Okay, with 22 folks I am calling in for 14 steaks. (This gives us some room to order a few other things, and in any case the portions are damn near two-person sized, well, other persons than us, admittedly... anyway I think hunger afterwards is exceedingly unlikely).

* * *

14 steaks pre-ordered. See you there. If anyone else decides they want to go, it's fine, we'll just be ordering more other stuff.

Mike G wrote:Okay, with 22 folks I am calling in for 14 steaks. (This gives us some room to order a few other things, and in any case the portions are damn near two-person sized, well, other persons than us, admittedly... anyway I think hunger afterwards is exceedingly unlikely).

* * *

14 steaks pre-ordered. See you there. If anyone else decides they want to go, it's fine, we'll just be ordering more other stuff.

Yeah, Cookie and I will only order 1 steak and something else between the two of us.

See you tomorrow.

eatchicago wrote:

Mike G wrote:Okay, with 22 folks I am calling in for 14 steaks. (This gives us some room to order a few other things, and in any case the portions are damn near two-person sized, well, other persons than us, admittedly... anyway I think hunger afterwards is exceedingly unlikely).

* * *

14 steaks pre-ordered. See you there. If anyone else decides they want to go, it's fine, we'll just be ordering more other stuff.

Yeah, Cookie and I will only order 1 steak and something else between the two of us.

See you tomorrow.

Yeah. Same here. I'll be happy with just a taste of steak and somehting else as my "main".

You will each eat .64 of an order of Roumanian Skirt Steak, and like it.

I will sadly be missing this one for a musical reason yet again, though it's not far away on the South Side. I'll mention the details here on the extreme offchance the dinner finishes early and any of you are interested in continuing the Eastern European acculturation:

Golosa (www.golosa.org)
The University of Chicago Russian Choir
presents our 10th annual Spring Folk Music Concert
7 PM, Bond Chapel, The University of Chicago
1050 East 59th Street, Hyde Park
http://maps.uchicago.edu/mainquad/bond.html

We have over an hour of music and stories and will undoubtedly start late, so you'd be welcome even for the last 15 minutes. We make ethnographic recordings in a region called Buryatia in the Transbaikal, 180 degrees around the globe in southern Siberia on the Mongolian border, transcribe them to Western notation, and teach our singers the Cyrillic alphabet and the very unusual Eastern (sometimes even incorporating throat-singing) style of tone production used in this amazing music.

A wonderful bake sale and fellowship will follow in the Swift Hall courtyard right outside of Bond Chapel. Just tell my friends at the door you're with LTH and they'll let you in to any part of the concert or baked-goods eating you can make with no ticket charge.

Enjoy some steak for me!

It looks like I'll be able to make it. Please count me in for a fraction of a steak.

Skirt steak was, as promised, a robustly meaty cut with tasty char and lots of history, especially when eaten at Manny's, a living slice of history and a Chicago treasure. And a good crowd dug in with gusto:





Afterwards, a few of us popped over to Binny's, where I tried the Mezcal flight, a deal at $10:



What I mainly learned was... I don't care for Mezcal. The differences between them-- Chichicapa smoky, Del Rio basic, Albarradas a little hint of pear, Minera salty-- were rather subtle next to the overall harsh burn. Not my sipping drink, but hey, I found that out the easy way in one evening, I guess. Better were some bourbons and scotches we tried, including a heavily peated one aged in d'Yquem Sauternes casks, which tasted like gulping smoke, but (with a lot of water) kind of grew on me over time.

Thanks all for this expedition into Chicago food history!

Mike, thank you so much for setting this up. I've never had Manny's skirt steak, and it compared very favorably to the ones my father used to cook on the grill when I was younger. My girls, who opted for corned beef, really enjoyed their sandwiches and potato pancakes, finishing every last bite.

It's always nice to get together with carnivorous friends.

Suzy

Yes, many thanks Mike. It was a great idea. Cookie and I had a great time.

Manny's for dinner with a group is a really great concept (as long as you eat early--they close at .

This was also my first taste of the skirt steak and I thought it was excellent. A tad on the salty side, but I like it that way.

I also had a nice heaping plate of corned beef and cabbage. I was a little disappointed that the corned beef wasn't sliced thicker and served steaming hot for this dish (it was cabbage with a mound of sandwich-sliced CB). But I still cleaned my plate.

Manny's seems slightly expensive for lunch, but a downright bargain for a well-executed, hearty steak dinner.

Best,
Michael

Mike-

Thanks for setting this up. I concur with some above that the skirt steak was salty, but it was still a very tasty piece of meat. I had to leave fairly early, being tired and still full from the pig fest at Mercat the night before (a post about which may be forthcoming). But it was a fun event and I'm glad I went.

Wendy

aschie30 wrote:Thanks for setting this up. I concur with some above that the skirt steak was salty, but it was still a very tasty piece of meat.

Aschie,

My skirt steak was cooked perfect med-rare, lightly charred, meaty and if the 'deal' going in wasn't .64th of a skirt steak per person I might have tried to bogart the whole thing for myself. Ellen, however, thought, rightly so, her skirt steak was a little salty, though only the top, of two pieces in the generous portion, was salty. Either way Manny's skirt steak is tasty and reasonably priced.

Sides, as always, were spot-on, matzo ball soup with a kreplach add on, beets, kishke and, for which I was made fun of for ordering, dinner salad with lettuce, radish, tomato, all fresh and crunchy.

Company engaging, a good crowd, great idea Mike, Ellen and I had a terrific time.

Ellen, Steve Z and I made a post Manny's stop at Mario's. Cantaloupe, one of my favorites, was on hand, tart lemon base, bits of lemon peel and mellow meaty hunks of cantaloupe. (no thanks, I'm married)

Enjoy,
Gary

Mike-

Thanks for planning the skirt steak outing. Both me and my friend Jeff had a great time and enjoyed the skirt steak alot!

Thanks, Mike, for organizing this nice, Wednesday night treat. And thanks for bringing along that very cool, vintage, John Drury-penned Chicago Dining Guide book (c. 1931, iirc). It was fun to look through.

I'll agree with some of the comments above that the steak (and the accompanying grilled slice of onion) was a bit salty but still delicious. I too, enjoyed the sides, especially the tasty macaroni and cheese and the 'better than usual' latkes. I also thought the mushroom barley soup was great. And it was nice to learn that soft drinks are now refilled free at Manny's -- just remember to bring your cup back up to the counter with you or endure a mild, friendly scolding.

Great seeing everyone and getting to chat for a while, too.

=R=

Just remembered that I had a few pics on the camera and the bright afternoon sun last Wednesday helped create some images I wouldn't normally associate with Manny's, because up until fairly recently, they were closed by the time the sun reached this point in the western sky . . .


Corned Beef and Pastrami Combo on Rye



Potato Latke



Roumanian Skirt Steak



Roumanian Skirt Steak, medium-rare

Thanks again, Mike, for organizing such a thoroughly enjoyable event.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Just remembered that I had a few pics on the camera and the bright afternoon sun last Wednesday helped create some images I wouldn't normally associate with Manny's, because up until fairly recently, they were closed by the time the sun reached this point in the western sky . . .

Ronnie_S,

Simply stunning, in particular the craggy crisp hill and dale ridges of the potato latke.

Enjoy,
Gary