Today's meal brought to you by the letter "Ennh"

Had a few meals lately, not so great, not so terrible, but places no one's written about much, so... inaugurating this thread, devoted to the big shrug.

Greek Islands

Went there last week with a couple of sharpsters, used to like to go for lunch when I worked nearby, hadn't been in years, but had fond memories of the tzatziki as being garlicky enough to be tasted into the morning of the third day after.

We wound up being seated by the serving area where, Manny's-like, vast quantities of the same stuff are dished up over and over. This is all visible to the dining room and made to look nice, but I found it kind of dispiriting-- really drove home what an industrial operation these giant Greektown places are. (I knew that, I didn't need it rubbed in my face.) That's pretty much where I came out on the meal-- some things very solid, service as crisply efficient as a cadet drill at West Point, ask for lemons and a plate full of them appears in .006 seconds-- but a meal with all the personality of a mid-70s GM sedan.

Tzatziki still good, fried zucchini slices with skordalia more than good, G Wiv's grilled lamb ribs had a nice gamy char, my lamb something or other in some kind of sauce was a big glob on a plate, you don't like it, the last 999,999 people to have it didn't have any problem with it, wassamatta you? I try not to look at a solid place and just think "been there done that," but when it's thinking it back at me, when the tonight's specials card is so unchanging it's laminated, it's hard not to feel that way. Ennh.

* * *

Aladdin's Eatery

Long ago I would get off from work, take a bus or walk to Tower Records, spend too much money on CDs (music used to come on physical objects, when Gramps was a twenty, well, young thirtysomething), walk over to Lincoln, eat a bite at a little shwarma joint that was nothing great but perfectly likable, and then walk or hop the bus home. A pre-kid urban ritual that had the cheerful unassumingness of a retiree's stroll around the shopping mall.

I have kids, Tower's gone, music comes from Steve Jobs' underground super-brain lair now, and the middle eastern place closed up and moved to a spot near the food-deprived nexus of Clark and Diversey. Where, I discover on a return visit for the first time in years, it now has a posh look and an 8 or 10 page menu, each page of which has more items than the whole restaurant had circa 1996.

I had the same reaction I have when confronted with the 10-page spiral bound menu at T.G.I. Cheesecakedeaux's, namely, pick something simple and put the damn thing away before I scream. I ordered chicken shwarma on hummus. I do not understand the chicken I got. A lot of layers of seasoning and browning, like I got a mother lode of the outer edge that had plenty of exposure to the heat lamp-- yet it's almost cold. (Tepid, certainly.) Cut half an hour ago and only now dished up, I guess. Weird, and certainly less than delectable.

There's probably better things on the menu, considering that the nearest competition is Panera and Chipotle this could still be a choice in a pinch, but I mourned my little joint where I once excitedly unwrapped CDs and read liner notes for lack of anything better (or even a copy of Tower's Pulse, which might have a drawing by my friend Jorge) and enjoyed simple, warm chicken shwarma. I mourned the days when I and Aladdin's chicken shwarma were young and the music mattered, to both of us.

Ennh.

Greek Islands Restaurant
200 S Halsted St
(312) 782-9855

Aladdin's Eatery
614 W. Diversey Pkwy.
773-327-6300

You know, it's funny to see a thread devoted to this. Okay meals are the ones I have the hardest time writing about. It's easy to praise a place that's great or abuse a place that's awful. But when your meal was simply decent, unexceptional, indistinct, not bad... that's when I find it most difficult to know what to say

You can do it, Dom! All you have to do is scrunch up your nose, and let it out...

"Ennh."

Aladdin's on Lincoln isn't there anymore? I mean, I haven't been for a while, the last time was probably over 3 years ago . . . but I had no idea it was the same as that Aladdin's Eatery on Diversey and in Evanston. That's so weird! I mean, I always knew the name was the same, but I always thought the current incarnation was just some chain with the same name.

The last time we went to Greek Islands, I think I summed it up by saying to Cookie, "I don't want to come back to this cafeteria anymore."

Best,
Michael

I had no idea it was the same as that Aladdin's Eatery on Diversey and in Evanston.

Um... maybe I'm making a rash assumption. Damned similar and right up the street, I just assumed...

The Aladdin's that was on Lincoln was a locally owned independent operation. The one on Diversey is part of a national chain I think.

For a while I thought that there was a secret underground kitchen below Halsted dishing up food for most of the Greek Town places. They all serve pretty much the same food, which tastes the same. Don't get me wrong, I love Greek food and probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between bad tzatziki and good tzatziki.

I made the underground kitchen joke too-- we were watching tubs of food arrive, it's inevitable-- only I said it was in the kitchens at McCormick Place, and every once in a while they get a tub full of Nancy's Pizza by mistake.

As was pointed out just the other day, the joke is not that far from reality...

Yeah, the Diversey Aladdin's is part of a chain. The one in Evanston closed because it sucked pretty hard. (Despite?) It was replaced by an Al's Beef. No word on what will move in when that closes.

Okay, so far as I can tell my Aladdin's was eventually known as Aladdin Falafel House (at least toward the end; I don't remember that), shrunk into half its space at Belden and Lincoln, and ultimately closed, probably last year.

I guess Aladdin is as obvious a name for middle eastern food as the name of the Peruvian place going up not far from me on Ashland-- Macchu Picchu, which has belonged to a couple of restaurants over the years.

Big portions!!! Imaginative Menu (Tri-tip sandwiches and full turkey dinners, for example). BIG cake for desert. Mediocre crap right off the food service truck. Don't bother going. You've been warned.

Claim Jumper
781 N Milwaukee
Wheeling, IL
847-520-9922

Mike G wrote:Long ago I would get off from work, take a bus or walk to Tower Records, spend too much money on CDs (music used to come on physical objects, when Gramps was a twenty, well, young thirtysomething)...

Tower's gone, music comes from Steve Jobs' underground super-brain lair now..

Off topic, but I miss Tower too, like crazy.

We've still got Rolling Stones out by me. I remember when the graphix lined the tops of the windows.

-ramon

stevez wrote:Big portions!!! Imaginative Menu (Tri-tip sandwiches and full turkey dinners, for example). BIG cake for desert. Mediocre crap right off the food service truck. Don't bother going. You've been warned.

Kinda reminds me of the Albert Brooks movie 'Defending Your Life' where Albert and Meryl Streep go to this Italian restaurant (in Purgatory) and the portions were huge! The waiter says "You like pie?! I bring you NINE pies!!"

Claim Jumper or Cheesecake no doubt.

My dad has been saying the "underground tunnel" thing about Chinatown for as long as I can remember. And to tell the truth, for the kinds of food we would order from Chinese restaurants when I was a kid, it COULD have been true.

Suzy

jnm123 wrote:

stevez wrote:Big portions!!! Imaginative Menu (Tri-tip sandwiches and full turkey dinners, for example). BIG cake for desert. Mediocre crap right off the food service truck. Don't bother going. You've been warned.

Kinda reminds me of the Albert Brooks movie 'Defending Your Life' where Albert and Meryl Streep go to this Italian restaurant (in Purgatory) and the portions were huge! The waiter says "You like pie?! I bring you NINE pies!!"

Claim Jumper or Cheesecake no doubt.

Also reminds of the food-related scenes of Albert Brooks' Mother, where "Mother" (Debbie Reynolds) feeds him the humongous block of cheese that she kept in her freezer, its appeal being, no doubt, its cheap price although freezer burn had ruined any flavor it had left.

There was a New Yorker cartoon, many years ago, that showed a map of the country with a vast underground wonton soup reservoir in the center, and the pipeline snaking out across the country and branching to all the major cities where it reappeared as a nozzle in each restaurant.

While they still serve a lot of folks, I find the Parthenon is still committed to from scratch cooking and craftsmanship. Their Gyro I believe is the only non Kronos, Grecian Delight, Corfu concoction in town made from real lamb and beef and cured daily....best in the city, no question...

Also, I live in the neighborhood and was walking behind the Greek Islands on Green Street and noticed this huge CHINA Express semi thing on the loading dock, the kind of corrugated steel boxes that fall off container ships into the ocean. I envisioned that it held some kind of scary factory processed goods from a third world country...though it could easily have been first rate feta from Greece....either way, when big semi sized containers back up to your restaurant, you've probably jumped the culinary shark...

MJN wrote:While they still serve a lot of folks, I find the Parthenon is still committed to from scratch cooking and craftsmanship. Their Gyro I believe is the only non Kronos, Grecian Delight, Corfu concoction in town made from real lamb and beef and cured daily....best in the city, no question...

I was at the Parthenon a few weeks ago, and I have to disagree. The Gyro appetizer that I was served was minced up pieces of fatty, chewy, lamb. Not sure if it was just an off night as I really never go there, but it was gross to put it bluntly.

I also ordered a Chicken Rigonatti and it was ok. Bland, very bland.

Claimjumper does serve so-so food and is located in Restaurant Row which gives the diner many better choices. One of the few "Wow!" items our group had was the Bread Pudding dessert. The baby back ribs were okay although served with mashed potatoes(?) instead of the usual fries.
Wildfire, Chinn's, Buca di Beppo, La Tasca, Pete Miller's and even the local Joe's Pizzeria offer better choices.

Kesey wrote:I was at the Parthenon a few weeks ago, and I have to disagree. The Gyro appetizer that I was served was minced up pieces of fatty, chewy, lamb.

Is this inconsistent with the point that the Parthenon Gyro is not prefab luncheon meat? If so, how? P.S., fatty, chewy lamb is something I pay dearly for and enjoy immensely. C.f.: Gene & Georgetti, some of the best food ever, turns out to be correctly described as such.

Kesey wrote:The Gyro appetizer that I was served was minced up pieces of fatty, chewy, lamb.

Kesey,

Pretty much describes my lightly charred, fatty, chewy lamb ribs at the "ennh" Greek Islands meal in question, which I very much enjoyed. Fried zucchini slices with skordalia, as Mike G mentioned, were tasty.

Our seating, 4-5 feet from the massive plate production line, certainly reinforced the fact our meal was spewed out by a wheel with many cogs, but every dining out experience isn't going to be a Burt's Pizza where the proprietors take your order, start it cooking and then come back to schmooze while it chuckles away in the oven.

Best part of the evening was when Jesse White was glad-handing the restaurant employees, all smiles, handshakes and man size slaps on the back. He was quite charming, in a distant political fashion, and I (almost) thanked him for the speedy service on my drivers license Safe Driver renewal.

Enjoy,
Gary

stevez wrote:Big portions!!! Imaginative Menu (Tri-tip sandwiches and full turkey dinners, for example). BIG cake for desert. Mediocre crap right off the food service truck. Don't bother going. You've been warned.

Claim Jumper
781 N Milwaukee
Wheeling, IL
847-520-9922

I SO second this. Not to mention the prices are pretty steep for these right off the foodservice truck offerings. AND, since the cattle will pack this place in, you'll probably be waiting for a table.

seebee wrote:

stevez wrote:Big portions!!! Imaginative Menu (Tri-tip sandwiches and full turkey dinners, for example). BIG cake for desert. Mediocre crap right off the food service truck. Don't bother going. You've been warned.

Claim Jumper
781 N Milwaukee
Wheeling, IL
847-520-9922

I SO second this. Not to mention the prices are pretty steep for these right off the foodservice truck offerings. AND, since the cattle will pack this place in, you'll probably be waiting for a table.

Forget waiting for a table... I called the Yorktown location yesterday (Saturday) at 4:15 to make a reservation for 3 people after I found out that they take reservations. Nothing until 8:15, and it would be at least an hour wait if we just showed up.

My parents are picky eaters (Western European, American, some Middle Eastern, occassional Mexican, and absolutely nothing else under penalty of death), and my mom is a recent diabetic so low-carb all the way. I figured that it would be an unoffensive meal since because of my diet and having splurged on breakfast that day, all I wanted was a salad with some beef or ham on top of it. [Actually, what I wanted was Chuck's, but I wasn't going to try waiting for a table on Cinco de Mayo!]

I don't mind eating unoffensive food-service food (Chili's) when I'm on a business trip, and I actually enjoy Cheesecake Factory/Grand Lux 3-4 times a year when I'm in a mood for appetizers to serve as my main course. I figured that Claim Jumper might fit that description, but I'm sure as heck not going to wait for it.

So instead, we went to the Patio in Darien. Mom and Dad split a rack of ribs and got an extra potato, and I had a tolerable rib-eye sandwich which I could have defrosted from the steaks I cooked from Nature's Best the week before and put in my freezer to add to salads. I do enjoy the ribs at the Patio (they are not BBQ, they are Greek Restaurant Ribs with BBQ sauce) but was just not in the mood to blow that many calories for what was my 7th or 8th choice of dinner.

But I've convinced my parents that we are going to Al-Khaymeih the next time I get to pick our dinner option, even though it'll take longer to drive there and back than it will to actually dine there.