seebee wrote:Any joints that have green or red chile? New Mexican style food?

Last year (2008) in March or April, I took my wife (who is of Colorado & New Mexico origins) to Zia's New Mexico Cafe for dinner in Lincoln Park. Zia's had both red & green chile as well as some other traditional New Mexican dishes on the menu. We thought the food was decent, but it didn't quite take us all the way back to full NM experience like one of my favorites in the courtyard of the El Santuario de Chimayo, called Leona's... Or of course, my mother in laws green chile!

OK, back to the local area, unfortunately, I cant seem to find a link to Zia's restaurant right now, so I'm wondering if they've closed since that visit. Does anyone have an update on them? Other than them, I don't know of anyone else doing New Mexico style here. I know there are a few Tex-Mex places around, but its just not the same.

Equally hard for me to find in Chicago, has been Hatch New Mexico Green Chiles. I love making my own green chile, but I really like them for my burgers as well. Last year fall, I ordered about 5 lbs of fresh frozen and had them shipped to my house to get us through the winter. I'm rationing out the last few now. Locally I've found that only the Anaheim's are easily obtained, but IMO they just lack the heat and meat of a Hatch.

If you find either the chiles or a NM restaurant please post back and let me know!

Yes, Zia's closed. Flo on Chicago Ave is also New Mexican-ish, but I don't know anything about the food quality or authenticity.

I'm moving back to Chicago from San Diego after seven years. I'm thrilled to return foodwise (YUM-YUM), but I will miss a few west coast specialties... any help on finding the following in/around Chicago???

GOOD fish tacos (crispy, white sauce, shredded cabbage)
Hawaiian plate lunch
A solid yakitori joint
Central Coast-style BBQ tri-tip
Tijuana-style hot dogs

I don't have anything to compare it to, but you should give Aloha Eats a shot for plate lunches. Tasty, but I have no idea how authentic it is.


Aloha Eats
http://www.alohaeats.com
2534 N Clark St
(773) 935-6828

Just be sure to have one last dessert at Extraordinary Desserts before you come back to Chicago!

Here's an existing thread about Aloha Grill/Aloha Eats.

abf005 wrote:

seebee wrote:Any joints that have green or red chile? New Mexican style food?

Last year (2008) in March or April, I took my wife (who is of Colorado & New Mexico origins) to Zia's New Mexico Cafe for dinner in Lincoln Park. Zia's had both red & green chile as well as some other traditional New Mexican dishes on the menu. We thought the food was decent, but it didn't quite take us all the way back to full NM experience like one of my favorites in the courtyard of the El Santuario de Chimayo, called Leona's... Or of course, my mother in laws green chile!

OK, back to the local area, unfortunately, I cant seem to find a link to Zia's restaurant right now, so I'm wondering if they've closed since that visit. Does anyone have an update on them? Other than them, I don't know of anyone else doing New Mexico style here. I know there are a few Tex-Mex places around, but its just not the same.

Equally hard for me to find in Chicago, has been Hatch New Mexico Green Chiles. I love making my own green chile, but I really like them for my burgers as well. Last year fall, I ordered about 5 lbs of fresh frozen and had them shipped to my house to get us through the winter. I'm rationing out the last few now. Locally I've found that only the Anaheim's are easily obtained, but IMO they just lack the heat and meat of a Hatch.

If you find either the chiles or a NM restaurant please post back and let me know!

I've never found them locally. I bet they'd cost an arm and a leg. I have my csa guy grow a variety of green chile chiliies. He does big jims, anaheims, sandias and a few others. All he asks in return is some frozen pkgs of Da Goods. Wisconsin grown really isn't the same as Hatch, but ya gotta make do. Likely if I ever find hatches locally, I'll buy the lot and possibly offer you some...possibly. Man, I can seriously smell those big drums of peppers roasting right now in my memory. I actually had eggs and green chile with tortillas for breakfast this am.

Dr. K wrote:I'm moving back to Chicago from San Diego after seven years. I'm thrilled to return foodwise (YUM-YUM), but I will miss a few west coast specialties... any help on finding the following in/around Chicago???

GOOD fish tacos (crispy, white sauce, shredded cabbage)
Hawaiian plate lunch
A solid yakitori joint
Central Coast-style BBQ tri-tip
Tijuana-style hot dogs

Fish tacos are becoming more popular here. Search turns up a lot of threads

If you want raw tri-tip, check Costco or (maybe?) Trader Joe's. I know TJ's sells a prepared tri-tip.

Thanks Josh and Khaopaat for the heads-up on Aloha -- I'll check it out.

Winegirl - Yep, Extraordinary Desserts will be missed, as well.

Chgoeditor -- Thanks for the link on fish tacos -- I'd still like to keep the question open, as none of the threads so far seem to have any definitive suggestions...

I've tried the Tri-Tip at Trader Joe's -- not so great, I must say. I wasn't sure if they would carry it in Chicago -- so much of their product is available only regionally.

By the way, I'm thrilled to have found the LTHForum -- what a great resource! I look forward to contributing as soon as I'm back in town in June.

Dr. K wrote:I'm moving back to Chicago from San Diego after seven years. I'm thrilled to return foodwise (YUM-YUM), but I will miss a few west coast specialties... any help on finding the following in/around Chicago???

GOOD fish tacos (crispy, white sauce, shredded cabbage)
Hawaiian plate lunch
A solid yakitori joint
Central Coast-style BBQ tri-tip
Tijuana-style hot dogs

Had to google what one of those Tijuana-style hot dogs were, and based on what I read, they sound vaguely similar to a francheezie since there's a bacon wrapping around the frank.

Our francheezie's do go one step further with the frank being sliced lengthwise and then filled with cheddar or American cheese before being bacon wrapped and cooked...

But since a francheezie can be dragged through the garden, I suppose getting it loaded with the onion, tomato, mustard, etc shouldn't be problem. Your real challenge will be getting mayo & ketchup put on dog anywhere in this city, which most (including me) would consider sacrilegious!! LOL

Either way, as a Chicago guy through & through, I have to believe that eating a Chicago made, pure beef frank has got to be better than any left coast or south of the border frank. So I'll bet you end up liking the spin we put on bacon wrapping hot dogs.

And if all else fails, go to Hot Doug's for a dizzying array of hot dog variations, who knows? They may even make a Tijuana-style hot dog on request. If anyone is willing to experiment with variations on your standard hot dog, it's them.

seebee wrote:

abf005 wrote:

seebee wrote:Any joints that have green or red chile? New Mexican style food?

Last year (2008) in March or April, I took my wife (who is of Colorado & New Mexico origins) to Zia's New Mexico Cafe for dinner in Lincoln Park. Zia's had both red & green chile as well as some other traditional New Mexican dishes on the menu. We thought the food was decent, but it didn't quite take us all the way back to full NM experience like one of my favorites in the courtyard of the El Santuario de Chimayo, called Leona's... Or of course, my mother in laws green chile!

OK, back to the local area, unfortunately, I cant seem to find a link to Zia's restaurant right now, so I'm wondering if they've closed since that visit. Does anyone have an update on them? Other than them, I don't know of anyone else doing New Mexico style here. I know there are a few Tex-Mex places around, but its just not the same.

Equally hard for me to find in Chicago, has been Hatch New Mexico Green Chiles. I love making my own green chile, but I really like them for my burgers as well. Last year fall, I ordered about 5 lbs of fresh frozen and had them shipped to my house to get us through the winter. I'm rationing out the last few now. Locally I've found that only the Anaheim's are easily obtained, but IMO they just lack the heat and meat of a Hatch.

If you find either the chiles or a NM restaurant please post back and let me know!

I've never found them locally. I bet they'd cost an arm and a leg. I have my csa guy grow a variety of green chile chiliies. He does big jims, anaheims, sandias and a few others. All he asks in return is some frozen pkgs of Da Goods. Wisconsin grown really isn't the same as Hatch, but ya gotta make do. Likely if I ever find hatches locally, I'll buy the lot and possibly offer you some...possibly. Man, I can seriously smell those big drums of peppers roasting right now in my memory. I actually had eggs and green chile with tortillas for breakfast this am.

Dude! If you get me in on some of that WI chile action, I will gladly roast, bag and freeze them for you! Hell, I'll even have my wife make a pot of green chile to go with some green chile burgers ala Bert's style too! As in Bert's burger bowl in Sante Fe combined with this Burt from Chicago's twist!

Hot Doug's periodically has a sonoran hot dog: Sonoran-Style Jalapeno-Cheddar Jumbo Hot Dog wrapped in Bacon with Jalapeno Mayonnaise, Pinto Beans, Onions and Tomatoes

I also feel like I've seen sonoran dogs in the city, but damned if I can remember where.

gleam wrote:Yes, Zia's closed. Flo on Chicago Ave is also New Mexican-ish, but I don't know anything about the food quality or authenticity.

Flo is one of my favorite places. I've go mainly for brunch and for dinner a couple times but but services are excellent. If I weren't so lazy, I'd nominate it for a GNR.

Equally hard for me to find in Chicago, has been Hatch New Mexico Green Chiles.
If you find either the chiles or a NM restaurant please post back and let me know![/quote]

Trader Joe's has small cans of diced hatch green chile. Unfortunately it's only available mild.

ljjb29 wrote:Equally hard for me to find in Chicago, has been Hatch New Mexico Green Chiles.
If you find either the chiles or a NM restaurant please post back and let me know!

Trader Joe's has small cans of diced hatch green chile. Unfortunately it's only available mild.[/quote]

That's nice to know, thanks!

I think I know what size your referring to. Its perfect for a batch of green chile cheeseburgers, but I imagine I would need about 8-10 cans per pot of chile right?

Heat-wise, roasting and including some jalapenos usually takes care of the lack of heat, although in the last two years, I've noticed that even those seem to be getting rather mild. And I believe that the heat of my Pico De Gayo has suffered as a result!

Treasure Island always has excellent tri-tips on hand. Oak chips aren't too hard to find around here, so you should be good to go.

Re: the New Mexican chile, you will probably have to grow your own, if you have a back yard - neither NuMex nor Big Jims are well-suited to pot culture. I generally sub a mix of roasted poblano and Anaheim chiles, which works out pretty well, even in chile verde. Also, do try growing your own jalapenos - pot culture stresses the plants, which makes the chiles hotter. Much hotter! Let 'em mature on the plant to red, and roast them. Likewise with serranos. Whoa.

The Sonoran dog sounds close to the Tijuana dog (which is bacon-wrapped, grilled, with mayo, onions and chile).

For the record, I'll take a Chicago dog--Vienna beef, Mary Ann bun, glow-in-the-dark relish, et. al.--over any other dog, BUT every once in awhile one has to change it up a bit.

Mhays wrote:Have you tried Al's Deli in Evanston for roast beef?

Stevez's photo stolen from the GNR thread



As for the falafel, what is it that makes Mamoun's special? There are a number of styles of falafel in Chicagoland, some use chickpeas, some favas, some are heavy on the parsley, some are not. I'd bet if you specify, you could find what you were looking for.

New York City’s oldest falafel restaurant has big plans for the Chicago area. Mamoun’s, a Greenwich Village icon that is embarking on ambitious national expansion plans, has announced that five new franchised restaurants in Chicagoland are now part of that expansion, according to a news release on restaurantnews.com.

https://chicago.eater.com/2017/12/27/16 ... estaurants

Eight and a half year bump! Bravo, Dave!