The Endless Stomach--A Culinary Adventure

The Journey

Every year I take my young cousins (14 and 15) out for a pre-yule dinner. This year we were all busy and couldnt do it until last night. They are great kids and I am truly impressed by the amount of food they can eat. The idea behind the dinner is for them to eat themselves into submission, it hasnt happened yet...after last night I doubt it ever will.

I wish I brought my camera along for pictures, but I will report here what was consumed. I also ate, but maybe only 10% of the total food consumed.

Stop #1--Tank Noodles (appetizers)

The wonder twins ate two orders of spring rolls, a papaya salad, a crispy pankake appetizer, a sardine bahn mi and an order of rice noodles, egg roll and grilled beef and pork. They also drank a bubble tea and sugar can juice each.

Tank Noodle
4953 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL 60640 773-878-2253

Stop #1.5- Sun Wah

The guys didnt believe me when I told them we wouldnt find fireworks or throwing stars down the street and made me take them for a look-see. When they spotted the ducks hanging in the window at Sun Wah they asked if they could get a duck to take home for lunch at school the next day, who was i to say no. They split a duck, one pound of pork and some chicken skin for take away--I can only imagine what their lockers smell like today. We would have stayed to eat, but we had other stops to make.

Sun Wah Bbbq
1132-34 W. Argyle St.,
Chicago, Il
Tel: (773) 769-1254

Stop #2--Khan's Bbq

The boys wanted Chicken Boti and Frontier Chicken so hot it would, in their words, "melt the wax on their braces". When they spotted the goat dishes, they also insisted on trying goat too--as in "We are gonna eat goat? This is so cool" They powered through all of this food and two mango lassi each, and enough naan bread to soak it all up. Then they actually complained the food wasnt spicy enough, until they were assured by the owner that nothing was held back and they received full Pakistani hotness. The guys were then treated to a tour of the kitchen, given a viewing of the oven, which they loved, and were given a great explanation of what Halal meant (they asked as they had seen the term on Devon before) The people at Khans are the best and they scored new life time customers in the boys.

Khan Bbq
2401 W. Devon Ave.,
Chicago, Il
Tel: (773) 274-8600

Stops #3-8--The Search for Brains

During our meal at Khans my 14 year old cousin expressed his desire to try other exotic foods, like the goat he was feasting on, and the most exotic in his mind was brains. We then set off on a search for brains through Rogers Park, stopping at every taqueria north of Pratt on Clark Street. We sucessfully scored lengua and tripe at a few places along the way but had no luck with the brains until we hit

STOP #9 - El Rey Del Taco

They had brains. I will only say that they are not my cup of tea but the guys really liked them. $1.84 per taco eaten on the hood of my car in sub 20 degree January cold

El Rey Del Taco
7104 N. Clark
Chicago, IL
773-262-0411

Stop #10 - Buffalo Joes

The guys felt like they needed a little something else on the way home so we stopped for a double order of suicide wings, they said to make up for the lack of hotness at Khans , they powered these down in under 5 minutes and we were off...

Stop #11 - Gigio's Pizza

The guys felt that a slice would top the entree portion of the evening off perfectly, and while i am not really a fan of Gigios, who was I to argue. besides, i couldnt think of anywhere else in the neighborhood that served slices. $2.30 ea

Gigio's Pizzeria
1001 Davis
Evanston, IL 60201
847 328 0990

I cried enough, but the boys wanted dessert so i promised them a shake or sundae at the Baskin Robbins drive through on Greenbay road in wilmette on the way home to highland park. Mercifully the place was closed. Not good enough they said. Dunkin donuts on 41 at Park avenue is open 24 hours.

Stop # 12 - Dunkin Donuts

Boston Creme (the anytime donut they claimed) and an apple fritter for their mom in the morning (strictly a breakfast donut in their minds)

Dunkin Donuts
1990 Skokie Valley Rd
Highland Park, IL
(847) 432-9177

Stop #13 Bed

I demanded sleep at 11 pm...they wanted more. Since i was the only one of us with money or a drivers license, i won the argument.

I cannot imagine that I had this kind of an appetite at their age, but I am sure that I did. I only recount this journey in that it was a lot of fun and impressive given the age and cast iron quality of my young cousin's stomachs

iblock9 wrote:I only recount this journey in that it was a lot of fun and impressive given the age and cast iron quality of my young cousin's stomachs

Wow, impressive, to say the least. A tale to be told around culinary campfires near and far.

We should plan an LTHForum event around these two fellows. Actually, we should have Ronnie_Suburban plan the event, he is the master of the roving degustation.

that sounds like the perfect day, unfortunately my 3 year old would say, "let's go home now" after about 45 minutes.

iblock9 wrote:
Stop #11 - Gigio's Pizza

besides, i couldnt think of anywhere else in the neighborhood that served slices. $2.30 ea

Gigio's Pizzeria
1001 Davis
Evanston, IL 60201
847 328 0990

Portofino's has slices

Portofino's Pizzeria
843 Dodge Ave
Evanston, IL 60202
(847) 475-3663

I would have been content after eating all they did at Tank Noodle. I can't imagine being able to eat all the food those two boys did. I wonder how their stomachs felt this morning.

I just spoke to their mother...Stomachs were a little rough last night but a little roast duck for breakfast did the trick and calmed their bellys. They saved the Sun Wah for dinner tonite -- they decided to share with their mom and sister too -- good eggs these two.

iblock9 wrote:besides, i couldnt think of anywhere else in the neighborhood that served slices. $2.30 ea

I'm assuming you didn't, but if you'd meant the Buffalo Joe's on Howard, then there's the relatively new Rogers Park Pizzeria, about which TimeOut Chicago fairly gushes; The slices are about as good as Gigio's, which isn't high praise, but I consider both pretty serviceable for a quick bite. The crust is slightly floppier than Gigio's, so highly foldable. Slices are only $2 on Thursday and Saturday nights; $2.75 otherwise (and only $3 for a slice and a soda together).

I'm interested to see how they do on a whole pie, but they don't do enough business to sustain delivery, and it's just a little further than I want to walk back and forth (with a pizza on one leg), at least during the winter.

Rogers Park Pizzeria
1632 W Howard St
773-274-2200

The Endless Stomach twins have asked me to plan a second adventure for them. My brother and i thought we would take them to LSC to begin to sate their desire for the hot and the weird. After that i thought we would work our way back north.

I am throwing it out to you guys to see if anyone has any suggestions for five or six other places to hit as we work our way north. They have said they definitely want a return visit to Khan BBq, other than that we are open to suggestions with the limits being no further south then Chinatown or so and Highland Park being the northern most point.

Remember Exotic and Spicy foods are the watchwords of our adventure.

iblock9 wrote:The Endless Stomach twins have asked me to plan a second adventure for them. My brother and i thought we would take them to LSC to begin to sate their desire for the hot and the weird. After that i thought we would work our way back north.

I am throwing it out to you guys to see if anyone has any suggestions for five or six other places to hit as we work our way north. They have said they definitely want a return visit to Khan BBq, other than that we are open to suggestions with the limits being no further south then Chinatown or so and Highland Park being the northern most point.

Remember Exotic and Spicy foods are the watchwords of our adventure.

I was reminded earlier this week of how much I love GNR, Cemitas Puebla, in Humboldt Park.

=R=

For really exotic on your way back up north, you might think about Palace Gate. I'll make a wild guess that your young cousins might have never tried Ghanian food. But a bunch of LTHers tried it a little over a year ago (scroll down for pix), and then mused further on the experience.

Palace Gate
4548 N. Magnolia (just south of Wilson)
Chicago
773-769-1793

One person's exotic is another's home cooking, but you might want to consider Chun Ju on Dempster (Morton Grove). They have a great goat stew -- heuk yum so bokeum -- that cooks at your table. Fried rice is made with the leftovers. The spice level is moderate (for Korean food), but they also do something similar with octopus that should pack enough heat to satisfy your cousins. I usually get both and have them make fried rice with the octopus leftovers.

In my experience, non-Koreans find the heuk yum so bokeum a bit challenging, but it may be exactly what your cousins are looking for.

Or any kind of Korean barbecue, with all the great variety of banchan and spicy kimchi.

Your cousins would probably also enjoy the exotic flavors of ice cream at Village Creamery.

You won't be too far from Pilsen. How about a stop off at BomBon Bakery for "lighter" non-sitdown fare? I'm sure others can also pipe in with favorite taquerias, etc. if you're looking for something more substantial on that leg of your journey:

1508 W. 18th St.

If you can venture slightly further south, GNR Lithuanian Healthy Food would be a good place to start.

Kugelis for breakfast would set a good "base" for the day.

jbw wrote:You won't be too far from Pilsen. .

Other then BonBon and Nuevo Leon I am not that familiar with Pilsen. What taquerias or carnicerias are recommended? Sesos, lenguas and tripe, or the like, are added bonuses.

If you plan the adventure for a Sunday, the Maxwell Street Market offers a veritable cornucopia of exotic foods for your cousins. Lengua, menudo, corn fungus, ojo tacos...

Or, Birrieria Reyes de Ocotlan for more goat.

The Endless Stomach Tour round two commenced last night in a slightly condensed format. One of the wonder twins had to bow out so our ordering power was slightly diminished. Some impressive eating, even for a 16 year old, was observed. Lots of leftovers, including pig parts, to enjoy during the Bear's game

Stop #1 Lao Sze Chuan

Since hot and weird are some of the many, many goals of the Endless Stomach we hit LSC first. A late start and a crowded LSC didnt have us seated until close to 8:00. We knew we would pay for our slow start later. At LSC we had copious amounts of food, starting with beef and maw, Szechuan pig ears and House Special Spicy Kidneys. We also had the Chengdu dumplings, Chicken Crack and Shrimp in Mayonaise. My young dining companion declared the Shrimp in Mayonaise the most "unhealthy dish he had ever seen." Remember he is only 16. You have a lot to learn grasshopper. I have to say that I didnt enjoy the texture of the pig ears. Otherwise everything was spot on.

Stop #2 Honey One BBQ

We had a date with destinations further north on Western Avenue but we made a quick pit stop at Honey One to hold us over until our next meal. By close to 9pm they were all out of tips and links. We opted to share a half rack of ribs which were perfect. Dare I say the fries were also fantastic? It was shaping up to be a very special night.

Stop #3 Candelite Pizza

Sausage Pizza, light cheese. Half eaten, retired to the car with work to do.

Stop #4 San Soo Gap San

We back tracked to San Soo Gap San in order to make sure we hit Candlelite before they stop serving food at 10. It turned out to be a good move because we feasted at SSGS. We ordered Bulgogi and Kalbi because we wanted to cook the meat ourselves and we were told that if we ordered only one meat they would cook it for us in back. This was not acceptable so we ordered more. We also rounded out our oder with the excellent Dolsit BiBimbop. Before the food arrived we promised ourselves that we would eat all of the panchan put before us. Our eyes turned out to be a little bigger then our heads, but young grasshopper did manage to "try" each offering. Are we done? I asked hoping for submission. Not yet, my friend, claimed my young companion.

Stop #5 Steak & Shake

The youngster needed something sweet to balance out his chakras. He opted for a chocolate and banana side by side to go. I refrained.

Stop #6 Buffalo Joe's

The evening's finish is now somewhat a tradition, three years in a row we have concluded with a double order of suicide wings. Grasshopper deserves most of the credit, as I could only stomach 2 little wings. He, however, liked his plate clean.

Stop #7 Walgreens, Highland Park

Tums. Need I say more. Until the next installment....

iblock9 wrote:This was not acceptable so we ordered more.

You and your cousin have my admiration!

iblock-

In searching for something else, I stumbled across this thread. Have there been further culinary adventures with your cousins? It was such fun reading about the first two!

I've never met iblock (loved this thread though) and don't mean to hijack but I laughed when I saw this because I thought of my week:

Saturday: Late night Chizakaya feast
Sunday: LTH Picnic
Monday: Baconfest satellite dinner at Chalkboard
Tuesday: Birthday dinner for a friend at Jury's (trying to get out of this one)
Wed: Chizakaya tasting dinner
Thursday:Lord only knows
Friday: Blind tasting at Que Syrah
Saturday: Barnaby's with the family.

I don't know how much of this counts as culinary adventure but i will definitely need an endless stomach.

Groan.

The GP wrote:iblock-

In searching for something else, I stumbled across this thread. Have there been further culinary adventures with your cousins? It was such fun reading about the first two!

We did do another one of these evenings late last fall and of course i forgot to write it up. Highlight was all kinds of bugs at Sticky Rice. when we asked where they got the bugs, they said from the plants on the patio in back of the restaurant. for some reason that fact made me want to vomit. The kids also really enjoyed eating polish and pork chop sandwiches on the hood of the car at Jim's original. Thanks for bringing this up, it is probably time for another roving meal.

iblock9 wrote:
Highlight was all kinds of bugs at Sticky Rice. When we asked where they got the bugs, they said from the plants on the patio in back of the restaurant. For some reason that fact made me want to vomit.

But ya gotta admire the effort at sourcing locally.

iblock9 wrote:Highlight was all kinds of bugs at Sticky Rice. when we asked where they got the bugs, they said from the plants on the patio in back of the restaurant. for some reason that fact made me want to vomit.

I think most of their insects come in cans from Thailand. When I was buying a can of beetles at Golden Pacific earlier this year, the owner mentioned that Sticky Rice bought more insects than anyone in the city.

Rene G wrote: the owner mentioned that Sticky Rice bought more insects than anyone in the city.

I guess that is good to know. Maybe they were just messing with us because we were being goofy.

Rene G wrote:When I was buying a can of beetles at Golden Pacific earlier this year...

I think this belongs on the 'You know you're an LTHer when...' thread