My Friend Guido at Club Lago

If you were in high school, in Chicago's North Shore circa 1980, you were amazed to find that one Hollywood movie spoke directly at you. Your life was Risky Business. Even if you never played choo-choo with a hooker on the milk run of the, well it was not called the Red Line back then, you related to this movie. Fretting about colleges, your fall-back school, padding your resume with dumb activities in pursuit thereof; maxing out your parent's stereo (although me and my friends liked to make the glass shake with Led Zepplin's Dazed and Confused, not Bob Segar); raiding the bar and otherwise seeing what could be done while they still trusted you. Of course, we were never chased by a killer pimp named Guido instead of studying for a trig exam, in my all time favorite moment from the film. But now, I have my own Guido.

I just adore Club Lago. If it is not the coolest restaurant in Chicago, it is in the top five. I mentioned to Aaron D, who I dined with yesterday, that it was imperative that the city of Chicago landmark the entire interior of Club Lago. From the wooden booths, to the tile floor to the giant ugly heater, no place could be designed this perfect any more. At times, I have followed the lead of JeffB and John M with the Executive Salad. The dish that conjures up Larry Tate and three martini lunches in my mind. It is an ideal combination of saline treats. It has, however, one huge flaw. It is too tiny for my appetite, yet too expensive for my tight wallet. In other words, I could eat two, but I would never do that. So, lately, I have been searching the menu for other treats. "Old School", an infrequent Chowhound poster who eats at Club Lago nearly daily, once pushed the yankee pot roast. I made the mistake one day of trying to insert roast beef for pot roast, and now I am pretty much scared of meat and gravy at Club Lago. I could do what Old School does, compose my own dish--it is a treasure to see him in action there, "make me the veal the way I like it, with the garlic.." Maybe, though, I will stick with the Guido.

Like most things Club Lago, I am following in the footsteps of giants (as C2 might say), and it was Andy O'Neil who I first saw with Guido. Unlike me, Andy does not dissect his meal while he eats it, preferring instead to enjoy a range of discussion. Yet the look on his face convinced me to meet Guido soon. You ever go into a good Italian sammy shop, say La Milanase or JC Bombacigno's with total indecision. What appeals today. They all sound good. Well, if you are having one of those days, head over to Club Lago. The Guido combines meatballs and Italian beef and sausage and grilled onions and sweet peppers (and a nice giardinari if you ask). All of this gets smashed between two slices of D'Amato's long bread. In fact the use of D'Amato's bread would be enough of a reason to eat this sandwich, but this Italian wedding feast on a bun is pretty special regardless. Some of the component parts were better than others, the meatballs were especially good, the beef no Johnnie's, but like a lot of things in life, the sum was greater than its parts.

Me and Guido get along quite well these days.

Club Lago
331 W. Superior St
Chicago, IL
(312) 951-2849

Nice post, Rob.

Yesterday was my first at Club Lago, and it is a great space. Being an old school red sauce place, I figured I should make my acquaintance with the old school red sauce--a simple plate of spaghetti and meat sauce. No surprises there. Before Rob arrived, I was perusing the menu, and strongly considered a lunch with Guido. I demurred, not wanting to make the caloric investment. But man, Guido sure looked delicious.

Cheers,

Aaron

i don't know if you guys know that guido, in addition to being the name of the sandwich, is the name of one of the owners of club lago. i have actually had the pleasure of dining with guido, the person, who i think is just as lovely as your description of the sandwich. he and his brother, GianCarlo, are grandsons of the original owner and are both wonderful, charming people.

i met GianCarlo a year ago at a local bar. he's obsessed with the same pinball game as me, and guido has come by a few times. i went to their restaurant after meeting them. the two of them alone are reason enough to visit the place.

I do eat there almost daily, and can recommend the following off-menu specialties (once a month or so, I'll order something as is, but Guido and GianCarlo and the kitchen staff are genuinely accommodating, so why pass up the opportunity to have it your way.....incidentally, this probably makes me not their #1 customer, but their #1 pain-in-the-ass customer, but what's a few customizations between friends?).

1. Egg Salad on white toast (a perfect not-too-mayo-y old-fashioned lunch counter rendition)

2. The Davide (not my invention, but conceived by Dave, the daytime bartender extraordinaire--sliced roast beef au jus on white toast with a slice of swiss, topped with white prepared horseradish)

3. The Davide II (also Dave's idea--basically a sub made with a pounded veal cutlet, lettuce, tomato, and house dressing)

4. The Six-Ingredient Chopped Salad (my creation, executed by the Club to perfection, consisting of lettuce, tomato, salami, provelone, capers, hard-cooked egg, with house dressing--and topped with a single pimiento olive from the bar's condiment caddy)

5. Cardiac Unit Hamburger (order their chopped steak, have them melt blue cheese on it and place on Italian Bread, cut in half--feeds two)

Old School,

Welcome to LTHforum!

Do you think if we select your non-menu items, we will be treated like old friends like this person experienced?

Earlier this year, I walked into a shop on the Lincoln Square area called The Cheese Stands Alone. I never was in this shop before, but I knew a lot from reading Chowist bulletin boards. I asked for the 6-year-old Gouda, which was rumored to be outstanding. The owner comments, "You must be a Chowist, there was a mistake in someone's information. I know it is one of you guys when anyone asks who has never been here before." It was like a secret handshake into a club I never knew existed.

Look forward to your future posts.

C2,

You will be welcomed with open arms, but only after they roll their eyes when they make the connection between your order and "Mr. Off-Menu" (moi).

If you really want to send them into a swoon, order an egg-white omelet and tell them if they're going to charge you extra for the privilege, you think it only fair that you be allowed to take the yolks home with you. I pull this on them every so often.....hijinks ensues.

Old School wrote:C2,

You will be welcomed with open arms, but only after they roll their eyes when they make the connection between your order and "Mr. Off-Menu" (moi).

If you really want to send them into a swoon, order an egg-white omelet and tell them if they're going to charge you extra for the privilege, you think it only fair that you be allowed to take the yolks home with you. I pull this on them every so often.....hijinks ensues.

A boiler explosion in the building adjoining Club Lago last week sent debris through the restaurant's ceiling and destroyed the kitchen.

Remodel expected to take 4 months.

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Ex ... -Cars.html

Since this thread has been promoted, if for sad reasons, let me share my Club Lago reminiscences. As a lad, my father had a factory on Superior Street, near Orleans, I think. Old factory, narrow building with a hulking freight elevator and grimy stairs linking the dark floors, always smelling of fragrant cutting oil, dark machines lurking in the corners, manned by mysterious, quiet men in overalls.

A mythical place.

On special days, my father would take me to the office, up on the 7th or 8th floor, old wood fllors scrubbed clean, white walls, windows all around, both looking into the rest of the office and looking out over the surrounding buildings and up to the Palmolive, now Playboy, building, then the tallest around (it was not long before the Hancock came along, but still a few years). Hard to imagine that neighborhood as low rent manufacturing, but that is what it was. He would leave me in his office at a conference table with some paper, pencils, the windows and I would play, write, do some sort of fantasy business, quite happily. Not unlike what I do now.

For lunch we would go to Club Lago, another dark place (while this was the 60's already, some things had not changed that much, and what one needs to understand is that film noir was, to some extent, merely a reflection of the state of lighting technology at the time - places were either brutally bright, or shadowy, and the style for business men was certainly black and white, in clothes and cars) where the adults would have cocktails, maybe pasta or broiled meat, and I would get a massive portion of spaghetti, red gravy, meatballs, a coke or three, and whatever else I wanted, admiring that old boat.

Very happy days.

In the last 40 years, I have not been back to Lago more than half a dozen times. It was always okay, and I have nothing against it, but as the last remaining connection to those days, I prefer to keep it as I remember it, frozen in time and memory. When I do go, it seems the only thing that has changed is my perspective, looking at it as a somewhat jaded and much taller adult, rather than an 8 year-old kid, intoxicated by the city (that part has not changed); for its part, Club Lago has remained constant, apparently untouched by the passage of time, though everything around it is different.

Maybe I can give them a new motto - Visit Chicago in the 50's: eat at Club Lago! Or for the more literate - See Nelson Algren's Chicago: eat at Club Lago!

Thanks for the updates.

I recall the Chicago of those days as well--we must be about the same age--and you evoke it very well. Great post! Thanks for your memories.

Vital Information wrote:If you were in high school, in Chicago's North Shore circa 1980, you were amazed to find that one Hollywood movie spoke directly at you. Your life was Risky Business.

I'm hearing Jeff Beck's "The Pump" as I write this. I graduated in 1983 and one of my classmates was an extra in the movie during the party at Joel's house.

I walked by Club Lago at lunch today. One of the owners (I'm not sure which is which) was sitting on the front step, so I asked him when they're planning to reopen. He said things are taking longer than expected and they're looking at probably opening in July.

eli wrote:I walked by Club Lago at lunch today. One of the owners (I'm not sure which is which) was sitting on the front step, so I asked him when they're planning to reopen. He said things are taking longer than expected and they're looking at probably opening in July.

Ha! I saw him sitting there on my way to Mr. Beef.

dicksond wrote:When I do go, it seems the only thing that has changed is my perspective, looking at it as a somewhat jaded and much taller adult, rather than an 8 year-old kid, intoxicated by the city (that part has not changed); for its part, Club Lago has remained constant, apparently untouched by the passage of time, though everything around it is different.

What a post. Sorry I missed it the first time around; thank you for the beautifully crafted writing and reminiscence. I heard Guido interviewed on WGN earlier in the week, and he confirmed July. My favorite part of his anecdote about the explosion day is that their chef was saved from serious injury by coming in late that morning. The reason: he had worked ahead in preparing the red sauce, so there was no reason to process tomatoes that morning.

Club Lago - Tuesday, May 12, 2009