Shioyaki salmon collar at Renga Tei. Perfectly charred. Moist salty essence of salmon.

Pork Terrine at Boltwood in Evanston. Perfect texture, lovely acidity from pickled fruit, and oh that bread.

The Paté De Campagne sandwich at Danke at Revival Food Hall. As I only work a block away, it will definitely be in the rotation for when I don't feel like cooking dinner. I ate it at the office, but it would have traveled out to DuPage County just fine as long as I put it in the trunk so I couldn't eat it while driving.

Working in the Bay Area last wk I had a few standouts. Superb O-toro @ Tenroku Sushi in the Japan Center, a pastrami sandwich on grilled country bread w/fresh horseradish @ Tartine in SF. Oh, and the oysters @ Swan Oyster Depot. Up in Sonoma, a nice interpretation of fish and chips-- a one bite fresh potato chip w/lemon creme friache, ikura and a sprig of chervil. Back home in Chicago, an excellent kefta kabob a friend made and fetit betinjan (fried eggplant and pita chips dressed w/pomegranate tahini) @ Masada.

Crave-worthy all.

Forgot the white peach from my cousin's tree in Santa Rosa. About the size of a quarter and sweeter than sweet.

Loaded baked potato gnocchi at Split-rail.

Commbrkdwn wrote:Seared haloumi sandwich and potatoes for lunch at Americano 2211 about an hour ago. I feel pretty certain these are the best potatoes in Chicago.

Wicker Park’s Americano 2211 Shutters After 15 Months on North Avenue

https://chicago.eater.com/2017/7/24/160 ... restaurant

I had a great sandwich at Tuscan Hen Market. Luigi's Ham & Cheese Panini balances high quality meat, melted cheese, and crispy bread for a superior sandwich. Maybe it was the weather or the company, but it was perfect.

Tuscan Hen Market
4019 N. Damen
Chicago, IL 60618

The above sandwich post reminded me of my perfect picnic sandwich that I picked up to take to the Millennium Park taping of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. Stopped by the Andersonville location of Pastoral and got the Royal with Cheese. It's a super simple sandwich with Royal Ham, fromager d’affinois and a generous spread of strong, grainy mustard. The flavor balance was harmonious and I can't get enough of their royal ham. It was a steep $10 for a sandwich but to me it was worth it!

Pastoral
5212 N. Clark St.
Sandwiches served at take out counter all day

Appellation
Same location
Ham Flight available (dinner hours only) which features the royal ham

For a few weeks now, I've been stopping at Baker Miller's Western location for lunch every Wednesday after my baby's Wiggleworms class at Old Town School of Folk Music. I look forward to this lunch all week. $10 gets you a cold ham sandwich on a fabulous baguette with a really delightful turmeric aioli, plus a side of pie. I've been favoring the strawberry rhubarb lately, with whipped cream if I'm feeling really indulgent (as if getting pie as a side wasn't indulgent enough!). The love and care they put into their grains and baking shines through in the baguette and the outstanding pie crust.

(I'll be honest: last week I saw on a pile of yet-to-be-bussed dishes that a diner had left the end of their pie crust. I almost - ALMOST - picked it up and ate it. I do apparently have a shred of pride.)

Baker Miller
4610 N Western Ave
http://www.bakermillerchicago.com

Nutter Butter pie at Pearl's. Holy lord is it indulgent, and worth it.

Pearl's Southern Comfort
5352 North Broadway
Chicago, IL 60640

Stir-fried shaved noodles with pork belly at Slurp Slurp

Blew me away with the texture of the noodles and the flavor of the pork belly. Definitely near the top of my Chinatown list now.

Barbari bread hot from the oven at Middle East Bakery in Andersonville. Excellent with a simple Jerusalem salad at home and some of their spicy hummus.

Newer brunch item at Lula Cafe: Sweet corn and grits with cherry tomatoes, tropea onions, smoked pasilla oil, parmesan & a 60 minute egg. Holy smokes, you must eat this.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXVjt9xDHcq/

This was totally unexpected as I just needed a quick sandwich after being at Guitar Center/Highland Park.

But the ribeye steak on pita sandwich at nearby Mizrahi Grill was really solid. Tender strips of steak, still with a little bit of tasty fat on them, with tahini, cucumber, hummos, tomato, lettuce, fried potatoes--this was fork-and-knife stuff. And the pita was fluffy, a bit bread-ish but soaking up the steak juice wonderfully. A nice change from the obvious comparison at Pita Inn, which is decent but not like this. Maybe it's the Jerusalem-style that I dig.

At $13 it's not cheap, but with a cup of Turkish coffee it truly hit the spot for the rest of my day.

Mizrahi Grill
215 Skokie Valley Rd.
Highland Park, IL
(847) 831-1400

The Southern Fried Smoked Amish Chicken leg and thigh at HB. It had braised collard greens and a somewhat sweet sauce. Went with several friends and we passed everything around. I only got a few bites of this, but want to go back and have the whole plate. The Corn-Off-The-Cob salad and the Picnic salad were also particularly good.

HB (Home Bistro)
3404 N Roscoe

Naf Naf's pita is consistently flavorful, pillowy, and the right amount of chewy. Dip it in the green s'hug sauce and it's divine.

I'm a sucker for good bread so don't judge..

Phlour off of Bryn Mawr redline also has a phenomenal garlic loaf.

I've had a dry spell until last weekend when I had a bunch of good things. Dinner at HB (above), then burrata and the pistachio pizza at Spacca Napoli. The black and blue pie at Bang Bang in Ravenswood.

Fruits de Mer at The Dearborn. Shrimp, bay scallops, calamari and octopus - each perfectly cooked, served with gnocchi in a arugula pesto.

Kman wrote:Fruits de Mer at The Dearborn. Shrimp, bay scallops, calamari and octopus - each perfectly cooked, served with gnocchi in a arugula pesto.

Wow - how have I never head of this place?! Menu look amazing!

Apricot Blueberry Pie at Hoosier Mama in Evanston.

I wait all year for this pie, and it is absolutely worth the wait!

zoid wrote:

Kman wrote:Fruits de Mer at The Dearborn. Shrimp, bay scallops, calamari and octopus - each perfectly cooked, served with gnocchi in a arugula pesto.

Wow - how have I never head of this place?! Menu look amazing!

It is owned and managed by the sisters of Billy Lawless (The Gage/Acanto/The Dawson/Beacon Tavern). If you've ever been to The Gage you'll quickly see the resemblance.

You only have a few more hours to taste the tomato pie on Publican Quality Meats' brunch menu. So get dressed and start the car, because you want this in your mouth. Heirloom tomatoes stuffed into a pastry shell, topped with melty gruyere and sauce. Served room temperature, so the ripe tomatoes are super bright and sweet. Tomatoey, buttery, cheesy, amazing. Thinking of grabbing another slice, to be honest.

Blackened black grouper @ Deep Lagoon Seafood in Naples, FL. I ate half as a sandwich on a fluffy fresh bun with flavorful tomatoes and crisp lettuce and the other half as just the fish! Can't beat a good blackened seasoning on local fish.

On my family reunion/eclipse trip downstate this past weekend, I had a great ribeye steak at the historic Ariston Cafe on Route 66 in Litchfield, Illinois, my dad's home town. It was a much bigger ribeye than I could eat at one time (for about $10 less than the same size steak would cost in Chicago or at a Wisconsin supper club), so I kept the rest on ice in the cooler til I got home.

The ribeye was actually rarer then the medium rare I'd requested, but that worked out fine because I sliced the rest of it thinly, sprinkled olive oil and crunchy sea salt on it, and ate it for lunch as a beef carpaccio that made me feel nostalgic for the best beef carpaccios I've had in South America.

The passionfruit meringue pie at Hoosier Mama in Evanston. Had it a week ago, still thinking about it. I don't normally even like meringue all that much, but I got it because I love passionfruit. This pie was absolutely perfectly balanced between the meringue and the filling. Nice crisp, thin crust.

Lemon cheesecake and field strawberries danish from Mindy's Hot Chocolate Bakery in Revival Food Hall. I haven't had anything I didn't like from there yet, but this is one of the best.

Nutella meringue from Maison de Castelnau. It's an ethereal circle of deliciousness.

Carrot Agnolotti with fried sweetbreads @ Income Tax. With the possible addition of just a touch of lemon zest, this is a perfect dish.

Big Baby (ok, babies) from Nicky's Hot Dogs . . .


Big Babies

=R=

Nicky's Hot Dogs
6142 S Archer Ave
Chicago, IL 60638
(773) 585-3675