Max wrote:Chicken and rice platter from the 53rd and 6th halal cart in Manhattan. Prior to applying generous amounts of white sauce.

Absolutely...since I was introduced to this place a few years back, I have to go back every time I'm in Manhattan. The only difference is I usually get both the gyro and chicken. Their hot sauce is

Bun Bo Hue at Pho 888. I had been suffering a pretty intense head cold that had destroyed my sense of taste. The flavorful, spicy and complex soup woke them right up.

Whole, steamed red grouper with scallions and light soy sauce at MingHin last night. It was amazingly fresh (right out of the live tank), moist and delicious -- some of the best fish I've had in a long time. Our group tore into it and didn't stop until there was nothing left but bones.

=R=

MingHin
2168 S Archer Ave
Chicago, IL 60616
(312) 808-1999

"Leche frita with drunken cherries" at Tía Pol in Chelsea. My meal was fantastic overall, but the dessert... fried custard with booze-soaked cherries... oh my.

-Dan

JoelF wrote:Dark chocolate-covered pistachio encrusted english toffee from Trader Joe's.

Just perfect. Try a piece, you'll never ever go back to a heath bar.

OH Yea Baby!!!! Addictable as all heck!

Pan pizza from Nonna Silvia's. Best pizza we've had in a while. I had my half topped with mushrooms, spinach and sausage; a tad salty, but I think that's from the generous amount of Parmesan cheese. Even my leftover slice eaten today at lunch was good. A 12" with three toppings on either side, with delivery, was $22-something.

Nonna Silvia's
1400 S. Canfield, Park Ridge.

Had a dish this evening at the Publican that I couldn't not write about:

Cauliflower with mushroom pearà* & caper berries.

Earthy and unctuous, absolutely phenomenal. One of the best things I've eaten in some time.

*Pearà is a Veronese sauce made from bone marrow, butter and stale bread...usually with a good deal of pepper.

kl1191 wrote:Had a dish this evening at the Publican that I couldn't not write about:

Cauliflower with mushroom pearà* & caper berries.

Earthy and unctuous, absolutely phenomenal. One of the best things I've eaten in some time.

*Pearà is a Veronese sauce made from bone marrow, butter and stale bread...usually with a good deal of pepper.

Sounds amazing. It's been too long since I've been to the Publican. I really need to get back there soon. Your post reminds me that if you stay away too long, you end up missing some great dishes.

Last night I had an excellent dish -- part of an outstanding meal -- at Big Jones: shad roe (lightly-crisp exterior) on top of grits, house-made andouille, beurre monte and chickory. It was a special, so I don't know if it's always available. I plan to post about the entire meal in more detail soon on the Big Jones thread.

=R=

Sausage and waffles at the Old Town Social: house made and smoked sausage with cornmeal-bacon Belgian waffles, perfectly crisp, with butter and real maple syrup. A substantial and rewarding plate.

kl1191 wrote:Had a dish this evening at the Publican that I couldn't not write about:

Cauliflower with mushroom pearà* & caper berries.

Earthy and unctuous, absolutely phenomenal. One of the best things I've eaten in some time.

*Pearà is a Veronese sauce made from bone marrow, butter and stale bread...usually with a good deal of pepper.

It's dishes like that that make The Publican such a special place. "Pork, beer, and oysters" only begins to describe a place where there is actually some very serious and sophisticated cooking going on.

Tri-tip sandwich with carolina bbq sauce at Lillie's Q last night. Saying anything else about this much-lauded new BBQ joint seems superfluous, so I'll just leave you with the reaction I had upon biting into it: some chewing, then wide-eyed wonder at the overwhelming deliciousness, deep smokiness, subtle sweetness, bright tangy sauce-ness,and rich brioche bun-iness,all adding up to love at first bite. This cycle repeated with only brief pauses to wipe the drool from my chin.

Grilled pork salad at Aroy Thai. I've been dreaming of that since Sunday. I feel a magnetic attraction drawing me back for another round. Maybe with a stop at Sun Wah on the way.....

trpt2345 wrote:Grilled pork salad at Aroy Thai. I've been dreaming of that since Sunday. I feel a magnetic attraction drawing me back for another round. Maybe with a stop at Sun Wah on the way.....

I've been meaning to make it out to Aroy for a while, thanks for the push.

That zaatar bread at Taza is something else.

Salted caramel milkshake at Edzo's. Of course, the truffle parmesan fries and griddle burger with bacon and fried egg were excellent as well. Haha I had already taken several gulps of the shake before taking the picture...couldn't wait...too delicioussss.


Lunch at Edzo's Burger Shop.

spiffytriphy wrote:Salted caramel milkshake at Edzo's. Of course, the truffle parmesan fries and griddle burger with bacon and fried egg were excellent as well. Haha I had already taken several gulps of the shake before taking the picture...couldn't wait...too delicioussss.


Lunch at Edzo's Burger Shop.

Now that is what the Supreme Court was talking about!

Wonder if Ed would fry me up a bacon & egg sandwich on a bun? Closest I'll get to a Breakfast Jack around here!

Montreal Smoked Hot Pastrami Sandwich from Fumare Meats at the French Market in Ogilvy Station.

Second time I have had it and it is amazing. Way better than Manny's, imho.

DKoblesky wrote:Montreal Smoked Hot Pastrami Sandwich from Fumare Meats at the French Market in Ogilvy Station.

Second time I have had it and it is amazing. Way better than Manny's, imho.

Well, they make it in-house and it really shows up in the final product, which is distinctive and delicious. Manny's does do a nice job with theirs but they outsource it, from Vienna Beef, iirc.

=R=

Potato soup at Italian Superior Bakery

Lots of great things from today! Sorry I couldn't pick just one!

Edzo's Burger Shop, Evanston, IL.
Char burger with sauteed mushrooms and fried egg. Truffle parmesan fries. Garlic parsley butter fries. Nutella coffee milkshake.

Edzo's Burger Shop.

Bennison's Bakery, Evanston, IL.
Taffy Apple Cream Cheese Bar and Lemon Bar.

Taffy apple cream cheese bar.

Lemon bar.

Phat Noodles, Naperville, IL.
Beef Chow Fun and Mulan Noodles.

Beef chow fun.

Mulan noodles.

Ok...need to go drink some tea now or something to digest...

Some like to call these pix food porn.
If so, that pic of Mulan Noodles is a cover or centerfold pik. Those noodles look like something I can eat til there aren't any more of them in the restaurant. Anyone know where I can find a well fried, big fat noodle like this in Chicago? I know where to get nicely done chow fun. Those Mulan Noodles look almost like they are deep fried or shallow pan fried separately.

Seebee, you're right. For the Mulan Noodles, they sort of work fry the order of noodles into like a pancake and then top that noodle cake with the beef and scallion stir fry. I like that dish b/c the outside noodles are crispy but the inside noodles are soft. Dual textures. Yum.

seebee wrote:Some like to call these pix food porn.
If so, that pic of Mulan Noodles is a cover or centerfold pik. Those noodles look like something I can eat til there aren't any more of them in the restaurant. Anyone know where I can find a well fried, big fat noodle like this in Chicago? I know where to get nicely done chow fun. Those Mulan Noodles look almost like they are deep fried or shallow pan fried separately.

I once had wide rice noodles cooked like that, with duck (including skin) and peapod shoots at Sun Wah. One of the best things I've eaten in the last five years, even if it didn't look pretty.

Went to Xoco's for lunch. Had this:

Pork Belly Vermicelli (Fideos): Crispy-tender pork belly, toasty-tender noodles, woodland mushrooms, zucchini, avocado, salsa negra. 12.00

It is amazing. The depth of flavor knocks you over.

I can only compare it to one thing I have eaten lately, and that is the Boiled Beef in Spicy Szechuan Sauce at Lao Sze Chuan in Downers Grove.

It is a very similar experience. Overwhelming, intense, spicy flavor in a broth with meat and vegetables.

Awesome.

This afternoon I went to ferentino's on Waukegan road in North West suburb.
I had grilled chicken sandwich. It was awesome. Good Italian fast food place.

The California Scramble at Benedict's in Dundee. I like to switch out the scrambled eggs for poached. It's 2 potato pancakes, eggs, avocado, crumbled bacon and a drizzle of hollandaise. They have probably 10 or 12 different eggs benedict, including a crabcake benedict and a milwaukee benedict which has bratwurst and cheese sauce. Their hollandaise isn't as lemony as I'd like, but a spritz of lemon resolves the problem.

Pepper and egg sandwich at Portillo's. This was a very good sandwich. Nicely cooked eggs, proper seasoning and a few extra strips of peppers on top of the eggs like a beef sandwich.

seebee wrote:Anyone know where I can find a well fried, big fat noodle like this in Chicago?

Little Three Happiness. I usually get them topped with duck or pork or both, but here they are in their naked glory.

PreFlopRaise13 wrote:Pepper and egg sandwich at Portillo's. This was a very good sandwich. Nicely cooked eggs, proper seasoning and a few extra strips of peppers on top of the eggs like a beef sandwich.

This is very disheartening news to me. It was down to Portillo's and Masi's for a pepper and egg sandwich, and I went with Masi's, figuring it would be a better sandwich. None. Masi's is only Italian-American eatery I know of that doesn't have pepper-and-egg sandwiches on Fridays during Lent. Boo.

N.B. I settled on one at Fiore's, and even though they reheated the eggs, the sandwich would have been fine except for the noticeable taste of ... soy sauce in the eggs.