Annual Black Friday Food Crawl - 2014 *Saturday* Edition

Once again, we loaded ourselves into the family truckster, cranked up the Christmas music and headed out in search of post-Thanksgiving comestibles. We decided that Saturday was a better day to do this (over Black Friday), since over the past couple of years, we encountered several places that were closed or off their games on Black Friday.

This year we had a few goals but the main one was to keep it geographically tight, so we could maximize the number of stops. We managed to hit 9 places in 6 hours and had a great time doing it. With the exception of Stop #3, we'd never set foot in any of these places before, though I'd had food from a few of them. But we wanted to check them out for ourselves, see what they were all about in person and really get to experience them. And that we did . . .


Bad Wolf Coffee - 3422 N Lincoln



Kouign Amann



Blueberry Bar



Honey Badger
Bottom Line: This place is a genuine game-changer in Chicago pastry.



Floriole Cafe and Bakery - 1220 W Webster



Gateau Basque



Canele



Ham & Cheese Croissant
Used this item as our bridge from sweet to savory
Bottom Line: Great stuff and I'd love to go back for Friday night pizza.



Fat Rice - 2957 W Diversey



Boiled Pork Dumplings



Minchi Hash



Bone-In Pork Chop Bun



Portuguese Egg Tarts (sent out for us by our friends in the kitchen)
Bottom Line: Fat Rice remains one of my very favorite places in town. It was my son's first trip here and this brunch stop was a great shared experience for us.



Fatso's Last Stand - 2258 W Chicago Ave (photo by Lucas)



Double Fatso with Cheese
Bottom Line: A great expression of the char-burger style, though it's not my personal favorite.



Crisp - 2940 N Broadway



Wings - Seoul Sassy (front), Crisp BBQ (rear)
Bottom Line: The wings here are so unnaturally large, it's hard to feel great about eating them.



Gyros On The Spit - 2826 N Lincoln Ave



Gyros Sandwich



Spanakopita
Bottom Line: Gyros are ubiquitous in Chicago and while what we ate here was fine, I can't foresee traveling a great distance to eat here again.



Rice 'N Bread - 3435 N Sheffield



Galbi Burger & Fries



Sunnyside Up Eggs, Teriyaki Beef & Rice with Gravy



Bul Dak
Bottom Line: I loved this place on paper but maybe I was a bit too sober to really enjoy it.



Small's Smoke Shack & More - 4009 North Albany



Smoked Brisket



Smoked Chicken



Fried Chicken
Bottom Line: Exceptional food and some deft chef technique made Small's one of my very favorite stops of the day. I cannot wait to return.



Olga's Deli - 3209 W Irving Park



Schnitzel Sandwich



Pork Loin Sandwich
Bottom Line: Olga is an incredibly nice and generous person who clearly loves to feed people. I think she gave us as much to taste while were in the shop as she piled onto the sandwiches she made for us (which we took home and ate a couple hours later).

So, another year in the books. With my son now a senior in high school and heading off to college next year, I realize these expeditions might not always be in our future. For that reason, I especially treasured this edition, even though I doubt this will be our last ride.

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Bad Wolf Coffee
3422 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 969-2346

Floriole Cafe & Bakery
1220 W Webster Ave
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 883-1313

Fat Rice
2957 W Diversey Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 661-9170

Fatso's Last Stand
2258 W Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 245-3287

Crisp
2940 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 697-7610

Gyros On The Spit
2826 N. Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 698-7999

Rice 'N Bread
3435 N Sheffield Ave
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 281-4452

Small's Smoke Shack & More
4009 North Albany Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
(312) 857-4221

Olga's Delicatessen
3209 W Irving Park Rd
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 539-8038

Great fun looking at your photos and reading your commentary, Ronnie.

There was one comment I didn't understand: " The wings here are so unnaturally large, it's hard to feel great about eating them." ?

Katie wrote:Great fun looking at your photos and reading your commentary, Ronnie.

There was one comment I didn't understand: " The wings here are so unnaturally large, it's hard to feel great about eating them." ?

I could be wrong about this but I just feel that wings (and chickens) don't get that large without some sort of hand-of-man intervention. Generally speaking, that's the kind of intervention I like to avoid in the foods I eat. They were cooked very well (crisp on the outside, moist on the inside) but their size made me feel like I was eating some seriously manipulated food.

=R=

Always look forward to these posts Ronnie! Beautiful photography (as usual). A few of these spots have been on my radar as well and your report has shuffled up my list from got to get back to (Small's) to if-in-the-neighborhood (GotS + Crisp).

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Katie wrote:Great fun looking at your photos and reading your commentary, Ronnie.

There was one comment I didn't understand: " The wings here are so unnaturally large, it's hard to feel great about eating them." ?

I could be wrong about this but I just feel that wings (and chickens) don't get that large without some sort of hand-of-man intervention. Generally speaking, that's the kind of intervention I like to avoid in the foods I eat. They were cooked very well (crisp on the outside, moist on the inside) but their size made me feel like I was eating some seriously manipulated food.

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On one hand, your instincts may be right, it "makes sense." On the other, "natural" or "real" chickens are generally larger than supermarket chickens because they are older--it takes longer to bring such chicken to readiness on scratch.

Nice pics too

Vital Information wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Katie wrote:Great fun looking at your photos and reading your commentary, Ronnie.

There was one comment I didn't understand: " The wings here are so unnaturally large, it's hard to feel great about eating them." ?

I could be wrong about this but I just feel that wings (and chickens) don't get that large without some sort of hand-of-man intervention. Generally speaking, that's the kind of intervention I like to avoid in the foods I eat. They were cooked very well (crisp on the outside, moist on the inside) but their size made me feel like I was eating some seriously manipulated food.

=R=

On one hand, your instincts may be right, it "makes sense." On the other, "natural" or "real" chickens are generally larger than supermarket chickens because they are older--it takes longer to bring such chicken to readiness on scratch.

Nice pics too

Another explanation I've heard, and I'm not sure this is accurate, either, is that CAFO chicken has artificially enhanced breasts, so a lot of the energy goes there. When there is no artificial enhancement, or manipulation, the breasts are smaller and legs/wings are bigger, which seems how "nature intended."

Great post and pictures . . . an impressive tasting menu for sure and a great way to avoid the shopping nuts!

I don't know about chicken raising, so I can't imagine how chicken breasts are "artificially enhanced" or "manipulated," except by breeding for large breasts. I also find it hard to imagine why anyone would spend money pumping something like growth hormones into chickens to produce parts, even wings, that sell wholesale at less than $2 a pound. Besides which, isn't it prohibited in the US to use growth hormones with poultry? I wonder what our farmer friend Tim (Freezer Pig) would think of how little I know of such things. I could be way off, but I would guess that large wings come from older birds and/or birds bred for larger wings. If the meat to bone ratio, i.e., the percent edible, increases with size, I'm all for larger wings.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Once again, we loaded ourselves into the family truckster, cranked up the Christmas music and headed out in search of post-Thanksgiving comestibles.

Love love love your yearly excursions, thanks for sharing with us!

I can't believe I've still not been to Olga's, my short list just got very short.

Katie wrote:I can't imagine how chicken breasts are "artificially enhanced" or "manipulated," except by breeding for large breasts.

They do it with silicone implants.

Based just on the photos and comments, the places on your list that I'd like to go to most are Fatso's and Crisp. Sorry to hear you didn't think much of Gyros on a Spit, because the gyro in that photo looks very good. But for me, living so far outside the city and most memorable eats involving a lengthy drive, when someone says "I don't think I'd go to the trouble to go here again," that's useful information.

nsxtasy wrote:

Katie wrote:I can't imagine how chicken breasts are "artificially enhanced" or "manipulated," except by breeding for large breasts.

They do it with silicone implants.

Ha! I was wondering who gets the job of chicken breast manipulator.

Katie wrote:Ha! I was wondering who gets the job of chicken breast manipulator.

My money's on Foghorn Leghorn, a chicken breast manipulator if ever I saw one.

Katie wrote:I don't know about chicken raising, so I can't imagine how chicken breasts are "artificially enhanced" or "manipulated," except by breeding for large breasts. I also find it hard to imagine why anyone would spend money pumping something like growth hormones into chickens to produce parts, even wings, that sell wholesale at less than $2 a pound. Besides which, isn't it prohibited in the US to use growth hormones with poultry? I wonder what our farmer friend Tim (Freezer Pig) would think of how little I know of such things. I could be way off, but I would guess that large wings come from older birds and/or birds bred for larger wings. If the meat to bone ratio, i.e., the percent edible, increases with size, I'm all for larger wings.

Not necessarily saying this is the case at Crisp but it's done with growth hormones, which are often used in lower quality meat products.

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Growth hormones seem not to have been used for chickens in the US for some time: http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2767.pdf

Great post and photos, Ronnie! Thank you for letting us vicariously share your wonderful family outings.

David Hammond wrote:Growth hormones seem not to have been used for chickens in the US for some time: http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2767.pdf

Yeah, that's what I thought. The article you linked to says that hormone use in poultry production was banned in the United States in the 1950s.

Katie wrote:

David Hammond wrote:Growth hormones seem not to have been used for chickens in the US for some time: http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2767.pdf

Yeah, that's what I thought. The article you linked to says that hormone use in poultry production was banned in the United States in the 1950s.

Not being a scientist, hormones or other feed additives are all pretty much the same to me. Whether they are fed to the birds eventually served at Crisp I cannot say but I've eaten a lot of chicken in my day and I never seen wings this large before. Perhaps it was just a matter of breeding. Having followed a few of the links above (and others), that could definitely be the case. These seemed half-way to a turkey. In any case the bottom line is that I found the bird at Crisp largely unappetizing -- a bit sinewy and the meat itself pretty flavorless.

I'd love to hear other folks' opinions of Crisp. I know it's a popular spot but I wasn't into it.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Katie wrote:

David Hammond wrote: In any case the bottom line is that I found the bird at Crisp largely unappetizing -- a bit sinewy and the meat itself pretty flavorless.

Well, that does sound unappetizing. I feel similarly about wings at the other end of the spectrum: very small, very dry sauce-soaked wings at Buffalo Wild Wings, for example.

Katie wrote:Based just on the photos and comments, the places on your list that I'd like to go to most are Fatso's and Crisp. Sorry to hear you didn't think much of Gyros on a Spit, because the gyro in that photo looks very good.

I was a little thrown by the "gyros are ubiquitous in Chicago" part of the critique, because, indeed they are--but gyros as good as the ones at Gyros on the Spit are not! (At least in my experience and humble opinion.) So ubiquity of gyros as a menu item is beside the point. But I guess you're saying that you found them no better than the ones to be had at any of a dozen other places, in which case, it may just be that you get around more than I do.

(By the way, which is grammatically correct? To consider a plate of gyros plural, as in "the gyros I had at Gyros on the Spit were exceptional"? Or to consider it singular despite the "s," as in "the gyros I had at Gyros on the Spit was exceptional"?)

riddlemay wrote:

Katie wrote:Based just on the photos and comments, the places on your list that I'd like to go to most are Fatso's and Crisp. Sorry to hear you didn't think much of Gyros on a Spit, because the gyro in that photo looks very good.

I was a little thrown by the "gyros are ubiquitous in Chicago" part of the critique, because, indeed they are--but gyros as good as the ones at Gyros on the Spit are not! (At least in my experience and humble opinion.) So ubiquity of gyros as a menu item is beside the point. But I guess you're saying that you found them no better than the ones to be had at any of a dozen other places, in which case, it may just be that you get around more than I do.

(By the way, which is grammatically correct? To consider a plate of gyros plural, as in "the gyros I had at Gyros on the Spit were exceptional"? Or to consider it singular despite the "s," as in "the gyros I had at Gyros on the Spit was exceptional"?)

As for the grammar, I cannot say for sure. Is it similar to lox? That I always use as a singular . . . e.g. "that lox was amazing."

I am a frequent diner at Psistaria and I like their house-made gyros a lot more than what I had a GOTS (The Works in Glenview, Cross Rhodes in Evanston and Greek Islands in Greektown are all also better, IMO) Yes, places have occasional off days but recipe over recipe, Psistaria's are superior, IMO. Even more so, their spanakopita, which are the best I've ever had in a restaurant. With GOTS's spanakopita, the layers of dough closest to filling were quite gummy, not flakey as they are with my favorite incarnations. I can guess why this was the case but whatever it was, I wasn't impressed.

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FWIW, I agree with you about GOTS's spanakopita.

Have been to Psistaria and liked what I had, but I didn't have the gyros there. Will have to check that out.

There is some disagreement on this point, but the consensus seems to be that "gyros" is one of those words that ends with an "s" in the singular and is spelled the same in the plural. Other examples are kudos, biceps, and species.

So, since both the singular and plural forms are spelled the same ("gyros"), you can use either the singular or plural form of whatever verb you have in mind, depending on which seems more appropriate, given the context.

You were maybe a few years late to Chester's/Hamburger King/Bread N Rice. It's practically fancy now. The burgers were always much more 30's style Diner Grill affairs. The quasi-Japanese Korean is best. Yet ca mein, Akutagowa.

JeffB wrote:You were maybe a few years late to Chester's/Hamburger King/Bread N Rice. It's practically fancy now. The burgers were always much more 30's style Diner Grill affairs. The quasi-Japanese Korean is best. Yet ca mein, Akutagowa.

In discussing this trek with some friends off-board, I've been informed that Noon Hour Grill in Rogers Park is currently the destination for this category. I've never been but I hope to visit soon.

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Am I reading too much into the fact that the review of Olga's food instead focuses on the proprietor's warmth and generosity?

cilantro wrote:Am I reading too much into the fact that the review of Olga's food instead focuses on the proprietor's warmth and generosity?

I'm guessing yes. We didn't know what to expect, since we'd never been there. We didn't realize we couldn't eat our sandwiches there and we were so full, eating them 'al trunko' with traffic rushing by on Irving Park didn't sound appealing. So, we took them home and ate them a couple hours after they were made. They were quite delicious but not optimal texturally. So, I'm not sure our experience was a truly representative one. I'd happily go back . . . next time, very hungry and ready to eat on the spot.

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Thanks. I was wondering how a piece of cold pork loin that thick would not be unbelievably chewy, but maybe Olga can work miracles.

cilantro wrote:Thanks. I was wondering how a piece of cold pork loin that thick would not be unbelievably chewy, but maybe Olga can work miracles.

It was tender and delicious but by the time we got to it, a bit dry. That was nothing some mayo and a few pickles couldn't solve, though.

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