Chicago Foodies

Belly Shack

Belly Shack, the follow-up act to the much-lauded Urban Belly, has arrived. Personally, I have been eagerly awaiting this opening ever since the news broke in July that Bill Kim had signed the lease for this space, right under the Western Blue line stop (rather than in a strip mall). Urban Belly put a sophisticated, contemporary spin on noodles and potstickers. With this new venture, Kim moves into Asian-Latin fusion street food. Though this was only the restaurant's first night, the results are impressive, and more importantly, fun.

After ordering at the counter, we plopped ourselves down in the center of the room at a large communal table constructed of reclaimed 200-year-old maple. Belly Shack's decor was designed by Yvonne Cadiz-Kim and has been self-described as "reclaimed industrial." With an abundance of metals and browns, and a sprinkling of anti-establishment-esque graffiti messages on the walls, Belly Shack is the restaurant incarnate of a skater. I reached for my Vans and red hair dye. The noise of the trains overhead even serves to amplify the urban grittiness.

Map Room International Night and Bon Bon Sandwiches

The Map Room is well-known for its draft beers and extensive bottle list, but their International Night on Tuesdays deserves plenty of recognition of its own. Each week is a trip around the world, as a local restaurant is chosen to cater international food. To get food, you simply need to purchase two drinks and get your meal ticket stamped. Without a doubt, this is a giant step up from the "free wings" ploy of your average bar.

On this particular evening, the featured cuisine was Vietnamese, provided by Bon Bon Sandwiches. I'd been craving a banh mi sandwich for weeks but hadn't had time to trek to Argyle, so this was a welcome sight. If you are unfamiliar with the banh mi, it is the sublime lovechild of French and Asian influences, gestalt in sandwich form. Though there are many variations, the classic banh mi contains thinly sliced pork loaf, ham and pate layered on a baguette-like roll, topped with pickled carrots and daikon radish, a cucumber spear, cilantro and sliced jalapenos. Savory yet sweet and tangy, crunchy while soft, available for merely $3...you will rue all the times you ordered from Subway.

The Bristol: Every Part of the Animal

Faithful Chicago Foodies readers may know I'm drawn like a bee to honeysuckle to any place that serves unusual animal parts, and I've read much of the recent press around Bucktown's The Bristol around its menu offerings.  I called today to make sure that I could get stuff there that was unavailable elsewhere.

Now, as for the place:  near Damen and Webster, a stone's throw from the Kennedy Expressway, the Bristol, which does not take reservations, had us go upstairs to wait.  The first thing I noticed was that there wasn't a packed crowd on the bottom floor waiting for a table.  What they did was had us wait upstairs, in a spacious layout where we had lots of room to spread out while we ordered a wine and appetizers.  

Saucisson Sec – Cook au Vin

Wow. Now I've raved about the lovely landjager sausages from Bobby Nelson and they sure have that handheld bite-ablilty but after several Spotted Cows while watching the Cubs game I remembered I had a nice small saucisson sec from Cook au Vin on Elston.  It's not what I expected. It's definitely a sawing process  – that's one hard salami... but it might be one of the best things I have ever tasted.

Coxinhas forever! - Brazil Legal

Coxinhas (little drumsticks) are soft, fried dumplings - filled with savory, shredded chicken and covered with a soft, delectable pastry coated in fine breadcrumbs. They are - by far - my favorite snack-bite in the world.

Coxinhas are so hard to make (see recipe here). They take forever. They take the touch of a seasoned Brazilian housewife, and a recipe that's been handed down for generations but never written down. I'd always considered this a blessing - because I knew that if Coxinhas were always readily available I'd be done for - I love them that much - I'd eat ten a day and gain a pound a day, and well, you do the math.

THEN we moved. Last month. From Lincoln Park to Bucktown. And on our corner, there just so happens to be a Brazilian grocery Store.