"St. Agur blue cheese was in the form of a deep fried cheese ball"

omg


I already die over St Agur ...this might be too much!

a porchetta sandwich from Publican Quality Meats at the Logan Square Farmers Market this Sunday. Was legitimately a religious experience. Time, and the world around me stopped while my soul was overcome with roast porky goodness

Commbrkdwn wrote:a porchetta sandwich from Publican Quality Meats at the Logan Square Farmers Market this Sunday. Was legitimately a religious experience. Time, and the world around me stopped while my soul was overcome with roast porky goodness

Yep! In the last two months, I've had the porchetta from Publican, PQM, and PQM@LSFM. The market version is by far the best. The key is in the crisping.

Everybody, prepare to be horrified: I am 34, a native Chicagoan, and yesterday I had my very first brat. Yes, that's the look my husband gave me.

It was a delicious thing, a Guinness Beer Brat with just enough mustard. And it was the location and atmosphere that made it great: at the endangered Midway Drive-In during a horror movie marathon, outside under the stars, with my favorite movie buddy. I even went back for seconds.

Grape almond gazpacho at Mon Ami Gabi in Oakbrook. Had some cucumber in there too. Delicious.

Pie Lady wrote:Everybody, prepare to be horrified: I am 34....

No, the fact and timing of your birth is cause for renewed optimism. Until now I had believed no good survived the last days of huckapoo shirts and puka shell necklaces.

And welcome to the Sodality of the Link (Nebengruppe: Bratwurst). Next, consider the Thuringer....

Never got brats myself. Too mild for me.

Choey wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:Everybody, prepare to be horrified: I am 34....

No, the fact and timing of your birth is cause for renewed optimism. Until now I had believed no good survived the last days of huckapoo shirts and puka shell necklaces.

And welcome to the Sodality of the Link (Nebengruppe: Bratwurst). Next, consider the Thuringer....

Oddly enough, I have had the Thuringer (at Hot Doug's). And it was delightful.

The Caesar Salad at Bobby Van's Steak House on W 50th in Manhattan. It wasn't even the "made from scratch at the table" variety but, oh my....it really hit the spot!

Davooda

Spent a week driving around the east coast with my wife her brother and his wife recently culminating with a painful attendance of a Sox vs. Sox game at Fenway . Ate a lot of great food including the requisite seafood.

Highlight we were able to snag counter seats at Primo in Rockland,Me.
Small plates we had included
Pancetta-Wrapped Dates filled with Gorgonzola, drizzled with aged Balsamico
Warm Fried Sausage Stuffed Olives
Beet Salad arugula & toasted pistachio with citrus vinaigrette, mint & Swallowtail Farm ricotta salata
Grilled Cheese … In the Style of Harry’s Bar, Gruyere & ham
Piadina grilled flat bread with Cold Spring Ranch steak Paillard with heirloom tomato, basil, arugula & garlic aioli
Tuscan Style Pork Ribs with tomato & rosemary

Marshall K wrote:Whole belly clams

If I were a moderator, I'd delete that picture. It's just not fair. Not fair at all. I deserve those clams.

Sweet Corn Risotto and the Pistachio Gelato at Autre Monde the other night.
The risotto had pine nuts in it and the gelato also had olive oil in it and then crushed pistachios on top.
Both just excellent.

Cheesy Corn Fritters at Big Jones . . .


Crispy on the outside . . .



Tender and gooey, with a hint of heat, on the inside

=R=

Sabor a Café is a Colombian restaurant on Peterson & Western in West Rogers Park. Best Empanada's I've ever tried, nice and thick! I also had the huge grilled shrimp dinner and shared a steak. The marinating had a beautiful tangy kick to it! I will be back again soon. Will take pictures next time for sure!

Everything I ate at Tanta was incredibly delicious.

My first visit to Misoya today had me thinking of this thread. Mame ramen with veggies was the best thing I've eaten this year. Deeply flavored broth with good complexity. Perfectly cooked noodles. Lots of other nice elements. Excellent service. Feeling blessed to be able to choose between Santouka and this place.

Razor clams at La Lubina, Barcelona.
Just salt, fire and a little olive oil. Fantastic.. Anybody serve them around here?

JoelF wrote:Razor clams at La Lubina, Barcelona.
Just salt, fire and a little olive oil. Fantastic.. Anybody serve them around here?

I've had them at go4food.

Shrimp de Jonghe at Calo Ristorante in Andersonville last night.

Upon tasting this, my flavor memories reverted back to 1972, the first time I tried Shrimp do Jonghe at Myron & Phil in Lincolnwood. Calo's version is somewhat similar to that gem, with the inclusion of a little fresh minced parsley mixed in with the butter, bread crumbs, wine, garlic & six succulent medium-to-large-size shrimp. Served with a crisp house salad dressed with a great red wine viniagrette and a side of penne with Calo's signature meat sauce, I knew for once I had chosen the right entree--usually I tend to want what the OTHER people at my table have ordered!

Calo's really done a nice revamping of their dining room within the last few years, with muted dark wood, mood lighting and colorful murals. Even though it's been open since 1963, it ain't your stodgy mom-and-pop joint steeped in the '70's anymore. And even at the early hour of 5:30, the place was hopping with families, skewed toward young to middle age. By the time we left at 6:45, there was a 45 minute wait for those without reservations. Glad to see them doing well.

BTW, the grilled calamari & grilled octopus served on a bed of spinach were quite good as well.

Calo Ristorante
5343 N Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 271-7782

http://www.calorestaurant.com

Tonight, dined at Urban Tandoor in Long Grove. The "best thing" was the Bagara Baingan, described on the menu as "Braised eggplant in sesame, peanut and coconut sauce tempered with curry leaves and red chillies." This may be the first time in my life I have preferred a vegetarian dish to one with meat (though the lamb dish was also wonderful -- just not as awesome as the eggplant). Amusingly, my appreciation hit a responsive note with the waiter, who clearly loves this dish and enthusiastically described the complexity of preparing it. Yum.

Urban Tandoor
3970 Illinois 22
Long Grove, IL 60047
Phone:(847) 438-6700

Ice cream at Jeni's on Southport. I had brambleberry, peach with biscuit pieces and cherry lambic sorbet. YUM!!

stevez wrote:

JoelF wrote:Razor clams at La Lubina, Barcelona.
Just salt, fire and a little olive oil. Fantastic.. Anybody serve them around here?

I've had them at go4food.

Purple Pig has them.

The "Flavored-Spicy Hand-Tear Beef Jerk" rocked my world at Homestyle Taste last night. It deserves recognition among the esteemed line of "crack-like" dry chili dishes (Dry Chili Chicken at Lao Sze Chuan and Crispy Eggplant at Lao Hunan stand out for me). Tasty morsels of intensely flavored dried beef fried in crispy light tempura-like batter and tossed with dried chilis, chili oil, cilantro, garlic, (ginger probably too), and a healthy dose of szechuan peppercorns. Ma la heaven.

Homestyle Taste
3205 South Halsted Street
(312) 949-9328

Carrot cake with cream cheese ice cream at Scofflaw. Damn.

The potted-pork rillettes, country pate, and soppressata at Heritage Tavern in Madison, WI. Chef Dan Fox actually raises the pigs (!) from which these delectable things are made. As if that weren't enough, they also make the coarse apple butter mustard and cornichons in-house, too. Astounding dinner, with service to match. More on this ASAP.

Dry Chili Tofu. Katy's Oak Park. Way better than I thought it would be. It was little cubes of fried tofu, probably coated with a spice blend before frying. Medium szechuan peppercorn zing. Next time I'll ask if they can up the heat level. A nice drizzle of table chili oil made it spectacular. That one will be on the always order list from now on. This is what we're up to for the standard order:

Beef or chicken boiled dumplings
Chicken or pork pancake for Jr.
Dan Dan or beef noodle soup
Cucumber with garlic
small 3 chili chicken
small dry chili tofu.

I had two great items last week in Central Texas.

The patty melt sandwich at Whataburger was phenomenal. Two quarter pond patties smothered with Swiss cheese and grilled onions on Texas toast was unbelievably good. It is the best hamburger that I have had in years.

The second was a bacon, lettuce, and tomato slider at a place called Jack Allen's Kitchen in Round Rock. It was a half inch slab of pork belly on top of frisee lettuce on top of a small scoop of pimento cheese spread on a deep fried green tomatoes on a homemade roll. The combination had a really great taste.


Jack Allen's Kitchen
2500 Hoppe Trl
Round Rock, TX 78681
(512) 215-0372

Christ, Whataburger must be the most spectacularly inconsistent chain in the universe. All I've ever tried from there sucked (limited to the Dallas area and Florida outposts - Florida is the place good chains go bad, I'll admit). With this in mind, it might make sense to I.D. this particular store.

The coppa from Capri on North Ave. in River Forrest.
I bought a lb. of it and I haven't even made a sandwich before it was gone; I can't stop snitching it from the fridge. Really nice combination of salty, spicy, with just a bit if chew and a hint of funk - really fantastic.

I had the most evil thing at El Gallo Bravo at 4505 N. Kedzie. It was thinly shaved slices of beef, onions, mushrooms, cheese, bacon and hot dogs. Christ, it was great. And they're within walking distance and open 24 hours!

The chicken broth from Catering by Michaels. I was working yesterday and the first course for kids was chicken noodle soup; I couldn't wait for the little monsters to dig in so I could get my hands on some of that soup. All I wanted was the broth, which was rich, dark, and gelatinous. Two paper cups worth really hit the spot, and I swear my throat is no longer sore. Delicious and restorative!