stevez wrote:It always amazes me ...

I even tried the Beef Stew over Rice once and it was good! Nice sized chunks of tender beef and non-chinese vegetables.

I stop by about once a week and get an order of boiled dumplings to go. They are so good...

stevez wrote:
It always amazes me when I go to Katy's and see someone eating either carb rangoon or egg rolls.


Sorry, can't do the format right. Well since I really liked my shrimp in garlic sauce and the egg roll comes with it, maybe we should coordinate our visits so you won’t be amazed when I eat the egg roll. It was not great, but it was OK.

What is wrong with someone liking chop suey? If everyone liked vanilla & chocolate, no one would make strawberry ice cream.

D.

In my experience, Katy's reserves its best ingredients, skills and efforts for the regional dishes that they (used to) serve almost exclusively to recent immigrants from Northern China [see, I didn't say "authentic"].

Having taken a few for the team, I sampled a some of the rather inauthentic American Chinese (or Schumberg Chinese as they say here) items and could not get past the bitter twang of disdain that these concessions seem to share. [PS, if you need more proof, compare the elegant knife work evident in the matchsticks of seeded cucumber on the cold noodles with the clumsy chunks of carrot and celery in the Americanized dishes. It's like they brought in a kid from the local Wendy's to do it.]

I say "inauthentic" because the American Chinese stuff at Katy's does not conform in any way to the ideals of American Chinese standard bearers such as Kow Kow and Orange Garden and not to denigrate American Chinese, which I enjoy when done well, sometimes. Indeed, it turns out, certain mostly Chinese-by-and-for-for-Chinese spots elevate American Chinese to higher standards. See Crab Rangoon at Silver Seafood and several items at LTH. As far as Katy's goes, ordering the American Chinese is like ordering a pizza puff at Spacca Napoli (well, ok, you can't but still). That bad and that discordant.

Eat what you want, when you want. It's the American way. But don't be surprised if the veggie burrito offered at a place catering to Tapatios falls short. They might not even know what it's supposed to taste like, or care.

JeffB wrote:

……. I sampled a some of the rather inauthentic American Chinese (or Schumberg Chinese as they say here) items and could not get past the bitter twang of disdain that these concessions seem to share. [PS, if you need more proof, compare the elegant knife work evident in the matchsticks of seeded cucumber on the cold noodles with the clumsy chunks of carrot and celery in the Americanized dishes. It's like they brought in a kid from the local Wendy's to do it.]



I have tried several dishes at Katy’s, including what you call regional dishes. I haven’t been disappointed. Recently I tried the shrimp in garlic sauce. And personally I don’t care if it is closer to Schaumberg Chinese than authentic Chinese, I enjoyed it. Oh, and I really didn’t notice anyone’s inelegant knife work. But I am not a knife expert either.

D.

The last time we ordered carryout my bride ordered the chicken with mushrooms and it was very good! Matter of a fact she mentioned it was the best she had.

Not too salty with a different flavor (but good) than she is accustomed.

... and chock full of chicken too.

....sorry, I'm still obsessing over the idea of a Spacca Napoli pizza puff. That would have to be one of the finest things ever created by man.

"I have tried several dishes at Katy’s, including what you call regional dishes. I haven’t been disappointed." It's unanimous.

Also, I don't think the shrimp dish or chicken w/ mushrooms is Schaumberg at all. I'm talking eggs rolls, chop suey and such. I thought the beef on vegetables was vile and could not believe it came from the same hands that make the noodle dishes.

The cukes on the cold noodles could have come from Alinea, the chopped veggies in the beef from a dumpster behind Chili's. Paying attention is why we have Katy's and any number of other places popularized by LTH. *

*I mean, would Sazerac have created a stunning documentary of egg rolls and chop suey at a strip mall in Downer's Grove? Maybe not.

dodger wrote:What is wrong with someone liking chop suey?

Nothing, but Katy's is such a specialized place...in fact the only place in the Chicagoland area that makes handmade Asian noodles. It's a bit like going to a BBQ joint and ordering fish & chips.

Made my first visit to Katy's today, and it's everything everyone's been saying about it. Reminds me of the best places in New York. Too bad it's such a long drive from downtown-- so much for the old carbon footprint.

in fact the only place in the Chicagoland area that makes handmade Asian noodles

Not so much.

Yu's Mandarin Restaurant
(847) 882-5340
200 E Golf Rd
Schaumburg, IL 60173
http://www.yusrestaurant.com

The omnipresence of the original katy's posts lingered long enough that I lingered long enough on I-88 to detour towards on my way back from Chicago. I look at the photos, same as you, and I saw something.

The problem, for me anyway, was that by the time I got there--i.e., today--that thing, the novelty or newness of the experience, or perhaps the surpise of uncovering a gem, seemed very last year; you couldn't 'taste' it in my dish, if you know what I mean. So perhaps my expectations were in the wrong stratosphere, but it would seem like there was some quintessential 'other' missing from an otherwise very good stir fried noodles with dried chili dish. Very good, yes; transcendent, hardly. Can't say I'd take a trip specifically for these noodles, though I'd probably eat here all the time if I lived in the vicinity of Oakbrook.

The portions were very big though.

I did a little observing while waiting for the noodles to come and noticed that most of dem gringos were ordering chop suey/mongolian beef/etc. along with a side of dumplings. The two chinese men both had soup--one was clearly the beef tendon, the other a shrimp and noodle with a translucent broth that looked delectable. Anyone know what that was?

chezbrad wrote:I did a little observing while waiting for the noodles to come and noticed that most of dem gringos were ordering chop suey/mongolian beef/etc. along with a side of dumplings.

What about the rest of the gringos in the room?

For instance, what about the gringo at the two-top near the entryway? It looked like he ordered a plate of dumplings, yes, but he also appeared to have ordered the dan dan noodle soup and a box of cold, spicy pickles from the cooler.

Boy, did that gringo ever seem to be enjoying his food...

But, maybe you didn't see him...

Anyway, sorry to hear about your food, homes.

E.M.

Erik, you weren't the guy there who polished off the whole plate of the fried noodles, were you? I didn't hear that guy make a sound while eating, whereas I slurped and then spent 10 minutes scooping my leftovers into a box; he left quietly, empty plate the only artifact.

I have to disagree. I found myself in Oak Brook for training 3 days last week and made one of my lunches Katy's. I ordered the Chili noodles, which I found trancendental. (Once I picked out the Krab) Toothy, but not touch, perfectly cooked meat and super fresh shrimp.

The dumplings looked and smelled amazing, but were just ok, but ramped up with chili oil and the hotter table soy mix were tasty.

They have kicked up all their prices by about $1 and the purple shirt lives on.

As for the other "gringoes" - soup was the dish of choice among them, except for a couple who came in and asked what I was having and ordered exactly that.

chezbrad wrote:Erik, you weren't the guy there who polished off the whole plate of the fried noodles, were you?

No, I ordered a plate of dumplings, the dan dan noodle soup, and a box of cold, spicy pickles from the cooler...

E.M.

Erik M. wrote:No, I ordered a plate of dumplings, the dan dan noodle soup, and a box of cold, spicy pickles from the cooler...

This thread is killing me, I haven't been to Katy's for a month and the earliest I can get back is next week.

So why all the hate for "gringo" locals who happen to enjoy this place, though they may not order what you would? This place can be fairly intimidating to one used to the run of the mill establishment, what with the odd ordering practices, and languange skills of the staff. I'd give them credit for throwing some business the way of this excellent restaurant.

KSeecs wrote:So why all the hate for "gringo" locals who happen to enjoy this place, though they may not order what you would?

If you mean to include me, you've entirely missed the point of my initial post.

And, the point to my follow-up post would appear to have missed you too...

E.M.

Okay, this is torturous. Anybody know if they're still closed on Wednesdays?

I'm still trying to figure out what Erik ordered. I feel like the clues are all there if I just put them together the right way....

yes, still closed Wednesday. I visited last Thursday.

Just to clarify: I wasn't necessarily being derogatory--it's arguable that I was the whitest guy in there--just noting patterns. Perhaps if you looked into the minds of one the half-dozen businessmen who came in and said soemthing akin to "This place has gotten a lot of good press...let's get the mongolian beef" you would have heard the following observation: "Hey, look at the guy in the corner there: he's one of those foodie types who ironically objectifies cultures via food." I'm not above reproach anymore than the chop suey guy is.

I'm gonna steer this back to noodles now...

Next time I'm in the vicinity I think I'll try the Dan Dan...I wanted to yesterday, but I couldn't get over the fact that I saw them on a PF Chang's menu a few weeks back.

Worth remembering that the place was gringo-free and nearly undocumented in written English until it was so well illustrated by Sazerac (no gringo, but not from Beijing either) in the initial post of this monumental thread. Hence, and certainly not by happy coincidence, Katy's was discovered by any number of well-regarded mainstream food journalists, whose write-ups adorn the door of Katy's, thus signifying the owners' intent to welcome all who would partake of these kickass noodles. The place was at one time mildly intimidating. Not now. It was and remains remains fantastic.

PS:

"think I'll try the Dan Dan...I wanted to yesterday, but I couldn't get over the fact that I saw them on a PF Chang's menu a few weeks back"

Would you hesitate to order pizza at Totonno's because they have something called the same thing at Domino's?

Okay, I have read through this polite exchange and cannot resist adding my two cents.

If a place is "discovered" because it does certain things very well, like Katy's, someone who goes there and chooses to order something else will absolutely miss "it". Their loss.

Such a person, if they happen to post here, will most likely post something like "I went to Katy's and I do not get it. The food was okay but nothing special." Which is absolutely true with regards to the food they tried. Since they did not order "it," they did not get "it." Others will, hopefully with polite restraint as done in this thread, point out that they ordered "incorrectly." That does not mean that what was ordered was "wrong" in any absolute sense - you should eat what you like. Just that if you want to get what makes Katy's special, you need to order "it."

On the other hand, it is good for Katy's as a business to have as many customers as possible, and good for our community to have as many new people sucked in, try new foods and become participants. So, lest they be turned off, being overtly hostile to newbies who did not get "it" is not to anyone's benefit. But, if they criticize Katy's, get vocal about how Katy's is not any better than their local Tahitian Chop Suey Hut, whose egg rolls are the best anywhere, the reply will become more heated. Because they have completely missed the point and spoken ill of Katy's, which is not good for Katy's or the LTHForum community.

In general, I think much of the bond here is that we are an adventurous and knowledgeable community of eaters. We certainly represent a spectrum of adventurousness and knowledge, but even the least adventurous and least knowledgeable are probably in the top one percent of the American populace at large in terms of being adventurous and knowledgeable eaters - something we tend to lose sight of in these types of discussions.

So, let's remember that we have a lot more in common than not. And Katy's is great and almost unique for some very specific things. Are you wrong if you choose to order different things? Absolutely not. But the experience you post on will be very different than what has caused others to enthuse and they may, understandably, wish to point this out.

There is a separate discussion, that erupts here from time to time, about whether a place can be great if half the menu is dedicated to stuff that is definitely not great. No need to go there here. And part of this thread reminded me of the discovery we made once that Spoon Thai actually has two cooks, one doing Ameri-Thai and one the not-so-secret menu. There are compromises made to make money - these places are businesses after all - and while I do not always like them, I understand them and generally do not hold them against the businesses.

Anyway, if you like Ameri-Chinese, try the Lo Gardens side of the Lao Sze Chuan menu a little further west on Ogden in DG. They are more proficient at Ameri-Chinese and probably an easier jumping off point, too, to work your way into some more adventurous stuff. Not that the Ameri-Chinese stuff is what makes LSC great IMHO, but they have been doing it a lot longer with a lot of success.

But let's remember this conversation is really one of the extremely adventurous interacting with those who are, or want to be, very adventurous. None of us are meek, happy consumers of Mickey D to the exclusion of anything more adventurous, or we would not be here.

And anyone who is lunching at Katy's and would like company, please PM me. I can't do it every day, but I am just 15 minutes away and Katy's is a lot more fun when one can order and sample more variety.

This offer stands for LSC and Fabulous Noodles, too, as well as most places along the Westmont/DG/Lisle/Naperville Ogden corridor (like Schmaltz, Cho Dang Tofu Village, etc.) Always happy to meet other LTH'ers, and see old ones again, too.

Nowadays, I often get their hand-made frozen dumplings and make pot stickers at home myself. They are good and cheap: 50 for $10-12.

dicksond wrote:Okay, I have read through this polite exchange and cannot resist adding my two cents.

If a place is "discovered" because it does certain things very well, like Katy's, someone who goes there and chooses to order something else will absolutely miss "it". Their loss.

Such a person, if they happen to post here, will most likely post something like "I went to Katy's and I do not get it. The food was okay but nothing special." Which is absolutely true with regards to the food they tried. Since they did not order "it," they did not get "it." Others will, hopefully with polite restraint as done in this thread, point out that they ordered "incorrectly." That does not mean that what was ordered was "wrong" in any absolute sense - you should eat what you like. Just that if you want to get what makes Katy's special, you need to order "it."

On the other hand, it is good for Katy's as a business to have as many customers as possible, and good for our community to have as many new people sucked in, try new foods and become participants. So, lest they be turned off, being overtly hostile to newbies who did not get "it" is not to anyone's benefit. But, if they criticize Katy's, get vocal about how Katy's is not any better than their local Tahitian Chop Suey Hut, whose egg rolls are the best anywhere, the reply will become more heated. Because they have completely missed the point and spoken ill of Katy's, which is not good for Katy's or the LTHForum community.

In general, I think much of the bond here is that we are an adventurous and knowledgeable community of eaters. We certainly represent a spectrum of adventurousness and knowledge, but even the least adventurous and least knowledgeable are probably in the top one percent of the American populace at large in terms of being adventurous and knowledgeable eaters - something we tend to lose sight of in these types of discussions.

So, let's remember that we have a lot more in common than not. And Katy's is great and almost unique for some very specific things. Are you wrong if you choose to order different things? Absolutely not. But the experience you post on will be very different than what has caused others to enthuse and they may, understandably, wish to point this out.

There is a separate discussion, that erupts here from time to time, about whether a place can be great if half the menu is dedicated to stuff that is definitely not great. No need to go there here. And part of this thread reminded me of the discovery we made once that Spoon Thai actually has two cooks, one doing Ameri-Thai and one the not-so-secret menu. There are compromises made to make money - these places are businesses after all - and while I do not always like them, I understand them and generally do not hold them against the businesses.

Anyway, if you like Ameri-Chinese, try the Lo Gardens side of the Lao Sze Chuan menu a little further west on Ogden in DG. They are more proficient at Ameri-Chinese and probably an easier jumping off point, too, to work your way into some more adventurous stuff. Not that the Ameri-Chinese stuff is what makes LSC great IMHO, but they have been doing it a lot longer with a lot of success.

But let's remember this conversation is really one of the extremely adventurous interacting with those who are, or want to be, very adventurous. None of us are meek, happy consumers of Mickey D to the exclusion of anything more adventurous, or we would not be here.

And anyone who is lunching at Katy's and would like company, please PM me. I can't do it every day, but I am just 15 minutes away and Katy's is a lot more fun when one can order and sample more variety.

This offer stands for LSC and Fabulous Noodles, too, as well as most places along the Westmont/DG/Lisle/Naperville Ogden corridor (like Schmaltz, Cho Dang Tofu Village, etc.) Always happy to meet other LTH'ers, and see old ones again, too.

Nice post, great thoughts! Living in Westmont I wish I could lunch at Katy's, unfortunately I'm stuck in the Loop.

Nice post, great thoughts! Living in Westmont I wish I could lunch at Katy's, unfortunately I'm stuck in the Loop.

It is a good thing most people eat dinner too, then!

Flip

Flip wrote:

Nice post, great thoughts! Living in Westmont I wish I could lunch at Katy's, unfortunately I'm stuck in the Loop.

It is a good thing most people eat dinner too, then!

Flip

That it is! I think I'm addicted to the dumplings.

KSeecs wrote:That it is! I think I'm addicted to the dumplings.

I know I am. It isn't that much of a trip for me as it is somewhat on the way from work to home and about once a week I will make a stop for the dumplings.

My bride and I have stopped once and a while and I have made an effort to try some of the more mundane dishes and I have always been pleased.

No way the (fortune) cookie cutter cantonese but a delightful twist with slightly different spicing and preparation. Even the Beef Stew over rice was a very good dish.

In the words of my kids... "It's all good!"

One question... What is the white, rubbery, spiney thing in the Triple Delight (Seafood special)?

Panther in the Den wrote:One question... What is the white, rubbery, spiney thing in the Triple Delight (Seafood special)?

I haven't had the dish, but it sounds like squid that's been scored in a cross-hatch fashion... flat, curled with perfectly cut diamond-shaped protuberances on one side? Very typical, if that's what it is.