Evanston Lunch Group: June 5 @ Cafe Salamera/Big Buns &

Plan A: Lunch at Cafe Salamera at 12:30 Tuesday after next - June 5. After many failed attempts to phone, I finally mailed a letter to Norka with my phone number and a request for this date and time, and I'll keep it updated with responses. It's been a while since I used snail mail for almost anything, but anywhere that spawns a 7-page threadis worth the effort. Certainly I've thought any lengths to go for a jibarito or Norky's Porky were well rewarded.
6653 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60626
(773) 764-7210

Plan B: If we arrive and find that Salamera is closed, I will take Cathy2's excellent suggestion to eat at Big Buns and Pita which is conveniently next door. I've always wanted to try it, except for the unstoppable gravitational pull towards Salamera.

Big Buns and Pita
6649 N. Clark St.
Rogers Park
773-262-2000

Please post if you plan to attend; if I speak to Norka I will let you know.

Raising hand ...

I'm in. Thanks for arranging.

=R=

Clarification: Next Tuesday is May 29th, not June 5th. Which do you mean?

I hope the 5th. If so, I'll be there. The 29th is difficult.

You better double check with the restaurant and have Plan-B in mind. Cafe Salamara appears to be closed. It was dark and buttoned up tight as a drum the other day when I had lunch at Big Buns & Pita.

Typical me - June 5th is the date, since it's the June Evanston Lunch Group. Not next week - I did give Norka the correct date on my snail mail; hopefully this will give her time to respond.

I need a D'OH! emoticon just for my own personal use....

Hi,

I plan to attend.

Thanks for organizing this MHays.

Regards,

I've been doin' a lot of Harold's Chicken on Clark St. lately, but I can't resist the possibility of one more round of Salamera before its sun sets. Big Buns is not a bad consolation prize, either, but thanks for goin' for it (and by "it" I mean making reservations)!

Can't wait,
Dan

P.S. And if there's anything special I need to know about attending an ELG outing, please let me know. Thanks.

I'd love to come too! thanks for organizing!

Will anyone be coming from and returning to downtown Evanston or even north Evanston? I'd like to join the ELG for June 5th, but I won't have a car. I can swing a long lunch, but I'm afraid CTA would turn it into a 3-hour affair. I'm on the north end of the Northwestern campus, but would be happy to hitch a ride downtown if it's available.

[Update: I'll be riding with nr706. Thanks!]

I'd like to join in. If it is in fact at Cafe Salamera, that would be terrific, because I have never once successfully managed to eat there. It tends to be closed when I go by.

count me in too!

Anyone know the exact location yet?

I'm afraid I have heard nothing from Norka; reports on the other thread say that the store is closed, but there's no info as to whether or not that's permanent.

Stopped by today on the off chance that it would be open, shut tight like a drum with this large professional sign on the door...it's not looking good, kiddies.



Alas, Jibarito and Norky's Porky...we hardly knew ye....

i talked to norka by phone about a week and a half ago when i was thinking about stopping by for lunch. she said she was open for lunch , only had jibaritos, and was just using up supplies before closing for good. i dont like jibaritos so i stayed home. a real shame that she's closed.

We will see you at Big Buns on Tuesday. Alas, Salamera's closing is deja vu all over again ...
Robert and Catherine

Hi,

See you at Big Buns unless there is a miracle of some sort at Salamera. Very likely my friend Helen will be coming, though not 100% certain.

Regards,

I don't think that I will be able to come, although I might show up late.

Gary

GAF wrote:I don't think that I will be able to come, although I might show up late.

I don't think I'll be able to come, either, as schedule conflicts have put a crimp in my plans. Have a great time today, though!

--Dan

Just to be on the safe side, I called Salamera and the number is now disconnected - so I called Big Buns & Pita and told them we'd be coming with between 10 and 12 people.

Well as it turned out, my boss called me to ask if I could come in early to wait for a delivery. No big fluffy meat-filled buns for me

Perhaps I could hit up Uncle's tonight instead as a substitute.....

A group of eight LTHers got together this afternoon at Big Buns and Pita. As usual, it was a great time.

We started with a definite off-menu item. Cathy2 brought home-made Cicada Chocolate Chip cookies. Suffice it to say that not everyone tried one. Others have said they taste a bit like peanut butter; to my palate, I couldn’t taste the bug at all; the cookies were generous with the chocolate chips.



I found the meal to be particularly interesting, having just been to Larsa’s last Saturday (report here). There’s a significant overlap between the two menus, although BB&P’s is more extensive.

The first food out of the BB&P kitchen was the lahmim beajin – (spelled lahma ajeen at Larsa’s). Comparing the two, BB&P’s is spicier, redder, a little dryer, and the ground beef topping is a little thinner. I think I like Larsa’s version better.


Next was a nice hummus, and with good pita made on-premises.


The baba ghanouj was fine, but lacked the smokiness of Larsa’s version.


Boorek, which they describe as “Mediterranean egg roll,” was fried – not baked like at Deta’s Café, giving it crunchy shell.


All meals came with the vegetarian lentil soup. Again, I slightly preferred the thicker version at Larsa’s, but portions were more generous at BB&P.


Everyone also got a small house salad.


At this point, we went on to the real food, starting with the grilled Cornish Chicken. Well-marinated, skinless pieces served over rice. Tasty.


BB&P has an interesting take on fish & chips. I believe the fish was tilapia, but I could be wrong. These filets were coated in a very thin, crisp batter and deep fried, for a crispy crust unlike the beer batter coating I’m used to on fish & chips at a typical Irish pub. The very thin round slices of potato are fried in the same batter as the fish. An unusual version which received many favorable comments.


Obviously, we hadn’t had enough food yet; we needed something more substantial. The Quuzi was a braised lamb shank on rice; it was served with a tomato sauce. It was falling-off-the-bone, meat jello soft (thankfully, it wasn’t BBQ).


We went on to “Three Country Kubba” – three versions of kibbeh with a parsley-rich tabbouleh.


Had to have an order of the vegetarian dolmas.


There was also a sauce (looked like tomato, beans and spices) to mix with the rice.


Three more notes:

1. I found the candleholders to be interesting for a BYOB restaurant.

2. I stupidly forgot to get pictures of the excellent, enjoyable company.

3. The menu knows where the important recommendations come from (although I might quibble with the order).

Lunch was very nice and, as always, the company was even better . . .


mhays samples one of C2's cicada cookies

nr706 mentioned the thickness of the soup. Hopefully, this shot helps illustrate his point . . .


vegetarian lentil soup


I normally see this item spelled as 'kibbeh'. Regardless of the spelling, these were delicious. I'm not sure what's what here but I definitely enjoyed the 2 fried renditions more than the one which appeared to be steamed . . .


“Three Country Kubba”


2 bowls of 'stew' were served as accompaniments for the rice. One of them was filled with tender beans . . .


rice with bean stew

We were also offered a couple of sauces . . .


hot sauce



garlic sauce

Overall, I liked the food and I thought the service was very friendly. My favorites were the lamb, the kibbeh and the stews that were served with the rice. I also thought the soup was very good, although I'm partial to Pita Inn's version. I'm glad I got to finally try this place out. Since I'm in the area fairly often, it's a good place to know about. And, as I mentioned up top, it's always a pleasure to break (pita) bread with fellow LTH'ers.

=R=

Ron's right - the The Country Kubba was a kibbeh. I've corrected my post. Thanks Ron.