Pecking Order on N. Clark Street

After reading a review on Tasting Table about a new Filipino inspired Chicken restaurant I took
my visiting nieces to try it out.

They (we) were quite impressed.

Recently Kristine Subido and her mother decided to open a place that not only honored their Filipino heritage-
but also focused on one thing - CHICKEN!
Kristine had been the Sous Chef @ the "W" Hotel for many years- and like
most chefs yearned for her own place. Rather than focus on a restaurant that spoke to the Filipino community
she has crated a menu that is appealing to many diners of all race,creed and color.

We ordered the chicken (which is all drug free- hormone free chicken) that was offered one of three ways
( EITHER is marinated in tamari, sugar, garlic and bay leaves overnight).

Grilled ( basted with a marinade reduction (please allow extra time).
Fried (twice cooked and dipped in a light batter for moist, speedy cooking)
Roasted (stuffed with lemongrass and ginger, slow cooked in the rotisserie and basted with annatto-calamansi butter)
and for sides we chose Mom’s Pickle (shaved jicama, green papaya, carrot, ginger and daikon radish)
which reminded me of Japanese Oshinko in flavor and crunch- as well as the Garlic Fried Rice which was SUCH-a-hit
that the gurls requested another bowl of it! Very tasty white rice flavored w/crunchy bits of fried garlic.
Oh- and let me not forget the well received Hand Cut-Twice cooked Fries-which, when eaten with the house made sauce, was really,really good.
(it makes you feel better about eating all those carbs!)
Also, my 9 year old niece "touw- up" ("tore-up") her order of The Chicken & the Egg Noodles Roasted chicken broth, egg noodles, 5 minute egg, toasted garlic and baby bok choy topped with roasted chicken. Although she chose to remove the cilantro and Bok-Choy (kids- ya know!) her polite method of slurping those noodles was a sight-to-be-seen.
Don't know what it is w/ kids and "noodles"/pasta - but give 'em noodles - and you'll hear no complaints!

The menu has a wide range of alcohol based punches and Goose Island Beer (which we didn't try)
but will be back again to try soon.
Service was friendly - but a bit inattentive.
It appeared that a cute-20-something w/ long blonde hair was far more intriguing to our waiter,
than a table full of an Uncle w/his Calif. nieces in tow!

I will return :: there's a lot more of the menu to explore on this otherwise isolated stretch of N.Clark Street.

Pecking Order
4416 N. Clark Street
Chicago,IL
773.907.9900
http://peckingorderchicago.com/index

On the other hand, our friend Michael Nagrant seemed very disappointed in Pecking Order. Caveat emptor!

Think I'll go with Hombre de Acero....

Gypsy Boy wrote:Think I'll go with Hombre de Acero....

Have you been to Pecking Order?

Nope...just expressing a reviewer preference.

I've been to Pecking Order once early on, and it was a work in progress. We had the fried chicken and roasted chicken. The fried chicken was good, though it didn’t seem much different than other fried chicken spots. The marinade didn’t seem to give off much flavor, but it was cooked well and juicy. The roasted chicken was also good, but again, didn’t have as much flavor from the marinade as I would have liked.

We tried a number of sides as well. The grilled sweet corn was our favorite, similar prep to Esquites, with more focus on the corn and minimal lime mayo. The sweet plantains were also a hit, hard to go wrong with soft, sticky sweet plantains. The rice and Lola’s gravy wasn’t quite what we were expecting. We thought there was going to be a rich chicken gravy over the rice, but it was more of an Asian sweet soy gravy. Decent, but not what we were expecting. Finally we got the coconut adobo rice arancini. We are suckers for arancini, but these were terrible. The rice was dry, and didn’t get any coconut flavor. The chicken adobo tasted ok on its own, but didn’t really come together well with the rice.

We had 2 cocktails, but don’t really remember them that much. They weren’t bad, but they weren’t memorable. I remember my wife liking them, so they’re probably on the sweet side. Pecking order was a mixed bag for me, but I had gone early when they were recently opened and look forward to trying them again. I’m glad to have a place like this in my neighborhood.

I've been to Pecking Order twice now, and I've really enjoyed it both times. I've tried both the Grilled and Roasted. Both were good, but the Grilled was my favorite, especially with a coating of that sauce they have on the tables. I got the roasted corn and plantains both times, and I really enjoyed both.

It will be in my regular dining rotation, and I'm even going to take my parents when they visit this weekend. My dad loves roasted chicken, so I'm hoping his picky taste buds won't mind some Filipino flavor.

I really liked the item they served at the Green City Market BBQ earlier this month . . .


Pecking Order's Filipino-style Chicken BBQ on a stick at the GCM BBQ on July 12, 2012

It wasn't anything earth shattering but it was tasty and cooked quite nicely.

=R=

Ronnie, same exact reaction as you. That was my first and only experience with Pecking Order, but the chicken was moist and tasty enough such that I feel like I owe them a visit.

i can only add this: I had the fried option recently and it was flavorful but very dry. Not the least bit moist. I had a breast. Maybe I'll stick to dark meat next time.

Maybe I'll stick to dark meat next time.

Me2!
I generally find that Dark Meat is not only more flavorful, but retains the moisture/texture best-
especially when Grilled or Roasted.
I guess, you could say- I'm a "Thigh Man"

BR wrote:Ronnie, same exact reaction as you. That was my first and only experience with Pecking Order, but the chicken was moist and tasty enough such that I feel like I owe them a visit.

Same here...and I might add that their people at the GCM event (who I assume were the owners) were very friendly and engaging.

We just had carry out and enjoyed it a lot - roasted 1/2 chicken; green beans with ginger-tomato sofrito and the kitchen salad. I'm not a great parser of flavors ("I don't know food, but I know what I like ..."), but certainly the chicken was moist and tender throughout, lightly marinated, which is a positive to me - I prefer sauce not to overwhelm the flavor of the chicken. The salad was interesting enough to eat undressed, though I'm an outlier that way, so others may not want to follow my example.

I'll add some non-food grace notes a) if anyone else gets frustrated to open your carry out and find 3 styrofoam containers and bag of plasticware that you'll have to throw away, as if you didn't own silverware at home, this is your place. Recycled cardboard containers and the assumption that if you're one of those odd people that don't own silverware, you should ask for plastic. I like that. And b) it fed two of us well for under $15.

Stopped back for a repeat visit on a recent Saturday afternoon to find a steady stream of customers enjoying themselves "inisde"-
despite near perfect weather on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
First out were some of the "oshinko" style house made pickles- I find them so satisfying, crisp, slightly sweet and acidic!

House Made Pickle by Man_of Steel, on Flickr
Next up were our main dishes-The Roasted Marinated Chicken,


Roasted Chicken + House-Made Pickle(s) by Man_of Steel, on Flickr

and the now famous Garlic Rice

Famous Garlic Rice by Man_of Steel, on Flickr
and a Big Bowl of YUMMM-
Grilled Chicken composed atop Brown Rice (I subbed out the Garlic Rice) Green Beans, Roasted Corn, Napa Cabbage garnished with Cilantro.
Yumm.
Double Yum w/ the addition of her house made sauces and a bit-o-Sirracha! (and what doesn't taste a bit better w/ a dabble of Sirracha?)

Bowl of Yummm by Man_of Steel, on Flickr

Chef Kristine is equally at home in both the front of her restaurant- as well as behind the grill.
Her pleasant demeanor is so refreshing to find at a new restaurant, where often the chefs are buried behind
the rush of the kitchen, leaving them no time to enjoy their "party" they've created.
After talking awhile to Kristine you will discover her knowledge of food (and the "food scene") is quite apparent, and
she's equally well versed discussing Anthony Bordain's Show about the Phillipines as she is ethnic food-
and Chicago's Food World.


Chef Kristine Subido > Pecking Order(er) by Man_of Steel, on Flickr

We had a great meal.
The combination of being comfortably treated as "guests" in her OWN place, and leaving
w/ full bellies and no doggie bags made for some happy- soon-to-return-diners!
Go try this place.

Had a delightful first meal at Pecking Order. We shared:
The City Bird: a Filipino bahn mi. Grilled chicken, a fried egg and pickled vegetables on some excellent bread. This is a rich, tasty and balanced sandwich. It was good with both of the bottled sauces on the table.
Pinoy Eggs: really nice soft boiled eggs wrapped in a crunchy deep fried outer coating.
Fried plantains: good on their own, but taken to a higher level by the jackfruit chutny.
Garlic rice: simple, but nice. Would be better with some chicken or other food to eat with it.
Flan: This is what they stated the dessert was, but is was actually a very moist, rich, cake with flan as the topping. Hard to describe, but easy to finish.

The vibe of the place is great, and fortunately the food matched. Note we didn't try a straight up chicken, but everything we had was great.

Jonah

We ate at Pecking Order over the weekend and were impressed with our meal--there were some clear hits--but a few things failed to completely satisfy me.

The hits:
* Pinoy eggs (Filipino version of a Scotch egg) was perfect. Loved the crunch of the fried sausage coating and the pleasant spice of the sausage & sauce drizzled atop the eggs.
* Country chicken, which their menu describe as "Boneless fried chicken, shaved gouda cheese, pimento mayo and tomato, cilantro and shaved onion salad dressed with calamansi vinaigrette on grilled pandesal bread" was fantastic. A great combination of flavors. And I'm not sure who's making their bread, but it terrific--not too chewy, not too doughy, not to thick, not to think...just right.
* The service was attentive and fast.
* PO Sauce: An umami-rich sauce made with chicken livers and who knows what other goodness...designed to be put atop chicken, rice & more.

Fine, but nothing to write home about:
* Roasted chicken and garlic rice: These were fine, but weren't piping hot when they arrived at the table. Given that our order came out pretty quickly, I'm guessing we got batches that had been sitting for a bit waiting for a customer. (Clearly rice and roast chicken can't be made to order if they're served <10 minutes after being ordered.) Had they been truly hot, I might have had a different opinion.
* Pickles.

I really like The Pecking Order. It's a restaurant that delivers interesting high quality dishes while maintaining its comfort food charm.

Today my wife and I dined there for the 2nd time. Some of the highlights included the grilled chicken, garlic fried rice, P.O. kitchen salad and potatoes & gravy with cheese. The coconut adobo rice arancini was a bit more divisive. I felt the chicken and fried outside overpowered the rest of the flavors, but my wife enjoyed hers.

Service was fast and friendly. The highlight was Chef Kristine's table visit. We chatted about the neighborhood and Andersonville's food scene. Her friendly demeanor really underscores the home cooking vibe I get from the place.


Random notes:

-Parking is plentiful.
-Being a chicken joint, it's easy to find dishes if you're watching your weight.
-The prices are fair and after both of our visits we left with plenty of take home boxes.
-Chef Kristine mentioned they're adding a delivery option soon.

PopcornMegaphone wrote:Chef Kristine mentioned they're adding a delivery option soon.

They should already be up and running for delivery. I live within walking distance so I haven't tried it out, but I saw them on GrubHub recently.

Dlongs wrote:

PopcornMegaphone wrote:Chef Kristine mentioned they're adding a delivery option soon.

They should already be up and running for delivery. I live within walking distance so I haven't tried it out, but I saw them on GrubHub recently.

You're right. She was referring to adding the delivery option to her website, I think.

Sorry for the confusion.

I've been remiss in posting about a few meals from Pecking Order. It has become one of our regulars if an average of once of month since October can be considered regular. We have ordered delivery twice and eaten in twice. I think it is better served to eat in, but that could be what we ordered.

Winners:

Pinoy eggs - better in person than delivered
A Bowl of Good Stuff (coconut curry chicken with tart apple and cucumber salad, veggies and brown or white rice) - I could eat this every time.
Greens (braised collards, mustard greens, coconut milk, ginger, apple wood smoked bacon, crispy onions) - I have eaten this every time. Delicious!
Garlic Rice - really tasty

Need to try again:

The Chicken & the Egg Noodles (rich chicken broth, egg noodles, toasted garlic, ginger, baby bok choy topped with roasted chicken and 5 minute egg) - I had this delivered. Seems like a better dish to eat in.
Fried and Roasted chicken - Only had once. Enjoyed it as I recall.

We have found the restaurant staff to be pleasant and engaging. Never have been able to order delivery direct from the restaurant -- the phone has either been busy or went to voice mail. Fortunately, GrubHub is easy and prompt. I like what Pecking Order is doing.

Pecking Order is closing tonight, per EdgevilleBuzz.com:

"Tonight will be Pecking Order's last night with open doors. Get your chicken fix in one last time and stop by to say goodbye! After two years of hard work and serving the Uptown and Edgewater community, the mother and daughter duo will be focusing on their catering business. We will miss you and your amazing fried chicken!"

. . . and from the Pecking Order facebook page:

"On behalf of the Pecking Order staff and my family we'd like to thank you all for your support for the last two years! Today will be our last day serving up chicken at our location. We would love for you to stop by and say hi, cocktail and most importantly get your Chicken fix! Keep checking our Facebook page and tweets to see where my mom and I are serving up some of our specialties. In the meantime we will be concentrating on our catering so keep us in mind on your next function at home or work!

Cheers and thank you very much!"

Pecking Order
4416 N Clark St (at Montrose)
Chicago, Illinois 60640
(773) 907-9900

It's always a shame to see a Filipino place close. Lately it's felt like filipino cuisine has had a bit more momentum in the city, hopefully this is just an exception and not a sign of things to come. Frankly, I think it's time to double down and bring a truly great filipino restaurant into the city.

Yesterday in Quezon City, I stopped at a place for dessert. As I stared at the full menu I thought, "This is exactly the filipino restaurant that Chicago needs!" Unquestionably Filipino, but also a very fun and playful menu. Haven't tried Parachute yet, but I'm excited to give it a try when I'm back in the states. I'm thankful for Pecking Order for bringing filipino flavors to more Chicagoans. I hope the few others we have in the city can enjoy some more success.

http://imgur.com/EUnS3LH

http://imgur.com/3S4gzLC

Pino Resto Bar
39 Malingap St
Teacher Village - East, Quezon City
Philippines

Speaking of Filipino restaurants in Chicago, here's some history I just stumbled upon!

Culled from: Drury, John. Dining in Chicago, New York: The John Day Company, 1931, pp. 181-182.
Note: The Newberry Library holds the personal papers of author John Drury.

MANILA VILLAGE CAFE, 837 North La Salle Street

Filipino cookery, a combination of Oriental, Spanish, and native edibles, is something new in Chicago and is fast winning the favor of Chicago friends of the Filipinos as well as lovers of foreign viands. Here, in this plain undecorated restaurant in the basement of the Filipino Community Center, these dishes from over the Pacific are prepared in a highly appetizing manner and in true native style. There is pansit, a sort of appetizer composed of ravioli, bits of meat, noodles and dried shrimps; adobo, an entree, which is spare ribs of pork, fried, steamed, and served in a transparent brown gravy with just a touch of garlic in it; and shrimps guisado, composed of shrimps and celery suffused with soy sauce;
and Filipino cabbage and chop suey. And, as in Chinese and Japanese restaurants, you are supposed to eat plenty of rice from the bowl before you. Most of the boys from the surrounding Filipino colony eat here, as well as the local leaders of the race, including Pablo Katigbak, staff writer of the Chicago Daily Netus, There is another Fihpino restaurant around the block on the second floor at 642 North Clark Street, where the same native dishes are served. It is conducted by Pedro Abicilla, who is a student at the University of Chicago. Visitors are welcomed at both places.


http://www.chicagoancestors.org/node/7139

Had no idea how far back the cuisine got its start in Chicago. Here's to hoping it continues.

Pecking Order now operates at the Andersonville Farmers Market (Wednesday afternoon/evening). They told me they do markets and catering, but don't have a restaurant anymore.

Darren72 wrote:Pecking Order now operates at the Andersonville Farmers Market (Wednesday afternoon/evening). They told me they do markets and catering, but don't have a restaurant anymore.

They are also at the Logan Square market on Sundays; have really been enjoying their offerings, especially he BBQ pork over rice dish. Excellent value too; $5 for a very generous serving.

Gonzo70 wrote:

Darren72 wrote:Pecking Order now operates at the Andersonville Farmers Market (Wednesday afternoon/evening). They told me they do markets and catering, but don't have a restaurant anymore.

They are also at the Logan Square market on Sundays; have really been enjoying their offerings, especially he BBQ pork over rice dish. Excellent value too; $5 for a very generous serving.

Good to know! We drove by their now dark storefront the other night and lamented that they were closed.