TrueNorth Hyde Park [formerly Zaleski & Horvath]

They were mentioned in this week's Dish e-mail but haven't seen any mention here yet. Sounds really promising.

Zaleski & Horvath Market Cafe
1126 East 47th Street
Chicago, IL 60653
773.538.7372
http://www.zhmarketcafe.com/

Yes I have! I went there twice last week. The best new thing in Hyde Park Kenwood. The staff was very helpful and open to suggestions on items to carry. Ordered some wonderful Serrano and other meats and cheeses.Also a great spice collection which they bottle on site. Rather than go to Treasure Island , I can pop in here to get King Arthur flours, various baking supplies, spices,and other hard to find high end items.I really hope this store survives and attracts the customers. Looks like a nice place to sit and grab some coffee and sandwhiches as well. Prices seem resonable too.

I should post about this place more: great selection of chocolates, spices, teas, baking supplies, and local food products on the shelves, and the breads and sandwiches are excellent. They have Manny's pastrami on hand for two of their signature sandwiches, some unusual cheeses, jamon serrano, and a good sense of humor. I particularly enjoy the Jamon Jamon - serrano, manchego, quince, dijon, roasted tomato - which fills the void left by the Hans' Favorite at the defunct University Market. Fortunately, Z&H will be opening an outpost in that space soon; I still will probably hit the 47th street location for its space and charm (and southern exposure; sunlight doesn't seem to reach the storefronts on 57th street).

Sounds interesting.

Is this like Fox & Obel (with the highest quality of everything)? Or is it more like Foodstuffs or Treasure Island (with a few excellent items but a lot of stuff that's just so-so)?

And this is primarily a food market rather than a cafe, like Whole Foods and Fox & Obel, correct?

nsxtasy wrote:Sounds interesting.

Is this like Fox & Obel (with the highest quality of everything)? Or is it more like Foodstuffs or Treasure Island (with a few excellent items but a lot of stuff that's just so-so)?

And this is primarily a food market rather than a cafe, like Whole Foods and Fox & Obel, correct?

They're going for a small Zabar's kind of vibe (plus lots of pork); more of the space is devoted to the deli, bakery, and refrigerated specialty counters than to the grocery shelves, and since there are little dine-in tables tucked throughout the store (including in the aisles) the focus is clearly the cafe. But the grocery list is impressive. The lunch sandwiches are mostly around $6, split between cold and hot (pressed). The breakfast items are also very nice and more like $4; a croissant with nutella and bananas, chorizo and egg muffin, etc. Less fuss than Fox and Obel; I have minimal experience with Foodstuffs and TI.

Had them at a U of C catered event a few months back, and was impressed with the sandwiches (great combinations, on excellent bread) and, surprisingly (coming from a NY-er), the bagels, which actually had some chew to them. They're opening up another brunch on 57th st, which should be a boon to the University kids..

The 57th street location is now open and humming; unlike 47th there are two counters (one for deli offerings and one for coffee, though if you're eating in you order sandwiches through the front coffee counter), but the sandwiches are remarkably consistent with the 47th quality, and the same menu is utilized. Grocery offerings are somewhat thin compared to the original; I did not see the King Arthur flour selection, for example.

I expect this place to be slammed once school is back in session next week with University orientation, but they are taking catering orders and it may be possible to phone in individual orders as well. I haven't been diligent in my reportage of all the delicious things I eat at Z&H, but in addition to the aforementioned Jamon Jamon and Tenzing Norgay croissant-bomb, may I recommend the Godfather on Labriola French, and the 90 Miles, a pork-belly Cuban sandwich with lots of zing.

Zaleski & Horvath Market Cafe
1126 East 47th Street
Chicago, IL 60653

1323 East 57th Street
Chicago, IL 60637

ph: 773.538.7372
fax: 773.538.8151

Open weekdays, 7am - 7pm Weekends, 8am - 6pm

*not all of their soups are as good as their sandwiches, but the sweet potato-chorizo they have on Fridays is decadently warming.

Judging by the lack of response to this thread I'm guessing there aren't many Hyde Parkers on LTH, but in general I think Z&H deserves more hype than it gets. As others have said, the sandwiches are creative and always tasty -- my personal favorites are the Jamon, Jamon (mentioned above), the Bernita panini (Manny's corned beef, swiss, dijon, and house-made chutney on rye), and the Lil Smoky panini (turkey, brie, chutney, and curry mayo on wheat). They also use Metropolis coffee and make great lattes, cappuccinos, and chai.

I think very few people have realized how good the bagels are, though. All the discussion on LTH is about New York Bagel & Bialy, which is of course good and really authentic, but Z&H makes their own bagels in-house every morning and they're great (...and WAY closer, at least for those of us on the south side!). I'm no New Yorker, but I think they have great texture (soft but chewy), and you can get them with nova lox. My personal favorites are the salt, onion, and everything, but they also have the standard plain, poppy, sesame.

Another overlooked but great part of Z&H is BEIGNETS! Yes, beignets. In Chicago. In Hyde Park. They only make them on weekends, but they're delicious, made to order, and usually gone by lunchtime (I've been disappointed several times, but it's a good reason to get out of bed early on a Saturday!). I think they're also only served at the 57th street location, which is also the busier of the two.

Hyde Park doesn't have the biggest foodie-draw, but I hope bagels, beignets, and a good cup of coffee could lure at least a few people down here.

I'm at the 57th street location once per week these days, but still prefer the original 47th location for its good light, better shopping, and more laid-back vibe. If its name isn't put forward for anything soon <cough> and they're still sailing high next year, it deserves recognition as much as its already brisk business. With Rajun Cajun (which isn't everybody's Styrofoam cup of lassi), Z & H is as distinctive and valuable a place as I frequent in the Hyde Park / Kenwood area.

Kicks, where else do you like? Everything else seems to be moving steadily sideways; the 55th Thai trilogy, Med, Kikuya, Cafe Corea (which still rocks for soup but has raised prices and ditched my favorite katsu), Salonica, Ribs and Bibs, The Sit-Down (ignoring the sushi), La Petite Folie, Noodles - all chugging along but no real innovation and zero seasonal variety. Chant has a beautiful design but a totally emptyheaded menu and execution. Other than Calypso picking up the Dixie Kitchen menu items and the Med Bakery expanding sandwich service (the hot dog on a just-baked roll is a good deal, if idiosyncratic), not much is changing. I always think that if I opened a true dim sum place or convinced That's-A-Burger to expand onto 60th street by the South Campus dorms there'd be a small fortune to be made.

Other than Calypso picking up the Dixie Kitchen menu items and the Med Bakery expanding sandwich service (the hot dog on a just-baked roll is a good deal, if idiosyncratic), not much is changing

Just tried what feels like the first new place in Hyde Park in my two years here- Valley of Jordan. It's been open for a couple months now, and I was impressed with my meal here- for Hyde Park, it was as good as I've had. Really, the place is just a small market that has a little of everything, a couple middle eastern specific products (yogurts, cheese, etc.) but I think it'd be a stretch to call it an ethnic grocery. But the owner makes sandwiches as well- falafel, lamb shawarma, and chicken shawarma that rock pretty hard. My meal consisted of a generously stuffed pita with very well-seasoned chicken (I can vouch for my friend's lamb as well), with a nice tahini on a bed of onions and pink pickled turnip that imparted a beautiful, intensely olivey flavor that mixes well with the rest of the sandwich. Part of it was that it was just a darned good sandwich, but part of my happiness came from the great relief to have something different in Hyde Park. Cedar's and The Nile are also Middle Eastern options in the neighborhood, but even these blend into the background of mediocre options once you've tried them.

There was hummus, baba ganoush, baklava, and grape leaves behind the counter that were all homemade and looked promising, although I didn't get to try these. Arabic coffee is on the menu too, if I'm not mistaken, and they have halal meat selection. Nice people who run the place- my only wish is that they had a greater selection of ethnic goods- on this trip they were even out of pita, although we got the last couple pieces for our sandwiches. I get the feeling they might have some products that aren't out on shelves but you can ask for by request, too.

The location feels a little weird, sandwiched between a half block of businesses on 53rd and Ellis, but crossing my fingers that this place survives. It's a nice option for those students and residents living on the west side of campus, and a welcome change of pace for anyone in Hyde Park who's tried it all.

Valley Of Jordan
1009 E 53rd St (at 53rd and Ellis)
Chicago, IL 60615
(773) 363-9810

-T Kent

Not sure if it's thread-worthy yet, but I had a lamb shawerma sandwich at Valley of Jordan today for lunch. I agree that, for Hyde Park, it was pretty good. I don't usually get shawerma at the Nile or Cedar's, opting for my personal Middle Eastern barometer kofte kebab instead, but this compared favorably to recent shawerma I've had at Al-Bawadi and Al Basha. Spicing was good but not overwhelming, and the chunks of lamb were not dry, a typical complaint I have. Mine had some pickled cucumbers rather than turnip--a bit of a let-down, but still perfectly good. Tahini was a bit much, but this ain't a flaw in my book either. The bed of onion and lettuce was forgettable but for a very interesting sprinkle of dark, black-cherry red powder that tasted like salted, sour plums. I don't normally eat every scrap of iceberg lettuce I'm offered. I welcome any enlightenment as to the identity of said sprinkling. At $5.50, this was pretty solid, but not paradigm-shifting. I just consumed a plastic container of baba ganoush that I picked up, as well--very chunky, with nice roasted eggplant flavor and some sesame to round it out at the end, and well-studded with parsley.

The store itself is oddly laid-out. There's a small counter crowded with decorative Turkish coffee cups to eat at, but that's it. A couple aisles of mixed groceries--labne, basterma, and zaatar stick out in my memory--orthogonal to the deli/halal counter. The place has a perfectly Hyde Park quirkiness to it, and I welcome its presence. That said, while I'll be happy to give this place some business, I don't yet think it's destination material. I welcome other, more educated opinions however.

Edit for typo.

The bed of onion and lettuce was forgettable but for a very interesting sprinkle of dark, black-cherry red powder that tasted like salted, sour plums.

My guess is this was sumac.

As a resident of Hyde Park, I'm excited to give this place a try!

Z & H has some nice sweet bakery items to accompany the coffees and sandwiches, and their black and white cookies, rugelach, and particularly the peanut butter cookies stand out to me.

Has anyone tried reverse-engineering the PB scrip (or talking them out of it: they politely - with a touch of impishness - laughed off my request), or might you be in possession of a similar recipe? What makes them distinctive is their rich butter crumb in a relatively dry cookie, with, I believe, steel-cut oatmeal and a very intense peanut flavor (even knowing which peanut butter, or status of whole peanuts at start of recipe, would be helpful).