Category: food

They don’t mess around at Jerry’s Sandwiches. This is the blackened chicken with pepperjack cheese, giardiniera, and lettuce, on white. It was my own “create your own” sandwich.

It’s great food. Stellar sandwiches. I ate this one outside at the 1045 W. Madison location. That’s West Loop, where the cool people hang out. But you don’t have to come all the way to the West Loop because they’re opening one in Wicker Park, where, if you can imagine, even cooler people hang out. There’s probably going to be one of those velvet rope lines and a bouncer out front. I can’t believe what’s happened to that street.

I love blackened anything. They slice the chicken breast in huge, meaty slices and pile it on generously. It was good. The bread was fresh, the lettuce crispy, and the chicken juicy.

Generally, I don’t do the “create your own” option. My theory is that the person who made the menu knows a heck of a lot more about making a sandwich than me, so I usually just order off the menu. But my love for blackened chicken with spicy cheeses and hot veggies overcame my better judgement. If I may say, my own concoction was very good and it wouldn’t surprise me if they put it on the menu permanently and call it the Chicken Fire Mouth Sammy.

We keep plugging away at Vinnie’s to see if anything can topple the Prosciutto and Mozz from the top spot. Nothing so far. This roast beef sandwich was good, but I just can’t get behind the cold, roast beef submarine as a regular part of my diet.

It’s quality, lean roast beef and the bread is fresh. But I wouldn’t order it when something as original as their homemade Tuna or the Prosciutto and Mozz are hanging around.

Here is the current Vinnie’s ranking:

1. Prosciutto and Mozzarella
2. Tuna
3. Vinnie Special
4. Roast Beef

I think I’m trying the ham next, with double spicy giardiniera.

Yes, that’s a styrofoam plate. What, are you surprised that someone with my taste and style would eat from anything but fine china? I didn’t think so. I can’t fool you intelligent reader people. You know that fine china doesn’t matter to me. I care about taste, texture, atmosphere, fast cars, and fast wom…wait, just kidding about those last two things. Let’s talk about this burger.

My wife and I had just walked 18 holes so we were running a calorie deficit the size of Texas. We needed food, and we needed it fast. So we headed to the Hackney’s on Harms on this beautiful summer evening, figuring that they would have no problem fitting two people in with that massive outdoor patio they have. Wow, I was wrong. It was packed, I’m talking jam-packed. No parking spots, people milling around all over the place, cars parked on the street, dogs and cats living together. ‘Twas a nuthouse. So we left.

We hit Meiers Tavern at 235 West Lake in Glenview. We were a little nervous as we pulled up because the tavern was dead. We figured it would have pulled in some of the Hackney’s overflow, but there were only about 10 cars in the lot. However, I didn’t let this discourage me, I had heard good things about the place so I convinced my wife to accompany me. It was that, or she could wait in the car. Ha, just kidding.

The burger was great. A little small, but done right and with good flavor. They put plenty of American cheese on it and the grilled onions were buttery and flavorful. The bun was toasted nicely, I think they actually stuck it in the oven for a little because even the top was toasty. Nice touch.

The atmosphere is all bar. I get the feeling that people come here primarily to drink beer. The good burger is just a bonus. This suits me just fine. My wife was not quite as impressed and she struggled a little with the atmosphere, but she enjoyed her chicken sandwich. It helped that I was really nice to her for being such a trooper. I even offered to stop at Dairy Queen on the way home for a malt but she declined.

Great place, just know that it is a bar and you’re not going to get ceramic plates.

Sure, Grant Achatz is a creative guy and Alinea is cutting edge. And Shawn McClain of Spring is very talented and has recently won a James Beard award. But let’s face it, the most innovative food in Chicago is emanating from Chicago steakhouses.

Take, for example, the appetizer above from Carmichael’s Steak House. It’s called the Buffalo Chicken Spring Roll. What kind of human thinks of combining chicken wings with an egg roll? Talk about thinking out of the box. Talk about being creative.

At what point does a chef stand in the kitchen and say, “Hey, let’s chop some chicken breast up, combine it with classic wing sauce, toss in some celery and carrots, stuff it into an egg roll, and deep fry it?” I’m not sure I can even guess.

I think maybe some chefs are trying to rebel against this molecular gastronomy trend. With the voice of Stentor, they are saying, “I will combine classic comfort food from America and Asia to raise the appetizer to new heights! To new heights I say!”

I didn’t think the egg roll could get any better than the Southwestern Egg Roll from Chili’s, but I was wrong, very wrong.

Carmichael’s is a great place. It’s at 1052 West Monroe in Chicago and there are a ton of reasons to go there. The burgers are very good. The outdoor patio is beautiful. The valet parking is free. It’s convenient to downtown but somewhat off the beaten path. It has a classic, lighted sign out front. Aren’t those enough reasons? Stop in and just be comfortable.

First, let me apologize. I’m new with this blogging package so my picture is not the usual size. Please click on it and you will get the full resolution version. Any input on this new format is much appreciated.

Alright, now let’s get to the food. The pictured pie is from a new pizza place in my neighborhood called Coalfire Pizza, located at 1321 W. Grand Avenue. It’s a rugged stretch of Grand Avenue but has a lot of great food. This place is a fine addition to the neighborhood and is probably the best Neapolitan style pizza I’ve had in town (barely edges out Spacca Napoli and Sapore di Napoli).

Coalfire is evidently the hottest, most even fire going. You pop the pizza in the coalfire oven and the bottom gets crispy while the top stays soft and gooey. That’s what it’s like. You get this crispy bottom combined with a soupy like top. Take another look at that picture. The tomato sauce, cheese, and olive oil mix with the top portion of the crust to form this viscous topping. It’s difficult to explain and quite original. I have not tasted anything like it in Chicago.

I got the sausage pizza. It had tomato sauce, mozzarella, Italian sausage (sweet or hot), and olive oil. It was $14.50. Very good. They have a strange service methodology though. You come in, take a seat, the hostess brings you a menu, then you actually go up and order/pay at the counter. Pretty odd. Then they bring the pizza out to you…I left a 15% tip. Is that too much? Too little? I don’t know.

The owners are local restaurant guys that grew up in Massachusetts (according to Metromix). I guess this is modeled after a pizza place out east. Definitely worth a visit, even if you are a Chicago-style pizza lover.

ATTENTION! ATTENTION! New Feature! I will begin reviewing dogs from local golf courses. This plump and juicy special was purchased from Hilldale Golf Club in Hoffman Estates, IL.

Very good. Note the grill marks. It was definitely made on the grill because I saw it with my own two eyes. Also note the blackened grill bits on the bun. That’s because the grill master put the bun on top of the grill for a few moments to warm it up. That’s a sign that someone cares about food preparation, even if they are caged in a makeshift kitchen between the 9th and 10th holes.

And man was it huge. We’re talking some serious girth. Take a closer look if you will, doesn’t it look thicker than your average dog? It was strangely huge. Not very spicy or flavorful though, but I tossed some mustard on it and it satisfied my hunger. A dog at the turn is becoming a must for me. Let me now if you’ve had any great dogs at local golf courses.

I’m glad that the goat was invented, because I love goat cheese. Isn’t it beautiful? I wonder if it’s really that starkly white or if the dairy industry universally takes all color out of it. They make American Cheese yellow, so what’s preventing them from whitening some cheese? It’s whiter than the white tablecloth and white china.

Pictured is the penne pasta with goat cheese and sausage from Scoozi. It had some tomatoes and spices tossed in also. When I got it, I stirred it up so that the goat cheese melted and created a tart, creamy tomato sauce. I wonder if that’s what the chef expected.

I love burying my face in a plate (or bowl) of pasta. This was a two-looker. That means I looked up twice while I was shoveling it in, once to tell my wife I loved her, and once because I thought she was trying to take some. That means I liked it. A one-looker is very rare and is reserved for something very special, like some pasta with pancetta. I’ve never had a no-looker, but there’s always tomorrow.

Scoozi is part of the LEYE group of restaurants. They do it right and I rarely have an issue with an LEYE restaurant. Except for Maggiano’s, where they just give you too damn much food, it’s a waste.

Well, thanks for hanging with me.

The other day, I had to cut a hole in some wood. No big deal really. I just needed to plug in my Mac in the new office space, which necessitated a small hole in the back of a shelving unit. So what’s a man do when he has to cut a hole in some wood? He goes to Home Depot. That’s right, he goes to Home Depot and buys a saw.

I like the Home Depot on North Avenue because it’s open 24 hours. But that’s not the only thing to like. I also like it because it has a Chicago Red Hots in the vestibule of the exit area.

We’ve all seen the signs for Red Hot Chicago, the maker of Chicago style hot dogs and other fine meat products. But I’m not so sure that this hot dog stand is associated with the Red Hot Chicago company. They have the words “Chicago Red Hots” prominently displayed as their name. However, it’s probably an independent shack of some sort that serves products made by Red Hot Chicago. This is all just speculation. I don’t really care. I was just focused on finding the right saw to cut a hole in some delicate backing material on a shelving unit without ruining the aesthetics of my new office space. For me, that’s some heavy construction, and requires a lot of thought.

So much thought, that I almost forgot to eat lunch. It was already around 2pm and I hadn’t had food since 8am, so I was hungry. When the burly security guard checked my receipt and let me pass, I made a beeline to the hot dog stand. I ordered up the all-beef polish sausage with mustard, hot peppers, and celery salt ($3.50). No tomatoes and pickles for me, sorry Chicago. It was good, real good. I can still taste it 6 hours later. I mean, I can really still taste it.

I thought it appropriate to use my newly purchased saw as the backdrop for my half-eaten sausage just so you could see how manly I am. Wow, Golic would be proud of me because I consumed it after setting it on the germ-ridden package without a napkin in between. Momma always said, “You have to eat a pound of dirt before you die.”

The polish sausage is classic Chicago street food. It’s even more classic when it comes from a hot dog stand. Dammit, I just bought a saw; and men that buy saws at 2pm on weekdays don’t hesitate to stop at hot dog stands for some lunch. That’s just the way it works.

Damn, that Uncle Julio’s Hacienda on North and Clybourn is a chain. I guess it always felt like one a little, but I tried not to believe it. How could you tell?

I think it’s pretty decent Tex-Mex and it’s always packed with trendy Lincoln Park folks. I didn’t think those Lincoln Park people frequented chain-type places, except for the North Face store. Speaking of that, I was watching this show about Mount Everest the other night, and I had to do a double take; I had never seen so many North Face fleece jackets in one place outside of the Crate & Barrel store on North Avenue. Wow!

Yeah, Uncle Julio’s is a chain out of Texas. There are like 10 or 15 of them in Texas, Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, and Georgia. There’s actually another Chicagoland location in Lombard. I’m not an anti-chain snob or anything (just ask Chili’s). It’s just that this blog is specifically about food from Chicagoland (which includes McDonald’s and Portillo’s because those were born in our region).

Oh well, the Ceviche Royale was great. It consisted of shrimp, tilapia, scallops, cilantro, onions, tomato, and garlic lemon juice. As a nice kicker, they always bring some fresh flour tortillas. I took the cerviche and loaded it into a soft, warm flour tortilla and topped it with the frijoles a la charra that my brother-in-law got as a side. How about that for an improvised fish taco? Is that weird? How do you feel about inventing an entree from an appetizer and a side dish? Does that make me a creative genius or a kitchen usurper?

We talked about my fondness for EBCs (ethnic bakery cafes) last week and how conducive they are to a light enough lunch so as to afford room for dessert. Well, as promised, here is part two on my visit to Artopolis, one of my favorite EBCs.

As I get older, I notice my dessert tastes evolving from a life long addiction to chocolate (mostly dark) to a keener appreciation for lighter brown options. By lighter brown, I’m talking about concoctions based on honey, brown sugar, maple syrup, and caramel. In the past, given the option between a chocolate lava cake or warm apple streusel with caramel sauce, I would instinctively opt for the chocolate. But now, not so fast my friends! Things like bananas foster, maple frosted donuts, and baklava-the king of all light brown desserts-are in my wheelhouse.

That brings us to the pictured dessert. Ahh, the Artopolis walnut baklava. It’s packed with walnuts and absolutely dripping with honey. I think there’s vanilla and cinnamon in it also. Accompanied by their fine coffee, it doesn’t get much better. They even put it on an orange plate, which I love because my wife hates orange stuff, so it cuts down on the risk of her eating some of my dessert, and thereby losing a limb. When I took the first bite, I said to myself, “If some food borne virus made all chocolate and/or creamy dessert dishes in the world unsafe for consumption, I would not be discouraged because I have baklava.” I didn’t say it out loud, thankfully, because someone might have thought I was nuts.

I think I mentioned before how versatile Artopolis is. They really do have something for everybody. If you go there and don’t like it, just come back a few hours later and order something else. You can’t lose.