Coogles wrote:

Katie wrote:Chili's baby back ribs ... pretty low-hanging fruit, isn't it?

I have enjoyed the discussion it has led to on chicken-fried steak, though, having mostly only heard of it and not spent enough time in Texas or elsewhere in the South to have it much. Are there any places in Chicago--or anywhere in Illinois--with a recommendable CFS that I could keep an eye out for?

I like the chicken fried steak at Stanley's Kitchen and Tap at 1970 N. Lincoln in Chicago, but the dish wasn't widely available where I grew up in the south and I haven't had the opportunity to try the famous versions in Texas so I can't say how it compares to the ideal.

As I said upthread, Chili's did a version of chicken fried steak with a milk pepper gravy (no sausage) that was Texas/Oklahoma style. Stanley's Kitchen doesn't technically do chicken fried steak, they do country fried steak. The difference is chicken fried steak is usually deep fried and looks like fried chicken on the outside (with a thick, crunchy crust), while the other (Stanley's) is lightly breaded and is pan fried.