Thanks again to all who set up this meal. I do think we maybe found that the capacity of TAC for such events is more like 10-15, but I too give them credit for having kept it so smooth while being stretched to the limit.

The garlic ribs were a new item to me, and pretty good I thought, although the pork neck is still the champ in the grilled category. And I was glad to see the crispy en choy win praise from so many people. An amazing dish, so different from anything you've had before, yet easy to like.

But the real pleasure was meeting or getting more of a chance to talk to a number of new LTHers or LTHers-by-one-degree-of-separation. Hope to see you again soon.

I had a great time. TAC Quick never ceases to amaze, and as always, dining the LTH way - getting to try a little bit of everything - really shows off the restaurant's high points.

I'm waiting to see Pie Lady's photos, in munchalogical order. But I took a few pix, also, so rather than waiting for hers, I thought I'd put up a few (but I really don't mean to steal your thunder, Pie Lady). I was at the western end of the table, so wasn't able to visit much with those at the other end.

I wasn't taking notes, so if I've mis-identified a few dishes, or if the Thai names can be added, please correct me. In no particular munchalogical order:

The On Choy was an amazing mix of flavors and textures.


The signature pork neck made me wish someone would cross a pig with a giraffe.


Papaya Salad was refreshing, but still had a nice heat level.


Duck Curry was a bit soupy - best over rice, probably one of the least easy-to-share dishes.


The Garlic Ribs showed off all of the piggy's versatility.


Crispy Basil with fermented duck eggs


Shrimp paste dip w/ grilled mackerel & crudités (naam phrik ka-pi plaa thuu) {thanks Aaron} came with very tasty omelettes (did Octarine eat the head?)


I believe (but could be wrong) that the beef noodle soup (also tough to share) contained some very good fermented duck eggs.


Admittedly, some of the photos look similar - they don't do justice to the wide variety of flavors and textures we all shared.

Afterwards, the few of us who didn't want pie settled in for some drinks and jazz at Katarina's - thanks for the suggestion, Kennyz.

Katerina's
1920 W. Irving Park Rd.
Chicago

I was not a fan of those little fishes, just not my thing. I had the omelet and the slice of eggplant or zuke that came with it though.

nr706 wrote:Catfish came with very tasty omelettes (did Octarine eat the head?)

This is actually the "Shrimp paste dip w/ grilled mackerel & crudités (naam phrik ka-pi plaa thuu)" from happy_stomach's menu.

It was nice to have the opportunity to meet some new folks, and I also enjoyed the food, though in my estimation it wasn't quite as on-the-money as it can be.

The on choy was in top form, as noted, and the pork neck, Isaan sausage, and crispy basil (which featured the preserved duck egg) were all quite good. Other dishes, while still pretty good, seemed a bit below the sublime levels TAC Quick often hits.

A delightful event; two or even three separate tables might work better for this size group next time (so that there aren't any satellites or corner-squeezers getting the short end of the garlic pork rib), but as mentioned often above, the TAC staff handled everything with elan.

While thin and hard to share, I could have drunk a milkshake-size portion of the duck curry with a straw. I though the balance between sweet, sour, spicy, and rich was spot-on. It rounded out an excellent menu as set by happy_stomach. Pork neck and on choy were off the charts.

It's worth noting that the boat noodle presentation needs some re-engineering - BOTH serving bowls of soup went flying across the table after sliding off their Teflon saucers, anointing some unfortunates with the funky (but delicious) broth. I think either a one-piece tureen, or a tableside ladeling into individual cups might be the way to go here.

nr706 wrote:
Afterwards, the few of us who didn't want pie settled in for some drinks and jazz at Katarina's - thanks for the suggestion, Kennyz.

Katerina's
1920 W. Irving Park Rd.
Chicago

I've mentioned Katerina's elsewhere in the forum, but let me take this opportunity to plug what is really a uniquely cool Chicago venue. Good live music played nightly at a conversation-friendly volume, a nice wine list, bartenders who make a mean martini, the beautiful and charming Katerina herself (unfortunately not in house last night), and a better-than-expected dinner menu comprised largely of Greek dishes made from from Katerina's family recipes (her dad does the cooking). The grilled calamari with lemon and garlic are particularly tasty, as is the potent skorthalia.

I'll forgive you, nr706, because I can't figure out how to post. They're all coming up on iPhoto, but then what? I'll ask the person I bought it from if she understands, and I'll post soon! So sorry for the delay!

Hi Pie Lady,

I'm sure there are instructions posted here somewhere, but I couldn't find them, so I'll summarize. Once your pictures are in iPhoto, you need to upload them to an internet site to host them. Flickr.com is a popular one. although there are others. You can follow the instructins on Flickr to upload the photos, then you have a choice of size to link to. Choose one not more than 600 pixels wide, click on it, and it'll give you a web address for your picture at that size. That's what you paste in to your message on LTH after you click on the Img button.

Does that help?

Now that three weeks have passed and nobody cares, here are my photos from the night! Some had to be deleted due to being too blurry, but here's what I have. I still can't figure out this upload stuff to save my life, so hopefully it doesn't come down to that. I got through most of the Flickr instructions above (thanks nr706!!), but don't get how to post the actual photo here, not the link info. Anyway, view my slideshow. It's almost as good.

Is there a smilie for exhaustion? I promise I'll do better next time...

http://flickr.com/photos/29942358@N08/s ... 934217097/

I care!

The flickr gallery is set to private, though. Looking forward to seeing it. The trick if you want to post here is to go to the "all sizes" page, select the medium size, and copy the url into your LTH post. Then, use the "Img" button above (or just type "[img]url-goes-here[/img]").

In bacon,

Matt

Mostly Devoured Pork Neck


Issan Sausage


Mostly Devoured Thai-Style Fried Chicken


Papaya Salad with Salted Crab


Duck Curry


Shrimp Paste Dip with Grilled Mackerel and Crudites


Beef Noodle Soup


Pie at Pick Me Up Café: Left to Right: Coconut Cream, Strawberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Fudge Cake, another Coconut Cream

Hooray! I did it (and in munchalogical order)! I apologize for the quality of photos, but it is my first time, after all. As I mentioned earlier, some photos were deleted for being too blurry. It's harder than I thought to snap a photo before the dish gets ravaged. But practice makes perfect!

Thanks all for your advice and coaching me through this project. I appreciate it!!!

Yay, Pie Lady! Great job - food looks terrific. Wish I'd been there!

Mhays wrote:Yay, Pie Lady! Great job - food looks terrific. Wish I'd been there!

Ooh...Pie-con.

How cute! I thought it was a bullhorn