Entries tagged with 'Illinois'
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[Photographs: Nick Kindelsperger] Budacki's Drive-In 4739 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625 (map); 773-561-1322 The Short Order: Juicy chicken wings in mutant Sriracha and buffalo wing sauce. Want Fries with That? Surprisingly no. Want Ketchup? Just to help get down the fries. Budacki's Drive In has it all wrong. Though this Lincoln Square stand in Chicago has a large sign proudly proclaiming their "pomme frites," that's not what all the fuss is about here. The city has a remarkably good French fry stand culture where even the dingiest, dirtiest places may take the time to fry potatoes from scratch (check out Chickie's, 35th Street Red Hots and Jimmy's Red Hots for proof)—but not not at Budacki's. These come out...
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[Photograph: Michael Nagrant] Last month I wrote about the custard cotton candy–like interior of the best French toast ever at Chicago's new breakfast spot Jam. Well, call me fickle, but I've fallen in love with a new piece of brioche: the deep-fried French toast served at The Publican for brunch. I mean, yeah, they had me at deep-fried, but then they went and topped the whole thing with silver dollar–sized slices of foie gras torchon, drizzled it with fresh strawberry preserves, and girded the toast with house-made fennel and orange rind–stuffed sausage links....
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The best bánh mì in Chicago? [Photographs: Nick Kindelsperger] Nhu' Lan Bakery 2612 W. Lawrence, Chicago IL 60625 (map); 773-878-9898 The Short Order: Freshly baked bread and perfect bánh mì. Want Fries with That? Nope, but some shrimp chips are possible. Want Ketchup? This sandwich needs nothing, eat it as is. You can keep your paninis. I'll forever give up the club sandwich or limit my meatball sub intake—but me and thebánh mì have a serious, committed sandwich relationship that needs constant nourishment. The bánh mì's power lies in its striking balance. The fatty meat, which can include head cheese and pate, contrasts with the acidic, pickled vegetables like daikon radishes, cucumbers, and carrots. Have I mentioned the slight jalapeño...
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[Photograph: Michael Nagrant] Call me the Fergus Henderson of food writers or the Chris Cosentino of culinary scribes—I'm mad about offal. But it wasn't always so. As the first generation son of a close-knit Polish family, I regularly turned my nose up at the ubiquitous Czernina (duck blood soup), head cheese, and various tripe at our holiday celebrations. Having the stuff around so much eventually took the fear factor out of such foods, and I started to experiment to the point where I'm now only a few tarantula nugget bites away from transforming into Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern. As such, I'm always on the lookout for a good deal on organ meats, and with the opening of Folklore in...
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"I don't need much in my life, just a 100% all-beef natural casing Vienna Beef hot dog with freshly fried French fries." [Photographs: Nick Kindelsperger] 35th Street Red Hots 500 W 35th Street, Chicago IL 60609 (map) The Short Order: Bare bones hot dog stand serving minimalist dogs with handfuls of handmade fries. Want Fries with That? The nearly perfect fries come lovingly heaped onto every dog. Want Ketchup? Come on. Not on these fries. Some things you just have to learn for yourself. During the swing of baseball season, I originally attempted to write about the best dining options of Chicago's two great baseball parks, Wrigley Field and U.S. Cellular. But as fellow Serious Eater Michael Nagrant pointed out...
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"If any attendees walked out of Baconfest disappointed, 100% of the blame falls on their defective palates." Inside-out pig in a blanket from David Burke's Primehouse. [Photographs: Daniel Zemans] You never know when inspiration is going to hit. For Michael Griggs and Andre Pluess, it came early this year after seeing the Neo-Futurists perform Beer, a puppet-filled musical about the visions of a ten-year-old boy who gets drunk after sneaking into a brewery. The play left Michael and Andre wondering what they loved as much as the playwright loved beer. Before long, they had their muse: Bacon. Once that realization hit, the wheels started turning and they decided to plan a huge tribute to bacon. Late that night, they called...
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"You know it's October when the pumpkins outnumber the tomatoes." [Photographs: Nick Kindelsperger] I arrived at the Green City Market in Lincoln Park on a truly miserable morning. The infamous winds of Chicago were howling off the lake and biting me through my terribly thin hoodie. With my arms folded over, I made my way through the market, wishing I had worn a coat. The first person I talked to about vegetables just broke into laughter. She would have felt sorry for me, she explained, if I wasn't so irresponsible. How did it end so quickly? Though Green City Market runs all year-round, after October it retreats in to an indoor location. I don't blame them. Though they can still...
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"If I've got one gripe with Chicago, it's that there aren't enough food carts." [Photographs: Nick Kindelsperger] Iyanzé Truck North Park Drive between East Illinois Street and East North Water Street, Chicago IL 60611 (map); 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday The Short Order: West African truck serving insanely spicy stews. Want Fries with That? No fries, but make sure to get the intense jollof rice. Want Ketchup? Your tongue will be too stunned. If I've got one gripe with Chicago, it's that there aren't enough food carts. We are way behind New York and Los Angeles—and we're not into that tweeting food cart madness either. The ones we do have tend to be hard to find and...
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[Photograph: Michael Nagrant] Though we are surrounded by the azure majesty of Lake Michigan, Chicago is generally not a seafood kind of town. Fed-Ex and dry ice have done wonders for the scene, but it's still pretty rare to find great oysters here. Even all the upscale spots around town that have raw bars are wildly inconsistent. Still, anticipating a recent road trip to New Orleans, I couldn't get the idea of raw oysters out of my head and I wanted to do a little pre-trip eating. But, where to go? I settled on the Coq D'Or in the Drake Hotel on the Magnificent Mile. It's the sister lounge to Drake's famous Cape Cod Room where Jack Benny, Marilyn Monroe,...
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[Artwork: Hawk Krall] This week we take a look at one of the country's most beloved regional hot dogs, the classic Chicago Dog. A few weeks ago we delved into Chicago's lesser-known minimalist style, the Depression Dog. But today it's all about the classic dragged-through-the-garden jumbo beef frank on a poppy seed bun, topped with pickles, sport peppers, tomatoes, neon green relish, bright yellow mustard and celery salt. It's really almost more of a weiner hoagie than a hot dog. For the Chicago dog novice, the sheer amount of stuff on this hot dog stands out first. It's visually awesome but depending on the size of the veggies, it can be quite a challenge to eat. It's really almost...
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