crrush wrote:Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

I think a previous poster mentioned that she would extend hours once they're more established?

Ah, I forgot to post about my phone call to the restaurant about their hours the other day. 10 to 6 is correct (for now) but only for Mondays through Saturdays -- they're closed Sundays. I would really have liked some pork belly after 6 P.M....

--Dan

Hello all,
Just got back from a fantstic lunch at Cafe Salamera where I ordered the Jibarito. Norka was wonderfully cheerful, friendly, and helpful. I arrived for a sort-of later lunch (after 1 pm) and she mentioned to me I was the first customer of the day.
My sandwich was just garlicky enough (I have to teach this afternoon) and the steak in it perfectly seasoned. The guacamole oozed out, but it was fun to scoop it up and eat it by itself when I was done with the sandwich.
So please, run, do not walk, do not collect $200. Eat at Cafe Salamera.

Sharona

Sharona wrote:I arrived for a sort-of later lunch (after 1 pm) and she mentioned to me I was the first customer of the day.

I have yet to eat here in the presence of any other paying customers. Plenty of people coming and going, but they all seem to be either employees or relatives. Bah!

cilantro wrote:

Sharona wrote:I arrived for a sort-of later lunch (after 1 pm) and she mentioned to me I was the first customer of the day.

I have yet to eat here in the presence of any other paying customers. Plenty of people coming and going, but they all seem to be either employees or relatives. Bah!

OTOH I was there Thursday evening, I think it was, and there were a fair few
people there. At least 4-5 unknown customers, I think. And then I ran
into another couple - the elusive and legendary Zim and his wife! Who, like me,
were taking things to go. (This makes a grand total of 2 LTH-ers Ive met,
I think... well 3, actually. Zim, ReneG and GP. The Northside Guru, the
SouthSide Guru, and the CornDog King. Best to start at the top, I
always say

As for the food... I took the Salamery I think it was. As excellent as I
remembered it to be. And the green sauce was just as wonderful as
ever. There are 2 new sauces now too (both are yellowish - and one of
them is nicely fiery as well). Unfortunately there are no "entrees"
per se like there used to be - the goat entree that I really enjoyed in
the past is now only a special request. The sandwiches appear the
same, however, and they are quite terrific - if you havent tried them,
you must.

I would also urge LTH-ers to, in the Chicago tradition, go early and go often.
On talking to Norka afterwards, she said that business is actually slower
than it was previously. She is going to give it 6 months, and then just
sell the place for whatever she can get for it. That would be a tragedy -
the timings right now are not great (6pm is a very early close), but
it is still very well worth making the extra effort. The sandwiches are
wonderful, and the place is very nice now (there are cofees and juices
and smoothies now, and there were nice muffin-pieces and apple-croissant
pieces gratis when you order). And you never know when you may
run into an LTH legend youve been reading for 3 years.

I plan on going again next week.

c8w

I just got back from a "linner" there. I had the pork sandwich (definitely belly) and also ordered a mixed ceviche, which is not on the board, but they were able to make it with a 25 minute wait and seemed happy to (I said if it was a hassle to forget it, but they were insistent). I was dining solo and this was entirely too much food. However, the ceviche, man o man, it was good and it is an overwhelming amount of seafood. There was one family leaving at 4 and another mother and daughter came in while I was there.

c8w wrote: the elusive and legendary Zim

wow, this makes me sound like some sort of nearly extinct forest creature (which if you ask my wife may be a good comparison).

We were actually meeting germuska for dinner next door at Big Buns and Pita, but couldn't resist the prospect of being so close to Salamera sandwiches and not getting some. Later when we were able to tear into them, my wife took a bite of her veggie sandwich (now on the menu) and did a little dance happily chanting "Norka's back, Norka's back"

c8w wrote:
As for the food... I took the Salamery I think it was. As excellent as I
remembered it to be. And the green sauce was just as wonderful as
ever. There are 2 new sauces now too (both are yellowish - and one of
them is nicely fiery as well).

Yep, I really liked the habanero based one - I think it was habanero but it could be the yellow peruvian peppers they are now selling. They are also offering for retail bags of cancha and purple corn so folks can make those at home. Norka also mentiond that she might try to sell some of the hot sauces.

There's also a new sandwich which I did not try this time - "tony's tuna", but if its up to the standards of the others I'm sure its worth a try

c8w wrote:
Unfortunately there are no "entrees" per se like there used to be - the goat entree that I really enjoyed in the past is now only a special request.

She did say that they would be willing to do any of the old entrees but I think if you'd like these it would be best to let them know some time in advance, and as abraus mentioned above ceviche can still be had, and should be had.

If you liked this place in the past, meant to check it out but never got to it, or are just curious what the fuss is about a little sandwich shop on North Clark street, i'd suggest getting over there - it may not exist if you put it off.

c8w wrote:As for the food... I took the Salamery I think it was. As excellent as I
remembered it to be. And the green sauce was just as wonderful as
ever. There are 2 new sauces now too (both are yellowish - and one of
them is nicely fiery as well). Unfortunately there are no "entrees"
per se like there used to be - the goat entree that I really enjoyed in
the past is now only a special request. The sandwiches appear the
same, however, and they are quite terrific - if you havent tried them,
you must.

I also thought the orange-colored sauce was habanero-based. I like that one on the Salamera sandwich and the green one on the jibarito. By the way, there has been a slight change -- the Salamera sandwich now comes with cheese (or at least mine did).

As far as the lack of entrees -- I should have said that in my original post, sorry. However, it seems like they'd be able to make lomo saltado without too much problem (something like the goat and chicken dishes would require special arrangements, I imagine). I did see salchipapas on the menu board, though, and there is also a variety of fries -- potato, yuca, sweet potato, etc.

I wish the Reader and/or TOC would give this place some love.

I wish the Reader and/or TOC would give this place some love.

They got it the first time around. I believe TOC highlighted it in their 'Save this restaurant' feature about the time it closed.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

I wish the Reader and/or TOC would give this place some love.

They got it the first time around. I believe TOC highlighted it in their 'Save this restaurant' feature about the time it closed.

I know; I think the clipping is still hanging on their door. I meant some kind of announcement that they'd reopened. I doubt they're doing much in the way of advertising.

I am gonna try to stop by manana to say hello and grab some goodies for my kitchen team. It's a shame some of the places around Rogers Park don't receive the same sort of coverage as some of the other areas of Chicago.

Norka mentioned that TOC was coming again Saturday

given all the reader writers on this forum it'd be nice if it could make it to one of the featured spots? hell a whole reader restaurant section on North Clark wouldn't be bad. I think there a re a number of spots there that need some love.

Since rediscoving LTH, I have been making a list of all the restaurants I need to try. I think I will be dragging my husband to Salamera sometime this week - I missed it the first time around, even though I lived a block away. Inexcusable.

OK, I have tried three times so far to go to Salamera, all without success. They were closed on Sunday (we went to Big Buns and Pita instead, very good) and twice arrived at around 5:50 to find it locked up tight and looking as though they'd closed up quite a bit earlier.

It's getting a bit annoying. It seems to me that if they'd like to stay in business, they need to think about perhaps taking off Monday or Tuesday instead of a weekend day, and furthermore, to actually *be there* during their stated business hours.

Sorry to hear you're having such bad luck with Salamera. To be fair, fastfoodsnob's post at the top of this page does point out that they're closed on Sundays (which nevertheless did not prevent me from driving over there on the exact same Sunday -- did you happen to notice two forlorn jackasses standing by the locked door, shivering in the subzero cold as tears of bitter disappointment froze on their faces?)

With regard to closing early, it's a tough call. I can understand the assumption that if a business says it's open 'til 6 then customers who arrive before, say, 5:55 should have every expectation of being served. On the other hand, I also understand the desire to call it a day after keeping the place open for hours with nary a customer (which is unfortunately what I expect happened).

I hope you'll give them another chance. Perhaps you could call ahead (I think there's a number posted upthread, although I have no idea if it's still valid since the reopening).

cilantro wrote:I hope you'll give them another chance. Perhaps you could call ahead (I think there's a number posted upthread, although I have no idea if it's still valid since the reopening).

I used this number to get those hours at the top of the page: (773) 764-7210. As I ended up not going after calling (due to the early-evening closing), I suppose it would be wisest to phone first before heading over there. Arriving in the early to mid-afternoon seemed to do the trick for me earlier this week.

--Dan

fastfoodsnob wrote:

cilantro wrote:I hope you'll give them another chance. Perhaps you could call ahead (I think there's a number posted upthread, although I have no idea if it's still valid since the reopening).

I used this number to get those hours at the top of the page: (773) 764-7210. As I ended up not going after calling (due to the early-evening closing), I suppose it would be wisest to phone first before heading over there. Arriving in the early to mid-afternoon seemed to do the trick for me earlier this week.

--Dan

I got there at about 5:30 on Friday I think, and it was open just fine. (I asked
about closing times, and they said theyre always open till 6... maybe it was
just one of those days the last time?)

BTW, was sort of thinking about going with the Salamery again - the beefy
sandwich. On talking to Norka, I mentioned that I hadnt tried their jibarito
(though Ive had a few from other places, including the original at
Borinquen etc). She insisted I try that instead.

So. I did. Took it to go (which she was annoyed by - she said she hates to
see people take her sandwiches to go, hates to think they might be eating
it cold... she wants people to have a good opinion of her food I managed
to convince her I liked her sandwiches just fine, and so took it to go anyway.
And I must say, that is one pretty damn brilliant sandwich. Blew away any
jibarito's Ive had in the past, not even close. I dont know what it is - maybe
the crispness of the plantains, or maybe the garlickyness, maybe the
excellent freshly cooked meat... but it was just terrific. Must surely be
one of the best sandwiches in Chicago I think, even on just one tasting.
Messy eating, of course, but very very good - I cant believe I waited this
long to try it (Ijust figured the "original" at Borinquen etc must be the
best representations... boy was I wrong).

Also tried an almond horchata, BTW - that thing is very very good too.
I told her it reminded me, in some silly way, of the Indian kheer or
sheerkhurma... I dont know why. In the sense of a sort of rice-puddingish
thing, with an almondish flavour (sheer khurma has slivered almonds,
good kheer should too), except not quite as thick, and this one drunk
thru a straw. She wanted to know where she could try it (ie, a good
kheer or sheer-khurma)... does anyone know of a spot on Devon for
it? Ive almost never tried kheer's at Devon, since I always knew Id
probably be disappointed


c8w

one difference in salamera's jibarito from others is the incluson of guacamole, which I really liked. Though its hard even with that to tear me away from the other sandwiches.

I liked the slmond horchata too, the little she gave me to sample, reminded me of badam milk, i gues not so surprisingly

c8w wrote:BTW, was sort of thinking about going with the Salamery again - the beefy
sandwich. On talking to Norka, I mentioned that I hadnt tried their jibarito
(though Ive had a few from other places, including the original at
Borinquen etc). She insisted I try that instead.

Ha, ha... I'm in that same spot right now. After finally trying the pork-belly sandwich last week, I've gotta go back and hit the jibarito (and/or the Salamery?) on another visit. In fact, I told Norka while ordering that I'd heard good things about that plantain sandwich on LTHForum, and she only had nice things to say about everyone here. I ended up going with the pork belly because she said I oughtta try that one first if I was trying only one. But, yeah... that was one great sandwich. If it's any consolation, I ate about a quarter parked in my car and then finished up the rest when I got home -- still warm and delicious. I'll definitely dine in next time, though.

--Dan (who just conducted his own Big Buns & Porky-a-thon... get the habanero salsa!)

Like many here, I really like Salamera, but I'm not optimistic about its chances for survival. I've been there four times in the past three weeks--during what should have been the lunch rush--and three out of four times the place was devoid of other customers.

Part of the problem, I think, is that Norka--a really wonderful person, as far as I can tell--doesn't know how to promote her business. Until very recently, the restaurant offered no takeout menus--or even written descriptions of its sometimes enigmatically named offerings. Further, while Salamera is currently offering a great soup and sandwich combo for lunch, this point isn't noted anywhere on the restaurant's windows or sidewalk chalkboard. Additionally, Norka seems to passively count on foot traffic to attract customers rather than actively publicizing the business' existence within the neighborhood. Rogers Park is densely populated with people seeking exactly the kind of relatively cheap, high-quality food she offers, but almost all of the R.P. residents with whom I've spoken (I live about two blocks away and have told a lot of neighbors about the place) were completely unaware of it before I mentioned it to them. Perhaps if Norka employed standard self-promotion methods--for instance, like distributing takeout menus and coupons in the immediate vicinity--she would be able to boost her business. At a minimum, she needs to expand her hours because a 6 PM close virtually insures she'll get no dinner business. In any event, I do hope she'll make a more concerted effort to connect with the neighborhood because I think she's overlooking a substantial opportunity.

I haven't looked closely lately - does she display the GNR award in the window?

HI,

I don't think she ever received her GNR because it had gone into RIP mode. You may want to contact Dickson regarding this.

Regards,

I also think the hours of operation are a detriment. They kind of feel like a coffee shop, but they're not open when people are buying their morning coffee/pastry/sandwich for later. They are open for lunch, but then stay open until 6 pm. How many neighborhood restaurants get a lot of business between 2 and 6? I think it would be wise to either operate from 6am to 2pm or 11am to 9pm. I'd love to go there more often, but the hours preclude me from doing so.

HI,

Norka started a restaurant because she loved going to restaurants. She opened a restaurant hoping family members would join her, instead of getting commitments in advance. At least during the first go around, she was resistent to learning how to cook her signature dishes. This alone would give autonomy from the vagaries of relatives interests and ability to help her. Once you know how, then training cooks to help out is doable.

You may as well enjoy the food while you can.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:At least during the first go around, she was resistent to learning how to cook her signature dishes. This alone would give autonomy from the vagaries of relatives interests and ability to help her

I am afraid that this is still the situation. Norka relies on her sister and mother to do the cooking. They are not available at night or on Sunday, which are the peak dining-out times in this neighborhood. She has expressed an interest in Wi-Fi which should bring in a few midday customers, but obviously she needs to extend (or change) her hours to be successful.

I'm sorry to hear she's unable to expand her hours--nights would be much better for me as well.

I'm thinking I'm going to pick up a few sandwiches tomorrow for lunch, as it appears she'll have a hard time remaining open with her current business model. Couldn't she have someone train during the day with her mother/sister and then take over expanded nighttime hours once ready to cook alone?

I'm going to get takeout to bring home to my sick partner (I live a few blocks away) and I'm thinking the salamery and the jibarito...would these be the best choices for my first trip there?

I'm going to get takeout to bring home to my sick partner (I live a few blocks away) and I'm thinking the salamery and the jibarito...would these be the best choices for my first trip there?

The jibarito is really messy and might not travel well. Perhaps the pork sandwich would be a better choice. I love the Salamery!

I've been in a couple times over the past month, and am usually the only one there. Norky says that she is looking for ways to sell some of her items to other retailers in the city, so perhaps another revenue stream will afford her to keep the Cafe open. Let's keep our fingers crossed....

jibaritos at Avenues?

ChefGEB wrote:I've been in a couple times over the past month, and am usually the only one there. Norky says that she is looking for ways to sell some of her items to other retailers in the city, so perhaps another revenue stream will afford her to keep the Cafe open. Let's keep our fingers crossed....

I thought this was pretty cool, by the way.

It's also as close to advertising as this place is gonna get, which is why I keep hoping for a nice Reader or TOC profile. Of course, the last TOC plug didn't exactly bring the Wicker Parkians running (though maybe that's what the new Lily Allen poster on the front door is for). Alright, still....

With regard to hours, it would obviously be a plus to stay open at dinnertime. However, although this might move some sandwiches in the evening, it would do nothing to solve the problem of the place being EMPTY during the day. They were open later before and still ended up closing down. The fundamental issue seems to me to be the fact that the locals simply have no interest in the place; some because they don't even know of its existence (entirely Nory's fault) and others, let's face it, because of a certain gastronomic conservatism. Las Islas Marias is languishing on that same block and it is certainly open late. So I'm not sure that having another cook (and an amateur at that) would really do much to help. And now that I think of it, would that many people really want a sandwich for dinner?

Anyway, to end on a positive: those of you who enjoy Salamera's jibarito (and it is a thing of unctuous beauty), should know that it is now offered as a special with a very nice arroz con gandules ($5.45, I believe).

ChefGEB wrote:I've been in a couple times over the past month, and am usually the only one there. Norky says that she is looking for ways to sell some of her items to other retailers in the city, so perhaps another revenue stream will afford her to keep the Cafe open. Let's keep our fingers crossed....

Norka's new spiced cancha as amuse bouche?