impromteau dinner @ Chinese Kitchen last night with these highlights:

Hot and sour seafood soup: their regular hot and sour soup is one of my favorite versions around, but this huge bowl with seafood(squid, shrimp, and krab) added was excellent. I had 2 cups, and we still had at least 4-5 cups to take home.

Fried chicken wings with spicy salt: Really great dish, same preperation as the tofu, and shrimp on the menu, but crisp, perfectly fried chicken wings. Truly finger lickin' good

Had some good food of late. Kopps (twice), the Kiltie in Oconomowoc, but the best thing I've eaten lately has to be the basil ice cream from Freddy's in Cicerco.

My wife and I went there for lunch on Friday. Of course, our order was augmented, this time with a pork chop, so we were not exactly peckish afterwards when we were buying some bread and house made prosciutto. Joe asks if we needed ice cream. I beg off. Ann Marie, however, starts telling us about how they were in the Sun Times for their basil ice cream, and then, next thing you know, Joe's serving us some.

The basil taste is subtle on the tongue, but afterwards that tongue is bounding with basil flavor. It works very well against the creaminess of the ice cream itself. Get ye self to Freddy's for even more good things to eat.

The $21 grand degustation at Baba Palace: amuse of yogurt and onion; mystery mincemeat kabobs, charred and served over hand cut iceberg lettuce; two-toned, stewed then steamed Pakistan Basmati rice with fish raised in water and tadig; young chicken braised in a reduction of mixed Devon spices, tomato paste and oil. Bread service was outstanding, hand stretched, clay oven-baked loaves.

A glaring problem with BP however are all the cab drivers hanging around in the front of the house, like they are on break or relaxing or something. And I don't really get the TVs. Since when can you get Al-Jazeera in the US?

Habibi wrote:The $21 grand degustation at Baba Palace...Bread service was outstanding

Awesome

I used to love Baba's Place (their old name, back when they were located at Hubbard & Franklin), but wasn't impressed with my one experience at Baba Palace at their Chicago & Orleans location. Sounds like it's high time for another trip.

Habibi wrote:Pakistan Basmati rice with fish raised in water

Delicious sounding and funny post. The fish line reminds me of the time I asked a furniture salesman what wood an armoire was made from. His response, "tree wood"

Khaopaat wrote:

Habibi wrote:I used to love Baba's Place (their old name, back when they were located at Hubbard & Franklin), but wasn't impressed with my one experience at Baba Palace at their Chicago & Orleans location. Sounds like it's high time for another trip.

Khaopaat, not sure if you are all veg, but if you are, I wouldn't recommend a trip to BP. There are usually only one or two veg offerings, one of which is a mixed veg curry that probably comes out of a freezer bag while the other is a dal so thick and gluey that I've seen some of the cabbies out back patching tires with it.

Habibi wrote:

Khaopaat wrote:

Habibi wrote:I used to love Baba's Place (their old name, back when they were located at Hubbard & Franklin), but wasn't impressed with my one experience at Baba Palace at their Chicago & Orleans location. Sounds like it's high time for another trip.

Khaopaat, not sure if you are all veg, but if you are, I wouldn't recommend a trip to BP. There are usually only one or two veg offerings, one of which is a mixed veg curry that probably comes out of a freezer bag while the other is a dal so thick and gluey that I've seen some of the cabbies out back patching tires with it.

Just had a frontier chicken paratha roll to go that was quite delicious and huge. I also liked the shuttered Greektown branch, though the breads were not as good. There was a slight Somali bent to the steam trays -- spaghetti and stuff. Baba is flexible within the norm of Pakistani hack retreats.

In my experience, the one thing you can count on at Baba Palace is that the bread is outstanding. The dry meat dishes and the various soupy legume dishes are almost always good: I had some good dal there a week or so ago, not at all spackle-ish, but as Habibi's comment shows, that's not always the case.

Baba Palace is just a couple blocks from my office, so I eat there pretty often. Or, that is, I get something to go, which I eat at my desk. I usually get a masala or other savory saucy dish preferably with bone-in meat (though I have been known to alternately get a kabab masala on occasion when they've been available) and always always get the naan for dipping in the sauce. Also I always ask for a tub of their hot sauce but lately they've rarely had it.

Just glancing at the version of their menu on menupages, the dishes I recall having liked there are Aloo Gosht, Karahi Gosht, Frontier Beef, Chicken Masala, Nihari Beef (rarely available lately), Chicken Tikka Masala, Karahi Chicken, Mutton Masala. Normally though I mix in some of their hot sauce (or some of my own if theirs isn't available) and a little of their yogurt sauce to up the richness factor. Also the first time I ate there, with my wife, we split Keema Palak and a Biryani and enjoyed them, and their samosas, though cooked ahead of time and sitting room-temperature on the counter to be reheated, are decent.

Sorry to continue the derail.

The duck tacos at Depot Nuevo in Wilmette.

Tête de Cochon at Longman & Eagle. A plump disc of fatty flavorful assorted pig face meat topped with a perfectly sunnyside up duck egg and alternatingly sweet/piquant 5 spice mustard. The luxuriousness cut through by pickled shallot-parsley salad on the side.

Haagen Dazs new Bananas Foster ice cream. Blew my diet wide open on first bite.

Tête de Cochon at Longman & Eagle. A plump disc of fatty flavorful assorted pig face meat topped with a perfectly sunnyside up duck egg and alternatingly sweet/piquant 5 spice mustard. The luxuriousness cut through by pickled shallot-parsley salad on the side.

I had this because you mentioned it, and oh my God it was good. I had to pause during the first bite and simply soak in its wonderfulness for a moment. It was like all the porky tastiness of a dish from Mado crossed with the lacquered sweet and spicy thing from roasted pork at Sun Wah. I would have liked someone to share it with (this was a quick solo visit) because it was too much of a great thing for one person, the pork and mustard got to you after a while. But if two or more are going, yes yes yes order this, it's really terrific.

Mike G wrote:

Tête de Cochon at Longman & Eagle. A plump disc of fatty flavorful assorted pig face meat topped with a perfectly sunnyside up duck egg and alternatingly sweet/piquant 5 spice mustard. The luxuriousness cut through by pickled shallot-parsley salad on the side.

I had this because you mentioned it, and oh my God it was good. I had to pause during the first bite and simply soak in its wonderfulness for a moment. It was like all the porky tastiness of a dish from Mado crossed with the lacquered sweet and spicy thing from roasted pork at Sun Wah. I would have liked someone to share it with (this was a quick solo visit) because it was too much of a great thing for one person, the pork and mustard got to you after a while. But if two or more are going, yes yes yes order this, it's really terrific.

Funny that you mention "all the porky tastiness of a dish from Mado" because I decided to make my inaugural trip there tonight. I had the 'Spicy Greens with Roasted Pork Head and Mustard Vinagrette'. It was fine, but wasn't in the same class as the L&E pig head prep. I enjoyed the salad mostly as foil to an order of chicken liver paté. The paté was sensational...some of the best I've ever had.

A cobbler I made myself, with blueberries and raspberries straight from Green City. Raspberries have been amazing this year. Just mixing them into this cobbler, I made my kitchen smell like raspberries-- when has that ever happened?

Sorry to only mention that when they're basically gone...

Chicken shawarma sandwich from Naf Naf on a fresh, homemade pita. The pita in and of itself was a food revelation (up there with Bon Soiree's scallop marshmallow).

Tonight we dined on Evil Ronnie's spaghetti carbonara with Scott's jowl bacon-fantastico!

My inspiration for tonight's dinner came to me as we drove past La Scarola!!! Good thing we had pasta, pecorino, spaghetti, bacon, and heavy cream at home. (Sorry, Antonius) lol:

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1358&hilit=Spaghetti+Carbonara

I think of that thread every time I go by it, too.

Dining well is the best revenge.

Third tomato out of the garden, diced 1/4"
One jalapeno chile, diced 1/8"
One half a red onion, diced 1/4"
Small fistful of cilantro leaves, minced
Big pinch of salt
Juice of most of a lime
Mix

Spooned onto a burger, scooped with chips, the last of it just eaten with the spoon.
Awesomeness. It's why I garden.

(with apologies to the very good char dog and buffalo fries at Edzo's this afternoon) Homemade beef larb made with lemongrass, culantro (thanks, sundevilpeg) and mint from my garden on a bed of watercress from my garden (not traditional, but perfect.) Yum!

As much as I love The Publican (and I do love The Publican), I think I had the best dish I've ever eaten there last night: lamb neck . . .


Crawford Farm lamb neck with lemon potatoes, rosemary and yogurt

This was braised to fork-tender and then crisped up so that the exterior was, well, delectably crispy. The lemony sauce, tender potatoes and tangy yogurt foiled the rich fattiness of the lamb wonderously. The rest of the meal -- which totally blew us and our friends who were visiting from NC away -- was also spectacular and I hope to post about it very soon on The Publican thread.

=R=

Perfect, smoky babaganoosh (sp.?) at Chickpea on Chicago Ave.

Inspired by the recent loads of Tree-Citrus peaches, but doable with any high-quality fruit:

The Base: Split a mini-bialy from NY Bagels & Bialys and (for my taste) toast it well enough to crisp it and char it.

The Middle: Generously spread a layer of “The Heat Is On” peanut butter from America's Market

The Top: Finish with a half-peach (or any available ripe fruit or berry or banana or…)

A terrific way to start your day.

The pork belly pastrami at Pork Shoppe American BBQ, at the intersection of Belmont, California, and Elston.

Cold smoked, perfectly spiced, with unctuous fat and fantastic heritage pork flavors, served cool, straight up.

It was worth a trip, especially if you love the sensation of tasty smooth fat melting in your mouth, kind of like the sensation from a good slice of Iberico ham.

Curtis Duffy's perfectly grilled wagyu beef with short rib, pistachio flan and Australian black truffle shavings at Avenues.

Tried a bag of Shrimp from Haire's last night. Best fried Shrimp I have ever had. Lightly breaded, great seasoning and perfectly cooked.
Served with warmed cocktail sauce and hot sauce.

Haire's Gulf Shrimp
8112 S Vincennes Ave , Chicago, IL 6062
Carry out only call ahead (773) 783-1818
Menu
Shrimp
Large Bag is $10/ $11.03 with Chicago tax
Small Bag
Dinners
Large
Small
includes slaw and choice of Fries or Spaghetti

Loup de mer (line-caught sea bass), the whole fish grilled & filleted at the table, at Opa Estiatorio in Vernon Hills. Barely any seasoning up front, maybe a little pepper & sea salt. But it was de-boned expertly, and with a few squirts of lemon juice and homemade tzatziki sauce on the side, accompanied by Grecian green beans, I was in business.

Solid, solid, solid. They also do a killer whitefish, always available even if it's not on the specials menu.

Opa! Estiatorio
950 Lakeview Parkway
Vernon Hills, IL 60061-1459
(847) 968-4300

Biscuits at John O'Groats, a West LA institution. Crisp outside, cloud-fluffy inside. I grew up eating biscuits in Memphis; never tasted any even half as good as these.


John O'Groats
10516 Pico Blvd.
West Los Angeles, CA 90064
310-204-0692

Recently, the daily special at Uncle Mike's Place was Mango Pancakes. I asked for the chopped mango to be mixed into the batter and requested a side order of fresh blueberries. With a side order of their wonerful Longanisa sausage, it was a perfect blend of sweet and savory. I hardly ate any syrup.

Uncle Mike's Place
1700 W. Grand
Chicago, IL 60622
(312) 226-5318‎