sdrucker wrote:

riddlemay wrote:Here's the danger (and I hope the place survives it). Globalness is cool, and all well and good. But Jews (and I'm overgeneralizing, and extrapolating from my own emotional makeup, but so be it) associate foods like corned beef, pastrami, matzo ball soup, et. al., with home. Even if your Jewish mother never cooked, the deli you went to with your family when you were a kid was a second home to you. When you looked around at the other customers, most of the servers, and the guys running the place, you felt you were with your peeps. You were safe; you were home. Dillman's doesn't feel like home. Almost any other kind of cuisine could survive not feeling like home to its most likely customer base, but I'm not sure Jewish cuisine can. We shall see.

This isn't Jewish cuisine; it's apparent milieu is 'updated' Ashkenazic Eastern European cuisine. Even though I'm Jewish of primarily that descent, IMO Italian, Moroccan, Yemeni and Libyan/Tunisian or Iraqi Jewish - or if you really deep dive, Italian or Georgian - food that follows how local Jewish populations adapted kashrut to local customs and traditions is just as much 'Jewish' cuisine.

OTOH these are almost all non-existent locally. As opposed to NY or Paris, let alone 'home cooking' type restaurants in Israel...

Point taken. I was in Israel earlier this summer, and never saw a corned beef sandwich or a bowl of matzo ball soup. So what I mean here is, the food that 98% of American Jews call Jewish.

Sodikoff, bring tongue back pls, k thx bye.

Two observations from my second visit to Dillman's today:

*Today I tried the much-discussed corned beef/pastrami combo sandwich. I loved it. Based on the Reuben I had on my first visit, I believe they have eased up on the salt on both these meats. I enjoyed that Reuben, but found the corned beef a tad on the salty side. Others here have complained that Dillman's pastrami is too salty. But today, neither meat was excessively salty. Just salty enough, wonderfully tender without being excessively fatty, moist, great flavor, pretty much perfection.

*My friend and I arrived earlyish for lunch (11:30). By noon or 12:30, the place was absolutely packed, with happy, boisterous eaters. I don't know that anybody was forced to wait for a table (you can't see the entrance from most spots in the dining room), but I didn't see any empty tables either. Great energy in the room, and pleasantly loud volume, from all those happy people. Service was friendly and prompt despite the busy-ness. Based on the size of the crowd, I don't think anybody has to worry for Dillman's success.

Returned to Dillman's this evening for an early dinner. One thing I like about Dillman's is that though they offer a lot of the foods I traditionally have eaten at Jewish delis, they also offer a number of non-traditional deli items and a much more modern bar. In this sense, Dillman's almost serves two very distinct customer bases, depending upon the time of day and the day you visit.

That discussion aside, let's talk about the food. I thought the pickles were far better this visit than my first and I really enjoyed them. Both had lots of flavor and the sour was truly sour. I will say that I wish they offered a bread basket (even if for a charge) - I don't often wish that for a restaurant but I appreciate it in deli-type restaurants (don't hit me), and it would make some sense given their obvious successes with pastry.

Moving on again, we shared the knishes again and absolutely loved them - best knishes I've ever had, both in terms of texture (love the crisp, flaky exterior) and flavor. A new item for me was the chicken liver toast. The liver itself was beautifully cooked and retained some pinkness. I agree with Steve that this will not remind you of the more homey version served in Jewish households, but I enjoyed it quite a bit anyway. Perhaps the greatest distinctions for me were the generous reliance upon dill and the Texas Toast (a fantastic version by the way). I only had a brief taste of the smoked whitefish salad but really enjoyed that taste. While the whitefish was quite smoky, it paired beautifully with the crisp greens, creamy avocado and lemon vinaigrette.

For my main course, I had the chicken pot pie and this was absolutely terrific. It all starts with the crust (a double crust, thank you very much). We're talking puff pastry-type crust, beautifully golden color and amazingly flaky. This is almost in the Pleasant House Bakery style and class of crusts, it's that good. The chicken filling was excellent too, pretty traditional with peas and carrots I think and with nice moist chunks of chicken. It was served atop a generous serving of mashed potatoes (which served the dual purpose of keeping the pie from moving on the plate). The mashed potatoes were good, but they were obviously meant to be eaten in bites with the fantastic accompanying chicken jus, and when eaten in this fashion they were terrific.

Overall, a really terrific meal and our waitress was outstanding - very knowledgeable about the menu, and we particularly appreciated her telling us to cut out another dish because it would have been too much food. Needless to say, I'm getting more and more excited about having Dillman's around (and you will too once you try the knishes).

I paid another visit to Dillman's yesterday. Although the service was great and the meal enjoyable, I couldn't help but feel that I was at a Disneyesque exhibit of Jewish food in an Epcot-like setting. My dining companions and I cut a pretty big swath thought the menu, and I'm sure they will chime in with their thoughts, but I want to focus on only a couple of things about my meal.

We ordered a starter of the Chicken Liver Toast. This version differed a bit from the picture I posted upthread. In this case, the ramekin of schmaltz was missing, and in its place were some gherkins/cornichons. It also seemed that the liver was "chopped" a bit finer than the first rendition I had a couple months ago. This change was neither good nor bad, just different.

Dillman's Chicken Liver Toast


We also tried an order of Latkes. They were crisp and fine, but put me in mind of crispy hash browns more than any latkes I might make come Hanukkah time. Like I said, they were good, but they were too "clean" tasting, if you know what I mean.

Dillman's Potato Pancakes


Among several other things, I also tried a Reuben, since the question of my opinion of the Dillman's Reuben came up in another thread. I thought the Reuben was good, but not something that will stick in my mind and convince me to return for another. I think the much lauded Reuben at Stormy's in Northfield is far better, and the Reuben being served at Edgebrook Diner puts them all to shame.

Dillman's Reuben


I was less impressed by my 2nd visit to Dillman's than I was on my first. I can't see myself making a special trip there again, although if someone suggested it, I wouldn't veto the choice, either.

Dillman's
354 W Hubbard St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 988-0078

Stormy's Tavern
1735 Orchard Ln
Northfield, IL 60093
(847) 441-8290

Edgebrook Diner
6322 N Central Ave
Chicago, IL 60646
(773) 657-3974

Hi Steve. Appreciate the Reuben taste-off between Dillman's and Edgebrook, since you got to Dillman's again before I got to Edgebrook. (I do get by that neck of the woods every great once in a while, and maybe next time when I do I'll check them out.)

stevez wrote:Among several other things, I also tried a Reuben, since the question of my opinion of the Dillman's Reuben came up in another thread. I thought the Reuben was good, but not something that will stick in my mind and convince me to return for another.

I thought the reuben was constructed beautifully, cooked to perfection and plenty tasty. I prefer a softer style of corned beef, though. This had a bit more chew to it than I typically like in a reuben but that's a choice I completely understand . . .


Classic Reuben



Montreal
This was a lot of fun: foie gras, beef bologna, pastrami and corned beef.



Potato Knish
I thought this was great with its light and crispy exterior, and tender, flavorful interior.



Matzoh Ball Soup
I didn't try this but if it's similar to the version served at Au Cheval -- and it appears to be -- then I'm a fan.

=R=

The knish and soup look amazing.

Darren72 wrote:The knish and soup look amazing.

After two visits, the knish is still the best thing I've had at Dillman's. Like most everything on the menu, it's evocative of a knish that you have pictured in your mind's eye, but it's different (and better, IMO) than most potato knishes I've had. The fact that it's more or less bite sized is also a plus. More room for other noshing.

The herring is the single item I thought was world class, though I enjoyed everything in my couple visits. More like something from Yasuda than Russ & Daughters but super high quality.

Jeff,

I have not yet been to Dillman's, but look forward to trying it soon. Seems like I'm consistently about 2 years behind the LTH curve.

But in my opinion, Russ and Daughters is the "Tiffany's" of cured and smoked fish. Not to be taken lightly. Too bad we can't get cured fish of that quality here in Chicago.

I agree. In no way was I meaning to criticize Russ & Daughters, one of my favorites. The point was that the herring I tried was more like a lightly cured Saba than a traditional schmaltz herring.

On that topic, I was recently blown away by the portion and quality of the herring at Chicago Brauhaus. Not a place where I expected it.

I guess you can say I love Dillman's cause i've been there 3 weekends in a row for brunch and a total of 4 times in the last month. Granted, I do live a few blocks from it so it is easy to get to. I think the space has a great relaxing atmosphere and I can sit there for hours, as I did my second time there on a brunch with friends that turned out to be 5 1/2 hours long, we almost had to have dinner there too. It's better to sit on the side behind the bar as it's less 'restauranty' and much more comfy then the other side. The chairs are soft and comfy and makes it easy to sit and relax with drinks. The wife commented that side of the restaurant reminded her of my favorite local pub when I lived in London a couple years ago. Warm, comfy and inviting.

I think Sodikoff's restaurants are all meticulous about their drink preparation and Dillman's is no exception. Every drink I've had has been delicious and perfectly balanced. I think Bavette's wins for drinks out of all his restaurants but Dillman's is a close second in my book. After my negroni yesterday was taking a bit long, the waitress informed me that the bartender re-made it cause he was not happy with it. I greatly appreciated that.

I'm usually a corned beef guy but I tried the pastrami on my second visit. It will be my new order anytime I'm in the mood for a sandwich there. I thought it was amazing, perfectly peppery and succulent. On all of my visits the meats have not been overly salty. I think they fixed that issue which was mentioned before. The house-made rye is some of the best rye bread I've ever had. I love it. I especially love the chewy crust on it. when you get it, it seems like it can't hold the sandwich together cause it's a little thinner cut but it definitely does the job. I've also tried the pot pie which the wife had one time and that was pretty good too. I would definitely order it if I was in the mood. Had whole cloves of roasted garlic that melted in your mouth and the chicken jus, on the thinner side, was delicious. I also tried the knish on my last visit and steve z and ronnie are right on. The crunchy exterior and mashed potato like interior are a great combo. I can't compare it to other knishes as I haven't had too many of them before.

I'm happy Dillman's is walking distance from my house. I see myself frequenting more often then his other restaurants as it has a more relaxed vibe and is not insanely crowded constantly. It's much easier to get into to have a quick bite and some drinks or like I did, a 5 1/2 hour long brunch with friends and many drinks.

Dined at Dillman's last night. Enjoyed a house smoked pastrami/corned beef combo with Swiss on rye. Mustard need not apply. I'll be back!

stevez wrote:

Darren72 wrote:The knish and soup look amazing.

After two visits, the knish is still the best thing I've had at Dillman's. Like most everything on the menu, it's evocative of a knish that you have pictured in your mind's eye, but it's different (and better, IMO) than most potato knishes I've had. The fact that it's more or less bite sized is also a plus. More room for other noshing.

I agree! Enjoyed the knish before the pastrami/corned beef, & Swiss combo. The smoked whitefish salad was also great.

The first time I tried the burger and matzoh ball soup at Au Cheval, I enjoyed but didn't get overly excited by either one - the burger slightly too salty and the chicken soup and matzoh ball slightly lacking in chicken flavor. But last night I tried both of these dishes at Dillman's which at least from appearances appeared to be the same exact versions. And both the burger and soup were outstanding, leading me to believe that perhaps my initial experience with both at Au Cheval might have had me trying less than perfect versions.

What I loved about the burger was that it was largely about the beef - medium rare by default, juicy, great beef flavor, not oversalted at all and though a great bun and crisp, fresh lettuce, pickles and tomato and a dab of dijonnaise, it was the beef flavor that came through the loudest and clearest.

The matzoh ball soup was outstanding too. Very rich chicken flavor (in the matzoh ball too) put a big smile on my face, and I was happy to see that they're as big a lover of dill in chicken soup as I am.

And just to be clear, I again had the knishes - the one thing I've had on every visit. Yes, they're that good.

BR wrote:What I loved about the burger was that it was largely about the beef - medium rare by default, juicy, great beef flavor, not oversalted at all and though a great bun and crisp, fresh lettuce, pickles and tomato and a dab of dijonnaise, it was the beef flavor that came through the loudest and clearest.

i don't believe the au cheval version of the burger comes with lettuce/tomato.... or if it does i guess i've always eaten it plain.

dudefella wrote:

BR wrote:What I loved about the burger was that it was largely about the beef - medium rare by default, juicy, great beef flavor, not oversalted at all and though a great bun and crisp, fresh lettuce, pickles and tomato and a dab of dijonnaise, it was the beef flavor that came through the loudest and clearest.

i don't believe the au cheval version of the burger comes with lettuce/tomato.... or if it does i guess i've always eaten it plain.

Interesting - I honestly don't remember. In any event, this burger would have been fantastic with or without the lettuce, and the bun and patties seemed identical.

Au Cheval is a "fast food-ish" double w/o lettuce and tomato. Dillman's is a thicker, "pub-ish" single with the veggies. At least this was true recently. It was explained to me by the staff that they wanted to have some burger variety.

JeffB wrote:Au Cheval is a "fast food-ish" double w/o lettuce and tomato. Dillman's is a thicker, "pub-ish" single with the veggies. At least this was true recently. It was explained to me by the staff that they wanted to have some burger variety.

Yes.

And I liked Au Cheval's more.

All -

Went for the first time last night. After reading this thread I was excited to try the herring and the knish. And the girlfriend was excited to try the gnocchi (she is a vegetarian and this was the only entree). But, alas, none of the three were on the menu. I inquired and the server said they just changed the menu last weekend. Later I was studying the menu and noticed that at the top left of the menu where it says "Dillman's" it says "American Brasserie" below it. So there you go.

Had the Reuben, Potato Pancakes, and a Negroni.
- Negroni was delicious. Love that cube of ice they use. How do I do that at home....
- Potato pancakes were good enough. Didn't change my life but did satisfy that urge.
- Reuben wasn't bad... Needed more bite in the sauerkraut and I like a bit more noticeable sauce.

The girlfriend had the butternut squash which was incredible. It is a side but a large enough portion that if you have a salad or another side it is a dinner. It is sweet.

Considering the location (to the girlfriend's place), the quality of the drink, and the my overall love for the Sodikoff places I will go back.

jpeac2 wrote:All -

Went for the first time last night. After reading this thread I was excited to try the herring and the knish. And the girlfriend was excited to try the gnocchi (she is a vegetarian and this was the only entree). But, alas, none of the three were on the menu. I inquired and the server said they just changed the menu last weekend. Later I was studying the menu and noticed that at the top left of the menu where it says "Dillman's" it says "American Brasserie" below it. So there you go.

Had the Reuben, Potato Pancakes, and a Negroni.
- Negroni was delicious. Love that cube of ice they use. How do I do that at home....
- Potato pancakes were good enough. Didn't change my life but did satisfy that urge.
- Reuben wasn't bad... Needed more bite in the sauerkraut and I like a bit more noticeable sauce.

The girlfriend had the butternut squash which was incredible. It is a side but a large enough portion that if you have a salad or another side it is a dinner. It is sweet.

Considering the location (to the girlfriend's place), the quality of the drink, and the my overall love for the Sodikoff places I will go back.

If they got rid of the knish, I'll be absolutely crushed.

Brendan Sodikoff Reconcepting Half of Dillman's into 'Boutique Italian'

http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2014/ ... n.php#more

Oy.

Perhaps they'll try an Italian deli first?

Heh.

Well, that was fast. Dillman's to close April 6; Cocello Italian Bar to open.

A pastrami shop will open later this summer next to Cocello.

http://312diningdiva.blogspot.sg/2014/0 ... -with.html

DutchMuse wrote:Well, that was fast. Dillman's to close April 6; Cocello Italian Bar to open.

Since Dillman's began compromising its concept almost immediately, this raises the age-old question (which I'm not sure anyone ever has the answer to), "Are you better off committing to do the different thing you do better than anyone else is doing it, and trusting that your audience will find you, or are you better off chasing after what you think the audience wants?"

I'm sure business wasn't great, or the reconcepting of the space wouldn't need to take place; what we'll never know is whether the business could have become great if it hadn't been compromised from almost day one.

Given that the re-concepted spot will be called 'Dillman's Pastrami Shop', I'm dreaming on a place that actually will be what many seemingly were hoping Dillman's might be: a deli with an emphasis on pastrami, corned beef, knishes, latkes, smoked fish etc. That would be awesome. Especially if it had a little PQR in it, and you could buy, say, pastrami by the pound to-go.
To be clear, that's pure conjecture/hopefulness.

Evil Ronnie wrote:in my opinion, Russ and Daughters is the "Tiffany's" of cured and smoked fish. Not to be taken lightly. Too bad we can't get cured fish of that quality here in Chicago.

AMEN, BROTHER