Must-Have Mussels

Where do you like for mussels? I've enjoyed them at Hopleaf, Kuma's and Glenn's Diner in the past couple of years (of the three, my favorite was Glenn's for plumpness, freshness, broth, and plain old musselly goodness), and am curious if there are other favorite mussel haunts.

I am addicted to the mussels at Balleydoyle's Irish pub in Doners Grove. Their PEI mussels are extremely large and plump every time I have them. The broth is wonderful, made with beer, cream,garlic and lightly fried leeks along with some other spices or flavors thar I am trying to identify. I have brought many a friend that do not like mussels and they have left a convert.

Ballydoyle Irish Pub
5157 Main St
Downers Grove, IL 60515
630-969-0600
www.ballydoylepub.com

Pass! Bad mussels are the number one cause of food poisoning, or severe gastronomic distress according to Anthony Bourdain in his book Kitchen Confidential. After reading the reasons why, it makes total sense, and I will never take the chance with my health ordering them. These things often sit stewing in their own waste and bacteria. Let's face it folks, Chicago is many miles and days away from the sea, and these things are usually not very fresh, and quite often mishandled. Not worth the risk to me, way too many other things I'd order first, but hey, you go ahead...

Bourdain is a weenie. I'd rather have live mussels that travel from Canada and the US coast than dead fish that travels here from Europe and Asia. But I'll eat either. I agree with Bourdain this far: know your restaurant and look out for closed or broken shells.

We really enjoyed the mussels we had at Sweets & Savories in a rich cream sauce.

seems lately that spinach, jalepenos and peanut butter are the number one causes of food poisoning

I agree with Mhays, know your restaurant and what you are eating. If the mussels don't look good don't eat them and let the restaurant know. If living in Chicago were to determine whether we ate seafood or not due to closeness of the water it came from, we would sure miss out on a lot of great food!

Mhays wrote:Bourdain is a weenie.

ROTFL! Truer words were ne'er spake.

I had some of the better mussels I've had in a long while at Publican a few days ago.

My preference is to have them swimming (OK – not literally) in a garlicky, spicy red sauce with a good, crusty bread to soak up the gravy.

Of course I’d eat almost anything that way.

Try them at:

Via Veneto – They do so many seafood dishes so well.
www.viavenetochicago.com
6340 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 267-0888

Gruppo di Amici – Good wood-fired pizza, also
www.gruppodiamici.com
1508 W Jarvis Ave
Chicago, IL 60626
(773) 508-5565

Francesca’s – Many locations; Bryn Mawr does a nice job with mussels
1039 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.
Chicago, IL 60660
773-506-9261

Here's another vote for the Publican's mussels. Though my search hasn't been exhaustive, they are my favorite I've had in Chicago. The Publican serves their mussels in a geuze broth, which is, so far, my favorite use for that particular beverage.

Where not to have them? Wildfire. Wood oven roasting left them tasting like burnt rubber and NO BROTH?

redhdbest wrote:seems lately that spinach, jalepenos and peanut butter are the number one causes of food poisoning

Add tomatoes to that list.

The best mussels in Chicago are at The Gage! The curried broth made me want to lick the bowl.

Much as I love Bourdain, he is flat out wrong about mussels. How many times have you had a bad oyster compared to a bad mussel? And you usually eat one raw, the other cooked.

Fiorentino's has some large, succulent beauties.

Fiorentino's Cucina Italiana
2901 N Ashland Ave, Chicago
(773) 244-3026

mussels are quite possibly the easiest meal to make at home. so that is where i eat them.

I still think the best place in the city for mussels is Bruna's Ristorante in the city-christened 'Heart of Italy' on South Oakley Ave.

Bruna's has been in this location since 1933. I've been a patron since 1979, and while the price of the mussels marinara has risen, the quality has stayed the same. Plump, not-too-big mussels, opened just enough & bathing in a tomato-based broth/gravy redolant of Italian parsley and a little cayenne.

When they were young, my daughters would use the mussel shells as their 'spoon' to scoop up the gravy like soup. They still haven't learned any better, and it's traditionally their go-to place in the city when home from college.

I know LTH'ers debate the worth of some of Bruna's other entrees, but this is one that always stands out.


Bruna's Ristorante
2424 S. Oakley Ave.
Chicago, IL
(773) 254-5550

P.S. To Jayz's flippant comment on tomatoes in this thread, the FDA & CDC ultimately determined that it was jalapeno & serrano peppers, not tomatoes, that were the cause of the salmonella outbreak during the scare last summer. Millions of dollars were lost by tomato growers & handlers during that time.

sandman wrote:Pass! Bad mussels are the number one cause of food poisoning, or severe gastronomic distress according to Anthony Bourdain in his book Kitchen Confidential. After reading the reasons why, it makes total sense, and I will never take the chance with my health ordering them. These things often sit stewing in their own waste and bacteria. Let's face it folks, Chicago is many miles and days away from the sea, and these things are usually not very fresh, and quite often mishandled. Not worth the risk to me, way too many other things I'd order first, but hey, you go ahead...

Bourdain is simply wrong about this- there are plenty of places to go eat good mussels. I wouldn't look to Bourdain as an expert on most anything, though he is very entertaining.

I think there is actually an old thread on this topic, that I remember posting about my favorite place:
Bella Note
www.bellanottechicago.com

1374 W Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 60642
(312) 733-5136
I like them in white wine sauce, dipped with the delicious bread. I prefer these by far to West Town Tavern

I actually had some mussels at TiZi Melloul, these were wood fired and had a delicious seasoning on the outside that we just used to dip the mussel in, besides the butter. Really tasty, but wood fired are a whole different taste than steamed ones.

redhdbest wrote:I am addicted to the mussels at Balleydoyle's Irish pub in Doners Grove. Their PEI mussels are extremely large and plump every time I have them. The broth is wonderful, made with beer, cream,garlic and lightly fried leeks along with some other spices or flavors thar I am trying to identify. I have brought many a friend that do not like mussels and they have left a convert.

Ballydoyle Irish Pub
5157 Main St
Downers Grove, IL 60515
630-969-0600
http://www.ballydoylepub.com

are Ballydoyle's mussels better than their corned beef(which is dreadfull)? If they are I may have to give them a shot.

nicinchic wrote:I actually had some mussels at TiZi Melloul, these were wood fired and had a delicious seasoning on the outside that we just used to dip the mussel in, besides the butter. Really tasty, but wood fired are a whole different taste than steamed ones.

Seconded! They do these harissa-spiced and they are fab!

I LOVE the mussels at Kinzie Chop House (Wells and Kinzie), they are the biggest, juiciest mussels I've ever eaten!

If making them at home, which I often do, I recommend The Fish Guy on Elston. They are great about customer service and they have good mussels at about $7 a pound.

Where not to eat them: Chief O'Neill's. Yipes, they taste like they've been in a freezer for waaay too long.

Mhays wrote:Bourdain is a weenie.

Hah! He is? He seems to think that he's absolutely cool, sexy and hip, in a late 1970's NYC- Ramones-punk-heroin-underground-music-counterculture-chain-smoking kinda' way. He's seen it all and done it all in life, can't you tell?

Seriously, he based his warning and advice on mussells based on his experiences as a cook in Princetown, RI.
I was revolted and yet convinced by the practical biological explanation...

I eat poop chute for lunch.

OK, tripas are clean and not from warthogs, and deep-fried, but it's still poop chute, and I don't whine about it.

I've always had really good mussels at Francesca's Intimo in Lake Forest. I tried them at Francesca's Forno recently though and they weren't as good so I'm not sure if it was they day or the location.

They're also really good at Cafe Iberico!

Best I have had were in Brugge, Belgium...bit of a trip though...

Nothing better than a large bucket of mussels and some local brewed belgium beer...

-I will re-echo Publican's mussels.
-If you do them at home-try using the ingredients for Cajun style bbq shrimp as the steaming liquid and serve over pasta. (I came up with this some years ago doing a tasting for R. Melman.-it was the simplest dish by far, and the only one he was really excited about.)
-Bourdain is at once both a weenie and a hotdog.

Mhays wrote:I eat ...

Moderators? I don't even know if the poster is a moderator, but I still have to ask, isn't there a rule against crude language like this? If not, can I propose that one be considered?

Moderators? I don't even know if the poster is a moderator, but I still have to ask, isn't there a rule against crude language like this? If not, can I propose that one be considered?

oh please..... lighten up.

It's worth noting that Bourdain did eat warthog anus in one show.

AKA...

Sorry, Katie, didn't mean to offend - the words are Bourdain's, in reference to the warthog-eating episode. I hope it is implied that I was referring to offal, in perhaps more colorful language than is usually used here. If it's genuinely offensive to you, PM me and I will remove it.

FWIW - not a moderator, just a bigmouth. Moderators' screen names show up in green.

Meanwhile, back to the show...

I had great mussles last night at Bistro Margot. Garlicky, brothy, and sitting on slices of French bread which has sopped up juice and were a tasty finish to the bowl. They're an appetizer and can be had as part of the Wednesday prix fixe menu...which is a real deal. (any ap or salad/soup plus any entree plus any dessert for under 30 bucks)

Bistro Margot
1437 N. Wells
Chicago