Cathy2 - no problem. I can post them
Gary-yes lots of corn. Ive competed there for the last few years.
Alas.. Tough competition ..best I ever did was win a ribbon in the sausage category but as the Cubs saying goes..Wait until nex year

Welp, I guess I feel qualified to answer this as a born and bred Kansas City transplant (who loves her adopted home but admits to homesickness from time to time).

If you are a fan of:
Arthur Bryants
KC Barbeque
(aka, dark, thick, sweet sauces)

Try:
BBQ Pit . 589 Elm Pl. Highland Park
- traditional style KC BBQ

The Smoke Daddy, 1804 W. Division St., Chicago
- Music to go with your BBQ, just like God intended 

Honey 1 BBQ, 2241 N. Western Ave.
- Sweet, with a North Carolina kick to it.


If you are a fan of:
Gates
(aka lighter, thick, tangy sauces)

Try:
Bringing a suitcase full of the sauce with you- you could probably peddle it on street corners for a fair amount of cash, I’d buy. Nothing can compare with that amazingly addicting bright orange sauce.

If you are a fan of:
Buca de Beppo
Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Morton’s
(aka, safe standards)

Try:
Chicago has them too. Saddle on up.

If you are a fan of:
Jardines
Union Café
Kona Grill
(aka, nice but you can bring the kids, dress up or wear jeans, etc.)

Try:
Chicago has a lot of cute artsy bistros, wine bars and café’s, with ambience to boot. Just a small handful of suggestions:

Brasserie Jo, 59 W. Hubbard St.
Bongo Room, 1152 S. Wabash
404 Wine Bar, 2852 N. Southport Ave
Hot Chocolate,1747 N. Damen Ave.
- I used to go to the Union Café with all my girlfriends when we just wanted dessert and good gossip. Hot Chocolate fills that void.

Cafe Selmarie, 4729 N. Lincoln Ave.
Deleece, 4004 N. Southport Ave.

If you are a fan of:
Peppercorn Duck Club
Plaza III
(aka, high end but not off the map)

Try:
Mon Ami Gabi, 2300 N. Lincoln Park West
Everest, 440 S. La Salle St., 40th Floor
one sixtyblue, 1400 W. Randolph St.

If you are a fan of:
Hereford House

Try:
Just like KC, Chicago is big on beef and there is no shortage here. The hot spots and old standards include:

Gene & Georgetti , 500 N. Franklin St.,
Gibsons, 1028 N. Rush St.,
Shula's Steakhouse, 301 E. North Water St.,

If you are a fan of:
Manny’s

Try:
While Manny’s will always have a soft spot in my heart (I went on my first date there!), KC can’t compare to Chicago for authentic Mexican. First try every taqueria you see until you find your favorite (mine is on the corner of Addison and Lincoln.) then try out these for more Manny’s style fare:

Mi Tierra, 2528 S. Kedzie
Las Palmas, 1835 W. North Ave.

If you are a fan of:
Stephenson’s Old Apple Farm

Try:
Stephenson’s is a one of a kind joint, with apple desserts to kill for, but you can try:
The Barn of Barrington, 1415 S. Barrington Rd. Barrington

If you are a fan of:
V’s Italiano

Try:
Walking down Taylor street in Little Italy. Francesca’s, Rosebud, Mario’s Italian Lemonade, they are all there.

If you are a fan of:
Winsteads

Try:
Bobtail Soda Fountain, 2951 N. Broadway (for ice cream)
Hot Doug's, 3324 N. California Ave. (for fast food that’s not fast food)
Kitsch’n on Roscoe, 2005 W. Roscoe St. (for kitsch and retro fun times.)

If you are a fan of:
Westport, in general

Try:
Wicker Park/Bucktown, in general

If you are a fan of:
The Plaza

Try:
Lincoln Square (little)
The Mag Mile (big)

Hyanna, cute post!

Hyanna wrote:BBQ Pit . 589 Elm Pl. Highland Park
- traditional style KC BBQ

Hi,

While I live in Highland Park, I have had take out from this place over 10 years ago. What on the menu especially reminds you of KC? Is it the Brisket? Give me you typical order and I will give it a shot.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

Hyanna wrote:BBQ Pit . 589 Elm Pl. Highland Park
- traditional style KC BBQ

What on the menu especially reminds you of KC? Is it the Brisket? Give me you typical order and I will give it a shot.

Hiya all,

I wouldn't say it's the best by any stretch of the imagination, but the owner of BBQ Pit is shooting for his interpretation of KCBBQ. No burnt ends on the menu though, so you have to take that with a grain of salt. I tell ya, if a restaurant in Chicago could serve me one nice plate of burnt ends, I'd be a fan for life.

I would say as far as the KC-like fare goes, the brisket would be the best bet. I've only been there twice but it seems the kind of place where it can really be perfect or not even close, depending on your luck.

ANOTHER great KC restaurant is Strouds. My mom would KILL me if she knew I forgot that on the first go around (first restaurant they took me to when I was about a week old and the location of almost every major family celebration from there on out.). This is arguably the best fried chicken on earth (and when I was about 11 years old I wrote Bill Clinton and told him just that). Of course, as far as comparisons go that makes it pretty difficult to give a Chicago equivalent. I think you all are just going to have to plan a road trip!

cheers-

anna

Road trip? Did anyone say road trip?

Oh and welcome!

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Road trip? Did anyone say road trip?

Oh and welcome!

Regards,

I still think that trip you and Will made is one of the coolest things ever. A marvelous testiment to grand obsession.

Hammond

Thanks for the welcome! I've been lurking about a while and finally found a thread to jump on. I loved reading about your trip! It brought back all sorts of good memories. It seems there are mixed reviews about Oklahoma Joes on here, but if you ever go back it is worth a shot. When they are on, it is gooooooood stuff.

Same for the other Strouds, particularly on an empty stomach. The old Strouds (which I think is in the process of being moved down the street right now...) was the epitome of KC honkytonk goodness. A little chicken joint, crammed under an overpass, with a jazz pianist and huge platters of everything. As mentioned before, Strouds was always our big family event meeting place, because the family style meals are so social and the managers always remembered our names.

I think as far as the KC joints go in general, it never hurts to be a regular.

A writer from Slate did a great piece on his barbeque mecca road trip, which was also broadcast on NPR: http://www.slate.com/id/2118542/entry/2118537/

Definately worth a read!

cheers-

anna

This is a very late post, but better late than never...

Yummy Gourmet Restaurant is a Chinese restaurant (Cantonese/Hong Kong style) that my parents like alot in Arlington Heights. It's in a strip mall and seems to have more take-out business than dine-in.

I lived in San Francisco for a few years, where I fell in love with Cantonese food. Yummy Gourmet's seems to be the closest thing in the suburbs that I have been able to find.

Here's the menu: http://ylunch.com/ylunchfax600046006060 ... nmenu.html

They have a Chinese menu that I can't read, but we have seen Chinese families eating delicious looking dishes that we couldn't find on the English menu. The server was open to suggesting items from the Chinese menu when we said what we wanted.

I hope you like it!
asami

Yummy Gourmet Restaruant
Prospect Crossing Shopping Center (behind Target)
1255 N Rand Road
Arlington Heights, IL 60004
847.253.0319

Here's some more info on Yummy Gourmet and its menus:

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=4869#4869

I also recommend talking to your waiter or the manager about what's fresh that day.

hyanna wrote:I tell ya, if a restaurant in Chicago could serve me one nice plate of burnt ends, I'd be a fan for life.

It's not a plateful, but the brisket sandwich at Bar-B-Que Bob's it has plenty of nice burnt ends. (Note that there's more than one kind of beef sandwich there -- you want the sliced barbecue brisket one, not "beef barbecue.") I bet if you ask, they'll give you more ends.

Bar-B-Que Bob's
773/761-1260
Howard-Hoyne Plaza
2055 W. Howard St.
Chicago, IL 60645

gleam wrote:I've heard good things about Couscous on Taylor. Or at least that it doesn't suck, which is fairly important.

Went to Couscous tonight; I can confirm the rumors: it does not suck.

David Hammond wrote:

gleam wrote:I've heard good things about Couscous on Taylor. Or at least that it doesn't suck, which is fairly important.

Went to Couscous tonight; I can confirm the rumors: it does not suck.

Tease

asami wrote:Yummy Gourmet Restaurant is a Chinese restaurant (Cantonese/Hong Kong style) that my parents like alot in Arlington Heights. It's in a strip mall and seems to have more take-out business than dine-in.

I lived in San Francisco for a few years, where I fell in love with Cantonese food. Yummy Gourmet's seems to be the closest thing in the suburbs that I have been able to find.

Sorry to report in my first post that Yummy Gourmet seems to have slipped. The "authentic" section is no longer anywhere to be found on the menus, and they are pushing a new "sushi buffet." I ordered a bland dish called Double Fried Noodles, and my friend ordered sesame chicken that was gummy. The only high point was observing the activities of the head waiter, who was entertainingly eccentric.

Diners in this neck of the woods are much better off with Yu's on Golf Road.

Also, just wanted to express my appreciation to this board for some much more successful referrals (Bari, Tank Noodle).

Yummy Gourmet
1255 E. Rand Rd.
Arlington Heights

Yu's Mandarin
200 E. Golf Rd.
Schaumburg
847-882-5340
http://www.yusrestaurant.com/

Tom