Finest Peach Cobbler in Chicago--Pearl's Place

I love a good cobbler, but I haven't made any attempt to find Chicago's best. Fortunately, however, a colleague has. Even more fortunately, today was his birthday. I called ahead and ordered a peach cobbler from Pearl's Place. I wanted it at noon, but they don't come out of the oven until 1, and when I arrived at 1:20 it was still piping hot. They put a cover on it and slid it carefully into a box. An elderly waiter walked me out to the car and placed it equally carefully in my lap (Bill, I hasten to add, was driving). I called ahead for someone to run out for a quart of vanilla ice cream.

Wow! What a cobbler! Obviously at this time of year the peaches surely were frozen, but they were mighty tasty peaches nonetheless. There was lots of light syrup (this is definitely a cobbler you eat in a bowl with a spoon), not too sweet, wafting nutmeg and cinnamon into the room. The crust was even better. Flakey, golden, just the right thickness. Cobbler nirvana.

I see from this ABC news story that it's run by the owner of Army and Lou's. I'm looking forward to checking out the rest of the menu.

Pearl's Place
3901 S. Michigan
773-285-1700

I especially like the greens at Pearl's Place, and the fried chicken is good of course, but still not as good as my favorite -- Hecky's. Though at Pearl's you can get your fried chicken smothered, which is quite yummy but so fat-laden it's scary. I know you're not supposed to worry about that while eating fried chicken but still. Pearl's is a lovely place to dine in, very friendly if leasurely service.

Anyone know how Pearl's peach cobbler compares to that at MacArthur's?

My colleague, the cobbler critic, specifically says "it's even better than MacArthurs."

And where does Miss Lee'sfit into the equation?

Please note: The linked thread is about chicken. The link is here for picture looking purposes.

HI,

Truthfully, all by themselves they probably taste stellar each and every one of them. A true comparison can only be done side-by-side, then subtle differences emerge. Maybe someday when the rib-taste occurs, we could have a side taste-off of the peach cobblers.

Ribs and cobblers, a very good fit.

I went back to Pearl's today. TonyC is right about the greens. I had the collards, which are cooked with smoked turkey (I'd bet a neck) and lots of pepper. None of the things that so often go wrong with greens--neither too tough nor too mushy, flavorful but not bitter. My only regret is that I hadn't ordered some cornbread or rolls to sop up the liquor with. The crackers in the basket on the table just didn't do the trick.

I also had a "cup" of gumbo, which came in a bowl that looks to hold about two cups. The shrimp might as well not be present--for a long time I thought there weren't any but then I spotted a couple of small ones. But I've never seen a gumbo with so much sausage. They use two different types, one lighter and hotter and the other darker and chewier. My guess is that there were at least four ounces of sausage in my serving. A typical spoonful would have a piece of celery, a piece of green pepper, and four or five pieces of sausage. By my wimpy standards it was very spicy--about the heat level of the cabbage that they put out on the table when you sit down at Lao Sze Chuan. I would not order the gumbo again for that reason. It makes me feel macho to eat some of the cabbage at LSC, but I'm glad I don't feel like I'm personally expected to clean the plate to prove I really like it. Which, I hasten to add, I do. Pearl's gumbo and LSC's cabbage both. And I did clean my bowl.

And, of course, I had to try to peach cobbler again. Even better than I remembered. I will normally always elect a chocolate dessert over a fruit one, but I can't think of a chocolate dessert in the city (though it's fun to try) that I would choose over Pearl's peach cobbler. I complimented the cook (who serves as cashier during the lunch hour) and tried to ask a few questions that would give me something to report here, but I did not succeed.

Pearl's is a place that I've been meaning to try since Babylonian times, so it was an appropriate choice to take the kids to after we went to the Oriental Institute the other day. The main dishes I thought were all good for buffet, which admittedly is grading on a curve. But I liked the broasted chicken just fine, smothered short ribs were unctuous, I was very happy with sweet yams and well flavored greens. This part of the meal was solid all around.

Two other parts of the meal were better than merely solid, though. The sweet potato pie and the justly lauded peach cobbler were terrific. And the service... my God, I don't know when I've had so service so gosh-darned nice in Chicago. Just file Pearl's away under the heading The Day The World Is Treating Me LIke Crap, because you will come here and they will make it all better.

Pearl's definitely deserves more recognition and LTH traffic than it's had— but then, that's probably true of most soul food places.

Mike G wrote:Pearl's definitely deserves more recognition and LTH traffic than it's had— but then, that's probably true of most soul food places.

That's because we're watching our figures.

Other currently good OI stops for kids are Rajun Cajun and the Sit Down.

Mike G wrote:Pearl's is a place that I've been meaning to try since Babylonian times, so it was an appropriate choice to take the kids to after we went to the Oriental Institute the other day. The main dishes I thought were all good for buffet, which admittedly is grading on a curve. But I liked the broasted chicken just fine, smothered short ribs were unctuous, I was very happy with sweet yams and well flavored greens. This part of the meal was solid all around.

Two other parts of the meal were better than merely solid, though. The sweet potato pie and the justly lauded peach cobbler were terrific. And the service... my God, I don't know when I've had so service so gosh-darned nice in Chicago. Just file Pearl's away under the heading The Day The World Is Treating Me LIke Crap, because you will come here and they will make it all better.

Pearl's definitely deserves more recognition and LTH traffic than it's had— but then, that's probably true of most soul food places.

Pearl's fried chicken is one of my favorite versions in town, but I've never seen it served from a buffet. I've only had it cooked to order. Is the buffet something new?

Beats me if it's new, I had never been there before. I'm sure it would be better fried to order but it was fine and they replenished it while we were there so they seem to be managing it well.

Other currently good OI stops

What's an OI stop?

Oh, got it, Oriental Institute. I was trying to make a neighborhood out of it (Old Inglenook... Oppressed Industrial... Ottoman Illinois...)

stevez wrote:

Mike G wrote:Pearl's is a place that I've been meaning to try since Babylonian times, so it was an appropriate choice to take the kids to after we went to the Oriental Institute the other day. The main dishes I thought were all good for buffet, which admittedly is grading on a curve. But I liked the broasted chicken just fine, smothered short ribs were unctuous, I was very happy with sweet yams and well flavored greens. This part of the meal was solid all around.

Two other parts of the meal were better than merely solid, though. The sweet potato pie and the justly lauded peach cobbler were terrific. And the service... my God, I don't know when I've had so service so gosh-darned nice in Chicago. Just file Pearl's away under the heading The Day The World Is Treating Me LIke Crap, because you will come here and they will make it all better.

Pearl's definitely deserves more recognition and LTH traffic than it's had— but then, that's probably true of most soul food places.

Pearl's fried chicken is one of my favorite versions in town, but I've never seen it served from a buffet. I've only had it cooked to order. Is the buffet something new?

Though I have no firsthand experience with it, I think Pearl's Place has had a weekend buffet (or Sunday only?) for several years at least.

Sometime in the last year or two I recall seeing a "new ownership" banner hanging on Pearl's. I wonder if anyone who's been there both recently and in the old days can comment on any differences. I went only once for a weekday lunch several years ago and, frankly, wasn't impressed with either food or service. I wasn't in the mood for fried chicken so I ordered smothered pork chops.

Pearl's Place
3901 S Michigan Av
Chicago
773-285-1700

I think Pearl's Place has had a weekend buffet (or Sunday only?) for several years at least.

I wonder how the buffet would work on a Sunday morning when it's actually crowded. We were walked through each item once, then served individually walking through each item a second time. What was a high degree of personal service on a quiet Tuesday is probably an intolerably slow line on Sunday after church.

Sometime in the last year or two I recall seeing a "new ownership" banner hanging on Pearl's. I wonder if anyone who's been there both recently and in the old days can comment on any differences.

From my perspective, there was a considerable falling off on their regular breakfast service under the new ownership when that first occurred (I believe the previous owners were associated with Army and Lou's in some way, that's from hearsay somewhere), largely because they were switching primarily to buffet and were not encouraging ordering separately. I haven't been back since, since I'm not generally a buffet fan (particularly where eggs are concerned), but I would be curious to see how their dinner service has held up, particular in re to the fried chicken. Glad to hear that the peach cobbler still rocks. I guess they didn't lose the recipe.

Thank goodness I did not read this before I left today, or else I would have never made it back to work. Trying to run up all those stairs to catch the green line was nearly impossible.
I had the buffet, which was a blessing and a curse. The buffet takes a little too long for a lunch break. I will have to start coming in early, because it will be difficult to stay away from their fried chicken for too long. What could they possibly be doing to this chicken to make it taste so great? A piece of friedness fell on the floor, and I wanted to cry. This was the best fried chicken I ever had, even taking into account the chicken I've had during many vacations in the south. Also incredible: red beans and rice, fried corn, collard greens, and turkey. The corn bread was good, but that butter made it a thing of beauty. I didn't have the cobbler, because there was no more room at the inn. Another excuse to go back, I guess.