abe_froeman wrote:Sort of off-topic, but some friends and I were just discussing Pappadeaux's the other night, mostly about how mediocre it is, but none of us could remember what restaurant was there before it was Pappaeaux's...anyone remember the history of this location?

The location in Rolling Meadows was, I believe, The Rusty Pelican. The Westmont location was built by the Pappas Brothers.

Flip

Flip wrote:

abe_froeman wrote:Sort of off-topic, but some friends and I were just discussing Pappadeaux's the other night, mostly about how mediocre it is, but none of us could remember what restaurant was there before it was Pappaeaux's...anyone remember the history of this location?

The location in Rolling Meadows was, I believe, The Rusty Pelican. The Westmont location was built by the Pappas Brothers.

Flip

We thought that at first too, but then we all remembered Yanni's as being The Rusty Pelican before.

abe_froeman wrote:Sort of off-topic, but some friends and I were just discussing Pappadeaux's the other night, mostly about how mediocre it is, but none of us could remember what restaurant was there before it was Pappaeaux's...anyone remember the history of this location?

Wasn't it some project of Walter Payton's? I seem to remember some brouhaha about parking and traffic when it was getting built.

JoelF wrote:Wasn't it some project of Walter Payton's? I seem to remember some brouhaha about parking and traffic when it was getting built.

I think there was something in that location between the Rusty Pelican and Pappadeaux, and it was the Walter Payton venture.

Before the change to Pappadeaux's, the establishment was called "Big Kahuna".

Yanni's was indeed the Rusty Pelican years ago.

bhroselle wrote:Before the change to Pappadeaux's, the establishment was called "Big Kahuna".

Yanni's was indeed the Rusty Pelican years ago.

OK, that sounds more like it.

So that still leaves the question of what was Pappadeaux before Big Kahuna. Back in the early 90s I used to work just across the trollway from that area. I just can't remember what the place was back then. Any one have more working brain cells than I do?

One of those places was the Ground Round I think... a long time ago.

teatpuller wrote:One of those places was the Ground Round I think... a long time ago.

All the Ground Rounds I remember had a similar overall design that is nothing like this place. The Gr I remember is now a Walker Brothers on Dundee Rd near Le Titi de Paris

An old colleague of mine filled in the missing name: the Forum.

there was some kind of steakish place there circa 1980. maybe it was the Forum.

teatpuller wrote:there was some kind of steakish place there circa 1980. maybe it was the Forum.

are you thinking of cattle company?

Frog legs at Pappadeaux

I’d never been to Pappadeaux, though I’d driven by the Arlington Heights location when Sweetness was still an investor there. Last night, I was invited to a “media dinner,” and so with the Wife in Europe, I had a chance to go out to eat with my oldest daughter, Abigail (some of you met her at the 5th Anniversary Dinner).

I’ve eaten frog legs maybe five times in my life, and they’ve usually been more interesting than delicious. When Abigail saw them on the menu at the Westmont Pappadeaux last night, she ordered them right away (not sure why, though she also ordered fried alligator nuggets, and she’s deathly afraid of alligators; I know she jumps for such things whenever they’re on the menu on the theory that you should Eat Your Fears and Thereby Defeat Them; I didn’t know she feared frogs).



This app was a stellar rendition of these amphibian limbs – very meaty, lush and moist, with the Cajun-type seasoning complementing rather than overwhelming the relatively delicate flavor. Though as mentioned, I’ve eaten this dish before, this was maybe the first time I was actually able savor the flavor of froggy. I asked a server if they get many requests for this dish, and he smiled and said No, but he mentioned that legs are vac-sealed and shipped from frog farms in China.

I had halibut for dinner, and the fish was high quality and ably prepared.



There were saucy lemon circles camouflaged as scallops; I ate one by mistake; be forewarned if you order this dish. If I had one complaint about the preparation, it was the tendency to overload with toppings, but that can be easily overcome by simply asking (as suggested above) that the kitchen not top the fish with the tomato/caper and other sauces that seem to turn up on entrees. You could also ask them to hold the lump crab, which is sprinkled over many entrees, but that would seem an unnecessary sacrifice. The quality and pricing of the fish seemed reasonable – not as high as Shaw’s or Hugo’s, perhaps, but clearly above Red Lobster (a comparison made above).

Abigail was not happy with the Caesar salad that we got as a side; she thought the dressing was laid on too heavily.



I actually thought that, although the salad showed the now familiar tendency to overload (there was no need for cheese slices on top; there was ample creaminess provided by the dressing; and neither of us ate the roasted tomato); still, the taste was good, and I even detected a bit of anchovy in it (I should have asked). Purists would object that the salad used a delicate leaf lettuce rather than Romaine, but you don’t go to Pappadeaux if you’re looking for “pure” renditions of anything (as Mike G noted in the initial post to this thread ).

Pappadeaux aims to please the greatest numbers, and it seems unbelievably popular: last night, middle of the week, the cavernous Westmont location was full to overflowing. A key driver for this popularity is undoubtedly the pricing structure: on one or two nights this week, they offer a one pound lobster for $10.

I am going to Pappadeuxs Westmont tonight after work for some happy hour fried oysters, and King Crab maki rolls. Cheap decent bar food, it is what it is.

As a heads up they are offering $10, 1 Lb. lobsters this weekend, minimum purchase of 2 per table, for some sort of anniversary promotion.

jimswside wrote:As a heads up they are offering $10, 1 Lb. lobsters this weekend, minimum purchase of 2 per table, for some sort of anniversary promotion.

Actually, it's a minimum of two per guest: http://www.pappadeaux.com/location/?id=32

David Hammond wrote:Actually, it's a minimum of two per guest: http://www.pappadeaux.com/location/?id=32

thats even better..

David Hammond wrote:Last night, I was invited to a “media dinner,”

Is what's served at a "media dinner" representative of what us regular folks might get?

nr706 wrote:

David Hammond wrote:Last night, I was invited to a “media dinner,”

Is what's served at a "media dinner" representative of what us regular folks might get?

Not always the case, but it was last night at Pappadeaux.

dont understand the negatives for Papadeaux's .
I havent eaten there in awhile but use to go quite regularly. I always though the food was really good and the wait staf was always very freindly and accomodating. I really liked the crawfish etouffee. Only thing that got tiring was the long waits (even with reservations).
Jim - i think its a bit more than bar food but again havent been in awhile

I dont dislike Pappadeux, it serves a purpose for me as a decent lunch option in barren Burr Ridge, and the happy hours are good & cheap.

happy hour last night was ok, a dozen large shrimp, king crab maki roll, some tempura shrimp, 2 buds, and a shot of tequila, $25 before tip. The shrimp were very good, the maki roll was good, but the tempura shrimp with a overyly sweet sauce were not.

never been to the one south..only the Rolling Meadows location.

Well after reading the above I had to go to Papadeaux’s for lunch. I had the lobster. It is $10 for a whole lobster with a minimum order of 2, no sharing. I also ordered a side salad. There are no sides included in this deal.

The side salad was ok, too much iceberg for my taste. I ordered my dressing (balsamic vinaigrette) on the side. What I found interesting was they brought me an unopened bottle. That has never happened to me before, at least with an unopened bottle. It was Roland’s and it was good.

I thought the lobsters were also good. I would recommend them. I only ate the claws and tail. I trimmed off the black and (yucky) green stuff from the tail.

I sat near a gentleman who ordered 3 lobsters. I guess they are $10 per as long as you order 2. He ate everything but the shells. He even had a personal small rolling pin. He used it to squeeze the meat out of the tentacles. I would say he got 25% more meat from each than I did.

So I had to talk to him. He said he has been eating lobsters since he was 5 and now he is over 60. He said he spent a lot of time in Maine where he learned out to eat them. He said he eats the liver and everything in the body and head. He noted it was an acquired taste.

It was amazing to see how he carved it up.

D.

dodger wrote: He even had a personal small rolling pin. He used it to squeeze the meat out of the tentacles. I would say he got 25% more meat from each than I did.

Was this a relative of Cathy2?

dodger wrote:I sat near a gentleman who ordered 3 lobsters. I guess they are $10 per as long as you order 2. He ate everything but the shells. He even had a personal small rolling pin. He used it to squeeze the meat out of the tentacles. I would say he got 25% more meat from each than I did.

The trick I learned from working for a jerk for 2 years was to use bandage scissors for lobster, crab legs, and similar shellfish. Makes opening stuff up really easy.

So I had to talk to him. He said he has been eating lobsters since he was 5 and now he is over 60. He said he spent a lot of time in Maine where he learned out to eat them. He said he eats the liver and everything in the body and head. He noted it was an acquired taste.

I learned from folks in the Boston area 25 years ago. I eat everything but the shell, gills, and gut. The best piece of meat is behind the cheek, near the eyes.

Went to Pappadeux for lunch today, another decent lunch compared to most the other options available(other than the Chinese options in the vicinty that is)

I went for a 1/2 shrimp Po' boy, and a cup of Crawfish bisque. The bisque is really good here, lots of chunks of mudbugs, and a rich, spicy broth. $9

I also had a dozen of their boiled shrimp, perfectly cooked, and flavored, not bad for $4.

My mom got the appetizer trio, some fried calamari, some seafood fondeaux, and about 3 dozen deep fried blue crab fingers. $13.95.

Solid, fresh, cheap, filling lunch.

I also saw on their mneu Wednesdays are a.y.c.e. lobster nights for $44.95.

just a heads up for crawfish lovers.

While I was checking out the happy hour menu for an uncoming visit to the Westmont Pappadeux, I noticed starting March 3rd through April 29th they will be offering boiled crawfish with potatoes and corn for $3.95/lb. on Wednesdays and Thursdays starting @ 5:00 p.m. during the above mentioned time frame.

Pretty good price on mudbugs imho.

Thanks for the advance notice, jimswside. I've been frequently checking the Pappadeaux website to see when their annual crawfish fest would begin. That deal is supposed to be for "dine in" only. However, the Pappadeaux in Arlington Heights has been letting me do it to go for 5 years running. The wife and I usually get 6 pounds to go, lay out some newpaper on our kitchen table and feast on those tasty mudbugs. Since we live within a mile of the restaurant, we take advantage of this deal about 3 times during its 2 month run. It really is a great price for crawfish.

Seamus wrote:Thanks for the advance notice, jimswside. I've been frequently checking the Pappadeaux website to see when their annual crawfish fest would begin. That deal is supposed to be for "dine in" only. However, the Pappadeaux in Arlington Heights has been letting me do it to go for 5 years running. The wife and I usually get 6 pounds to go, lay out some newpaper on our kitchen table and feast on those tasty mudbugs. Since we live within a mile of the restaurant, we take advantage of this deal about 3 times during its 2 month run. It really is a great price for crawfish.

thats cool those folks at the Arlington Heights location let you do that, sounds like you take advantage of it to the fullest.

The price is really good, I payed about $6 a pound for the 6#'s of crawfish I had @ Cajun COnnection a couple weeks ago. I did get a cup of gumbo with the 6 lbs.

I think they let us take it to go because we usually call to order them about 30-45 minutes before closing. So instead of tossing the crawfish that remain at the end of the night, they pack 'em up for us and tally up one more sale for the night.

Pappadeaux does a great job with a fresh fish pan fried without any of the optional toppings. I also like the Pappadeaux platter, which is a mound of fried crawfish, oysters, shrimp, and catfish. I always substitute more fried seafood for the stuffed crab and stuffed shrimp, which I don't care for one bit.
My go to lunch was their chopped salad, which is topped with fried crayfish or chicken. It used to be a huge portion served in a big bowl, but they have cut down the portion, fitting it on a dinner plate.
The crayfish boil is an amazing deal.

I would like if they could figure out a way to do their fried stuff, which is good, fried to order. Through the years, several over the hill servings of fried oysters or crawfish, have been sent back, because they were past even being tepid. I would also assume that even if the crawfish is being flown in live, that it's farmed and not wild. But you know what happens when you assume...

I don't know if the crawfish is farmed or wild, but I asked abou their origin last year and was informed they were flown in live from Louisiana. I always assumed they were wild.