A Weekend food trip to Chicago (Recommendations welcome)

For the last weekend in March the wife and I are heading to Chicago to stay with some friends, and I plan on trying to eat a lot too. Our friends live near Glenwood and Hollywood, I'm not really sure what neighborhood that is. If someone could tell me, that would be great as I might be able to search for nearby places a little easier on here. Also, I am looking for cheap but good, there will be no stops at Aliena, I'd prefer for things to be under $15 a person.

Our Friday night plans are set, we are meeting with another set of friends for dinner at Hai Yen on Argyle.

Saturday morning I'm hoping everyone will be agreeable with going to Chinatown for dim sum and baked goods. Other than the obvious LTH (that is in Chinatown right?), what is best for what? I'll be searching the forums a bit too.

Saturday lunch is going to be at Kuma's. This place is the original purpose of the trip, I'm a metal fan, and I just have to eat there.

Saturday dinner is open, I'm looking for suggestions. Maybe a place to get a Jibarito or el pastor tacos in the Glenwood area?

I'd like to get some Cuban food on Sunday and was think of El Cubanito, but if anything is closer to where we will be staying, that would be great.

Thanks for any help you can offer. I might have pictures to post after the trip, it depends on how embarrassed my wife looks when I get the camera out, as it is a DSLR, not a P&S.

Not sure if you're familiar with Devon Avenue, but you sound somewhat adventurous? Knowing what I know, if I was you, I'd be having Indian food on Devon avenue no matter what the other plans were. You're gonna be SOOOO close. Honestly, If I was visiting, and staying near Hollywood, and Glenwood, Indian food would probably be at the top of my list. Khan Bbq on the Sw corner of Devon and Western is a decent spot among quite a few others. There are also shops, and places for sweets to try.

For Cuban, you'll be close to La Unica, on Devon east of Clark. Look at its write up in the GNR section to get a bunch of recommendations for it.

I'm not sure if there's any place for a jibarito around there, since Cafe Salamera closed...

And for searching, try Edgewater and Andersonville; Argyle is just a bit further south. Also search for discussion of the two(?) North Clark-a-thons.

Have fun!

Download and print out the LTH Forum Pocket Guide to Great Neighborhood Restaurants. Tape it to the wall and throw a dart at it. You can't go wrong.

Thank you for the help so far. Khan BBQ looks pretty awesome. The four of us are all pretty adventerous eaters, so I any recommendations would do.

Devon Ave is also within walking distance which is nice.

Any tips on parking in Chinatown or at Kumas? Should we try and take the train?

stevez wrote:Download and print out the LTH Forum Pocket Guide to Great Neighborhood Restaurants. Tape it to the wall and throw a dart at it. You can't go wrong.

Awesome, thanks. I love this place.

Oh, by the way, if you are going to Chinatown for dim sum LTH is not really where you want to go. (Sorry, Gary. ) Instead, go to Phoenix if you want dim sum served from carts, or to Happy Chef for dim sum ordered from a menu. (Search for threads about these places.)

Closer to where you'll be staying, the dim-sum-from-a-cart at Furama is pretty good.

In Chinatown, at the Chinatown Parking lot (Cermak and Wentworth), I've had trouble in the past with "freelancers" who ask you to pay once you park, and give you an official-looking receipt. Avoid them, and only pay as you leave. The train is an easy option.

Furama
4936 N. Broadway, Chicago
(773) 271-1161

brandon_w wrote:Any tips on parking in Chinatown or at Kumas? Should we try and take the train?

Brandon-

At Glenwood and Hollywood in the Edgewater neighborhood, you won't be far from the Red Line, which will take you to the heart of Chinatown. You might want to check out the CTA website to check for any service interruptions. Driving to Kuma's might be easier than public transit. There is parking in the neighborhood near Kuma's. You could always follow up a burger with a sausage from Hot Doug's...

If you like Ethiopian, there are several choices near your hosts -- Ethiopian Diamond and Ras Dashen come to mind immediately. A newer one is further south on Broadway - Demera. There are threads for all on the site. A trip to one of the Ethiopian restaurants or Argyle Street could be followed up by some music at the Green Mill. Classic Chicago!

www.transitchicago.com
www.greenmilljazz.com

Enjoy yourself!

Here was an answer I gave a friend to a similar query late last summer:

Four days in Chicago

I had fairly dreadful dim sum at the Furama on Broadway a year ago. I normally go by the there's no such thing as bad dim sum philosophy, but Furama broke the rule. Many items were cold (presumably from inadequate turnover although we were there at a peak time). The wrapping on the shrimp dumpling and shrimp rice noodle dishes were very thick and clumsy.

I've felt that Phoenix has improved its dim sum quality recently. Have had a couple of good visits there in the last few months, at least by Chicago dim sum standards. Note also that a good strategy at Phoenix is to ask the waiters for any items you want but don't see. Not everything makes it to your location and the waiters are very cooperative. Also, Phoenix had soup dumplings at dim sum when I was there about a month ago. Alas did not have a chance to try them as we were leaving. They looked decent, at least by Chicago standards. (My heroes were the table next to us that had already paid their bid when the dumplings came out but handed over cash for a order.)

I find that I like Chinese food more at the restaurants that don't do dim sum as a specialty. Here are links to discussion topics for two of Chicago's best, both in Chinatown:

praise for Lao Sze Chuan
Double Li - Szechuan cuisine across the street from LTH

By el, take the Red Line to the Cermak-Chinatown stop. For driving directions and information on parking, click here.

Thanks again for all of the replies and suggestions.

My friend is working out the details for using the public transportation to get around. We don't mind walking a bit either, so I think we will leave the cars parked for the day.

Outside of dim sum, are there any suggestions on the best places for baked goods in Chinatown. I'm really looking to get those buns with the bbq pork stuffed in side.

brandon_w wrote:My friend is working out the details for using the public transportation to get around. We don't mind walking a bit either, so I think we will leave the cars parked for the day.

Just a note on public transportation vs driving (and even taxis)...

If you're not traveling during prime commuting times on weekdays - and that's a big "if", of course - the Chicago area is generally quite easy to navigate by driving. Street parking is generally easily available in neighborhoods other than the immediate downtown and Michigan Avenue areas; in the latter, parking garages are available but expensive ($15-30 for the day), which is an obvious negative of driving (especially when you have to pay that parking fee each time you go in and out).

I'm not discouraging you from using public transportation, by any means; I prefer using it myself whenever it's convenient! The big downside, though, is often time, especially at off hours and/or when you need multiple legs on public transportation. For example, if you're staying around Michigan Avenue and you want to go to Khan BBQ, the door-to-door travel time with the CTA might be anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes, including walking to the el and time waiting for a train and then a bus, whereas you can drive it in 20 minutes or so, and street parking on the side streets off Devon Avenue is readily available. Also, when you have multiple people traveling, driving (or, for a short trip, cabs) may be cost competitive with the CTA.

Unlike many other cities, Chicago is a place where you have excellent public transportation AND driving is a viable option too. Consider both during your stay for each trip, depending on where and when you're traveling.

There are several good places that serve BBQ Pork Buns in Chinatown and on Argyle. Chui Quon Bakery is the common denominator with a place on Argyle under the Red Line stop. The quality of Chui Quon in Chinatown is just as good. St. Anne's Bakery in the New Chinatown Mall also has great buns. There was a thread here a few weeks ago that mentioned a few more. My favorite bun place is La Patisserie P on Argyle between Kenmore and Winthrop (1 Block East of "L" Station); great curry buns.

I highly recommend Pasticceria Natalina. I say this as a pastry fanatic who has been on a multi-year quest for first-rate sfogliatelle in the States. I found them at Bruno Bakery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, but sfogliatelle don't travel well, so I couldn't have them shipped. Natalie's are among the best I have tried, and she and Nick, her husband, could hardly be friendlier.

Call before you drop by; the shop sometimes closes unexpectedly.

5406 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60640
773-989-0662

This past weekend was the big trip down to Chicago and it was a good one. My friends place is in a really nice area, lots of great older houses and apartment buildings, that area of Clark up that way is really great too. The location was excellent though because it made for a quick walk down to Argyle.

Friday night we ate at Hai Yen and I thought the food was good. I don't really have a reference point though because I have not eaten much Vietnamese food in my life. I really liked the beef spring rolls with all of the herbs packed in there, the beef had a great seasoning. The pork spring rolls were ok too, but I preferred the beef. We also ordered a Vietnamese style crepe which was huge, and different than expected. It reminded me more of a really big omelet with a crispy exterior, everyone at the table enjoyed it. My dinner was only ok, and I can't remember the names of what it was. However there was pork and or shrimp inside of like tapioca gelatin things, and then ground shrimp/shrimp chunks on these white little discs (crepes maybe)?

My buddy got a bowl of curry which he loved and my wife got an enormous serving of beef pho that was good (I helped her eat it). With so many things on the menu I'd go back again.

Saturday morning we walked down to Argyle again and went to Chui Quon and La Patisserie P. Radiator you misspoke, the curry buns at Pa Patisserie P aren't just great, they are beyond great, they are amazing. I ate 5 of them (just the curry ones) in 2 days. The other stuff at La Patisserie P was good also. My wife loved the éclairs and chocolate filled croissants. Their BBQ beef buns were good too. I also really enjoyed the bbq pork buns and shrimp and pork dumplings from Chui Quon. If I lived near those places I'd be a regular for sure, I'm so jealous of my friend who lives right near there. I'm already having curry bun withdrawals. Curry buns, more like curry crack.

After some morning bakery and waiting for the lady folk to wake up and get rolling we headed out to Chinatown. We ate lunch at Phoenix and it was good experience. We ordered some chicken feet, spare ribs, seaweed and shrimp rolls and a few other things. It was all fresh, hot, and tasty. My dim sum experience is limited but the food was good to us, the service was fast and the staff was friendly. That place was packed though, they do some serious business.

Dinner was at Kuma's, you can read about my experience in the Kuma's thread.

Sunday we didn't make it out for Cuban or anything else, I just wanted to go get more curry buns so that is what I did. Then we left earlier than I thought we would because the wife wanted to go to Ikea.

Overall it was a great weekend. I missed a few things that I wanted to hit up, but that just leaves me with reasons to go back. I want to learn how to make curry buns so I can open up a bakery here in Madison that just makes those. How could it not be a hit?

Thanks again for the recommendations.