Dives in chicago

Hello.

Coming to Chicago from NYC for a month in July. I love stumbling upon little 'dives' and cabbie-like places to eat.

My preferences are: thai, korean, vietnamese, japanese, pakistani, mexican, south indian, tibetan/nepali/burmese. Wondering if anybody has any suggestions of inexpensive, 'dive'-type dining experiences?

Also, any good inexpensive suggestions of places to eat?

How about good foreign food markets for thai, mexican, and other cultural foods?

Looking forward to having a whole month to spend in Chicago and for all the gastronomical adventures to be had.

Cheers,

gtrekker

Of course, you know that there are hundreds of places that fiit what you seem to be looking for. But to me the term 'dive' is necessarily negative. If you want crappy food, that's easy to find anywhere. I'll assume you don't mean 'dive' in the normal sense. I think a better term is 'hole-in-the-wall'. Here are just a couple of suggestions.

For things, Mexican, the number of little unpretentious, no-frills places with great food are quite numerous and can be found in any of the several barrios around town. For example, there are some great little places that specialise in carnitas; see the recent discussion under "Onomastico chez Carnitas Uruapan".

Uruapan is in Pilsen, where there are a number of other good, simple joints. A hole-in-the-wall sort of a place I like for lunch is Polo, between Laflin and Bishop on 18th, north side of street; if it had a number posted, it would likely be 1450.

I recently had their tacos of carne asada in the homemade tortillas de harina and they were first rate. The tortillas were nice and lardy, at first so hot that they could not be handled. Three great tacos on handmade tortillas with a coke for about $5 including good tip. Parking, 25 cents per hour. On a couple of other visits to Polo I've had their guisado de puerco which is pork stew in red chile sauce. Very tasty and only slightly more expensive than the tacos described above. It comes with rice (their rice is better than the rice served in most such places) and good refried beans. I love the lardy homemade flour tortillas but they are, of course, pretty heavy.

For Cuban places, see JeffB's original post in this section under 'Cuban'.

A

Thanks for the clarification. I certainly don't want crappy food. I mean 'hole-in-the-wall' versus a 'dive'. Pretty much good inexpensive food.

Also, I would need non-lardy suggestions as I don't eat pork.

Cheers,

gtrekker

Just found out about a book you might be very interested in;

"The Streets and San Man's Guide to Chicago" (or something like that).

Chicago worker talks about his favorite cheap places for lunch.

Published by Lake Claremont Press.

Enjoy

Agreed on Carnitas Uruapan. La Quebrada at 51st and California (and Roosevelt and Cicero, and 63rd and Central Park) is also quite good for gorditas, tacos de cecina, and other Mexican goodies.
Cafeteria Marianao, 2246 N Milwaukee, makes a really good Cuban sandwich for cheap. It fits the "hole in the wall" criteria too; really small room with a metal counter for ordering and lots of Cubans coming in and out ordering cafecitos and Cuban sandwiches.

Happy Taster Gal wrote:Just found out about a book you might be very interested in;

"The Streets and San Man's Guide to Chicago" (or something like that).

Chicago worker talks about his favorite cheap places for lunch.

Published by Lake Claremont Press.

Enjoy

The Borders in Uptown has this in stock on the second floor. It seems to be a special order at other local bookstores, although I haven't been to Quimby's since it came out, so they might have it. Fun reading. And I have no reason to doubt anything he says.

You can order the "San Man's Guide" online @ LakeClaremont.com

Happy Diving!

Hi,

From those who have peeked at this Street and Sans Man's ideas. How does it compare with the wealth of experience available by posters on both LTHforum and our archives on the other board? I am going to guess there is some serious redundancy.

There is another Chicago-oriented book on ethnic food shops, which if I didn't have LTHforum et al available to me would be a god send. However, if you are savvy enough to find your way here, then you can do searches on LTH as well the other board we used to reside on to collect a wealth of information.

So what do you think?

Regards,

The Street & San Man book is ok... not great... and the fault is mainly that he's inadequately descriptive. He often mentions a single dish when describing one of his chosen joints, and that makes the reading unsatisfying.

However, it does cover many places on the south side, which are often otherwise overlooked.

Also, it seems like he's afraid to mention, um, libations... even though many of the places he lists are taverns. Leah speculated in her column that S&S workers aren't supposed to drink on their 1/2 hour lunches.

There are coupons... worth more than the book costs... if you're willing to visit enough places. This is a nice bonus, although it makes one wonder if there were really good places that didn't want to give customers a coupon, and got omitted.



As for the other book that Cathy2 mentions above, covering ethnic shopping... she probably means Marilyn Pocius's book A Cook's Guide to Chicago. This has an interesting list of stores, but, as experienced LTHers will surely notice, is shockingly incomplete, skipping seeming obvious places. It also doesn't really explain what it's recommending you buy, which may not be a problem for participants here, but is probably unfortunate for the more typical reader.



Both of these are from Lake Claremont Press, a local small press publisher.

http://www.lakeclaremont.com

Incidentally, the Lake Claremont Press is located right next to the recently discussed [url=http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=216&highlight=cafe]Home Caf

Lake Claremont Press is on Rockwell immediately north of the Rockwell Brown Line el stop. They sell books when they are open, which is usually Monday through Friday but sometimes includes Saturday. Prices, particularly on returns, may run lower than in bookstores. This is definitely a shoestring operation.

Home Cafe is on Manor immediately north of the Francisco el stop. Francisco branches from Manor at the el stop.

We have several of the Lake Claremont guidebooks. Quality is uneven, but they have called a few things to our attention. Ones with two authors have made us wonder whether the authors talked to each other before submitting the manuscripts.

Oh, right, thanks I was confusing my el stops.

I just picked up the Streets & San book and I have to say I was fairly impressed, okay, the "regular guy" voice is a bit stereotypical and his descriptions of what to order are kind of limited as noted above, but as a compilation of new places to try, wow, covers lots of places on the South Side that no other guidebook would dream of including, totally escapes the usual Mag Mile to Wrigleyville, lake to Wicker Park orientation of these guidebooks. I'm happy with a book like this if it names two or three places I don't know, this goes way beyond that.

I go to the cabbie joints along Orleans and Chicago for Indo/Pak every now and then. There's a few of them in a row with pretty much the same setup, but I generally go to Baba Palace. Several daily premade dishes to choose from, always at least passable. There's usually a chicken, beef, goat, and a couple vegetarian dishes along with a biryani and a few kabob type options. Cheap, fast, and a ton of it. $7 for a large that should be enough for two. I like the Lamb biryani or any of the stew-type dishes with some nice fresh nan. Catch them at a good time and it's not bad, sometimes a bit too oily, but never a let down (for the price, anyways). Baba is the most reliable, but I've had some tasty dishes from a couple of the others. Not up to Devon's standards, but just fine in a pinch for time or budget constraints.

Read the last post re; Baba Palace(sounds good, I can't wait to try it),
and if you are in the same neighborhood , make it a point to head to
Club Lago, at Orleans and Superior.
Here you will find quite possibly THE best eggplant parmesan you
will ever have the good fortune to taste. I don't know how they do it,
but there are about five very thin,lightly breaded layers that are
at the same time crisp and tender, with just the right amount of marinara
sauce. Most of the time, it is a fairly soggy affair, but not here.
I always save half for leftovers,because eating it cold the next day is a
whole different taste treat. I almost hesitate to divulge it, but the place
has been there for 50+ years, so I guess others are in on it.
The prices for the eggplant and other Northern Italian fare are average,
but it is the old school atmosphere that make this place a keeper. Think
1940's timewarp, with great booths up front by the classic Chicago bar,
and run by 2 very friendly brothers, Guido and Giancarlo. They'll make you feel like a regular.
Final note-it is almost more bar than restaurant, so be prepared for
some cigarette smoke in the front area. Enjoy your stay in Chicago.

Club Lago
331 West Superior
open for lunch and dinner

Thanks for mentioning Club Lago. Surely no secret, it's actually an atmospheric favorite of several here, including me. I like the eggplant, the Executive Salad, the Squid Salad, and a few other things, though the marinara is not so good, IMO (though I'll deal with it on the eggplant parm). In facts, a few of the regulars here are semi-regulars there on Fridays at lunch.

The fact that you are the first to mention Club Lago highlights the need for us to start mentioning some of the old chestnuts that were such common currency on the other board that many assume that everyone out there knows about them.

To that end, I say SABATINO'S IS A GREAT CHICAGO RESTAURANT. It's a start.

Frankly, I've never liked anything at Club Lago that much, but it is such a time warp that I'd go there anyway when I worked nearby.

Thanks Jeff,that was in fact my very first post, so I probably am way behind on what has already been discussed, but glad to know Club Lago has some
regulars in your group. It should, it's a real gem. Am in the know about Sabatino's, (YUM) but perhaps you are right and some others may not be.

Getting back to the marinara sauce on that eggplant parm- you 're probably right. Other than Sabatino's and Stefani's(which both have pretty authentic tasting meat and marinara sauces, I think )have you got any other old chestnut reccomendations for great Italian sauces I may not be aware of ? Short of making my own, they are often not up to par.

Baroness, I appreciate your taste. I've long been a fan of Stefani's basic sauces as well, and I think that Mario, the big mustachioed Milanese waiter, is the best in Chicago. Some people don't like Stefani's because Phil Stefani's politically connected restaurant empire includes more than its share of losers. But I respect his ability (and willingness) to keep open a vital, old school neighborhood place like that.

Anyway, the Oakley Italians generally make a decent marinara, Bolognese, etc., in my experience -- Bruna's especially. Merlo, of course, though it's a little precious for simple sauces and pastas.

I am still pretty much a novice, but I think that there must be a lot of good to be found on Harlem and in Edison Park. Others will chime in, I hope.

Some of the places that I and many others like for robust, Italian-American-tavern food (Bertucci's in Chinatown and Vernon Park Tap in addition to Lago come to mind) have miserable red sauce, at least in my opinion. But hey, they've got great Vesuvio stuff, greens and beans, etc.

By the way, I once put together a really long list of "old school" Italian on the other board. Unfortunately, it seems to be gone and I didn't keep a copy. Maybe one of the more dilligent or technically sophisticated LTHers can help us find it.

I have an abusive relationship with Club Lago.

I live in the neighborhood, and often long for a simple bowl of pasta with a homemade bolognese sauce. I used to live in New Jersey where such a dish is easy to come by, and sometimes I just crave it from an old Italian family-run restaurant where you can go inside and the food will heal you.

Looks are so deceptive, and theirs gets me every time. Warm, family-run, old style, and welcoming, I'm sucked in like a kid at a candy store. Everything's fine until the food comes, then there it is: a plate of pasta wth a shiny red sauce on top. The bright, shiny reflectiveness of sweetness, covering unbrowned meat. No amount of salt or cheese can help, the sauce is just much too sweet. I eat about a third of the dish, pay, and leave disgusted with myself for walking in again and disgusted for eating more than one bite and vow never to return for another plate of torture.

I haven't tried their salads, and maybe I can reconcile this relationship if we can find something in common that doesn't give me so much pain. But after being burned more than once from Club Lago, I am shy about going back for more.

baroness of beef wrote:Thanks Jeff,that was in fact my very first post, so I probably am way behind on what has already been discussed, but glad to know Club Lago has some
regulars in your group. It should, it's a real gem. Am in the know about Sabatino's, (YUM) but perhaps you are right and some others may not be.

Getting back to the marinara sauce on that eggplant parm- you 're probably right. Other than Sabatino's and Stefani's(which both have pretty authentic tasting meat and marinara sauces, I think )have you got any other old chestnut reccomendations for great Italian sauces I may not be aware of ? Short of making my own, they are often not up to par.

I've been going to Lago for years and continue going on a semi-regular basis along with VI and a few other LTHers. I'm going to once again repeat my recommendation of Giacomo'sin Des Plaines for the best old school style red sauce in the area.