Cafe Blu - Was - Gurman restoran/restoran Gurman

The time has come to dedicate a thread of its own to the Bosnian restaurant Gurman. (For those interested in the topic, there is a nice, if too brief, introduction to Bosnian cuisine here.) Its virtues have been extolled in this thread but that is a thread devoted to Balkan places more generally. If the moderators decide to place this back there, so be it. Nothing, however, can take away from the lunch that I was fortunate enough to enjoy this past Tuesday with the inimitable and ever-genial GWiv. Thanks to his wonderful company, we were able to sample more things that I would have been able to solo. Since I forgot to bring my camera, I hope he'll be able to post a few illustrations of a glorious repast.

We began with a meat-filled pastry (likely burek--it was never entirely clear) that we both agreed, though tasty, had every earmark of being thawed and microwaved: what should have been a tender, flaky pastry, was doughy and tough. More's the pity. It was only misstep in our visit.

The gracious host (whose name I am sorry I never caught) asked us if we were interested in one of the specials. Perhaps our timing was fortuitous for the young woman in the kitchen was in the process of making teleći vrat (veal neck, for those few non-Bosnian-speakers who might be reading). I convinced the dubious GWiv to forego his beloved ćevapčići and try something new.

We were warned of a wait of about half an hour which we happily agreed to, since it gave us an opportunity to chat and enjoy some wonderfully crusty fresh bread with ajvar (a red pepper relish, mild in this case) and kajmak (a slightly wet, slightly sour, very rich farmer's cheese). Both were excellent but early on, one of us thought that they might be improved with something...oh, say...meaty. So a small order of ćevapčići found its way to the kitchen. The wonders of these little balloons of juicy beefiness have been addressed in the thread previously adverted to; our shared thought, I should note, was that--excellent though they were--they lacked the garlicky tang of Romanian mititei. As always, the sausages were served on a better-than-scrumptious grilled puffy bread called lepina (or, sometimes, lepinja).

All too soon these excellent dishes gave way to an entree that was more than generously portioned. The veal neck is sliced and then braised (for what must be days) with carrots, potatoes, and onions, among other things. The result is very tender, very flavorful meat--although the spicing was nothing particularly extraordinary (or, dare I say, interesting). There was nothing to identify it as special to any one part of Eastern Europe.

Still, it was quite good and, best of all, accompanied by a stuffed pepper. According to our host, this was paprika punjena sa krompirom i suhim mesom. My Bosnian is a little weak but that would seem to be a "[green] pepper stuffed with potatoes and smoked beef." Wow! Let me repeat that: WOW! I think I can safely say that it was probably the best stuffed pepper I've ever had. (I think, by the way, that there were some onions in there too, and I'm not certain of the spicing.) The smoked beef (suho meso) lent an absolutely extraordinary flavor to what, too often, is a bland dish, shunned by people everywhere. I've had a variety of wonderful, interesting, and delicious stuffed peppers. While I've liked many of them for their rich and varied stuffings, this one was truly excellent and well worth repeating. For those familiar with it, bresaola is the closest analogy I can think of. Had we not both been reduced to waddling out as it was, I have no doubt we would both have ordered another pepper.

I had hoped to walk a block east and visit the Caffe Slastičarna which advertises pastries in its window. (I should probably note, in the interest of excessive, if not pedantic, thoroughness, that slastičarne are emporia of sweets such as are found throughout Central and Eastern Europe--God bless them! You will usually find such basics as cake and ice cream as well as pastries according to the talents and aspirations of the owners. You may drink coffee or soft drinks or even something harder but you will often be forbidden to smoke!)

Highly recommended!

Gurman Restoran
2547 W. Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL
773-275-2707

P.S. The location is that previously occupied by Ilidzanka.

Gypsy Boy wrote:Highly recommended!

Gypsy Boy,

Yes, agreed, highly recommended. Comfortable newly no smoking restaurant, friendly owner, even if his reaction always seems pleasantly quizzical to non Bosnian customers, and hearty well priced meals.

As you mention we were off to a rocky start with the burek, fresh from the oven I'm sure it's a flaky multi sensory delight, straight from the microwave, dull and lifeless. Crusty bread, ajvar and kajmak quickly brought lunch back on track, followed closely by meaty moist glistening che-vup-chi-chi, I'm a fan of che-vup and Gurman does a particularly nice job.

Che-vup-chi-chi


Long cooked veal neck, naturally tough meat giving way simmered succulence, rich deep flavor, I was glad for bread to sop up the juices.

Veal Neck


Truthfully I am not a fan of stuffed pepper in any form, unless it's a jalapeno stuffed with chorizo, wrapped in bacon and tossed on the smoker, but Gurman's hit a high note. Small dice white potatoes retained texture and the bits of chewy smoked beef lent counterpoint to the neutral spuds. I'd order Gurman's stuffed pepper again, which may be a first.

Stuffed Pepper, Veal Neck


The well notified wait for veal neck gave a chance for good conversation and the old world coffee presentation capped an enjoyable lunch on a snowy Chicago day.

Coffee presentation


Enjoy,
Gary

Did you guys happen to see the apparatus for heating the copper Turkish coffee beaker? Was it a tray of hot sand, by chance?

Restoran Gurman closed about the beginning of 2009. Topic Caffe, another apparently Bosnian restaurant, replaced it. Topic Caffe appears defunct and has a for rent sign in the window. The sign in the front of the tiny shopping strip still says Restoran Gurman, which probably did not help anything. The is the same sign set that still advertised Ilidzanka for months after it was replaced by Restoran Gurman.

ekreider wrote:Restoran Gurman closed about the beginning of 2009. Topic Caffe, another apparently Bosnian restaurant, replaced it. Topic Caffe appears defunct and has a for rent sign in the window. The sign in the front of the tiny shopping strip still says Restoran Gurman, which probably did not help anything. The is the same sign set that still advertised Ilidzanka for months after it was replaced by Restoran Gurman.

hmm, when were you there? I was just in that strip mall yesterday, and there was a seemingly nameless restaurant in this space, and it was definitely open. The sign advertised fresh burek and baked goods, there were patrons chowing down on some tasty looking meat dish, and a middle-aged woman with a chef's apron came out of the back to chat with them.

I saw the for rent sign in the window on Saturday while heading to the post office a little before 1 pm and stopped to look in the window on the way back. The place looked dead.

A nearby recent resurrection is Cafe Blu, which went into the space formerly occupied by Tagine and used the same dining room furniture. The space was emptied out, but we noticed work going on during a walk to HarvesTime last week. This evening the open sign was lit as I was coming back from HarvesTime around 5 pm with some bread for dinner. I went across Rockwell and looked in the window. It certainly seemed to be in operation with different furniture. This might be a good thing as my wife hated the chairs at Tagine as much as she liked the food and refused to try Cafe Blu because of the chairs. The earlier Cafe Blu was Serbian. There was no visible clue from the outside as to orientation now.

We had lunch at the revamped Cafe Blu today. The first Cafe Blu was Serbian. The resurrected version is the result of Topic Caffe moving into the Cafe Blu space but keeping the name. I suspect that it is technically a change of ownership of the corporation that permits keeping the liquor license. Some of the furniture appears to be new while other tables and chairs looked as though they were moved over. In any case the dining room is quite a bit larger than at Topic.

Bosnian appears in the names of several dishes on the menu, which clears up one question. We divided a grilled combination of cevaps and veal shish kebab on Bosnian pita and a spinach boreg. The grilled combination came with chopped onions, ajvar and a sour cream that was more like kajmak on the side as well as some sliced potatoes. The cevaps seemed to be all beef with little spicing other than black pepper. Jasmin Bekto makes much better beef cevaps at Pizza Art Cafe. My wife found the boreg excessively doughy and mostly cut out the filling and ate it. At least this one seems to have been done in an oven, not a microwave.

This is not a place for a quick lunch as food preparation was leisurely. However, the waitress said that if you call ahead, they will have your food ready for you. This is a bit of a trick without a menu. I did not see any carry-out menus but probably should have asked. They do have fancy laminated business cards, though.

Cafe Blu
4749 N. Rockwell St.
Chicago 60625
773-271-8006

Excellent! Thanks for the report about Cafe Blu. I stopped in a few weeks ago and the owners were incredibly friendly and proud of what they do. Then I made plans to return with a friend for dinner, and the place abruptly closed. The last year has seen Cafe Blu open, close, and reopen more times than I can count. One day the bright blue sign hangs high, the next it is completely gone and the place is shuttered, only to be replaced by an even bigger and brighter Cafe Blu sign a week later. Happy as I am to hear that I might be able to give the place a try for dinner soon, I do suggest calling or making a backup plan before heading over.

Kennyz wrote:The last year has seen Cafe Blu open, close, and reopen more times than I can count. One day the bright blue sign hangs high, the next it is completely gone and the place is shuttered, only to be replaced by an even bigger and brighter Cafe Blu sign a week later.

Kenny,

Cafe Blu is open with a big bright blue sign.



Comfortable, if somewhat utilitarian interior.



Coffee, Burek, Grill Specialties, Daily soup, we tried three of four.



Full flavored chicken soup, long simmered with real chicken, not a hint of base/bouillon or other enhancers , and the fresh cabbage salad hit high notes.

Cafe Blu Chicken Soup



Fresh Cabbage Salad



Burek may have been house made, but if so was from days earlier. Slightly dried out, dense/doughy, though I liked the spicing on the ground beef. I would like to try the burek when fresh(er)

Cafe Blu Burek



Cevpi was on the bland side with a very tight texture, she, I am guessing the owner, said it was sourced in, oddly, Iowa. Veal Kabob, two of us split half cevpi/veal kabob, was tender though also under spiced. Bosnian pita a bit greasy, in a good way, from meat juice,

Half/Half Cevpi, Veal Kabob




Lunchtime there was only one person acting as waitress and cook, though friendly and very efficient. Request for additional ajavar and something spicy brought bowls of ajvar and giardiniera.

Ajvar, Giardiniera



Comfortable, friendly, reasonably priced, nothing I ate really floated my boat, but I'd go back to Cafe Blu with little urging.

As an aside, I occasionally use the services of the tailor shop directly across the street and have been pleased with their work.

Enjoy,
Gary

Cafe Blu
4749 N Rockwell
Chicago, IL 60625
773-271-8006

Wow, that Burek looks good. I drove by the place and wondered if it was still a Bosnian restaurant (the sidewalk sign was not out). Since it is Bosnian, I assume the Cevaps are all-beef, correct?

d4v3 wrote:Wow, that Burek looks good. I drove by the place and wondered if it was still a Bosnian restaurant (the sidewalk sign was not out). Since it is Bosnian, I assume the Cevaps are all-beef, correct?

Dave,

Cafe Blu's burek has real flavor potential, but on this particular day it looked better than it tasted. Dense, doughy, slightly dried out, though I liked the spicing of the ground beef.

Yes, Bosnian, and the cevaps are all-beef.

Enjoy,
Gary

Sign on the sidewalk says "Under New Management" and touts unnamed lunch specials. The name seems to have picked up a letter, now it is Cafe Blue on a banner above the doors and the sign on the sidewalk. The menus in the window are unchanged.

Has been moribund for some weeks, assume closed.

There is some indication of Red Lion Lincoln Square going into the space including a Facebook page.