Chicago vs San francisco (kinda long)

hi, i'm in town from san francisco to do some eatin until sunday. cool forum you guys got here. it took me a coupla days to figure out that the serious eaters in chicago are here, and not on the chowhound board.

anyhow, i was hoping you guys could help point me in the right direction. i've squandered 3 days already, so i only have until sunday morning to get down to business before i head back.

there's three areas i'm trying to focus on: 1) chicago specialties; 2) "ethnic" food that's done better here than back home in SF (or LA where i visit pretty often); 3) ingredients from delis/markets. i'm down to trade some tips about west coast eats too

1) chicago specialties
i want to get the everyday stuff that's done right only in chicago: italian beef, pizza, hot dog, sausage, polish, bbq (kicks sf bay area's butt hands down), sandwich, steak.

beefs - so far i've only tried three (hot and dipped): al's on taylor, mr beefs on orleans, and patio on broadway (? near granville). al's was good to my inexperienced taste buds, the other 2 were dissapointing.
beef hit list: johnie's (elmwood park), chickie's (s pulaski), pop's (s kedzie), also heard mention of freddy's, richie's, donald's, calabria, and ricobene. are these the best places i should be checking out?

bbq - only had the ribs and the bbq burger at ribs n bibs (s dorchester). to you natives it's prolly just ok, but to me it nonchalantly blew out all the sf bay area "bbq" spots i've ever been to, and for cheaper. i haven't done the homework yet, are there some good spots i should go to? or some threads i should be reading?

hot dog - i've only had a couple dogs: weiner circle (near diversey), and patio (n broadway?). the char dog from weiner circle was pretty good to me, i thought the fries were pretty good too. the dog at patio was just enhh. again, i have'nt done my hotdog homework. any suggestions on places or threads?

pizza - just had the stuffed pie at giordano's (n sheridan) w/ spinach n mushroom. it was pretty good but didn't knock me out. i'm thinking about checking out pequod's. any places that stand out, or are all around the same level as giordano's? if they're pretty similar, i may shelve the pizza quest.

other - i went to that sandwich place potbellie's, i know it's a chain and all but it was not bad. is harold's chicken chain worth trying? are there any can't miss steak spots that age the beef (i also have last week's TimeOut with the steaks)

2) "ethnic" food that's better than SF/LA
mexican, korean, greek, mediterranean, eastern european?, indian?, thai?, others
please help me decide.
is chicago korean food better than los angeles korean food (bbq, tofu, panchan)?
where's the real deal greek eating at?
is there some good polish, russian, jewish, and/or eastern european communities that are strong and have restaurant presence?
i'm guessing the thai food may not be as strong here as in sf or la, but let me know if i'm wrong.
how does chicago's indian food compare to la's artesia suburb or to ny's jackson heights area in queens? if this stuff is better here, where are the better spots?

Mexican food!!! now this has got to be a kick butt food category here! i've heard that the major regions represented in the mexican community in chicago are: Michoacan, San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas. Are there down home, authentic spots that do outstanding regional dishes? Maybe mole or birria from zacatecas or something? Actually if there are some excellent moles around please let me know where to find them!

I'm not necessarily looking for fine-dining experiences where white chefs are making "Mexican-inspired" cuisine for white patrons for 5 or 10 times the price of a real place - there's plenty of that type of stuff back home. (it's all good, i own some books from bayless too, haha) i'm hoping to eat at some real deal places,

do taquerias in chicago differ in approach to the food much from taquerias in san francisco or los angeles, or maybe surpass west coast taquerias in taste/quality? if so, would pilsen be the place to check out for taquerias?

3) ingredients
what are the best giardineras to get individually? would i walk up to a beef stand and ask for it to go, or buy it from an italian deli, or just get a jar somewhere?
where's the best prepared (with the lard mixed in) masa for tamales?
are there places to buy thai and southeast asian cooking ingredients? namely: bai makrut (aka kaffir lime leaf), makrut (aka kaffir lime), bai dteuy (aka pandan leaf), bai horapha (aka thai horapha basil leaf) mae ploy or other brand of thai green curry paste?

thanks in advance for your help!

bbq - only had the ribs and the bbq burger at ribs n bibs (s dorchester). to you natives it's prolly just ok, but to me it nonchalantly blew out all the sf bay area "bbq" spots i've ever been to, and for cheaper. i haven't done the homework yet, are there some good spots i should go to? or some threads i should be reading?

oh man one of my first posts here was about ribs and bibs. I was quickly educated. I'll leave the Honey-1 salesmanship up to the pros though.

i would also suggest honey 1, for true smoked ribs & tips. robert sr. mans the smoker & it's a family run operation. no frills, little sides, but the wings & ribs are killer....and i don't even like wings!

dogs: gotta hit hot doug's....you have time. go for a lunch, only open till 4 pm & saturdays will have a line out the door & down the block. a true chicago gem!
http://www.hotdougs.com/

just to name a few specials at doug's this week:

The Game of the Week
White Wine (Easter Bunny) Rabbit Sausage with Sauce Moutarde and Tilsiter Cheese

The Norm Crosby (Today's Celebrity Sausage)
Atomic Spicy Pork Sausage with Chipotle Dijonnaise and Pepper-Jack Cheese

Other Specials
Calvados-Infused Smoked Duck Sausage with Apple Mustard, White Truffle Cheese and Foie Gras "Butter"

White Wine and Jalapeno Rattlesnake Sausage with Passion Fruit Mustard Cream and Stilton-Apricot Cheese

Don't think about going to Pequod's, just go. Although I like Giordano's and Lou's stuffed, Pequod's is in another league. I believe the style is called pan and the edge caramelizes and you can't get anything remotely close to it here in SF. I always get sausage. It's outstanding.

If you're still around Sunday morning, RUN, DON"T WALK to the Maxwell St. Market (not on Maxwell St. - that's a long story) for the best Mexican food at little street stalls. Check it out here:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=1394

Or here:

http://michaelgebert.com/gorilla/

or many other places on LTH

Man, it sounds like you are here for the food. Here are some things I think are not to be missed.
I agree with the other posts about Hot Dougs (wait until Friday and have the duck fat fries.)This place is worth the trip, but only takes cash.
I also agree about Honey 1. Not so much on the decor, but the ribs are great.
I also think it is worth the drive for Johnny's beef in Elmwood park. This was the first Italian beef I ever got excited about. Also the Italian ice is great. Eat it there, does not travel well.
For sandwiches try Bari Foods- small Italian grocery at 1120 W Grand. I love the fresh ingredients.
For Korean I love Jin Ju 5203 N. Clark St.. Great food and great martinis, but I am not sure how authentic.
For Mexican I suggest Chavas tacos on Grand at Western. The best beef nachos and green salsa I have found here.
Find Greek in Greektown (Madison and Halsted).
For Thai ingredients try Thai Grocery in Little Vietnam (argyle and Broadway) I used to live near here and they always had great lemon grass. Also there is great pho all around there.
For great authentic Thai try TAC Quick Thai Kitchen 3930 N. Sheridan Rd.. I f you love Thai and spicy ask for Thai menu.
I hope this helps.

The Indian food here is good. Our stretch of Devon is comparable to Jackson Heights, imo, and much better than Manhattan's Curry Row.

Here's a thread to get you started.

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... dian+devon

The Korean food in Chicago, on the other hand, is quite weak. LA easily has the best Korean food in the country. There's nothing here that you couldn't find done ten times better in LA.

I have my other "ethnic" favorites, but no real basis for comparison.

Yes
Yes
and
Yes

instead of posting the myriad requisite threads

a suggestion:

read thru the main page area denoted:

"LTHforum Great Neighborhood Restaurant Awards"

bon appetit

Hi Ken,

I admire your gastronomic goals for your trip! For the regional Mexican part, you might find the following thread with responses to another San Franciscan's query useful. A couple of the places mentioned there have since closed, but I just went back and edited my posts in the thread to reflect that.

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5240

have fun,
Amata

p.s. if you go to Bari Foods for a sandwich you could get some giardinera there -- it's an Italian grocery store. Here's a post by Antonius about it:

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=2073

1) chicago specialties; 2) "ethnic" food that's done better here than back home in SF (or LA where i visit pretty often); 3) ingredients from delis/markets.

Given your limited time here, I would focus on neighborhoods where you can get a lot of eating and buying done in a dense neighborhood. E.g., Mexican-Pilsen; Southeast Asian (Viet, Thai, Cambodian)-Argyle; Indian/Pakistani(plus strong pockets of non-Mexican Latin American and Russian/Jewish)-Devon; BBQ, Soul, Caribbean-75th St./79th; Lawrence Ave. in Albany Park for Middle Eastern, Balkan, Mexican, Korean, Central American, etc.; plus some destination stops, such as (e.g.) Johnnie's, Honey1, Hot Doug's, Bari/D'Amato's; Las Islas Marias' original location. And Maxwell St.

Korean here is not up to LA, but we have live coals, which makes a difference. Thai is possibly better than SF, not as compact or diverse as LA, but very good at the top spots documented by Erik here.

Polish is strong but underloved. Same for Puerto Rican (Chicago is the only major city with large Caribbean hispanic *and* Mexican/Central Am. populations). A jaunt down Division from Ashland to Kedzie with some movement up Western or Milwaukee here and there can cover lots of bases, starting with what might be considered "Chicago style" tacos at La Pasadita; to Polish deli/cafeteria (Andy's), diner (Podhalanka), and phenomenal dive (Andrezj Grill) -- even better Polish is to be had in less central neighborhoods, but I'm working on a theme--; to all of the hipster and/or vagrant bars and clubs on Division; to the Puerto Rican places in Humboldt Park, including Papa's Cache Sabroso for a top Chicago creation, the jibarito sandwich. Or check out the Puerto Rican pork trucks in the park itself.

For Mexican, you'll enjoy all of the one-dish specialist places. Look up "carne en su jugo," birria, and, especially, carnitas. The carnitas places in Pilsen are tremendous. La Oaxaquena is a neighborhood spot not far from Hot Doug's, with very good food, including moles.

As for places that scream Chicago that are not expense account, fine or avant garde dining, check out the much-loved Sabatino's, which is a time warp Italian with good food.

For somewhat more obscure eats, check out the new wave of Balkan places. Gary had a nice cevapcici post not too long ago.

Pilsen is loaded with masa. Indeed, every Mexican grocery store in the city has fresh local masa in the refrigerator, with or without lard. It doesn't last too long, though.

PS, my short list of markets. By no means exclusive:

Polish-Andy's (on Division)

German (and general meat market)-Paulina

Mexican-El Guero in Pilsen, Lindo Michoacan Albany Park (but almost too numerous to discuss coherently, as is true for Polish also)

Cuban/South/Central American- La Unica (on Devon, with a great cafeteria)

SE Asian-Thai Grocery, Broadway Supermarket (Argyle)

Italian-Bari, Graziano, Riviera, Caputo's (first 2 close to the Loop, last two on Harlem on west edge of the city, near Johhnie's).

Balkan-Devon Market

Indian/Pakistani- Patel Bros. and many others on Devon

Any part of a pig-Peoria Packing

South American meats-El Mercado (next door to a good Argentine BYOB steak place, Tango Sur)

Dessert- BomBon (Pilsen French-Mexican bakery)

After-Dinner drinks- Matchbox, Delilah's (ok, these are bars, but they fit here)

Cigars-Ivan Ries -- 100+ years in the same place; Jack Schwartz, only dates to the 30's, but very good.

Chicago has had a lot of immigration from Eastern Europe in the last 20 years or so. The old Polish community along Milwaukee Avenue (aka Polish Broadway) has been rejuvenated, unlike the largely vestigial communities of Germans along Lincoln Avenue and Swedes along Clark Street. Judging from some CH posts in the last year or so, you will find Chicago to be vastly better for Polish food than anywhere in California.

Podhalanka is a remnant near Milwaukee and Division, an area now quite yuppified, which received an LTH GNR award. Farther north on Milwaukee, say 2900 to 3400 north, is the heart of today's Polish shopping community. Note that there are a lot of good places scattered around the Northwest Side and along Archer Avenue in the Southwest Side, but this area has a real concentration that is quite walkable. For lunch in that stretch I would recommend Angelica's instead of the The Red Apple, a buffet often mentioned on CH. Language can be a barrier in some establishments staffed largely by recent immigrants.

Southeastern Europeans haven't produced as strong restaurants in Chicago. Bulgarians in particular seem to have trouble producing food businesses that stay in business. Bosnian places, such as Ilidzanka, can be quite decent but tend toward small and maybe not too welcoming of outsiders. There has been a thread on Romanian restaurants if you are interested in pursuing that line.

Podhalanka
1549 W Division
Chicago
773-486-6655

Angelica's Restaurant
3244 N. Milwaukee Ave.
773-736-1186

Obviously, it goes without saying that if you pop the words of your questions into the LTH Search Engine, you will find tons of ideas.

That said, you can do no worse than peruse the Great Neighborhood Restaurants sub-forum. The thing about this list is, IMHO, not all of the places are great great in any sense of foodie-ness, but the places are, for a variety of reasons, special to the posters on this board.

OK, just to innudate you with more choices, here are some of my favorites in catagories you seem to be searching:

If you are schlepping out to Johnnies, take the effort to also visit Gene and Judes, about 2 miles northwest. Minimalist that it is, it is still the best take (I know) of a hot dog. Period.

As noted, there are lots of great Polish eateries in Chicago. Both from experience (and mostly) because they are close to me, I frequent the places on Chicago's NW side. Zascianek makes outstanding homemade dumplings and pierogis--as JeffB has pointed out, these really are the best pastas in the city. I love the soups at Halina, and the buffet at Grota can be surprisingly good unless you catch the occasional off night. For pastries, Delightful Pastries (with the benefit of being across the street of Halina) is damn delightful. There are just tons of great Polish markets around, lately I'm a bit partial to Avenues on Belmont near Oak Park Avenue because it is both big and artisinal. Iit's worth going just for the turkey, but the display of six or seven kinds of headcheese, including one with just ears and one with just tongue is enticing in its own way.

No one but me seems to talk much about the Czech place, Operetta, but the food (appears to be) authentic, the imported beer flows smooth and cheap, and with the change in laws, it is a less cloudy place as well.

I've recently tried some of its competition, but I am still most impressed, for this kinda food on Devon, with Sabri Nehari. Get the complex namesake dish and some naan at a minimum, but there is lots of other good stuff to order.

Italian stores, I like, above all else, Freddy's in Cicero. No place tries harder, makes more stuff in house on a daily basis than this gem. Their breads are second in the city only to the fancy gourmet store Fox and Obel; their ice creams and italian ices are top tier as well. Second place, is Joseph's WAY on the NW edge of the city on Irving Park. Their blob pizza is an un-sung hero in the pizza wars, and there is always something unique in the display cases like sea urchins.

I trust you will report back.

you guys are awesome! thanks and keep em coming please. at the moment i'm trying to workout logistics for tomorrow's eatings.

update: got to swing by argyle b/w broadway and sheridan today. i scoped the markets for produce and was impressed. the best and best-valued one seemed to be viet hoa on a soutwest corner on argyle. i spotted maeploy and maesri curry paste lines, green eggplant in really good shape, bai horapha in very good shape, bai makrut in pretty decent shape, bai dteuy (frozen), and ... holy basil, batman. all said i think the SE Asian produce is better here than in sf bay area, but prolly not quite as good as la's SEA produce. much props to chicago. it's made me revealuate my assumption about the thai restaurants here. i'm not sure i'll get to it this trip, but i'm now interested in trying the thai food here ... if can find an issan regional specialist i'd be perdy happy.

i stopped into pho 888 on argyle and tried 2 things: banh cuon with cha lua; and bun thit nuong cha gio. the banh cuon was not bad, not great but quite passable. the bun itself was pretty dang good, toothy springiness but pleasantly tender - it seemed fresh (as opposed to the reconstituted type), the cha gio part was ok, the thit nuong was edible. though not anything earthshaking, it was some nice comfort food. also on the wall noticed a sign for com ga hai nam (or hoi naam gai faan - for the more cantonesically inclined).

again, much thanks and please keep em coming. i'll update for sure.

"Taco Y Salsa" on the corner of Sacramento and Diversey has amazing 'non-American' tacos and burritos. The tacos are simply tender beef, onion, green salsa and cilantro. The burritos are similar with a few other ingrediants such as beans. Needless to say they are a pretty good size.

Just awesome..

When ordering, be sure not to order the American style, otherwise you'll get tomato, sour-cream, cheese and the like.

Oh yeah, it's a bit of a dive in there, but trust me .. the food is good.

Taco Y Salsa
2957 W Diversey
Chicago, IL

Cameron.

[Edit to add address]

ken ivorous wrote:all said i think the SE Asian produce is better here than in sf bay area, but prolly not quite as good as la's SEA produce.

Yeah, "prolly."*

ken ivorous wrote:if can find an issan regional specialist i'd be perdy happy.

What are you looking for specifically?

There's a fair bit of Isaan-style food on offer in this town.**

If you haven't already, look through the menus that I have collected at my website.

I'll be more than happy to make specific recommendations.

Hell, I'll take you out for Thai food myself if you would like.

And, we can always invite some local LTHers to join us.

Regards,

E.M.

P.S. Next time around, lose the "Chicago vs." rhetoric. That sort of thing tends to make the natives restless.

* A dramatic understatement.

** Both above- and below-ground.

Cameron,

Anything about the tacos at this place that set them apart from the scores of other Mex-Mex taquerias around town that tend to serve tacos con cebolla y cilantro as opposed to gringo-style?

What kind of beef are we talking about? Carne asada (al carbon), barbacoa, picadillo, cesina? How are the tortillas? Seems like salsa might be a focus. Do they have a variety?

Thanks in advance.

i'm feeling pretty full right now, here's why:

i hit 5 places today in the span of 6 hours: honey 1; hot doug's; carnitas el paisa; taqueria puebla; and taqueria tayahua. somehow the word "distended" keeps flashing into my mind.

honey 1
had a mini ribtips and links combo, 4-piece wings and halfslab of ribs. the ribtips were very good (better than bay area so-called bbq - no comparison as mentioned b4). the links were definitely very very good. nicely course texture, not dry, nice flavor balance, and just a bit of heat to warm the tongue. the fried wings were def very good, juicy and well seasoned but were to me the least special of the offerings. the ribs, i thought overshadowed the ribtips (good thing i had the tips first), excellent stuff. the meat was very moist, tender but with satisfying chew still left to it, crisped around the edges and wearing a delicious smoky perfume throughout. i can see that it tops ribs and bibs (my only other chi que experience) which had a drier and less tender-toothsomeness texture-wise, and maybe a bit of creosote, which i didn't detect at honey 1). the meat at honey1 had a really tasty sauce which they didn't drown the meat in; it was a generous amount of sauce, but just enough to help accent the already flavorful tasty meat, not take over.

hot doug's!
have to admit, i had some anxiousness about coming here, because the sausage descriptions seemed to have a bit of that gourmet/artisanal foofy cachet about it that causes one from san francisco to reflexively cringe and run in the opposite direction, because one sees too much of that overpriced, pretentious dreck back home that clueless foodies flock to because they want to be cool and hip while still remaining clueless about food. luckily i went in anyway on the strength of recs from here. i was happily surprised that the place seemed pretty down to earth with could it be, even a wee bit of punk rockness (i guess i was expecting brushed stainless steel, sponged walls in colors like adobe and mustard, and funky, hip, odd-shaped furniture).

i had the bratwurst with kraut and mustard, and the bunny wabbit. the bratwurst was great! a few clicks down from revelatory, but in that direction. the rabbit sausage was not quite so successful. the sausage meat itself was nice; it had a pleasant gamey-ness to it, but the other flavoring in the sausage didn't quite bring out it's potential. as a whole, the rabbit didn't work. it seemed like a cheese plate thrown together with a sausage. the telsiter was fine by itself, but it was just cubes of cool cheese sitting on top of the mustard. it didn't get melty, and it also didn't become one with the dog in terms of flavor (neither harmony or counterpoint). actually the cheese, when eaten with the dog, kind of accented a slighty off flavor in the meat that i didn't taste when eating either component seperately. but i loved that bratwurst.

carnitas el paisa
the 2 women working there were very friendly and nice. i had 2 tacos - 1 carnitas, 1 chicharron - and a tamarindo. they gave free chips and chicharron when i sat down and a bunch of condiments: 2 salsas, cilantro, chopped cebolla, lime and radish. for the tortillas for the tacos, the waitress confirmed if i wanted handmade - i said YES please. the tortillas were pretty nice. the carnitas had pretty nice flavor but were a bit dry. i thought the chicharron taco was better - it was the soft-after-being-cooked-in-sauce kind; like biting into a delicate cloud made of lard and pigskin. when i ordered the tamarindo, i thought it would be fresh, but it turned out to be a bottle of jarritos, which was fine cuz i was thirsty as heck. overall, the items i had were fine but not somewhere i'd say was noteworthy.

taqueria puebla
i just had the cemita de carne enchilada and a horchata. the horchata was good, not the best, but the best drink of the day. the cemita was very good - never had one before. it was a couple pieces of meat made like milanesa, and the flesh was white and tasted like pork, topped with what i think was queso oaxacana and some nice picquant, dark, smoke tinged salsa, however i think yall need some california avocados. good stuff.

taqueria tayahua
i had the carne en su jugo, quesadilla w/ flor de calabaza and a jamaica. the jamaica was nice and refreshing - i was really thirsty today. the quesadilla came with a corn tortilla and would probably have come with a harina one and been tastier for it if i hadn't messed it up. i thought the waitress was asking if i wanted tortillas de harina for the carne en su jugo, so i said i wanted the maiz. oops. well the quesadilla was still pleasant but not outstanding, again it prolly woulda been better had i kept my mouth shut. the carne en su jugo was was good but to my tastebuds a little over salty, but maybe the dish is supposed to be like that. this was my virgin experience eating this so i'm not sure. the smoky richness of the bacon mixed together nicely with the meat and the beans, which also mixed together with thoughts that i might explode right there in the booth if i keep eating. i think i should have squeezed in some lime, but alas there were none on the condiment dish, i didn't have the wherewithal to ask for it - i think all my blood was rushing to my stomach.

up and at em again tomorrow, however i have some other things to take care of that don't have to do with devouring the city of chicago, so i'll be limited in where i can hit up tomorrow.

please let me know if i'm on the right track, and if there are alternate things i should be checking. thanks! i'll update when i get another chance.

thanks Erik M. for such tempting offer of thai eatin! it's a possibility, but not a surety as i still need to take care of some other non food-related things and my friday night, saturday night and sunday morning are busy. i would really be interested in eating with some chicago pro eaters though, maybe a rain check or something on the next trip.

but yeah, i've been looking for some for real issan food. the type of place where you'd get a big ole plate of raw stuff like yard beans, eggplant, cabbage, maybe a few small whole fried fishies, some sticky rice and a couple nam prik made with some pungent fermented shrimp paste that would send most westerners runnin for the doors - and they treat it as a casual, matter-of-fact, total non-production. gaeng pa and maybe some grilled issan sausage on a stick would all be some nice stuff. any places come to mind?

hmmm, interesting. i was just reading and it seemed like folks like the ribtips better than the ribs. i thought the ribs were great. dumb cali heads, what do we know about q, ehh?

I think barbecue is variable enough that either could be the standout; I mainly get the tips just because I mainly get the tips and links combo.

I think your dedication is admirable, the list of things you tried is first rate. You definitely should try to eat at one of the secret menu Thai places, even if you don't get much Isaan food the mere fact of the easy availability of the secret menu (thanks mainly to Erik) at these places will help you when it comes to sussing out such things at home in the future, too.

By the way, great screen name...

ken ivorous wrote:but yeah, i've been looking for some for real issan food. the type of place where you'd get a big ole plate of raw stuff like yard beans, eggplant, cabbage, maybe a few small whole fried fishies, some sticky rice and a couple nam prik made with some pungent fermented shrimp paste that would send most westerners runnin for the doors - and they treat it as a casual, matter-of-fact, total non-production. gaeng pa and maybe some grilled issan sausage on a stick would all be some nice stuff. any places come to mind?

Spoon Thai, no problem at all. Just ask for that.

Also, the green nam prik at Thai Grocery on Broadway is outstanding if you wanna DIY.

Wow, you had quite a day of eating. It's great that you are seeking out all these spots, and also wonderful that you are reporting back in such detail. It's always fun to read about where people went.

Just one comment:

ken ivorous wrote:taqueria tayahua
... the quesadilla came with a corn tortilla and would probably have come with a harina one and been tastier for it if i hadn't messed it up. ...

No, the quesadilla is supposed to be made with corn masa. You'll find flour tortillas at the norteño places, like Nuevo Leon (and the late lamented Polo), but otherwise corn is king.

Looking forward to the next installments,
Amata

hey, welcome,

you have to have the art of pizza's deep dish. it is the pizza you are in search of. take the blue line to division and take the 9 ashland bus north to art of pizza. a little strip shack. 3033 n ashland. its amazing. full of flavor. let it cool for a few minutes and the cheese coagulates into something otherworldly. my friend visited and had this, and loved it so much she flew back to the west coast with one on her lap on the plane.

as for other chicago food things... try valois on the south side, its old style cafeteria style ... unique to me who is also from the sf bay

happy eating

JeffB wrote:Anything about the tacos at this place that set them apart from the scores of other Mex-Mex taquerias around town that tend to serve tacos con cebolla y cilantro as opposed to gringo-style?

To be honest, "Taco Y Salsa" is the only "con cebolla y cilantro" place I've eaten at, so it's tough for me to compare. I used to work at the corner of California and Roscoe until 2000, and we'd go there quite a bit. I now work there again (well, across the street from my old job) and I've only gone a few times. But this is the only such taco joint I've tried. I grew up in Australia and know little about Mexican food. As a result I don't have the confidence to just try random places .. it was a co-worker who originally suggested Taco Y Salsa.

What kind of beef are we talking about? Carne asada (al carbon), barbacoa, picadillo, cesina? How are the tortillas? Seems like salsa might be a focus. Do they have a variety?

I didn't expect such hard questions! Well I'm really new here, so please be patient with my feeble answers...

OK, I'm not sure what type of beef it is, but it seems pretty simple with how it's prepared. It's actually pieces of beef, not ground. And it's soft and tender.

The tortillas actually seem a bit thicker now than when I used to go all those years ago. I don't know if they actually are thicker, or if it's just my memory. I know the ownership hasn't changed, the same lady still seems to be running it.

Despite the name, they don't have a selection of salsa. Just red and green. They serve the red with chips when you sit down, and green in the tacos and burritos. I actually prefer the green, and you can ask for it with the chips if desired.

Cameron.

today i hit 4 places only: podhalanka; bari foods; chickie's; and birrieria reyes de ocotlan.

podhalanka
i just had the potato pancakes and pierogis (3 types). the potato pancakes came with the apple sauce and sour cream, and was quite nice. the pierogis were boiled, not fried but topped with sauteed onion. the three types i got to try were: meat; cabage; and potato and cheese. i thought they were all pretty good (however there's not a whole lot for me to compare to back home), with the meat being the weakest one, and my favorite being the cabbage. i would really like to try more things here.

bari foods
i came here primarily to pickup a jar of medium and a jar of super hot giardinera to bring home, and also got a sandwich to try. i had the "italian" sandwich; the bread was very good, still a light crispness to the outside and an airy crumb whose flavor complemented the sammie innards. the hot giardinera was really good with the whole, and the salami and pepperoni were also really good. crap, i forgot to get the bottle of chinotto i've been fiendin for all this week.

chickie's
i had fries and a beef, hot and dipped. i'm coming to think i should order beefs not completely wet as i've been doing b/c the bread ends up just falling apart when it gets all soggy, leaving me unable to appreciate the bread's attributes. the fries were very good, maybe the best ones i've had during my visit, the beef was good, but i think i'm missing something, i haven't become familiar enough yet with beefs to really understand the idea of "a beef". the giardinera was tasty and different from what i've had with maybe a mex influence, the meat was nicely brown and a had a pretty nice flavor but had patches of dryness. i thought it was good, but i need to do more tasting homework.

birrieria reyes de ocotlan
i had a plate/bowl of birria and a horchata. the birria was very very good, a nice clean, clear, but rich flavor to the soupy element and the meat was nicely pink inside, a little good gamey flavor and a good texture that still had pleasant chew to it. also there was one piece of what i'm pretty sure was liver that seemed a bit overcooked as it was rather dry, hard and very dense. i think this goes in my top 2 birria experiences with the other being a roadside hole in the wall in baja mexico.

i almost, but didn't quite get to check out art of pizza due to time constraints

i only have about 1 and a quarter days left with plenty of non-food stuff to still handle, but i'll try to squeeze in any further food opportunities i can manage. wish me luck ...

if i do get a chance to have some pizza i'm a bit concerned about which to prioritize: burt's (but maybe pequod's); art of pizza; joseph's?

any thoughts?

ken ivorous wrote:if i do get a chance to have some pizza i'm a bit concerned about which to prioritize: burt's (but maybe pequod's); art of pizza; joseph's?

any thoughts?

Actually, I'd recommend Lou Malnati's or Uno's/Due's if you have not tried this style of pizza in Chicago before. They are the archtypical Chicago Style thick pizza's and would give you a better baseline for the genre than any of the others you mention (not saying that they aren't good or anything). A note about Uno's: The original location is not the same as the franchised locations that seem to be sprouting up nationwide, so if you have tried one of these franchised abominations elsewhere, you owe it to yourself to try out the original to see what the pizza is supposed to taste like, although personally I'd recommend Lou Malnati's as a first choice.

Also, if you're looking to try more than one style of pizza while you are here, I'd recommend trying some of our excellent thin crust pizzas at either Marie's (northwest side), Nick & Vito's (south side) or Candlelight (Far North (ask for well done & crispy with light cheese)) and, of course, the superb Neopolitan pizza at Spacca Napoli.

Search the board for extensive discussions about all of the above.


Lou Malnati's
6649 N. Lincoln Ave
Lincolnwood, IL
847-673-0800
Several Other Locations, too.

Pizzeria Uno
29 E. Ohio
Chicago, IL
312-331-1000

Pizzeria Due
619 N. Wabash
Chicago, IL
312-943-2400

Marie's Pizza & Liquors
4127 W. Lawrence
Chicago, IL
773-725-1812

Nick & Vito's
8435 S. Pulaski
Chicago, IL
773-735-2050

Candelite
7452 N. Western Ave.
Chicago, IL
773-465-0087

Spacca Napoli
1769 W. Sunnyside
Chicago, IL
773-878-2420

Why is Art of Pizza getting so much love(on this and the other board) all of a sudden? I've never had it(and I used to live in the neighborhood)...but that's because I've never heard good things.

Art of Pizza's love isn't sudden, it won a Tribune best pizza thing about 5-6 years ago.

It's my first choice for really really deep dish (similar to Giordano's, Edwardo's and such), due to use of especially fresh and vibrant-tasting ingredients.

I'm less fond of the thin, which I find too bready.

Hmmm...good to know. It just seems so off-the-beaten-path as a rec for
Chicago stuffed/deep dish. IMO(I'm a NY-style afficianado)...Due, etc. give Chicago style credit and are eminently accessible within a small area.

Which is why I'd offer the downtown places for deep dish/stuffed before I'd send visitors off to Wicker Park/Bucktown...unless the neighborhood(s) already appealed for other reasons.