A really terrific wood-fired pizza from Pleasant House Bakery with Kwak braised Slagel Farms pork, caramelized onions, a swiss cheese bechamel and arugula. They really have a way with, well, pretty much everything there!

At Stella's Kentucky Deli in Lexington KY, brunch is served on Sat & Sun.

I had the drop biscuits & sausage gravy, gravy was best I've ever had, bar none as the gravy is heavy, peppery, & has a bit of heat. Plus this dish is all you can eat

www.stellaskentuckydeli.com

Broasted Chicken...Gosse's in Sheboygan.....touch of cinnamon...touch of celery flavor..perfectly juicy, lightly battered

Yellow Lake Perch...Krupp's...Sheboygan....so delicate..so wonderful....(Gosse's versioin great too)

Pop-overs- Village Suppler Club...Lake Delevan....like Lawyr's Yorkshire Pudding...only better..

T-bone...rare....Anthony's Lake Geneva.....atmosphere worth it alone..whole ENTIRE wall of fake 70s era fireplaces!..plus to see old Anthony chomping on his un-lit cigar! Classic....with a Manhattan on the rocks!

and finally....KFC Lake Geneva......Don't know if it is the liquor, but every single time we are up there, it is the best of the genre!!! Greasy, juicy....Eric Cartman would approve!!

Italian sub at Panozzo's Italian Market. There was a lot of stuff that looked good on the menu, but that sandwich hit the spot.

Fish and Chips at GT Fish and Oyster. It is now the gold standard.

I went to Piece today and had a white pizza with clams and bacon and it was superb.

Yeah..white clam and bacon pizza at Piece is pretty scary good..

Omakase at Shiro's in Seattle (Belltown)! Amazing! I sat at the bar between a Chicago-ite and the master's great friend who was in town from Tokyo. The only thing I ordered was a couple of beers. I just sat back and the freshest most amizing seafood was placed in front of me time and time again. Albicore, goeyduck (sp?), ocean smelt, ahi... and a hand roll of uni taken in front of us from a live sea urchin! I can't explain how amazing this meal was. Simply the best sushi experience EVER!

Salted caramel brownie and Julius Meinl cappuccino with cracked spices at Sugar Fixe bakery in Oak Park. Both best of breed.

Sicilian pizza slice with sausage at D'amato's!

Berkshire Pork Coarse Sausage

These are little sausages -- about the size of "Li'l Smokies" -- purchased in one of those specialty food "bays" at the back of the grocery section of Super-H Mart. They come frozen.

Korean brand, but apparently made in the US. Brand appears to be "America" -- picture of a sausage wearing white gloves standing in front of a fork and spoon. Distributed by CJ Foods (that might help you find which "bay" this is in, as they appear to be product-specific).

Though the name says "coarse sausage," they are actually ground finer than Smoky Links, which is the closest we come to these among traditional American products.

Enough garlic that these may not truly show off the virtues of Berkshire pork, but still very yummy.

Miso & butterscotch ice cream at Sola. I'm a fan of salty/sweet ice cream already, but this was really well made, and this flavor combination works really well.

Fig and citrus scones with orange curd at The Bristol - Sunday Brunch. They change the scones seasonally, and I hope these stay all winter, really really yummy.

Head on prawns @ La Sirena Clandestina. Simply perfection.

The carrot soup at Macku. Was looking forward to having it again and it absolutely lived up to expectations. I could bathe in that soup, it's that good, imo.

cheffjeff wrote:

Montreal Smoked Meat Pastrami Sandwich from Fumare at the Chicago French Market.

Best pastrami i've had in Chicago, and perhaps the country. On par with Langer's in LA and better than Katz's & 2nd Ave Deli in NY.

Nothing like a Pastrami sandwich with a side of 1lb. of Pastrami.

Two weeks ago, I had a pastrami sandwich at Langer's and it was fabulous. Tomorrow, I'm off to Fumare's for a Montreal smoked meat sandwich. I'll post my opinion shortly.

chicagostyledog wrote:

cheffjeff wrote:

Montreal Smoked Meat Pastrami Sandwich from Fumare at the Chicago French Market.

Best pastrami i've had in Chicago, and perhaps the country. On par with Langer's in LA and better than Katz's & 2nd Ave Deli in NY.

Nothing like a Pastrami sandwich with a side of 1lb. of Pastrami.

Two weeks ago, I had a pastrami sandwich at Langer's and it was fabulous. Tomorrow, I'm off to Fumare's for a Montreal smoked meat sandwich. I'll post my opinion shortly.

Don't take this the wrong way but right now, I hate you

zoid wrote:

chicagostyledog wrote:

cheffjeff wrote:

Montreal Smoked Meat Pastrami Sandwich from Fumare at the Chicago French Market.

Best pastrami i've had in Chicago, and perhaps the country. On par with Langer's in LA and better than Katz's & 2nd Ave Deli in NY.

Nothing like a Pastrami sandwich with a side of 1lb. of Pastrami.

Two weeks ago, I had a pastrami sandwich at Langer's and it was fabulous. Tomorrow, I'm off to Fumare's for a Montreal smoked meat sandwich. I'll post my opinion shortly.

Don't take this the wrong way but right now, I hate you

I had the Montreal smoked meat at Fumare's today. It was very tasty , as was the rye bread. Fumare's pastrami is made from a brisket cut, that's seasoned, smoked, and steamed, giving it a much different taste and texture from naval pastrami that I've eaten smoked, steamed, and hand carved or thinly sliced, since birth. So what's the verdict? I'm still a naval kinda guy that just had his taste buds rocked by a different version of smoked meat. For $8.99 the sandwich is worth every penny and I'll be back, since travel to Langer's is way too far for a pastrami sandwich.

The special at Pleasanthouse today: Braised ox-tails (sticky, fork tender, Scotch bonnet afterburn) with broad beans, asst. tropical starches (yuca, plantain, bread fruit!), black beans and coconut rice.


Also surprisingly delicious was their Cayman style "heavy cake" a gluten free confection of caramelized coconut milk and ground cassava.

Raspberry frozen yogurt at Yogen Fruz in the Freedom Commons in Naperville. It's made with fresh raspberrys blended into premade yougurt as you order it. There are 4 premade flavors daily on a rotating basis plus about 30 different toppings to add on yourself. I just went for plain raspberry but my friends went for the premade and added on a few things.

As a side note, I have been going to Naf Naf in Naperville since day 1 in the old taco bell. We had lunch there today in Freedom Commons and I did not like my kifta kabob, it was dry and had a bad after taste. We had to stop half way home to buy water because we were so thirsty from salt. The only thing we had in common was the pita. We got there about 11:30 and there was only one couple there eating, I haven't been to Naf Naf in about a year and was totally surprised to see no crowds.

Just now: Cotechino sandwich with over-easy egg and a paper-thin slice of preserved lemon at artisanal salumeria, Salume Beddu in St. Louis. The Cotechino is from the mangalitsa- a heritage breed pig. It is also known as zampone- with lentils, it is a New Year dish from Italy.


Cotechino and Egg @ Salumi Beddu by Josephine2004, on Flickr

You can order it frozen overnight from Mark Sanfilippo the chef at Salume Beddu!edi

(edited to add picture)

Wild rice crispies and the mushroom broth/tea thing at Elizabeth.

Fluffy Arabic bread, homemade Arabic style thick yogurt, and olive oil from Palestine. Road-side bought hot sauce from Costa Rica on the side for the win extra point.

Bought some Faroe Island salmon at Fish Guy yesterday and prepared it for dinner last night "sweet and heat-style." Quite seriously the best salmon I've had in years, possibly decades. Not cheap at almost $30 for 12 oz., but well worth the splurge.


IMG_0244 by MsLynnB, on Flickr


IMG_0245 by MsLynnB, on Flickr


IMG_0246 by MsLynnB, on Flickr


IMG_0247 by MsLynnB, on Flickr

Fish Guy
4423 N. Elston Ave. Chicago, IL 60630

The chestnut soup at Floriole on Thursday. Seriously, this is nectar of the Gods!

Whoa!

The curry with cauliflower and lentils at Mana was absolutely divine.

This has become one of our favorite places.

chicagostyledog wrote:

cheffjeff wrote:

Montreal Smoked Meat Pastrami Sandwich from Fumare at the Chicago French Market.

Best pastrami i've had in Chicago, and perhaps the country. On par with Langer's in LA and better than Katz's & 2nd Ave Deli in NY.

Nothing like a Pastrami sandwich with a side of 1lb. of Pastrami.

Two weeks ago, I had a pastrami sandwich at Langer's and it was fabulous. Tomorrow, I'm off to Fumare's for a Montreal smoked meat sandwich. I'll post my opinion shortly.

I'm glad I checked this thread before lunch. I have a super tasty pastrami sandwich from Fumare I'm working on right now. I also bought some extra pastrami to bring home for my wife to try. Very very good sandwich. The flavor and texture of the meat is perfect for my tastes.

This place is only half a mile from my work so I'm sure to be getting in there fairly regularly now that I know about it.

What are some other notable places in that market? I didn't really take the time to look around much as I had to get back to the office. But, it looked like there were some other interesting food places in there.

The burger at Acadia. I had it the last time we sat at the bar. This time my wife ordered it, but I got a quite a few bites.
The bar at Acadia is really a great place for a lite meal.

Lamb tartare with roasted maitakes, chestnuts (microplaned raw and fried slices), cranberry yogurt and miner's lettuce at Blackbird last night. I want to say this is the most creative and yummiest tartare I've ever had.

Pastrami on rye at Shapiro's Deli in Indianapolis on our way driving back from Atlanta. Big and fat and the bread was fresh and moist. I finished half and took the rest home for dinner that evening. The parking lot was filled with people there for the Colts game so the restaurant customers were double parking behind them (I was a little leery about it but it wasn't a problem). Plus they gave our son a free cookie.