Annual Black Friday Food Crawl - 2013 Edition

I'm pretty sure this was the 5th annual but I'm not entirely sure. In any case, not to dissuade anyone from reading any further but from a food perspective, this year's installment was kind of a bust. Because I really wanted to try Ramen Misoya, we decided to head to the NW suburbs. The pickings are already fairly slim out that way (especially if you're shooting for places you've never been) and a surprising number of places were closed. We ended up stopping at 7 places, 5 of which were open. We still had a great day, which is really the entire point, but I do wish we'd had some better food to reward us for all the driving.

Once again into the breach . . .

First stop: breakfast


L&L Snack Shop - 456 E Northwest Hwy, Des Plaines

I'd read a bit about this place here and there on the board and was looking forward to having some ham off the bone. The folks who run the place could not have been nicer and they were very generous with the ham, even including slabs of it on plates where one wouldn't have expected it. But it was very salty and pretty one-dimensional. The rest of the food was just ok. Across the board, our food was somewhat overcooked . . .


Ham & Cheese Omelet, Hash Browns
Or hash blacks, as it were. This was a generous plate of food but it was all a bit over for my taste. I like less brown in my eggs and less black in my hash browns. They were literally black in some spots. I'm guessing this is just their cooking style, appreciated by a full house of regular customers, but it didn't really work for me.

Stop 2: Ramen


Ramen Misoya - 1584 Busse Rd, Mt Prospect
I'd been excited to try this place ever since I'd read Sula's piece about it a few months back. We arrived at about 11:30 and waited about 20 minutes for a table. I got the sense that it was a little busier than normal due to the fact that it was a day off for many people. We tried 3 types of ramen and enjoyed them all . . .


Kome Ramen Cha Su
Overall, I really enjoyed this bowl the best. Broth, noodles, egg and combination of other ingredients really came together for me.



Tonkotsu Ramen
This was my favorite broth of the 3.



Shiro Ramen
This more subtle broth would have probably been more enjoyable if I'd just had it on its own. But relative to the Kome and Tonkotsu, its nuances were kind of lost.

Unfortunately, they were closed at both Pollo Vagabundo and Tamales Oaxaqueños.

Stop 3: Soondubu (aka more soup)


Chodang Tofu Village - 1719 W Algonquin Rd, Mt Prospect
I'm a huge fan of the soondubu jigae at Cho Jung in Glenview and I'd heard that Chodang in Mount Prospect also turned out a very respectable bowl. This turned out to be true, though, I didn't like it quite as much as Cho Jung's version . . .



Chodang
Always love some good branding.



Banchan
A modest selection of decent items.



Soondubu Jigae
I really liked this bowl. The broth wasn't quite as complex or spicy as it is at Cho Jung but I felt that the seafood was probably a half-notch superior to what's served at Cho Jung. There were a few whole shrimp and oysters, in additional to some other treasures of the sea. Also in the positive column, I didn't even have to ask for a raw egg. It came by default.



Rice
This was probably my favorite aspect of the entire experience. I loved that the rice was served in a dolsot, which created a great crust on the rice. I'd never encountered this before and I thought it was great.



Kalbi
The boyo ordered this. They were tasty but not exactly destination-worthy.

Stop 4: Hot Dogs


Rand Red Hots - 1441 Rand Rd, Des Plaines
There's been some buzz here at LTH about this place and I wanted to check it out. Otoh, my boy Pigmon had warned me that it was nothing to write home about.



Double Dog & Fries
The dogs were rubbery, the fries limp and not a poppyseed to speak of. Other than that, it was great. In all seriousness, we were there at about 4:30 and the place was dead. I'm guessing that during busier times they do a better job of things. But there was nothing about this trip that would have me returning.

Stop 5: Polish Deli


Kalinowski Sausage & Deli - 901 E Rand Rd, Mt Prospect

I'd love to show you some pictures of the inside of the shop but in a somewhat predictable display of Eastern-bloc paranoia, the owner refused my request to snap a few pictures with a gruff "no." I'm not sure what sinister purpose he envisioned for them. In any case, we ordered a few house-made sausages and other house-made items to take home with us. Some were ok, some, not so much.

So that's it for the 2013 edition. Food-wise, Misoysa was the clear highlight of our day but 6 hours together driving around listening to Christmas music was a blast (seriously!). I'm so lucky that even as he's in his mid-teens, my son still looks forward to this annual event. In that respect, I'm truly a lucky guy.

=R=

L&L Snack Shop
456 E Northwest Hwy
Des Plaines, IL 60016
(847) 803-6767

Ramen Misoya
1584 Busse Rd
Mt Prospect, IL 60056
(847) 437-4590

Pollo Vagabundo
101 W Grand Ave
Northlake, IL 60164
(847) 288-0713

Tamales Oaxaqueños
782 W Oakton St
Des Plaines, IL 60018
(847) 357-1644

Chodang Tofu Village
1719 W Algonquin Rd
Mt Prospect, IL 60056
(847) 956-8638

Rand Red Hots
1441 Rand Rd
Des Plaines, IL 60016
(847) 699-0606

Kalinowski Sausage & Deli
901 E Rand Rd
Mt Prospect, IL 60056
(847) 255-5751

Other than in fine dining restaurants with flash on, I dont get the no photos rule some places have either. In Paris we got frowned at in a few bakeries for doing it...for example Laduree. Its basically free advertising, what gives? Are they afraid the photos wont turn out well so it will make them look bad? I think most people recognize a professional photo vs. not and understand that.

bnl wrote:Other than in fine dining restaurants with flash on, I dont get the no photos rule some places have either. In Paris we got frowned at in a few bakeries for doing it...for example Laduree. Its basically free advertising, what gives? Are they afraid the photos wont turn out well so it will make them look bad? I think most people recognize a professional photo vs. not and understand that.

Last spring, I took a picture OUTSIDE the Shopsin's in Brooklyn, and one of the guys from the kitchen came out, took off his apron (!), and approaches me as though he's squaring off, shouting "It's very rude to take someone's picture without their permission," to which I said, "It wasn't a picture of you; you weren't even in the frame" and walked away... for I am both a pacifist and disinclined to get my ass-kicked over a photo.

For <$3 the lengua gordita, with thick cut pieces of lengua, at Mexico restaurant in downtown Des Plaines would have been a worthy stop.

Sweet Willie wrote:For <$3 the lengua gordita, with thick cut pieces of lengua, at Mexico restaurant in downtown Des Plaines would have been a worthy stop.

Thanks. It's now on my list.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Stop 5: Polish Deli
Kalinowski Sausage & Deli - 901 E Rand Rd, Mt Prospect

I'd love to show you some pictures of the inside of the shop but in a somewhat predictable display of Eastern-bloc paranoia, the owner refused my request to snap a few pictures with a gruff "no." I'm not sure what sinister purpose he envisioned for them.

Undocumented workers?

Ah Yes, one of my Holiday traditions, Ronnie's Annual Black Friday Food Crawl! Great stuff and as always astute observations.

As to Kalinowski, it was sold a couple of years ago by the original family operating it for years. Before moving to Mount Prospect, maybe 10 years ago (or more), they were on Milwaukee in Gladstone Park a long time and further east on Milwaukee before that. I know old time regulars, including much of my extended family, who no longer shop there due to perceived drop-offs in quality and service. I occasionally stop in for their house made Kiszka and the fresh Polish Sausage, which does great on the WSM. As to not allowing photography, I don't think it has anything to do with undocumented workers. Just a continuation of Eastern European brusqueness-rudeness that plagues some of their ventures. The Shop & Save grocery chain another example.

T Comp wrote:As to not allowing photography, I don't think it has anything to do with undocumented workers. Just a continuation of Eastern European brusqueness-rudeness that plagues some of their ventures. The Shop & Save grocery chain another example.

Yeah, I think so. Being an Eastern-European mutt myself, I'm particularly sensitive to it. I grew up with it all around me.

And thanks, for the kind comments.

=R=

Give Rand Red Hots another chance. I don't know that they quite hit GNR-level quality, but the price can't be beat. Very good fries, bunch tamales are a delight, and unlike Gene & Jude's you can get a shake.

My Polish neighbors turned me on to Kalinowskis at a NYE party a few years ago when they served lazanki from there. It was outrageously delicious. I now go to Kalinowskis solely for their lazanki. Noodles, sauerkraut and smoked butt never tasted so good.