So you guys weren't kidding about Katy's . . . it is pretty good.

I'm so rarely in that area . . . but I was last night. Last night I did carry out and brought the food over to friends I was visiting in the area. We had the stir fried onion pancake with pork and the dried chili noodles.

We all loved the pork and onion pancakes and words can do this dish no justice, particularly with respect to the pancake noodles which we all loved. As for the dried chili noodles, we loved the noodles - outstanding texture. But the rest of the dish was just okay. We didn't like the krab at all and would have eliminated that if we had read all of the posts here a little closer before ordering. But we also found the components a bit bland and not so spicy. No problem - we added hot sauce and all was good . . . except for the noodles themselves which were outstanding.

I'm glad I was finally able to make it to Katy's. Hopefully, I will make it there again sometime sooner than 5 years from now. Thanks LTH for another great recommendation.

BR wrote:So you guys weren't kidding about Katy's . . . it is pretty good.

I'm so rarely in that area . . . but I was last night. Last night I did carry out and brought the food over to friends I was visiting in the area. We had the stir fried onion pancake with pork and the dried chili noodles.
We all loved the pork and onion pancakes and words can do this dish no justice, particularly with respect to the pancake noodles which we all loved. As for the dried chili noodles, we loved the noodles - outstanding texture. But the rest of the dish was just okay.

Ive been here a couple of times in the past month too - despite it being a long way away.

Ive been sligthly disappointed with the onion-with-pancakes lately - not as great as my first couple of times (actually, thats sort of been true to a lesser extent with the other items too.. mostly because the first couple of times it was the most amazing food). I generally prefer the noodles-with-dry-chilli to most other things though.

Also, BTW, the Szechuan Cold Noodles are awesome - best after sitting in the refrigerator overnight, dont even bother eating them the same day IMHO. A terrific item.

Also, BTW, Katy's has raised prices - most items are up a dollar from a couple of months ago. The menu (at Westmont) seems expanded a little, too (a few more vegetarian items IIRC).

c8w

I actually had my hand on the door handle to Katy's last week and decided on something else. Now I can kick myself. I've been hearing alot of good things about this place and I will check it out this week. I'll let you all know how it goes.

Katy's in perfect pitch today lunch, amazing amount of food for 6 people and $12 each with tax and tip. Took home 50 frozen pork and chive dumplings for $14, pork and napa are $12, and made 14 potsticker for my wife and I for dinner along with the Scallion pancake from Serious Eats. The SE scallion pancake was tasty but more involved than my usual method of using pizza dough.

Two meals from Katy's in one day is a good day in my book.

Gary,

How were the pickles?

Evil Ronnie wrote:How were the pickles?

No pickles, we asked, though we did have a container of killer Szechuan tendon straight from the refrigerator case.

I really enjoyed my meal at this place. If you enjoy spicy food, this is the place for you. I was smiling and sweating when I left here. Unfortunately I am never in this area, so I doubt I'll be out there again, but if I ever find myself randomly in Naperville, I am all in.

We've been to Westmont several times, but this was our first trip to Naperville. Quite a step up, but with the same terrific noodles. We also had the griddle-fried short ribs, which were magnificent.
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Great dining in Naperville by yooperann, on Flickr

I was at the Westmont location yesterday. They have raised prices on all items by a dollar or two. The beef noodle soup is now $7.95 from $5.95. There were a couple of new items on the menu: pickled turnip pork noodle soup and shredded pork with salted veg. noodle soup. I tried the pickled turnip one. It had sliced port and sliced pickle turnip (slightly sour) in the noodle soup. Not bad but not stellar either.

so i was at the westmont kays and had the vegetable chow mein and seafood udon noodles . flavors were good but im looking for more of a chew on the noodles. any advice on what to order as a chewier noodle

Stir-fried onion pancake with pork.

Not a pancake at all, just fabulous homemade hand cut noodles. Add a little chili oil and welcome to a blissful lunch or dinner.

seriously. i'm not sure there's a better noodle dish in chicago than that one.

Thanks guys. I shall return for the pancake then..........

The stir fried onion pancake with pork is one of my favorites, too...and is certainly the most toothsome noodle that they serve. I recently had this dish at the Napervile branch and it was simply not the same as what is served in Westmont. It almost seemed like the noodles were premade and held. Flavors were off, too. Westmont remains the gold standard.

In other Katy's news, I noticed some new menus when I visited Westmont last week. The GNR award is now prominently listed on the menu and there is even a picture of Flip presenting the award to Mr. Red Shirt (Even though it's labeled as the "NR Award").

stevez wrote:(Even though it's labeled as the "NR Award").

that's just the asian humbleness at work.

agreed for sure on westmont's scallion pancake with pork being far superior. sadly, i much prefer naperville's dan dan noodles.. and wider menu in general. always a tough call.

stevez wrote: The GNR award is now prominently listed on the menu and there is even a picture of Flip presenting the award to Mr. Red Shirt (Even though it's labeled as the "NR Award").

Nice!

I must also agree on the for praise the stir fried pancake dish. I can't wait for my next visit home so I can get my Katy's fix in.

Flip

gocubs88 wrote:so i was at the westmont kays and had the vegetable chow mein and seafood udon noodles . flavors were good but im looking for more of a chew on the noodles. any advice on what to order as a chewier noodle

katy's historically didn't have either of these things on the menu. As noted in the above 14 pages of posts, the hand made noodles that make this place legendary are featured in the dan dan mein, cold szechuan noodles, beef and tendon soups; the equally good but different shredded pancake is also tops (and one of the originals). I'm really surprised they offer udon now. rarely is that Japanese noodle toothsome.

I was at Katy's recently and found everything as good as ever. Was blown away by the "baked gluten with vegetable" which is really deep-fried seitan with lotus root and ong choy in a star-anise heavy XO sauce, found in the cold case.

JeffB wrote:

gocubs88 wrote:so i was at the westmont kays and had the vegetable chow mein and seafood udon noodles . flavors were good but im looking for more of a chew on the noodles. any advice on what to order as a chewier noodle

katy's historically didn't have either of these things on the menu. As noted in the above 14 pages of posts, the hand made noodles that make this place legendary are featured in the dan dan mein, cold szechuan noodles, beef and tendon soups; the equally good but different shredded pancake is also tops (and one of the originals). I'm really surprised they offer udon now. rarely is that Japanese noodle toothsome.

I was at Katy's recently and found everything as good as ever. Was blown away by the "baked gluten with vegetable" which is really deep-fried seitan with lotus root and ong choy in a star-anise heavy XO sauce, found in the cold case.

On the new menu that I mentioned, all of the classic hand pulled noodle dishes (Stir Fried Noodles with Dry Chili, Shrimp Fried Noodle, Beef Fried Noodle, etc.) are now listed under "Chow Mein"; while the Dan Dan Mein, Szechuan Cold Noodles, Beef Tendon Soup, etc. are listed under "Noodles Soup". I don't see udon listed anywhere on the menu, though.

Sadly, they now have a "Lunch Special" section of the menu featuring such classic dishes as Beef Chop Suey, Kung Bao Chicken, Mongolian Beef, etc. (served complete with Crab Rangoon and rice). There were actually a couple of tables eating the lunch specials when we were there. I couldn't imagine ordering such a thing with such real culinary riches available, but it takes all kinds to pay the bills in the restaurant business, I guess.

Back at the Westmont location recently for the scallion pancakes with pork--fantastic, as always. Even better reheated the next day. We also enjoyed our pork and chive dumplings enough that we bought a couple of bags of dumplings to go. I haven't tasted the pork with cabbage yet, but the shrimp with chives practically made my mother's Chinese boarder cry with happiness. (And may be the trick that finally convinces her to come visit Chicago).

Flew into town for a surprise birthday visit for my mom on Friday. Hit up Cooper's Hawk in N'ville for dinner that night (not too shabby for a chain concept), but the real treat for me was Katy's in Naperville for lunch on Saturday. Everything was spot on. Here's what we shared.

-Beef Noodle Soup
-Cold Szechaun Noodles
-Potstickers
-Stir Fried Noodles with Dry Chili
-Stir Fried Pancake with shredded pork
-Beef With Broccoli (mom was afraid she wouldn't like anything else, but converted here to the good side of the force with the stir-fried dishes)

Can't wait for my next visit

Flip

I am going to the Naperville spot today for late lunch.
What should I get...I like it spicy.

dan dan noodles, griddle cooked spare ribs.

gleam wrote:dan dan noodles, griddle cooked spare ribs.

Huh? What? Expand please!

Ive been going to Katys for a while now, whenever I can be within 20 miles of the area...but Ive never had the "griddle-cooked-spare-ribs" - didnt even know it existed on the menu. Whats this all about? And spicy?

(Katy's does most things spicy if asked - "stir fried noodles with dry chili, extra-spicy" is my standard order. You can do the same with szechuan cold noodles too... and at Westmont thats been very very good sometimes. I tried it only once at Naperville, asking for extra-spicy, and it was kinda ridiculous...very spicy, but turning out not-so-good as a result. Just "normal" SCN are pretty spicy and very good too).

c8w

naperville only, pics here

they're pretty great.

GardenofEatin wrote:

msmre wrote:Made a Katy's run today and the Dan Dan noodles had the same impact on me that they did on GardenofEatin. Wow. It took a little bit of recovery time to get back to normal and I don't remember that from my previous Dan Dan Noodles.

Was it the bizarre overly tingly, numbing, no flavor experience? Mine was like eating a bowl full of Novocaine broth. That's disappointing, I was really hoping that it was just a fluke. I hope there's not a new cook or something (I didn't notice who was cooking when I was there).

My last Dan Dan experience at the Westmont location was like this (~July)...was sort of awful. Weird numbing flavorless...not good. The broth was sort of a gray color and so much broth it was basically a soup.

I eat the Dan Dan noodles often at the Naperville location and have never experienced the problem. I find the level of heat/spice can vary from day to day but always tastes great. Generally the broth is a deep red ...around an inch of broth at the bottom of the bowl.

You are describing the effects of high-quality Szechuan peppercorns. I think Katy's uses them to brilliant effect when the old guy at Westmont is "on." (One of these days some entrepid diner might report on a recent, over-the-top, and at times challenging multi-course meal featuring super fresh, super strong buds that a group of LTHers sampled in a Chinatown mainstay.) Y'all might not have enjoyed the sensation, but at least you can be assured it was the result of an expensive and authentic ingredient, not muscle relaxant.

JeffB wrote:(One of these days some entrepid diner might report on a recent, over-the-top, and at times challenging multi-course meal featuring super fresh, super strong buds that a group of LTHers sampled in a Chinatown mainstay.) Y'all might not have enjoyed the sensation, but at least you can be assured it was the result of an expensive and authentic ingredient, not muscle relaxant.

OK. I'll reluctantly step up to the plate.

How in the hell does one rationally describe a culinary experience where, regardless of the quality or even type of dish being ingested, the only sensory experience being registered by one’s brain is not that of food taste but the sensation of a continuous electro-shock? It was as though an electrode had been placed near my mouth and an electric current applied, making my lower lip quiver throughout the meal and at least 20 minutes afterwards. God knows how good or bad Ben Li's dishes were that day since this was truly nothing more than a science experiment.

I know that after this meal, Dr. Engler (ReneG) took to doing a bit of scientific research on this class of Szechuan pepper and I’m hoping he can enlighten us with his findings.

Sorry I can't contribute anything more substantive about this meal other than a fairly meaningless description on how these amazingly powerful fresh Szechuan pepper flower buds (Hua Jiao or “flower pepper”) affected me physiologically. The punch that they packed was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Totally eye-opening.

Best,
Lab Rat

PIGMON wrote:

JeffB wrote:(One of these days some entrepid diner might report on a recent, over-the-top, and at times challenging multi-course meal featuring super fresh, super strong buds that a group of LTHers sampled in a Chinatown mainstay.) Y'all might not have enjoyed the sensation, but at least you can be assured it was the result of an expensive and authentic ingredient, not muscle relaxant.

OK. I'll reluctantly step up to the plate.

How in the hell does one rationally describe a culinary experience where, regardless of the quality or even type of dish being ingested, the only sensory experience being registered by one’s brain is not that of food taste but the sensation of a continuous electro-shock? It was as though an electrode had been placed near my mouth and an electric current applied, making my lower lip quiver throughout the meal and at least 20 minutes afterwards. God knows how good or bad Ben Li's dishes were that day since this was truly nothing more than a science experiment.

I know that after this meal, Dr. Engler (ReneG) took to doing a bit of scientific research on this class of Szechuan pepper and I’m hoping he can enlighten us with his findings.

Sorry I can't contribute anything more substantive about this meal other than a fairly meaningless description on how these amazingly powerful fresh Szechuan pepper flower buds (Hua Jiao or “flower pepper”) affected me physiologically. The punch that they packed was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Totally eye-opening.

Best,
Lab Rat

I agree. Some (acutally, most) of those dishes that Mr. Li cooked for us at Double Li that day were totally insane. I'd never experienced the buzzing/numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns anywhere close to that degree. Thanks, Jeff, for sharing your haul with us. It was a rare treat to tread on some new (for me) culinary ground, even though I don't think I'd ever need to repeat it. I may post a few pics but this is really a case where the images will not at all convey the essence of the dishes we "enjoyed."

=R=

ChicagoTRS wrote:

GardenofEatin wrote:

msmre wrote:Made a Katy's run today and the Dan Dan noodles had the same impact on me that they did on GardenofEatin. Wow. It took a little bit of recovery time to get back to normal and I don't remember that from my previous Dan Dan Noodles.

Was it the bizarre overly tingly, numbing, no flavor experience? Mine was like eating a bowl full of Novocaine broth. That's disappointing, I was really hoping that it was just a fluke. I hope there's not a new cook or something (I didn't notice who was cooking when I was there).

My last Dan Dan experience at the Westmont location was like this (~July)...was sort of awful. Weird numbing flavorless...not good. The broth was sort of a gray color and so much broth it was basically a soup.

I eat the Dan Dan noodles often at the Naperville location and have never experienced the problem. I find the level of heat/spice can vary from day to day but always tastes great. Generally the broth is a deep red ...around an inch of broth at the bottom of the bowl.

I actually prefer the Westmont style to the Naperville style. I like that it's more of a soup. Plus, since I go to the Westmont location much more frequently, they know me and will make the dishes spicier. (Which should be distinguished, of course, from being more filled with Szechuan peppercorns.)