Well, I'm a believer. Had both the jibarito and the salamery, absolutely outstanding. So tender and flavorful.

There were two other tables when I walked in, I had to wait about 30 min for my sandwiches but it wasn't a problem as the waitress was very cordial/apologetic and gave me complimentary snacks to munch on. While I was waiting, I watched people walk by and noticed one man who slowed a bit to peer inside. He must have liked what he saw because about a minute later he must have turned around to come back and eat.

Either Norky has another sister that looks remarkably like her, or she's in the kitchen now cooking with mom & sis.

Must. Go. Back.[/img]

My impression is that Nory helps assemble the dishes (as she has all along), but if they run out of, say, lomo saltado for the Salamera sandwich, I doubt she could whip up a new batch. I could be wrong, though.

Glad you ejoyed it. The two sandwiches you tried are pretty much what I choose from now that they no longer offer entrees. (Not a fan of the chicharrón/pork belly.) Next time, try a Chicha Morada to wash it down.

In case anyone is interested, Nory's mother has prepared Cuy in peanut sauce today (saturday 3-17). They also have tripe stew.

PlayItGeorge wrote:Well, I'm a believer. Had both the jibarito and the salamery, absolutely outstanding. So tender and flavorful.

Must. Go. Back.[/img]

If you do want to go back (and who wouldnt)... youd better hurry. There isnt
much time left, probably.

Was at Salamera today - had the jibarito again, that must surely be right up
there amongst the very best sandwiches in Chicago. Ive done jibarito's at a
few other places (even the originals), Ive done Da Riv and Bari and Hot
Doug's and Bahn Mei's and Al's and Johnny's. And I'll still say again - it doesnt
get much better than the jibarito (or even the salamery or norkyporky) in
our city IMHO.

Anyway. Was there about 5ish, for about a half hour. Not a soul in
the restaurant all that time. Norka said business had been very slow, and
she has listed the site with a realtor again (yesterday).

Talked to her for a bit - she sounded fairly frustrated with the whole thing -
she has really received almost no support from the Rogers Park neighbourhood
in terms of customers it seems. She asked for a favour - which was to
pass the news onto LTH, in case someone is looking to buy a business
in the area etc, she's trying to pass the word around in general I think.

I mentioned to her it really would be better to have slightly longer hours -
its very hard to get to the place if its going to close by 6pm. She said
she just cant afford it - but is also very willing to take on a partner if
she can find one, who might enable better finances and so an ability
to hire someone to work past 6pm etc. If anyone reading LTH wants to
become a partner in a quite terrific restaurant, here's your chance!

Meanwhile, Id urge everyone - if you havent been, you really should go
try this place. And if youve been... you probably need little incentive to
go back, except youd better hurry, for the place likely wont be around
long. Which will be tragic - Ive never had anything less than completely
outstanding there, I dont think. Ive tried about 4 different sandwiches,
and all have been fanatastic. Ive tried 3 different drinks now - the
purple corn drink (chicha morada is it?), the almond horchata, and
today (for the first time), something completely different, I dont even
know what its called (something supposedly served at every streetcorner
in Lima during winters)...and all of the *drinks* have been amazing too
(including the one today, which I will get again the next time Iam there -
which will probably be early next week; Iam going to try and squeeze in
as many of those sandwiches as possible before theyre gone

c8w

P.S. Ironically, Time-Out Chicago just sent Salamera an award for the
"best sandwich" apparently, for IIRC their "norkyporky".

c8w wrote:

PlayItGeorge wrote:Well, I'm a believer. Had both the jibarito and the salamery, absolutely outstanding. So tender and flavorful.

Must. Go. Back.[/img]

If you do want to go back (and who wouldnt)... youd better hurry. There isnt
much time left, probably.

Prompted by c8w's post (I'll have to get your name one of these days), I ventured back to Cafe Salamera this afternoon to give the jibarito a try. Norky's Porky was great last time, but I'd feel remiss if I never got around to either the jibarito or the Salamery ($5.45 each) before it was too late. Since I was dining in with my sandwich this time, I ordered a drink as well. They were out of the almond horchata, but Norky did recommend the chicha morada (the purple corn drink) and even offered to finish mine if I didn't end up liking it (both drinks were listed at $2.00 apiece). As it turns out, the cinnamon-tinged beverage was just the thing to go with my meal and the accompanying corn in a cup.

The plantains used to house the jibarito were crisp, just strong enough to keep the sandwich together. The steak, avocado, and sour cream were perfect with the habanero sauce on the side, and my time just got better when I sampled the 19-bean soup on offer. It was a privilege to partake in that meal -- split into two plantain sandwiches -- and I hope no one misses out on what could (again) be a short-lived phenomenon.

c8w wrote:Meanwhile, Id urge everyone - if you havent been, you really should go
try this place. And if youve been... you probably need little incentive to
go back, except youd better hurry, for the place likely wont be around
long. Which will be tragic - Ive never had anything less than completely
outstanding there, I dont think. ... Iam going to try and squeeze in
as many of those sandwiches as possible before theyre gone

Oh, and for those planning trips in the future, a sign was posted on the door that the restaurant would be closed Easter weekend, starting Friday April the 6th through Sunday the 8th. (Cafe Salamera is always closed on Sundays.) If anyone needs any further prices from the menu, Norky let me have one of the paper takeout menus. I can scan all the options if there's demand.

Hopefully happy hunting,
Dan

Norky told me that she was going to run Guinea Pig as a special last weekend! Did anyone get a chance to try it out?

ChefGEB wrote:Norky told me that she was going to run Guinea Pig as a special last weekend! Did anyone get a chance to try it out?

That's funny because she might have mentioned it when I asked about the specials before ordering today (that is, Thursday). Not noticing a combo rice special with a sandwich, I proceeded with what I described in my earlier post. Had I been more adventurous (or attentive), who knows?

Just got back from my lunch there today, delicious as usual, and the service was very friendly.

As I was leaving Norky herself came in and we chatted for a while. She is so happy to receive support from this site, and I told her how to access this thread, so perhaps she'll come in and post herself. She did not mention anything about closing or selling to me, but she did say that 190 North is going to interview her and her mother and feature the restaurant on their show. Anyone want to nominate this place for Check Please?

She said she feels like the community is just not interested in her product. I said that perhaps people think she is just selling coffee and snacks and aren't aware of the sandwiches, which are clearly the big draw of this place. I hope they are able to find maybe a buyer who will help them w/financing. Maybe if things are still running come later this spring/summer she could sell at the Celebrate Clark Street festival. Or heck have someone stand outside on the first springlike Saturday with little samples.

I too wish they were open later. If they were I'd try and get a craft club going on a weeknight or something, guarantee the Cafe business once a week (and provide the far north side with a crafting group, as with regards to that subculture, we're neglected up here).

the large crunchy roasted corn (cancha)

Cancha is slang for corn in Peru? Did not know that. In Chile, la cancha is the field of play (for a tennis or soccer match, for example). Corn is choclo in Chile, as I recall, although I did not find choclo in my Langenscheidt just now.

PlayItGeorge wrote:She said she feels like the community is just not interested in her product.

I think that is a little unfair. The vast majority of the people in the neighborhood work during the hours Salamera is open. Nory really needs to figure out how to stay open past 6 on weekdays and open on Sunday afternoons, if she wants people to discover her. 6:30 to 7pm is the prime dinner rush in the area, so she would not have to stay open much later. At 6:45pm Harold's, just up the street, is usually packed solid with people picking up dinner orders. Big Buns, two doors down, does most of its business between 6 and 8pm also.

I wonder if it wouldn't hurt for her to distribute paper menus in the area either, mentioning dine-in or carry-out. With regards to later hours, I'd certainly add it to my repertoire of take-out places for dinner if it were possible.

Norky's Porky was called "The best play on meat-and-potatoes" by Time Out Chicago critics in this week's First Annual Eat Out Awards issue.

http://www.timeout.com/chicago/Details. ... _picks.xml

Because of the early hours thing, I've only made it there once. I was playing hooky from work and made a special trip over. And it was heaven. And there were only 2 other people there that day.

I'm not generally a tough-love-up-by-your-own-bootstraps person. I've run small off-loop theatre fer crissakes---it is frustrating to have people tell you they love your product, yet you still never have enough business. or resources. But it really does seem that she's refusing to address the crucial issue. The hours of 6-8 just don't seem like that big a hurdle, if it means life or death to the business. You have to figure out who your audience is and make it easy for them to give you their business. Without that, nothing is going to help.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I love her food, but I won't be there any time soon because I can't get there. If I could arrange to meet my wife and son there for dinner after work, I'd be there twice a week. (More, now that Sunshine Cafe is gone.)

LTH,

Had a terrific lunch today at Cafe Salamera, Steve Z and I split a Norky's Porky, which is fully deserving of every and all accolades, and a Jibarito.

It was a bit of an LTHForum convention, we ran into, and had lunch with, GEB (Graham Elliot Bowles), his wife Valerie and incredibly cute baby Mario, which made for interesting conversation. I must say Chef Bowles is impossibly modest about his Beard Foundation Nomination for "Rising Chef of the Year."

In addition to GEB c8w was there with a group and and Veeral was there for lunch as well. The experience of running into so many LTHers by chance brought to mind a post by Aaron Deacon in a Great Neighborhood Restaurant Award thread as LTHForum itself being a neighborhood. Post may be found here.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:Had a terrific lunch today at Cafe Salamera

It really was a very good lunch! I was very glad to see the place filled to 100% capacity during our visit. It was even more satisfying when I realized that just about all of the customers were LTHers.

Here, in all its drool inducing glory, are some pictures of our lunch.

Empanadas


Jiberito


Norky's Porky


Porky Goodness


Chef GEB, Mario and Jiberito


Valerie and Mario (c8w in Background)

HI,

That may be a record for the most LTH'rs independently bumping into each other.

Regards,

Steve,

Terrific pictures!

GEB and Valerie with baby Mario elicited a sweet sigh from Ellen and pork on a fork a "that's what I'm talking about" from me.

Enjoy,
Gary

The Co-Eater and I bumped into Cathy2 (first time meeting in person...), her mom, Josephine, jlawrence01 and GAF (and some non-LTH friends) here on Saturday, so, indeed, it was the LTH Weekend at Salamera.

My only regret is that I didn't get Norky's Porky, but it's a good reason to go back. When I tried to order it, Norky said, 'It's reeeeaaallly porky', as though I may not be able to handle such an infusion of porcine flesh and fat. So I got the Salamery instead. The co-eater ordered the chicken sandwich, only after I threatened him with bodily harm for suggesting he might order tuna fish.

This is a constant battle with us...it's almost like he orders the most lame, non-authentic item on a menu to spite me. We went to a place called the Country House in Geneva (Aurora? Batavia? somewhere out there) yesterday--a restaurant whose name suggests pancakes and bacon and eggs, and burgers--and he ordered...chorizo nachos.

Back to Salamera: given all of the not-so-subtle suggestions about the cafes' hours, does anyone know if she's considering expanding her hours?

Okay, listen up. New sandwich: Morcilla with sweet potato and pickled onions.

I have some quibbles with the casing, but really this is bloody good.

cilantro wrote:I have some quibbles with the casing, but really this is bloody good.

On behalf of the rest of LTH:

*groan*

Huh? I'm just sanguine that people will enjoy this sandwich.

cilantro wrote:Huh? I'm just sanguine that people will enjoy this sandwich.

I saw this last week, but had already ordered by then. Nory rec'd it, said it
was as good as the Norky Porky in her opinion! Must try it the next time
Iam there (which probably isnt till next week... when do they close for
Easter again? Friday and Saturday closed this week?)

c8w

c8w wrote:... when do they close for
Easter again? Friday and Saturday closed this week?

c8w

just called since i was planning on trying this place out for the first time this weekend....they are closed Fri-Sun.

LTH,

I'm beginning to think Norka is one of the nicer people in Chicago, not just in the restaurant business, but overall. She has an aura of sweet affability about her that makes people smile. It was our turn to make her smile yesterday when Steve Z and I presented her with the LTHForum Great Neighborhood Restaurant Award

Mary, Norka, Norca, Tony


Steve went with Norky's Porky, pictured multiple times upthread, I went a little off beat with Salchipapa, a mix of french fries and sliced hot dog. What brings Salchipapa up from mildly mundane is the accompanying sauces, a mustard/mayo/ketchup mix and a terrific puree of kalamata olives.

Salchipapa


Add to this Cafe Salamera's red and green table sauce and you have a dish I'd order again. (maybe )


Norka made Peruvian tuna salad for her lunch, a tasty mix of tuna, lime juice and fresh habanero, which she generously shared with Steve and I.



Cafe Salamera is closed Fri, Sat, Sunday for Easter.

Enjoy,
Gary

According to this article, this is the last month for Cafe Salamera.

http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/thestew/2007/04/cafe_salamera_i.html

Get it while you still can, I know I'll be there tomorrow.

G Wiv wrote:What brings Salchipapa up from mildly mundane is the accompanying sauces, a mustard/mayo/ketchup mix

This is another sauce my mother makes, in Argentina called Salsa Golf - very good on fries, esp. if you don't like ketchup and find mayo cloying. I think in other Latin countries it's called Salsa Rosa.

So sad...

Attempting to head there this afternoon with a medium-sized group. Has anyone who has already been there ever seen them answer the phone? They didn't this afternoon when I tried to make sure they were open.

Yes, they were open this afternoon. We were probably there when you called - they opened at noon and the sign in the window indicated that they will be open until 8pm.

Mr. FIG no longer laughs (at least not quite as loud) at my obsession with LTH after our lunch this afternoon. The sandwiches were absolutely spectacularly delicious - we shared the jibarito and norky's porky. The habanero and jalapeno salsas made the otherwise average fries worth eating. It was our first time and Norka was absolutely as gracious as if we were regulars (we had our chef clothes on because we were in the middle of a couple catering jobs - she offered to sell us the restaurant).

figmolly, we were sitting right next to you! We had the same sandwiches as you, and agree that they are fantastic. The one thing I would add is the empanades are also a do not miss. One of our new favorites. Norka rules!

figmolly wrote:... It was our first time and Norka was absolutely as gracious as if we were regulars (we had our chef clothes on because we were in the middle of a couple catering jobs - she offered to sell us the restaurant).

Ha, ha... a friend and I saw you leaving not long after we arrived around 1:00 P.M. or so. The place was hopping, and they could barely handle the weekend rush (which might explain the locked door sometime after we got there?). Also got spotted by germuska, so I didn't manage to go unnoticed in the end after all. I was the Korean dude with rather long hair.

--Dan