More Upscale
Smith and Wollensky
Below, I discuss the nature of upscale ethnic eateries, the difficulty in labeling and the difficulty in achieving. What about the question of upscale non-ethnic. Not so much fine dining, but upscale comfort food, or more as I would think of it, upscale "American" food. Smith and Wollensky is pretty much categorized as a steakhouse, but I always think of it as an American restaurant, as upscale comfort food (comforting in the sense that it is my food).
First, I always slightly hate myself for liking S&W so much. It is both a New York import and a very corporate place (in several meanings). If half the point of its appeal is that it is my food, well should not my food come from Chicago and in a much more cool setting ? Yet, they do it so well, so much as I like it, that I must ignore its invader status or its chain nature. Second, I confess to a slight bit of non-objectivity. I have been provided an insider tour of the place, spending so much time in the dry aging-meat locker that I got a cold. Knowing all the effort they put into their food, and such secrets as how the meat gets a dip in melted suet, does make me that much more inclined to like the place.
And I love it. Not for the steaks. I almost never get one of those steaks, one of the few (perhaps only) dry aged steaks in Chicago. Instead, I love the rest of the menu. It speaks tradition to me. I feel like I am eating roughly the same meals as Diamond Jim Brady, and while I know Diamond Jim never tasted "Angry Lobster," I believe he would have loved it if given the opportunity. I also love their casino service. You know where there are several layers of management all on the floor, each with responsibilities and each making sure someone else follows theirs.
More than 2/3rds of the time at S&W, I order and eat the roast beef hash. A cast iron skillet holding a bunch crisped bits of trimmings from the dry aged meat mixed with potatoes. The white hot pan crisps the potatoes for extra. The whole thing gets lubricated with the fat of an egg yolk AND hollandaise. Plus, the bite of chive. I am not a chive/raw onion person at all, but in this dish it works so well. Surely not an everyday dish but an always enjoyable dish.
The other day, I strayed from the hash to another standard, the burger. Yes, a better burger with delicious blue cheese, and even at $8.75, a bargain. We also got the Friday fish fry, and here more than the burger, S&W showed how they are just a better diner. Nothing exotic about this dish, no tempura batter or panko breading or anything at all modern. Just fried fish as could be found in any supper club, but with pristine fillets, nary a bit of extra grease and with a perfect homemade tartar sauce. The tartar sauce tasted both light on the tongue but heavy in flavor. Siding both dishes (and for me just another reason to avoid the plain steak) are some of the best fries around (again better than any diner). Slightly limp instead of brazenly crisp, the way I prefer, what really set these fries apart was their salting. I am not sure if the salt was something really upscale, a Breton sea salt, but it was something a bit special, a grain larger than table salt but flatter than typical kitchen salt (i.e., Kosher salt). I should also add that the Condiment Queen loved a lobster cocktail with a smooth and herby green sauce, priced way too reasonably at $7.75 (partially offset by the fish special at the not that cheap at $18).
All around at S&W, I saw more American food. Whole roast chickens sliced tableside. A meatloaf that put the loaf in meat loaf, no modern embellishments either, really looked good. I have in the past, gone gaga over their mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, fried onions and fried zucchini. I always like their salads. The Caesar the other day was just as expected. As with soups at Halina's, I am fairly confident ordering anything on the menu here. S&W comes about as close to an ideal restaurant for me, one I could, if I had the budget and office location, eat at daily.
Friday, January 16, 2004
The Hip-O-Meter
Upscale Ethnic
You know what's even more contentious on foodie forums than the secret menu dilemma, the upscale ethnic eatery answer. At one extreme, you have people who only want to experience ethic eating as a "concept," in a well-traveled neighborhood, with decor and adequate service and a decent drink card. At the other end, are people who are only happy with, well the opposite. The closer they get to zero on the hip-o-meter, the better for them. I suppose people exist in both of these camps, but all the eaters I know roam somewhere in the middle (to varying extremes). Still, this remains the most vexing of issues.
It starts with semantics or a working definition of what a nice restaurant means. I look at it as three ends of a triangle, with the triangle defined as fine dining. One point stands at what I would call the ethnic-ethnic upscale. These are places conceived for an ethnic community as their source for better dining. Some of these places serve an executive eaters market, others a source for celebrations or date night. Oddly, these places while quite authentic, often serve food considered "dumbed down." For instance, the stellar example of Korean fancy-schmancy, where Korean businessmen congreagate, Woo Lae Oak, has only teflon coated gas grills for the meat. Let us not stink up our suits with burning coals. Another aspect of this form of ethnic upscale is a group's slight disdain for their own food. Restaurants catering to European immigrants often replace their native foods with classic "continental specialties" like beef stroganoff. Like hot dog buns with dim sum, and Japanese spaghetti sauce, we get the authentic-inauthentic. Thus, one point, upscale as the ethic group perceives upscale.
The second point would be its opposite. Upscale as the American diner perceives upscale, or maybe said better, upscale as perceived that the American diner perceives. Several ideas drive this school (and these ideas are exactly what drives away serious eaters). First, is the idea that Americans do not want to stretch too deep into the repertoire. That they will eat grilled thin beef, but not slightly thicker grilled short ribs. That too much fish sauce, shrimp paste and chile peppers will make them run for cover. Second, there is the idea that Americans want their food in courses, that Americans only expect to eat this way. This modification does not harm the food the same way, but it does upset the pattern and effect of many cuisine's. Many Asian meals are about a balance of flavors across several plates of food. When you divorce the, eat at one time/share all plates, you distort the whole experience. The food will not taste as good because it will not be balanced. Third and fourth are the areas where these places really get into trouble. Third, is the idea that Americans expect certain familiar dishes, best exemplified by the Chinese war horse, beef with broccoli. Here is a dish that is always better than chop suey, but in its common productions never matches a "real" version. Related to this are magical versions of unknown food, lamb vindaloo, Hunnan anything. Places like PF Changs and Ben Pao contain menu's filled with these classic dishes that should never had been made classic in the first place. Finally, there is the idea that the trained and skilled chef can improve on, add to, modernize and otherwise enhance the ethnic eating experience. Yes, certain traditional methods of cooking are hidebound, too unhealthy and otherwise susceptible to change, but generally who has a better idea of how to cook a cuisine, the chef or the culture. Don't answer because the preponderance of modern restaurants might not agree with you. Still, even as we disdain this point, we appreciate parts of it. Parts called comfort. Comfort can add to a meal. This point is not totally worthless.
There is one last way to conceive upscale ethnic cuisine, royal or imperial cuisine. This point on the triangle looks not just to fancier surroundings and finer cooking but to a range of ingredients and preparations associated with the Emperor or the Muraja or such. On one hand, not many people are clamoring to eat roast peacock these days, on the other hand, smart people are seeing imperial food as an antidote to the conundrum. The problem, at least in Chicago, is finding honest examples of this cooking. Arun's the so-expensive Thai place on the NW side claims royalty, but discussions of their menu never seem to back this up. A place just opened up in Chinatown, Dragon King, that purports to offer the food of God on earth. Several chowhounds have signed up for a try. It will be interesting to see what happens. So, it is hard to say much about this point because it remains untried.
We cannot forget that with upscale ethnic dining, there exists, I believe a shadow triangle. At least a shadow world that influences and affects these places, and that truly limits or enhances fine dining a la ethnic. I think the biggest issue out there is that our money is being misspent. We do want better quality ethnic food, or we would also enjoy ethnic food in a better setting. Instead of paying for chef's recreations and over-the-top decor, why not apply the funds toward organic produce and fresher fish. I declared how I would pay more money for Thai food here. I think the same idea holds for Mexican, Chinese, etc. Let's see if we can raise the bar on the hip-o-meter.
Upscale Ethnic
You know what's even more contentious on foodie forums than the secret menu dilemma, the upscale ethnic eatery answer. At one extreme, you have people who only want to experience ethic eating as a "concept," in a well-traveled neighborhood, with decor and adequate service and a decent drink card. At the other end, are people who are only happy with, well the opposite. The closer they get to zero on the hip-o-meter, the better for them. I suppose people exist in both of these camps, but all the eaters I know roam somewhere in the middle (to varying extremes). Still, this remains the most vexing of issues.
It starts with semantics or a working definition of what a nice restaurant means. I look at it as three ends of a triangle, with the triangle defined as fine dining. One point stands at what I would call the ethnic-ethnic upscale. These are places conceived for an ethnic community as their source for better dining. Some of these places serve an executive eaters market, others a source for celebrations or date night. Oddly, these places while quite authentic, often serve food considered "dumbed down." For instance, the stellar example of Korean fancy-schmancy, where Korean businessmen congreagate, Woo Lae Oak, has only teflon coated gas grills for the meat. Let us not stink up our suits with burning coals. Another aspect of this form of ethnic upscale is a group's slight disdain for their own food. Restaurants catering to European immigrants often replace their native foods with classic "continental specialties" like beef stroganoff. Like hot dog buns with dim sum, and Japanese spaghetti sauce, we get the authentic-inauthentic. Thus, one point, upscale as the ethic group perceives upscale.
The second point would be its opposite. Upscale as the American diner perceives upscale, or maybe said better, upscale as perceived that the American diner perceives. Several ideas drive this school (and these ideas are exactly what drives away serious eaters). First, is the idea that Americans do not want to stretch too deep into the repertoire. That they will eat grilled thin beef, but not slightly thicker grilled short ribs. That too much fish sauce, shrimp paste and chile peppers will make them run for cover. Second, there is the idea that Americans want their food in courses, that Americans only expect to eat this way. This modification does not harm the food the same way, but it does upset the pattern and effect of many cuisine's. Many Asian meals are about a balance of flavors across several plates of food. When you divorce the, eat at one time/share all plates, you distort the whole experience. The food will not taste as good because it will not be balanced. Third and fourth are the areas where these places really get into trouble. Third, is the idea that Americans expect certain familiar dishes, best exemplified by the Chinese war horse, beef with broccoli. Here is a dish that is always better than chop suey, but in its common productions never matches a "real" version. Related to this are magical versions of unknown food, lamb vindaloo, Hunnan anything. Places like PF Changs and Ben Pao contain menu's filled with these classic dishes that should never had been made classic in the first place. Finally, there is the idea that the trained and skilled chef can improve on, add to, modernize and otherwise enhance the ethnic eating experience. Yes, certain traditional methods of cooking are hidebound, too unhealthy and otherwise susceptible to change, but generally who has a better idea of how to cook a cuisine, the chef or the culture. Don't answer because the preponderance of modern restaurants might not agree with you. Still, even as we disdain this point, we appreciate parts of it. Parts called comfort. Comfort can add to a meal. This point is not totally worthless.
There is one last way to conceive upscale ethnic cuisine, royal or imperial cuisine. This point on the triangle looks not just to fancier surroundings and finer cooking but to a range of ingredients and preparations associated with the Emperor or the Muraja or such. On one hand, not many people are clamoring to eat roast peacock these days, on the other hand, smart people are seeing imperial food as an antidote to the conundrum. The problem, at least in Chicago, is finding honest examples of this cooking. Arun's the so-expensive Thai place on the NW side claims royalty, but discussions of their menu never seem to back this up. A place just opened up in Chinatown, Dragon King, that purports to offer the food of God on earth. Several chowhounds have signed up for a try. It will be interesting to see what happens. So, it is hard to say much about this point because it remains untried.
We cannot forget that with upscale ethnic dining, there exists, I believe a shadow triangle. At least a shadow world that influences and affects these places, and that truly limits or enhances fine dining a la ethnic. I think the biggest issue out there is that our money is being misspent. We do want better quality ethnic food, or we would also enjoy ethnic food in a better setting. Instead of paying for chef's recreations and over-the-top decor, why not apply the funds toward organic produce and fresher fish. I declared how I would pay more money for Thai food here. I think the same idea holds for Mexican, Chinese, etc. Let's see if we can raise the bar on the hip-o-meter.
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Buying a rug in Chinatown
Moon Palace
There are two interrelated issues that appear again and again in food forums. They revolve around the question, why did I not eat what you ate. On one side of the issue are the positivists, seeking to learn how to get a better experience than you. On the other side, their enemies (so to speak), pissed that they got a worse meal. Bleeding heart that I am, I sympathize a bit with the latter group, but my desire to eat as well as possible puts me well in the former. Which is how I found myself today buying a rug.
I like oriental rugs. I like the craftsmanship and style of them--and preferring the hard wood floors too, and I also like that decaying WASP look. Either way, I am happy laying out an oriental rug. While we have a few now, in the bungalow, I have never really bought one. And I want to. I want to not so much to get another rug, but I want to do the oriental rug buying thing. I want to sip through several glasses of mint tea (in glasses I can barely hold in my western tea hands). I want to hear about the exploits of all the proprietors children, and I want to be shown many, many rugs with un-goddly prices before we settle down to some good natured but aggressive haggling. Would it be just as fun for Chinese food?
OK, Moon Palace does not require you to follow a maze of alleys in the souk. It is right there on Cermak in Chinatown, next to the Fire Station. And really, you can just order off of the menu. But we had to bargain. We were bargaining not so much for lunch today, but for a dinner in about a month. Negotiating via that maze of non-translated and off menu dishes. One of the Chowhounds decided to organize a very late Chinese New Year dinner, done Shanghai style at Moon Palace. Our prize then, to produce a grand and authentic Shanghai meal.
Moon Palace's opening salvo, the cheap rug that even an untrained eye could see, was a crispy fried fish fillet done in the standard suburban gloppy "Hunan"sauce. We were not buying. We used our only currency, pestering, name dropping, endless cups of tea (not bad) and the presence of the brilliant one. We countered with pork belly. Give us something too damn fatty, and throw in a couple of chitterlings in the dish (the pork belly over intestine was the one dish that stood in my mind from a previous visit). Oh, no tummy for your tummy, they countered, and we compromised, as all hagglers do, on something in the middle, a pork hock, braised in a maroon sauce, heavy with vinegar but trailing sugar. Tofu skin and large chunks of fresh bamboo added texture to this pretty good dish. We worked our way through two kinds of soup dumplings. The staff appreciated our second order, with crab meat, but truth be told, these tasted a bit like cat food to me. The ante got upped. Moon delivered a lotus leaf package with sticky rice and a log of pork tenderloin, amazingly even this cut of pork was fatty. Standard Shanghai lunch meal we were told. We ate it quickly. Finally, we went for the heart of Shanghai food, the slippery one, eel. Moon Palace did this river creature, frozen in China and de-frosted in their kitchen, proud. A preparation of equal julienne's of mushroom, eel and ginger, in a clear sauce with a black pepper kick, it played really well in the mouth.
OK, the house gave in. The chef would cook us a total Shanghai meal. Only Shanghai specialties. In fact even he did not even know what he was planning to cook, but he knew it would be special. Now, like the best of the omikase chefs, he did not even want a price tag. Well, that condition we declined. We did give him an upper limit. We sealed the deal with sticky rice balls filled with a grainy black something. We would have joined the owner in the back with martini's, but none of us spoke Shanghainese. I'll report back after the dinner.
Moon Palace
216 W Cermak Rd
Chicago, IL 60616-1914
312-225-4081
Moon Palace
There are two interrelated issues that appear again and again in food forums. They revolve around the question, why did I not eat what you ate. On one side of the issue are the positivists, seeking to learn how to get a better experience than you. On the other side, their enemies (so to speak), pissed that they got a worse meal. Bleeding heart that I am, I sympathize a bit with the latter group, but my desire to eat as well as possible puts me well in the former. Which is how I found myself today buying a rug.
I like oriental rugs. I like the craftsmanship and style of them--and preferring the hard wood floors too, and I also like that decaying WASP look. Either way, I am happy laying out an oriental rug. While we have a few now, in the bungalow, I have never really bought one. And I want to. I want to not so much to get another rug, but I want to do the oriental rug buying thing. I want to sip through several glasses of mint tea (in glasses I can barely hold in my western tea hands). I want to hear about the exploits of all the proprietors children, and I want to be shown many, many rugs with un-goddly prices before we settle down to some good natured but aggressive haggling. Would it be just as fun for Chinese food?
OK, Moon Palace does not require you to follow a maze of alleys in the souk. It is right there on Cermak in Chinatown, next to the Fire Station. And really, you can just order off of the menu. But we had to bargain. We were bargaining not so much for lunch today, but for a dinner in about a month. Negotiating via that maze of non-translated and off menu dishes. One of the Chowhounds decided to organize a very late Chinese New Year dinner, done Shanghai style at Moon Palace. Our prize then, to produce a grand and authentic Shanghai meal.
Moon Palace's opening salvo, the cheap rug that even an untrained eye could see, was a crispy fried fish fillet done in the standard suburban gloppy "Hunan"sauce. We were not buying. We used our only currency, pestering, name dropping, endless cups of tea (not bad) and the presence of the brilliant one. We countered with pork belly. Give us something too damn fatty, and throw in a couple of chitterlings in the dish (the pork belly over intestine was the one dish that stood in my mind from a previous visit). Oh, no tummy for your tummy, they countered, and we compromised, as all hagglers do, on something in the middle, a pork hock, braised in a maroon sauce, heavy with vinegar but trailing sugar. Tofu skin and large chunks of fresh bamboo added texture to this pretty good dish. We worked our way through two kinds of soup dumplings. The staff appreciated our second order, with crab meat, but truth be told, these tasted a bit like cat food to me. The ante got upped. Moon delivered a lotus leaf package with sticky rice and a log of pork tenderloin, amazingly even this cut of pork was fatty. Standard Shanghai lunch meal we were told. We ate it quickly. Finally, we went for the heart of Shanghai food, the slippery one, eel. Moon Palace did this river creature, frozen in China and de-frosted in their kitchen, proud. A preparation of equal julienne's of mushroom, eel and ginger, in a clear sauce with a black pepper kick, it played really well in the mouth.
OK, the house gave in. The chef would cook us a total Shanghai meal. Only Shanghai specialties. In fact even he did not even know what he was planning to cook, but he knew it would be special. Now, like the best of the omikase chefs, he did not even want a price tag. Well, that condition we declined. We did give him an upper limit. We sealed the deal with sticky rice balls filled with a grainy black something. We would have joined the owner in the back with martini's, but none of us spoke Shanghainese. I'll report back after the dinner.
Moon Palace
216 W Cermak Rd
Chicago, IL 60616-1914
312-225-4081
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Having Impact
In my last post, I bemoaned my lack of influence on the Chicago eating public. What is interesting, generally, that the Chicago eating public refuses to be influenced.
HungryHoward brought to attention today, a story on NPR (click here to listen). Susan Stamberg told of The Grocery, the small, 13-table restaurant in Brooklyn that Zagat named as one of the city's best. Apparently, the restaurant scored a food rating of 28. And, as anticipated, things at the restaurant haven't been the same, with the exception of the quality of food/service. It was discussed on the listserv if something comparable could happen in Chicago, and someone throught of La Quebrada as Chicago restaurant for similar notoriety.
What is interesting, however, is that La Quebrada has had its 15 minutes of fame. Having received a pretty glowing review in the Chicago Tribune, it has never seen itself packed to the brim. The only true phenomenon of neighborhood eating that has ever truly gone big is Arun's (and this happened many, many ages ago). No other place reviewed in the Trib, the Reader, Chowhound, etc., has really benefit all that much from the publicity. OK, yes a lot of places benefit in small and big ways from mentions in any media source, even something as humble as this blog. Still, what's become famous?
I have always wondered if Chicago is just not a food town, that the vast amount of people really do not care about cool places. Today, I got to thinking maybe the answer lies more with the food media. No, this is not another rant (per se), but I think part of the problem is that no food writer in Chicago really holds a following. All the major media spread their pieces out too much, so there can be no clear champion. For what I have in mind, I clearly point to Jonathan Gold in LA. He has tons of street cred, but he is also hugely respected in foodie circles. He has stature. We need stature.
In my last post, I bemoaned my lack of influence on the Chicago eating public. What is interesting, generally, that the Chicago eating public refuses to be influenced.
HungryHoward brought to attention today, a story on NPR (click here to listen). Susan Stamberg told of The Grocery, the small, 13-table restaurant in Brooklyn that Zagat named as one of the city's best. Apparently, the restaurant scored a food rating of 28. And, as anticipated, things at the restaurant haven't been the same, with the exception of the quality of food/service. It was discussed on the listserv if something comparable could happen in Chicago, and someone throught of La Quebrada as Chicago restaurant for similar notoriety.
What is interesting, however, is that La Quebrada has had its 15 minutes of fame. Having received a pretty glowing review in the Chicago Tribune, it has never seen itself packed to the brim. The only true phenomenon of neighborhood eating that has ever truly gone big is Arun's (and this happened many, many ages ago). No other place reviewed in the Trib, the Reader, Chowhound, etc., has really benefit all that much from the publicity. OK, yes a lot of places benefit in small and big ways from mentions in any media source, even something as humble as this blog. Still, what's become famous?
I have always wondered if Chicago is just not a food town, that the vast amount of people really do not care about cool places. Today, I got to thinking maybe the answer lies more with the food media. No, this is not another rant (per se), but I think part of the problem is that no food writer in Chicago really holds a following. All the major media spread their pieces out too much, so there can be no clear champion. For what I have in mind, I clearly point to Jonathan Gold in LA. He has tons of street cred, but he is also hugely respected in foodie circles. He has stature. We need stature.
Getting a Woody
Colombian food at Brasa Rosa
Granted I irk easy, but I'm irked. Irked at the sudden attention devoted to Colombian food, particularly the El Llano spin-off, Brasa Rosa. Pretty much from day one on Chowhound, I sung the praise of the simple (simply) delicious food of Colombia and its fountainhead in Chicago, El Llano. Pretty shockingly to me, my posts created no groundswell of interest [ed., I guess I was right in ditching that line on your masthead, "Chicago's most influential food poster."] Even after showing off El Llano with what I thought was an outstanding Chowhound dinner, people did not seem to be clamoring for steak and potatoes South American style (extra salsa de aji for me). Still, I am very glad Brasa Rosa has received a bit more attention (follow embedded link to Brasa Rosa article in Chicago's Reader). Ate there for the first time the other day. As I imagined, I liked it.
Brasa Rosa, true to its name, improves on El Llano with the addition of a brazier, a device to cook wonderfully marinated chickens over live coals. More important, they also use live coals in their kitchen for the grilled meats. Chicago seems so overwhelmed with gas grills, flame broiling in the school of Burger King. Yet, I know no single item that more improves the taste of food than live coal cooking. So many of those kebabs, shasliks, satays, churasco's around town could be so much better if their makers followed the folks at Brasa Rosa. Brasa Rosa uses this grill for an assorment of meats including rabbit, pork chops and brisket as well as the classic thin steak. Unlike at El Llano, they do not offer a mass-meat fest called picada.
Granted, I believe, from El Llano, they start from a high base. It only gets better at Brasa Rosa. I actually liked best, a chicken breast pounded to double its size, marinated but not over marinated, and cooked not a second too long on the real grill. The roasted chicken tasted a bit too charred because of a method they use. You cannot possibly time the production of roast chickens. To adjust, Brasa Rosa takes the cooked chickens, hacks them and then places them in a grill basket nearly on top of the charcoal fire for a warm-up. It puts a flavor in the chicken almost charred, ashy instead of smoky. The fine, spicy green sauce does cover up some sins. A smaller dish of even hotter, green chimichuri came with our "matrimonio", that above mentioned chicken breast and an equally spread out, equally good steak.
Any skill the kitchen used to develop sauces, create marinades, and man the grill were not exhibited in the side dishes. With the meats come exceedingly plain things. That does not mean that I did not enjoy eating the half roasted/half boiled potatoes, the bring out the sweetness ripe plantains, and the extra starchy yucca sticks. Only the dry unfilled areapas suffered from plainness.
Meat and potatoes. I am glad it is now a trend.
Brasa Roja
3125 W. Montrose
Chicago, IL
773-866-2252.
Colombian food at Brasa Rosa
Granted I irk easy, but I'm irked. Irked at the sudden attention devoted to Colombian food, particularly the El Llano spin-off, Brasa Rosa. Pretty much from day one on Chowhound, I sung the praise of the simple (simply) delicious food of Colombia and its fountainhead in Chicago, El Llano. Pretty shockingly to me, my posts created no groundswell of interest [ed., I guess I was right in ditching that line on your masthead, "Chicago's most influential food poster."] Even after showing off El Llano with what I thought was an outstanding Chowhound dinner, people did not seem to be clamoring for steak and potatoes South American style (extra salsa de aji for me). Still, I am very glad Brasa Rosa has received a bit more attention (follow embedded link to Brasa Rosa article in Chicago's Reader). Ate there for the first time the other day. As I imagined, I liked it.
Brasa Rosa, true to its name, improves on El Llano with the addition of a brazier, a device to cook wonderfully marinated chickens over live coals. More important, they also use live coals in their kitchen for the grilled meats. Chicago seems so overwhelmed with gas grills, flame broiling in the school of Burger King. Yet, I know no single item that more improves the taste of food than live coal cooking. So many of those kebabs, shasliks, satays, churasco's around town could be so much better if their makers followed the folks at Brasa Rosa. Brasa Rosa uses this grill for an assorment of meats including rabbit, pork chops and brisket as well as the classic thin steak. Unlike at El Llano, they do not offer a mass-meat fest called picada.
Granted, I believe, from El Llano, they start from a high base. It only gets better at Brasa Rosa. I actually liked best, a chicken breast pounded to double its size, marinated but not over marinated, and cooked not a second too long on the real grill. The roasted chicken tasted a bit too charred because of a method they use. You cannot possibly time the production of roast chickens. To adjust, Brasa Rosa takes the cooked chickens, hacks them and then places them in a grill basket nearly on top of the charcoal fire for a warm-up. It puts a flavor in the chicken almost charred, ashy instead of smoky. The fine, spicy green sauce does cover up some sins. A smaller dish of even hotter, green chimichuri came with our "matrimonio", that above mentioned chicken breast and an equally spread out, equally good steak.
Any skill the kitchen used to develop sauces, create marinades, and man the grill were not exhibited in the side dishes. With the meats come exceedingly plain things. That does not mean that I did not enjoy eating the half roasted/half boiled potatoes, the bring out the sweetness ripe plantains, and the extra starchy yucca sticks. Only the dry unfilled areapas suffered from plainness.
Meat and potatoes. I am glad it is now a trend.
Brasa Roja
3125 W. Montrose
Chicago, IL
773-866-2252.
The Media Speaks - Giveth and Taketh Away
A true sign of growing up Chicago, is to know intimately, what the letters WGN mean. Ray Rayner in the morning, Cubs after school and the easy voice of Wally Phillips guiding Mom all the time. One connection remains to that WGN, the real WGN, the pre-WB network WGN, Milt Rosenberg. Mortimer Adler disciple, quote spewer, ever correct pronuncer, Milt has held sway nightly for over 30 years. A few times a year, he dedicates a show to eating in Chicago. I rarely listen to Milt, but I happen to run across his show listing yesterday, and luckily, I learned that Monday was that restaurant show of the day day. I heard so you do not have to.
The food "media" got represented rather adequately, by Penny Pollack, food editor of Chicago Magazine, an outlet with major sway, and by Don Rose, an ostensible "critic" who seemed to have written his last reports when Jean Banchet stood highest in Chicago's food pantheon--Rose was found blathering such classics as there are good Chinese restaurants in the Chinatown Mall, I just cannot name any, and citing as a good Indian restaurant something gone at least ten years. Pollack, confident in her role, hammered the idea of Chicago Magazine as the arbiter of eating in Chicago.
And she revealed an upcoming story. Chicago discovered that yes, one could eat well in Chinatown. It seems that Chicago's chief critic, Dennis Wheaton, got himself his own RST and dug into some secret menu's. Penny sez they found 8 destination spots in Chinatown. I look forward to the report, although I strongly contend that one can eat well in Chinatown without significant language skills.
Actually, the whole exchange on Chinese food in Chicago brought out the first of the laughable exchanges of the evening. Moderator Milt teased the audience before a commercial break that they would soon be talking Chinese. Old school Rose scoffed, it would be a short chat. As noted above, Penny took them by surprise with the assertion that maybe one could eat good Chinese in Chicago. How bold. Of course this left Rose babbling about the nameless places in the mall. Nameless became the theme of most of the rest of the program.
When they opened up the discussion to callers, the critics did a fine job. Asked about any Afghan places in Chicago they found none (hint there are at least 3). Well, maybe they knew better when Penny later brought up Kabul House as a possible Persian place--geographic wiz, Milt immediately seized on the missing Afghan issue, but the experts remained stumped on any place Persian, suggesting, shockingly, Andy's. Too bad none of them reads Chowhound to see the current discussion of Noon-O-Kebab. Yet, Noon-O-Kebab is hardly shy to the media.
Read Chowhound? Chowhound actually came up during the night. Penny indicated that Spoon Thai would soon get a report in her magazine. Praising Spoon, she wrongly put it on Broadway. An e-mailer (not me!), contacted the station and mentioned our home. Milt then asked about Chowhound. One panel member dismissed it as a "grubmeister site", the other, rather famous for stealing things from the site, called it "a man on the street thing." No mention of its connection to Spoon followed. And they went on their way, insisting no Chicago restaurant serves authentic Indian food...
A true sign of growing up Chicago, is to know intimately, what the letters WGN mean. Ray Rayner in the morning, Cubs after school and the easy voice of Wally Phillips guiding Mom all the time. One connection remains to that WGN, the real WGN, the pre-WB network WGN, Milt Rosenberg. Mortimer Adler disciple, quote spewer, ever correct pronuncer, Milt has held sway nightly for over 30 years. A few times a year, he dedicates a show to eating in Chicago. I rarely listen to Milt, but I happen to run across his show listing yesterday, and luckily, I learned that Monday was that restaurant show of the day day. I heard so you do not have to.
The food "media" got represented rather adequately, by Penny Pollack, food editor of Chicago Magazine, an outlet with major sway, and by Don Rose, an ostensible "critic" who seemed to have written his last reports when Jean Banchet stood highest in Chicago's food pantheon--Rose was found blathering such classics as there are good Chinese restaurants in the Chinatown Mall, I just cannot name any, and citing as a good Indian restaurant something gone at least ten years. Pollack, confident in her role, hammered the idea of Chicago Magazine as the arbiter of eating in Chicago.
And she revealed an upcoming story. Chicago discovered that yes, one could eat well in Chinatown. It seems that Chicago's chief critic, Dennis Wheaton, got himself his own RST and dug into some secret menu's. Penny sez they found 8 destination spots in Chinatown. I look forward to the report, although I strongly contend that one can eat well in Chinatown without significant language skills.
Actually, the whole exchange on Chinese food in Chicago brought out the first of the laughable exchanges of the evening. Moderator Milt teased the audience before a commercial break that they would soon be talking Chinese. Old school Rose scoffed, it would be a short chat. As noted above, Penny took them by surprise with the assertion that maybe one could eat good Chinese in Chicago. How bold. Of course this left Rose babbling about the nameless places in the mall. Nameless became the theme of most of the rest of the program.
When they opened up the discussion to callers, the critics did a fine job. Asked about any Afghan places in Chicago they found none (hint there are at least 3). Well, maybe they knew better when Penny later brought up Kabul House as a possible Persian place--geographic wiz, Milt immediately seized on the missing Afghan issue, but the experts remained stumped on any place Persian, suggesting, shockingly, Andy's. Too bad none of them reads Chowhound to see the current discussion of Noon-O-Kebab. Yet, Noon-O-Kebab is hardly shy to the media.
Read Chowhound? Chowhound actually came up during the night. Penny indicated that Spoon Thai would soon get a report in her magazine. Praising Spoon, she wrongly put it on Broadway. An e-mailer (not me!), contacted the station and mentioned our home. Milt then asked about Chowhound. One panel member dismissed it as a "grubmeister site", the other, rather famous for stealing things from the site, called it "a man on the street thing." No mention of its connection to Spoon followed. And they went on their way, insisting no Chicago restaurant serves authentic Indian food...
Monday, January 12, 2004
Knowing the Mob
In the few spare moments I am not thinking about food, I might be found thinking about the Mob. My graduate thesis was titled, Organized and Organizing Crime, Making Money the Easy Way. Besides professionally, working with businesses to diminish the impact and risk of organized crime, I have an ever growing collection of books and other knick-knacks related to the Mafia and related.
I enjoy reading most of the books, but I very much ascribe to the notions put into print by Robert Lacey in his superior biography of Meyer Lanksy, "the vast corpus of secondary literature on organized crime is shot through with inaccuracy and exaggeration. The challenge is to separate the truth from the tissue of hearsay and folklore woven around it, and often this is quite impossible." Thus, it is rare to find a rather comprehensive OC book that is not shot through with myth and glory.
American Mafia: A History of its Rise to Power by Thomas Reppetto offers one of the Mob books out there. Reppetto has personal knowledge of situations in Chicago and New York, but does not fall into the trap of self-aggrandizement. He is looking at the Mob. You are not looking at him looking at the Mob. Give it a peek.
In the few spare moments I am not thinking about food, I might be found thinking about the Mob. My graduate thesis was titled, Organized and Organizing Crime, Making Money the Easy Way. Besides professionally, working with businesses to diminish the impact and risk of organized crime, I have an ever growing collection of books and other knick-knacks related to the Mafia and related.
I enjoy reading most of the books, but I very much ascribe to the notions put into print by Robert Lacey in his superior biography of Meyer Lanksy, "the vast corpus of secondary literature on organized crime is shot through with inaccuracy and exaggeration. The challenge is to separate the truth from the tissue of hearsay and folklore woven around it, and often this is quite impossible." Thus, it is rare to find a rather comprehensive OC book that is not shot through with myth and glory.
American Mafia: A History of its Rise to Power by Thomas Reppetto offers one of the Mob books out there. Reppetto has personal knowledge of situations in Chicago and New York, but does not fall into the trap of self-aggrandizement. He is looking at the Mob. You are not looking at him looking at the Mob. Give it a peek.
Guess words from MikeG
MikeG offers the following vital information:
Random notes from random meals:
1) Had a babysitter Saturday night, couldn't think of anyplace I badly
needed to go that wouldn't be packed, looking over the unpacked places
on Opentable.com I saw a name made famous on Chowhound: Sugar. Well of
course a dessert place would be easy to get into early in the evening.
But it was also a drink place, why not go and blow the kids' college
fund on $16 Gibsons before dinner somewhere else. At least we could
check out the scene before amusing crossed the line into desperately
overcrowded.
Well... apparently no one goes for drinks, either, before late late.
We had the MOD-like interior and the Eminem-dressed waiter to ourselves
the entire time until we left about 8:30. Now I realize some of the
people who go to these places are just waking up at 8:30, and I
expected it to be a shadow of its late-night self, but absolutely
empty? Just shows I'll never be trendy again, I go to bed too early.
Anyway, had a not-bad, not-too-sweet drink-- ice wine cut with Estonian
vodka, not sure why Estonian but the vodka did bring the sweetness down
to where you could drink a largish one; and a lime souffle which was
quite tasty; and managed not to say anything insulting when the waiter
described the menu's absurd literary-pretentious names and floridly
overwritten copy as "Shakespearean" ("You mean everybody dies at the
end?")
And it was only $60 or $70 for a couple of drinks and dessert! A
bargain! [ed. Of course nothing sez Sugar more than this post.]
One more amusing note-- the decor is a wild riot of colors and
patterns, suggesting a psychedelic breakdown in a thrift shop, but amid
all the ultrahip stripes and camos and Op Art, one table near us had an
unfortunate, utterly counter-hip association for me-- the thick red and
white stripes on it screamed "TGI Friday's!"
2) Afterwards, started walking figuring we'd find somewhere to eat
dinner before we froze to death. Brasserie Jo loomed over us and we
said what the hell, hadn't been there in many years. For some reason
my one dinner there didn't do much for me ten years ago-- I remember at
the time liking Bistrot Zinc much better, which was too bad because
Susan had spent a fair amount of time in Alsace and liked the food. I
no longer remember why I felt that way but I was considerably more
impressed this time. Tarte flambee was just okay, mainly due to a
rather too generic crust that didn't strike me as the best a LEYE place
was capable of, but Tarte a l'oignon (not sure why we had to have both
of those-- well, yes I am, Alsatian nostalgia) was really perfect,
oniony and delicately eggy. A carrot soup with aioli was pungent, and
Beef Bordelaise was as comfy as an old leather chair. Not revelatory
or innovative food, but totally satisfying-- and it, unlike Sugar, was
packed before 10. Gee, maybe I shoulda gone back one time in the last
ten years and given it another shot.
MikeG offers the following vital information:
Random notes from random meals:
1) Had a babysitter Saturday night, couldn't think of anyplace I badly
needed to go that wouldn't be packed, looking over the unpacked places
on Opentable.com I saw a name made famous on Chowhound: Sugar. Well of
course a dessert place would be easy to get into early in the evening.
But it was also a drink place, why not go and blow the kids' college
fund on $16 Gibsons before dinner somewhere else. At least we could
check out the scene before amusing crossed the line into desperately
overcrowded.
Well... apparently no one goes for drinks, either, before late late.
We had the MOD-like interior and the Eminem-dressed waiter to ourselves
the entire time until we left about 8:30. Now I realize some of the
people who go to these places are just waking up at 8:30, and I
expected it to be a shadow of its late-night self, but absolutely
empty? Just shows I'll never be trendy again, I go to bed too early.
Anyway, had a not-bad, not-too-sweet drink-- ice wine cut with Estonian
vodka, not sure why Estonian but the vodka did bring the sweetness down
to where you could drink a largish one; and a lime souffle which was
quite tasty; and managed not to say anything insulting when the waiter
described the menu's absurd literary-pretentious names and floridly
overwritten copy as "Shakespearean" ("You mean everybody dies at the
end?")
And it was only $60 or $70 for a couple of drinks and dessert! A
bargain! [ed. Of course nothing sez Sugar more than this post.]
One more amusing note-- the decor is a wild riot of colors and
patterns, suggesting a psychedelic breakdown in a thrift shop, but amid
all the ultrahip stripes and camos and Op Art, one table near us had an
unfortunate, utterly counter-hip association for me-- the thick red and
white stripes on it screamed "TGI Friday's!"
2) Afterwards, started walking figuring we'd find somewhere to eat
dinner before we froze to death. Brasserie Jo loomed over us and we
said what the hell, hadn't been there in many years. For some reason
my one dinner there didn't do much for me ten years ago-- I remember at
the time liking Bistrot Zinc much better, which was too bad because
Susan had spent a fair amount of time in Alsace and liked the food. I
no longer remember why I felt that way but I was considerably more
impressed this time. Tarte flambee was just okay, mainly due to a
rather too generic crust that didn't strike me as the best a LEYE place
was capable of, but Tarte a l'oignon (not sure why we had to have both
of those-- well, yes I am, Alsatian nostalgia) was really perfect,
oniony and delicately eggy. A carrot soup with aioli was pungent, and
Beef Bordelaise was as comfy as an old leather chair. Not revelatory
or innovative food, but totally satisfying-- and it, unlike Sugar, was
packed before 10. Gee, maybe I shoulda gone back one time in the last
ten years and given it another shot.
Rapini
On Chowhound, several people are sharing their love for the rapini and beans at Jimmy's Place, a superb bar and restaurant in Forest Park. While I have nothing against these rapini and beans, I do not find them quite as axiomatic as some others. To be honest (as Hannah would say), when I think rapini, I still think one place, Bertucci's, on a side street in Chinatown.
Bertucci's, at least a few years ago, was one of Chicago's great hidden gems. Just being on the side/residential street satisfied one of RST's criteria for greatness. Plus, this very interesting crowd would satisfy most's taste for local color. And the rapini, you can find it with several plates. What I have always liked best, was the sauted rapini nestled next to a piece of panned veal--a veal somewhere between really fine milk-fed, but a lot better than the breaded veal found at your local Greek. If you think you like rapini, try this rapini.
Bertucci's
300 W 24th St
Chicago, IL 60616
312.225.2848
On Chowhound, several people are sharing their love for the rapini and beans at Jimmy's Place, a superb bar and restaurant in Forest Park. While I have nothing against these rapini and beans, I do not find them quite as axiomatic as some others. To be honest (as Hannah would say), when I think rapini, I still think one place, Bertucci's, on a side street in Chinatown.
Bertucci's, at least a few years ago, was one of Chicago's great hidden gems. Just being on the side/residential street satisfied one of RST's criteria for greatness. Plus, this very interesting crowd would satisfy most's taste for local color. And the rapini, you can find it with several plates. What I have always liked best, was the sauted rapini nestled next to a piece of panned veal--a veal somewhere between really fine milk-fed, but a lot better than the breaded veal found at your local Greek. If you think you like rapini, try this rapini.
Bertucci's
300 W 24th St
Chicago, IL 60616
312.225.2848
New Polish Cuisine
Michael Baruch
I have no problem with promoting, in my blog, worthwhile local products, authors and events. If you have something you want out, and I am comfortable with it, I will be happy to get it on the blog. I had a few exchanges with Chicago born author, Michael Baruch before I left for LA, and I have been meaning to put something up about his book. Polish food can be very damn enjoyable. I will be posting soon on a yet another great meal at Halina's. To take your own crack at Polish food, you might want to get Mike's book.
Michael Baruch
I have no problem with promoting, in my blog, worthwhile local products, authors and events. If you have something you want out, and I am comfortable with it, I will be happy to get it on the blog. I had a few exchanges with Chicago born author, Michael Baruch before I left for LA, and I have been meaning to put something up about his book. Polish food can be very damn enjoyable. I will be posting soon on a yet another great meal at Halina's. To take your own crack at Polish food, you might want to get Mike's book.
Friday, January 09, 2004
Yum Thai
Lunch?
Yum Thai is one of those places with a secret. A secret de-coded. Over time, I have learned the details of the Thai written menu, and I learned that to order the apparantly same dishes from this menu produced much better food. I think I might be on to yet another secret of Yum Thai, lunch.
I lunched at Yum Thai with the Condiment Queen yesterday, and ate very well. One of my previous best meals there had been lunch with G Wiv. Perhaps, without the intense-later-in the day take-out business that keeps this place going, they can put more attention into the mid-day meal. In fact one of the startling secrets we have been able to pry out of Yum Thai is that the "American" style dishes are mostly made ahead of time, while the "Thai" dishes are made to order. I wonder if the slower lunch time means even more made to order, even more attention so to speak.
Yesterday, my wife mostly wanted noodles and she got the sweet, spicy and chewy kee-mow (stir fried wide rice noodles). I had a soup-curry called, well I cannot say, I've searched high and low, but right now I cannot find my version of the translated secret menu. It is a yellow curry, sour and hot, with plenty of vegetables. foodfirst ghe generous and knowageable Chowhound who has translated Yum Thai's menu for me said this dish came with fried catfish, but yesterday my soup had shrimps. Whatever it was, it was very good. Last, we split a beef salad. This is one dish I am not even sure is on the Thai menu, but I tell them exactly how to make it. Grilled sliced beef in the lime fish sauce dressing with too many cloves of Goodfella thin garlic and too many slices of chilies--I just wish that yesterday's jalepeno's were not so dead. Still, boy did this dish crank. The beef got dressed right off the grill, gas grill as it may be, and the sauce got slightly absored, and then that embarrassing amount of garlic. I treasured that reek all day.
Right now, I am most confident with Yum Thai at lunch. And make sure to ask for the translated "secret menu" (i.e., the English version of the Thai menu, not the regular "American" menu.)
Yum Thai
7748 W Madison
Forest Park, IL. 60130
708-366-8888
Lunch?
Yum Thai is one of those places with a secret. A secret de-coded. Over time, I have learned the details of the Thai written menu, and I learned that to order the apparantly same dishes from this menu produced much better food. I think I might be on to yet another secret of Yum Thai, lunch.
I lunched at Yum Thai with the Condiment Queen yesterday, and ate very well. One of my previous best meals there had been lunch with G Wiv. Perhaps, without the intense-later-in the day take-out business that keeps this place going, they can put more attention into the mid-day meal. In fact one of the startling secrets we have been able to pry out of Yum Thai is that the "American" style dishes are mostly made ahead of time, while the "Thai" dishes are made to order. I wonder if the slower lunch time means even more made to order, even more attention so to speak.
Yesterday, my wife mostly wanted noodles and she got the sweet, spicy and chewy kee-mow (stir fried wide rice noodles). I had a soup-curry called, well I cannot say, I've searched high and low, but right now I cannot find my version of the translated secret menu. It is a yellow curry, sour and hot, with plenty of vegetables. foodfirst ghe generous and knowageable Chowhound who has translated Yum Thai's menu for me said this dish came with fried catfish, but yesterday my soup had shrimps. Whatever it was, it was very good. Last, we split a beef salad. This is one dish I am not even sure is on the Thai menu, but I tell them exactly how to make it. Grilled sliced beef in the lime fish sauce dressing with too many cloves of Goodfella thin garlic and too many slices of chilies--I just wish that yesterday's jalepeno's were not so dead. Still, boy did this dish crank. The beef got dressed right off the grill, gas grill as it may be, and the sauce got slightly absored, and then that embarrassing amount of garlic. I treasured that reek all day.
Right now, I am most confident with Yum Thai at lunch. And make sure to ask for the translated "secret menu" (i.e., the English version of the Thai menu, not the regular "American" menu.)
Yum Thai
7748 W Madison
Forest Park, IL. 60130
708-366-8888
Thursday, January 08, 2004
Kenny's Ribs Discovery
Several Chowhounds will shortly take off on an epic Q quest. The brilliant one wants to hit 30 places (ha!). I am sure they will make some great bbq discoveries, but I doubt they will make the discovery I made last night.
Kenny's Ribs offers one of the more average "authentic" style ribs and rib tips, but offers it from several locations, a chain of mediocrity. It is, however, one of the few places within walking distance of the bungalow. Plus, they provide a nice lunch deal that extends to the very non-lunch hour of 5:59. Thus, I find myself eating at Kenny's more than I need. Until yesterday.
I did not ask for my rib tips sauce-less. I asked for the hot sauce, like always. Kenny's sauce is actually not bad. Yet, with the sauce on the side, the rib tips shot up at least 80 points on the Q-o-meter. I tasted the charcoal. I tasted the meat. I tasted the luxuriously awful pork fat. Now, I did accent the meat. Accented with one of the all time great tips from Chowhound, the ability of Tapatio hot sauce to mimic Arthur Bryant's sauce. Kenny's rib tips, with Tapatio hot sauce, for $3.99, pure pleasure. Try it.
Several Chowhounds will shortly take off on an epic Q quest. The brilliant one wants to hit 30 places (ha!). I am sure they will make some great bbq discoveries, but I doubt they will make the discovery I made last night.
Kenny's Ribs offers one of the more average "authentic" style ribs and rib tips, but offers it from several locations, a chain of mediocrity. It is, however, one of the few places within walking distance of the bungalow. Plus, they provide a nice lunch deal that extends to the very non-lunch hour of 5:59. Thus, I find myself eating at Kenny's more than I need. Until yesterday.
I did not ask for my rib tips sauce-less. I asked for the hot sauce, like always. Kenny's sauce is actually not bad. Yet, with the sauce on the side, the rib tips shot up at least 80 points on the Q-o-meter. I tasted the charcoal. I tasted the meat. I tasted the luxuriously awful pork fat. Now, I did accent the meat. Accented with one of the all time great tips from Chowhound, the ability of Tapatio hot sauce to mimic Arthur Bryant's sauce. Kenny's rib tips, with Tapatio hot sauce, for $3.99, pure pleasure. Try it.
Question for Reader (or reader's)
I got around to looking at the latest issue of the Reader. Every week, the Reader lists about 20 or so places around a theme, with the pity comments of their reporters. This week's summaries, Uptown. I was highly surprised when Palace of China got called "strictly Szechuan Chinese."
C'mon guys, true? Last time I checked this place out, it was a rather traditional Cantonese place: salt and pepper shrimps, steamed fish, whole crabs and lobsters from a tank, that kind of stuff. Is my memory off or does the Reader need a fact checker?
For an idea of what strictly Szechuan means, I suggest perhaps the Reader's editors make a visit to Lao Sze Chuan or maybe the newly opened Sky in Chinatown. The other day the Sun Times' Pat Bruno stated matter of factly that "I have seen an erosion of quality Chinese food in too many of the restaurants in Chinatown (one exception is Phoenix, which is still the best dim sum and then some restaurant around)." I got to wonder do these critics actually eat in Chinatown or Argyle or do they just not know what Chinese food is?
UPDATE: Two quick things. First, since I wrote this on Thursday morning, you should know I was talking, really, already, about LAST week's Reader. Second, it got worse when I looked at it some more. The same restaurant list in last week's Reader, has Cantonese, Silver Seafood as "Mandarian." Hard to elevate the Chinese food discourse in this city if we hardly know what Chinese food is.
I got around to looking at the latest issue of the Reader. Every week, the Reader lists about 20 or so places around a theme, with the pity comments of their reporters. This week's summaries, Uptown. I was highly surprised when Palace of China got called "strictly Szechuan Chinese."
C'mon guys, true? Last time I checked this place out, it was a rather traditional Cantonese place: salt and pepper shrimps, steamed fish, whole crabs and lobsters from a tank, that kind of stuff. Is my memory off or does the Reader need a fact checker?
For an idea of what strictly Szechuan means, I suggest perhaps the Reader's editors make a visit to Lao Sze Chuan or maybe the newly opened Sky in Chinatown. The other day the Sun Times' Pat Bruno stated matter of factly that "I have seen an erosion of quality Chinese food in too many of the restaurants in Chinatown (one exception is Phoenix, which is still the best dim sum and then some restaurant around)." I got to wonder do these critics actually eat in Chinatown or Argyle or do they just not know what Chinese food is?
UPDATE: Two quick things. First, since I wrote this on Thursday morning, you should know I was talking, really, already, about LAST week's Reader. Second, it got worse when I looked at it some more. The same restaurant list in last week's Reader, has Cantonese, Silver Seafood as "Mandarian." Hard to elevate the Chinese food discourse in this city if we hardly know what Chinese food is.
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
Curses, foiled again
I've horribly jinxed myself by bragging more than once in recent weeks, about my ability to recall meals without notes. I posted on Dinah's without remembering the banana bread or the giant bucket out front, two of the reasons this may be the best restaurant in LA. I forgot the dry beef flaky bread dish at Ed's (scroll down), probably because it was the only weak item, and I have totally, totally missed the best thing I ate in 2003.
Now, my excuse for not remembering this thing is because I am still eating it as we enter 2004. I am talking about my wife's candy pecans. Not only are these the best thing to have ever been prepared in the bungalow, they are probably the best dish ever prepared in Oak Park. They are so good, when I start nibbling at them, I almost have to force myself to stop, or otherwise my stomach would burst. I am like one of those rats with their brains hooked up that they get the jolt of pleasure that they cannot do anything else. I have tried hard to convince the Condiment Queen to go pro with these things, but she is resistant to the name I concocted for the business: Sheila's Nutz.
I've horribly jinxed myself by bragging more than once in recent weeks, about my ability to recall meals without notes. I posted on Dinah's without remembering the banana bread or the giant bucket out front, two of the reasons this may be the best restaurant in LA. I forgot the dry beef flaky bread dish at Ed's (scroll down), probably because it was the only weak item, and I have totally, totally missed the best thing I ate in 2003.
Now, my excuse for not remembering this thing is because I am still eating it as we enter 2004. I am talking about my wife's candy pecans. Not only are these the best thing to have ever been prepared in the bungalow, they are probably the best dish ever prepared in Oak Park. They are so good, when I start nibbling at them, I almost have to force myself to stop, or otherwise my stomach would burst. I am like one of those rats with their brains hooked up that they get the jolt of pleasure that they cannot do anything else. I have tried hard to convince the Condiment Queen to go pro with these things, but she is resistant to the name I concocted for the business: Sheila's Nutz.
Triple Crown Seafood
In one of their few lucent moments, the Chicago Tribune Cheap Eats did Triple Crown Seafood today. (free registration required). Sometimes people's attention get focused on the newer or more obscure Chinese food available these days in Chinatown, 500 item Szechuanese menu's, rare Yunnan treats, Dongbei, etc., but sometimes it is very comforting and enjoyable to eat the basics, well if not the basics, at least what has been more traditional in Chinatown.
Triple Crown (most of the time, it can be inconsistent) does fantastic versions of all the Hong Kong standards. Make your meal almost entirely of seafood treats: oyster casserole with pork chunks--an inspired combo, fried smelts over-run with bits of garlic and other things, clams in black bean sauce. For meat, try a basic Cantonese restaurant prep, displayed in the back like soy sauce chicken. I have also had great crispy skin chicken here, the Cantonese breadingless fried chicken. Finally, add at least one vegetable to the table. Triple Crown's menu features tons of vegetable dishes, all done well. Easy to be healthy here.
As noted in the review, at Triple Crown the prices all drop shockingly after 10 PM, and this becomes about the best deal in Chicago
In one of their few lucent moments, the Chicago Tribune Cheap Eats did Triple Crown Seafood today. (free registration required). Sometimes people's attention get focused on the newer or more obscure Chinese food available these days in Chinatown, 500 item Szechuanese menu's, rare Yunnan treats, Dongbei, etc., but sometimes it is very comforting and enjoyable to eat the basics, well if not the basics, at least what has been more traditional in Chinatown.
Triple Crown (most of the time, it can be inconsistent) does fantastic versions of all the Hong Kong standards. Make your meal almost entirely of seafood treats: oyster casserole with pork chunks--an inspired combo, fried smelts over-run with bits of garlic and other things, clams in black bean sauce. For meat, try a basic Cantonese restaurant prep, displayed in the back like soy sauce chicken. I have also had great crispy skin chicken here, the Cantonese breadingless fried chicken. Finally, add at least one vegetable to the table. Triple Crown's menu features tons of vegetable dishes, all done well. Easy to be healthy here.
As noted in the review, at Triple Crown the prices all drop shockingly after 10 PM, and this becomes about the best deal in Chicago
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
Gosh darn, in my listing of everywhere and everything I ate in LA, I forgot a small yet very, very enjoyable nibble.
In the two block area that is "Little Thailand" on Hollywood Blvd, is a large Thai grocery store called Silom (after the famous street in Bangkok). In the parking lot behind the store, a couple were cooking up a famous Thai street treat. I mean being in the parking lot, it was almost like eating in Bangkok. These treats are semi-circles of coconut milk custard, accented Thai style with sliced green onions. It was a treat of textures and tastes. As ChefG tries, this dish featured a distict skin and then an an almost set interior and finally, a jarring, unexpected flavor. A dollar very well spent!
In the two block area that is "Little Thailand" on Hollywood Blvd, is a large Thai grocery store called Silom (after the famous street in Bangkok). In the parking lot behind the store, a couple were cooking up a famous Thai street treat. I mean being in the parking lot, it was almost like eating in Bangkok. These treats are semi-circles of coconut milk custard, accented Thai style with sliced green onions. It was a treat of textures and tastes. As ChefG tries, this dish featured a distict skin and then an an almost set interior and finally, a jarring, unexpected flavor. A dollar very well spent!
Best Chow Moments 2003
On the listserv, several people have offered up their best eating of 2003. Here are mine (in no particular order)
Italian beef tasting. As much for the sammy's as for all the great people met along the way.
The wine dungeon leading to the $27 Thai food extravaganza at Spoon Thai followed by several more hours of eating and drinking, all along Western Avenue, the longest street in Chicago.
Lemon chicken with Wiv at Tufano's (for the Palm Pilot).
Eating burgers with Sheila at the Come Back Inn, Melrose Park a mere 2 hours after she had lunch at Trio.
Spring World with RST ordering (Chinatown, Chicago).
Brisket at Black's BBQ, Lockhart, Texas. If reduced to one taste for 2003, this would be it.
My brisket smoked and eaten the next day at Beverly Shores, Indiana. Finally a full size brisket almost as good. I had made very good flats in the past, but my previous attempts with full briskets had met with mixed success.
Wiv's smoked corned beef, the best pastrami, by a long way, in Chicago
Lem's ribs with beers at Jimmy's Woodlawn Tap to commence the Allnighathon.
Rico huarache at Maxwell Street Market, Chicago
Donuts in LA
Joan's bouillabaisse
The third basturma, garlic spread and pickle sandwich at Erik M's. Two were great, but the third jolt of these intense flavors put me in such a food stupor Sheila had to drive me home.
Wine week at Smith and Wollensky
The world's greatest sope's, Milwaukee Ave, Logan Square (Chicago).
Rosh Hashannah roast chicken salad from the Zuni cookbook and Yom Kippur braised beef without a cookbook
Relishes made with relish by my mother for Thanksgiving
French toast and pie at DuPar's, Farmer's Market, LA
Hearts of lettuce, anchovy dressing, with a martini on the side, Musso and Frank's, Hollywood, CA. The most perfect accord.
I reserve the right to amend for at least a week!
On the listserv, several people have offered up their best eating of 2003. Here are mine (in no particular order)
Italian beef tasting. As much for the sammy's as for all the great people met along the way.
The wine dungeon leading to the $27 Thai food extravaganza at Spoon Thai followed by several more hours of eating and drinking, all along Western Avenue, the longest street in Chicago.
Lemon chicken with Wiv at Tufano's (for the Palm Pilot).
Eating burgers with Sheila at the Come Back Inn, Melrose Park a mere 2 hours after she had lunch at Trio.
Spring World with RST ordering (Chinatown, Chicago).
Brisket at Black's BBQ, Lockhart, Texas. If reduced to one taste for 2003, this would be it.
My brisket smoked and eaten the next day at Beverly Shores, Indiana. Finally a full size brisket almost as good. I had made very good flats in the past, but my previous attempts with full briskets had met with mixed success.
Wiv's smoked corned beef, the best pastrami, by a long way, in Chicago
Lem's ribs with beers at Jimmy's Woodlawn Tap to commence the Allnighathon.
Rico huarache at Maxwell Street Market, Chicago
Donuts in LA
Joan's bouillabaisse
The third basturma, garlic spread and pickle sandwich at Erik M's. Two were great, but the third jolt of these intense flavors put me in such a food stupor Sheila had to drive me home.
Wine week at Smith and Wollensky
The world's greatest sope's, Milwaukee Ave, Logan Square (Chicago).
Rosh Hashannah roast chicken salad from the Zuni cookbook and Yom Kippur braised beef without a cookbook
Relishes made with relish by my mother for Thanksgiving
French toast and pie at DuPar's, Farmer's Market, LA
Hearts of lettuce, anchovy dressing, with a martini on the side, Musso and Frank's, Hollywood, CA. The most perfect accord.
I reserve the right to amend for at least a week!
Fannie May to shut plant, putting 625 out of work
So reports today's Chicago Tribune. I resist mightily, the desire to toss political items into the blog--got it to keep it chow-centric no? but I HAVE to say something here.
It bothers me to no end, the deterioration of Chicago's business base. I see major corporations, Ameritech, Amoco, Quaker Oats, sell themselves off and then significantly diminish their presence in the Windy City. I see the massive Helene Curtis facilities near North and Cicero get wrecked. And the demolition companies must be soon at the gates of Brach, a couple of blocks south. Can we sum up Chicago's economic growth in recent years as the boondoggle of Millennium Park, a huge residential output in the South Loop and the luring of a 100 Boeing executives? At some point, people have to make money to live in all these units, and at some point the building boom will die. Then what?
So reports today's Chicago Tribune. I resist mightily, the desire to toss political items into the blog--got it to keep it chow-centric no? but I HAVE to say something here.
It bothers me to no end, the deterioration of Chicago's business base. I see major corporations, Ameritech, Amoco, Quaker Oats, sell themselves off and then significantly diminish their presence in the Windy City. I see the massive Helene Curtis facilities near North and Cicero get wrecked. And the demolition companies must be soon at the gates of Brach, a couple of blocks south. Can we sum up Chicago's economic growth in recent years as the boondoggle of Millennium Park, a huge residential output in the South Loop and the luring of a 100 Boeing executives? At some point, people have to make money to live in all these units, and at some point the building boom will die. Then what?
Monday, January 05, 2004
Ed's Potsticker Update:
1) I forgot a dish, a dry, well very dry beef with a sauce tasting like dehydrated peanutbutter in a nicely flaky pastry--you can see why I forgot this dish, and the idea of ten dishes sounded better anyway.
2) Here's a pic of the house's standout dish. Note, when had ours on Saturday, the sandwiches were already made for us. Go to this site for more pic's of Ed's. (Pic's courtesy of GWiv)
1) I forgot a dish, a dry, well very dry beef with a sauce tasting like dehydrated peanutbutter in a nicely flaky pastry--you can see why I forgot this dish, and the idea of ten dishes sounded better anyway.
2) Here's a pic of the house's standout dish. Note, when had ours on Saturday, the sandwiches were already made for us. Go to this site for more pic's of Ed's. (Pic's courtesy of GWiv)
Sunday, January 04, 2004
Ed's Potsticker House
Ringing in the New Year with Champagne and dumplings
The benefit of the listserv is that great special meals can be planned and executed with minimal effort. All it takes is an idea and an e-mail account. The brilliant one, RST, got the notion that we should kick things off, 2004, with a full range of helpings from Ed's Potsticker Northern Chinese snack menu, and to wash it all down, champagne, preferably champagnes from small bottlers.
I was last at Ed's in July, although for some reason it seems like last year (hahahahaha, no really it does seem like longer.) Our meal Saturday mimicked much of what we ate in July, although this time we excluded any "main dishes". All snacks or dim sum.
Honestly, as one of the chowhounditas likes to say, honestly, it was all great. A seemingly endless procession of Calvin Trillin inspired stuffed stuff. First, soup dumplings with an elastic and rather leak proof wrapper. Not too soupy, but good nonetheless. Second, the house signature dish, traditional Northern style potstickers, much different than your PF Chang version. Rolled, like the cigars served in Israeli restaurants, crisp all the way around, flaky, and just a touch greasy. Third, water dumplings, a thicker wrapper, more European, like a pierogi, to support the more vigorous cooking process, boiled versus steamed. Now, these dumplings pretty much all contained the same things inside, three similar items, yet all three possessed distinct and different skins. It focused you on the artisanship of the dumpling maker. Fourth, tiny bread bombs (typical Chinese steamed bread of "silver cake", steamed and then fried), with a bowl of condensed milk for dragging. Nothing much to say, huh? Fifth, sesame balls with bean paste, one of the few overlaps with traditional Cantonese dim sum. Ed's does a much tinier ball, and fries it longer. More crunch than goo, but I slightly prefer the goo. Sixth and seventh, two forays to Shanghai: rice cakes with bok choy and pork and thick round noodles. The carborama continued, just not as dumplings. Still about the contrasts in texture and what can be done with flour based on how it is worked and how it is cooked. I really liked the toothsome rice cakes, but the guy sitting next to me (MikeG) felt them too MSG-y. Eighth, back to dumplings, this one steamed and griddled on one side, like most people expect of potstickers, but filled with a kids pleasing cellophane noodle and chive. Ninth, the collective favorite, the crisp and flaky pancake filled, pita-like, with Chinese bacon--belly meat, rolled and slice so the filling was circles of pork meat and port fat. Tenth, soup, a much meatier and beefier broth than found further south, filled with, guess what, won tons (more dumplings). Ten ways to drive Atkins nuts and ten ways to have a great lunch. Eleven actually, we got chopped up bits of Chinese donut sticks, but the kids grabbed and ate these so fast, I cannot say more.
Those champagnes to accompany? Brilliant idea. Not only does Champagne go anywhere, not only did it extend the New Year's parties, but Champagne, with its mouth clearing properties, makes an excellent companion to this starchy food. Afterall, how many times has a champagne been described as bready or toasty. We had an assortment of bottles including some small producers--I'll get the details later, some Czech czampagne as we called it and some decidedly NOT small, Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Vintage Reserve 1996 I bought on sale a month or so ago. To be honest, I have limited insight on the bubblies. I agreed to let Ms. VI sit with the adults, I took the kids over to a big table, where we joined Mike G, his two, and a very brave, very generous chowhound named Peter. My condition for this arrangement, I got to drink all the champagne I wanted. Soon, all the wine blurred together, even the highly sweet, a bit medicine like, Czech version.
Ed's Potsticker House is continued testament that Chicago is filled with fantastic Chinese cooking. Ed's serves roughly, the population in Chicago, not from the Southern states. Ed's gorgeous and charming owner, Brenda, hails from Beijing. Her chef from Dong-bei, the East. The menu, as noted above, takes in Shanghai dishes as well. To perhaps step over the line, but even in Hong Kong, non-Cantonese restaurants have a reputation for warmth and friendliness, but with a Northern style place like Ed's, you will not find some of the brusqueness, the refusal to serve dishes, the you no like, treatment, found often at Chinese places. The outstanding hospitality of all at Ed's only added to the pleasure.
After lunch, most of us took the short jog to Filberts, where for the first time in my life, they were bottling when I entered. Hungrier sorts continued south to Lem's ribs, but we need to get back to Oak Park.
Ed's Potsticker House
3139 S. Halsted St.
(312) 326-6898
Ringing in the New Year with Champagne and dumplings
The benefit of the listserv is that great special meals can be planned and executed with minimal effort. All it takes is an idea and an e-mail account. The brilliant one, RST, got the notion that we should kick things off, 2004, with a full range of helpings from Ed's Potsticker Northern Chinese snack menu, and to wash it all down, champagne, preferably champagnes from small bottlers.
I was last at Ed's in July, although for some reason it seems like last year (hahahahaha, no really it does seem like longer.) Our meal Saturday mimicked much of what we ate in July, although this time we excluded any "main dishes". All snacks or dim sum.
Honestly, as one of the chowhounditas likes to say, honestly, it was all great. A seemingly endless procession of Calvin Trillin inspired stuffed stuff. First, soup dumplings with an elastic and rather leak proof wrapper. Not too soupy, but good nonetheless. Second, the house signature dish, traditional Northern style potstickers, much different than your PF Chang version. Rolled, like the cigars served in Israeli restaurants, crisp all the way around, flaky, and just a touch greasy. Third, water dumplings, a thicker wrapper, more European, like a pierogi, to support the more vigorous cooking process, boiled versus steamed. Now, these dumplings pretty much all contained the same things inside, three similar items, yet all three possessed distinct and different skins. It focused you on the artisanship of the dumpling maker. Fourth, tiny bread bombs (typical Chinese steamed bread of "silver cake", steamed and then fried), with a bowl of condensed milk for dragging. Nothing much to say, huh? Fifth, sesame balls with bean paste, one of the few overlaps with traditional Cantonese dim sum. Ed's does a much tinier ball, and fries it longer. More crunch than goo, but I slightly prefer the goo. Sixth and seventh, two forays to Shanghai: rice cakes with bok choy and pork and thick round noodles. The carborama continued, just not as dumplings. Still about the contrasts in texture and what can be done with flour based on how it is worked and how it is cooked. I really liked the toothsome rice cakes, but the guy sitting next to me (MikeG) felt them too MSG-y. Eighth, back to dumplings, this one steamed and griddled on one side, like most people expect of potstickers, but filled with a kids pleasing cellophane noodle and chive. Ninth, the collective favorite, the crisp and flaky pancake filled, pita-like, with Chinese bacon--belly meat, rolled and slice so the filling was circles of pork meat and port fat. Tenth, soup, a much meatier and beefier broth than found further south, filled with, guess what, won tons (more dumplings). Ten ways to drive Atkins nuts and ten ways to have a great lunch. Eleven actually, we got chopped up bits of Chinese donut sticks, but the kids grabbed and ate these so fast, I cannot say more.
Those champagnes to accompany? Brilliant idea. Not only does Champagne go anywhere, not only did it extend the New Year's parties, but Champagne, with its mouth clearing properties, makes an excellent companion to this starchy food. Afterall, how many times has a champagne been described as bready or toasty. We had an assortment of bottles including some small producers--I'll get the details later, some Czech czampagne as we called it and some decidedly NOT small, Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Vintage Reserve 1996 I bought on sale a month or so ago. To be honest, I have limited insight on the bubblies. I agreed to let Ms. VI sit with the adults, I took the kids over to a big table, where we joined Mike G, his two, and a very brave, very generous chowhound named Peter. My condition for this arrangement, I got to drink all the champagne I wanted. Soon, all the wine blurred together, even the highly sweet, a bit medicine like, Czech version.
Ed's Potsticker House is continued testament that Chicago is filled with fantastic Chinese cooking. Ed's serves roughly, the population in Chicago, not from the Southern states. Ed's gorgeous and charming owner, Brenda, hails from Beijing. Her chef from Dong-bei, the East. The menu, as noted above, takes in Shanghai dishes as well. To perhaps step over the line, but even in Hong Kong, non-Cantonese restaurants have a reputation for warmth and friendliness, but with a Northern style place like Ed's, you will not find some of the brusqueness, the refusal to serve dishes, the you no like, treatment, found often at Chinese places. The outstanding hospitality of all at Ed's only added to the pleasure.
After lunch, most of us took the short jog to Filberts, where for the first time in my life, they were bottling when I entered. Hungrier sorts continued south to Lem's ribs, but we need to get back to Oak Park.
Ed's Potsticker House
3139 S. Halsted St.
(312) 326-6898
Thursday, January 01, 2004
Eating LA
I'm gonna post more thoughts on the LA Chowhound board. Here's a quick re-cap:
El Gran Burrito - A bit edgy with great head meat tacos
Falafel King - Sentimental favorite still a favorite. Picking just a few salads too hard, made up by the fact that I can help myself to more than five kinds of hot sauces.
Stan's Donut's - Loved the banana peanut butter. This Stan guy is a genius. Not as crazy over the cheese/cherry combo. What was this Stan guy thinking?
Uncle Bill's - OK pancakes
Randy's Donut's - Great donut facsimile on roof
Border Grill - Not resting on laurels for sure. Nice kid's menu
Fatburger - Fast food that still allows itself to be greasy
Pink's - We like Chicago dogs better
Renu Nakorn - Except for all the special things mixed in--the garlic/chili sauce for the catfish, the crispy rice and the thorny vegetable with the pompano stew, things like that, Renu Nakorn did not make me say wow. And did not sear my nostrils as Jonathan Gold promised.
Donut Shop next door to Renu - Buttermilk bar blew away Randy's - Seek this place out, not just for donut tips, but the Thai born owner is quite the foodie, with opinions on a lot of LA places. Hint, he does not think much of Renu Nakorn.
Jay's Jayburger - Great hamburger not so great chili
Tommy's - Not so great hamburger, better chili--as a combo, better than Jay's
Dinah's Coffee Shop - Perhaps the finest restaurant in LA (I kid you not!)
Hollywood Farmer's Market- Fan-freakin'-tastic - Best pupusa's I've ever had
Roscoe's Chicken and Waffle's - Gower Street location even better than Pico. Amazing sweet potatoes.
Pie n'Burger - THE LA (area) burger. All the elements combine into the perfect burger. Lemon meringue pie pretty good and strawberry cake even better
Kuala Lumpur - Fine rendition of Malaysian food
Guelaguetza - Searched out the 8th street location to see if it was better. Answer, not really, but that did not mean it was not tasty. Although I have to say, the very LA, Mexican bakery run by Koreans across the street was even tastier.
Musso and Frank's - There is a reason it's survived since 1919. Loved everything but the prices. Hearts of Lettuce salad with anchovy dressing single best plate of food on trip.
Sushi Gen - Doing something right as it was packed with Japanese families on a Tuesday night
Woody's Smogersburger - Who can resist? Charred burger more special than the smogersburger toppings bar.
Du-Par's - Did I say Dinnah's was the best restaurant, well that was in Culver City, so Du-Par's is the best restaurant in LA. French toast is not supposed to taste this good, and that pie...sigh!
Primo's Donut's - Unlucky us. Most of the selections were gone as we stopped on the way to the airport. We still liked the meager pickings. No ability, however to rank it against Stan's.
I'm gonna post more thoughts on the LA Chowhound board. Here's a quick re-cap:
El Gran Burrito - A bit edgy with great head meat tacos
Falafel King - Sentimental favorite still a favorite. Picking just a few salads too hard, made up by the fact that I can help myself to more than five kinds of hot sauces.
Stan's Donut's - Loved the banana peanut butter. This Stan guy is a genius. Not as crazy over the cheese/cherry combo. What was this Stan guy thinking?
Uncle Bill's - OK pancakes
Randy's Donut's - Great donut facsimile on roof
Border Grill - Not resting on laurels for sure. Nice kid's menu
Fatburger - Fast food that still allows itself to be greasy
Pink's - We like Chicago dogs better
Renu Nakorn - Except for all the special things mixed in--the garlic/chili sauce for the catfish, the crispy rice and the thorny vegetable with the pompano stew, things like that, Renu Nakorn did not make me say wow. And did not sear my nostrils as Jonathan Gold promised.
Donut Shop next door to Renu - Buttermilk bar blew away Randy's - Seek this place out, not just for donut tips, but the Thai born owner is quite the foodie, with opinions on a lot of LA places. Hint, he does not think much of Renu Nakorn.
Jay's Jayburger - Great hamburger not so great chili
Tommy's - Not so great hamburger, better chili--as a combo, better than Jay's
Dinah's Coffee Shop - Perhaps the finest restaurant in LA (I kid you not!)
Hollywood Farmer's Market- Fan-freakin'-tastic - Best pupusa's I've ever had
Roscoe's Chicken and Waffle's - Gower Street location even better than Pico. Amazing sweet potatoes.
Pie n'Burger - THE LA (area) burger. All the elements combine into the perfect burger. Lemon meringue pie pretty good and strawberry cake even better
Kuala Lumpur - Fine rendition of Malaysian food
Guelaguetza - Searched out the 8th street location to see if it was better. Answer, not really, but that did not mean it was not tasty. Although I have to say, the very LA, Mexican bakery run by Koreans across the street was even tastier.
Musso and Frank's - There is a reason it's survived since 1919. Loved everything but the prices. Hearts of Lettuce salad with anchovy dressing single best plate of food on trip.
Sushi Gen - Doing something right as it was packed with Japanese families on a Tuesday night
Woody's Smogersburger - Who can resist? Charred burger more special than the smogersburger toppings bar.
Du-Par's - Did I say Dinnah's was the best restaurant, well that was in Culver City, so Du-Par's is the best restaurant in LA. French toast is not supposed to taste this good, and that pie...sigh!
Primo's Donut's - Unlucky us. Most of the selections were gone as we stopped on the way to the airport. We still liked the meager pickings. No ability, however to rank it against Stan's.
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
Another in Our Continuing Series of Rants on the Chicago Tribune Cheap Eats Eats
Check out this review of Thai Bistro, in St. Charles (free registration required). What, in the review, gives you the impression that this place deserves 3 out of 4 forks. That they make their own soy vinegar sauce. Granted, the reviewer concedes that the lovely setting pushed the rating up 1/2 fork, but this is a cheap eats review. How important should the art work be?
The review gives no indication that this place at all, scratches the surface of "real" Thai food. See for instance links related to Spoon below. With dishes like crab rangoon and shu mai, you can barely even call it Thai. And the spiciest of dishes, the reviewer declares tame. Is this really a Thai restaurant to be included near the top?
If I could put on my Swami gear, I might think that the review was generated more to increase coverage in St. Charles than to find a great Thai place. With so many neglected Thai restaurants, say Thai Super Chef, and so many neglected restaurants generally (oh just read along at Chowhound), this is what they could find?
Check out this review of Thai Bistro, in St. Charles (free registration required). What, in the review, gives you the impression that this place deserves 3 out of 4 forks. That they make their own soy vinegar sauce. Granted, the reviewer concedes that the lovely setting pushed the rating up 1/2 fork, but this is a cheap eats review. How important should the art work be?
The review gives no indication that this place at all, scratches the surface of "real" Thai food. See for instance links related to Spoon below. With dishes like crab rangoon and shu mai, you can barely even call it Thai. And the spiciest of dishes, the reviewer declares tame. Is this really a Thai restaurant to be included near the top?
If I could put on my Swami gear, I might think that the review was generated more to increase coverage in St. Charles than to find a great Thai place. With so many neglected Thai restaurants, say Thai Super Chef, and so many neglected restaurants generally (oh just read along at Chowhound), this is what they could find?
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Kids wanted Bobak's, But Grota Was in the Right Direction
Return to the Best Chow-Block in Chicago
The escaped into the ether, AnneK, introduced us to this buffet on the "best chow block in Chicago". Our visit then was very good. Our return visit was not quite as good.
The key to Polish buffets is how often they freshen the items. On the first visit to Grota, they seemed to be constantly moving the items. The other day, some stuff stayed out too long and suffered. At $6.50 for adults and $3 for the kids, it remains an incredible bargain.
The buffet on 12/21/03 included extremely gray roast beef, better roast ham, mysteriously tasty hunter stew (cooked sauerkraut with chunks of meat, leading to lunch table discussion of what exactly made it hunter stew, served for the hunter, by the hunter, during the hunt, etc.) meatballs, sauerkraut stuffed pierogi, chewy-good potato dumplings, stuffed cabbage, great when fresh; roast duck--over steamed; un-sampled roast pork, rice pilaf, potato pancakes, blintzes with canned apple pie filling, boiled potatoes, fried chicken, also very good when fresh; an assortment of salads that were mostly tired, plus too salty cole slaw and too oniony cabbage; semi-dry orange slices, cheesecake (good), poppyseed cake (yech!) and kolachy. Buffet also included soup. Saturday's choices included tripe, tasty if a bit fatty; white borsht, forward flavor of vinegar, and chicken noodle, well slurped by the kids.
Return to the Best Chow-Block in Chicago
The escaped into the ether, AnneK, introduced us to this buffet on the "best chow block in Chicago". Our visit then was very good. Our return visit was not quite as good.
The key to Polish buffets is how often they freshen the items. On the first visit to Grota, they seemed to be constantly moving the items. The other day, some stuff stayed out too long and suffered. At $6.50 for adults and $3 for the kids, it remains an incredible bargain.
The buffet on 12/21/03 included extremely gray roast beef, better roast ham, mysteriously tasty hunter stew (cooked sauerkraut with chunks of meat, leading to lunch table discussion of what exactly made it hunter stew, served for the hunter, by the hunter, during the hunt, etc.) meatballs, sauerkraut stuffed pierogi, chewy-good potato dumplings, stuffed cabbage, great when fresh; roast duck--over steamed; un-sampled roast pork, rice pilaf, potato pancakes, blintzes with canned apple pie filling, boiled potatoes, fried chicken, also very good when fresh; an assortment of salads that were mostly tired, plus too salty cole slaw and too oniony cabbage; semi-dry orange slices, cheesecake (good), poppyseed cake (yech!) and kolachy. Buffet also included soup. Saturday's choices included tripe, tasty if a bit fatty; white borsht, forward flavor of vinegar, and chicken noodle, well slurped by the kids.
Monday, December 22, 2003
LA?
I am off to LA in a few days--the Condiment Queen and I had such a great time in September, we wanted to bring the kids. (Curious on why I love LA so much see here, here and here.)
Some places I am thinking of almost for sure are some kind of Islamic Chinese place like Tung Lai Shun. Surely, Langers because we did not make it there last time. I am a huge cafeteria guy, and Clifton's is high on the list. Everyone seems to like Father's Office, but I am holding out for Jay's Jayburger or Pie n' Burger or if I am lucky, both. Finally, I want to continue my exploration of the best donuts in the world, and Primo's is where I need to go next.
I am very curious to learn more about the San Pedro Fish Market and any other general suggestions are appreciated.
I am off to LA in a few days--the Condiment Queen and I had such a great time in September, we wanted to bring the kids. (Curious on why I love LA so much see here, here and here.)
Some places I am thinking of almost for sure are some kind of Islamic Chinese place like Tung Lai Shun. Surely, Langers because we did not make it there last time. I am a huge cafeteria guy, and Clifton's is high on the list. Everyone seems to like Father's Office, but I am holding out for Jay's Jayburger or Pie n' Burger or if I am lucky, both. Finally, I want to continue my exploration of the best donuts in the world, and Primo's is where I need to go next.
I am very curious to learn more about the San Pedro Fish Market and any other general suggestions are appreciated.
Sunday, December 21, 2003
Another Great Mexican Sandwich
Green House Steaks at Maxwell Street
Probably the one inarguable aspect of Chicago chow, is that you can eat really, really well at the weekly open-air market, still called Maxwell Street--even if these days, it is on Canal Street running several blocks north and south of Roosevelt, instead of its old home near Maxwell and Halstead. In all the eating and discussion of Maxwell, few chowhounds have said much about Green House Steaks.
I am guessing, that in some ways, connoisseurs avoid Green House for a couple of reasons. First, all the stuff is well labeled in English, and maybe the lack of mystery makes it not as good. Second, they sell an eclectic group of food, that again seems a little less than authentic. There are fried bananas and Chicago Polish sausage and burrito's (about the only place in the Market with burrito's). Finally, you see everything frying away, and maybe the forward presence of so much grease scares people too. Only one thing has tempted me at Green House, terrific looking steak torta's. I finally tried today, and guess what, they were terrific.
More terrific than first appearances. What always got my eye was a sturdy toasted roll and fine looking steak. Under closer examination I learned that the total filling of the torta included thick cut bacon, steak slices, melted cheese, and well cooked onions and bell peppers. The whole mess gets a wallop of sour cream and several spoonfuls of a very California like green salsa--heavy on the tomatilla and cilantro. The Condiment Queen stated it a, whole greater than the parts, kind of thing. I just wish we ordered two as one of the Chowhoundita's ate most of the filing (including pretty much all of the bacon). Just another excellent Mexican sandwich in Chicago.
Green House Steaks has two stands at Maxwell, both well recognized by their long facade of frying contraptions facing the shoppers and their well labeled items, but as far as I can tell, only the more northern Green House stand has the torta's. In addition, Green House has an actual restaurant at 2700 S. Millard. The restaurant menu includes torta's, but nothing sounding anything like the cheesesteak-ish item enjoyed today at Maxwell.
The Green House Steaks
2700 S. Millard
Chicago, IL
773-277-6684
Green House Steaks at Maxwell Street
Probably the one inarguable aspect of Chicago chow, is that you can eat really, really well at the weekly open-air market, still called Maxwell Street--even if these days, it is on Canal Street running several blocks north and south of Roosevelt, instead of its old home near Maxwell and Halstead. In all the eating and discussion of Maxwell, few chowhounds have said much about Green House Steaks.
I am guessing, that in some ways, connoisseurs avoid Green House for a couple of reasons. First, all the stuff is well labeled in English, and maybe the lack of mystery makes it not as good. Second, they sell an eclectic group of food, that again seems a little less than authentic. There are fried bananas and Chicago Polish sausage and burrito's (about the only place in the Market with burrito's). Finally, you see everything frying away, and maybe the forward presence of so much grease scares people too. Only one thing has tempted me at Green House, terrific looking steak torta's. I finally tried today, and guess what, they were terrific.
More terrific than first appearances. What always got my eye was a sturdy toasted roll and fine looking steak. Under closer examination I learned that the total filling of the torta included thick cut bacon, steak slices, melted cheese, and well cooked onions and bell peppers. The whole mess gets a wallop of sour cream and several spoonfuls of a very California like green salsa--heavy on the tomatilla and cilantro. The Condiment Queen stated it a, whole greater than the parts, kind of thing. I just wish we ordered two as one of the Chowhoundita's ate most of the filing (including pretty much all of the bacon). Just another excellent Mexican sandwich in Chicago.
Green House Steaks has two stands at Maxwell, both well recognized by their long facade of frying contraptions facing the shoppers and their well labeled items, but as far as I can tell, only the more northern Green House stand has the torta's. In addition, Green House has an actual restaurant at 2700 S. Millard. The restaurant menu includes torta's, but nothing sounding anything like the cheesesteak-ish item enjoyed today at Maxwell.
The Green House Steaks
2700 S. Millard
Chicago, IL
773-277-6684
Friday, December 19, 2003
Where Yat?
Keep in touch with the New Orleans food scene
I mentioned to someone yesterday that I partially picked Tulane Law School because of the food and bars. I have had several chances to return to New Orleans since those days, but obviously, I cannot go as often as I'd like. To partially make up for this, I get Tom Fitzmorris's daily e-newsletter on the New Orleans food scene. While Fitzmorris is a little lacking in his descriptions of "ethnic" food, his reporting of creole/cajun and similar places is spot on. No one can tell you better exactly how to eat well in New Orleans. Go here to subscribe.
Note, Fitzmorris is one of the leading proponents of the non-anonymous school of food journalism. Not only is he well recognized in New Orleans, he has had various business ventures with restraunteurs. I think this is a valid approach, and I will write on this more when I have time.
Keep in touch with the New Orleans food scene
I mentioned to someone yesterday that I partially picked Tulane Law School because of the food and bars. I have had several chances to return to New Orleans since those days, but obviously, I cannot go as often as I'd like. To partially make up for this, I get Tom Fitzmorris's daily e-newsletter on the New Orleans food scene. While Fitzmorris is a little lacking in his descriptions of "ethnic" food, his reporting of creole/cajun and similar places is spot on. No one can tell you better exactly how to eat well in New Orleans. Go here to subscribe.
Note, Fitzmorris is one of the leading proponents of the non-anonymous school of food journalism. Not only is he well recognized in New Orleans, he has had various business ventures with restraunteurs. I think this is a valid approach, and I will write on this more when I have time.
Mexican Sandwiches
On the SF board of Chowhound, having seen the tortas at La Torta in San Diego, got to talking about tortas.
UPDATE: Stanley Stephan turned me on to this post about Tijuana torta's and the differences between a torta and a lonche.
I recently wrote a thing about Mexican sammy's in Chicago. This RST post is even more informative on the subject.
Mexican food includes a lot of sandwiches, but these sandwiches were a late entry on most Mexican menu's in the USA. Up until recently, how many people even knew about the sandwich as part of the repatoire? Now, we see tortas and other Mexican sandwiches all over the place. Here are some good choices for sandwiches, Mexican style in Chicago.
Taqueria/Restaurant La Oaxaquena - The warm, generous owners of this place serve only a dabbling of actual Oaxacan food, fearing the Chicago market will not go whole hog for grasshoppers and other things. Regardless of the regionality, their kitchen produces some tasty food, and some of the tastiest are a group of sandwiches shown on their menu as "Super Torta's". One of the best Chowhounds for finding things, ReneG, first brought these sandwiches to wide acclaim. They are truly super. Each torta, a sandwich on a soft, almost superfluous, squishy roll, contains a stack of ingredients. One favorite smashes grilled chicken breast, grilled cesina, guacamole, onions, tomatoes, and cheese into the bun. Another favorite uses cactus and roasted jalapeno to join the cesina. An odd version throws in a gnarly fried hot dog. They make 3 outstanding salsa's that are practically my excuse to order the tortas.
Taqueria Puebla - The most intrepid and dedicated of all Chowhounds, RST found this stand on the NW side of Chicago. Owned by a former sports reporter for a Spanish radio station, the inside is plastered with posters and photo's of Mexican sports stars. It specializes in the street food of Puebla state, and a key part of this street food is the cemita sandwich. The cemita is much distinguished from the torta by roll. Crustier, egg washed and seeded, it has a flavor element that the torta roll, bollilo, does not. Flavor also comes from a spray of Mexican herbs, authentically, the soapy papalo, but they use whatever they can find. Olive oil dresses the sandwich instead of mayo.
Dona Lois - A bit of Mexico City on the far north side of Chicago. Most people get the quesadilla's made from scratch and filled with exotica like squash blossoms, but those with iron stomachs try the pambaso. In Mexico, the pambaso may refer also to a kind of bread, but in Chicago, it mostly refers to the act of drowning any sandwich roll in a vat of bloody chili sauce. It is served with soft cooked potatoes. A great combo!
Tortas USA (a/k/a Dona Torta) - Not so much a specialist in a regional style, but a restaurant selling 30 or so kinds of tortas. Beside a range of interesting fillings, the use a better torta roll, let you grab at will from a bowl of pickled jalapeno's and carrots (take that Rick Bayless!), and toss a few so-so french fries on your plate. Good fried fish, good breaded meat (milanesa), good pork leg, good roasted chili salsa, all finish the allure.
Taqueria Oaxaquena (2 locations)
3382 N. Milwaukee/6113 W. Diversy
Chicago
773-545-8585/773-637-8709
Taqueria Puebla-Mexico
3625 W. North
(773) 772-8435
Quesadillas Doña Lolis
6924 N Clark St
773-761-5677
Tortas USA
3057 N. Ashland Ave.
773-871-8999
On the SF board of Chowhound, having seen the tortas at La Torta in San Diego, got to talking about tortas.
UPDATE: Stanley Stephan turned me on to this post about Tijuana torta's and the differences between a torta and a lonche.
I recently wrote a thing about Mexican sammy's in Chicago. This RST post is even more informative on the subject.
Mexican food includes a lot of sandwiches, but these sandwiches were a late entry on most Mexican menu's in the USA. Up until recently, how many people even knew about the sandwich as part of the repatoire? Now, we see tortas and other Mexican sandwiches all over the place. Here are some good choices for sandwiches, Mexican style in Chicago.
Taqueria/Restaurant La Oaxaquena - The warm, generous owners of this place serve only a dabbling of actual Oaxacan food, fearing the Chicago market will not go whole hog for grasshoppers and other things. Regardless of the regionality, their kitchen produces some tasty food, and some of the tastiest are a group of sandwiches shown on their menu as "Super Torta's". One of the best Chowhounds for finding things, ReneG, first brought these sandwiches to wide acclaim. They are truly super. Each torta, a sandwich on a soft, almost superfluous, squishy roll, contains a stack of ingredients. One favorite smashes grilled chicken breast, grilled cesina, guacamole, onions, tomatoes, and cheese into the bun. Another favorite uses cactus and roasted jalapeno to join the cesina. An odd version throws in a gnarly fried hot dog. They make 3 outstanding salsa's that are practically my excuse to order the tortas.
Taqueria Puebla - The most intrepid and dedicated of all Chowhounds, RST found this stand on the NW side of Chicago. Owned by a former sports reporter for a Spanish radio station, the inside is plastered with posters and photo's of Mexican sports stars. It specializes in the street food of Puebla state, and a key part of this street food is the cemita sandwich. The cemita is much distinguished from the torta by roll. Crustier, egg washed and seeded, it has a flavor element that the torta roll, bollilo, does not. Flavor also comes from a spray of Mexican herbs, authentically, the soapy papalo, but they use whatever they can find. Olive oil dresses the sandwich instead of mayo.
Dona Lois - A bit of Mexico City on the far north side of Chicago. Most people get the quesadilla's made from scratch and filled with exotica like squash blossoms, but those with iron stomachs try the pambaso. In Mexico, the pambaso may refer also to a kind of bread, but in Chicago, it mostly refers to the act of drowning any sandwich roll in a vat of bloody chili sauce. It is served with soft cooked potatoes. A great combo!
Tortas USA (a/k/a Dona Torta) - Not so much a specialist in a regional style, but a restaurant selling 30 or so kinds of tortas. Beside a range of interesting fillings, the use a better torta roll, let you grab at will from a bowl of pickled jalapeno's and carrots (take that Rick Bayless!), and toss a few so-so french fries on your plate. Good fried fish, good breaded meat (milanesa), good pork leg, good roasted chili salsa, all finish the allure.
Taqueria Oaxaquena (2 locations)
3382 N. Milwaukee/6113 W. Diversy
Chicago
773-545-8585/773-637-8709
Taqueria Puebla-Mexico
3625 W. North
(773) 772-8435
Quesadillas Doña Lolis
6924 N Clark St
773-761-5677
Tortas USA
3057 N. Ashland Ave.
773-871-8999
Gorilla Gourmet Stomps Down Maxwell Street
Be Educated and Entertained!
The producers of Gorilla Gourmet insist my net participation points have value, but that there are too many above the line costs. I still believe you should buy a copy of this great production.
Modern documentary and black comedy. You will learn much about how to eat and shop at Chicago's weekly open air market and chowarama, and you will be thoroughly thrilled with the exploits of the fressers.
Thursday, December 18, 2003
Metromix
I got a the link up for Metromix. For all the shots at the Trib, I think that Metromix is a good site for chowhounds. First, you can get addresses and directions as needed. Second, there is some content, not altogether brisk, but some content outside the main paper. All those Cheap Eats reviews we love are there, but sadly the more interesting stuff like the World Eats or the 24 Hours of Chow story are missing. Sometimes Metromix can really be helpful.
Spoon Thai is one of the most beloved of Chowhound restaurants, yet how did it get so famous. It is one of several Thai restaurants in the same area. Well, of course RST scooped some things out, complete with notes on TP, but it was Zim, inspired from some reading in Metromix that got the ball rolling. The rest (and $27) is history. So, do poke around Metromix.
UPDATE:I'd be interested in hearing other stories on using sites such as Metromix for greater good.
UPDATE UPDATE (SPOON THAI): I would be horribly remiss in not mentioning the role the Ultimo, Gwiv, had in spreading the word on Spoon. This is his first post on the subject, but subsequent to his postings he hosted many a meal there amongst Chowhounds that gained this place fame and even a spot in the Trib.
I got a the link up for Metromix. For all the shots at the Trib, I think that Metromix is a good site for chowhounds. First, you can get addresses and directions as needed. Second, there is some content, not altogether brisk, but some content outside the main paper. All those Cheap Eats reviews we love are there, but sadly the more interesting stuff like the World Eats or the 24 Hours of Chow story are missing. Sometimes Metromix can really be helpful.
Spoon Thai is one of the most beloved of Chowhound restaurants, yet how did it get so famous. It is one of several Thai restaurants in the same area. Well, of course RST scooped some things out, complete with notes on TP, but it was Zim, inspired from some reading in Metromix that got the ball rolling. The rest (and $27) is history. So, do poke around Metromix.
UPDATE:I'd be interested in hearing other stories on using sites such as Metromix for greater good.
UPDATE UPDATE (SPOON THAI): I would be horribly remiss in not mentioning the role the Ultimo, Gwiv, had in spreading the word on Spoon. This is his first post on the subject, but subsequent to his postings he hosted many a meal there amongst Chowhounds that gained this place fame and even a spot in the Trib.
Taboun Grill
Great but expensive Israeli food - Kosher too!
Israel has always had a bad rap for food. I mean from a tourist perspective. A lot of that, I think has to do with low quality beef. Avoid the McDavid's. Does that mean the food of Israel is really bad. On my lone trip, I found nearly all of the meals outstanding, especially the multitude of stuffed vegetables at a Yemenite place and the multitude of stuffed falafel sandwiches, everywhere. For those falafel sammy's chose at will from a ton of salads, offered from countless street vendors. My opinion of Israeli food is also futzed up by an especially good restaurant in North Miami Beach run by Israeli's. From them, I expect every other Israeli restaurant to have superior fresh cut fries and bowls full of sour pickles for the taking.
I enter Israeli places with that prejudice, but I also soon find myself at ease entering any Israeli place. I believe, but could be wrong, that there is something relaxing for nearly every American born and raised Jew when they enter a room filled with yamulked men. Outside of a pledge party for ZBT, are there any other settings where you feel more comfortable with your Jewishness? (On the other hand, my wife, felt totally il-at-ease, expecting stones to be hurdled her way any minute because she was wearing a sleeveless dress.) On top of this, your kids are no longer, by a long shot the worst behaved, and even if they were being particularly poorly behaved, no one would hear much of their commotion over the rest of the commotion. Finally, it gives a Jewish man special pride to be served by a slew of dark haired, dark skinned stunning waitresses, who also know how to take apart and put back together, an Uzi while blindfolded. Portnoy would not complain.
So how bad could the food be? Not bad at all. I will say up front, I think the prices are pretty high at Taboun, much more than they should be. I wondered if Rabbinic supervision costs that much more, and my sources in the kosher community tell me kosher meat even at the market costs a lot. Still, what they served at Taboun is very, very good.
If you need a first course, and unfortunately you might, the portions are small, I've enjoyed the Moroccan salad, the standard dips like hummus and baba ganoush and the Yemenite soup. The soup is a greenish yellow, like lakewater, with a taste of odd spices (not like lakewater). A dose of very hot, hot sauce (zug I think it is called), not only heated up the soup, but it amplified the other ingredients. Fresh vegetables helped a lot too. Forget the color, order the soup.
The main course are mostly simple but well done. I like their kefta and their shwarma, and again, the worst I can say about them is, the portions are too small. The sandwiches are stuffed just as in Israel with several toppings, although not as many as you would find there. Also, again, the hot sauce enhances. Now, the fries were nothing special, not fresh made. No pickles graced our table, which I miss. Still, when you wake up the next morning with the flavors still parading your palate, well you want to return.
Service, besides being beautiful, has been efficient and fast. Very fast, they really get you your food quick for a place with table service, although with all the din, lingering is not that important.
UPDATE: The newly mysterious Stirs-the-Pot (that is he/she is not becoming more mysterious, but that he/she is new to Chowhound and rather mysterious), reports on Chowhound that ample pickles appear when dining at Taboun. I'll have to confirm.
Taboun Grill - Kosher/Meat
Address: 6339 N. California
Chicago, IL 60659 Phone: (773) 381-2606
Great but expensive Israeli food - Kosher too!
Israel has always had a bad rap for food. I mean from a tourist perspective. A lot of that, I think has to do with low quality beef. Avoid the McDavid's. Does that mean the food of Israel is really bad. On my lone trip, I found nearly all of the meals outstanding, especially the multitude of stuffed vegetables at a Yemenite place and the multitude of stuffed falafel sandwiches, everywhere. For those falafel sammy's chose at will from a ton of salads, offered from countless street vendors. My opinion of Israeli food is also futzed up by an especially good restaurant in North Miami Beach run by Israeli's. From them, I expect every other Israeli restaurant to have superior fresh cut fries and bowls full of sour pickles for the taking.
I enter Israeli places with that prejudice, but I also soon find myself at ease entering any Israeli place. I believe, but could be wrong, that there is something relaxing for nearly every American born and raised Jew when they enter a room filled with yamulked men. Outside of a pledge party for ZBT, are there any other settings where you feel more comfortable with your Jewishness? (On the other hand, my wife, felt totally il-at-ease, expecting stones to be hurdled her way any minute because she was wearing a sleeveless dress.) On top of this, your kids are no longer, by a long shot the worst behaved, and even if they were being particularly poorly behaved, no one would hear much of their commotion over the rest of the commotion. Finally, it gives a Jewish man special pride to be served by a slew of dark haired, dark skinned stunning waitresses, who also know how to take apart and put back together, an Uzi while blindfolded. Portnoy would not complain.
So how bad could the food be? Not bad at all. I will say up front, I think the prices are pretty high at Taboun, much more than they should be. I wondered if Rabbinic supervision costs that much more, and my sources in the kosher community tell me kosher meat even at the market costs a lot. Still, what they served at Taboun is very, very good.
If you need a first course, and unfortunately you might, the portions are small, I've enjoyed the Moroccan salad, the standard dips like hummus and baba ganoush and the Yemenite soup. The soup is a greenish yellow, like lakewater, with a taste of odd spices (not like lakewater). A dose of very hot, hot sauce (zug I think it is called), not only heated up the soup, but it amplified the other ingredients. Fresh vegetables helped a lot too. Forget the color, order the soup.
The main course are mostly simple but well done. I like their kefta and their shwarma, and again, the worst I can say about them is, the portions are too small. The sandwiches are stuffed just as in Israel with several toppings, although not as many as you would find there. Also, again, the hot sauce enhances. Now, the fries were nothing special, not fresh made. No pickles graced our table, which I miss. Still, when you wake up the next morning with the flavors still parading your palate, well you want to return.
Service, besides being beautiful, has been efficient and fast. Very fast, they really get you your food quick for a place with table service, although with all the din, lingering is not that important.
UPDATE: The newly mysterious Stirs-the-Pot (that is he/she is not becoming more mysterious, but that he/she is new to Chowhound and rather mysterious), reports on Chowhound that ample pickles appear when dining at Taboun. I'll have to confirm.
Taboun Grill - Kosher/Meat
Address: 6339 N. California
Chicago, IL 60659 Phone: (773) 381-2606
Meet the Family
Who are these people you always talk about?
In which I reveal the secret of the Condiment Queen
One of the reasons that I am blogging instead of posting to Chowhound is that I prefer to report the way I report, with ample inclusion of friends and family, nicknames and all. My chowing is frequently going to include others. They will be in the reporting, so you might as well know who some of them are.
More often than not, my chow companions are the three other people in my family. I get to chow with them more because, well they need to eat too, I get a lot more control over where we go, and as explained below, they are generally excellent chowers. People marvel at the fact that the kids, the Chowhounditas, eat at so many kinds of restaurants. The key, though is to zero in on a few things they like. For instance, they'll eat satay and mee krob at any Thai place. Quesadilla's and nacho's satisfy in Mexican places, and noodles and stir fried vegetables help a lot in Asian places. Here's more on them:
THE CONDIMENT QUEEN - It might be believed that my vivacious wife gets her title from the 16 bottles of olive oil in our cabinets, one for each region of Italy/country in the Mediterranean she cooks, or the five kind of mustards in the fridge, her need to buy an extra jar of jelly just in case, and all the other things we have. No. She is the Condiment Queen because of her ability, early in our relationship, to produce endless varieties of pasta from jars of salsa, hot sauces and other condiments. The Condiment Queen will eat all kinds of food in all kinds of restaurants. We only split in the sense that I eat more offal and fatty things and she likes certain yuppier choices like breakfast burrito's.
CHOWHOUNDITA #1 - HANNAH - My older daughter is one of the healthiest eaters in existence. She not only willingly eats high fiber bread, she already expresses concern about her salt intake. Anecdotal evidence shows that her eating habits keep her from being routinely sick. Hannah is much more willing than Sophia to eat things generally, and will try a lot. Still, her favorite dish remains, anything on the adult portion of the menu.
CHOWHOUNDITA #2 - SOPHIA - As naturally un-healthy as Hannah is healthy. Sophia has a hard time enjoying any form of protein not hot dogs, bacon or eggs scrambled with cheese. The other drawback of dining with Sophie, is that she is one of the slowest eaters around. She is so busy being charming, food becomes irrelevant, but then we want to get home. Sophia is a budding oenophile, or at least Dad fantasizes about this. She does have a great nose and can often, although not always, name the aromas listed on the label.
UPDATE/EDIT: Forgot to mention how Hannah's never sick because of her healthy diet.
UPDATE/EDIT 2: Added the extra bit about olive oils from around the world at the direction of CQ who said the earlier understanding of her use of olive oil was dumb.
Who are these people you always talk about?
In which I reveal the secret of the Condiment Queen
One of the reasons that I am blogging instead of posting to Chowhound is that I prefer to report the way I report, with ample inclusion of friends and family, nicknames and all. My chowing is frequently going to include others. They will be in the reporting, so you might as well know who some of them are.
More often than not, my chow companions are the three other people in my family. I get to chow with them more because, well they need to eat too, I get a lot more control over where we go, and as explained below, they are generally excellent chowers. People marvel at the fact that the kids, the Chowhounditas, eat at so many kinds of restaurants. The key, though is to zero in on a few things they like. For instance, they'll eat satay and mee krob at any Thai place. Quesadilla's and nacho's satisfy in Mexican places, and noodles and stir fried vegetables help a lot in Asian places. Here's more on them:
THE CONDIMENT QUEEN - It might be believed that my vivacious wife gets her title from the 16 bottles of olive oil in our cabinets, one for each region of Italy/country in the Mediterranean she cooks, or the five kind of mustards in the fridge, her need to buy an extra jar of jelly just in case, and all the other things we have. No. She is the Condiment Queen because of her ability, early in our relationship, to produce endless varieties of pasta from jars of salsa, hot sauces and other condiments. The Condiment Queen will eat all kinds of food in all kinds of restaurants. We only split in the sense that I eat more offal and fatty things and she likes certain yuppier choices like breakfast burrito's.
CHOWHOUNDITA #1 - HANNAH - My older daughter is one of the healthiest eaters in existence. She not only willingly eats high fiber bread, she already expresses concern about her salt intake. Anecdotal evidence shows that her eating habits keep her from being routinely sick. Hannah is much more willing than Sophia to eat things generally, and will try a lot. Still, her favorite dish remains, anything on the adult portion of the menu.
CHOWHOUNDITA #2 - SOPHIA - As naturally un-healthy as Hannah is healthy. Sophia has a hard time enjoying any form of protein not hot dogs, bacon or eggs scrambled with cheese. The other drawback of dining with Sophie, is that she is one of the slowest eaters around. She is so busy being charming, food becomes irrelevant, but then we want to get home. Sophia is a budding oenophile, or at least Dad fantasizes about this. She does have a great nose and can often, although not always, name the aromas listed on the label.
UPDATE/EDIT: Forgot to mention how Hannah's never sick because of her healthy diet.
UPDATE/EDIT 2: Added the extra bit about olive oils from around the world at the direction of CQ who said the earlier understanding of her use of olive oil was dumb.
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
Join!
While some have accused our Chicago chow community of being cliquish and closed, I find that wholly un-substantiated. First, we are open to all. It is NOT a club, and there are no dues. Every event is priced per event, and there is no cover charge. Second, we have an extraordinary high recidivism rate. Once people start participating, they continue to participate. Everyone has their own agenda's as to what is fun, affordable, logical and doable, and you have no need to do it all. But the chance is there.
Nearly every event, formal and spontaneous, is discussed and planned on a e-mail listserv. This link will help you get on the listserv.
It is nice, but not necessary, that when you join the listserv, you introduce yourself.
See you soon.
While some have accused our Chicago chow community of being cliquish and closed, I find that wholly un-substantiated. First, we are open to all. It is NOT a club, and there are no dues. Every event is priced per event, and there is no cover charge. Second, we have an extraordinary high recidivism rate. Once people start participating, they continue to participate. Everyone has their own agenda's as to what is fun, affordable, logical and doable, and you have no need to do it all. But the chance is there.
Nearly every event, formal and spontaneous, is discussed and planned on a e-mail listserv. This link will help you get on the listserv.
It is nice, but not necessary, that when you join the listserv, you introduce yourself.
See you soon.
Link Suggestions?
Up until yesterday, Chicago Chowhound was my home page. Now it is this blog. One of the things I like about having this as my home page, is that while I wait and pray for a comments, I have links available to me for other sites of interest. In other words, from one page, I can get where I want, and then back again.
I plan on expanding the link section (or blog roll to be a blogger). Of course, first I have to figure out how to move the Haloscan icon. I had more links but they bleeded into the icon. Anyway, tell me what you think should be in the link section.
Up until yesterday, Chicago Chowhound was my home page. Now it is this blog. One of the things I like about having this as my home page, is that while I wait and pray for a comments, I have links available to me for other sites of interest. In other words, from one page, I can get where I want, and then back again.
I plan on expanding the link section (or blog roll to be a blogger). Of course, first I have to figure out how to move the Haloscan icon. I had more links but they bleeded into the icon. Anyway, tell me what you think should be in the link section.
Chicago Food Media [ed., you mean we have a food media?]
Why blog?
I think nearly everyone who posts on Chowhound bristles at one single rule, "keep things laser-focused on Chicago Chow". As I said (or alluded to) earlier, the interests of people who read, post and contribute to Chowhound on a frequent basis, often veer from the Chowhound mission. These posters need to talk about things that interest their chowing, but are not really in the interest of the Chow database. I am a firm believer that these discussions help the community and lead to more food finds and better collective eating.
Not here. All things of interest related to eating in Chicago are welcome. Specifically, I seek comments on the Chicago food media: the major reviewers, the weekly food sections, TV programs, Reader reviews. Give me your input as well as your gossip (which I will evaluate before publishing--rumors but no rumor mongering!).
Why blog?
I think nearly everyone who posts on Chowhound bristles at one single rule, "keep things laser-focused on Chicago Chow". As I said (or alluded to) earlier, the interests of people who read, post and contribute to Chowhound on a frequent basis, often veer from the Chowhound mission. These posters need to talk about things that interest their chowing, but are not really in the interest of the Chow database. I am a firm believer that these discussions help the community and lead to more food finds and better collective eating.
Not here. All things of interest related to eating in Chicago are welcome. Specifically, I seek comments on the Chicago food media: the major reviewers, the weekly food sections, TV programs, Reader reviews. Give me your input as well as your gossip (which I will evaluate before publishing--rumors but no rumor mongering!).
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Not Frontera/Frontera - Continued
The feedback/questions surrounding my Frontera posts go something like this:
1) Was I holding back anything on Frontera, in other words do I think it worse than I said
2) Is Frontera worth it ever, that a skilled, committed chef can add little to the process or experience of eating Mexican food. Or, put slightly different, that Not Frontera will ALWAYS be better.
My responses to the issues about Frontera Grill, I believe, boil down, likewise to two points:
1) Frontera has been a very good restaurant, but it has slid
2) Frontera Grill can a good job of cooking authentic and real Mexican food but does not right now.
To address whether Frontera is a good restaurant, I have to say, resoundingly, that Frontera's success as a restaurant is not tied explicitly to its ability to provide Mexican food. I support fusion and even inauthentic presentations if they taste good. Believe it or not, I like eating at Chipoltle. Heaven on Seven is another not very authentic kitchen I like. Authenticity can help a restaurant in many ways, but it is not the mark of a good restaurant.
What I seek in a good restaurant, or at least the criteria I look at include decor, service, style, value, panache, originality, comfort and the product of the kitchen. I am, of course, highly subjective in my ratings, as those who know me know. Yet, even if I can be happy eating in a dump, I respect, enjoy, appreciate and value all the other factors. Frontera falters right now because, as a restaurant, it is missing so much. It is crowded, noisy, the service is not very adept, there are tons of niggling charges (on top of high prices), some of the dishes are not wholly well executed, and some things, like the table salsa's are just too industrial for me.
The other question, can Frontera serve good Mexican food? Can a white guy sing the blues? It was offered to me that none of the high price affectations of Frontera quite matter, that no fancy Heirloom pork could ever improve a lowly carnita. I disagree. I believe Frontera can truly bring the recipes of Mexico to Chicago, and I believe that all the finer products just make for better food. Good ingredients do help.
I believe that "ethic" food does not have to be cheap, but when I pay more for ethnic food, any food generally, I am seeking, more than anything, better ingredients. I expect the piece of fish served at Frontera to be of much higher quality than the piece of fish at Not Frontera. In this case money matters. Not just that, but I expect a Rick Bayless to just know how to get better fish than most of the places in Not Frontera. In my opinion, Frontera has the ability to put out very good Mexican food. They are just not doing it.
The feedback/questions surrounding my Frontera posts go something like this:
1) Was I holding back anything on Frontera, in other words do I think it worse than I said
2) Is Frontera worth it ever, that a skilled, committed chef can add little to the process or experience of eating Mexican food. Or, put slightly different, that Not Frontera will ALWAYS be better.
My responses to the issues about Frontera Grill, I believe, boil down, likewise to two points:
1) Frontera has been a very good restaurant, but it has slid
2) Frontera Grill can a good job of cooking authentic and real Mexican food but does not right now.
To address whether Frontera is a good restaurant, I have to say, resoundingly, that Frontera's success as a restaurant is not tied explicitly to its ability to provide Mexican food. I support fusion and even inauthentic presentations if they taste good. Believe it or not, I like eating at Chipoltle. Heaven on Seven is another not very authentic kitchen I like. Authenticity can help a restaurant in many ways, but it is not the mark of a good restaurant.
What I seek in a good restaurant, or at least the criteria I look at include decor, service, style, value, panache, originality, comfort and the product of the kitchen. I am, of course, highly subjective in my ratings, as those who know me know. Yet, even if I can be happy eating in a dump, I respect, enjoy, appreciate and value all the other factors. Frontera falters right now because, as a restaurant, it is missing so much. It is crowded, noisy, the service is not very adept, there are tons of niggling charges (on top of high prices), some of the dishes are not wholly well executed, and some things, like the table salsa's are just too industrial for me.
The other question, can Frontera serve good Mexican food? Can a white guy sing the blues? It was offered to me that none of the high price affectations of Frontera quite matter, that no fancy Heirloom pork could ever improve a lowly carnita. I disagree. I believe Frontera can truly bring the recipes of Mexico to Chicago, and I believe that all the finer products just make for better food. Good ingredients do help.
I believe that "ethic" food does not have to be cheap, but when I pay more for ethnic food, any food generally, I am seeking, more than anything, better ingredients. I expect the piece of fish served at Frontera to be of much higher quality than the piece of fish at Not Frontera. In this case money matters. Not just that, but I expect a Rick Bayless to just know how to get better fish than most of the places in Not Frontera. In my opinion, Frontera has the ability to put out very good Mexican food. They are just not doing it.
Guide to Asian Vegetables
This site seems to be the in thing on Chicago Chowhound. A very cool way of finding what you ate in an Asian restaurant.
This site seems to be the in thing on Chicago Chowhound. A very cool way of finding what you ate in an Asian restaurant.
Why blog?
Blogging is so 2002 is it not? Why start now? Really, when such a good forum as Chowhound exists, especially its Chicago board, why break away?
Well, I guess the coolest reason, with Blogger/Haloscan, is because I can. I believe strongly in the moderation policies of Chowhound, and I think those moderation policies have, more often than not, been used wisely. Most of what is kept off of Chowhound, I think is rightly kept off. Still, there are things I want to do and say, that I cannot do on Chowhound.
1) I want to continue to foster and encourage our little Chow Community in Chicago. It is a community open and welcome to all, but it is a community that exists. I believe in the community more than I believe in the database.
2) I want to be a resource for the community and similar communities.
3) I want to be able to promote and publicize people and causes I know and believe. Nothing is being done for financial remuneration, but if I can help in some way, I will. For instance, notices for the Culinary Historians of Chicago, welcome. Announcements of cook books by Chicago writers, welcome.
4) I understand and appreciate Chowhound's commitment to be a forum for consumers. I am willing to be a bit more lenient. I welcome and seek the opinions of those "on the other side" of the food business. Yet, in the vein of Chowhound, I do not want hidden or anonymous attacks of one restraunteur to another. Also, no food illness stories.
I'll see what happens. If it does not work, I am sure you will see me back on Chowhound.
Blogging is so 2002 is it not? Why start now? Really, when such a good forum as Chowhound exists, especially its Chicago board, why break away?
Well, I guess the coolest reason, with Blogger/Haloscan, is because I can. I believe strongly in the moderation policies of Chowhound, and I think those moderation policies have, more often than not, been used wisely. Most of what is kept off of Chowhound, I think is rightly kept off. Still, there are things I want to do and say, that I cannot do on Chowhound.
1) I want to continue to foster and encourage our little Chow Community in Chicago. It is a community open and welcome to all, but it is a community that exists. I believe in the community more than I believe in the database.
2) I want to be a resource for the community and similar communities.
3) I want to be able to promote and publicize people and causes I know and believe. Nothing is being done for financial remuneration, but if I can help in some way, I will. For instance, notices for the Culinary Historians of Chicago, welcome. Announcements of cook books by Chicago writers, welcome.
4) I understand and appreciate Chowhound's commitment to be a forum for consumers. I am willing to be a bit more lenient. I welcome and seek the opinions of those "on the other side" of the food business. Yet, in the vein of Chowhound, I do not want hidden or anonymous attacks of one restraunteur to another. Also, no food illness stories.
I'll see what happens. If it does not work, I am sure you will see me back on Chowhound.
Bangladesh Food in Chicago
I wrote a post on Chowhound on The Sonargaon Restaurant, the only place in Chicago I am aware of, that serves the food of Bangladesh. When the family and I ate there, we had for dessert, ras malai, the dessert of fresh cheese curds and condensed milk. Sonargaon told me it was a Bangladesh version, but it tasted like any other ras malai. My friend and guru, Zim finally got around to explaining it for me.
It seems that ras malai is essentially a Bengali/Bangladesh dish, so pretty much all ras malai, where ever it is served in Chicago, is serving the Bangladesh version.
The Sonargaon Restaurant
2306 W. Devon, Chicago
773-262-8008
I wrote a post on Chowhound on The Sonargaon Restaurant, the only place in Chicago I am aware of, that serves the food of Bangladesh. When the family and I ate there, we had for dessert, ras malai, the dessert of fresh cheese curds and condensed milk. Sonargaon told me it was a Bangladesh version, but it tasted like any other ras malai. My friend and guru, Zim finally got around to explaining it for me.
It seems that ras malai is essentially a Bengali/Bangladesh dish, so pretty much all ras malai, where ever it is served in Chicago, is serving the Bangladesh version.
The Sonargaon Restaurant
2306 W. Devon, Chicago
773-262-8008
Fu Choy Follow-Up
Culinary Rainman, RST, added his usual depth and thoroughness to the Fu Choy dinner here and in the subsequent post. Another Chowhound of Chinese origin who has helped educate much to the secrets of the Chinese table, Limster, told me that "in Singapore we consider Fuzhou as distinct from Fujian; the dialect’s also different (I’m Fujian, or Hokkien as we say, and I can’t understand the Fuzhou dialect). Kinda similar to the distinction we make between Teochew (city in Canton) and Cantonese (the province) -- there’s also a complete language difference."
I have, obviously, in my eating, only glanced at the differences between Teochew (a/k/a Chiu Chow), Hakka, Hokkien, modern Hong Kong, etc. as well as the places further north and east such as Fuzhou (Fu Choy). I am both interested in finding more examples in Chicago and learning more generally about these versions of Chinese food.
Culinary Rainman, RST, added his usual depth and thoroughness to the Fu Choy dinner here and in the subsequent post. Another Chowhound of Chinese origin who has helped educate much to the secrets of the Chinese table, Limster, told me that "in Singapore we consider Fuzhou as distinct from Fujian; the dialect’s also different (I’m Fujian, or Hokkien as we say, and I can’t understand the Fuzhou dialect). Kinda similar to the distinction we make between Teochew (city in Canton) and Cantonese (the province) -- there’s also a complete language difference."
I have, obviously, in my eating, only glanced at the differences between Teochew (a/k/a Chiu Chow), Hakka, Hokkien, modern Hong Kong, etc. as well as the places further north and east such as Fuzhou (Fu Choy). I am both interested in finding more examples in Chicago and learning more generally about these versions of Chinese food.
Monday, December 15, 2003
Not Frontera - It aint always perfect
Taqueria La Oaxaquena
With Frontera fresh in my mind, I looked forward to lunch at Not Frontera, in this case the now much closer to me, Taqueria La Oaxaquena. I specifically wanted to eat and compare their mole and their tamal.
Now, the very Oaxacan tamals here, steamed in neatly bow-tied banana leafs, have never had a huge following. Some people object to the chicken bones--hey authenticity. I like them, and I like the house brown mole. A three dimensional mole with distinct layers of fudgy brown, rust and yellow. No hiding the grease, I mean soul in this mole. The tamal pollo con mole should be very special. And it can be.
Here, however, Not Frontera shows its glaring weakness. My tamals came to me from a shvitz longer than any denizen of the Division Street Bathhouse could stand. The long steam leached out most of the corn succor and also nearly burnt the mole. I salvaged some of the lost moisture with a side of mole.
The risk of Not Frontera is that the best recipes are not always done right or there are compromises based on economic issues. I am sure they are not selling enough tamals to keep them at a proper temperature. Instead, they get blasted before serving. For all its shortcomings, I do not think Frontera would nearly ruin a dish.
I still love this place, especially the highly non-Oaxacan super tortas. I always kvetch them to add more Oaxacan style items to their menu. Complimentary nibbles of their stash of grasshoppers does not do it for me, although whenever I give my menu suggestions my wife is in the background saying, "Jerry you a bad man."
UPDATE: I was asked, given that La Oaxaquen's tamals have had mixed reviews, if I generally like them. Yes, they can be good and interesting. Just be aware of the bones.
Taqueria La Oaxaquena
6113 W. Diversey
Chicago, IL
773-637-8709
Taqueria La Oaxaquena
With Frontera fresh in my mind, I looked forward to lunch at Not Frontera, in this case the now much closer to me, Taqueria La Oaxaquena. I specifically wanted to eat and compare their mole and their tamal.
Now, the very Oaxacan tamals here, steamed in neatly bow-tied banana leafs, have never had a huge following. Some people object to the chicken bones--hey authenticity. I like them, and I like the house brown mole. A three dimensional mole with distinct layers of fudgy brown, rust and yellow. No hiding the grease, I mean soul in this mole. The tamal pollo con mole should be very special. And it can be.
Here, however, Not Frontera shows its glaring weakness. My tamals came to me from a shvitz longer than any denizen of the Division Street Bathhouse could stand. The long steam leached out most of the corn succor and also nearly burnt the mole. I salvaged some of the lost moisture with a side of mole.
The risk of Not Frontera is that the best recipes are not always done right or there are compromises based on economic issues. I am sure they are not selling enough tamals to keep them at a proper temperature. Instead, they get blasted before serving. For all its shortcomings, I do not think Frontera would nearly ruin a dish.
I still love this place, especially the highly non-Oaxacan super tortas. I always kvetch them to add more Oaxacan style items to their menu. Complimentary nibbles of their stash of grasshoppers does not do it for me, although whenever I give my menu suggestions my wife is in the background saying, "Jerry you a bad man."
UPDATE: I was asked, given that La Oaxaquen's tamals have had mixed reviews, if I generally like them. Yes, they can be good and interesting. Just be aware of the bones.
Taqueria La Oaxaquena
6113 W. Diversey
Chicago, IL
773-637-8709
Not Frontera/Frontera
Lunch at Frontera Grill
Perhaps, my most consistent recommendation on Chowhound has been for that place, Not Frontera. I never meant to denigrate Frontera or Rich Bayless per se. I surely give Bayless credit for turning me on to all the wonders of the Mexican street food on Maxwell Street, and I respect what he has done to encourage Mexican eating. I would not know and appreciate Not Frontera if it was not for Frontera. I also appreciate Bayless's support of various forms of sustainable agriculture even as I have always taken issues with a few things at Frontera. The prices, the countless extra charges, the wait, always bugged me, but I did not really attack the food.
Not Frontera meant go somewhere else. Go somewhere new, somewhere not mentioned in every story about Chicago food. Go to someone without cookbooks, without reviews in the newspapers, without a listing in Chicago Magazine's Top 20. Not Frontera gave me so much enjoyment with its tastes of all parts of Mexico. At Not Frontera, I was constantly impressed with the effort put into the smallest of details. Like at a small burrito stand on the farthest Western fringes of Chicago, they make a delicious salsa from burlap sacks full of dried peppers. I am confident in my love of Not Frontera.
Over my existence on Chowhound, (I believe) I have written about more Mexican than any other kind of food. I backed up Not Frontera by introducing people to exotically stuffed quesadilla's at Dona Lois and the glories of a simple place amidst some industrial buildings in Cicero. I helped bring the many regions of Mexico here in Chicago to the eater, including restaurants specializing in the food of Nayarit, Jalisco, Oaxaca, Puebla, and Michoacan. I showed that behind the doors of a rusty purple van existed the best sopes ever, and talked about lesser known dishes like carne en su jugo and pozole. In turn, others on Chicago Chowhound added and expanded, the whole meaning of Not Frontera, with essays on the origins of cemita's, guidebooks to 26th street, and thoughts on all thing Geno Bahena (plus way more things on Mexican food than can be mentioned in this one post). Chicago Chowhound contains a hell of a lot of support for Not Frontera. So, in the end, Frontera.
I ate at Frontera for the first time in a few years this Saturday. I recognize that while Not Frontera may be generally more pleasurable to me, I have never ruled out Frontera as good place to eat. Plus, I was meeting someone from out of town who had a limited timeframe in Chicago. We had no opportunity to truck it out to Not Frontera. Really, in the intervening years, I wanted to see how Frontera stacked up against Not Frontera. And will you be surprised if I said, not that well.
I remember the original lay out at Frontera, when the bar dominated one room. Over time, they have expanded their seating, enhancing the decor and its theme of Mexican primitive art, especially the day of the dead tchotkes. It is a styled decorator look that you will not see in the barrio. In this time, Frontera crammed as many tables into this space as possible. Over our lunch, we constantly had to shuffle plates and such to maintain space on the table, and because we had no room for the tortilla's, they kept on trying to snag them from us because I put them on the ledge. Pretty, but not very comfortable. The service too was rather schitzo. We arrived within minutes of opening, and when the place was still quiet, we got a fair amount of attention and warmth. By the time the place was filled and bustling, the service broke down. We never saw our server toward the end of the meal.
On the plate, and quickly, I know this is getting long. One dish really impressed me, it was exactly the dish I want from Frontera. A tinga de honga, a stew of wild and exotic mushrooms; spiced mysteriously and with a good amount of heat. Highly delicious wrapped in the fresh made tortillas (which I must add are not as good as some found at Not Frontera). Not Frontera, however, would never, never have mushrooms this special, and this was a dish planned, conceived and executed with chef skills. The tortilla soup also benefited from an organized kitchen, having a well-performed stock behind it, yet the flavors on top were still a bit muted for me. On the other hand, Not Frontera serves more tasty tamals, Frontera's tamal was flat--both in shape and in flavor. Two moles paled to some found at Not Frontera. They just lacked soul. Me, I like a little trail of oil behind my mole. It should be thick, greasy, maybe gritty, and unctuous, not smooth and refined. Same thing for the table salsa's, which I believe are just from the well-displayed jars, tasty, refined but not nearly as satisfying as what you would find at Not Frontera. I have said before that I feel much more safe ordering ceviche at Frontera vs. Not Frontera, but right now I really preferred Not Frontera ceviche, say Islas Marias ceviche. Frontera's ceviche was way over marinated and again, not as forward with the flavors. Finally, I tried dessert, something I rarely do at Not Frontera. Believe me, no dessert may have beaten out the dry and plain pay de coco (coconut pie) served at Frontera.
I understand always the need for some people to try Frontera. After all, it made the most sense for me on Saturday. Still, after giving Frontera a good whirl, I am more confident than ever with Not Frontera.
VI
Frontera Grill
445 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60610
312-661-1434
Go here for more info on Frontera Grill
Lunch at Frontera Grill
Perhaps, my most consistent recommendation on Chowhound has been for that place, Not Frontera. I never meant to denigrate Frontera or Rich Bayless per se. I surely give Bayless credit for turning me on to all the wonders of the Mexican street food on Maxwell Street, and I respect what he has done to encourage Mexican eating. I would not know and appreciate Not Frontera if it was not for Frontera. I also appreciate Bayless's support of various forms of sustainable agriculture even as I have always taken issues with a few things at Frontera. The prices, the countless extra charges, the wait, always bugged me, but I did not really attack the food.
Not Frontera meant go somewhere else. Go somewhere new, somewhere not mentioned in every story about Chicago food. Go to someone without cookbooks, without reviews in the newspapers, without a listing in Chicago Magazine's Top 20. Not Frontera gave me so much enjoyment with its tastes of all parts of Mexico. At Not Frontera, I was constantly impressed with the effort put into the smallest of details. Like at a small burrito stand on the farthest Western fringes of Chicago, they make a delicious salsa from burlap sacks full of dried peppers. I am confident in my love of Not Frontera.
Over my existence on Chowhound, (I believe) I have written about more Mexican than any other kind of food. I backed up Not Frontera by introducing people to exotically stuffed quesadilla's at Dona Lois and the glories of a simple place amidst some industrial buildings in Cicero. I helped bring the many regions of Mexico here in Chicago to the eater, including restaurants specializing in the food of Nayarit, Jalisco, Oaxaca, Puebla, and Michoacan. I showed that behind the doors of a rusty purple van existed the best sopes ever, and talked about lesser known dishes like carne en su jugo and pozole. In turn, others on Chicago Chowhound added and expanded, the whole meaning of Not Frontera, with essays on the origins of cemita's, guidebooks to 26th street, and thoughts on all thing Geno Bahena (plus way more things on Mexican food than can be mentioned in this one post). Chicago Chowhound contains a hell of a lot of support for Not Frontera. So, in the end, Frontera.
I ate at Frontera for the first time in a few years this Saturday. I recognize that while Not Frontera may be generally more pleasurable to me, I have never ruled out Frontera as good place to eat. Plus, I was meeting someone from out of town who had a limited timeframe in Chicago. We had no opportunity to truck it out to Not Frontera. Really, in the intervening years, I wanted to see how Frontera stacked up against Not Frontera. And will you be surprised if I said, not that well.
I remember the original lay out at Frontera, when the bar dominated one room. Over time, they have expanded their seating, enhancing the decor and its theme of Mexican primitive art, especially the day of the dead tchotkes. It is a styled decorator look that you will not see in the barrio. In this time, Frontera crammed as many tables into this space as possible. Over our lunch, we constantly had to shuffle plates and such to maintain space on the table, and because we had no room for the tortilla's, they kept on trying to snag them from us because I put them on the ledge. Pretty, but not very comfortable. The service too was rather schitzo. We arrived within minutes of opening, and when the place was still quiet, we got a fair amount of attention and warmth. By the time the place was filled and bustling, the service broke down. We never saw our server toward the end of the meal.
On the plate, and quickly, I know this is getting long. One dish really impressed me, it was exactly the dish I want from Frontera. A tinga de honga, a stew of wild and exotic mushrooms; spiced mysteriously and with a good amount of heat. Highly delicious wrapped in the fresh made tortillas (which I must add are not as good as some found at Not Frontera). Not Frontera, however, would never, never have mushrooms this special, and this was a dish planned, conceived and executed with chef skills. The tortilla soup also benefited from an organized kitchen, having a well-performed stock behind it, yet the flavors on top were still a bit muted for me. On the other hand, Not Frontera serves more tasty tamals, Frontera's tamal was flat--both in shape and in flavor. Two moles paled to some found at Not Frontera. They just lacked soul. Me, I like a little trail of oil behind my mole. It should be thick, greasy, maybe gritty, and unctuous, not smooth and refined. Same thing for the table salsa's, which I believe are just from the well-displayed jars, tasty, refined but not nearly as satisfying as what you would find at Not Frontera. I have said before that I feel much more safe ordering ceviche at Frontera vs. Not Frontera, but right now I really preferred Not Frontera ceviche, say Islas Marias ceviche. Frontera's ceviche was way over marinated and again, not as forward with the flavors. Finally, I tried dessert, something I rarely do at Not Frontera. Believe me, no dessert may have beaten out the dry and plain pay de coco (coconut pie) served at Frontera.
I understand always the need for some people to try Frontera. After all, it made the most sense for me on Saturday. Still, after giving Frontera a good whirl, I am more confident than ever with Not Frontera.
VI
Frontera Grill
445 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60610
312-661-1434
Go here for more info on Frontera Grill
Sunday, December 14, 2003
Fu Choy You! - Chinese Kitchen
Chicago's only Fukien style place
Other opinion's of the meal can be found here.
Chicago's only Fukien style place
Other opinion's of the meal can be found here.
Fu Choy You! - Chinese Kitchen
Chicago's only Fukien style place
About a week ago, I met my friend often called the Ultimo, Gwiv, in Chinatown for a satifying bowl of won ton soup and side plate of mixed bbq meats. (One reason we call him the Ultimo is because he subscribes to the too much of a good thing is a good thing school of eating). After lunch, I did a bit of scouting around Chinatown. Several places recently opened. One intrigued me becuase it offered the food of the city of Fu Choy. They claimed to be the only place in Chicago with such food (Fukinese), and I pretty much could not doubt them. I knew I needed to try.
I threw an invite out, eventually answered by 22 other folks. Chicago's encyclopedia of all things food and wine, and also a speaker of Chinese, RST, helped me arrange a menu. While Chinese Kitchen serves a range of Cantonese and even some Americanized dishes, we went 100 % Fukinese.
After dinner, one of the group said, "it hit parts of my tounge that have never been hit before." It surely was a different series of dishes for all of us. Mostly a parade of subtle flavors and endless textures. Not everyone liked the stuff as much as me, but we learned a lot, and since we had several bottles of bourbon, home-made rice wine, $100/lb tea and other drinks, we all had a good time regardless.
Here's what we ate:
Taro Cake - A block of taro, mashed and then fried not so artfully. Some know taro as the heaviest of foods. The mashing lighten things up, and it had the intriguing spice of taro. Good, could have been better if less oily.
Fish ball with soup- Classic Fukinese version of gefitle fish, although no bubbie would put a drop of shark/pork inside their's. Not rubbery like other Asian fish balls. Because the filling left an air pocket inside, they were incredibly light. I could have eaten a few more.
Shark's skin "Butterfly Soup" - What happens to those sharks when you take away the fin? Fukinese make use of the rest of the body, flavoring soup with this fishy, slimey, think nearly heering, skin. With the soup, you could taste the origins of mall hot n'sour soup. Lots of back-bite from white pepper and a good dose of vinegar kept this soup from being bland.
Mixed platter - It may be odd or axiomatic, but Chinese food can really teach you to like innards. Nothing on this plate of intestines, ear, tendon, beef brisket, tripe or egg tasted gross, gamey or gooey. With an interesting sweet-soy sauce, it proved to be a worthy addition to the table.
Jellyfish - I was told, going into the dinner, that this was the head of the jellyfish, not the more commondly used tentacles. Another dish prized only for its rubbery, chewy, gelantous texture (like Ricola cough drops) and as a vehicle for a sesame based sauce. Good if you like this sort of thing.
Eggs with oysters - Chinese hangtown fry. Eggs and oysters seem to have universal appeal. This was my favorite dish. Someone at my table who, not quite as keen at the plainer flavors, noted, it was still an extremely well executed omelete, neither dry nor greasy as some of these egg dishes can be.
Salty Chicken - At the second meal planning meeting, we decided to add another meat dishe. This is what they suggested. Very different, a dried chicken, chicken bacalao, recontstituted and served as is. I think the nearly unanamous opinion on this one was, well we tried it.
Ribs in rice wine sauce - The ribs were more like pork chops, breaded and fried and then stir-fried in a the rice wine. The rice wine tastes strongly of fungus (the Chinese style yeast) and also has sweet undercurrent. It made a nice base for the fatty pork.
Conch with chinese celery - Another texture dish, although the conch, while looking similiar to tendon, melts much easier in the mouth. The Chinese celery tasted strong and fresh and set up the conch well. This may have been my wife's favorite.
Red cooked duck and dried bamboo - The first dish made with red lees "hong zhao". This is the mash leftover from making the rice wine, and dishes stewed in it are the most characteristic of Fukinese cooking. While people appreciated the tradition of the dish, many scoffed at the heavy "barnyard" aroma as well as the chewy items in the dish. In the minority, I liked it, and like a lot of very strong, very new flavors, it grew on me over time.
Red cooked rabbit with fresh bamboo's - Some contrast to the dish above. This was not so stew like, more of a red stir-fry.
Fried fish with noodles - Not what I expeced, which is deep fried fish fillets on a bed of noodles. Everything about this dish was different. The noodles were rice and wide, the size of fetuccini, the fish was in chunks stirred in (not deep fried), and several clams dotted the dish. Very Italian in style and execution, especially if you like strong flavors of the sea.
Chinese green with tons of garlic - My menu helper, RST, made them run out and find some kind of special green instead of the pea shoots they had planned. About as good as can be from fresh bought greens, cooked well, with tons of garlic.
Eel in soup - As in Shanghai, Fu Choy uses the eel a lot in its cooking. When I did menu planning for this meal, they told me the eel was alive still. Well, it was dead by the time it got to our table near the end of the long procession of dishes. It came in chunks, scored, in a broth about as fatty as the eel itself. Not a hugely popular dish with me or anyone else. Fish fat with bones, mild.
Whole fish "special sauce" - My one contribution to the menu planning. They had suggested sweet and sour fish, I could not resist anything in a special sauce. They wondered if we could eat whole fish. I assured yes for sure. The fist itself was frozen, from China. We debated long, whether to use this fish or the tank swimming tilapia. The fish came out nice, only slightly tasting of the freezer. Amazingly, while most everyone else liked it, I found the taste wierd and not really pleasant.
Sweet rice with pineapple steamed in fresh pinapples - Terrific version of rice pudding.
Sweet soup with taro and tapico - Soothing sweet end to a fantastic meal.
VI
Chinese Kitchen
2343 S. Wentworth
Chicago, IL
312-881-0100
Note, I have not provided an expert translation of the dish names. They may appear slightly different on the menu. Our waitress Windy spoke English good enough to be able to help you find these and other fine dishes. In general, the Fukinese dishes are on the last page of the menu.
Chicago's only Fukien style place
About a week ago, I met my friend often called the Ultimo, Gwiv, in Chinatown for a satifying bowl of won ton soup and side plate of mixed bbq meats. (One reason we call him the Ultimo is because he subscribes to the too much of a good thing is a good thing school of eating). After lunch, I did a bit of scouting around Chinatown. Several places recently opened. One intrigued me becuase it offered the food of the city of Fu Choy. They claimed to be the only place in Chicago with such food (Fukinese), and I pretty much could not doubt them. I knew I needed to try.
I threw an invite out, eventually answered by 22 other folks. Chicago's encyclopedia of all things food and wine, and also a speaker of Chinese, RST, helped me arrange a menu. While Chinese Kitchen serves a range of Cantonese and even some Americanized dishes, we went 100 % Fukinese.
After dinner, one of the group said, "it hit parts of my tounge that have never been hit before." It surely was a different series of dishes for all of us. Mostly a parade of subtle flavors and endless textures. Not everyone liked the stuff as much as me, but we learned a lot, and since we had several bottles of bourbon, home-made rice wine, $100/lb tea and other drinks, we all had a good time regardless.
Here's what we ate:
Taro Cake - A block of taro, mashed and then fried not so artfully. Some know taro as the heaviest of foods. The mashing lighten things up, and it had the intriguing spice of taro. Good, could have been better if less oily.
Fish ball with soup- Classic Fukinese version of gefitle fish, although no bubbie would put a drop of shark/pork inside their's. Not rubbery like other Asian fish balls. Because the filling left an air pocket inside, they were incredibly light. I could have eaten a few more.
Shark's skin "Butterfly Soup" - What happens to those sharks when you take away the fin? Fukinese make use of the rest of the body, flavoring soup with this fishy, slimey, think nearly heering, skin. With the soup, you could taste the origins of mall hot n'sour soup. Lots of back-bite from white pepper and a good dose of vinegar kept this soup from being bland.
Mixed platter - It may be odd or axiomatic, but Chinese food can really teach you to like innards. Nothing on this plate of intestines, ear, tendon, beef brisket, tripe or egg tasted gross, gamey or gooey. With an interesting sweet-soy sauce, it proved to be a worthy addition to the table.
Jellyfish - I was told, going into the dinner, that this was the head of the jellyfish, not the more commondly used tentacles. Another dish prized only for its rubbery, chewy, gelantous texture (like Ricola cough drops) and as a vehicle for a sesame based sauce. Good if you like this sort of thing.
Eggs with oysters - Chinese hangtown fry. Eggs and oysters seem to have universal appeal. This was my favorite dish. Someone at my table who, not quite as keen at the plainer flavors, noted, it was still an extremely well executed omelete, neither dry nor greasy as some of these egg dishes can be.
Salty Chicken - At the second meal planning meeting, we decided to add another meat dishe. This is what they suggested. Very different, a dried chicken, chicken bacalao, recontstituted and served as is. I think the nearly unanamous opinion on this one was, well we tried it.
Ribs in rice wine sauce - The ribs were more like pork chops, breaded and fried and then stir-fried in a the rice wine. The rice wine tastes strongly of fungus (the Chinese style yeast) and also has sweet undercurrent. It made a nice base for the fatty pork.
Conch with chinese celery - Another texture dish, although the conch, while looking similiar to tendon, melts much easier in the mouth. The Chinese celery tasted strong and fresh and set up the conch well. This may have been my wife's favorite.
Red cooked duck and dried bamboo - The first dish made with red lees "hong zhao". This is the mash leftover from making the rice wine, and dishes stewed in it are the most characteristic of Fukinese cooking. While people appreciated the tradition of the dish, many scoffed at the heavy "barnyard" aroma as well as the chewy items in the dish. In the minority, I liked it, and like a lot of very strong, very new flavors, it grew on me over time.
Red cooked rabbit with fresh bamboo's - Some contrast to the dish above. This was not so stew like, more of a red stir-fry.
Fried fish with noodles - Not what I expeced, which is deep fried fish fillets on a bed of noodles. Everything about this dish was different. The noodles were rice and wide, the size of fetuccini, the fish was in chunks stirred in (not deep fried), and several clams dotted the dish. Very Italian in style and execution, especially if you like strong flavors of the sea.
Chinese green with tons of garlic - My menu helper, RST, made them run out and find some kind of special green instead of the pea shoots they had planned. About as good as can be from fresh bought greens, cooked well, with tons of garlic.
Eel in soup - As in Shanghai, Fu Choy uses the eel a lot in its cooking. When I did menu planning for this meal, they told me the eel was alive still. Well, it was dead by the time it got to our table near the end of the long procession of dishes. It came in chunks, scored, in a broth about as fatty as the eel itself. Not a hugely popular dish with me or anyone else. Fish fat with bones, mild.
Whole fish "special sauce" - My one contribution to the menu planning. They had suggested sweet and sour fish, I could not resist anything in a special sauce. They wondered if we could eat whole fish. I assured yes for sure. The fist itself was frozen, from China. We debated long, whether to use this fish or the tank swimming tilapia. The fish came out nice, only slightly tasting of the freezer. Amazingly, while most everyone else liked it, I found the taste wierd and not really pleasant.
Sweet rice with pineapple steamed in fresh pinapples - Terrific version of rice pudding.
Sweet soup with taro and tapico - Soothing sweet end to a fantastic meal.
VI
Chinese Kitchen
2343 S. Wentworth
Chicago, IL
312-881-0100
Note, I have not provided an expert translation of the dish names. They may appear slightly different on the menu. Our waitress Windy spoke English good enough to be able to help you find these and other fine dishes. In general, the Fukinese dishes are on the last page of the menu.
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
Food Blogs
I do not think I am a "food blog". If anything, I am a blog about food blogs. I will not attempt to capture all the great food blogs out there, but will comment on them as I see fit. Kipblog has done a great job of finding these things, and if you want to explore the world of food blogs, he is a great source. His photography is really, really good too.
UPDATE: OK, I am now a food blog. Before, the purpose of my blogging was gonna be little snippets of things not otherwise worth a Chowhound post. Now, it will all be here.
I do not think I am a "food blog". If anything, I am a blog about food blogs. I will not attempt to capture all the great food blogs out there, but will comment on them as I see fit. Kipblog has done a great job of finding these things, and if you want to explore the world of food blogs, he is a great source. His photography is really, really good too.
UPDATE: OK, I am now a food blog. Before, the purpose of my blogging was gonna be little snippets of things not otherwise worth a Chowhound post. Now, it will all be here.
Thursday, June 12, 2003
Cheap Eats, blech!
(Disclosure, I am friends with people involved with the Chicago Cheap Eats reviews and have even been at meals subsequently reviewed.)
Is there anyone who likes the Cheap Eats reviews each week in the Chicago Tribune?
There are three obvious structural problems that limit this feature. First, the Trib has set the bar way too low. The format demands entree prices of less than $13. Surely, more than that verges away from cheap, but it also eliminates a bunch of places that are considered too informal for the main review section but are slightly more than the Cheap Eats guidelines. The NYTimes calls their related feature, $25 and under. Would not that be more apt? Second, there are various internal battles at the Gothic Tower over where to place certain pieces. For instance, does something exotic get a Cheap Eats review or does it get a World Eats story (I'll come back to this is a second). Finally, and most important, every Cheap Eats reviewer must work within the extremely dumb format. This format prevents much backstory and pretty much no exposition beyond comments of what is on the menu. Yet, even with all these problems can they do any better than this? I'd link to this week's review of a tiki bar/restaurant, but it is not yet on Metromix and stories on the Tribune's web site stay free for only seven days.
Surely, the most interesting food writing in Chicago is being done in the World Eats columns. The only downside of World Eats, is that its narrow focus. Due to some intrepid eating (and photography) we know that guinea pig (cuy) can be eaten in Chicago, but how much do we really know about specific Ecuadorian places (well Chowhound readers know a lot, but how many are we?) In my Chicago Tribune, we'd do two pieces each week that combined the best of Cheap Eats and World Eats, highlighting diligent shops that produce interesting food below the radar AND educate people about what they are serving.
And of course, it would be pure narrative, without idiot headers to pigeonhole the text.
(Disclosure, I am friends with people involved with the Chicago Cheap Eats reviews and have even been at meals subsequently reviewed.)
Is there anyone who likes the Cheap Eats reviews each week in the Chicago Tribune?
There are three obvious structural problems that limit this feature. First, the Trib has set the bar way too low. The format demands entree prices of less than $13. Surely, more than that verges away from cheap, but it also eliminates a bunch of places that are considered too informal for the main review section but are slightly more than the Cheap Eats guidelines. The NYTimes calls their related feature, $25 and under. Would not that be more apt? Second, there are various internal battles at the Gothic Tower over where to place certain pieces. For instance, does something exotic get a Cheap Eats review or does it get a World Eats story (I'll come back to this is a second). Finally, and most important, every Cheap Eats reviewer must work within the extremely dumb format. This format prevents much backstory and pretty much no exposition beyond comments of what is on the menu. Yet, even with all these problems can they do any better than this? I'd link to this week's review of a tiki bar/restaurant, but it is not yet on Metromix and stories on the Tribune's web site stay free for only seven days.
Surely, the most interesting food writing in Chicago is being done in the World Eats columns. The only downside of World Eats, is that its narrow focus. Due to some intrepid eating (and photography) we know that guinea pig (cuy) can be eaten in Chicago, but how much do we really know about specific Ecuadorian places (well Chowhound readers know a lot, but how many are we?) In my Chicago Tribune, we'd do two pieces each week that combined the best of Cheap Eats and World Eats, highlighting diligent shops that produce interesting food below the radar AND educate people about what they are serving.
And of course, it would be pure narrative, without idiot headers to pigeonhole the text.
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
Farmer's Markets
Even as our big bag of asparagus wilts away in the fridge, I love farmer's markets. My wife, the Condiment Queen and I attempt to visit the Oak Park Farmer's Market weekly. Last year, I decided to report on the market each week on chowhound as a way of capturing the flow of food through the season, from the earliest rhubarbs to the last apples. I wanted to chart what came and went. On top of that, I wanted to give as much publicity as I could to this great event. Whether my reports achieved what I wanted, I'd prefer to leave un-explored.
Once again, we will try and make it to the market each week, and I will mostly likely report each week on Chowhound. Here's this week's report. I'll try and link or otherwise comment on other markets as I find them. Evanston, in most ways is the primary rival to Oak Park, and one area we do battle is in farmer's markets. They've had a few more organic vendors, but we have always had donuts and bluegrass, although this year they have had things a lot quicker.
Even as our big bag of asparagus wilts away in the fridge, I love farmer's markets. My wife, the Condiment Queen and I attempt to visit the Oak Park Farmer's Market weekly. Last year, I decided to report on the market each week on chowhound as a way of capturing the flow of food through the season, from the earliest rhubarbs to the last apples. I wanted to chart what came and went. On top of that, I wanted to give as much publicity as I could to this great event. Whether my reports achieved what I wanted, I'd prefer to leave un-explored.
Once again, we will try and make it to the market each week, and I will mostly likely report each week on Chowhound. Here's this week's report. I'll try and link or otherwise comment on other markets as I find them. Evanston, in most ways is the primary rival to Oak Park, and one area we do battle is in farmer's markets. They've had a few more organic vendors, but we have always had donuts and bluegrass, although this year they have had things a lot quicker.
Monday, June 09, 2003
Took our regular visit to La Quebrada on Roosevelt near Cicero in Cicero. As we were leaving, two folks who looked highly un-Quebrada like entered. It is nice to finally see the results our handiwork.
The start of a legend
The start of a legend
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