17-hour quickie in Chicago

Being as how The Other Dr. Gale had a mtg + presentation in Chicago last Frydee and Saddie, I decided to fly in from KC and cavort with TODG exactly so much as possible.

Flew into MKE, shuttled over to the brand spanking new Amtrak station, and caught the Hiwatha to Union Station. Noticed that there were a bunch of very lean people on the train with me.

Got off at 2100h in Union Station, caught a cab to Red Roof Inn on Ontario, sort of near the Water Tower. Cheap enough. Noticed in Union Station that there were a bunch of very lean people wandering determinedly hither, thither and yon. Shared the Inn's elevator with two matched pairs of lean people, 50-somethings, speaking quite Parisian French. They indeed are from Paris, live in the Third, of all places.

Well, duh dumbie: it's marathon weekend. I *hate* all those lean people, and immediately resolve to fix their boats, but good.

First stop: Cafe Spiaggia. Yee-hah, great seat looking out on The Avenue, such as it is at 2200h on a Friday night. Crab cakes (wow, how DO they get that crispitude on the exterior??), then the veal
SELLA DI VITELLO CON POLENTA BIANCA VERDURE E PANCETTA

and simply can NOT keep TODG's fork out of the polenta. Damn, it is SOOO rich and smooth. (Hmmm, maybe they made it from cream o' wheat and 50-wt cream??)

I'm finished, but SHE gets the basil ice.

Hoof it back to the hotel and blessed surcease.

++++++++

0900h Saddie morn, TODG goes off to make her presentation at Nor'western Med school, and I go looking for a bite to eat. Discover, to my delight, Mary's Cafe, which is, basically, your Platonic Ideal of a Clean, Well-lighted Place. Eggs over easy, sausage patties, *crispy* hash browns, and an unbuttered Brit muffin to push things around with. Everything fine, except that the sausage is too fine, cut that is, and not spicy enough. Hash browns worth returning for next time. The menu looks like being perfect for any of us throughout the day.

+++++++++++
1300h, we jump into the Debbiewagen ('92 Geo Metro convertible, the grape-colored one) and race out to Lao Sichuan. Where it is Formosa National Day or something, replete with marching bands, police everywhere, and no place to park w/in 16 kilometers. But the Debbiewagen is *small* , you know what I mean?, so we finally get into the restaurant and line up for consideration for a table.

Crispy eggplant, Sichaun green beans, and Salt-and-Pepper Squid, which, in fact, turns out to be the 3-delights version. I didn't complain to mgt., needless to say.

Can ANYone tell me what that haunting spice/herb (I think 'bay rum'-ish which is completely wrong, but there you have my impression) that lingers just barely over the threshold of perception as I chomp the salt-and-pepper delights? I just simply can't compare it to anything else I know.

The eggplant is wonderful: that sort of pyramidal cut, with the shiny purple skin, is sooo attractive; and the mush under the crisp is just brilliant.

Where's the damn dried shrimp in the beans???!

+++++++++++
Jumped on the freeway back to Whitewater, fully sated. Ummm. Damn, what a great place to eat one's way through, Chicago.

Geo
PS. *Finally* went last night to KC's reputedly best Indian food. The rap is right. Anyone wants to know, I'll spill the info. Probably the best nan I've ever had in my life.

Cafe Spiaggia
You all know where it is

Mary's Cafe
215 E Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 60611-3311
(312) 337-2500

Lao Sichuan
You all know where IT is, too

KC's best Indian
I'll tell if you're interested

Not that I can really imagine eating something other than BBQ if I were to go to KC these days, but since it was the first place I ever had Indian food (in Olathe or Overland Park somewhere, many years ago), I'd be curious to know what KC's best Indian restaurant is now.

Sometimes 3-a-day bbq, even in KC, deserves a break.

The place is:
Ruchi Indian Restaurant
(913) 661-9088
(913) 338-3662
11168 Antioch Rd
Overland Park, KS 66210

I went with Bonnie Winston, who is the doyen of KC foodies, and she led me through the menu. The thing that amazes is the incredible fresh vivacity of ALL the ingredients. Think Chez Panise-style devotion. It's like they went out in the garden and harvested, say, the garam masala vine, just for your dish.

I can STILL taste the fresh spinach in the saag paneer...

It is definitely, most definitely, worth a visit when you need a couple hours break from bbq.

Geo

Regarding LSC, one question: which floor were you seated on? If you were on the second floor, I apologize on behalf of the party of 25 that dominated the room.

Also regarding LSC: those szechuan string beans are crack to me. They're also vegetarian, so not only no dried shrimp but no pork. I'm not sure what the topping is, and I posted a fruitless query in Shopping and Cooking a year ago.

Heh-heh, so now I know why they wouldn't even THINK about putting us on the second floor! We were stacked in the doorway downstairs, and, being only a party of two, got passed over a couple of times in favor of larger parties. I speak a bit of Mandarin, so I teased them a bit, which I think ultimately got us a nice window table.

OK, now I understand about the beans. I mean, they were delicious--we ate every bit--but my ordinary conception of Sichuan green beans includes the dried shrimp. Do they have another name for the typical version?

And, can you tell me about the magically subtle taste in the Salt-and-Pepper chunks?

Geo
PS. And tell me a bit about what you were eating upstairs!

With regards to the beans: as far as I know, that is the only preparation offered. A significant number of dishes are vegetarian at LSC that would otherwise have pork or dried shrimp in them, including H&S Soup, szechuan string beans, and the Ma-Po Tofu. I think this is maybe partially Tony Hu's preference and partially an attempt (apparently successful) to appeal to Jewish and vegetarian diners.

Ours was a wedding luncheon/reception type thing. We had a few dishes on there to appeal to the less adventurous eaters.

Here was the rundown:

Soup ordered by individuals. Mostly hot and sour (also vegetarian at LSC).

Per table, about 8 per table:

Two orders of Tony's Chicken with Three Chili
Two orders of szechuan string beans
Mongolian Lamb
Salt and Pepper smelt
Salt and Pepper three delights
Cashew Chicken
Rice noodles with Beef
Crispy Duck
Garlic Peapods
Garlic Spinach


The meal was great. Even the tamest dishes were still winners. My mom still doesn't think the S&P smelt are as good as LTH's, and I have no reason to doubt her. She thought LSC's were pretty small. With all three tables combined we had a lot of leftovers, but each table really didn't have much leftover individually. Most dishes were 75% eaten or more, so 12+soup for 8 wasn't the overkill I was
worried it might be.

Dessert was provided by Vanille Patisserie, and consisted of a pair of mousse cakes:

Manjari
Chocolate biscuit, chocolate cream and chocolate mouse.

Sophia
Chocolate flourless cake, vanilla cream, hazelnut crisp and chocolate bavaroise

They were both fantastic.

Ed,

I've been waiting for you to mention your wedding!

Congratulations to you and your new wife.

Regards,

gleam wrote:
Ours was a wedding luncheon/reception type thing.

Many photos here. Including the Small Fish with Salt and Pepper




LSC did a fine job, after an awkward start where they brought out fried rice instead of fried rice noodles. But they quickly took it away and after that everything worked smoothly--and was delicious. I was particularly impressed by the vegetable dishes. I know it's a cliche, but it's often in these simple dishes where you can really tell how good a restaurant is. Both the pea pods and the spinach were exquisitely fresh and perfectly cooked. I recommend both.

I agree wholeheartedly on the vegetable dishes, especially the peapods, which had that perfectly blanched crunchy salty garlicky taste.

oh, and how did TODG like the basil sorbet at CS?

When Beth and I were there last she had the Fennel sorbet and the mint and peach gelati, but was pretty disappointed with the peach and was wishing she'd gone basil instead. Any insight?

Boy, I *thought* about the garlic spinich... NEXT time!

(One time there I had little tiny green beans, cut into about corn-kernal size, with some garlic and a few other things. Couldn't remember the name, unfortunately, and couldn't find it on the menu. Any hints?)

TODG has had the full range of ices. The peach, as you note, is underwhelming. But the basil really delivers: full-flavored and refreshing, just sweet enough. This is about the third time Debbie's had it, and it never fails to please. The fennel is ok, but is so outclassed by the basil, that she now doesn't order the 3-type selection, just focusses upon the basil.

Geo

Geo wrote:Boy, I *thought* about the garlic spinich... NEXT time!

(One time there I had little tiny green beans, cut into about corn-kernal size, with some garlic and a few other things. Couldn't remember the name, unfortunately, and couldn't find it on the menu. Any hints?)

It's on the hot appetizer portion of the menu, and is, I believe, called string beans with black bean sauce.