Liver Lovers, where do you go for it?

LTH,

Had the Liver and Onions last night at the Chicago branch of Joe's Stone Crab. The liver was tasty enough, but I had to scrape off of it about 3/4 cup of deeply caramelized very sweet onions. Came with 3 strips of standard issue apple smoked bacon, which were cold and tough. $18.00 which might be the lowest priced main dish on the menu. Not exactly a disappointment, since the liver itself was enjoyable, but it could have been a better, more balanced dish.

Boy, do I miss Luby's Cafeterias.

Ohio House regularly has it on the specials menu. I think it is $6.50 and comes with their very good homemade soup

Erie Cafe does a good job with it.

This thread had much discussion on liver:

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=31568&hilit=liver

I'm not a liver eater but some friends of mine think Kiki's Bistro does a pretty good job. They used to get their liver fix at MK, but a quick look at the menu showed that it is no longer listed.

Kiki's Bistro
900 N. Franklin
Chicago, IL 60610
312 335 5454
http://www.kikisbistro.com/

Brasserie Jo had a very tasty version.

kafein wrote:Ohio House regularly has it on the specials menu. I think it is $6.50 and comes with their very good homemade soup

Only place cheaper might be Ramova Grill at $5.35...though, I believe that's a la carte.

i've had it on special at smak tak a few times and found it to be very tasty, tender with that slight iron tinge, no sense that you're chewing something braised with rusty nails.

deesher wrote:I'm not a liver eater but some friends of mine think Kiki's Bistro does a pretty good job. They used to get their liver fix at MK, but a quick look at the menu showed that it is no longer listed.

Kiki's Bistro
900 N. Franklin
Chicago, IL 60610
312 335 5454
http://www.kikisbistro.com/

I had Kiki's version a few years ago. A bitter over reduced demi glace prevented me from enjoying the dish at all.

I was out and about in Oak Park today and stopped into Mickey's for a Big Mickey and I noticed they have a liver dinner for $6.50.
Now I admit I've never had beef liver before so I won't be the best judge, and frankly Mickey's ain't the kind of place a first experience with liver is apt to go well, but for $6.50 I'm willing to take one for the team.
Give me your knowledge. Are onions and bacon critical components? Should I ask if it's fresh vs frozen? Am I looking for rare/medium/well done?
Before I gird my loins and undertake this odyssey what do I need to know?

I'd go crazy and go to Golden Steer and shell out the $13 for a good representation of the genre. If I were you.

Oh yeah, Golden Steer! Get the Grecian style liver with onions and bacon. Their hash browns go great with it. Comes with soup and salad. I love the steaks so much, I forgot about that delish liver dish.

zoid wrote:I was out and about in Oak Park today and stopped into Mickey's for a Big Mickey and I noticed they have a liver dinner for Give me your knowledge. Are onions and bacon critical components? Should I ask if it's fresh vs frozen? Am I looking for rare/medium/well done?

Onions and bacon critical??? - Bacon is desirable, in my opinion, but not critical. For me, there has to be some type of onion. Extra points for both, but going off topic...what ever happened to crisp bacon?

Fresh vs. frozen??? - most liver in restaurant kitchens is going to be frozen, and some is pretty good. The highest end places will have fresh calfs liver if they have liver at all. I've used a frozen portion control veal liver from Provimi that is of excellent quality. Calfs liver is very much preferable to beef, which is stronger in taste.

R-M-W??? - Most low-middle end liver will be served M+ if not well. Again, only in the highest end places will the liver be thick enough to actually get MR, which happens to be the way that I prefer it. Brasserie Jo had a beautiful calfs liver dish not only with bacon and onions, but with wonderful mashed potatoes. It was thickly sliced and they could actually serve it MR on request.

Thanks Evil Ronnie! Good info.

Come on teatpuller, play along man
The whole point here is to be adventurous and see what the Mickey's liver is like, not just "throw money" at the problem.
This is a really bad idea isn't it.

Erwin's has it on the menu, and I had a sampling tonight. Served rare (well, more like medium rare, but the cut had varying thicknesses, so I guess it would have been perilous to go for truly rare throughout) with a nice slightly crisped surface, over cubed potatoes and turnips in a creamy oniony sauce with a hint of cheese to it. Bacon was extra so I'm assuming it wasn't essential to the presentation. Anyway, it was pretty good even without the bacon, and certainly worth a try if you're a liver fan. But if it turns out to be a disappointment, you can always find solace in the sour-cherry pie for dessert.

Erwin Cafe
2925 North Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 528-7200
erwincafe@sbcglobal.net

Picked up a two inch slice of Paulina's excellent, smoky, creamy, veal liverwurst yesterday. Spread on some crusty bread with onions, too good.

Habibi,

I'm a long time fan of Paulina Market liverwursts, both the calves liver (smooth textured) and the one they call Hildenshimmer (coarse texture, and smoked). Oddly, there is something about the texture of their goose liverwurst that I don't love.

I've posted this recommendation on an LTH DC dining thread before, but after my sainted (and now departed) mom, the best calves liver on the planet (IMO) is prepared in DC at the Old Ebbitt Grill:

http://www.ebbitt.com/

Served grilled, medium rare, with gently sauteed onions and thick cut slab bacon strips, it is a liver lover's dream.

Don't get to DC often, but when I do, it's off the plane at DCA, on to the Metro, dump the bag at a hotel and proceed to 15th and G Street, across from the Treasury Department, for a fine lunch (only ~$15, a block from the White House).

zoid wrote:I was out and about in Oak Park today and stopped into Mickey's for a Big Mickey and I noticed they have a liver dinner for $6.50.
Now I admit I've never had beef liver before so I won't be the best judge, and frankly Mickey's ain't the kind of place a first experience with liver is apt to go well, but for $6.50 I'm willing to take one for the team.
Give me your knowledge. Are onions and bacon critical components? Should I ask if it's fresh vs frozen? Am I looking for rare/medium/well done?
Before I gird my loins and undertake this odyssey what do I need to know?

UPDATE - my daughter had a late day at OPRF this Wednesday so when I picked her up at 7:30 she was starving. "Big Mickey?" says I, "YES!" she replies, so off to Mickey's we go.

Just as I'm about to order I see from the corner of my eye the sign for the liver special. I had to jump in and try it.

As I said above I've never had beef liver so this was a small bit of adventure for me. The owner assured me it was in fact calves liver (that part I believe), and that it was fresh - not frozen (not sure about that part). What I got was a generous portion of 4 somewhat thin slices, at least 10 ounces. It came with a good load of nicely grilled onions but sadly no bacon. It came out quickly but the slices were thin so it could very well have been frozen.

The first piece was very beefy with just a bit of chew. I enjoyed it very much and it went well with the onions, fries, coleslaw, and garlic bread it came with. The second piece was a little weird for me. It had a consistency like meat toothpaste with a bit of gamey aftertaste. It wasn't bad but I suspect this piece was overcooked.

I finished about 2/3 of the meal and overall I was happily surprised to find I like calves liver and would order it again – who knew?! For $6.50 I'd call it a good deal.

Meeting some friends for a birthday dinner @ RL the other nite, I had one of the best liver and onion preparations ever. I wasn't expecting it to be as delicious as it was and wanted to share the intel. Lightly sauced w/a coffe demi glace- it was wonderful. The benchmark of the dish for me was the one we served @ East Bank Club circa 85. That was the Provemi cryrovac that Evil mentioned done w/caramelized onions, smoked bacon and a hit of demi. I've been searching for this quality and simple taste profile ever since and found it Sun pm @ RL to my surprise. Even better for that matter. The sweetness of the onions paired w/the smokyness of the bacon against the mild mineralality of the MR liver. Couldn't really decern the coffee but for lovers of this dish, a trip is in order. The service was also excellent as was the flatbread cracker and pumpernickle raisin bread in the bread basket. I went in as a duty for a friend, but love it when my expectations are exceeded.

Jimmy's Charhouse in Elgin has solid comfort food, including a nice rendition of liver and onions.

Sadly, this is more retrospective than current. No idea where to get it nowadays.
I used to get it, back in the 70s, at Sam & Hy's in Skokie every time I went from NU to the airport to go home on breaks. With scrambled eggs, onions and hash browns.

High end versions I enjoyed as late as the 80s were at Avanzare (fegato alla Veneziana), and an excellent version with a port or other sweet reduction at one of the better restaurants that occupied the high-end spot in Plaza del Lago. (Not related to Convito. They had a fire, I believe and never returned.)

During my brief tenure on the line at Benche's Grill in the former Sears Tower we did a tasty prep.: veal liver scalopini, flour dredged, briefly browned, then splashed with a white wine-sage-garlic reduction. Took 3 minutes to do and delicious. A favorite of Larry Levy's, we were told.

Also, I believe I had some at Kiki's, perhaps as part of a mixed grill sort of plate, but I'm not certain.

I do believe that Nookie's used to do the breakfast version. Might be worth checking to see if they still do.

just to derail the topic a little bit- i noticed liver pudding as a small plate dish (under' charcuterie'), at Big Jones yesterday. didn't try it, as the boardinghouse lunch was quite filling enough. has anyone had it? or anything like it? i'm intrigued..... i love liver.

Boy, do I miss Luby's Cafeterias.

Oh the memories growing up in Texas. I used to love the liver and grilled onions there as a kid.

How about good liver dishes in the naperville area! THANKS ALL

Hi View Restaurant on St Charles Road @ Ardmore Road in Villa Park has an excellent calves liver dinner. Around $9.50 per person. Comes with bacon, onions mashed potatoes w/ gravy ( if you wish ) and a vegetable of the day. Always very tasty & tender. Portions are too large to finish. I usually order it once every 6 weeks or so. Try it, you'll like it !

Wow. I just assumed someone would chime in and mention Gene & Georgetti here. Even if you otherwise hate the place, any liver lover should be more than happy with the G&G offering. At G&G I find the lamb and veal (including calves liver) to stand out. I think they used to use Chiapetti, a great local supplier of midwestern lamb and veal that tastes like something (in contrast to the sometimes insipid NZ and CO lamb, for example). Not sure about these days. Long ago some LTHers had an epic lunch with the late, great Hungry Rabbi in the G&G bar. Rebbe's brother, a gourmond in his own right, flew in from Paris, a place that knows its liver. He declared it one of his favorite liver meals ever. Your milage may vary, but the liver at G&G is taken seriously.

10 years ago this April, in fact. Might be time to get the boys back together......

viewtopic.php?t=743& (scroll down for a picture of the very liver being discussed).

I don't get why anyone would hate G&G. Am I missing something?

I'm with you. Some do, though.

I don't get why anyone would hate G&G. Am I missing something?

Speaking for the current querant Local597, Gene & Georgetti isn't anywhere near Naperville.