Chicago needs a ...

Really good cebicheria. After a recent visit to La Mar in San Francisco, part of a growing chain from Peru, it really impressed upon me how underrepresented this city is with respect to really good ceviche-oriented restaurants (especially Peruvian fusion). We pretty much have Ay Ay Picante, but its cebiche options are extremely limited and pedestrian (and I know there are more than a score of good restaurants with a ceviche on the menu, but it's usually just one or two). I was in a restaurant in LA about a decade ago that had a pretty spectacular ceviche bar. You'd think with the proliferation of sushi spots cebicherias couldn't be too far behind. For some reason there are new churrascarias opening nearly weekly but not a single inventive ceviche restaurant. I love red meat, but I can't see going to a churrascaria more than once a month or so (a lot less frequently, actually). I could eat ceviche as frequently as I eat sushi, which is more than once a week.

Okay, I'll bite and fill in the blank. Chicago needs a ...Burmese restaurant. I tried some abroad(not in Burma) at a pre-wedding social and found the flavors and combinations to be delightful and unique. If someone's listening, please open one here.

I am not sure that Chicago's tastes would make a ceviche-centric restaurant viable (wasn't that the basic concept of the defunct De la Costa?). I love ceviche, but I am not sure my fellow Windy City-ans are as enthusiastic about it as I am.

By the way, Los Portales on Morse in Rogers Park makes a killer octopus ceviche, however the shrimp ceviche is just so-so and is made with mayo (?!) on a tostada.

As far as what I think Chicago needs in the way of restaurants would have to be the often mentioned lack of Portuguese fare.

Shake Shack. If Miami can get one http://ny.eater.com/archives/2009/11/blockbuster_shake_shack_to_take_miami.php then Chicago should get one! We love Shake Shack.

Yeah. We need some good Chicago-style hot dogs and custard.

Sub-atomic gastronomy.

...nother sushi bar like it needs a hole in the head.

nother mediocre sushi bar like it needs a whole in the head.

Fixed.

We could always use more excellent sushi, which is severely lacking.

A Yemeni place where I can get fresh tandoor bread and salta.

An Egyptian by the pound/kilo fish fry/roast specialist with pickled eggplant.

I want these on my desk by tomorrow morning.

I'm with Habibi. (I've never had it, but I want it now.)

Habibi wrote:A Yemeni place where I can get fresh tandoor bread and salta.

An Egyptian by the pound/kilo fish fry/roast specialist with pickled eggplant.

I want these on my desk by tomorrow morning.

Cool, I didn't even know I wanted these until now.

This a layup: Chick-fil-a (in the city) and an In-N-Out

A decent farmers market ala SF, LA, Portland. One with 100 vendors, not 30.

...public market, like Milwaukee Public Market, West Side Market in Cleveland, Pike Place Market in Seattle, etc.

...really superb pastry shop, with a huge variety of top-quality pastries. The kind of place where you walk in and see 15-20 different individual slices of tortes/cakes, and every one of them is exquisitely delicious. Like this one in Toronto or this one in Portland.

... parking lot full of food carts, like Portland.

-A decent cheese shop with a wide selection and knowledgeable staff.
- a place to get decent olive oil, preferably by the ounce. And I'd like to be able to taste it first.
(these were both beautifully fulfilled by Big 10 market in Ann Arbor. Sigh, I miss you.)

Jazzfood wrote:A decent farmers market ala SF, LA, Portland. One with 100 vendors, not 30.

Could you expand on this? I realize bigger might be better, but what types of things are we not getting at the Green City Market that we would if the market was bigger? I'm not saying I disagree with your assertion; I am genuinely curious what we might get if the market was larger.

I'm with nsxtasy - something like the Milwaukee Public Market would be really nice. But bigger and with farmer's market vegetables.

I'm also with PitaChip (big surprise!) - we need something better than Pasteur.

The variety of larger markets includes selections of items that we already have in addition to some we don't: vegetables, produce, flowers, dairy, on sight food options, sea food, shell fish, asst meats and poultry, charcuterie, foraged items...

I just wish we could support something more dynamic with 3-5 times the options. I've seen much smaller cities put ours to shame.

This is a wish isn't it? For a kid in a candy shop, more candy is better.

An indoor farmers market like Atlanta's DeKalb Farmers Market
http://www.dekalbfarmersmarket.com

More Indonesian restaurants -- ones that do rijstaffel (sp?)

...Zabar's!

.....a Cambodian restaurant. Panang just isn't very good to me..... but I had some wonderful Cambodian at Banana Leaf in Vancouver.

blipsman wrote:More Indonesian restaurants -- ones that do rijstaffel (sp?)

Angin Mamiri is planning to offer special rijsttafel dinners, although at the Evanston Lunch Group™ meal, the owner said rijsttafel was really more Dutch than Indonesian.

nr706 wrote:

blipsman wrote:More Indonesian restaurants -- ones that do rijstaffel (sp?)

Angin Mamiri is planning to offer special rijsttafel dinners, although at the Evanston Lunch Group™ meal, the owner said rijsttafel was really more Dutch than Indonesian.

Indeed...sounds like Nasi Padang is the real deal.

Portuguese (missing in action since Lisboa Antiga of many years past)

Spanish. Not more tapas places; Spanish as in entrees.

Ditto to Habibi.

Hungarian (I'm not counting Hillside as Chicago.)

Swiss (as is real raclette and pizzocheri).

Gypsy Boy wrote:Portuguese (missing in action since Lisboa Antiga of many years past)

Yes! Heartily seconded.

Gypsy Boy wrote:Swiss (as is real raclette and pizzocheri).

Pizzoccheri has Swiss origin? I always thought of it as classic Italian Alps food.

PitaChip wrote:- a place to get decent olive oil, preferably by the ounce. And I'd like to be able to taste it first.

Man, if I were a pita chip, I'd be thirsty for some olive oil too. How about this?

The Olive Tap
240 Robert Parker Coffin Rd
Long Grove, IL 60047
(888) 642-5472

Kennyz wrote:

Gypsy Boy wrote:Swiss (as is real raclette and pizzocheri).

Pizzoccheri has Swiss origin? I always thought of it as classic Italian Alps food.

Switzerland has a heavily Italian influenced Alps region with very similar foods to those found just over the imaginary line in Italy.

Ideal Machine wrote:... parking lot full of food carts, like Portland.

Seconded! Legal food carts all over with lots of ethnic snacks, that's what I miss. And some goddamn chestnuts!