Chicago Foodies

Haymarket Brewery Makes A Statement

I was fortunate enough to have some friends recently invite me to Haymarket Pub & Brewery, the new brewpub that has opened up in the West Loop at Randolph and Halsted.  I don't know what building was there before, but the interior looks a lot like a Rock Bottom Brewery, spacious, a large rectangular bar anchored in the room's center, and abundant tables, booths, and tv's.  Of course the brewing tanks are exposed in back. 

I went there for food only this evening but make no mistake: this place is poised to be serious about beer.  En route from the bathroom, they had kegs of beers that you won't find at Jewel/Osco's beer section ready to pop.  Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine, Victory Golden Monkey, and an unspecified Dogfish Head beer were on the verge of being tapped. 

Asian Carp, the Obtainable Sustainable

It is a distant relation to your pet goldfish. It feeds rapaciously on plankton like an aquatic pig and has a face only a mother could love. It threatens to singlehandedly upend the food chain in our lakes. There are more of them in the Mississippi River basin than in any river in China. Behold the Asian Carp.

Unless you've been living with your head stuck in a riverbed, you have no doubt heard about the latest invasive species threatening to disrupt the ecosystem of the Great Lakes. Last week, the Chicago Reader published an issue highlighting the Asian carp, analyzing the battle to halt the carp's spread with electric barriers. How much longer will physical measures stop the invasion? In December 2009, when a six-mile stretch of the Chicago canal was poisoned in order to complete maintenance on the electric barrier, an Asian carp was found among the dead fish. The ensuing brouhaha led several neighboring states to file suit against the state of Illinois, demanding that the commercially-vital locks be completely closed. But it may already be too late. A new eDNA test that detects species-specific DNA in running water has found already found evidence of Asian carp in the waters above the electric fence.

Lunch in the Loop: Taza

In my never-ending quest to find interesting, reasonably priced food in the Loop, I stopped by Taza, an unassuming storefront offering Middle Eastern and Mediterranean classics. (Alas, being on Franklin, Taza is technically just outside of the Loop, so my search continues on.) Pictured here is the "gourmet" falafel sandwich, which comes decked out with savory hunks of falafel, a smear of creamy hummus, a scoop of Jerusalem salad and hot sauce for a little extra zip. The falafel was hot and crisp, with a soft, pillowy interior. This was topped with crunchy chunks of cucumber and tomato in tahini and lemon dressing. Everything was brought together in a warm, hefty pita pocket. Did I mention this will only set you back $5? Light, delicious, and affordable.

 At 1 pm, there was no lunch crowd and plenty of open tables for seating, which is a major plus in my book. I'll definitely be back to try their gyros and schwarma. 

Taza
176 N. Franklin
(312) 201-9885

Fado Irish Pub: It's not a Latke, it's a Boxty

I’ve had they pleasure of consuming a Boxty on a few occasions. Have you? Until last year, I was unaware of the Irish Boxty, which is the cousin of Tortilla Espanola and the potato latke. Fado Irish Pub offers several Boxty on their menu. This potato pancake dish is found in more rural parts of Ireland and cooked on a griddle instead of a frying pan. It is a perfect consistency to wrap up a hearty meal (like the Trinity Steak Boxty) or as a quesadilla. My favorite on the Fado Boxty menu is the Veggie Boxty Quesadilla. If you like grilled veggies, sour cream, cheese and marinated tomatoes, this might be the perfect pub dish for you.  www.fadoirishpub.com

La Madia – Being Thin... Pizza

Thin crust gourmet pizza does have a place in Chicago. In fact, La Madia knows how to make such a thin creation flavorful, even for the stuffed pizza-lover at heart. Creativity in pizza offerings is to be applauded at La Madia. My favorites include the taleggio and 3-hour roasted grapes, the triple pepperoni with truffle oil, and the buffalo mozzarella with torn basil. The Taleggio and roasted grape pizza sounds like an odd combination, admittedly, but as a foodie sometimes the more unique the concept, the more intriguing.  It’s worth ordering just to fulfill that intrigue. Likely, you will order it again because the soft creamy taleggio cheese mixed with the sweet grapes on a firm crust is unexpected, and quite enjoyable.

I Dream of Falafel... and Chicken Sharwerma

I Dream of Falafel on Franklin near Jackson St. is a foodie’s lunchtime dream come true. Mediterranean quick-service competitors Roti and Benjyehuda are nearby, but patronize those locations for excellent salads and crispy fries, respectively. I Dream of Falafel will transform your lunch hour if you are craving smooth hummus, firm falafel, or flavorful shawerma.  

The I Dream of Falafel menu is a simple three-step process to chicken shawerma, beef shawerma, and falafel heaven. My favorite way to enjoy their culinary delights is with a bed of hummus topped with chicken shawerma and falafel, finished with tahini, lettuce, tomato, and cucumbers.

Sixteen Restaurant: In Perspective

Chicago is a beautiful city, American to the bone, and Trump Tower sits in a perfect location.  The Terrace Bar, outdoors, on a Saturday night at dusk, seemed quite magical.  Despite the long waiting list for a party of two to grab a drink outside, $20 gets you in fairly quickly. 

It was worth it.   My wife and I were there for a very special occasion, with reservations to Sixteen awaiting right after the cocktails at The Terrace.  The staff were extremely nice, and we even got a window table.  After all, the view is part of the experience. 

The first thing that became apparent after we sat down is the true Donald Trump-like nature of the restaurant.  Despite us supposedly getting the only available time slot for dinner reserved a month in advance, there were empty tables around us.  I also realized that the coveted window tables are not worth tipping the host.  There was more than one available, and the windows looked onto the party crowd at The Terrace.  But the famous "We'll try to accommodate you to the best of our abilities" speech, especially on an anniversary dinner, makes one feel a bit jumpy and start fishing for greenbacks in the pocket.

Cafecito – The Cubano Sandwich

New visitors to Chicago invariably assume that the Loop is the city's center for nightlife and dining activities. However, the sad truth is that the Loop has a reputation for being a culinary wasteland of fast food chains and Starbucks, which means I am always a bit flustered when asked to grab lunch in the Loop. Like a perpetual motion machine, there must be some universal law against restaurants in the Loop being good, fast and cheap. Well, I am not here today with breaking news that the singularity is here. However, the addition of Cafecito, just a couple blocks shy of being in the Loop, means that we are inching closer to achieving that perfect triumvirate.

Cafecito is a small cafe tucked inside the HI Hostel building, and their claim to fame is their Cuban sandwich, anointed the city's best by TimeOut Chicago. They also offer an impressive display case of baked goods, pastries and side salads. The cafe itself is bright and cheery, with couches for lounging and a danceable mix of Cuban, Puerto Rican and Dominican tunes in the background. This tends to attract a coterie of hostel travelers, students and cubicle dwellers. Aside from its proximity to the Loop, Cafecito is right next to the Auditorium Theater, making it ideal for a quick pre-theater dinner.

Lockwood's Chicago Style Lobster Dog

...is a damned, dirty lie. But a lip-smackingly tasty one at that. Though the haute dog looks benignly similar to a regular Chicago hot dog, its innocuous appearance is a facade for daredevilish things. But fear not, there is nary trace of ketchup on this hot dog.

So, what do you get for your hard-earned $18? For starters, your hot dog wiener has been replaced with a delicate, slow-poached sausage of lobster mousse. The bright yellow is not mustard, but a vivid saffron-ginger sauce. In lieu of onions and a dill pickle spear, we have leeks and a cucumber spear. The entire ensemble is topped with cherry tomatoes and slices of green pepper, and served on a hefty potato bun. A Chicago-style hot dog this most certainly is not, as it does not evoke the bold, in-your-face chutzpah of the classic Chicago dog.

St Patty's Deals

Happy St.Patrick’s Day!

 

Go Chi-Irish today and celebrate St Patrick's Day at one of the many restaurants offering deals on Irish food and drinks! Dance to bagpipes and live bands, and don't forget to put your green on!

Atwood Cafe – Restaurant Week

Restaurant Week has commenced, so now is your chance to sample 3-courses at a high-end restaurant for a cool $22 at lunch or $32 at dinner. I've been meaning to try Atwood Café, so I took this opportunity to stop by for lunch. Upon receiving the menu though, I was severely disappointed to see that it was not the one posted on their website. Oy, no graham-cracker crusted calamari? Was it too late to throw a temper tantrum?

The Dunkin Donuts Coupon Experience

I confess that I eat at the Drive-Thru. I've actually seen studies that show something like  90% of the people out there eat in their cars. Now I can hope that it's granola and bananas and thermoses of soup but somehow I know that it boils down to the drive-thru and if you talk to these people I would suspect that the holy grail of drive-thru is breakfast. McDonald's has been playing with the all-day breakfast option. Lunch-Time Breakfast Burrito! We'll be getting fatter as a nation.

Elephant & Castle: Proper British Pub Grub

Though a chain, Elephant and Castle is purportedly an English pub, and a good one at that.   Though it is very difficult to immitate a pub that's been around for 400 years, and it may not be worth trying, Elephant and Castle's now-third location at North Wabash does a wonderful job giving the pub atmosphere, perhaps better than their Huron St. location.  Fast expansion, as chains are prone to do, may put it at risk of not staying cool, but for now there aren't many places downtown that do a better job as an English pub. 

Macy's 7th Foor Salads

Since 90% of my office right now is on some form of diet we have been searching the loop at lunchtime for the perfect salad fix. Of course not all salads can really be called diet, or even healthy for that matter but there is something about going out for a salad that just makes you feel better than going out for a burger.

 

In the search for the perfect salad we’ve certainly come across some really bad ones. The Gage comes to mind were I had a $15 dollar bowl of iceberg lettuce with some dry Tamarind chicken, Calamata olives and goat’s cheese thrown in. The combination didn’t work and the iceberg lettuce didn’t justify the price.

Custom House

I’m always confused as to why Chicago’s theater district has a booming theater scene and a not so booming food scene to go with it.  It has never been harder to find a good restaurant in Chicago in that particular area that isn’t a fast food chain.  There are certainly the old stand-bys like the Walnut room, which for the price offers pretty decent white tablecloth fare – often highlighting signature dishes from TV celebrity chefs like Rick Bayless and Ming Tsai. 

However, this particular theater night I was in the mood for something different and since my show was playing at the Auditorium on Congress I decided to try Custom House, which was a visit that had been long overdue.  I was very excited by their pre-theater, 3 courses, price fixed menu, which the hostess reviewed with me over the phone before I made our reservation.  For 46 dollars there were ample options of all courses – appetizer, entrée, side and desert.  All items are also on the menu individually at about 30 dollars per entrée. 

Oasis Cafe

As my anniversary approaches, and I won't mention which one, I was reminded of a truly special Chicago secret restaurant. In the back of one of the Jeweler's malls on Wabash, behind the stalls of alternately pushy and/or completely distant salespeople, is a group of tables and a middle eastern lunch-counter. I was originally looking for an engagement ring and was distracted by falafel and chicken shwarma pita sandwiches. This time I'm spending less on jewelery so I figured I'd splurge and get the lamb special.

This place reminds me a bit of Pee Wee's Big Adventure where a fortune teller informs Pee Wee that his bike is in the Alamo.... in the basement. While it's not in the basement, the Oasis Cafe is in the 'way-back' of the Wabash Jeweler's Mall...