Done it thrice in the last week or so.. katayif from Jaffer Sweets on Kedzie (near Lawrence). This is the Ramadan-only-special-item for Middle-Eastern bakeries - the fried-pocket with either cinnamonny-nutty filling, or else sweet-cheese(?) filling. Last year I was a nut-partisan.. after several katayif's consumed this year, Iam not sure Iam quite willing to choose between the two varieites this season.

Got them at 4pm-ish... ie well before the breaking-of-the-fast-time at Jaffer (which I find better than Nazareth, though Nazareth is more convenient, being next to Salaam .. the katayif sell out rapidly enough that the morning versions were finished (another big batch would be fried nearer the 7:30 fast-breaking time). They always have more ready to fry up though - he asked if I wanted it cooked or uncooked "Cooked", I said, and waited 5-odd minutes, and was rewarded with fresh crispy pockets of just-right-sweetness.

Theyre a buck apiece, and will be unavailable for the next 11 months once Ramadan ends. Id suggest a trip fairly soon

c8w

c8w,

Thanks for posting on this Ramadan specialty. When Cathy2, jygach, helen and I went for our 4 AM Ramadan breakfast last year, we asked about what foods were special for Ramadan, but this pastry did not come up in the discussion. (Jyoti bought me my first sweet paan, however, and I loved it.) I love Nazareth, having had their date cookies at Semiramis, so I will be happy to check out the katayif at Jaffer. This is what I love about LTH forum, hearing from others about their favorites. Now I am fortunate because have a lot of new favorites that I would never have tried otherwise.

Salam also has trays and trays of these (from Nazareth, I'm guessing), in case the other places run out (or you want to do a side-by-side comparison).

Josephine wrote: Thanks for posting on this Ramadan specialty. When Cathy2, jygach, helen and I went for our 4 AM Ramadan breakfast last year, we asked about what foods were special for Ramadan, but this pastry did not come up in the discussion.

Katayif are squarely Arabic/Levantine. If I recall correctly your Ramadan breakfast was at a South Asian place, so no reason they would have 'em.

More to the point, they are indeed awesome, and worth the roughly 11 month wait each year. For Arabic sweets, now and year-round, I highly recommend the overlooked (at least on this forum) Feyrous Pastries south of Montrose on Kedzie.

Feyrous Pastries
4510 N Kedzie Ave
Chicago, IL 60625-4511
(773) 478-4230

Ramadan Mubarak! (Blessed Ramadan)

Habibi wrote:Katayif are squarely Arabic/Levantine. If I recall correctly your Ramadan breakfast was at a South Asian place, so no reason they would have 'em.

More to the point, they are indeed awesome, and worth the roughly 11 month wait each year. For Arabic sweets, now and year-round, I highly recommend the overlooked (at least on this forum) Feyrous Pastries south of Montrose on Kedzie.

Feyrous Pastries
4510 N Kedzie Ave
Chicago, IL 60625-4511
(773) 478-4230

Ramadan Mubarak! (Blessed Ramadan)

Habibi,

Thanks for the clarification, (though I should have realized that.) And thanks for the tip on Feyrous. I would be curious to know about the pastries you especially like there other than katayif. If some of your favorites involve nuts, so much the better.

Josephine

c8w wrote:
Theyre a buck apiece, and will be unavailable for the next 11 months once Ramadan ends. Id suggest a trip fairly soon

c8w

When does Ramadan end this year?

stevez wrote:

c8w wrote:
Theyre a buck apiece, and will be unavailable for the next 11 months once Ramadan ends. Id suggest a trip fairly soon

c8w

When does Ramadan end this year?

This coming Saturday, the 19th.

eatchicago wrote:

stevez wrote:

c8w wrote:
Theyre a buck apiece, and will be unavailable for the next 11 months once Ramadan ends. Id suggest a trip fairly soon

c8w

When does Ramadan end this year?

This coming Saturday, the 19th.

Right, September 19th. (not this one coming)

tatterdemalion wrote:This coming Saturday, the 19th.

Right, September 19th. (not this one coming)

Sorry

Organic Yellow Peaches at Whole Foods in River Forest.
I normally am not a shopper there.
I normally don't care much about organics.
I go there to get seebee jr his meats (turkey, lamb) - supposedly organic and no funny stuff added.
I'll get him some veggies / fruits to puree as well if the csa box needs a boost.
I like peaches, but normally defer to the white ones as they seem to be more reliable.

These things are blowing my mind. Everything you always hope a peach will be like. Firm, juicy, and sweet as heck. No mealiness whatsoever. Going back for more for SURE. These GOTTA be good. If you knew me, you'd know there's NO WAY I'd be spending 1.60 /lb for in season peaches (well, unless they're for seebee jr.) They are all over town for under a buck /lb right now.

Josephine wrote:

Habibi wrote:Katayif are squarely Arabic/Levantine. If I recall correctly your Ramadan breakfast was at a South Asian place, so no reason they would have 'em.
More to the point, they are indeed awesome, and worth the roughly 11 month wait each year. For Arabic sweets, now and year-round, I highly recommend the overlooked (at least on this forum) Feyrous Pastries south of Montrose on Kedzie.

Thanks for the clarification, (though I should have realized that.) And thanks for the tip on Feyrous. I

They are *not* worth the 11-month wait.. I dont like to wait 11-months for *anything*, especially not awesome-tasting things like katayifs, and repeatedly have asked (over the last year) every Middle-Eastern bakery I ever walked into, if they had katayif.. and all of them told me theyd have it when Ramadan rolled around, the blighters! (Which, I suppose, is why I did it 3 times in the last week

Most places seem to have them at the moment, however - and most places no longer seem to have the spinach-pie's and meat-pies.. katayif seems to be almost a Ramadan-substitute for those? Saw the ones at Salaam.. they looked kinda poor, to me. I suppose they may all be pretty good, but it comes down to how fresh they are in a way - theyre all made same-day I think, but as every hour passes the crispy-ness fades a bit, and while they stay very tasty the true sublime-ness of the katayif is probably fading by the minute. (Heating them up in the oven is not bad either, BTW - I didnt use the microwave as was suggested).

For Ramadan Jaffer also is advertising a "special" price on Fatayir, a cream-filled phyllo-dough pastry, for $ 0.75. This is also pretty good.

Last time at Jaffer, I went over to Tannourine Bakery across the street... it looked interesting from the outside as I was parking. It is more Lebanese-style, apparently, and has received rave reviews (as I found) from Steve Dolinsky, the Hungry Hound. I picked up a nut Katayif, a cheese Katayif, and a Fatayir from them too, just to compare... they were good, but not as fresh as my lucky Jaffer-haul (being 6 hours instead of 5 minutes old)... however I actually liked their cream-filled Fatayir more than Jaffer's (here the comparison was fairer, as Jaffer's Fatayir was also morning-made.. and Tannourine's was creamer in this instance, to me, and very damn good). Tannourine's Katayif, BTW, was also 0.75 cents - a full 25% less than Jaffer's

Echo J's thanks on the Feyrous rec, BTW... I always see it as I drive down Kedzie, and wonder if its any good, but having often stopped at Jaffer (or sometimes at Nazareth), Ive never actually stopped in at Feyrous. Will do so the next time!

(BTW, at one of these above spots, was flipping thru a Chicago TimeOut from a couple months ago that was laying there... and it claimed the 2nd best Falafel in Chicago was some new place on Kedzie, somewhere near the Feyrous side of Kedzie... I immediately drove down and stopped there, but found it no longer has falafel, but is now a hot-dog-and-burgers spot! So if anyone was thinking about checking this Chicago-Timeout-raved Kedzie-falafel-spot with an obviously forgettable name... dont bother, it is now closed (This has been your very vague Public Service Announcement).

c8w

My neighbor stopped by with a cheese katayif she'd made for Shabbat dessert the other day (how's that for a cultural mash-up) it was dee-lish, if entirely and completely bad for you.

(BTW, at one of these above spots, was flipping thru a Chicago TimeOut from a couple months ago that was laying there... and it claimed the 2nd best Falafel in Chicago was some new place on Kedzie, somewhere near the Feyrous side of Kedzie... I immediately drove down and stopped there, but found it no longer has falafel, but is now a hot-dog-and-burgers spot! So if anyone was thinking about checking this Chicago-Timeout-raved Kedzie-falafel-spot with an obviously forgettable name... dont bother, it is now closed (This has been your very vague Public Service Announcement).

Yeah, it was this one. Shortlived and not surprising.

I obtained some beef "milansa" from Super Wal Mart(please dont debate the cut with me, I am just going by the label). Concerned with how tough it felt out of the package, i knew I needed to break it down with a marindae. Marinated for 4 hours in balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, turbino sugar, thyme, western dressing, oregano, kosher salt, black pepper, paprika, chopped garlic, ground mustard, and oil. I could feel the difference in the cut after 4 hours, and knew it was going to be a knock-out. grilled for maybe 1.5 minutes per side over lump, and mesquite, then foiled while I sauteed the onions. sliced the meat against the grain then chopped. Threw some of the beef in the the onions, added mozz cheese, and melted it down. Threw it on a large loaf of crusty Italian bread with diced olived stuffed with jalapeno, chopped cherry peppers, and topped with some tomato.


Where do they make a sammy like that in Philly?

mrefjl wrote:I obtained some beef "milansa" from Super Wal Mart(please dont debate the cut with me, I am just going by the label). Concerned with how tough it felt out of the package, i knew I needed to break it down with a marindae. Marinated for 4 hours in balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, turbino sugar, thyme, western dressing, oregano, kosher salt, black pepper, paprika, chopped garlic, ground mustard, and oil. I could feel the difference in the cut after 4 hours, and knew it was going to be a knock-out. grilled for maybe 1.5 minutes per side over lump, and mesquite, then foiled while I sauteed the onions. sliced the meat against the grain then chopped. Threw some of the beef in the the onions, added mozz cheese, and melted it down. Threw it on a large loaf of crusty Italian bread with diced olived stuffed with jalapeno, chopped cherry peppers, and topped with some tomato.

mrefjl, I call shenanigans. Isn't this jimswside's Wal Mart milanesa masterpiece?

Back on topic, I just devoured a delicious creme fraiche custard brioche mini tart from Fox & Obel. It was buttery, flaky, slightly sour creamy, and easily the Best Thing [I've] Eaten [Lately]™ .

--Rich

RAB wrote: Isn't this jimswside's Wal Mart milanesa masterpiece?

Rich,

you found my bbq identity(chisoxjim).

I just assumed the text was copied without using the quote codes, and the point of the post was the question at the end.

jimswside wrote: Although not a traditional Philly, this was greasy, cheesy, popping with flavor at its finest imho.

I wasnt going to bother answering the question in that post since I never called that sandwich a Philly, just lamented thier isnt a decent one to be found around here, and that I had worked at a Philly place as a grill cook for years.. We used to get bored with traditional Phillys, and add all sorts of non traditional stuff to the mix. its called thinking outside the box.

Katie wrote:I just assumed the text was copied without using the quote codes, and the point of the post was the question at the end.

D'oh! Yes, of course. You assume correctly. I didn't read far enough back in the thread to have the info necessary to make that assumption. Also, I just wanted to say "Wal Mart Milanesa Masterpiece."

I retract my shenanigans call, mrefjl. Carry on. Nothing to see here.
--Rich

RAB wrote:I retract my shenanigans call

Knowing this forum, it won't be long til you need to throw that flag again.

Carry on. Nothing to see here.

A pumpernickel bagel with lox spread at Ess-a-Bagel on Third Avenue in midtown Manhattan for $3.35, served with a side of genuine New York "wry" humor from the elderly gentleman behind the counter. I loved the wonderful tough crust/rind and firm interior and the pumpernickel stood up admirably to the rich lox spread. I had one every morning for breakfast last week while we were in the city. I live in downstate Illinois and bagel options are very limited, so I will dream of Ess-a-Bagel until I can go back...

Davooda

Slow down everyone. No snark here. I actually wanted to know where in Philly one might find a sammy like that so I could maybe eat it. Thinking inside the stomach.

mrefjl wrote:Slow down everyone. No snark here. I actually wanted to know where in Philly one might find a sammy like that so I could maybe eat it. Thinking inside the stomach.

my bad,

that was just a creation I came up with using items I had in house(the jalapeno stuffed olives, etc). Like I mentioned when I worked at the Philly place in Naperville we would get "bored" with using just the shaved Ribeye, onions, and cheese. So we would sometimes sautee some jalapenos, or cherry peppers in with the meat, use different cheeses, add mushrooms, green peppers, etc. Sometimes I would just use mushrooms and no meat.

mrefjl wrote:Thinking inside the stomach.

That's the kind of thinking we like around here!

Cochinita Pibil from Topolobampo. While I do admit to being something of a doe-eyed Rick Bayless fan, I doubt the dish could be dismissed even by a hater. Amazing flavors, textures... amazingly satisfying.

Eggplant Sandwich from Gio's in Bridgeport with a side of meatballs
1. Bite into drippy gooey sandwich
2. smash meatball into garlciky gravy and eat
3. Sop up gravy with gooey drippy eggplant sandwich
4. Repeat.

This was particularly remarkable.

Gio's
2724 S. Lowe
Chicago, IL
(312) 225-6368

From a Friday that included some pretty fantastic eating, there is one item that is still haunting me. A large pizza from Vito & Nick's. Half egg and sausage (egg only available on Fridays), half sausage and hot giardiniera. Both sides were just so perfect for their own reasons (the runny egg/sausage combo on one side, the oil from the giardiniera infusing a perfect heat level on the other). Plus the cold leftovers were pretty solid the next day.

This was my first Vito & Nick's experience so I'm sure that has something to do with my fawning but, damn, was that a great pizza.

Pork bulgogi at Hae Woon Dae yesterday. Along with the best kimchee I've had in months.

The gorgonzola polenta at Mado. Two days later, I'm still thinking about it. The hanger steak that it came with wasn't too shabby either, but this was the clear winner for me. Not too dense, or too strong of a flavor, just extremely satisfying.

Roast duck over rice with a side of Chinese broccoli w/ oyster sauce at Sun Wah.

Who needs pork fat when you can have DUCK fat (for all you Halal/Kosher peeps out there)!