kuhdo wrote:1)Francis' deli on Clark. This has been around forever, having started off as a steam table restaurant (ala Manny's) in the 1960's.

Make that the 30's. My Dad first took me to Francis' when Francis himself was still manning the steam table back in the 50's...and it was an old place then. Francis was quite a character. He used to keep the line, which frequently stretched out the door, moving with a firm hand and a large dose of humor. I continued to be a regular well into the 70's when they moved to the new (present) location. It didn't take more than 6 mos. after the move for me to stop going entirely. It's just not the same place any more, although the rice pudding is still one of my favorite versions in the city (unless they've changed it in the last 20 years).

You're right about the dates. I just started going in the early 60's. It's also true that it isn't at all the same place (the food used to be outstanding.. I fondly recall thier stuffed veal breast as a particular favorite). I too actually stopped going for years...until about five years ago when a good friend insisted we go there for a corned beef and pastrami Reuben. I tried to argue, suggesting Manny's instead, but he was adamant about it. I've been going back for this sandwich ever since.

When I frequented the place back in the 60's and 70's, my number one favorite was the turkey drumstick. I still dream about it. I've never been to the new(er) location. Do they still do the turkey drumsticks?

I don't think so. Sadly, all the soulful homestyle dishes have disappeared in favor of lots of salads/ sandwiches and the various permutations of turkey breast that often pass for 'deli food' in this city.

Ate in a place today that reminded me of this thread... so here it shall go.

If you've been on Devon you've probably passed by Zam Zam without ever paying attention to it. One of those places with the counter full of Indian sweets and baked goods, looks more like a place to sit and nurse a cup of tea than a lunch place.

I don't remember how I came to pop my head into it once, since I rarely go into the sweet shops, but I did, maybe two years ago, and discovered that it actually had a full-- minimalist, but full-- lunch and dinner menu. Basically a little less of a sweet shop, and a little more of a corner diner, than I had quite realized. I ate there a couple of times, food served its purpose, somewhat dingy interior was a mild negative, it never quite had the bustle or immersion-in-alien-culture feel that made the equally decrepit old Khan BBQ a real trip on Devon.

Anyway, today I was tempted to try the buffet at one of the Daata Darbars but something about the glum, empty restaurant kept me from going in, especially since I had one kid in tow and I wanted somewhere they wouldn't just glower at him. We walked down the street, looking for some place that was open-- Khan BBQ closed until two on Fridays, Kababish looking closed (possibly for good? hard to tell), nothing, nothing... and then we reached Zam Zam. Why not.

Well, turns out that Zam Zam has been decidedly spiffed up-- the dingy interior is now rather chic. And the food, well, I don't know if the decor is influencing my perception of the food but it was far better than my memory-- fresh, brightly spicy, handmade. We had veggie samosas, a couple of juicy and flavorful chicken seekh kabobs, aloo palak (a spinach stew) and nan, and all of it was first-rate. Prices were low, service was friendly, all in all Zam Zam shot up quite a ways in my estimation and well deserves... a little LTH Love.

Zam Zam
2500 W Devon Ave
Phone: 773-274-4959

P.S. Searching for the address, I discovered that Zam Zam had been at Taste of Chicago, at least in 2005. Who'd have guessed?

As part of my ongoing quest to encourage someone else to try the perfectly decent and newly spiffy Zam Zam...


Chana dal (Dal of the Day!)


Chicken boti

Mike G wrote:P.S. Searching for the address, I discovered that Zam Zam had been at Taste of Chicago, at least in 2005. Who'd have guessed?

They've been there for at least the past two years and it's one of the best things you can get at the Taste. Quite good frontier chicken and goat biryani, decent-sized portion, spice level not dumbed down, and still doing great business. There have been days when I've hit up their booth twice.

I live just off Devon, so I spend a lot of time wandering westward in search of the good stuff. Haven't eaten at Zam Zam, though we've certainly explored their sweets section pretty thoroughly. Perhaps tonight?

My favorite place that has not gotten the love here (far as I can tell, having lurked on and off for a while) is the Lincoln Lodge. I'm sure the flashbacks to my childhood the interior produces is at least part of its appeal, but the other part is all about the fried onion cheeseburger. It's a monster - a monster topped with oozing cheddar and piles of breaded, fried onions - and the addition of BBQ sauce makes it bliss.

Skip dessert, though. On the occasions when I have been tempted to round out the homestyle fat-fest with coconut cream, I have regretted it. The filling is fine, but the "cream" on the cream pies is that non-dairy stuff that would probably survive a nuclear blast. Much like cockroaches. It might even be made of cockroaches, for all I know - that would explain the flavor.

Lincoln Lodge-- is that the bar half of the Lincoln Restaurant just north of Irving?

I had one of their skillets a month or two back and it was going to inspire a never-written post called "When in doubt, cheese it up!" Honestly, this thing must have had an entire supermarket packet of Kraft cheddar in it, and mixed in inextricably, not a glacier of cheese I could have easily removed. Pretty gross as soon as it cooled, a real race-against-the-clock dish.

I remember another misconceived item there years ago-- their idea of a chicken fried steak, which takes a real steak-- not thin-pounded minute steak but an inch-thick T-bone or whatever-- and breads and fries it. Needless to say, it's a good way to ruin both a steak and an appetite that was thinking real chicken fried steak at the same time.

There's probably simpler things they do well, but there seems to be a real instinct for overkill in the kitchen which doesn't serve anybody well.

Lincoln Restaurant
4008 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago
Tel: (773) 248-1820

That's the one. I am not surprised by your experience there, because there is one thing and one thing only to order, and that is the cheeseburger.

Mike G wrote:Lincoln Lodge-- is that the bar half of the Lincoln Restaurant just north of Irving?

I discovered the Lincoln Lodge relatively late in my Chicago tenure, and never ate there, but I really enjoy their Thursday (and Friday, I think) stand-up comedy night.

It's never very crowded, the quality is variable, but there have always been at least a few very funny bits, and the whole show just has a great, slightly edgy, kitschy, and vibrant feel to it. I really enjoy the show itself and the fact of its existence.

And as it turns out, I may show up there this week after quaffing a few Stiegls down the street.

It's the rare place that I think is accurately and estimably described by their marketing kit press quotes:

"Enter the kitschy, hilarious world of Lincoln
Lodge."
CHICAGO TRIBUNE

"The venerable Lincoln Lodge's comedy and
variety show packs them into the most retro lounge
you've ever seen. So cheesy, it's beyond cool; so
cool it's miles past cheesy."
CHICAGO MAGAZINE

Retro furniture, check... funky art on the walls, check... hipster menu that ranges comfortably from diner comfort food to ascetically vegetarian, check... so why doesn't Flying Saucer get the LTH love (not to mention the mention in Saveur) that a place like Dodo, which costs more and delivers less in my book, gets? It's not that it hasn't been mentioned, ever, but this or this is about as much as it ever got from us; and I've blown past it to go to Feed on a number of occasions, thinking its lunches have been all right, in a sort of Lula-when-it-first-opened way, but nothing exceptional to call me to make a long drive down California. Yet the breakfast the boys and I had this morning was about the best in its hipster-variations-on-classic-themes genre we've had in a long time, catapulting Flying Saucer into new-favorite-spot status next to Over Easy.

Younger son had pumpkin pancakes which I thought were better than Uncommon Ground's...



While I had French toast (reportedly raved about by the Trib) which were indeed raveworthy, if plated a little too much in tribute to Judy Chicago:



Orange zest, cardamom, coriander, something like that. Simple seasonings, really, very Christmasy, which elevate simple French toast to something elegant. Not that you couldn't make this at home, but you'd have to think it up first, and it was a really well conceived dish for a diner. There were other things on the specials menu too that suggested surprising ambition for breakfast time. I just may have to go back for lunch this week and see if the same thing's happening at that meal, too-- hard as it will be to NOT keep going south to Feed, a temptation easily resisted this morning since for Sunday breakfast, Flying Saucer's already been cooking for three hours by the time Feed gets itself out of bed.

Flying Saucer
1123 N. California Ave., Chicago
(773) 342-9076

Mike G wrote:so why doesn't Flying Saucer get the LTH love (not to mention the mention in Saveur) that a place like Dodo, which costs more and delivers less in my book, gets?

Wow those pictures actually make me want to go back to the flying saucer! I haven't been in a few years but I found everything except the decor underwhelming. I wanted this place to be a real find like Leo's Lunchroom was before the hipsters invaded Division Street and actual artists frequented the place.

The few times that I tried the Saucer made me feel that the place was not game to deliver in the same way that I think Lula, The Original Leo's, or any number of other funky, veg-friendy brunchy-crunchy kinda places do

Maybe things have perked up at the Saucer. Unless your pictures are deceiving, it sounds like it might deserve another try. My little guy loves French Toast!

Mike G wrote:...if plated a little too much in tribute to Judy Chicago:

If I was drinking something,
it would have been all over
the computer screen now!
Awesome.
+2 Would read again!

I was waiting for someone to get that! Thanks.

mike g you are hysterical!love the judy chicago reference!

Per Tapler (see post) I'll front for Nick's Pit Stop. I go by there every day, live nearly around the corner, yet never stopped in. DH said he got chicken there once while I was out of town and didn't like it. I tried it tonight, and it was good. It's not transcendent, but it is good, solid, flame-grilled chicken, and it's better than your generic rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. It's tasty, not wildly salty, and cheap.

Nick's Pit Stop
2011 N Damen Ave
(773) 342-9736

I'll second the Nick's rec. I live up the street and have been going there since the place opened, which is quite a while now (Nick sold out years back but the place remains exactly the same). The chicken isn't transcendent, but it's pretty darn good, inexpensive and consistent. The chicken sandwich, which is chopped-up chicken served on pita with lettuce and tomato, is a lunchtime standby for me (I even picked up one for a beloved dog's last meal, but that's another story).

iblock9 wrote:...I found everything except the decor underwhelming...

I felt that way the last time I went, but I ultimately really like this place and I'm glad to see someone mentioned it here! However, I can't get my hands on a Lavender Lemonade! Has anybody tried it?

Mike G wrote:

Retro furniture, check... funky art on the walls, check... hipster menu that ranges comfortably from diner comfort food to ascetically vegetarian, check... so why doesn't Flying Saucer get the LTH love (not to mention the mention in Saveur) that a place like Dodo, which costs more and delivers less in my book, gets?

Flying Saucer
1123 N. California Ave., Chicago
(773) 342-9076

Mike, I totally agree and even feel guilty. Even though I live no more than a 10 minute walk from here, I never go. I think I get turned off going down Potomac sans vehicle.

I'd also like to point out that I don't think Star Lounge Cafe gets enough props. The coffee there is fantastic, the baristas are really knowledge and actually nice, they roast their own beans in Bridgeport and will even make single brews without hesitation.

Joong Boo Market over on Kimball, just beneath 90/94. For me and my wife, our love for this place derives from an event specific moment that perhaps swelled our hearts for The Boo, and made it seem more special than the opinion others on the forum might hold for it. We both, as is sometimes happens, were both coming down with a cold at the same time; there was no denying its impending arrival. Knowing we'd not feel like going out much for a couple days, we stopped at a couple stores to load up on groceries, one of which was the Boo, which we'd never been to before, but we needed something (I don't remember what) that would go into a curry, and we figured we'd be able to get it there. When we saw the snack shop in the back (and who doesn't love the phrase 'snack shop'), and the cafeteria trays with the huge bowls of bubbling steaming stew filled with veggies and/or beef and fish, we parked our grocery cart and took a seat. Just the heat and the spices and the fish, with the side of kimchee and tofu dish, to us, it was absolutely delicious, and it also made us feel better. The food seemed to shove aside all those unsettling vibes of a descending cold. We never got those colds, and to this day, I still state with the utmost confidence that it was the food we got at the Boo that killed our colds. After that, we'd head there at the first sign of a sniffle or if we were just hungry.

3333 N Kimball Ave
Chicago, IL 60618-5503
(773) 478-5566

Chicago Expat wrote:Joong Boo Market over on Kimball, just beneath 90/94. For me and my wife, our love for this place derives from an event specific moment that perhaps swelled our hearts for The Boo, and made it seem more special than the opinion others on the forum might hold for it.

Joong Boo gets the occasional LTH love, you can certainly count me amongst its fans.

G Wiv wrote:

Chicago Expat wrote:Joong Boo Market over on Kimball, just beneath 90/94. For me and my wife, our love for this place derives from an event specific moment that perhaps swelled our hearts for The Boo, and made it seem more special than the opinion others on the forum might hold for it.

Joong Boo gets the occasional LTH love, you can certainly count me amongst its fans.

Thanks for the link, Wiv. Y'know, I'm not sure why I couldn't find it with my site search before. When I first came aboard LTH, it was one of the places I wanted to shoot the breeze about, but couldn't find any posts about it. I must've typed something weird into the keyword search field.

Does anyone know if the Muskie's Burger place ever reopened anywhere, maybe under a different name? This article from 2014 makes it sound like he was pretty sure he'd open in a new location?

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2014091 ... ll-be-back