stevez wrote:There was another Peruvian place I spotted a few blocks south that was also open and had a pretty good number of customers inside.

Steve,

I believe you are thinking of Taste of Peru. There are past posts by GypsyBoy and George R and an LTHForum dinner by RGL201

Very sorry to hear Salamera was not busy, it a really wonderful restaurant.

Enjoy,
Gary

Taste of Peru
6545 N. Clark Street
Chicago, IL
773-381-4540

Went there today with the family after a show at the Children's Film Festival and finally got to try the goat as well as the pork sandwich described above with real, hardcore chicharron instead of lean pork. (Although I trimmed some of the fat off, the flavorfulness of it having been cooked that way still came through in spades.)

The sandwich was terrific, much improved since my other visit, and the goat was quite good too, a couple of hunks of meat on the bone on a bed of beans mixed with a salsa and with white rice on the side. I'm not sure if it's Sunday only or not but it'd be a good plan for next Sunday....

Hi,

Helen and I bumped into Josephine as we were walking in for our first ever visit to Salamera.

We opened with the Ceviche, which was bright tasting and full of black pepper. Helen brought some home for her family to taste, which put Salamera on their weekend to do list.

It was great to finally try the pork belly sandwich. We learned they have been considering substituting pork shoulder for the pork belly because Americans have been objecting to the fat. I suggested they offer the pork shoulder variant as a separate menu item because there are many who would love access to the pork belly.

We also shared a Jibarito sandwich, which we really liked a lot. While our other favored Jibarito sandwich at Papa's uses American cheeses. Salamera uses Chihuahua cheese, a healthy dose of mayonnaise and an avocado cream to make it their own.

We noticed at the next table people were getting dinner-type meals rather than sandwiches. Salamera is beginning to introduce dinners. There is no menu rather a list of meals on the wall.



(If someone wants to translate below, then please use this photo and put in the translated menu thread of Useful Stuff)

For a variety of reasons, Helen and I found ourselves returning the very same day for our evening meal. We had their shrimp soup, which comes in a very large bowl that we split into two very generous soup bowls. This is a soup rich in shrimp flavor with yucca, corn, shrimp, a poached egg and at least one langoustine. Next time I may ask for a second poached egg when I split this soup. We have the impression they also ground some shrimp for flavor, texture and body.



We also tried the young goat with the most heavenly beans, which we were advised were cooked with pork. This was not a weekend menu item, rather something we obtained on a Thursday evening. I could easily make a meal of simply of the beans and rice.



While Ourpalwill’s financing lead was followed, though it didn’t result in a loan. The re-opening is self-financed on a shoestring budget, which means every sale is important to them. While money remains an issue there, I cannot help feel they really need a mentor. As I have often felt about these small ethnic restaurants, we are often in the presence of a very good cook though someone with little to no formal hospitality and restaurant management training.

We had a lengthy discussion on how to write menus for in-house and take-out purposes. I suggested writing them up on her computer and photocopying would be a good beginning. I ran out to my car to give her a sample of a take-out menu to borrow ideas from. Suggesting on slow days they distribute these menus around the neighborhood.

Again, the sandwiches are divine as well as those beans! I’d hate to lose access to them.

Regards,

Cathy, the dishes look good. The goat dish is seco [de chivo] con frijoles, and is listed on the menu you pictured. I would not be surprised if dried shrimp were the secret ingredient in the soup, which really looks great.

Salchipapas are the deep fried south American hot dogs with fries. Addictive stuff, and possibly a must-try for someone like Rich4 or Antonius who might yearn for a ripper now and again.

I'll note a few things on the menu that might be beyond the collective taqueria Spanish that most have here. Camotes are sweet potatoes. Cabrito Norteno sounds interesting. I wonder if they are referring to a Mexican dish (barbacoa de cabra, maybe) or if it is a goat prep from thr North of Peru. Aji de gallina is one of those Andean dishes that seems almost Italian with its use of bread crumbs, cheese and nuts to thicken a sauce (which in this case is a chile sauce thus aji). The other stuff is pretty straight forward: chicken soup, rice with shellfish, ceviche, chicken with rice, "poor-man's steak" (I think this is the ubiquitous Central/South American steak combo plate, like a bandeja paisa or casado), soda pop (gaseosas), hot drinks, juices (papaya, "mixed," strawberry, purple corn (chicha morada)).

The goat I had yesterday, though very similar looking, was the Cabrito Norteño, a couple of goat hock-type pieces in darker pinto beans, possibly stewed with some meat as they had a pretty rich flavor, and then the whole thing topped with a salsa. Not a radically different dish, but plainly diffferent beans were used.

Jeff,

Salchipapas are the deep fried south American hot dogs with fries.

That was a real puzzler for us.

Aji de gallina is one of those Andean dishes that seems almost Italian with its use of bread crumbs, cheese and nuts to thicken a sauce (which in this case is a chile sauce thus aji).

That sounds like the dish I need to try next. In (what was Soviet) Georgia, they use ground nuts to thicken sauces. I like that style very much and surprised to find it in Peruvian food. I didn't realize Italians used nuts for thickening sauces as well. Cool!

Thanks for helping decipher the menu.

Mike - whichever way they prepared the goat and beans, I think we both liked what we received.

Regards,

Jeff:

Salchipapas are the deep fried south American hot dogs with fries. Addictive stuff, and possibly a must-try for someone like Rich4 or Antonius who might yearn for a ripper now and again.

¡Ay!

***

C2:

That sounds like the dish I need to try next. In (what was Soviet) Georgia, they use ground nuts to thicken sauces. I like that style very much and surprised to find it in Peruvian food. I didn't realize Italians used nuts for thickening sauces as well. Cool!

Persians, Georgians, Arabs, etc., and also Spanish and Italians. The practice is quite possibly an import from the east (Persia) but then a very old one; of course, independent parallel developments in some cases are also without doubt likely.

The pestos of Italy and Romescos of Catalonia are notable Western representatives. In the same cultural sphere were brought the Spanish conquests in the New World, but they perhaps had their own traditions of using seeds (e.g. pumpkin or squash seeds) as a thickening agent and flavour element in sauces (as in Mexican cuisine).

On pestos with nuts:
alla Genovese
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=41428#41428
alla Trapanese
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=46822#46822
alla bella Malince (ricetta pseudo-Messicana)
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=41931#41931

Antonius

I got there for my first visit on Fri. -- a quick solo lunch. It was as everyone has said, friendly, bright, cheap and delicious. They all seemed in pretty good spirits, though I was the only one there.

Had the delicious steak sandwich and ceviche to start. I would have loved some sort of bread or chip along with the ceviche to soak up some of the juices, especially with the accompanying green sauce which I fell for and ended up finishing with a spoon and then asking for a container to take home. I would have sworn from the texture that some sort of ground seeds/nuts were involved there, but when I asked she said just jalapeno, cilantro, cheese(!), vinegar. In any case, I put on the ceviche, I put some more on my sammy, and then I just ate it with a spoon.

Finished off with espresson and flan, both of which were fine but not transecndent. Can't wait to go back and try some of the dishes listed on the wall.

Boy that little stretch of Clark with Islas Los M., La Cazuela, Dona Lolis, and the other Peruvian place is really hopping. Would it had been so in the mid-80s when I lived there in my roach infested studio.

Unfortunately two of the above are not "hopping." Ate at Salamera last night and we were the only customers. Isla Marias was completely empty. Both are very good restaurants which deserve more patronage. The ower of Salamera is pretty naive about running a restaurant but that cannot be the explanation of the situation at Isla (which has four branches). It might be that the neighborhood is not the right one.

In any case, the swordfish ceviche was excellent as was the Cabrito and the atmosphere was very welcoming-- even free
dulce de leche cookies at the end. She expressed great appreciation for this forum in keeping her open--although hanging by a thread.

JeffB wrote:

"The other stuff is pretty straight forward: chicken soup. . ."

Straigthforward, yes, but oh so simply perfect!

I was back on Tuesday, and when I tasted that soup, it was clear that none of its ingredients ever saw the inside of a can or an envelope. Chicken, pure chicken, onion, no doubt, water, noodles, salt and a bit of thyme, period. I enjoyed the crispy, rich chicharron sandwich, as well.
A Peruvian guy who was in the neighborhood on a job told me that next time I should order the aji de gallina, which he viewed as the most typically Peruvian dish on the menu.

Cathy2 wrote:

"That [aji de gallina] sounds like the dish I need to try next. In (what was Soviet) Georgia, they use ground nuts to thicken sauces."

Cathy, all I can say is that you have great instincts!

Dolores was kind enough to take my order for a bunch of empanadas for a Saturday night gathering. Norka says she is open to doing catering with enough advance notice.

Josephine wrote:A Peruvian guy who was in the neighborhood on a job told me that next time I should order the aji de gallina, which he viewed as the most typically Peruvian dish on the menu.

Cathy2 wrote:

"That [aji de gallina] sounds like the dish I need to try next. In (what was Soviet) Georgia, they use ground nuts to thicken sauces."

As I mentioned earlier in the thread the aji de gallina is very good, if deceptively simple on the plate - Norka said it was thickened with walnuts and pecans

Cafe Salamera got a nice write-up in Time Out this week, giving deserved credit to ChefGEB and LTH by name. I hope this brings more business their way.

Susan

King's Thursday wrote:Cafe Salamera got a nice write-up in Time Out this week, giving deserved credit to ChefGEB and LTH by name. I hope this brings more business their way.

Susan

I saw the blurb in TimeOut today - it inspired me to make a note to go to Salamera this weekend, and to stop by LTH to say thanks.

I've just received an email from a law school classmate who knows Norka. He says that her two chefs--her uncle and her mother--are about to have their visas expire in March. The restaurant will likely close without these chefs, and, as you all know, money is still tight for them. I know that when the restaurant had financing troubles, someone came through with an idea and a connection, and I'm hoping someone will know an organization or person who can do pro bono immigration work. Thanks!

There are some resources for pro bono immigration legal services. For referrals, try the following:

CARPLS - Coordinated Advice & Referral Program for Legal Services
17 N. State St.
Suite 1850
Chicago, IL - 60602 | View map

Phone: 312-738-9200
TTY Phone: 312-738-9433

I've been lurking on LTHForum for quite a while (my wife is a regular), and this discussion of Cafe Salamera finally got to me. The two of us went by there this evening (after calling first to make sure it is still open). It was as good as we expected. We started with the mixed ceviche, spicy, and it was superb. (Norka, the owner, later confided that she herself prefers the fish--swordfish, actually--variety, so we'll try that on our next visit.)
We continued with a couple of the now-famous sandwiches: the jibarito (delicious) and the chicharron con comotes (now made with pork bellies, fatty but tender and luscious). For these Norka brought out a spicy green sauce, which we eagerly spooned over our sandwiches--and asked for more.
The purple corn drink was seductive; the samples she brought would have convinced us to order more had we not brown-bagged a bottle of wine. (No problems with the wine, incidentally. Norka didn't bat an eye, just brought out a couple of wine glasses for us to use. She didn't charge corkage, either.)
Afterwards we had two desserts: a perfectly good flan and the wonderful purple corn dessert that's been mentioned here already. The latter is highly recommended.
We finished with a couple of mugs of tasty cafe con leche. This was quite a fine meal indeed--especially for the price. And we left with the warm feeling that we've supported a restaurant that deserves our support. I'd hate to live in a city that had lots of Subways and Macdonalds but couldn't keep an independent like this one afloat.
Call before you go, but Norka assured us that "until further notice" she expects to stay open.

The GP wrote:

"The chicken empananda came out and we enjoyed the peppery chicken with raisins and egg filling."

This past weekend I ordered ahead 12 empanadas (6 beef and 6 chicken) for a party that fizzled at the last minute. I'm posting to report that the empanadas froze and reheated without a hitch. The crust remained crispy when reheated at 400 degrees, and the interesting fillings reminded me of a medieval pie filling with currants I made last year. The fillings were meaty, and somehow bright with raisins, egg, onion, and a touch of black olive. Could that be saffron I tasted?

(Perhaps that party we put on ice can be reheated as well. I'll have to order more emanadas, though. They didn't survive the week.)

In any case, Norka says she is open to catering with enough notice. Another way to support the restaurant. . .

The exotic filling you describe is, believe it or not, standard Spanish/South American empanada de picadillo innards. Its the typical Arab-Iberio-Sicilio sweet/savory fruit and meat mix that indeed seems very unusual to the US palate. I encourage a visit to La Unica and/or El Mercado for alfajores, empanadas, and possibly the height of South American sanguine-meets-saccharine, morcillas.

interestingly, there used to be ANOTHER different Peruvian restaraunt near 6500 N Clark.

It was called Taste of Peru I believe....

It was in a really dumpy looking strip mall. Inside it wasn't much to look at, either. (Looking at the pictures below, this place is definately different than the place you're talking about).

The place seemed quite popular the couple of times I went. It was ran by one guy who was the waitor, manager, etc... (though not the cook). It was BYOB, and ppl seemed to always take advantage of bringing their own bottle of wine. Really good food. The guy would talk to you for hours if you wanted. Got out his family picture albums from Peru, etc...

He was always complaining that they may go out of business if they don't get a business boost, though... Did it the dust?

The place seemed busy every time I went.. had good food.. it was in a really ghetto strip mall (low overhead I hope).. where was the $$ going??

dddane wrote:He was always complaining that they may go out of business if they don't get a business boost, though... Did it the dust?

Still ther and doing fairly brisk business. I'd recommend Selamaria, though.

dddane wrote:He was always complaining that they may go out of business if they don't get a business boost, though...

The place seemed busy every time I went.. had good food.. it was in a really ghetto strip mall (low overhead I hope).. where was the $$ going??

I drove by Taste of Peru on Monday night and the parking lot was packed. There were cars in the lot waiting for other cars to leave, so I don't think they're hurting for business. If Cafe Salamera was open on Mondays, we definitely would have eaten there. Instead, we picked up some Windy City Roller gear that we had left in a friend's car on the way to Liar's Club after the derby finals, and had a great meal at Kuma's Corner on the way home.

dddane wrote:interestingly, there used to be ANOTHER different Peruvian restaraunt near 6500 N Clark.

It was called Taste of Peru I believe....

The sign now calls it Peruvian Cuisine, but it's the same place .... we actually started to go to Cafe Salamera last Friday, but after looking at the laminated menu, we decided we wanted more than sandwiches, and revisited Taste of Peru aka Peruvian Cuisine.

It wasn't as good as I'd remembered fron several previous visits. I liked the acid-y ceviche, but much of the rest of the tasting menu for two was a bit bland (in retrospect, we should have asked for some sort of hot sauce). But the course sizes were plentiful, and we left with lots of leftovers which ended up being rolled into grape leaves, so there are now Peruvian dolmades in my freezer.

JeffB wrote:. I encourage a visit to La Unica and/or El Mercado for alfajores, empanadas, and possibly the height of South American sanguine-meets-saccharine, morcillas.

Jeff,

while I've always enjoyed el mercado's alfajores in the past, norka's are much much better (if also a little more expensive), the difference is the consistency of the shortbread cookie, which does almost melt in your mouth.

I've not tried her empanadas yet, so can't compare them to el mercado's, which I personally think are some of the better ones around

I'm not the alfajor expert in my family. That's my son. However, in addition to the house-made cookies, Mercado has a dizzying array of imports from around latin America. The Havanna (two "n"s) brand from Argentina are insanely expensive, maybe 25 bucks for a dozen cookies, but the brand has a cache in Latin America comparable to the better known Belgian chocolate makers. I don't think caramel rates those prices. Some of the coconut alfajores are really good, though.

Soon, maybe now, Mercado will be stocking its quixotically complete collection of panettone from around the Horn and Italy. It is one of my favorite holiday sights, along with the turron and naranja agria at La Unica.

dddane wrote:interestingly, there used to be ANOTHER different Peruvian restaraunt near 6500 N Clark.

It was called Taste of Peru I believe....

It was in a really dumpy looking strip mall. Inside it wasn't much to look at, either. (Looking at the pictures below, this place is definately different than the place you're talking about).

The place seemed quite popular the couple of times I went. It was ran by one guy who was the waitor, manager, etc... (though not the cook). It was BYOB, and ppl seemed to always take advantage of bringing their own bottle of wine. Really good food. The guy would talk to you for hours if you wanted. Got out his family picture albums from Peru, etc...

I think you may mean Machu Picchu, which was at 5427 N. Clark St. It's long gone. It was wonderful, though, better than any other Peruvian I've had in town, with food that showed all the complex influences that go into Peruvian cuisine.

Hi,

Last Thursday I dropped into Salamera for a solo lunch. I ordered Sachipapa, which was described as hotdogs and fries. On the surface not too exciting, except I recall JeffB commenting this is a dish both he and Antonius could be excited about. If plain ol' hot dogs and fries excites those two, well it behooves me to give it shot at least once.



I learned this is street food in Peru, which people then use squeeze bottles to dispense the condiments of (clockwise from the top) ketchup, mustard, a sauce made from calamata olives, a (hummos type) sauce made from beans, crackers and spices plus mayonnaise.



Salamera may have squeeze bottles by time you order, though I needed to carefully distribute the condiments for a psychodelic affect:



While I think it will taste better with the ingredients distributed by squeeze bottle, my glob effect is certainly not too shabby tasting. I could definitely see myself as a regular walking the streets of Lima eating this.

I always love the opportunity to try street food from another culture.

Regards,

Looks good. Cathy, my reference to Antonius and NJ was related to the Garden State tendency to deep-fry hot dogs, creating what is known as a "ripper."

I was interested to see that your salchipapas dogs were cut into little disks. Some others score either end of a short section of tubesteak, resulting in something that looks like a jack (like the kid's game) or an asterisk when the dog is deep fried. I fried up a batch in this style recently.

Cathy:

I'm sold. Next time I'm there, I'm ordering the salchipappas (though maybe along side something a little more exotic too). It resembles a form of street food I've encountered elsewhere... (namely)...

***

Jeff:

I mentioned this before some time back and should mention it again here, since Cathy's photo immediately brought to mind for me (and independently for Amata) the northeast Jersey delicacy known as "Italian hot dogs." That dish is basically just like German Bratkartoffeln made with olive oil and with onion and hot dogs sliced as at Salamera. This mixture is either eaten off a plate or on an Italian roll as a sandwich. Mustard, ketchup or both condiments can be and are applied thereto. My personal preference is spicy German mustard and HP sauce.

We used to have "Italian hot dogs" for lunch sometimes when I was a kid and I still make the dish for lunch if there are some left over Würste or dogs or other appropriate encased meat. But back in the old days (and perhaps still?) there were some little food vans around the northeast part of Jersey that would park along highways and busy county roads and sell this to passing motorists in need of quick and satisfying sustenance.

Previous mention occurred in the Bratkartoffeln* thread and, indeed, the Germans have also happened upon this most fortuitous combination of fried potatoes with little disks of fried sausage...

*
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=16521#16521

Antonius

Decided that this gray, gloomy day would be perfect for a trip to Cafe Salamera. I pulled up in front of Salamera at around 2 PM, and hoped they were open. Unfortunately, the door was locked and I also noticed a For Sale sign in the window. However, there appeared to be a waitstaff, or at least a waitress inside the restaurant. Maybe some of you who know Norka will have a more concrete idea of what's going on.

The For Sale sign is a pretty permanent fixture, so I wouldn't read more into yet than that.