Need help for Food Photo Scavenger Hunt

Hey guys, my company is doing a food photo scavenger hunt and I could use some help. I need to have pictures of me with the food/location in question. I've already gotten 30 items on the list, but here are some items that I need (minus some really easy ones. e.g. McDonald's). The deadline is 4/2. If you have any suggestions, especially some of the less common ethnic items and restaurants that would have many items, that would be awesome.

French – Crème Brulee (easy)
French – Escargot
French – French Onion Soup (easy)
French – Poulet a la Provencale
Hungarian – Beet Carpaccio
Indian – Hydrabadi Brayni (easy)
Indian – Pathar ka Gosht
Indian – Pav Bhaji
Mediterranean – Figs (easy)
Mediterranean – Lamb Chops (easy)
Kids Menu – Corn Dog
Mexican – Azzoz con Camarones
Mexican – Enchiladas (easy)
Mexican – Escamoles - is this really what i think it is?
Mexican – Flautas de Pollo (easy)
South African – Chicken Bobotie
South African – Drie-Hoekies
South African – Koeksisters
South African – Nandi Nkuku
South African – Prawns Peri-Peri
Eating in or in front of the cafeteria of the Congress, State or any Department of Defense Building - any of these in chicago?
Eating in or in front of the cafeteria of any Federal building that is not located in Washington DC - any of these in chicago?
Eating in the same place as a Federal or State Senator/Representative (must be in your photo)
Eating in front of a National Monument - nearest one appears to be in Iowa
Eating from Indian street vendor
Standing in front of a sign which states “Home of the” with regard to a food item
Most unusual menu item (one team’s item will be selected from all entries) - Any suggestions? Initial thoughts were Ankimo (monk fish liver, Japanese foie gras), Buddha's Hand, Crosnes, Durian, Queso Ice Cream but I know there's much weirder stuff out there. Balut?

A look at the Great Neighborhood Restaurants list should provide places for most of your list (good luck finding an Indian street vendor or Congress in Chicago). As for National monumants, have a look here.

nevermind...

I think you could knock out a significant amount of your shots in Lincoln Square. For German and some of the Hungarian, you have Gene's Sausage Shop & Delicatessen; for Indian, Indian Essence; for Thai, Roseded (or all of the spots a block or so away on Western--Spoon, Sticky Rice, Opart, etc.); for Mexican, Garcia's (or for MUCH better mex, Los Nopales, also on Western); for French, Bistro Campagne and LM; for Mediterrean, Mediterranean Grill & Cuisine and Barba Yianni. All of these are on Lincoln with the exception of the Thai and Mexican spots which are a block or so away on Western. For the corn dog, shoot down Lincoln to Belmont and stop at Murphys (Belmont just W. of Racine). Can't help you with the S. African items. Or the governmental stuff although I do have a friend who works in the White House--not sure what she'd charge for being photographed eating--probably pretty steep

good luck--this sounds fun! (although kind of expensive!!!)

Under German, I have no idea what lashbrot is and Google is no help. Anyone?

There are a number of German restaurants in and around Lincoln Square (Laschet's, Resi's, Chicago Brauhaus, Glunz) and most of them have a schnitzel and sauerbraten on the menu. Hackbraten, I don't think I've seen.

eatchicago wrote:Under German, I have no idea what lashbrot is and Google is no help. Anyone?

There are a number of German restaurants in and around Lincoln Square (Laschet's, Resi's, Chicago Brauhaus, Glunz) and most of them have a schnitzel and sauerbraten on the menu. Hackbraten, I don't think I've seen.

Brot is bread. Don't know about losh, but I believe "Los" can be used to mean "hurry", so maybe this is some kind of German quickbread.

Thanks guys. I think the list was put together by non-foodies so it seems to have some spelling errors and incorrectly categorized sections, so that may explain the Lashbrot. It might be a bit expensive but we do get partial subsidies and the top teams get a $100 AmEx gift cards per team member. I have a team of 8 but they're all slackers... I've singlehandedly put our team in first place last week!

And, yes I know that Congress isn't in Chicago. I just thought maybe there could be a DOD location.

As for the Indian street vendor, it doesn't say he has to sell Indian food... though I'm not sure that helps any.

I looked up National Monuments on Wikipedia, there is none in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan or Ohio. The nearest does indeed appear to be in Iowa about 4 hours away. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Na ... ted_States

The GNR list is helpful, but it doesn't have Hungarian. There's Eastern European but I'm not sure how similar Czech or Polish are (I will check their menus though). I found Paprikash on Google but their website was replaced with an Italian site so I'm concerned they're gone. I will check out boudreaulicious' rec though.

I also didn't see South African. I know several Ethiopian restaurants, but haven't found any South African.

Any places that have a "World's Best" or "Home of the" sign would be nice too, although I think I have found what I need in the burbs.

You can knock out the French at Le Bouchon. Dierksen Federal Building, although I'm not clear on the cafeteria part.

Would the Dirksen Federal Building be of help (http://tinyurl.com/yfcclka)? It looks like there's a "Courthouse Cafe" there but I'm not sure if it's the "cafeteria" technically. It houses the FBI though.

The Chicago Federal Building is right across the street and I believe is where Dick Durbin's office is located.

Also, although the Hungarian restaurants may be hard to find, those menu items are not. Not sure about the rules.

Sorry I couldn't be more help...

filbertman wrote:And, yes I know that Congress isn't in Chicago. I just thought maybe there could be a DOD location.

How about the Marine Base on Foster near Kedzie? I don't know if they have a cafeteria, but Charcoal Delights is right across the street.

Marine Reserve Training Center
3034 West Foster Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 539-7393

I feel like I'm on a recon mission here trying to figure out where all you could go. There is a cafeteria in the Dirksen that is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. to the public. If I remember correctly from the last time I was in there, it was recently redone.

Dirksen info http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentType=GSA_BASIC&contentId=19083

I will see if I can find anything else for you.

Hungarian Goulash in on the menu at the Bohemian Garden in Downers Grove. (just saw it as I was on restaurant.com) Let us know what you have left and how far you'll drive. sounds like you work for a fun company!

Thanks, excellent suggestions all around.

I got some clarification from the judging panel. The German item is actually Lachsbrot, which looks to be a salmon sandwich of sorts.

They've expanded the "World's Best" requirement to include "World's Greatest" which I think is too easy because Jimmy John's has that in their motto. I will strive to stay pure though.

If we can find the particular dish, then that's good enough. They aren't picky about the exact type of restaurant, in fact we can cook the dishes ourselves, if desired.

Courthouse Cafe is probably good enough as long as it's in the federal building, the question is, are they open Sat or Sun because I have to fly to Indianapolis on Monday for work and I'm in St. Louis until tonight. Otherwise I could try to fit it in Friday before the deadline.

Also, I looked up the latest team roster and there are 80 teams across the US participating! I think the top 5 will get the prize.

Mirabell (Addison and Central Park-ish) has Chicken Paprikash on their menu, which might be the closest one to the loop.

gleam wrote:Mirabell (Addison and Central Park-ish) has Chicken Paprikash on their menu, which might be the closest one to the loop.

They'd also have most, if not all, of the German stuff you're looking for. This really sounds like a fun project. We should do something like this through LTH Forum!

I'm betting that many of the required pix on the list could be stolen just by browsing LTH.

I'd have to photochop myself into them then, and my skillz aren't that good.

filbertman wrote:I'd have to photochop myself into them then, and my skillz aren't that good.

And then there's that pesky copyright thing.

There's a federal courthouse and various other federal offices in Indianapolis if your mission can't be fulfilled in Chicago...one of them is bound to have some type of foodservice...

eatchicago wrote:There are a number of German restaurants in and around Lincoln Square (Laschet's, Resi's, Chicago Brauhaus, Glunz) and most of them have a schnitzel and sauerbraten on the menu. Hackbraten, I don't think I've seen.

Chicago Brauhaus lists hackbraten (meatloaf) on their menu.



Lachsbrot is on the menu too but I don't have a picture.

Chicago Brauhaus
4732 N Lincoln Av
Chicago
773-784-4444
http://www.chicagobrauhaus.com/

filbertman wrote:French – Escargot

Most French bistros in town will have snails and you can also likely find them canned at stores like Treasure Island.

Hungarian – Babaganoush Salad
Hungarian – Beet Carpaccio
Hungarian – Chicken Paprikash
Hungarian – Goulash
Hungarian – Hummus Marrakash

This is the first I've ever heard of baba ganoush, hummus or carpaccio as Hungarian. Baba ganoush is Middle Eastern eggplant spread; hummus is chickpea paste (I'm not sure what distinction Marrakesh may connote), and they're available at every Middle Eastern restaurant in town. The carpaccio -- almost certainly meant to be beef carpaccio -- is an Italian dish of thinly sliced raw beef. The Francesca's chain makes a specialty of it.

The only Hungarian restaurant in Chicagoland is the excellent

The Epicurean
708/449-1000
http://www.thehungarianrestaurant.com
4431 W. Roosevelt Road
Hillside, IL 60162

They have both goulash and chicken paprikash.

Kids Menu – Corn Dog

Search for corn dog on this site for several possibilities.

Mexican – Escamoles - is this really what i think it is?

Ant eggs. I'm not sure if anyone's serving the Mexican version locally these days, but Sticky Rice sometimes serves a Thai variant.

Chicken Paprikash is also on the specials menu at Laschett's:

http://www.laschetsinn.com/menu.html

Standing in front of a sign which states “world’s best” with regard to a food item

I'm almost positive there's a sign near Belmont & California advertising the World's Best Hash Browns? I thought there was a thread about this but I can't find it right now.

Standing in front of a sign which states “Home of the” with regard to a food item

Pretty sure Borinquen on Western has "Home of the Jibarito" on it's signage.

Most unusual menu item (one team’s item will be selected from all entries)

Does anyone in town sell fugu?

whiskeybent wrote:I'm almost positive there's a sign near Belmont & California advertising the World's Best Hash Browns? I thought there was a thread about this but I can't find it right now.

Clara & James (3159 N California, at Elston & Belmont) modestly claimed only "Best Hash Browns in Town" but they closed last year.

If you are going to Lincoln Square to take pictures, head on over to Irving Park Road and travel a few minutes to the Diner Grill on Irving Park Road--"Home of the Slinger"

The Slinger is a plate full of hash browns, onions, eggs, cheeseburger patties and topped off with chili.

1635 W Irving Park Rd
(between Ashland Ave & Marshfield Ave)
Chicago, IL 60613

(773) 248-2030

Oh and for the strangest item...go to Maxwell Street tomorrow and get a picture of the Eye Ball Taco. I can't think of anything stranger and blows monk fish liver out of the water.

CM2772 wrote:Oh and for the strangest item...go to Maxwell Street tomorrow and get a picture of the Eye Ball Taco. I can't think of anything stranger and blows monk fish liver out of the water.

FWIW, there were no eyeballs last Sunday.

Rene G wrote:

whiskeybent wrote:I'm almost positive there's a sign near Belmont & California advertising the World's Best Hash Browns? I thought there was a thread about this but I can't find it right now.

Clara & James (3159 N California, at Elston & Belmont) modestly claimed only "Best Hash Browns in Town" but they closed last year.

That's what it was! I remember reading that they had closed, but I'm pretty sure the sign still remains, modest as it is.

CM2772 wrote:If you are going to Lincoln Square to take pictures, head on over to Irving Park Road and travel a few minutes to the Diner Grill on Irving Park Road--"Home of the Slinger"

Diner Grill may be "Home of the Slinger" (even though it's more of a St Louis thing) but I don't recall any outside signage advertising it. "Open 24 Hours" and "Buy Lottery Here" but, unless something has changed recently, nothing about slingers.

If it were up to me, I'd go to Home of the Hoagy in Morgan Park (originally on E 47th). It's not just their motto, it's their name.

Home of the Hoagy
1312 W 111th St
Chicago

773-238-7171

You could check the menu at Moto - hey, if the "roadkill" dish isn't enough the menu itself might be your best bet for most unusual food item. Or the edible cigar and ash.

All kinds of bistros on the northside serving escargot: Jilly's Cafe, I think the new Bistro Bordeaux has them - but you might find a more interesting use at Sweets & Savories; last time we were there I think they paired them with gnocchi.

I don't know where they eat, but lots of our elected officials live in or near Evanston.

Lachs schinken is a type of smoked ham + Brot is bread = a smoked ham sandwich

mrsm wrote:Lachs schinken is a type of smoked ham + Brot is bread = a smoked ham sandwich

Yes, Lachsschinken is a type of ham (cured like Lachs—smoked salmon) and Brot is bread. But if you order Lachsbrot you'll get a smoked salmon sandwich. At Chicago Brauhaus it will be "smoked salmon on toast with egg, onions and caviar garnish" according to their menu.