could really be that good soon. Yet, my sense of meal decorum made me eat some salads first. Then the hot foods. Then the sushi. Then the cookies.
Last week on the listserv that a lot of Chicago foodies subscribe, there was debate on the nature of Asians in a restaurant as a mark of splendor. Todai would be the ideal location for the dueling positions to duke it out. For one thing, the majority Asian clientele was clearly to my trained eye soley Japanese. It represented a mix of peoples. For another thing, what do all these people know about food? Clearly, Todai speaks to various Asian sensibilities, some I understand, some remain hidden to me. The place is large, bright, technologically advanced and designed to the extreme. All it is missing is some Pokemon cards and a few hello kitty tchotkes to complete the scene. It seems a bit Vegas too, but having been to Asia and having been to Vegas, I know the difference.
OK, does Asian sensibilities mean fake crab and small shrimp. Todai uses a lot of both. I avoided the former and handled the latter fried twice as tempura and with breading fine. Most of the sushi tasted fine too. The kind of sushi that tastes very fine as all you can eat, but maybe not what you want at Katsu or Heat. The sushi selection included conch, mackerel with lemon zest, squid, snapper and a few other things that made this more than just combination A, so I liked also the fact that I could sample. Of the salads, they achieved about a 33% success rate, which is astonishing low for salad, stick with the winners, seaweed and cucumber and shredded cabbage. I took small samples of filet mignon with broccoli, chicken tempura and green lip mussels in the very Asian style of hot mayo, and as small samples, they were fine. None of that stuff would be worth a meal. Still, what I liked most about Todai, and most makes me want to return, the cookies and other desserts.
Know what? I skipped the tofumitzu (but could not resist another chance to say tofumitzu--if you know me as well as Ms. VI or the chowhounditas, you might know that I'm gonna spend the rest of the night, maybe the rest of the weekend saying tofumitzu.) I did not skip much else on the sweet table. Those used to mochi and fried green tea ice cream may be surprised by the dessert aesthetic in Asia. What Japan did once to European cars, they have also done with European desserts. Re-created them, yet accentuated the absolute details. Little jewels of cheesecake, cherry tart and almond bars seemed far better than their models. No place, however, does Japan out France France though is in the cookies. Dream cookies. Cookies that linger over your tongue for seconds then evaporate into thousands of molecules of chocolate, sugar and butter, so much butter.
Sushi and cookies, perhaps my execution menu.
Todai is in the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, IL
Thursday, May 20, 2004
My Damn Good Chow Day
GWiv wrote about his fine chow day last Saturday. I've rather pressed with irks, real and perceived, to get to my damn good chow day, but here is is.
The chow day part of the day began when we parked our car near the Zim house and caught the aroma of Hecky's just begging to gurgle. Oddly, when the Hecky's stuff first gets going, it smells a lot more like bacon than anything. We did not eat any Hecky's, but it put us in the mood for good food to come.
We shopped the Evanston Farmer's Market with Ms. Zim. It was my first ever visit to this market often cited as the best in the area. Guess what. It's not. If I accessed the markets on the following factors: community feel, availability of fresh donuts, Hayes coffee, specialty produce, organic produce, meat, overall selection, and donuts, well I got to pick Oak Park. It was still a great market. We got award winning, odors not contained in the plastic provolone cheese, Michigan asparagus, rhubarb, and radishes. I admired the morel mushrooms at not one but two vendors, and also envied Green Acres from Indiana that has stuff not found in Oak Park. Still, I missed my donuts and Hayes coffee. Really, in my view, the market also seemed a bit disjointed, a bit less community like, but maybe that was 'cause I ran into no neighbors.
From the market we had some home-made chai from Zim, who made the tea too weak because of bad influences from his mother. We then had a very fine lunch at Thai Home Made. Thai Home Made has nicely translated its menu, so there is no risk of not know what to get, and all of our dishes were heady with fish sauce, so I thought we got it pretty good. After lunch, however, the waitress told me that they did not really make the food Thai style for us. That if they did, it would have been spicier. I guess if the food we had sucked, I would have been pissed, but as the food did not suck, how much could I care. Pork shoulder salad, Chinese broccoli with browned bits of garlic, satay, chicken laab, chive dumplings, bamboo shoot salad--a very green version, different than Thai Avenue's, fried chicken wings. Nothing stood out as much as Spoon Thai, but everything tasted fine nonetheless.
I looked at the some interesting plates of food at Cafe Montenegro next door. Zim warned me and then we split.
The VI family ended up on da'bomb. First stop was actually off of Devon, on California. Acardia is one of those mysterious Brigadoon type of places [Brigadoon is the place that shows up every 7 years right?]. It is pretty much never open when we walk by, and I really thought it just out of business. Not on this day. An older Russian lady sat, rather sad looking. It looked like no one was eating her food. Set up near the cash register was her entire output for the day. One mad dash through the kitchen, leaving an array of things for people to buy and take away. Language issues precluded us from fully knowing what everything was, but we sure took enough of it. Potato latkes stuffed with meat, ground chicken patties, kasha, blintzes, a stew of chicken and potatoes. We ate it later in the week, and it tasted exactly as it looked. Conceived by someone who wanted you to be well fed.
We took two versions of tea on da'bomb that afternoon. Strong Turkish tea in tiny glass glasses at the Turkish place and strong milky tea, the best I've had in ages, at Tahoora Sweets. We got a great deal on strawberries at Fresh Fruit Market and another one of those yeasty round breads from Argo.
We finished the stellar chow day at Tufano's with the lemon chicken, not quite as great as usual, and a bowl of worms, a/k/a cavatelli in red gravy.
I'll dig up addresses later.
GWiv wrote about his fine chow day last Saturday. I've rather pressed with irks, real and perceived, to get to my damn good chow day, but here is is.
The chow day part of the day began when we parked our car near the Zim house and caught the aroma of Hecky's just begging to gurgle. Oddly, when the Hecky's stuff first gets going, it smells a lot more like bacon than anything. We did not eat any Hecky's, but it put us in the mood for good food to come.
We shopped the Evanston Farmer's Market with Ms. Zim. It was my first ever visit to this market often cited as the best in the area. Guess what. It's not. If I accessed the markets on the following factors: community feel, availability of fresh donuts, Hayes coffee, specialty produce, organic produce, meat, overall selection, and donuts, well I got to pick Oak Park. It was still a great market. We got award winning, odors not contained in the plastic provolone cheese, Michigan asparagus, rhubarb, and radishes. I admired the morel mushrooms at not one but two vendors, and also envied Green Acres from Indiana that has stuff not found in Oak Park. Still, I missed my donuts and Hayes coffee. Really, in my view, the market also seemed a bit disjointed, a bit less community like, but maybe that was 'cause I ran into no neighbors.
From the market we had some home-made chai from Zim, who made the tea too weak because of bad influences from his mother. We then had a very fine lunch at Thai Home Made. Thai Home Made has nicely translated its menu, so there is no risk of not know what to get, and all of our dishes were heady with fish sauce, so I thought we got it pretty good. After lunch, however, the waitress told me that they did not really make the food Thai style for us. That if they did, it would have been spicier. I guess if the food we had sucked, I would have been pissed, but as the food did not suck, how much could I care. Pork shoulder salad, Chinese broccoli with browned bits of garlic, satay, chicken laab, chive dumplings, bamboo shoot salad--a very green version, different than Thai Avenue's, fried chicken wings. Nothing stood out as much as Spoon Thai, but everything tasted fine nonetheless.
I looked at the some interesting plates of food at Cafe Montenegro next door. Zim warned me and then we split.
The VI family ended up on da'bomb. First stop was actually off of Devon, on California. Acardia is one of those mysterious Brigadoon type of places [Brigadoon is the place that shows up every 7 years right?]. It is pretty much never open when we walk by, and I really thought it just out of business. Not on this day. An older Russian lady sat, rather sad looking. It looked like no one was eating her food. Set up near the cash register was her entire output for the day. One mad dash through the kitchen, leaving an array of things for people to buy and take away. Language issues precluded us from fully knowing what everything was, but we sure took enough of it. Potato latkes stuffed with meat, ground chicken patties, kasha, blintzes, a stew of chicken and potatoes. We ate it later in the week, and it tasted exactly as it looked. Conceived by someone who wanted you to be well fed.
We took two versions of tea on da'bomb that afternoon. Strong Turkish tea in tiny glass glasses at the Turkish place and strong milky tea, the best I've had in ages, at Tahoora Sweets. We got a great deal on strawberries at Fresh Fruit Market and another one of those yeasty round breads from Argo.
We finished the stellar chow day at Tufano's with the lemon chicken, not quite as great as usual, and a bowl of worms, a/k/a cavatelli in red gravy.
I'll dig up addresses later.
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
LA Donuts Found!
I'm a known donut fetishist. I even swoon over the nearly leaden circles offered each week at my beloved Oak Park Farmer's Market. Imagine my grand surprise when I showed up in LA on a food oriented vacation to learn that LA was not just a donut town, but a donut town.
What makes LA such a wondrous place to eat donuts is the simple fact that they are everywhere. There are a few temples of fry, stance, Primo's, but these really special places are not what makes LA the donut town. It is a donut shop seemingly on every corner. All with the same shapes and flavors and all tasting just great. How can you not like a city where whenever you need a fix of food crack, you have a dealer waiting.
In Chicago and surrounding suburbs, we have a few donuts shops, which makes nearly everyone special, but nothing approaching the vastness of LA. And it turns out that of our few donut shops, one is a LA donut shop.
A bit stressed the other day, I peaked up just by the site of the sign, "Wheeling Donuts." I entered and saw it. A slab of fried, glazed dough seen often in LA known as the buttermilk bar. I felt transported and slightly hankering for a fatburger. I awoke from my day dream to a giggling Khmer woman behind the counter. Seems her family runs some stands out there. My instantly recognizing the LA donut really cracked her up. A LA buttermilk bar made me pretty happy too.
UPDATE: Sorry I gave absolutely no suggestion on how to find LA donuts in Chicago. Wheeling Donuts is on Dundee just east of Rt. 83, south side of the street. There are 2 very interesting looking Mexican places in the same vicinity.
I'm a known donut fetishist. I even swoon over the nearly leaden circles offered each week at my beloved Oak Park Farmer's Market. Imagine my grand surprise when I showed up in LA on a food oriented vacation to learn that LA was not just a donut town, but a donut town.
What makes LA such a wondrous place to eat donuts is the simple fact that they are everywhere. There are a few temples of fry, stance, Primo's, but these really special places are not what makes LA the donut town. It is a donut shop seemingly on every corner. All with the same shapes and flavors and all tasting just great. How can you not like a city where whenever you need a fix of food crack, you have a dealer waiting.
In Chicago and surrounding suburbs, we have a few donuts shops, which makes nearly everyone special, but nothing approaching the vastness of LA. And it turns out that of our few donut shops, one is a LA donut shop.
A bit stressed the other day, I peaked up just by the site of the sign, "Wheeling Donuts." I entered and saw it. A slab of fried, glazed dough seen often in LA known as the buttermilk bar. I felt transported and slightly hankering for a fatburger. I awoke from my day dream to a giggling Khmer woman behind the counter. Seems her family runs some stands out there. My instantly recognizing the LA donut really cracked her up. A LA buttermilk bar made me pretty happy too.
UPDATE: Sorry I gave absolutely no suggestion on how to find LA donuts in Chicago. Wheeling Donuts is on Dundee just east of Rt. 83, south side of the street. There are 2 very interesting looking Mexican places in the same vicinity.
Thursday, May 13, 2004
What's My Obligation to a New Restaurant/What Took Me So Long
Rather quickly, the space next to Armarind on North Avenue near Oak Park Avenue went from for lease, to coming soon, to open as Cafe LaGuardia West. There is actually a Cuban place a few more blocks west, Cafe Cubano, but there is something about this place that turns me off. The portions seem small, the food misses grease, something. Cafe LaGuardia seemed in my memory, to be rather base, more urban, more real, more what I wanted. Cafe LaGuardia West opened for business on Monday.
The Condiment Queen had the great idea to get there early. They would remember us. It would help going forward as they knew us as their FIRST customers. Unfortunately, I am not so sure if we will be repeat customers. I wanted a Cuban sandwich. I specifically asked for no mayo, not a big deal, but one that mattered to my sensibilities. Of course, the sammy came mayo'd. After about 10 minutes, my re-do arrived. I ate about 1/2 when I realized the sandwich was bad, really bad. It was not just the bread, dense, bland Gonnella that works awfully for these things.
A Cuban sandwich, of course, is one of those things that rises above its ingredients, the sum is greater from the press. Still, there is a harmony a magic from those simple ingredients when they all get smooshed. So, when the sandwich tasted that bad. I got curious. I broke the seal and peeked inside. No roast pork. I was eating a sandwich of (very) cheap ham, and overly melted cheese--I believe the sandwich might have been pressed and then nuked or vice-a-versa as the cheese was way different than the meat. After a bit of consternation from Cafe LaGuardia, they decided to free us with no obligation to pay.
Normally, when I eat really bad food, I lose my appetite. For a few moments I did. Yet, soon hunger returned, hunger for another (and better) Cuban sandwich. I decided to give that Cafe Cubano another shot. Could not be worse right? Well, closed. Now, really jonesing for a cubano, I decided to hit the place I've seen many a times, Cafe Prado in Maywood.
A small counter and stool kind of place that you would very much expect to see in the keys or Miami, but in Maywood. I mean it really looks right. Yet a combination of odd hours (or so it seems) and the fact that Maywood never seems like the place you wind up looking for lunch options kept me from actually fulfilling my desire.
Know what. The sandwich was better but only marginally. It still used the same dull bread, but it did have pork and hence worked a whole better. Still, what an infinitely cool place. Beyond that small counter, in fact past an almost forbidding door, stood a good sized dining room. A rec-room decorated room totally un-apparent from the street. It reminded me of the tents in Harry Potter. Outwardly this looked like nothing, within you seemed to be in a 60's era basement (on ground level). The menu contained all sorts of Cuban standards. What really convinced me that I need to return soon is the fact that the menu lists blanks where the prices should be for the various items. See, while the menu lists a lot of stuff, on any given day, only what the cook decided to make is there. My thoughts exactly.
I do not have the addresses for any of these places. Cafe LaGuardia West is on North Avenue just west of Oak Park Avenue. Cafe Cubano is on North near Johnnies in Elmwood Park and El Prado is on Lake Street just west of 5th Avenue in Maywood.
Rather quickly, the space next to Armarind on North Avenue near Oak Park Avenue went from for lease, to coming soon, to open as Cafe LaGuardia West. There is actually a Cuban place a few more blocks west, Cafe Cubano, but there is something about this place that turns me off. The portions seem small, the food misses grease, something. Cafe LaGuardia seemed in my memory, to be rather base, more urban, more real, more what I wanted. Cafe LaGuardia West opened for business on Monday.
The Condiment Queen had the great idea to get there early. They would remember us. It would help going forward as they knew us as their FIRST customers. Unfortunately, I am not so sure if we will be repeat customers. I wanted a Cuban sandwich. I specifically asked for no mayo, not a big deal, but one that mattered to my sensibilities. Of course, the sammy came mayo'd. After about 10 minutes, my re-do arrived. I ate about 1/2 when I realized the sandwich was bad, really bad. It was not just the bread, dense, bland Gonnella that works awfully for these things.
A Cuban sandwich, of course, is one of those things that rises above its ingredients, the sum is greater from the press. Still, there is a harmony a magic from those simple ingredients when they all get smooshed. So, when the sandwich tasted that bad. I got curious. I broke the seal and peeked inside. No roast pork. I was eating a sandwich of (very) cheap ham, and overly melted cheese--I believe the sandwich might have been pressed and then nuked or vice-a-versa as the cheese was way different than the meat. After a bit of consternation from Cafe LaGuardia, they decided to free us with no obligation to pay.
Normally, when I eat really bad food, I lose my appetite. For a few moments I did. Yet, soon hunger returned, hunger for another (and better) Cuban sandwich. I decided to give that Cafe Cubano another shot. Could not be worse right? Well, closed. Now, really jonesing for a cubano, I decided to hit the place I've seen many a times, Cafe Prado in Maywood.
A small counter and stool kind of place that you would very much expect to see in the keys or Miami, but in Maywood. I mean it really looks right. Yet a combination of odd hours (or so it seems) and the fact that Maywood never seems like the place you wind up looking for lunch options kept me from actually fulfilling my desire.
Know what. The sandwich was better but only marginally. It still used the same dull bread, but it did have pork and hence worked a whole better. Still, what an infinitely cool place. Beyond that small counter, in fact past an almost forbidding door, stood a good sized dining room. A rec-room decorated room totally un-apparent from the street. It reminded me of the tents in Harry Potter. Outwardly this looked like nothing, within you seemed to be in a 60's era basement (on ground level). The menu contained all sorts of Cuban standards. What really convinced me that I need to return soon is the fact that the menu lists blanks where the prices should be for the various items. See, while the menu lists a lot of stuff, on any given day, only what the cook decided to make is there. My thoughts exactly.
I do not have the addresses for any of these places. Cafe LaGuardia West is on North Avenue just west of Oak Park Avenue. Cafe Cubano is on North near Johnnies in Elmwood Park and El Prado is on Lake Street just west of 5th Avenue in Maywood.
Monday, May 10, 2004
Blog!
I've been pretty happy with the whole blog process, even if SethZ's stepped in a few times to fancy things up (to the extent that anything is fancied up on my blog). Google purchased Blogger a while back, and they finally made some upgrades (maybe?) in the enterprise. Read about it here.
I've been pretty happy with the whole blog process, even if SethZ's stepped in a few times to fancy things up (to the extent that anything is fancied up on my blog). Google purchased Blogger a while back, and they finally made some upgrades (maybe?) in the enterprise. Read about it here.
Friday, May 07, 2004
D.S.D. Delicatessen & Imports, Inc.
The other day, I jammed a bunch of places into one post 'cause my taste memories were fading. While I have great recall within a few days of a meal, I am no James Beard, remembering every meal ever. It might have been then or never. The compilation post, however, did little justice to the great experience at Le Coq in Oak Park, and even less justice to D.S.D. deli on Lawrence.
As I work my way through my D.S.D. purchases, I am becoming convinced that these may be the best sausages in Chicago. Shockingly good. The texture of the salami impresses me the most. In the mouth it just does not seem like sausage. Somehow, in their sausage making process, they figured out how to fit the meat and fat together like a jig saw puzzle, so that the texture remains entirely solid and compact. Papaya King in New York calls its hot dogs filet mignon on a bun, but D.S.D.'s salami comes down right close to being real meat. If the garlic salami is silk, the dry sausage tube (I apologize I have no idea what these things are called in Serbian, I ordered by sight and taste-test) is Harris tweed, a rough amalgamation of chunks held together by an incredible amount of smoke. As Wiv would say, 2 hours later, you're burping it back. I'm very anxious to return to this place.
3818 W. Lawrence, Chicago.
The other day, I jammed a bunch of places into one post 'cause my taste memories were fading. While I have great recall within a few days of a meal, I am no James Beard, remembering every meal ever. It might have been then or never. The compilation post, however, did little justice to the great experience at Le Coq in Oak Park, and even less justice to D.S.D. deli on Lawrence.
As I work my way through my D.S.D. purchases, I am becoming convinced that these may be the best sausages in Chicago. Shockingly good. The texture of the salami impresses me the most. In the mouth it just does not seem like sausage. Somehow, in their sausage making process, they figured out how to fit the meat and fat together like a jig saw puzzle, so that the texture remains entirely solid and compact. Papaya King in New York calls its hot dogs filet mignon on a bun, but D.S.D.'s salami comes down right close to being real meat. If the garlic salami is silk, the dry sausage tube (I apologize I have no idea what these things are called in Serbian, I ordered by sight and taste-test) is Harris tweed, a rough amalgamation of chunks held together by an incredible amount of smoke. As Wiv would say, 2 hours later, you're burping it back. I'm very anxious to return to this place.
3818 W. Lawrence, Chicago.
Spring World Re-Post
There appears to be posts from Chowhound that are impervious to search & find. Luckily, as the Ultimo, GWiv has encouraged, I have saved many a post. Below is a re-post of a great meal at Spring World, the Yunnan/Szechuan place in the Chinatown Mall.
And the food:
Appetizer plate four ways - conch in a sneaky hot sauce, also very chewy; the famous chicken in black vinegar dressing, maybe the finest dish in the house; mushrooms wrapped around bean curd sheets, more rolls of bean curd than some other local versions; tendon, sliced razor thin, forgotten dressing, but delicious.
Cold Yunnan noodles, like spaghetti, in a multi-flavor sauce, similar to the chicken, but also very heavy on the cilantro. Could have stopped right here.
Beef and special mushrooms in a dark rich sauce - This was a Trio-esque type dish where the richness of the beef merged into the richness of these special mushrooms. Blindfolded, you would not know which was which. (A 4 color brochure was provided for us later to learn more about the imported mushrooms.)
Yunnan ham with leeks - Wow! While I would have loved to have had the ham, procured we are told via a hell of a lot of red-tape, plain with buns, I was plenty happy with this preparation. Yunnan ham really tastes almost exactly like good country ham. The same dense texture, the same intense ham flavor, and the same linger saltiness that tons of soaking cannot kill. Could have stopped here.
Pan fried dumplings - A fine, if un-distinguished, dish. Larger than typical dumplings
Chengdu dumplings (a/k/a boiled dumplings) - A superior version, somehow the called for chili oil was not as oily as it could have been. What was the added grated substance, ginger?
Kung pao chicken - A nod to a first time Chinatowner in our group, yet another superior version. Just the exact amount sauce clinging to the meat and bright fresh peanuts made this a fine dish to eat.
Pigs feet "Hong Tashen" - Hong Tashen, as RST explained to me, is a city in Yunnan and the name of Spring World in Chinese. We were not sure if the dish was meant to be in the style of the city Hong Tashen or in the style of the restaurant named Hong Tashen. Regardless, I am now convinced that I like pigs feet as much as I like spicy desserts, meaning a hell of a lot more than I thought I did. This was a spicy dish, loaded with dried chili peppers, yet unlike some dishes at like, Lao Sze Chuan, the peppers meant something. OK, fatty, chewy and bony too, but all in a good way. Give in to pigs feet!
Tofu and Chinese okra - No one was quite sure what is really Chinese okra. We think it is the long green vegetable also called ohba perhaps and used in Indian cooking. This was a mild satisfying dish that played extremely well against the more rich and spicy other courses.
Spicy baby chicken with ginger - I have had this dish at Spring World before, and it has always been good, but this was gooder, as Sophia might say.
Tilapia fish is horrible looking sauce, insert gross analogy at will, that tasted perfect.
Scallion cakes - Is this getting redundant, the best version I have had in Chicago. Wisps of grease, flaky, crisp and puffy in spots, I could have eaten a dozen.
[Note, on my chowhound report, I failed to mention the salty shrimp in red paste, 'cause, well I guess I did not like it so much.]
Fresh fruit and Yunnan style moon cakes - This is not on the menu, but what the house offered us for dessert. Yunnan moon cakes are totally different than the Cantonese versions, no nuts or bean paste. Instead, an extremely flaky dough, from lard I am sure, filled with tiny bits of Yunnan ham.
There appears to be posts from Chowhound that are impervious to search & find. Luckily, as the Ultimo, GWiv has encouraged, I have saved many a post. Below is a re-post of a great meal at Spring World, the Yunnan/Szechuan place in the Chinatown Mall.
And the food:
Appetizer plate four ways - conch in a sneaky hot sauce, also very chewy; the famous chicken in black vinegar dressing, maybe the finest dish in the house; mushrooms wrapped around bean curd sheets, more rolls of bean curd than some other local versions; tendon, sliced razor thin, forgotten dressing, but delicious.
Cold Yunnan noodles, like spaghetti, in a multi-flavor sauce, similar to the chicken, but also very heavy on the cilantro. Could have stopped right here.
Beef and special mushrooms in a dark rich sauce - This was a Trio-esque type dish where the richness of the beef merged into the richness of these special mushrooms. Blindfolded, you would not know which was which. (A 4 color brochure was provided for us later to learn more about the imported mushrooms.)
Yunnan ham with leeks - Wow! While I would have loved to have had the ham, procured we are told via a hell of a lot of red-tape, plain with buns, I was plenty happy with this preparation. Yunnan ham really tastes almost exactly like good country ham. The same dense texture, the same intense ham flavor, and the same linger saltiness that tons of soaking cannot kill. Could have stopped here.
Pan fried dumplings - A fine, if un-distinguished, dish. Larger than typical dumplings
Chengdu dumplings (a/k/a boiled dumplings) - A superior version, somehow the called for chili oil was not as oily as it could have been. What was the added grated substance, ginger?
Kung pao chicken - A nod to a first time Chinatowner in our group, yet another superior version. Just the exact amount sauce clinging to the meat and bright fresh peanuts made this a fine dish to eat.
Pigs feet "Hong Tashen" - Hong Tashen, as RST explained to me, is a city in Yunnan and the name of Spring World in Chinese. We were not sure if the dish was meant to be in the style of the city Hong Tashen or in the style of the restaurant named Hong Tashen. Regardless, I am now convinced that I like pigs feet as much as I like spicy desserts, meaning a hell of a lot more than I thought I did. This was a spicy dish, loaded with dried chili peppers, yet unlike some dishes at like, Lao Sze Chuan, the peppers meant something. OK, fatty, chewy and bony too, but all in a good way. Give in to pigs feet!
Tofu and Chinese okra - No one was quite sure what is really Chinese okra. We think it is the long green vegetable also called ohba perhaps and used in Indian cooking. This was a mild satisfying dish that played extremely well against the more rich and spicy other courses.
Spicy baby chicken with ginger - I have had this dish at Spring World before, and it has always been good, but this was gooder, as Sophia might say.
Tilapia fish is horrible looking sauce, insert gross analogy at will, that tasted perfect.
Scallion cakes - Is this getting redundant, the best version I have had in Chicago. Wisps of grease, flaky, crisp and puffy in spots, I could have eaten a dozen.
[Note, on my chowhound report, I failed to mention the salty shrimp in red paste, 'cause, well I guess I did not like it so much.]
Fresh fruit and Yunnan style moon cakes - This is not on the menu, but what the house offered us for dessert. Yunnan moon cakes are totally different than the Cantonese versions, no nuts or bean paste. Instead, an extremely flaky dough, from lard I am sure, filled with tiny bits of Yunnan ham.
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Why New Orleans is such a Great Eating Town
The my city eats better than your city is old, very old. Of course we have to eat what's here, and of course we should like what we have. Still, would not it be pretty nice to have a list like this. From Tom Fitzmorris: [note the typo's are his]
TEN BEST LOCAL SWEET NIBBLES
I'm not talking about desserts, but about snacks. All of this is pretty
junky, when you get down to it. But once in awhile. . .
1. Pralines. The classic local candy. Best flavor: praline.
2. Cannoli. Fried pastry shells stuffed with sweetened ricotta cheese,
candied fruit, and pistachios, dusted with powdered sugar. Brocato's
are, of course, definitive: chocolate on one end, vanilla on the other.
3. Satsumas. They're out of season, but when they're in, they're like
candy.
4. Sweet potato or pecan pies. The little ones, made by guys like the
late Omar the Pieman, or the ones you get at the Jazz Festival.
5. Beignets. It's sad the way beignets, even from the classic producers
of them, have become so terrible. But when they're not too oily or
dense, they're wonderful.
6. Snowballs. I've had my first dozen of the year already. I find myself
asking for less syrup than they usually put on. Best flavor: ice cream.
Worst flavor: licorice.
7. Roman chewing candy. Atmosphere, 10. Taste, 8. Effect on your
fillings and crowns: 1.
8. Heavenly hash. I' not sure whether this is an Elmer's trademark or
not, but there was a time when many candymakers locally made it.
Chocolate, marshmallow (much less of that then Elmer's uses), and
almonds. The famous one was at D. H. Holmes.
9. Calas. Of almost purely historic note now. The ball-shaped rice
cakes, fried then dusted with brown or powdered sugar, were once sold
hot from carts around the city. I mention them here to encourage
someone--anyone--to revive them. (Still great at the Coffee Pot fro
breakfast.)
10. Hubig's lemon delight. I've always felt that there's a lot of room for
improvement in this half-moon-shaped fried pie. The pastry is too
heavy, for example. But when you're in the mood for several hundred
old-style calories, you might have to eat one. I get about one a year.
The my city eats better than your city is old, very old. Of course we have to eat what's here, and of course we should like what we have. Still, would not it be pretty nice to have a list like this. From Tom Fitzmorris: [note the typo's are his]
TEN BEST LOCAL SWEET NIBBLES
I'm not talking about desserts, but about snacks. All of this is pretty
junky, when you get down to it. But once in awhile. . .
1. Pralines. The classic local candy. Best flavor: praline.
2. Cannoli. Fried pastry shells stuffed with sweetened ricotta cheese,
candied fruit, and pistachios, dusted with powdered sugar. Brocato's
are, of course, definitive: chocolate on one end, vanilla on the other.
3. Satsumas. They're out of season, but when they're in, they're like
candy.
4. Sweet potato or pecan pies. The little ones, made by guys like the
late Omar the Pieman, or the ones you get at the Jazz Festival.
5. Beignets. It's sad the way beignets, even from the classic producers
of them, have become so terrible. But when they're not too oily or
dense, they're wonderful.
6. Snowballs. I've had my first dozen of the year already. I find myself
asking for less syrup than they usually put on. Best flavor: ice cream.
Worst flavor: licorice.
7. Roman chewing candy. Atmosphere, 10. Taste, 8. Effect on your
fillings and crowns: 1.
8. Heavenly hash. I' not sure whether this is an Elmer's trademark or
not, but there was a time when many candymakers locally made it.
Chocolate, marshmallow (much less of that then Elmer's uses), and
almonds. The famous one was at D. H. Holmes.
9. Calas. Of almost purely historic note now. The ball-shaped rice
cakes, fried then dusted with brown or powdered sugar, were once sold
hot from carts around the city. I mention them here to encourage
someone--anyone--to revive them. (Still great at the Coffee Pot fro
breakfast.)
10. Hubig's lemon delight. I've always felt that there's a lot of room for
improvement in this half-moon-shaped fried pie. The pastry is too
heavy, for example. But when you're in the mood for several hundred
old-style calories, you might have to eat one. I get about one a year.
Nibbles and Gulps
La Quebrada - The new menu still irks the Condiment Queen as she longs for her calamari ajillo botana. Me, I may be happiest at La Quebrada with the most basic stuff, the antojitos on the back page. Yesterday, I had two tacos cesina and a sope with the unctuous barbacoa de chivo. As Hat Hammond notes, a hand-made tortilla makes any taco, and La Quebrada might make the best tortilla in Illinois. The taco cesina is more than tortilla though. It is a totally successful medley of chip-chopped cesina, refried beans, pico de gallo and guacamole in that hand-made tortilla. The sope does not approach the absolute pleasure of the blue van, but it is still plenty good, with the sope blend of crisp and toothsome. A dollop of Quebrada's deep chipolotle salsa topped the sope and added to the package. Five locations.
Freddy's - Notice a pattern here? More and more, I am convinced that Freddy's is the best food store in Chicago. The level of artisanship and just flat out realness is found almost no where else in Chicago. A lot of places make their own fresh sausage, but at Freddy's, they make their own capicolla, salami, sopresseta and hams as well as their own breads too. Each day there are platters of food wholly reminiscent of Italy. Freddy's can pretty much fit in as a store in Italy. Yesterday, I picked up a round bread I have never seen there before. In texture, it resembled almost their ciabatta, but it was not as dry. It looked and tasted nearly exactly as the baked in the floor breads from Argo Georgian Bakery on Devon, but with a bit more stiffness and not as much yeast. A great bread. 1600 S. 61st Ave
Cicero, IL
Siam House - I've had some outstanding food at this restaurant in Niles that caters as much to Chicago's Thai community as it does to just plain lovers of Thai food, but that outstanding food avoided us the other night. As I mentioned on Chowhound, I did not work hard enough to get Thai-Thai. I know treasures lie buried in Siam's menu for next time. Still, at least one dish impressed me on Sunday, a half-chicken grill roasted and oozing Thai juices. 7742 N. Milwaukee Ave, Niles, IL
D.S.D. Delicatessen & Imports - One of these places you pass hundreds of times and you never think to enter only later to say why kind of places. A Serbian deli offering five (at least) varieties of red pepper spreads and the other basics of Euro important--chocolate wafer cookies, sour cherries in syrup, etc. In back are the meats. They roast and hack pigs, visually ultra-appealing with orange stiff skin, and they make a variety of smoked products. They eagerly sliced bits for me to try, practically forcing me to buy a garlic salami and two kinds of dry sausage. We put the product in the trunk, but within 20 minutes of driving, the entire car reeked Serbian. 3818 W. Lawrence, Chicago
Salam - With a bunch of restaurants around the Kedzie - Lawrence intersection, why do we almost always eat at Salam. Salam is not one of these restaurants run by one or two whirlwinds. Five or six fella's work at Salam at a time, and the effort shows. For instance, I had gone in back to use the restroom. And in back is the reason to go to Salam. Buckets of chick peas soak for hummus, fatah and other items, a bunch of collapsed, roasted eggplants stand ready to be baba ganoushed, and one of those five or six fella's worked a big bowl of fresh spinach for pies. He did confess that the pastry sheets came from next door, but he also stated that since this shop made their own phylo, the pies would be totally hand-made. Great minced jalepeno salsa too. 4636 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL
The Sweet Shop Next to Salam This place seems to change owners and names every few years. Always, it sells high quality Middle-Eastern sweets. I am always torn between two: rectangles filled with a sweet cheese and triangles filled with a gooshy custard. Typically, I give in and buy both. On the other hand, I tried these little fried balls soaked in syrup, looking tempting near the register. I will have no problem avoiding these lead bombs again.
Le Coq - On Chowhound, some people said bad words about Le Coq in Oak Park. I disagree. Is Le Coq the perfect restaurant, hardly. Is it an ideal restaurant, damn close for sure. People have attacked their service, and we (well me as Ms. VI thought I was verging on nuts) rather challenged the service. I told them that I pretty much hated all American versions of chocroute garnie, would I like theirs. And I still ordered the dish. I also needled them for the lack of morels in the morel mushroom sauce on the asparagus. And the waiter did get a bit huffy, but I mean come on, it's not that hard to know the difference between a morel and a button mushroom. While I stopped arguing my apparently no win point, he did return with a small dish of more mushrooms, with a few more morels. Regardless, three things make this place near ideal. First, this may be just another bistro around town, but the dishes always taste of the chef. This is not restaurant doing French because that seems in. This is a crew grounded in actual French style food, and they create dishes that always strike me as a notch or two better than they need to be. Second, I was so pleased that the menu spoke spring and spoke spring pretty loudly. Asparagus and peas and morels and young cabbage were all over the place. And done so well too. The grilled asparagus with morel mushroom sauce, even with the miser's portion of morels drove home my fetish of seasonal eating. Every aspect of this dish exploded in my mouth. I weep from such real food. Third, this place knows value. I weep from such prices at Le Coq. Only a few dishes edge over $20. The rest are comfortably in the tens. The appetizers are priced realistically. Foie gras, OK, that costs a bit more, but if you want something else, like the asparagus, well you can get by for a lot less. Given the quality in the kitchen, the low prices are weep worthy. 734 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL
La Quebrada - The new menu still irks the Condiment Queen as she longs for her calamari ajillo botana. Me, I may be happiest at La Quebrada with the most basic stuff, the antojitos on the back page. Yesterday, I had two tacos cesina and a sope with the unctuous barbacoa de chivo. As Hat Hammond notes, a hand-made tortilla makes any taco, and La Quebrada might make the best tortilla in Illinois. The taco cesina is more than tortilla though. It is a totally successful medley of chip-chopped cesina, refried beans, pico de gallo and guacamole in that hand-made tortilla. The sope does not approach the absolute pleasure of the blue van, but it is still plenty good, with the sope blend of crisp and toothsome. A dollop of Quebrada's deep chipolotle salsa topped the sope and added to the package. Five locations.
Freddy's - Notice a pattern here? More and more, I am convinced that Freddy's is the best food store in Chicago. The level of artisanship and just flat out realness is found almost no where else in Chicago. A lot of places make their own fresh sausage, but at Freddy's, they make their own capicolla, salami, sopresseta and hams as well as their own breads too. Each day there are platters of food wholly reminiscent of Italy. Freddy's can pretty much fit in as a store in Italy. Yesterday, I picked up a round bread I have never seen there before. In texture, it resembled almost their ciabatta, but it was not as dry. It looked and tasted nearly exactly as the baked in the floor breads from Argo Georgian Bakery on Devon, but with a bit more stiffness and not as much yeast. A great bread. 1600 S. 61st Ave
Cicero, IL
Siam House - I've had some outstanding food at this restaurant in Niles that caters as much to Chicago's Thai community as it does to just plain lovers of Thai food, but that outstanding food avoided us the other night. As I mentioned on Chowhound, I did not work hard enough to get Thai-Thai. I know treasures lie buried in Siam's menu for next time. Still, at least one dish impressed me on Sunday, a half-chicken grill roasted and oozing Thai juices. 7742 N. Milwaukee Ave, Niles, IL
D.S.D. Delicatessen & Imports - One of these places you pass hundreds of times and you never think to enter only later to say why kind of places. A Serbian deli offering five (at least) varieties of red pepper spreads and the other basics of Euro important--chocolate wafer cookies, sour cherries in syrup, etc. In back are the meats. They roast and hack pigs, visually ultra-appealing with orange stiff skin, and they make a variety of smoked products. They eagerly sliced bits for me to try, practically forcing me to buy a garlic salami and two kinds of dry sausage. We put the product in the trunk, but within 20 minutes of driving, the entire car reeked Serbian. 3818 W. Lawrence, Chicago
Salam - With a bunch of restaurants around the Kedzie - Lawrence intersection, why do we almost always eat at Salam. Salam is not one of these restaurants run by one or two whirlwinds. Five or six fella's work at Salam at a time, and the effort shows. For instance, I had gone in back to use the restroom. And in back is the reason to go to Salam. Buckets of chick peas soak for hummus, fatah and other items, a bunch of collapsed, roasted eggplants stand ready to be baba ganoushed, and one of those five or six fella's worked a big bowl of fresh spinach for pies. He did confess that the pastry sheets came from next door, but he also stated that since this shop made their own phylo, the pies would be totally hand-made. Great minced jalepeno salsa too. 4636 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL
The Sweet Shop Next to Salam This place seems to change owners and names every few years. Always, it sells high quality Middle-Eastern sweets. I am always torn between two: rectangles filled with a sweet cheese and triangles filled with a gooshy custard. Typically, I give in and buy both. On the other hand, I tried these little fried balls soaked in syrup, looking tempting near the register. I will have no problem avoiding these lead bombs again.
Le Coq - On Chowhound, some people said bad words about Le Coq in Oak Park. I disagree. Is Le Coq the perfect restaurant, hardly. Is it an ideal restaurant, damn close for sure. People have attacked their service, and we (well me as Ms. VI thought I was verging on nuts) rather challenged the service. I told them that I pretty much hated all American versions of chocroute garnie, would I like theirs. And I still ordered the dish. I also needled them for the lack of morels in the morel mushroom sauce on the asparagus. And the waiter did get a bit huffy, but I mean come on, it's not that hard to know the difference between a morel and a button mushroom. While I stopped arguing my apparently no win point, he did return with a small dish of more mushrooms, with a few more morels. Regardless, three things make this place near ideal. First, this may be just another bistro around town, but the dishes always taste of the chef. This is not restaurant doing French because that seems in. This is a crew grounded in actual French style food, and they create dishes that always strike me as a notch or two better than they need to be. Second, I was so pleased that the menu spoke spring and spoke spring pretty loudly. Asparagus and peas and morels and young cabbage were all over the place. And done so well too. The grilled asparagus with morel mushroom sauce, even with the miser's portion of morels drove home my fetish of seasonal eating. Every aspect of this dish exploded in my mouth. I weep from such real food. Third, this place knows value. I weep from such prices at Le Coq. Only a few dishes edge over $20. The rest are comfortably in the tens. The appetizers are priced realistically. Foie gras, OK, that costs a bit more, but if you want something else, like the asparagus, well you can get by for a lot less. Given the quality in the kitchen, the low prices are weep worthy. 734 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Resources and Links
I've added MikeG's chow photo's to the Links and the Italian beef tasting to the Resources. Let me know what else needs to be on this page/taken off the page.
UPDATE: Whoops, as Dickson can attest, I've been dropping a couple of balls lately. Anyways I meant to add Eatchicago to the links list. It's there now.
I've added MikeG's chow photo's to the Links and the Italian beef tasting to the Resources. Let me know what else needs to be on this page/taken off the page.
UPDATE: Whoops, as Dickson can attest, I've been dropping a couple of balls lately. Anyways I meant to add Eatchicago to the links list. It's there now.
Friday, April 30, 2004
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Mike G's Chicago Chowhound, Do Not Call it a FAQ, Tip Sheet on Old Chowhound Posts
Michael of Eatchicago.net suggested I make it easy for people to find the ice cream summary as future posts will move the stuff down and eventually off the main blog page. It was a great suggestion. I added a resources heading for people to find key posts here or elsewhere, including MikeG's Tip Sheet.
Vexed (and irked?) by the constant streaming of similar questions as well as motivated by the need to try to put order to the vast knowledgebase that existed on the Chicago Chowhound Board, Mike G made a FAQ or tip sheet. It was his distillation of key posts. I've always quibbled with some of his selections and characterizations, but I've always been impressed with the effort put into the project. It may not be the Chowhound FAQ I'd do, but then again, why should I do one when such a great resource was created by Mike. It can be found, in its most current version here.
Now, one of the problems with the whole process of getting to historic chowhound posts, is that Chowhound does not use static URLs for their posts. Over time, as Chowhound archives older posts, the URLs for ALL posts change. Thus, it is impossible to use links to find posts. Luckily, the post numbers stay the same. In the most recent version of the Tip Sheet, Mike G had included a system for adjusting the URL to find the posts. I have taken it on myself to modify his last Tip Sheet post to show how to better find archived posts. The link on the resources section now refers to my last post. I will try, as Chowhound divides, to keep the link to the Tip Sheet "right".
Michael of Eatchicago.net suggested I make it easy for people to find the ice cream summary as future posts will move the stuff down and eventually off the main blog page. It was a great suggestion. I added a resources heading for people to find key posts here or elsewhere, including MikeG's Tip Sheet.
Vexed (and irked?) by the constant streaming of similar questions as well as motivated by the need to try to put order to the vast knowledgebase that existed on the Chicago Chowhound Board, Mike G made a FAQ or tip sheet. It was his distillation of key posts. I've always quibbled with some of his selections and characterizations, but I've always been impressed with the effort put into the project. It may not be the Chowhound FAQ I'd do, but then again, why should I do one when such a great resource was created by Mike. It can be found, in its most current version here.
Now, one of the problems with the whole process of getting to historic chowhound posts, is that Chowhound does not use static URLs for their posts. Over time, as Chowhound archives older posts, the URLs for ALL posts change. Thus, it is impossible to use links to find posts. Luckily, the post numbers stay the same. In the most recent version of the Tip Sheet, Mike G had included a system for adjusting the URL to find the posts. I have taken it on myself to modify his last Tip Sheet post to show how to better find archived posts. The link on the resources section now refers to my last post. I will try, as Chowhound divides, to keep the link to the Tip Sheet "right".
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Ice Cream News?
Please provide me with your ice cream news, updates, suggestions and complaints, either by e-mail or in the comments. As required and information warrants, I will post an updated ice cream summary.
UPDATE: Based on comments and e-mails, I've updated the ice cream list below (and people wonder why I have the blog instead of post on Chowhound...)
Please provide me with your ice cream news, updates, suggestions and complaints, either by e-mail or in the comments. As required and information warrants, I will post an updated ice cream summary.
UPDATE: Based on comments and e-mails, I've updated the ice cream list below (and people wonder why I have the blog instead of post on Chowhound...)
Ice Cream!
Here's an overview of ice cream places in Chicago that I wrote in May, 2002. I've updated since, with dates. I have also deleted closed places.
Palazzolo's Gelato (Available at Pronto Roma River Forest Town Center Lake and Harlem, River Forest) - Even though Pronto Roma is Sophia's favorite place, even more fav. than Flat Top, I'll warn against it. The Al Gelato Pronto served was much, much better than the gritty, bland Palazzolo stuff. Oddly, Local Palate loves it. UPDATE: Had their ice cream on 8/6/03. They've fixed their freezer, soupy ice cream has been a problem. The flavors are strong, but almost too strong, like their is something un-natural about them. This stuff still reminds of a factory rendition of what gelato should be.
Grampy's Frozen Custard (1 W. Illinois, St. Charles) - Never tried, but I am instantly attracted to the words, frozen custard. Without employment from AA, I've had no reason to visit St. Charles until now. UPDATE: Still have not tried, anyone?
Freddy's (16th near Ridgeland, Cicero) - Yes. UPDATE: A few weeks ago, I had the nutella, the sweet cream plain based mixed with nutella. So good that I ended up eating about a pint in one sitting.
Cunis Candies (1030 E. 162, South Holland) - An old fashioned Margiesque place I NEED to try. South Holland? UPDATE: Still have not tried. UPDATE 4/29/04 - Paul Mollica, in scolding me for not getting to South Holland, states of Cunis, "Everything about this place speaks of quality and care: the ice cream, the sauces and the nuts all fresh and top-drawer. Fresh fruit ice creams in season and turtle sundaes anytime of year."
Sukhadia's Sweets (2559 W. Devon, Chicago) - Zim's commented on this, right? I do love the just frozen texture and ultra creaminess of Indian ice cream. UPDATE: Here's what Zim wrote in July, 03, "Unfortunately the kulfi (malai-cream, pistachio, and mango) now looks like its shipped in pre-made, I've got a couple in the freezer but haven't tried them out yet. But they also offer homemade ice cream. Most of the flavors are nothing special just good versions of something that might be in a Neapolitan brick, not gourmet ulra-fresh strawberry sorbet, but to satisfy kids. However, there's always a couple ringer flavors that are interesting and pretty good. Last night it was walnut. I'm not sure its a destination ice cream place, but if you're on Devon and feel like something cold you could do a lot worse." UPDATE 4/29/04 - Stirsy reminds me that Sukhadia is closed, perhaps to re-open. He suggests King Sweets for Indian ice cream on da'bomb. On Easter, the VI family visted the chaat shop that formerly held the Indian-Chinese place. Somewhere on the messy VI desk is its name, and at some point, I will do a brief report on this Bombay influenced place. UPDATE 4/30/04 - Zim reports that Sukhadia will re-open, and hopefully fix their chaotic ordering system. He also notes that for Indian style ice cream, right now, he'd suggest Rajbhog. He sez, "Rajbhog offers commercial stuff, made by the Rajbhog home base in NJ, but most of the places on Devon (including I think King sweets) are serving Rajbhog, so why not get it from their branch."
Penguin (2723 W. Lawrence, Chicago) - Famous chowhound discovery, proving definitively to me that I did not know everything about Chicago chow. Go for the friendly owners as well as the great ice cream. UPDATE The key thing at Penguin is too sample extensively. All those in the know, know that when the Penguin stuff sits around, it rots. Rookies occasionally complain that is not all its cracked up to be because they end up with a stale flavor. Try before buying.
Bittersweet (1114 W. Belmont, Chicago) - Ice cream's a new addition, but everything else is so delicious, I have high hopes. UPDATE: Sheila and I have had their ice cream a few times each summer. I never see anyone else order the ice cream when we go, nor do I remember too many comments on the board. Too bad. You can really taste the egg yolks in this stuff. A recent lemon verbena tasted like frozen pastry cream, and that is a compliment. Do try.
Homer's (1237 Green Bay, Wilmette) - I only get the Prairie Berry. Very rich ice cream. UPDATE: Interestingly, in 2002, we had one poster glorifying their hot fudge and another poster saying she liked everything BUT the hot fudge.
Oberweis (various locations) - Great, high fat ice cream, fair sundae toppings. Extreme right wing politics keeps Ms. VI away.
Soups and Scoops (2534 N. Clark, Chicago) - It promises homemade gelato, and the coupon offers 50% off the second scoop. Very close to Wiener Circle. UPDATE: Never did more than see an ad, anyone ever try. There's another place close by, see Ice Dreams below. Anyone ever try?
Zephyr's (Wilson and Ravenswood, Chicago) - Modern take on the traditional ice cream parlor. Full coffee shop menu as well as sundaes, soda's, etc. Their ice cream has a strong yellow tint that seems un-natural to me. Cathy2 is a bigger fan than me. She's written, "The whipping cream is made with a rich high-fat cream. They make their own ice cream. For years, we always got individual 2-scoop hot fudge sundaes until one day we ordered "War of the Worlds." You cannot beat a 10-scoop ice cream sundae with 4-toppings, slivered almonds, cookies, cherries and my special request of extra-extra whipping cream for $8.95. We always have someone who digs out their favorite ice cream flavor at an inconvenient location -- causing everyone to use their spoon to balance this monster sundae."
Sweeties (Clark, near Wrigley Field) - AnnieB mentioned this place in the last ice cream round up. I've never been, but here's what she said, "The owners are nice, Sweeties serves a good value of soup/chili/jambalaya in different sizes, a pasta of the day for around $5 (some of this stuff is only in winter) and a full array of ice cream, candies, and penny candy. The ice cream comes from someplace that is supposed to mean something to folks around here. Everyone I've been there with (used to work right around the corner) thought it was quite good ice cream. The berry smoothie things are good. The penny candy is a hoot. The ice cream cakes and pies look really good and I've heard that they're quite delicious. It's a nice change of pace in the area, fun with kids on game day."
Rainbow Cone (9233 S. Western Ave) - This should have been an obvious choice for the Westernathon, but they were on vacation during our adventure. Amazingly, I have never had the famous cone in its home setting. I've only had it at Taste of Chicago. For those who are unfamiliar, the Rainbow cone is a combination of ice creams (and orange sherbet) on a cone. Perfect for those who cannot make up their mind. I know some people find the amalgamation of flavors counter-productive. Paul Mollica's sez, "I don't know why anyone would drive here for anything but a Rainbow Cone. You will not mistake this for a high-quality, riot-of-butterfat product; the sauces and whipped cream are run-of-the-mill; and they don't sell corn or yam flavored scoops. But try it anyway."
Massa (North Avenue, near Johnnie's Italian Beef, Elmwood Park) - Massa makes its own gelato, mostly from cans of base imported from Italy. The stuff is smooth and rich and mostly very good. Sometimes, especially during the summer, there will be true homemade flavors made from various fruits. Look mostly for the stuff with handwritten signs.
Village Creamery (two locations 4558 Oakton, Skokie and 8000 Waukegan, Niles) - Village Creamery is mostly famous for its various Filipino flavors including very purple (ube) yam and sweet corn. In addition, they do a variety of gelato-ish flavors using the same imported bases as Massa. UPDATE (8/15/03) I think Zim sez it best, "that quite a bit of the appeal to their ice cream resides in offering flavors unavailable elsewhere."
Scooters (1658 W Belmont, Chicago) - Scooters claims to be the only place in Chicago selling true frozen custard, custard in the style of Ted Drewes in St. Louis or Kopps in Milwaukee. Being pretty un-experienced with real custards, I cannot really place this place against the standards, but I found it plenty good. When I first went, I thought they swirled the ice cream instead of letting it fall into a bin for scooping. This led to a bit of controversy on chowhound, with Scooters vehemently denying it. On my second visit, they clearly were scooping. Scooping, for those who wonder the fuss, produces a much better mouth fee than swirling. Here's what the Ultimo, GWiv, said about Scooters, "The husband and wife team who own and operate Scooter's are very friendly and were quite open to my questions. No, they are not part of a chain, this is their only store, yes they have been to Kopp's in Milwaukee many times and think it is exceptional. Scooter's, while the same style as Kopp's, is 10% butterfat, as opposed to Kopp's 13.5-14%. I can say, having been to Kopp's just last Saturday, that Scooter's compared favorably to Kopp's though, as a Milwaukee native, Kopp's will always remain #1 in my book. The custard was a reasonable $6 per quart and when I asked for a cup of coffee they made a fresh pot using Intelligentsia coffee. Based on one brief visit I quite like Scooter's, though what's not to like about good custard"
Ice Dreams (2865 N. Clark, Chicago) - I have never been. Here's what Joan had to say, "a new ice cream place opened last week. they have gelato and American ice cream (their term). the 2 flavors of gelato i tried were very good. the mango tasted like it was made with super ripe fruit. the bacio (hazelnut and chocolate) was plenty nutty tasting and not overly sweet, which is my biggest problem with most ice cream. i actually prefer Eddy's frozen yogurts and light ice creams to most of the sweeter and more caloric ice creams i try in ice cream shops." UPDATE: 3/28/04 - Tried, sampling plenty of flavors. Tasted weak and overly soft. Apparently no base, but also extracts. UPDATE 4/29/04 - Shannon Clark disagrees with my assessment. He likes the place.
Snookelfriz (Green City Market, Clark near North Avenue) - Joan discovered this very interesting sounding ice cream being sold ONLY at the Wednesday Green City Market. Here's her comments, "There's some new and tasty ice cream in town, but don't get too excited unless you can get to the green city market, Wednesdays between 7am-1pm in Lincoln Park.
Margie's Candy (Western/Armitage/Milwaukee) - This is pretty much it when you are talking about classic ice cream parlors within the Chicago city limits. Cramped and sometimes suffering from surly servers, but still capable of glamorous sundaes and other treats. I loved my recent turtle sundae. Cathy2 presented a dissenting view, "I love whipping cream, thus my first spoonful was the whipped cream. Right there, I was disappointed as the whipping cream was lower on the fat scale, thin and not too pleasant. The ice cream wasn't outstanding. The hot fudge was a very generous quantity, which tasted like Nestle's semisweet morsels. I'm glad to have tried it for simply the experience."
Petersen's (1104 Chicago Ave, Oak Park) - You would think that I'd have more to say about a rather famous place in my home town, but I am not a huge fan of Petersen's. Their ice cream itself is good enough, just not really wow-ful. The hot fudge is very poor and reminds me mostly of Smuckers. Petersen's has two sides, a restaurant side and a counter side. I mostly stick to the counter which is for cones. Petersen's changed ownership about a year ago, and the new owner makes some excellent candies, especially the caramels.
Marble Slab (940 Church Street, Evanston/7154 Carpenter Road, Skokie) - I have never tried. Zim, who with Joan, is the primary scout of ice cream places had this to say in 02, "There are about 15 flavors, each very rich, but not assertively flavored (with the exception of the lemon custard I tried) because the shtick here is the mix-in on the slab and I guess if the flavors were stronger the mix-ins wouldn't go as well...A couple minor gripes: about those waffle cones, they offer a number of different dips and flavors, but they didn't on the ones we tried out have much real flavor to them and more annoyingly feature a large nickel-size whole in the bottom for your ice-cream to leak out of. Maybe because it was new and the line was long of folks who have never been there before and were tasting flavors and the staff hadn't had a chance to get into a groove of doing the mix-ins on the slab, the line moves glacially. I think it will get a little quicker as the newness wears off the but the slab mix-in thing ensures that it will stay a little slow. Also did i mention it's kinda steep for a waffle cone - $3.50"
Sweet Occasions - (4639 N. Damen, Chicago) - Has gotten some recent attention on the board. In 02, I said, "black raspberry truffle was their most popular choice...This IS their best. Smooth cream, toothsome chocolate pieces and strong fruit flavor...The chocolate also possessed a pleasing smooth texture. Chocolate flavor played a role, but it did not overpower. Butterfat also played a role, but also did not really get out there. I suppose in wine ratings, balance can be key, and this ice cream was balanced nicely between texture, flavor and richness, but I guess I want a little more than balance."
Hartigan's Ice Cream (2909 Central St., Evanston) - Mentioned in passing by Zim, who notes it serves cedar crest dairy ice cream from Wisconsin. Any other info?
Coffee Chicago/Double Rainbow (Broadway and Berwyn, Chicago) - This coffee shop sells this brand of ice cream, reputably famous in SF. When I lived nearby, I never remembered it being anything special. In 02, Harry V wrote, Strangely they did not have the only ice cream flavor I really like -- vanilla. I had the butter pecan and my girlfriend had strawberry. Both were authentically, overpoweringly flavored -- disagreeably so in my eyes, but likely to win plaudits from most, I suppose. I'd prefer ice cream to taste like cream, some sugar and vanilla are also nice. I'd bet Double Rainbow's vanilla would be excellent, based on the lovely richness of the ice creams we tried." See also Brown Cow below.
Double Rainbow on Southport (?) - In July, 02, Zim mentioned a Double Rainbow outlet on Southport that was quite crowded. I do not know if this branch still exists, nor do I have any idea of its quality. Any comments?
Chocolate Shoppe (5337 W Devon, Chicago) - A converted Baskin Robbins in the under-explored Edgebrook area. GWiv noted, "The ice cream, which I have only had once, was good, though not exactly to my taste. I can't really describe why I wasn't thrilled, maybe I wasn't in the mood for ice cream at the moment...Chocolate Shoppe hails from Madison, Wisconsin and is practically a Madison institution, to the extent they had a spot on Food TV's Food Finds. The Devon location is a pleasant place, friendly service, chairs inside and out to relax and directly across the street from the Chicago Public Library, Edgebrook Branch."
Evanston Creamery/Chocolate Shoppe (1301 Chicago Ave, Evanston) - Also took over a Baskin Robbins in Evanston. Zim sez, "usually I'm not a big fan of store bought chocolate ice cream as their is little discernible darkness to the flavor, this was really pretty nice, not too sweet, good chocolate flavor and with good texture as well." Note, Chocolate Shoppe ice cream is also served at Sweet Pea in Highwood (Sheridan) and Miami Sweets (see below).
Sugar Shack (630 W. 26th St, Chicago) - Hot Dill Pickle threw this place out as an example of decent soft serve ice cream in Chicago. CMC disagreed. See below.
Hole in the Wall Custard (901 1/2 N. Oak Park Ave Oak Park) - A very good soft serve. This may not be custard like Scooters makes custard, but I am always happy getting a cone here. In fact, I get a kid's cone because that is all I ever need to be satisfied. Of course, I always get it dipped in Chocolate.
Toots Drive Inn (4354 N. Central Ave Chicago, IL) - Old Shack serving soft, possibly tastee freeze, ice cream. I have wanted to try for ages. Anyone? UPDATE 4/29/04 - Paul Mollica comments, "The main attraction is sitting at the corner of Montrose and Central on a hot summer day and having ice cream melt down your hand. "
Buffalo's (Arlington Heights Rd. and Lake-Cook Rd, Buffalo Grove) - Pretty much everyone agrees that the original Buffalo's on Irving Park and its subsequent incarnation in Skokie were great. Whether this local greek in Buffalo serves anything like the original is open.
Dave's Ice Cream & Italian Ice (1451 W. 18th St, Chicago) - This place does not look like much, but Zim reported in 02, "the tamarindo Italian ice on offer there was really very good, dark brown almost black, with strong not washed out flavor and no cloying sweetness."
Cold Stone Creamery (Various locations including 1533 N. Wells, Chicago) - Franchise'd chain trying to take over the ice cream world with the old Steve's formula of mixing in things into plain ice cream, but with the gimmick of doing it on a sub-zero slab (the cold stone). I tried once to sample the Old Town location, but the line moved so damn slow, I gave up. UPDATE: 6/5/04 - Damn corporate, but the ice cream was pretty damn good too. In a way, the mix-in detracted from the good ice cream that straddles traditional USA ice cream with softer, more intense gelato or Euro style ice cream.
Hershey's Ice Cream Premium (5723 Dempster, Morton Grove) - Zim once noted that this place had halo-halo and Hawaiian Ice Cream. The Ultimo, being the Ultimo, once tried to try, but could not find it. No one else has done a report as far as I can tell. UPDATE: According to Kenny from Rogers Park, this place is now a branch of Village Creamery.
UPDATE: Mario & Gino's in Roscoe Village, next to the excellent Village Tap and down from Hot Doug's, JeffB sez, "which serves the very good Al Gelato and the pretty good Double Rainbow"
UPDATE (8/12/03) - Gayety's Ice Cream (3306 S. Ridge, Lansing) - Formerly on the SE side of Chicago, moved to Lansing. Mags Thomas, who brought the place to my attention on chowhound had this to say, "Homemade ice cream and truly fantastic homemade chocolates, specializing in dipped fruits, nuts, and all the standards one would expect. I don't know what's in their chocolate recipe, but it's out of this world...oooh and their hot fudge."
UPDATE (8/12/03) - Swiss Gourmet (Clyborn and Webster, Chicago) - I forgot about this place where we took four of Hannah's friends for her fifth birthday. I really do not remember the ice cream as anything special, so perhaps this comment from chowhound rings true: "Very, very disappointing. Low butterfat content, all the way down in the "ice milk" category. All style, and no content. The service was mediocre too, in the best "I'm just working here for the money, but I'm really an artist" tradition."
UPDATE (8/14/03) - Mitsuwa Food Court - Adam Stephanidies notes that there is a place in the food court selling ice cream in various Asian flavors. Adam sez, "[they have] plum wine, yuzu (described as "Japanese citron"), and calpico (not sure what this is; the server told me it was a popular Japanese drink), along with more conventional flavors. I had the yuzu and the calpico; both were very good." UPDATE 4/29/04 - Paul Mollica makes the worthy reminder that "There are two ice cream vendors, the one in the food court and another at Hippo Bakery (on the north wall). Both sell different products and are equally worthwhile." UPDATE 4/20/04 - Zim adds, "Mitsuwa, to make things even more confusing-both ice cream stalls are now called pastry house hippo, only one is in the actual bakery - that's the one I like, but it has far fewer selections. specially good were the black sesame and the ginger, the calpico is at the other stall in the actual food court, there I liked the plain "milk" flavor the best, the sesame being overly grainy."
UPDATE (8/18/03) - Miami Ice Cream and Sweets - New shop on Division specializing in tropical flavors. Claim to be homemade, although some of the gallons had factory labels! (UPDATE 8/24/03 - A visit to Chocolate Shoppe sourced a lot of those suspect flavors!) On the other hand, the chocolate chip I had was clearly homemade. Lots of interesting flavors in the Village Creamery realm. (UPDATE 4/28/04) Stirs-the-pot got an early start on the ice cream season, saying of the just opened for the summer, Miami Sweets, "The banana was ultra creamy, full of fresh banana flavor and the Dominican chocolate had a dark, dusky, earthy cocoa flavor."
UPDATE 9/20/03 - Maggie Moos - A Cold Stone Creamery, mix in place with a location in Lincolnshire. Do not know of other locations. The ice cream was rich, pure and intense. I'd skip the mix-in next time.
UPDATE 4/28/04 - Brown Cow - Madison near Circle, Forest Park - Brand new storefront on the Forest Park strip. They told me that after many samples, they decided to offer Double Rainbow from San Francisco. Chowhound LO sez, "Creamy, not too sweet/sugary, and very fresh tasting. We had the white pistachio and sampled the strawberry. Such a difference from the overly sweet and bland stuff at Petersens' and Oberweiss nearby. They said they rotate their flavors weekly or biweekly, I can't remember. Service was very friendly and prompt. The setting is cute -- an "old fashioned" ice cream parlor."
UPDATE 4/28/04 - Australian Home Made - Wabash side, Marshall Fields - da Loop - Jeff B sez, "I had a cone and a truffle yesterday. The ice cream was pretty good, a light chocolate with dark chocolate shavings mixed in. Very fatty, so not like gelato, but also very smooth and soft (almost like custard), so not like American ice cream. The flavor was good, surprisingly not very sweet, letting the chocolate dominate. However, I was disappointed by how airy, that is, not dense, the ice cream was. UPDATE 4/29/04 - JeffB notes a second Australian Home Made stands ready to open near the Brown Line El Station on Southport (between Belmont and Addison). And if you cannot get there or there, John M notes that neighborhood scuttlebutt has an Australian Home Made opening in Edison Park at Northwest Highway and Oliphant, where the Fannie May used to be.
UPDATE 4/28/04 - Cafe Borgata - 455 N. Northwest Hwy., Park Ridge - Michael M. sez of gelati sampled, "The nocciola was the best, but overall I was underwhelmed. But the thrill of gelato, to me, is the texture due to low overrun and egg yolks and the fresh vivacity of the dairy flavor supporting the intensity of the main ingredient. This was fine as gelato goes, but not amazing."
UPDATE 4/28/04 - El Condor - 2349 N. Milwaukee - Not ice cream but sorbet on a stick, intense fruit bars, served with the sticks at a jaunty angle. Note, while I am including El Condor, I cannot possibly catalogue all the palateros, coco de nieve and other assorted street vendors found around Chicago. If they have bricks and mortar, however, I will include them.
UPDATE 4/30/04 - Culver's Custard - Cathy2 sent out an e-mail on frozen custard. It reminded me that I should include Culver's on the run-down. It may not be Kopps or Ted Drewes, but it can be satisfying enough. This web site lists Culver locations in Illinois, some not in the Chicago area as well as a few other frozen custard stands.
UPDATE 4/30/04 - Kabul House (3320 Dempster St, Skokie, IL) - I know a lot of restaurants make their own ice cream, but unlesss you can go into a place JUST for a scoop of ice cream, I doubt I will include them in this summary. I am, however, including Kabul House. Because while one can find around town, double diget butter-fat ice cream, fany flavor gelato, tropical specialities and frozen custard, is there any place offering Persian ice cream? Well, Zim reports that Kabul House is. Zim thinks they might bet it from Mashti Malone of California. Zim plugs the rosewater, noting it is not the overpowering rosewater sometimes encountered. Maybe they will serve you just a scoop.
Here's an overview of ice cream places in Chicago that I wrote in May, 2002. I've updated since, with dates. I have also deleted closed places.
Palazzolo's Gelato (Available at Pronto Roma River Forest Town Center Lake and Harlem, River Forest) - Even though Pronto Roma is Sophia's favorite place, even more fav. than Flat Top, I'll warn against it. The Al Gelato Pronto served was much, much better than the gritty, bland Palazzolo stuff. Oddly, Local Palate loves it. UPDATE: Had their ice cream on 8/6/03. They've fixed their freezer, soupy ice cream has been a problem. The flavors are strong, but almost too strong, like their is something un-natural about them. This stuff still reminds of a factory rendition of what gelato should be.
Grampy's Frozen Custard (1 W. Illinois, St. Charles) - Never tried, but I am instantly attracted to the words, frozen custard. Without employment from AA, I've had no reason to visit St. Charles until now. UPDATE: Still have not tried, anyone?
Freddy's (16th near Ridgeland, Cicero) - Yes. UPDATE: A few weeks ago, I had the nutella, the sweet cream plain based mixed with nutella. So good that I ended up eating about a pint in one sitting.
Cunis Candies (1030 E. 162, South Holland) - An old fashioned Margiesque place I NEED to try. South Holland? UPDATE: Still have not tried. UPDATE 4/29/04 - Paul Mollica, in scolding me for not getting to South Holland, states of Cunis, "Everything about this place speaks of quality and care: the ice cream, the sauces and the nuts all fresh and top-drawer. Fresh fruit ice creams in season and turtle sundaes anytime of year."
Sukhadia's Sweets (2559 W. Devon, Chicago) - Zim's commented on this, right? I do love the just frozen texture and ultra creaminess of Indian ice cream. UPDATE: Here's what Zim wrote in July, 03, "Unfortunately the kulfi (malai-cream, pistachio, and mango) now looks like its shipped in pre-made, I've got a couple in the freezer but haven't tried them out yet. But they also offer homemade ice cream. Most of the flavors are nothing special just good versions of something that might be in a Neapolitan brick, not gourmet ulra-fresh strawberry sorbet, but to satisfy kids. However, there's always a couple ringer flavors that are interesting and pretty good. Last night it was walnut. I'm not sure its a destination ice cream place, but if you're on Devon and feel like something cold you could do a lot worse." UPDATE 4/29/04 - Stirsy reminds me that Sukhadia is closed, perhaps to re-open. He suggests King Sweets for Indian ice cream on da'bomb. On Easter, the VI family visted the chaat shop that formerly held the Indian-Chinese place. Somewhere on the messy VI desk is its name, and at some point, I will do a brief report on this Bombay influenced place. UPDATE 4/30/04 - Zim reports that Sukhadia will re-open, and hopefully fix their chaotic ordering system. He also notes that for Indian style ice cream, right now, he'd suggest Rajbhog. He sez, "Rajbhog offers commercial stuff, made by the Rajbhog home base in NJ, but most of the places on Devon (including I think King sweets) are serving Rajbhog, so why not get it from their branch."
Penguin (2723 W. Lawrence, Chicago) - Famous chowhound discovery, proving definitively to me that I did not know everything about Chicago chow. Go for the friendly owners as well as the great ice cream. UPDATE The key thing at Penguin is too sample extensively. All those in the know, know that when the Penguin stuff sits around, it rots. Rookies occasionally complain that is not all its cracked up to be because they end up with a stale flavor. Try before buying.
Bittersweet (1114 W. Belmont, Chicago) - Ice cream's a new addition, but everything else is so delicious, I have high hopes. UPDATE: Sheila and I have had their ice cream a few times each summer. I never see anyone else order the ice cream when we go, nor do I remember too many comments on the board. Too bad. You can really taste the egg yolks in this stuff. A recent lemon verbena tasted like frozen pastry cream, and that is a compliment. Do try.
Homer's (1237 Green Bay, Wilmette) - I only get the Prairie Berry. Very rich ice cream. UPDATE: Interestingly, in 2002, we had one poster glorifying their hot fudge and another poster saying she liked everything BUT the hot fudge.
Oberweis (various locations) - Great, high fat ice cream, fair sundae toppings. Extreme right wing politics keeps Ms. VI away.
Soups and Scoops (2534 N. Clark, Chicago) - It promises homemade gelato, and the coupon offers 50% off the second scoop. Very close to Wiener Circle. UPDATE: Never did more than see an ad, anyone ever try. There's another place close by, see Ice Dreams below. Anyone ever try?
Zephyr's (Wilson and Ravenswood, Chicago) - Modern take on the traditional ice cream parlor. Full coffee shop menu as well as sundaes, soda's, etc. Their ice cream has a strong yellow tint that seems un-natural to me. Cathy2 is a bigger fan than me. She's written, "The whipping cream is made with a rich high-fat cream. They make their own ice cream. For years, we always got individual 2-scoop hot fudge sundaes until one day we ordered "War of the Worlds." You cannot beat a 10-scoop ice cream sundae with 4-toppings, slivered almonds, cookies, cherries and my special request of extra-extra whipping cream for $8.95. We always have someone who digs out their favorite ice cream flavor at an inconvenient location -- causing everyone to use their spoon to balance this monster sundae."
Sweeties (Clark, near Wrigley Field) - AnnieB mentioned this place in the last ice cream round up. I've never been, but here's what she said, "The owners are nice, Sweeties serves a good value of soup/chili/jambalaya in different sizes, a pasta of the day for around $5 (some of this stuff is only in winter) and a full array of ice cream, candies, and penny candy. The ice cream comes from someplace that is supposed to mean something to folks around here. Everyone I've been there with (used to work right around the corner) thought it was quite good ice cream. The berry smoothie things are good. The penny candy is a hoot. The ice cream cakes and pies look really good and I've heard that they're quite delicious. It's a nice change of pace in the area, fun with kids on game day."
Rainbow Cone (9233 S. Western Ave) - This should have been an obvious choice for the Westernathon, but they were on vacation during our adventure. Amazingly, I have never had the famous cone in its home setting. I've only had it at Taste of Chicago. For those who are unfamiliar, the Rainbow cone is a combination of ice creams (and orange sherbet) on a cone. Perfect for those who cannot make up their mind. I know some people find the amalgamation of flavors counter-productive. Paul Mollica's sez, "I don't know why anyone would drive here for anything but a Rainbow Cone. You will not mistake this for a high-quality, riot-of-butterfat product; the sauces and whipped cream are run-of-the-mill; and they don't sell corn or yam flavored scoops. But try it anyway."
Massa (North Avenue, near Johnnie's Italian Beef, Elmwood Park) - Massa makes its own gelato, mostly from cans of base imported from Italy. The stuff is smooth and rich and mostly very good. Sometimes, especially during the summer, there will be true homemade flavors made from various fruits. Look mostly for the stuff with handwritten signs.
Village Creamery (two locations 4558 Oakton, Skokie and 8000 Waukegan, Niles) - Village Creamery is mostly famous for its various Filipino flavors including very purple (ube) yam and sweet corn. In addition, they do a variety of gelato-ish flavors using the same imported bases as Massa. UPDATE (8/15/03) I think Zim sez it best, "that quite a bit of the appeal to their ice cream resides in offering flavors unavailable elsewhere."
Scooters (1658 W Belmont, Chicago) - Scooters claims to be the only place in Chicago selling true frozen custard, custard in the style of Ted Drewes in St. Louis or Kopps in Milwaukee. Being pretty un-experienced with real custards, I cannot really place this place against the standards, but I found it plenty good. When I first went, I thought they swirled the ice cream instead of letting it fall into a bin for scooping. This led to a bit of controversy on chowhound, with Scooters vehemently denying it. On my second visit, they clearly were scooping. Scooping, for those who wonder the fuss, produces a much better mouth fee than swirling. Here's what the Ultimo, GWiv, said about Scooters, "The husband and wife team who own and operate Scooter's are very friendly and were quite open to my questions. No, they are not part of a chain, this is their only store, yes they have been to Kopp's in Milwaukee many times and think it is exceptional. Scooter's, while the same style as Kopp's, is 10% butterfat, as opposed to Kopp's 13.5-14%. I can say, having been to Kopp's just last Saturday, that Scooter's compared favorably to Kopp's though, as a Milwaukee native, Kopp's will always remain #1 in my book. The custard was a reasonable $6 per quart and when I asked for a cup of coffee they made a fresh pot using Intelligentsia coffee. Based on one brief visit I quite like Scooter's, though what's not to like about good custard"
Ice Dreams (2865 N. Clark, Chicago) - I have never been. Here's what Joan had to say, "a new ice cream place opened last week. they have gelato and American ice cream (their term). the 2 flavors of gelato i tried were very good. the mango tasted like it was made with super ripe fruit. the bacio (hazelnut and chocolate) was plenty nutty tasting and not overly sweet, which is my biggest problem with most ice cream. i actually prefer Eddy's frozen yogurts and light ice creams to most of the sweeter and more caloric ice creams i try in ice cream shops." UPDATE: 3/28/04 - Tried, sampling plenty of flavors. Tasted weak and overly soft. Apparently no base, but also extracts. UPDATE 4/29/04 - Shannon Clark disagrees with my assessment. He likes the place.
Snookelfriz (Green City Market, Clark near North Avenue) - Joan discovered this very interesting sounding ice cream being sold ONLY at the Wednesday Green City Market. Here's her comments, "There's some new and tasty ice cream in town, but don't get too excited unless you can get to the green city market, Wednesdays between 7am-1pm in Lincoln Park.
Margie's Candy (Western/Armitage/Milwaukee) - This is pretty much it when you are talking about classic ice cream parlors within the Chicago city limits. Cramped and sometimes suffering from surly servers, but still capable of glamorous sundaes and other treats. I loved my recent turtle sundae. Cathy2 presented a dissenting view, "I love whipping cream, thus my first spoonful was the whipped cream. Right there, I was disappointed as the whipping cream was lower on the fat scale, thin and not too pleasant. The ice cream wasn't outstanding. The hot fudge was a very generous quantity, which tasted like Nestle's semisweet morsels. I'm glad to have tried it for simply the experience."
Petersen's (1104 Chicago Ave, Oak Park) - You would think that I'd have more to say about a rather famous place in my home town, but I am not a huge fan of Petersen's. Their ice cream itself is good enough, just not really wow-ful. The hot fudge is very poor and reminds me mostly of Smuckers. Petersen's has two sides, a restaurant side and a counter side. I mostly stick to the counter which is for cones. Petersen's changed ownership about a year ago, and the new owner makes some excellent candies, especially the caramels.
Marble Slab (940 Church Street, Evanston/7154 Carpenter Road, Skokie) - I have never tried. Zim, who with Joan, is the primary scout of ice cream places had this to say in 02, "There are about 15 flavors, each very rich, but not assertively flavored (with the exception of the lemon custard I tried) because the shtick here is the mix-in on the slab and I guess if the flavors were stronger the mix-ins wouldn't go as well...A couple minor gripes: about those waffle cones, they offer a number of different dips and flavors, but they didn't on the ones we tried out have much real flavor to them and more annoyingly feature a large nickel-size whole in the bottom for your ice-cream to leak out of. Maybe because it was new and the line was long of folks who have never been there before and were tasting flavors and the staff hadn't had a chance to get into a groove of doing the mix-ins on the slab, the line moves glacially. I think it will get a little quicker as the newness wears off the but the slab mix-in thing ensures that it will stay a little slow. Also did i mention it's kinda steep for a waffle cone - $3.50"
Sweet Occasions - (4639 N. Damen, Chicago) - Has gotten some recent attention on the board. In 02, I said, "black raspberry truffle was their most popular choice...This IS their best. Smooth cream, toothsome chocolate pieces and strong fruit flavor...The chocolate also possessed a pleasing smooth texture. Chocolate flavor played a role, but it did not overpower. Butterfat also played a role, but also did not really get out there. I suppose in wine ratings, balance can be key, and this ice cream was balanced nicely between texture, flavor and richness, but I guess I want a little more than balance."
Hartigan's Ice Cream (2909 Central St., Evanston) - Mentioned in passing by Zim, who notes it serves cedar crest dairy ice cream from Wisconsin. Any other info?
Coffee Chicago/Double Rainbow (Broadway and Berwyn, Chicago) - This coffee shop sells this brand of ice cream, reputably famous in SF. When I lived nearby, I never remembered it being anything special. In 02, Harry V wrote, Strangely they did not have the only ice cream flavor I really like -- vanilla. I had the butter pecan and my girlfriend had strawberry. Both were authentically, overpoweringly flavored -- disagreeably so in my eyes, but likely to win plaudits from most, I suppose. I'd prefer ice cream to taste like cream, some sugar and vanilla are also nice. I'd bet Double Rainbow's vanilla would be excellent, based on the lovely richness of the ice creams we tried." See also Brown Cow below.
Double Rainbow on Southport (?) - In July, 02, Zim mentioned a Double Rainbow outlet on Southport that was quite crowded. I do not know if this branch still exists, nor do I have any idea of its quality. Any comments?
Chocolate Shoppe (5337 W Devon, Chicago) - A converted Baskin Robbins in the under-explored Edgebrook area. GWiv noted, "The ice cream, which I have only had once, was good, though not exactly to my taste. I can't really describe why I wasn't thrilled, maybe I wasn't in the mood for ice cream at the moment...Chocolate Shoppe hails from Madison, Wisconsin and is practically a Madison institution, to the extent they had a spot on Food TV's Food Finds. The Devon location is a pleasant place, friendly service, chairs inside and out to relax and directly across the street from the Chicago Public Library, Edgebrook Branch."
Evanston Creamery/Chocolate Shoppe (1301 Chicago Ave, Evanston) - Also took over a Baskin Robbins in Evanston. Zim sez, "usually I'm not a big fan of store bought chocolate ice cream as their is little discernible darkness to the flavor, this was really pretty nice, not too sweet, good chocolate flavor and with good texture as well." Note, Chocolate Shoppe ice cream is also served at Sweet Pea in Highwood (Sheridan) and Miami Sweets (see below).
Sugar Shack (630 W. 26th St, Chicago) - Hot Dill Pickle threw this place out as an example of decent soft serve ice cream in Chicago. CMC disagreed. See below.
Hole in the Wall Custard (901 1/2 N. Oak Park Ave Oak Park) - A very good soft serve. This may not be custard like Scooters makes custard, but I am always happy getting a cone here. In fact, I get a kid's cone because that is all I ever need to be satisfied. Of course, I always get it dipped in Chocolate.
Toots Drive Inn (4354 N. Central Ave Chicago, IL) - Old Shack serving soft, possibly tastee freeze, ice cream. I have wanted to try for ages. Anyone? UPDATE 4/29/04 - Paul Mollica comments, "The main attraction is sitting at the corner of Montrose and Central on a hot summer day and having ice cream melt down your hand. "
Buffalo's (Arlington Heights Rd. and Lake-Cook Rd, Buffalo Grove) - Pretty much everyone agrees that the original Buffalo's on Irving Park and its subsequent incarnation in Skokie were great. Whether this local greek in Buffalo serves anything like the original is open.
Dave's Ice Cream & Italian Ice (1451 W. 18th St, Chicago) - This place does not look like much, but Zim reported in 02, "the tamarindo Italian ice on offer there was really very good, dark brown almost black, with strong not washed out flavor and no cloying sweetness."
Cold Stone Creamery (Various locations including 1533 N. Wells, Chicago) - Franchise'd chain trying to take over the ice cream world with the old Steve's formula of mixing in things into plain ice cream, but with the gimmick of doing it on a sub-zero slab (the cold stone). I tried once to sample the Old Town location, but the line moved so damn slow, I gave up. UPDATE: 6/5/04 - Damn corporate, but the ice cream was pretty damn good too. In a way, the mix-in detracted from the good ice cream that straddles traditional USA ice cream with softer, more intense gelato or Euro style ice cream.
Hershey's Ice Cream Premium (5723 Dempster, Morton Grove) - Zim once noted that this place had halo-halo and Hawaiian Ice Cream. The Ultimo, being the Ultimo, once tried to try, but could not find it. No one else has done a report as far as I can tell. UPDATE: According to Kenny from Rogers Park, this place is now a branch of Village Creamery.
UPDATE: Mario & Gino's in Roscoe Village, next to the excellent Village Tap and down from Hot Doug's, JeffB sez, "which serves the very good Al Gelato and the pretty good Double Rainbow"
UPDATE (8/12/03) - Gayety's Ice Cream (3306 S. Ridge, Lansing) - Formerly on the SE side of Chicago, moved to Lansing. Mags Thomas, who brought the place to my attention on chowhound had this to say, "Homemade ice cream and truly fantastic homemade chocolates, specializing in dipped fruits, nuts, and all the standards one would expect. I don't know what's in their chocolate recipe, but it's out of this world...oooh and their hot fudge."
UPDATE (8/12/03) - Swiss Gourmet (Clyborn and Webster, Chicago) - I forgot about this place where we took four of Hannah's friends for her fifth birthday. I really do not remember the ice cream as anything special, so perhaps this comment from chowhound rings true: "Very, very disappointing. Low butterfat content, all the way down in the "ice milk" category. All style, and no content. The service was mediocre too, in the best "I'm just working here for the money, but I'm really an artist" tradition."
UPDATE (8/14/03) - Mitsuwa Food Court - Adam Stephanidies notes that there is a place in the food court selling ice cream in various Asian flavors. Adam sez, "[they have] plum wine, yuzu (described as "Japanese citron"), and calpico (not sure what this is; the server told me it was a popular Japanese drink), along with more conventional flavors. I had the yuzu and the calpico; both were very good." UPDATE 4/29/04 - Paul Mollica makes the worthy reminder that "There are two ice cream vendors, the one in the food court and another at Hippo Bakery (on the north wall). Both sell different products and are equally worthwhile." UPDATE 4/20/04 - Zim adds, "Mitsuwa, to make things even more confusing-both ice cream stalls are now called pastry house hippo, only one is in the actual bakery - that's the one I like, but it has far fewer selections. specially good were the black sesame and the ginger, the calpico is at the other stall in the actual food court, there I liked the plain "milk" flavor the best, the sesame being overly grainy."
UPDATE (8/18/03) - Miami Ice Cream and Sweets - New shop on Division specializing in tropical flavors. Claim to be homemade, although some of the gallons had factory labels! (UPDATE 8/24/03 - A visit to Chocolate Shoppe sourced a lot of those suspect flavors!) On the other hand, the chocolate chip I had was clearly homemade. Lots of interesting flavors in the Village Creamery realm. (UPDATE 4/28/04) Stirs-the-pot got an early start on the ice cream season, saying of the just opened for the summer, Miami Sweets, "The banana was ultra creamy, full of fresh banana flavor and the Dominican chocolate had a dark, dusky, earthy cocoa flavor."
UPDATE 9/20/03 - Maggie Moos - A Cold Stone Creamery, mix in place with a location in Lincolnshire. Do not know of other locations. The ice cream was rich, pure and intense. I'd skip the mix-in next time.
UPDATE 4/28/04 - Brown Cow - Madison near Circle, Forest Park - Brand new storefront on the Forest Park strip. They told me that after many samples, they decided to offer Double Rainbow from San Francisco. Chowhound LO sez, "Creamy, not too sweet/sugary, and very fresh tasting. We had the white pistachio and sampled the strawberry. Such a difference from the overly sweet and bland stuff at Petersens' and Oberweiss nearby. They said they rotate their flavors weekly or biweekly, I can't remember. Service was very friendly and prompt. The setting is cute -- an "old fashioned" ice cream parlor."
UPDATE 4/28/04 - Australian Home Made - Wabash side, Marshall Fields - da Loop - Jeff B sez, "I had a cone and a truffle yesterday. The ice cream was pretty good, a light chocolate with dark chocolate shavings mixed in. Very fatty, so not like gelato, but also very smooth and soft (almost like custard), so not like American ice cream. The flavor was good, surprisingly not very sweet, letting the chocolate dominate. However, I was disappointed by how airy, that is, not dense, the ice cream was. UPDATE 4/29/04 - JeffB notes a second Australian Home Made stands ready to open near the Brown Line El Station on Southport (between Belmont and Addison). And if you cannot get there or there, John M notes that neighborhood scuttlebutt has an Australian Home Made opening in Edison Park at Northwest Highway and Oliphant, where the Fannie May used to be.
UPDATE 4/28/04 - Cafe Borgata - 455 N. Northwest Hwy., Park Ridge - Michael M. sez of gelati sampled, "The nocciola was the best, but overall I was underwhelmed. But the thrill of gelato, to me, is the texture due to low overrun and egg yolks and the fresh vivacity of the dairy flavor supporting the intensity of the main ingredient. This was fine as gelato goes, but not amazing."
UPDATE 4/28/04 - El Condor - 2349 N. Milwaukee - Not ice cream but sorbet on a stick, intense fruit bars, served with the sticks at a jaunty angle. Note, while I am including El Condor, I cannot possibly catalogue all the palateros, coco de nieve and other assorted street vendors found around Chicago. If they have bricks and mortar, however, I will include them.
UPDATE 4/30/04 - Culver's Custard - Cathy2 sent out an e-mail on frozen custard. It reminded me that I should include Culver's on the run-down. It may not be Kopps or Ted Drewes, but it can be satisfying enough. This web site lists Culver locations in Illinois, some not in the Chicago area as well as a few other frozen custard stands.
UPDATE 4/30/04 - Kabul House (3320 Dempster St, Skokie, IL) - I know a lot of restaurants make their own ice cream, but unlesss you can go into a place JUST for a scoop of ice cream, I doubt I will include them in this summary. I am, however, including Kabul House. Because while one can find around town, double diget butter-fat ice cream, fany flavor gelato, tropical specialities and frozen custard, is there any place offering Persian ice cream? Well, Zim reports that Kabul House is. Zim thinks they might bet it from Mashti Malone of California. Zim plugs the rosewater, noting it is not the overpowering rosewater sometimes encountered. Maybe they will serve you just a scoop.
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
La Quebrada Update
I've written long and hard on La Quebrada on Chowhound, for instance here, here, here, and here. I told the Slow Food people it was the single greatest restaurant in Chicago, but few believed me. I'm not sure why. Nevertheless, I try to post only occasionally on the place.
Thankfully, I have a new reason to post. They've updated their menu. Gone is the desk-top publishing disaster. Gone, the eye straining squiggles and lines and no-contrast reds and blues. In place, a laminated color menu that almost sez Denny's. Gone also, are a few of my favorite dishes. Gone, the filete de res Acapulco combination that allowed for a great sampling of Quebrada fare: steak, unearthly-good quesadilla and picadita; gone the combination Ahuehapan, the un-pronounceable grouping of meat, cactus, pico de gallo and guacamole; finally, gone, Ms. VI's favorite, calamari in spicy sauce. In place, the dish I had on my very first visit, steak india--think Aztec curry. Also in, a few dishes "Campestre" with a "special sauce". I am anxious to learn of this special sauce. For all its fans, barbacoa de chivo estilo Telolapan remains. In summary, somethings have left, somethings have returned and somethings new are here to try. It still may be the best restaurant in the Chicago area.
Note, on Chowhound, there was a question of whether various restaurants called La Quebrada were related, primarily 'cause a lot of people think of the Cicero mothership as a meat place, but the Tribune called the Aurora location a seafood restaurant. Well, the new menu shows five La Quebrada locations:
4859 W. Roosevelt
Cicero
708-780-8110
3818 W. 63rd
Chicago
773-585-9943
5100 S. California
Chicago
773-737-4575
2906 W. Cermak
Chicago
773-277-7198
723 S. Broadway
Aurora
630-896-2535
I've written long and hard on La Quebrada on Chowhound, for instance here, here, here, and here. I told the Slow Food people it was the single greatest restaurant in Chicago, but few believed me. I'm not sure why. Nevertheless, I try to post only occasionally on the place.
Thankfully, I have a new reason to post. They've updated their menu. Gone is the desk-top publishing disaster. Gone, the eye straining squiggles and lines and no-contrast reds and blues. In place, a laminated color menu that almost sez Denny's. Gone also, are a few of my favorite dishes. Gone, the filete de res Acapulco combination that allowed for a great sampling of Quebrada fare: steak, unearthly-good quesadilla and picadita; gone the combination Ahuehapan, the un-pronounceable grouping of meat, cactus, pico de gallo and guacamole; finally, gone, Ms. VI's favorite, calamari in spicy sauce. In place, the dish I had on my very first visit, steak india--think Aztec curry. Also in, a few dishes "Campestre" with a "special sauce". I am anxious to learn of this special sauce. For all its fans, barbacoa de chivo estilo Telolapan remains. In summary, somethings have left, somethings have returned and somethings new are here to try. It still may be the best restaurant in the Chicago area.
Note, on Chowhound, there was a question of whether various restaurants called La Quebrada were related, primarily 'cause a lot of people think of the Cicero mothership as a meat place, but the Tribune called the Aurora location a seafood restaurant. Well, the new menu shows five La Quebrada locations:
4859 W. Roosevelt
Cicero
708-780-8110
3818 W. 63rd
Chicago
773-585-9943
5100 S. California
Chicago
773-737-4575
2906 W. Cermak
Chicago
773-277-7198
723 S. Broadway
Aurora
630-896-2535
Sunday, April 25, 2004
John Kass seeks the Ultimo, Gwiv, for rib advice
The fame of the Joel's rib team spreads:
The Chicago Tribune's neo-Royko writes, "With summer fast approaching, I finally have come to a sad conclusion: I am in desperate need of a bone doctor. So I called the barbecue aficionados who are hunting authentic Southern-style joints in the Chicago area. After much whining and pleading, they agreed to intercede with another member of their group, barbecue master Gary Wiviott."
Read the rest here. Free registration required.
[CORRECTED TO NOTE THIS IS JOEL'S RIB TEAM NOT JOE'S. VITAL INFORMATION REGRETS ITS SLOPPY TYPING.]
The fame of the Joel's rib team spreads:
The Chicago Tribune's neo-Royko writes, "With summer fast approaching, I finally have come to a sad conclusion: I am in desperate need of a bone doctor. So I called the barbecue aficionados who are hunting authentic Southern-style joints in the Chicago area. After much whining and pleading, they agreed to intercede with another member of their group, barbecue master Gary Wiviott."
Read the rest here. Free registration required.
[CORRECTED TO NOTE THIS IS JOEL'S RIB TEAM NOT JOE'S. VITAL INFORMATION REGRETS ITS SLOPPY TYPING.]
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