Chicago Foodies

Tam Popo / Tampopo Sushi – The Secret is Out

When I moved north, I started looking around for another go-to sushi spot. On Lincoln is Tampopo and for the past year it's been my most consistently delicious sushi spot and a great value. I did several searches on the site to make sure I hadn't mention it. I could have sworn I did but alas.

It just so happens I was at the bar having dinner at 5:30 and was talking to Danny, the owner. It turns out they're being featured on 'Check Please' this evening. He's excited and nervous. I was surprised to hear that he's worried about potential negative comments from the diners! Usually I would expect owners to be apprehensive about their potential traffic screwing up their buying and restaurant operations. Especially since the freshness and value of his fish is so painfully obvious.

The Fish Keg

I feel like I sold out a friend by including Hagen's Fish Market before The Fish Keg. It's nearly perfect. The first time I was there two 70+ ladies were trying to get their oysters double battered and were not making any headway with the young guy upfront. They asked for a gentleman in particular. If I remembered his name the story would gain in authenticity but I don't.

Let's just call him Harold.

La Unica's Hidden Eats

Sitting on Devon, steps from the culturally rich grocery store of Devon Market and Thai eats, I found myself wandering the aisles of La Unica. This is a quaint Cuban grocery shop full of ingredients native to Cuba and other latin countries alike. Countless tropical juices, black beans and guava pastes line the shelves starting my head thinking of dishes I could create with them. Frozen yucca, tamals and exotic fruits I've never heard of can be found within the freezer section. Ginger beer, bottled mojo and pineapple sodas stand in glass bottles.

Chipotle vs. Taqueria: A Tale of Two Burritos

Ha! Dickens reference! But seriously folks, today I’m here to relate my recent experiences with two chicken burritos, one from a big chain restaurant and one from my local family-owned taqueria.

The first burrito I grabbed from the Chipotle Mexican Grill on N. Sheridan. Chipotle, as you are all likely aware, is a large national chain that has its ingredients all laid out behind a big counter, kind of like at Subway, and you can pick and choose what you want from those elements.

Heartland Cafe – Almost Health Food!

Last night I stopped in at the Heartland Cafe with a good friend of mine who had just moved to town.  In many ways it was a perfect welcome-to-the-neighborhood dinner, soaking in the Rogers Park summer from the shade of their front patio and quenching our thirst with their fine local beers.  For the main course, my friend tried the buffalo burger, while I went for the grilled cheese sandwich with avocado and tomato.

Everyday Thai

I love Thai food, and Chicago is a great city for it.  There are at least 4 Thai restaurants in a 3 block radius by my house in Edgewater and I frequent every one of them, they all do it a little differently so it's never the same dish twice.

So when Everyday Thai opened (2 months ago) up on Devon I was definitely eager to try it.  The restaurant was spacious and clean, serving lunch, dinner and delivery until 10pm. The menu had all of the Thai dishes you would expect, nothing new or out of the ordinary, which is OK since there are places down the street like Blue Elephant (also on Devon) that are a little more adventurous. 

Viet Bistro

There's always something fun about going to a new restaurant. I'm always hoping it will be something new and when the place is 3 blocks walking distance all the better. Viet Bistro is a new restaurant just off Broadway on Devon from the owners of Pasteur, a really nice French-Vietnamese restaurant on north Broadway. Viet is their bistro. Entrees are priced from $8 for veggie options to $18 for a whole red snapper that was recommended but not tried.

Indian Gourmet

One of the perks we envisioned upon moving to Edgewater was the proximity to Devon and all of the Indian and Pakistani restaurants that we'd be able to order delivery from.  Shortly after we moved in we went to Devon and started collecting menus from our favorite places, as well as from those on our list of places to try.  Unfortunately, to our great disappointment, none of them would deliver.  They claimed it wouldn't taste as good.

Bismillah

Bismillah is off of Devon, running south on Ridge. I drive past it often enough for it to come to mind when I'm thinking of a nearby new place.  Having finally been there, I can cross it off my list.

Mind you, I ordered take-out and was limited to one dish– nehari. I added 4 small pakora (for a buck!) and a Pakola, a very tasty fragrant soda from Karachi. The pakora was good and I managed to eat them all by the time I got home. I was pretty grumpy (very late night at work) and maybe that contributed to me not unpacking my dinner properly.

Candlelite

From the light-up sign one could correctly guess that the Candlelite has been around for a long time. They did close but quickly reopened when a group of regulars bought them back into existence. Obviously people like the place. The crowd included families and a section inside had a reunion going on... Congrats to the Class of '77.

Ghareeb Nawaz - Awesome Cheap Eats!

Ghareeb Nawaz literally means "sustainer of the poor." In the search for good cheap eats that's a good sign. It's just West of Ridge on Devon and there's usually a line waiting for nan. It's basically a Pakistani taqueria. The food's great and cheap but the trade-off is the dining room. For take-out it can't be beat. Instead of dropping $50 for dinner further West on Devon, $15 is more than enough to splurge for dinner... for four.

La Cucina Di Donatella

I first heard about La Cucina Di Donatella on NPR.  I kept it in the back of my mind for some time before actually finding an occasion to go, and I was sorry that I had waited so long.  The unassuming restaurant is small, about 10 tables or less, in a very crisp and airy white decor.  You can see the kitchen, and Donatella herself, cooking from any seat in the house.

The wait staff is very personable, it feels like you're at someones house for dinner because you also have to bring your own wine, which makes it a reasonable night out.  With such an extensive menu of pastas, meat and fish (the nightly specials menu is just as long, if not longer than the regular dinner menu) it's really hard to decide what to try so this particual evening we went with our waiter's recommendations. 

New Leaf: Organic Produce Boxes

 Just past Devon in Rogers Park is New Leaf: Natural Grocery.

A flier with coupons, a couple for Organic Valley dairy, a fair trade coffee coupon was under my door last week.

A specific offering is the Organic Produce Box which is a week's supply of, what else, organic produce.
The contents of our boxes change weekly, but to give you an idea of the quantity, listed below is a sample from their website of a $15 box.