Chicago eating emergency

EDIT: Almost forgot. I'm from Iowa but visit Chicago often enough I feel almost like a native. Love this forum!


Didn't know I was leaving for Chicago in the morning until the last 20 minutes! Now I have little time to prepare for eating, which is of course paramount. I need the boards help:

- Uno/Chicago style pizza (my wife thinks she wants to try it), not set on Uno though
- Best Italian beef (must have pepperoncinis)
- Finger food / Tapas
- Any real NY quality deli's?
- French or Italian pastries

Not looking for hip or cool spots.

Any part of town is fine as long as it's not way North or South (Schaumberg distance is fine).

Any other suggestions would be appreciated

I think you'll find tons of tips already on the boards by using the search engine.

Abouna wrote:
- Uno/Chicago style pizza (my wife thinks she wants to try it), not set on Uno though
- Best Italian beef (must have pepperoncinis)
- Finger food / Tapas
- Any real NY quality deli's?
- French or Italian pastries

Pizza: Pizano's or Malnati's, or maybe Giordano's if you want to try stuffed instead.

Beef: Chickie's, Johnnie's, or Al's (Al's taylor street location only). All of these will have giardiniera, the spicy veg. relish that's served with beef.

Tapas/finger food: Cafe Iberico, Avec

NY quality deli: Nope, but you can get pretty good pastrami and very good corned beef at Manny's, which is a great old jewish-style cafeteria.

French or Italian pastries: Pasticceria Natalina and Vanille Patisserie

These are just a few suggestions.. I'm sure others will have many more.


Pasticceria Natalina
5406 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 989-0662

Vanille
2229 N Clybourn Ave
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 868-4574

Manny's
1141 S Jefferson St
Chicago, IL
(312) 939-2855

Avec
615 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 377-2002

Cafe Iberico
737 N La Salle Dr
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 573-1510

Chickie's
2839 S Pulaski Rd
Chicago
(773) 277-2333

Johnnie's
7500 W North Ave
Elmwood Park, IL 60707
(708) 452-6000

Al's
1079 W Taylor St
Chicago
(312) 226-4017

Pizano's, Malnati's, and Giordanos:
http://www.pizanoschicago.com
http://www.loumalnatis.com
http://www.giordanos.com


And check the GNR forums for a lot more places to eat.

Where in IA are you from?

Blown Z wrote:Where in IA are you from?

Cedar Rapids

Cool, I have an office in Clinton

Well, as my first post here fell a bit flat (my fault for not doing my own research I suppose), I thought I'd post a few observations from my weekend trip to Chicago, though most of this will be old news to most of you all.

Lou Malnati's: My first stop was to appease the wife who wanted to try Chicago Deep Dish. We have a fantastic pizzeria here in Iowa (yes, believe it or not). They do NY style to perfection but we've not tried the Chicago style. Off to Malnati's we went. We ordered the Malnati's salad and a small pepperoni deep dish. The salad was very good with dried salami and Gorgonzola. My only caveat was that it was a bit too sweet. The deep dish arrived (butter crust of course) hot and in a timely manner. The crust was excellent but overall I'd call the pizza just good. It was very fresh tasting but lacked depth. Personally I think we should have gone with sausage but she wanted pepperoni.

Big Bowl (Woodfield): I know this is a chain restaurant but we've always had pretty decent luck here. We opted strictly for appetizers; spicy pot stickers, chicken egg rolls, BBQ buns & beef satay. The pot stickers were quite good, though just a tad flat. The BBQ buns were much too sweet however and I couldn't finish even one, the dough was also under cooked. The beef satay was not bad but over priced for 3 measly strips. Finally the chicken egg rolls were absolutely the best i have had. Very full of tender shredded/minced meat, moderate vegetables and just juicy enough in a steamed broth.

Pasticceria Natalina via Peet's: We decided to pick up a couple lattes at Peet's, we usually opt for Intelligentsia but wanted to try Peet's based on the attention to detail the baristas posses (the microfoam was indeed stellar). We made our way to Pasticceria Natalina for cannoli and some other items. First we loved the place, the owners (husband & wife?) were both working and the scene was straight out of Big Night, very professional. We grabbed a couple of cannoli and one rum Baba. IMO, the cannoli, though obviously expertly done, were over cooked, I prefer my cannoli not quite so dark. The filling was nice. On the other hand the rum Baba was out of this world. I cannot praise this dessert enough, do not miss this.


Greek Islands: We are Mediterranean so we have an ethnic obligation to stop in Greek town. Now, for years I was put off by Greek town, it had sunk to a certain commercialism that was just not likable. A few years back however we were taken to the Greek Islands restaurant and haven't looked back since. As were are intimately familiar with this food I can say that the Greek Islands is ona par with home cooked food and the better restaurants in Greece. I still cringe when I hear Opa! but I can't recommend this place enough. I've never had a bad meal here and the service is what most restaurants should be measured by. Highlights this trip; taramosalta, Cold Octopus Salad (if you've never had this, you will be really surprised, it's not anything like you may think) & the baked chicken special.

Jay's Beef: My main goal for my Chicago visit was Italian beef. Unfortunately things were not panning out well, we were running out of time and stomach. I was chalking the whole Italian beef thing up to a loss. After checking out of our hotel we did the requisite Ikea visit (ugh) including the uber cheap breakfast (Swedish pancakes which were surprisingly good). On our way out my wife suggested we drive down Golf eastwards toward 294 in hopes of stumbling on some beef (I thought I may have seen an Al's somewhere near Schaumberg). Anyway, we drive a ways and stumble on Jay's near Des Plains (not sure if this was on Golf or Algonquin). We decide to try it, I order a beef with peppers and my wife orders a plain with provolone (to which I crinkle my nose). I don't live in Chicago so my beef outings are few and far between, it's been 3-4 years since I was at Johnnies and I've yet to try Al's or any other. Memory aside, the beef at Jay's was everything I wanted or recalled, super flavorful without being over spiced with great peppers (I'm not sure if they use traditional giardiniera), though I did get mine a bit too hot, I was doing plenty of "George likes his Kung Pao hot!" action. The wife's plain was also pretty good, I didn't even mind the provolone:-). The meat was tender, not fatty and super thin. The bun was properly soggy yet remained intact. I was very satisfied.

That's it, for what it's worth.

Hi,

I hate to make a grown man cry. Really. You were damn close to the Arlington Heights location of Johnnies. Yes, I can feel the tears in your eyes. If you had gone east on Algonquin Road, then north on Arlington Heights Road within a few blocks you would have been at Johnnies. If Ikea is a regular stop, then you easily get to Johnnies within 15 minutes.

I can tell from your comments, you are one of us. I am looking forward to your reports on Iowa's pizza scene. Plus anything you care to tell us about food in your region.

Thank you again for a fine trip report. We love it when people report back on their experiences.

Regards,

The next time you are in the city try out Roma's Italian Beef & Sausage
4237 N. Cicero Ave. 773-725-5715. This is one of my new favorite Italian Beefs in the city. Definately worth the drive. In terms of tapas- try Tapas Barcelona in Evanston. For Pizza -try Pequod's.

I know it's hard to believe, but at one time Jays had one of the best beef sandwiches in the city. The Narragansett location would have lines at lunch time that rivaled Johnnies. It was probably not as good as Johnnies, but it was pretty close. And it was surely a much better value. Things went downhill fast when the old man died. It's possible they are starting to make a comeback.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I hate to make a grown man cry. Really. You were damn close to the Arlington Heights location of Johnnies. Yes, I can feel the tears in your eyes. If you had gone east on Algonquin Road, then north on Arlington Heights Road within a few blocks you would have been at Johnnies. If Ikea is a regular stop, then you easily get to Johnnies within 15 minutes.

I can tell from your comments, you are one of us. I am looking forward to your reports on Iowa's pizza scene. Plus anything you care to tell us about food in your region.

Thank you again for a fine trip report. We love it when people report back on their experiences.

Regards,

Well rats! I would have preferred Johnnies if for no other reason than previous experience. On the other hand I found beef in place I would not have looked and was thoroughly pleased. I really wouldn't hesitate to go to Jay's again.

As for the Iowa pizza; I'll do a short write up for the Beyond Chicago board.

Cheers.

midas wrote:I know it's hard to believe, but at one time Jays had one of the best beef sandwiches in the city. The Narragansett location would have lines at lunch time that rivaled Johnnies. It was probably not as good as Johnnies, but it was pretty close. And it was surely a much better value. Things went downhill fast when the old man died. It's possible they are starting to make a comeback.

I sure would like to hear comments from someone on this. Maybe someone near there can try this location and report back.

Abouna wrote:

midas wrote:I know it's hard to believe, but at one time Jays had one of the best beef sandwiches in the city. The Narragansett location would have lines at lunch time that rivaled Johnnies. It was probably not as good as Johnnies, but it was pretty close. And it was surely a much better value. Things went downhill fast when the old man died. It's possible they are starting to make a comeback.

I sure would like to hear comments from someone on this. Maybe someone near there can try this location and report back.

I visited the Schiller Park location twice right at the end of '06 and the new one in Wicker Park early this year. Between the three visits, I had one that was okay and two that were vastly underwhelming. But I haven't been to the Narragansett location, and as is evidenced by Al's, hitting the right branch could mean everything. The guys who sent me there are by no means beef novices, but neither had been there in quite some time, so the theory that it's a recent slide may have merit.

midas wrote:I know it's hard to believe, but at one time Jays had one of the best beef sandwiches in the city. The Narragansett location would have lines at lunch time that rivaled Johnnies. It was probably not as good as Johnnies, but it was pretty close. And it was surely a much better value. Things went downhill fast when the old man died. It's possible they are starting to make a comeback.

You are entirely correct! My office used to be near the Schiller Park Jay's location and it was a regular lunch stop for outstanding beef & sausage grilled over coals just like Johnnie's. When it came time for Beefathon II (I think), I lobbied hard for Jay's to be included. The old man had died in the interim and once we got there...well, let's just say I was slightly embarrassed.

OK, this is killing me. Somebody has to go out to the Des Plaines location and try it. I MUST know if I'm off my rocker. Afterall, I'm no local, my beefs are so few and far between I could have simply been in some kind of wishful euphoria

I don't think so though, it was mighty good to me. Still I'd like to get some other opinions.

Well I used to work about 2 blocks from the Schiller Park location. I went there once or twice. Underwhelming is a good description. Tough meat, cut just a little too thick and lacking much discernible flavor. Unfortunately, I don't think I've been to the Narragansett location in the last 7 years. If I had to place a date, I'd guess the old man died about 2001. I did try the location Abouna spoke of, probably back around 1998. I went there a few times and it was pretty good back then.

I think I'll take one for the team and try out the original on Thursday. I'm on vacation this week but already plan to hit Burt's for lunch tomorrow.

midas wrote:I think I'll take one for the team and try out the original on Thursday.

Incidentally, which one is the original? At the time, I was under the impression that it was the Schiller Park location, which is why I went there, but then I read something else that had me totally confused.

Dmnkly wrote:Incidentally, which one is the original? At the time, I was under the impression that it was the Schiller Park location, which is why I went there, but then I read something else that had me totally confused.

I always assumed it was the Narragansett one. Almost every time I went there, and I went there often, the old man was working the place. And just looking at the two places, the Schiller Park location looks like a palace by comparison.

midas wrote:

Dmnkly wrote:Incidentally, which one is the original? At the time, I was under the impression that it was the Schiller Park location, which is why I went there, but then I read something else that had me totally confused.

I always assumed it was the Narragansett one. Almost every time I went there, and I went there often, the old man was working the place. And just looking at the two places, the Schiller Park location looks like a palace by comparison.

Narragansett is the original.

midas wrote:I think I'll take one for the team and try out the original on Thursday. I'm on vacation this week but already plan to hit Burt's for lunch tomorrow.

I can't wait to hear you're comments.

stevez wrote:You are entirely correct! My office used to be near the Schiller Park Jay's location and it was a regular lunch stop for outstanding beef & sausage grilled over coals just like Johnnie's. When it came time for Beefathon II (I think), I lobbied hard for Jay's to be included. The old man had died in the interim and once we got there...well, let's just say I was slightly embarrassed.

Don't feel bad, I recommended Frannie's be included. That didn't go over well either. I tried it about a week later and it was nothing like the I was used to from there. And nothing changed there. Same owners. Same staff. Just bad beef.

midas wrote:Same owners. Same staff. Just bad beef.

That's virgin beef, IIRC.

[quote]]I visited the Schiller Park location twice right at the end of '06 and the new one in Wicker Park early this year. Between the three visits, I had one that was okay and two that were vastly underwhelming [quote]

so how was the italian beef at the jay's in wicker park?

justjoan wrote:so how was the italian beef at the jay's in wicker park?

That would be one of the vastly underwhelming ones

Though, in their defense, they'd just opened.

i'm so close to the new jay's i might just check it out. i'd never heard of jay's beef till reading this post....

Well I wasn't able to get to Jay's yesterday as promised. But I did get there today. First things first, I was mortified by the prices. Beef, hot W\fries and drink was $8.50. Beef alone is $4.55.

But, as I remembered from long ago, the beef is enormous. You have to pick off some of the meat before you can even attempt to eat it as a sandwich. It's at least double the amount of meat you get at Johnnie's.

More important is the taste. Actually very good. I'm lousy at describing flavors. But it was not bland. So many places,an IB is little more than a roast beef sandwich. Instead, this is what an IB should taste like.

Can't comment much on the HOT. I just order it for the hot oil. Someone else will have to be the expert there.

Fries, while typical frozen, were done very nicely. Cooked crispy but not overdone.

I guess the bottom line is, I liked it. I will be back. Next time, I'll try the combo.

midas wrote:I guess the bottom line is, I liked it. I will be back. Next time, I'll try the combo.

Well, at least I know I'm not nuts!

i checked out the jay's beef in wicker park today. i'm glad i took it to go, as it was so large and messy, it would have been embarrassing to eat in front of others. i have to say, while i havent made the italian beef circuit around chicagoland, because IB doesnt interest me that much, jay's wasn't half bad. it was easily twice the size of johnnies (this is a description only, i actually prefer a smaller sandwich). i love johnnie's; it's the only italian beef i seek out, and my standard to measure others by. the meat was juicy, but could have used more seasoning. an occasional bite tasted more like plain roast beef than it should. my only real complaint is that i asked for sweet and hot(peppers), but got mostly sweet. but, boy, they were nice. an entire half a green pepper and a half of orange pepper, nice and soft and sweet. but...... i like hot peppers, and the only evidence of any were some salty half moons of celery. if i go back, and i might, i'll demand lots of hot peppers. if they don't provide a goodly amount of decent giardiniera (not just celery), i wouldnt go there again. so, all in all, for a neighborhood joint, it isnt a bad addition to the 'hood.

justjoan wrote:...if i go back, and i might, i'll demand lots of hot peppers. ...

Be careful, I got hot only and it nearly blew my head off! I like spicy by the way.