LTH North Lunch Group - Santiago's - 5/5 - 12:30 PM

If I posted this yesterday, you would have thought this to be an April Fools Day prank.

As a result of some subtle hints from the Minions, I'm pulling the trigger and arranging for the May event now.

Santiago's has gotten some recent LTH Love here - viewtopic.php?f=14&t=42954

The LTH North Lunch Group plans to meet to confirm the recent intel on May 5th. As always, bring a friend.

Santiago’s Puerto Rican Restaurant
935 E. Oakton St
Des Plaines, IL 60018
(224) 938-9115

Dave148 - Esteemed(?) Coordinator LTH North Lunch Group
Cynthia
Buddy Roadhouse
Katie
WillG
B2B
budrichard
irisarbor
JoelF
BrendanR
EduardoK

I'm free and in town that day -- so looking forward to joining you.

As always, thanks for setting these meals up. Great way to explore.

Even though I work in Schaumburg and am normally chained to my office, count me in, I'd like to give this place a good LTH group shake.

Too early to tell if I'll be available, but if I am, I'll join the party.

Buddy

Same for me - hope to make it. Thanks, Dave.

I am in

Thanks, Will

LTH North Lunch Group seems to be languishing a bit and I have not done my part to support you. Unfortunately, I will again be out of town for this meeting ( as I am for the April meeting ).

I hope you continue the group and I will be there when I can.

Happy to join you on May 5.

Hi,

I won't be able to attend. I have an appointment too close in time and too far away to make this possible.

Sorry!

Regards,

Looks like I can confirm my attendance at this gathering. See you on Thursday the 5th at 12:30.

Buddy

Weather and other factors permitting, I plan on attending.-Richard

I'll be there!

You've picked one close enough to my office!
count me in

I'm hopeful on this one... might be a bit late depending on the teleconferences.

Put me down as hopeful #2. I won't know until Thursday morning if I'll be able to make it, but I'm "hopeful" [small]#2[/small].

Well, to maintain my status as Esteemed Coordinator, I stopped by Santiago's today to make arrangements for next week's lunch. Much to my surprise, there's a handwritten note on the door indicating that they're closed until Monday. Apparently one of their family members is participating in some sort of AAU sports event.

I will stop by on Monday to firm things up. We need to review my current pay grade.

You deserve double what you're getting now! Remind me again, what's two times zero?

Buddy

I'd like to join the group for this one.
-Brendan

stevez wrote:Put me down as hopeful #2. I won't know until Thursday morning if I'll be able to make it, but I'm "hopeful" [small]#2[/small].

It's official. Duty calls. I'm not going to be able to make it. Sorry.

I'm out too.

Thought for sure I'd be able to swing it, but no can do. Sorry I can't make it, this darned work keeps getting in the way of my life.

OK - I swung by a little while ago to make sure they made it back from their brief hiatus. Damn that place smell good! They recommend that we order from the steam table. Those that want sandwiches can do that too.

They're going to push some tables together for our group. There's a reservation under Dave for 12:30. See y'all on Thursday!

My noon thursday meeting has been cancelled so I am definitely in.

Well, Dave, you sweet talker, any place you say smells good is hard for me to resist. Count me in and for Thursday, call me Eduardo.

Something has come up and I am going to have to pass. See you next month.

Thanks, Will

grr won't make it after all, I have to sit and wait for somebody to pick something up.

Sorry for those who couldn't be there, as the food was delightful and service was charming and enthusiastic.

Four of us shared a bunch of different things, in order to sample more. From the appetizer menu, had maduros (fried sweet plantains), papas rellenos (meat-filled balls of potato), banana dumplings, and pastilillo (fried meat pastry), and tostones (which were served with a wonderful, garlicky salsa); from the sandwich menu, tried a cubano (excellent) and fried pork chop (very good, though the chop was a tiny bit dry); and the one main course item was chicken stew, which was incredibly tender and was served with rice and flourish of beans and potatoes. A few things were not as outstanding as others, but most things were really sensational.

Be advised, the only sugar-free beverages are Diet Coke and bottled water. But for those not avoiding sugar, there is horchata, jamaica, and a range of canned beverages.

Also worth noting is that pig ears and bacalao are weekend-only specialties. Plus Buddy Roadhouse noted that there are things written on the menu behind the steam table that don't appear on the printed menu. Plenty to keep one busy on the printed menu, but do check the hand-written notice on the wall.

Thanks again to Dave for setting this up.

The Minions that bailed out at the last minute missed a tasty lunch indeed.

As noted by Cynthia, half of our group ordered a bunch of stuff and shared. I was part of the other half that ordered stuff on our own. The only thing our half shared were the top notch tostones that came with a side of addictive salsa. Two of us ordered Bistec Encebollado and Eduardo had a Cubano. B2B had the Carne Guisada which was freakingly tender.

This place really isn't set up to handle large groups. It's a small family run joint with mom and daughter up front. Dad's in the kitchen cranking out the food. Between our group and their regular lunch rush, they were slammed. We were patient and the food came out somewhat erratically. A few items that we ordered never were served and they took it off of the bill.

Both sides of the table ordered Relleno de Papa. They inadvertently combined both orders on one plate and served it to one half of the table. Buddy and his crew snarfed down both orders without realizing what happened. We survived.

All in, a great LTH North Lunch Group event. We decided that this place deserves another visit on the weekend when pig ears and cod fish stew are available.