Mission: two filling gourmet meals for $20

With my palate permanently set to savory over sweet, I find little point to breakfast, which is also just calories that could be better spent cooking for company later in the day, or enjoying the permanent ethnic carnival that is our beautiful city of Chicago.

Some days, I won't have time to prepare lunch, don't want to skip one of my two daily meals, and will be dining in the evening with company of different minds where everyone wants their own plate. I am therefore challenged to come up with two filling, balanced (to the senses, not the food pyramid), self-contained meals. I certainly don't have a $20 budget for these two meals every day, but once in a while, it's nice to see just how happy I can get for the only Jackson in my pocket including tax and drinks to stay hydrated.

I had a great $20 two-meal LTHForum day yesterday.

Lunch: a 9" prosciutto-fresh mozzarella submarine from Bari Foods (1120 W. Grand, Chicago) with hot giardinera, tomatoes, and fresh basil. Essentially a salad and good fats on a perfect, crusty half-loaf of bread. With a large Orangina, $8.26 including tax, and I could pretend I was sitting on the city wall in Assisi in the sunshine by closing my eyes. What a sandwich - ate at noon and stayed full and content until 8:30 PM.

Dinner: pulled pork platter at Smoque (3800 N. Pulaski, Chicago) alongside two good friends (at the table, not on the plate). Sides: barbecue beans, fries, and slaw. When they actually have your desired meat (running out of the brisket most often in my experience), they elevate the platter so far beyond a sandwich at one of the best price points for complex, proudly-prepared food in the city. A generous mound of simultaneously crisp and moist pork with the thicker sweet sauce on top and the snappy vinegar preparation on the side, magma-hot, rich, bacony beans, and crisp fries in remarkable quantity. Great company and atmosphere, with a Coke and tax, $11.03.

Total for the day: $19.29


I remember a similar day at Tio Luis (carne en su jugo, which is a huge meal there with three separate tiny plates of sides, and a refreshing horchata) and Little Three Happiness (noodles with duck and barbecue pork, an eggroll, and tea), where I was thrilled and shocked to have a two singles left in my wallet at day's end.

So you've got a twenty, a mighty hunger, and a need for aesthetic satisfaction in addition to caloric. Where do YOU go?

Lunch: a 9" prosciutto-fresh mozzarella submarine from Bari Foods (1120 W. Grand, Chicago) with hot giardinera, tomatoes, and fresh basil. Essentially a salad and good fats on a perfect, crusty half-loaf of bread. With a large Orangina, $8.26 including tax, and I could pretend I was sitting on the city wall in Assisi in the sunshine by closing my eyes. What a sandwich - ate at noon and stayed full and content until 8:30 PM.

That's my favorite sandwich at Bari. The one thing - the only thing - that's disappointed me at Bari is the giardinera; to me - it's the worst I've ever tasted, and I don't have them add it to the sandwich.

I haven't made it over to Smoque, yet - but it's on the "To Do" list.

Bill wrote: The one thing - the only thing - that's disappointed me at Bari is the giardinera; to me - it's the worst I've ever tasted, and I don't have them add it to the sandwich.

Tastes differ! Bari's medium giardinera is my favorite in the city--and since Chicago has the best giardinera*, my favorite in the country.







*Noting that the olive salad served on the muffulatta at Central Grocery in New Orleans isn't giardinera.

Santander, you've got R*chael R*y beat by a mile.

Ann Fisher wrote:Tastes differ! Bari's medium giardinera is my favorite in the city--and since Chicago has the best giardinera*, my favorite in the country.

Is Bari's giardinera pickled? It never tasted pickled to me and I don't see vinegar on the label.

aschie30 wrote:Is Bari's giardinera pickled?

Nope. It's packed in oil.