Great afternoon at Toon's Saturday with the Ms. and her friend. Got a savage taste for some wings Friday night so I had to check out Toon's from all the pics and posts about them. I was not disappointed. These really are without a doubt some of the best wings in the city. Huge, perfectly fried with a great sauce and also what seems to be a house-made blue cheese that was fantastic. They were so good we had to order a second round cause we couldn't stop eating them. They went perfect with the multiple Great Lakes Christmas Ales I was imbibing. Nothing like great wings and great beer. Also got a half slab of ribs The Ms. and I split which were also quite good. Nice smokey flavor with a really great sauce. I ordered sauce on the side so I could taste the meat in it's full glory. The Ms. commented they could've been a but more tender, but I thought they were nice. I couldn't agree more with DaBeef upthread that they should start frying up those pickles that come as a side. Those are some really great pickles. Nice and tangy. Does anyone know if those are housemade? Kinda taste like they might be.

I had the huge pleasure of meeting Mr. Jimwside and the Mr. Ronnie S. The first LTHers I've met in person. We had nice short chat. They couldn't be nicer. Very nice to meet them.

I will definitely be back to Toon's, especially for the wings. Great food and beer. Nice corner bar atmosphere. I'm a big fan.

thepld,

it was nice to meet you this past Saturday as well. I may be heading back to Toon's this Saturday as another visit into the city is in the cards. This time it would be with my wife and daughter.

Just as sort of an aside:

You can depend on this place. The folks involved have some high end cred. Back in the day I opened a place better known as 'rap city' with stevie c. & cohorts best left forgotten. (excepting j. n., sorry to the others, mostly gratefully departed).

bean wrote:You can depend on this place. The folks involved have some high end cred.

What does this mean? Depend on them for what?

I had a blast hanging out at Toons last Saturday. This is an inviting, comfortable spot, with a great vibe. It was a pleasure shooting the sh*t with Jim and thepld, as well as proprietor Danny Beck, who is, simply put, a fabulous host, who really knows his stuff. The food we tried -- smokey pulled pork quesadilla, crawfish-andouille gumbo and Buffalo wings -- was excellent, across the board. As has been mentioned above, everything at Toons is made from scratch and it really shows. The wings were absolutely stellar, textbook, perfection -- piping hot, pleasantly spicy, crispy on the outisde, juicy on the inside and falling off the bone. They could not have been better. Beverage selection was tempting, too. There are a few house-made concoctions (pineapple vodka, lookout!!) and a fine selection of beers. I tried several rums and a couple of whiskeys, too.

My only regret is having waited so long to finally get to Toons. But now that I've been there, I plan to make it a regular stop.

=R=

I had some business in Chicago on Saturday, so a trip to Toon's was a no-brainer, and I dragged my family with me this time, as well as met some LTHr's for an afternoon of imbibing, and eating. It was great to meat Da' Beef after following his posts, and it was fun to see Kenny, G-wiv, Mrs G-wiv, Danny, and mamacupcake again.

finally got a good pic of the gumbo(nice chunks of okra, crawfish, sausage, and shrimp):


grilled wings( it thought these were great):


hot wings(spot on as always):


rib sampler(nice meaty ribs, and I like the pickle slices):


smoked turkey sandwich and pulled pork sampler:


great place, great company, almost stayed too long, barely got to where I needed to go afterwards.

I had a great time yesterday at Toons hanging with Gary, Jim, Kenny, Danny and John Jameson. Nice meeting y'all. Great food and drink and the taste of a rib I had fresh off the smoker was even better than the last batch I had. I thought they had perfect smoke flavor and were just in between from being too chewy and too loose making them just right. When you consider this is a neighborhood corner bar (in Lakeview) putting out ribs like that, its damn impressive.

LTH,

Very much enjoyed time spent at Toon's yesterday, always fun hanging out with LTHers, including Jim, Kenny and Danny, plus our respective brides all made appearances, meeting Mamacupcake was a treat and Da Beef is, for lack of a better word, a hoot. Toon's is a real neighborhood hub, hard drinking regulars, mom, dad with kids in for lunch, sports teams, community events, all anchored by Danny who simply exudes old school hospitality.

Bar food often implies settling for mediocre to fill in the cracks while drinking, Toon's seemingly standard bar menu of burgers, fries, wings, soup, chili is handled with a degree of thought and consideration that elevates beyond the norm. Part of the reason may be owner Danny Beck is a graduate of Kendall Culinary and his wife Annie a CIA grad, but I'd offer it simply boils down to love of and passion for food, which in Danny's case includes BBQ.

I am passionate about BBQ and, as with any passion, its easy to spot, differentiate, those with a passing interest and the completely committed* five minutes of conversation with Danny and one realizes he is a tried and true BBQ man.

With a large group I got to sample a number of offerings starting with Buffalo Wings, which were as good as advertised, certianly the best version I've had in quite a while. Crisp onion rings with a subtle note of sweetness, I wonder if they use Maui, Vidalia or Texas 1015's.

Toon's Buffalo Wings



Onion Rings



My bride enjoyed her gumbo, rice included this go-around, and I was surprised at how well the busy sounding Jive Turkey sandwich, with pulled turkey, bacon, BBQ sauce, fried onion strips and provolone came together.

I enjoyed the BBQ, in particular the two unsauced ribs Danny brought out later in the afternoon for Da Beef and me to try, smoked turkey breast was moist and tasty, though not much smoke flavor. From my admididly persnickety BBQ viewpoint Danny is starting from a deficit with an electric smoker but, like Barry Sorkin at Smoque, though care, consideration and talent he makes the best possible use of the equipment at hand and turns out better BBQ than the majority of dedicated Chicagoland BBQ joints.

Two Toon's BBQ Ribs



Toon's, count me a fan.

Enjoy,
Gary

*Reminds me of the chicken/pig breakfast story. The chicken is involved, the pig committed

I've been a fan of Toon's for a long time . . . but I hadn't been there in a few years and reading this thread made me determined to re-visit. I stopped in today with a couple of friends are enjoyed it just as much as ever.

The buffalo wings are as good as I've had - crisp, hot, meaty, great sauce . . . everything you want in a wing imo.

Pulled pork was really good, but I was surprised how much I liked the smoked turkey . . . couldn't believe how naturally moist it was.

And the skin-on fries have not gotten a heck of a lot of attention here, but they are one of the better versions around - hot and crisp and perfectly seasoned. They're like the ones I've had at Bad Apple but a little more generous a serving and better seasoned (i.e., less salt).

I'm glad you all reminded me how much I like Toon's. I've stayed away far too long. And I typically have only eaten their wings, burgers and fries so it was really nice to try their bbq today.

pics look great

Darn! Looks like I missed another fantastic Saturday at Toon's wasting away the hours with wings and beers. Gotta try that gumbo next time and those grilled wings. Both look great. I see spending many more Saturday's there wasting time though. Especially this winter.

had a great meal at toon's other nite . wing's 2 way's & sum spare ribs that where great. nice smoke on them. all ways fun to meet sum LTHer's that you never meet before. great place keep up the good work danny

I'll add my two senses:

Great bar+great people=great publicity=go there!

Thanks to Mel...

I was checking out their menu online and unless my eyes deceive me, the gumbo was no where to be seen. Is this offered everyday or just as a soup of the day?
Thanks!

LTH,

Here are a few Toon's pictures I meant to post, including a rare image of ReneG and Da Beef.

Tasty pulled pork, nice bits of bark amping up flavor.

Toon's Pulled Pork



Daily special spare ribs, well developed flavor, though the meat was on the far side of fall-off-the-bone for my personal taste.

Toon's Spare Ribs



Danny, owner of Toon's, with Spare Ribs



Rene G, Da Beef Picture taken at Glascott's



Enjoy,
Gary

that was a fun night always fun at toons

Jefe,
We offer gumbo as a soup of the day and is usually a couple times per month. As we near Carnival time down in New Orleans which begins after the 12th day of Christmas we will feature Different Gumbo's all the way till Mardi Gras Day on February 16th. Please feel free to call and ask or suggest a Gumbo if you want to PM me.! Love the picture of Rene G and Da Beef! Fun night!

Danny

stopped at toon's tonight for a fast thursday special

bobby z wrote:One of the last friendly joints on Southport... semi corporate places without souls have taken over but Toons still provides good times with heart and soul.

Aside from food reviews, this is precisely what I was wondering about. Glad to hear. This is in my neighborhood but we've never stopped by. It's on the list now. Thanks.

We have a Chicken, Okra and Andouille Gumbo and Fried Oyster Po-boys on special starting today. We will have a different gumbo and Nola inspired specials from now until Fat Tuesday February 16th. Our first crawfish boil is tentatively set for Superbowl Sunday in the afternoon. The weather in Louisiana has been horrible so I am not sure as to the Availability of the crawfish. Will be talking to my farmer today and if we are a go for Superbowl I will create an event on the Events Board. Happy Carnival season to all!

Danny

We stopped by this afternoon, the wings indeed were terrific, maybe the best in the city. Perfectly done, big, meaty, excellent sauce. Ribs were a little mushy for my tastes, though nicely charred with again a superb sauce on the side. It's in my old neighborhood, interesting to go down Southport on a beautiful sunny January afternoon. We'll certainly be back.

I had been to Toons for dinner a number of times, and I don't know what the hell is wrong with me, but I had no idea the bbq was so good! I'd been ordering chicken sandwiches this whole time! Went with the SO, started with the wings (2.50 on Thursdays!) and some smoked turkey gumbo. Wings were crispy and hot, the bleu cheese dsg cooled it down, no probs. Gumbo was piping hot, and chock full of smoky turkey bits. Great beer selection too!

For dinner, I had the jive turkey sandwich, which is smoked pulled turkey with bbq sauce, provolone, bacon and frizzled onions. Good lord yes. The bun too, is outstanding!

My friend went there once and had this sandwich and it was so good, he sat at the bar until he got hungry again and ordered another one!

My SO had the oyster po'boy, on special until Fat Tuesday. He liked it, but said it was kinda plain, so I reminded him that he *ordered* it that way, as he's not a tartar sauce guy...short term memory must be blown out for some reason

Great fries, great o' rings. Friendly bartenders. LOVE this place! Thanks Toons, for giving the southport corridor at least 1 of very few outstanding spots for great eats and great beer!

I had the oyster po'boy last Sunday and it was stellar. As good as many in New Orleans. The wings were as good as the last time, that is to say terrific. Good beer. This place has instantly made it into our regular rotation.

Had the wings, turkey gumbo, and oyster po' boy on Thursday night. Everything was perfect. Still thinking about that rich, smoky, thick gumbo two days later. The Bells>3 Floyds>1/2 Acre were delicious as well. Kind of place everyone in the restaurant business dreams of owning themselves. Laid back, great food, good beers, I could go on and on. One of my favorite places in Chicago currently.

For dinner, I had the jive turkey sandwich, which is smoked pulled turkey with bbq sauce, provolone, bacon and frizzled onions. Good lord yes. The bun too, is outstanding!

Yea... that thing is pretty amazing.

pizano345 wrote:...Still thinking about that rich, smoky, thick gumbo two days later...

shrimp and sausage gumbo

rmtraut wrote:

For dinner, I had the jive turkey sandwich, which is smoked pulled turkey with bbq sauce, provolone, bacon and frizzled onions. Good lord yes. The bun too, is outstanding!

Yea... that thing is pretty amazing.

Smoked turkey in housemade KC barbecue sauce

Fantastic pictures, Da Beef. I'm drooling over here. I've got to get myself to Toons pronto.

Toons has become a regular Sunday stop after the movies on Sundays. Today in addition to the oyster po'boy (just as tasty as the last time, really outstanding oysters) I had the gumbo for the first time. Every bit as good as any I've had outside of Louisiana and better than some inside that state. It was seafood gumbo with bits of shrimp, crawfish (not seafood technically I know) and andouille sausage. Pretty spicy with bits of okra too. Loved it. A nice vibe to the place, servers are great. We may have to try the Thursday wing special.

By the way, next Sunday's Super Bowl crawfish boil will be $25 a head.

Congrats to Toons for being named among the best wings in the city by the Tribune today... well deserved praise!

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertain ... otogallery

Finally made our maiden voyage to Toons today for lunch. Gumbo and a nicely done burger for Jonathan. Oyster po'boy for me. A few pints of Half Acre Ale, friendly service, happy patrons... made for a very enjoyable Sunday afternoon. Hope to return soon to explore more of the menu.