Food Blog

I’m falling behind around here. There’s lots of good stuff coming, but first, some burger porn.

Poochies (3832 Dempster, Skokie) is one of those places where a couple of generations have been bringing their kids. When one can only order one thing at the “Home of the cheddar-burger”, one gets the cheddar burger. Although, if I had remembered Eatchicago’s char salami recommendation, I might have tried it. The cheddar burger is nicely charred, with an interior juicyness just approaching mushy-ness, with Merkt Cheddar.

The fries are hand-cut and the Italian beef (shown is the combo) comes as a two-parter.

Dempster, as it runs through Skokie is scattered with great burger/dog places like this, Herm’s, Hub’s, Hot Dog Island (or whatever the new name of Mage’s is) Ken’s Diner, etc. It’s a wonder that the fast food giants like McDonald’s and Burger King can survive along this stretch of burger treasures.

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Chicago foodie board LTH Forum has announced it’s latest round of Great Neighborhood Restaurant Awards.

Sadly, I’ve only been to two of them (Hopleaf and Volo). I personaly feel that Hopleaf deserves the award, but shouldn’t get it. It’s well known, listed in all the guide books so even the tourists know about it, and it’s recently been on Check Please. The LTH awards should go to those that don’t get the attention they deserve. Or maybe I just have personal reasons for not giving the place anymore attention (I’d like a seat at the bar).

The surly barstaff at Hopleaf is stuff of legend, although I’ve never seen it unless it was justified (If you can’t find something you recognize or are adventurous enough to want to try on their beer menu, you might not want to be sitting at the bar, sit at a table and have some frites and a root beer). I’d be surly too if I had to deal with the multitudes of MGD drinkers who order a Duchess du Bourgogne (pronouncing it Ernest du Borgnine) then complain that it’s too sour.

In other challenging beer news, one of my local pubs, Prairie Moon is now carrying Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute IPA on tap. Even better, they have it for 3 bucks a pint on Tuesdays. 90 Minute is a serious beer, and the bartender usually has to warn unsuspecting Bud drinkers. It has an IBU (International Bittering Unit) of 90 and an alcohol by volume of 9%. Of course that’s nothing when compared to the 21% 120 Minute IPA available (in bottles) at Hopleaf.

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Some random food porn.

This is what happens when you let an artichoke bloom. Chicago Botanic Garden.

A bug on a Quince. Chicago Botanic Garden.

Oysters at Davis St. Fishmarket. Reviews have been mixed about the upscale remodeling but they still serve excellent oysters, and half-price during after-work happy hours.

Baba’s Famous Steak and Lemonade – Super Philly Steak – Included Fries and Lemonade, $7.25. Across from Wrigley Field. Not the best Philly steak I’ve ever had, but darn good and huge, on very good bread. Good lemonade too. After a night in Wrigleyville, I had my heart set on getting a burrito from the place just under the Addison el but there was a ‘police action’ going on in there.

Dave’s Italian Kitchen – Chicken Marsuvio (a combination of Marsala/Vesuvio). I hadn’t been to Dave’s in a very long time and wasn’t impressed too much with this dish. Cold and bland wasn’t the way I remembered Dave’s. I’ll have to go back to try some of the menu items I used to like – the meatball sandwich and the stuffed zucchini.

Dozika – Special Philli, “smoked salmon, cream cheese, scallion, unagi (smoked eel), topped with a sweet sauce and avocado”

Dozika – Volcano, tempura flakes, and assorted maki with spicy tuna, yellowtail and crab.

Dozika is another place I hadn’t been to in a while, mainly because Joy Yee’s became my main Pan-Asian source. These sushi makis were excellent and there were lots of other tempting items on the menu. They’ve got makis in the shapes of dragons, spiders and volcanos if colorful and fun is what you look for in your sushi.

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A few posts ago I linked to the Restaurant Guys podcast, as I have several times in the past. I love those guys and listen to them often in my kitchen as they interview authors, cooks and food and drink professionals. I got a chance to eat again at one of their restaurants – Catherine Lombardi. I had eaten there around Christmas once before.

It’s a lovely place, obviously designed with much care. Large tables, lots of room, a great bar, (excellent cocktails with fresh ingredients), the menu and the food are put together with a reverence for tradition and quality. These qualities are also evident in their downstairs restaurant, Stage Left.

Unfortunately, when a place strives for that level of dining, and bills the diners at that level, it needs to come off as flawless or any errors are magnified.

I ordered the Cumare Nancy’s Stuffed Calamari with Red Sauce and the stuffed veal chop – the arugula and pancetta stuffing sold me on the chop, over trying the osso bucco or the scallopini.

One of my table mates doesn’t eat cheese, and the roasted (unstuffed) veal chop with the polenta (with cheese), when he asked for a substitution, which they had happily complied with.

I love their stuffed calamari – perfectly soft pillows.

When the chops came, I was slightly distracted by the fact the table mate that doesn’t eat cheese got the polenta, instead of the substitution. I tasted my polenta which definitely had cheese in it. We waved down the waiter who apologized for forgetting to tell us that the chef had made the polenta without cheese, instead of plating a substitution. Then as any food blogger does, I stuck my lens in my food. It was only then that I realized that my chop wasn’t stuffed.

Same cut of meat, but it was kind of a bummer, since the stuffing is what sold me on the chop. And it took awhile to get someone’s attention, and get an answer to whether I could get it replaced in a reasonable amount of time. It couldn’t be done so I just went ahead and ate my cooling piece of meat. It was an excellent chop, juicy, tender, just on the right side of rare.

After dinner Francis, one of the owners, came up to our table and asked how everything was. I explained the error and he asked if it had been replaced. I told him the chef had said there wasn’t time. We talked for a bit about our wine (a nice Brunello) and his podcast and its growing audience. He’s the kind of guy you could easily spend the rest of the night at the bar with, listening to his stories. I didn’t mention food blogging or the fact I gave him a plug recently.

Dessert was good, they make a fine cheesecake, served with a little dollop of marscapone on the side, which is a nice touch. The waiter brought us a few extras, a plate of cookies and a zabaglione to share. And perhaps as an apology, some snifters of Sambuca, with a very rare touch – the bottle was left on the table.

The Sambuca, cookies and zabaglione were comped of course, but I had a bit of a feeling of unsatisifaction about the error. I’m not really sure I was really bothered by it, it’s just rare you get a mistake like that, in a place like that, especially when you’re ordering the most expensive thing on the menu (45 bucks).

I don’t seek out flaws in food or service to write about like a professional reviewer. I’m not an advocate for the diner, nor an adversary to the restaurantuers. But I’m not sure whether I’ve toned this review down a bit just because I like these guys. On the other hand, I can’t overcome the feeling of an unbalanced price-to-quality-of-service ratio. Perhaps because my memory of my last meal at their more upscale Stage Left was the same.

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To start off the entire Italian eating feast, I’d thought I’d grab some Italian at one of my favorite places in Chicago – Club Lago. Guido is one of the best bartenders in the city (who’s an owner along with his brother). Every customer gets attention from the time they’re welcomed in as the walk in. It’s nice to know there are bars left without positouch cash registers and serving governors on the bottles. Drinks are poured with a professional eye and tabs are kept on written receipts. These guys run a casual bar but the service is a tight ship – as good as a tightly orchestrated French restaurant.I’m not sure why I haven’t eaten here more often, as it’s close to my office and the food is always excellent. Perhaps the reason is I’m too busy drinking.I had the special – Gnocchi ala Cesare, a generous plate of fluffy gnocchi, in a gorgonzola cream sauce with zucchini, tomato, and cauliflower. Nice and rich without being heavy.

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Sorry for the slowdown around here. Things got really busy in April, the tax man came, and I haven’t eaten anything for awhile*.

But not to worry, I’ll be eating good for the next few weeks. We’ll start first with a meal at Mario Batali’s Del Posto and move on to even better Italian food. Where can you get better Italian food than Batali? Well, Italy of course, more specifically Sicily. We’ll be traveling with Alfredo from alfredotoursitaly.com.

I’ll post while traveling, soon stay tuned.

*(Just kidding, I’ll post the half dozen restaurant foods shots waiting in the wings soon.)

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A quick review of what has become one of my favorite sandwiches available in Chicago – The Paulina Market Brat at Goose Island. Brat purists will certainly disagree, and you can certainly find a cheaper one. This is an enormous char-broiled, red-pink, beauty crafted by those sausage artisans at Paulina Market. The pretzel roll is a great touch, and if you’re going to have beer onions, you know Goose Island is going to do it right.

“Paulina Market Brat – A half pound bratwurst from Chicago’s premier butcher shop topped with your choice of beer onions, sauerkraut and Wisconsin white cheddar. Served on a fresh baked pretzel roll with Düsseldorf mustard $8.50″

Of course you need a beer with any brat, and the Porter was a great match, but if you’re a beer enthuasist can’t leave without trying their latest Belgian-style.

“La Deuxieme 7.1% ABV A Belgian-style dubbel brewed in Celebration of the 2nd birthday of brewer Wil Turner’s 2nd daughter, Ciara. The Belgian yeast strain imparts a complex spicy aroma and flavor, while the blend of 7 malts give the brew a deep amber/brown color with a rich malty/fruity palate and a warm finish. Served in a tulip glass.”

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During dinner at Rick Bayless’s Frontera Grill one of my dining companions said “it’s a Sears Tower kind of restaurant” He didn’t mean it was touristy, but that locals only go when bringing someone from out-of-town there. And that’s not to imply that we wouldn’t go if we didn’t have another excuse.

But I’ve never been there, despite it being fairly close to where I’ve had an office for ten years. But then I’ve only been at the top of the Sears Tower once (with an out-of-town relative) despite having been in the building many times to see a client.

The dining companion wasn’t just any old eater, he was Rob, from Vital Information, one of the most knowledgeable foodies around. His review of the meal is on his site and also at LTHForum.

And if eating with one uber-foodblogger wasn’t enough, Tana from Small Farms was our out-of-town excuse to go there. Truthfully, we went because we wanted to meet Tana, not just to use her as an excuse.

Like the Sears Tower, there’s a wait before you get to enjoy what you came for, but at least in this case you can enjoy a delicious blood orange margarita at the lively bar while waiting. I think I’ll be returning just for another one of those, and to see what other seasonal margarita concoctions they come up with.

Seated within 45 minutes or so, we ordered up the Ceviche Trio and the “Enchiladas” Potosinas. Rob has a better review of these items, especially owning to his expertise. I found some of the ceviches a little skimpy on the actual fish, but otherwise pretty flawless as far as ingredients and bright flavors.

My duck – “Pato en Salsa de Chile Ancho y Nuez – grilled Gunthorp duck breast in silky ancho chile sauce thickened with toasted pecans; chipotle-spiked butternut and smoky green beans” was excellent, smoky flavorful duck breast, although I prefer my duck fairly rare. The squash preparation is something that I will strive to copy.

Here’s an article on the Gunthorps and their farm.

I lack the knowledge to be picky about authenticity when it comes to Mexican food (although finding butter in the beans that rob talks about is pretty obvious) but the one thing I walked away with is that I felt I could have picked a different dish. I thoroughly ejoyed it, but I wanted something that would really teach me something or .

If nothing else, the menu intrigued me to go back and try again – or even better – do some searches here and go to Not Frontera more often. I’m also intrigued to find out what the upscale Topolobampo offers besides an upscale decor, service and bill. The menus look fairly similar, although there’s a tasting menu offering that would be the primary excuse to take the step up.

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More junk food. A hot dog with everything from Mustard’s Last Stand.

A typical tasty Vienna beef dog, on a nice soft bun. Be forewarned that ‘everything’ means catsup too, so note that if you’re one of those militant about that.

Right next to Northwestern’s Ryan Field, this small shop is packed with sports pictures and gear. I used to work right next door, so I’ve had a few too many dogs here in the past, but it has been awhile. It hasn’t changed in years though. Squeezing around other eaters, ordering and paying is a little more complicated than it has to be, but it’s fast. I remember that they used to sell concert tickets too, but I didn’t confirm if they still do.

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Gigio’s 2 times in one week. Considering just how long it’s been since I’ve had anything from them, I guess I’m catching up. In fact, it’s been so long that the menu I found had coupons which expired in 2001. It’s nice to know the prices hadn’t changed much – a slice only went up 20 cents and the Italian sausage didn’t change at all. This is a shot of the ‘thin’ crust “special”.

Decent enough pizza, but not nearly chewy, drippy or saucy enough to match a good NY style. I got some of their fried mushrooms too, but was more interested in eating those than photographing them.

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