Humboldt Park, Gold Coast, Andersonville - A little tour.

My friends I’ve had some really good food over the past few weeks.  Nothing over the top or as some people would say, “fancy”.  No, just some really good, simple, delicious food.  Now, I really don’t like everything I eat, like some, but I want to stray away from the negative and focus on the positive.  Although some of my writing will give a good mix, because as you all know, some restaurants can serve complete bombs, while at the same time give you something memorable and delicious.  For example, I visited a small neighborhood that’s surrounded by the Hispanic neighborhood of Pilsen, the Heart of Italy.  This is still a small hold out for Italians, but is slowly being swallowed up by Pilsen because the younger generation just doesn’t want to stick around.The restaurant that I visited was Il Vicinato.  Now, from what I’ve been told, this place used to be out of this world, before it was sold within the last few years.  The atmosphere was great!  The smells were amazing!!  The bolognese sucked!  If there is one thing that an Italian restaurant should have mastered, its the bolognese.  There was not any amount of cheese that could have salvaged that plate of pasta.  However, the Pasta Arrabiata(Angry Pasta), was great, as was the Antipasto salad.  I took photos, but deleted them because I was simply uninspired by the whole experience.  Personally, I don’t think posting negative reviews are a good way of selling the culinary experiences of Chicago, but it’s also not fair for me to not get my opinion out there so you don’t make the same mistake I made.  Now, let’s get on with some good food!!

The first stop on this blog is a place that I learned about from Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives.  Cemitas Pueblahttp://www.cemitaspuebla.com is in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago.  Now, Humboldt Park has a predominantly Puerto Rican population, however on a busy stretch of North Avenue sits a little gem of a Mexican dining spot called Cemitas Puebla.     The restaurants website states that this restaurant brings the best of Poblano food to Chicago, and it certainly delivers because I don’t know anywhere else in Chicago, this sandwich is served. 

A cemita is a sandwich, originating in Puebla, Mexico.  The world cemita refers to both the sandwich as well as the bun it is served on, being covered in sesame seeds and looking similar to brioche.  There are many toppings offered here, but their most famous and popular is the Cemita Atomica, so naturally that is what I went with. 
 

The Cemita Atomica is an amazing sandwich on a sesame seed bun, then layered with avocado, Pork Milanesa(breaded, boneless butterfly pork), Jamon(ham), and Carne enchilada(chile guajillo marinated butterfly pork chop).  This pork orgy is then followed by adobo chipotle peppers, fresh Oaxacan cheese, and papalo(An herb that resembles cilantro).  This was truly one of the best sandwiches I’ve had in my life!!!  I would do some damage for this sandwich.  Also, the Cemita Atomica also made Chicago magazines 50 best sandwiches list.  Go there now, don’t be intimidated by the hood, because once you cross the thresh hold of the restaurant you are warmly welcomed by those who dine there.  By the way, get the Sindral Mundet to drink, you won’t be disappointed!  

Cemita Atomica and all of it's delicious layers!!

How could you not want to put your face in this?

And wash it down with this great apple flavored drink.

Behind this counter is where the magic happens.

On our second stop, a Valentine’s Day dinner at my favorite Italian place, just off of Michigan Ave., Bar Tomahttp://www.bartomachicago.com.  Bar Toma is a pizzeria and bar owned by Chef Tony Mantuano.  Chef Mantuano is a force to be reckoned with, as having the only 4 star Italian restaurant in Chicago, Spiaggia.  He also was one of the Champions on season two of Top Chef Masters, as well as been awarded a 2005 James Beard award for Best Chef Midwest.  Chef Mantuano also has a restaurant in the modern wing of the Art Institute of Chicago, called Terzo Piano, as well as a trattoria in his hometown of Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Dinner this night of Valentine’s Day was simple, salad and pizza.  The salad, such a simple piece of work, but full of flavor and texture.  The salad was their Kale salad which had young kale(also called Lacinato Kale or Dinosaur Kale, which also grows over the Winter), soft boiled egg, garlic bread crumbs, and anchovy vinaigrette.  Now, before you eww and blah about the anchovy vinaigrette, I will say this over and over.  Fresh anchovies have a much different flavor than what you know as anchovies.  They do not sit in a brine, so they are not little bits of salt.  You can even take that fishy, salty taste away from jarred anchovies by simply soaking them in some milk.  The anchovies added a bit of zing to the dressing, nothing to turn your nose up at.  In fact, I’d guarantee that anyone would like it, I’d stake a paycheck on it.

Kale Salad

La pizza that we had was not your traditional pizza.  No, instead, we went with the Pizza Caprino(goat).  Bar Toma serves traditional Neapolitan pizza, baked in a wood burning oven that sits in the middle of the restaurant.  The Caprino consisted of goat cheese, hazelnuts, leeks, Acetaia San Giacomo balsamico(a traditional Balsamic vinegar of Reggio Emilia), dates, and thyme.  The flavor of this pizza would surprise you with a blend of sweet(goat cheese) and savory(thyme), and everything in between.  The hazelnuts toasted quickly, adding some texture with an awesome flavor that you can only get by roasting a nut.  The leeks quickly caramelized in the hotter than hell oven and the balsamico brought it all together.  Ya know, sometimes you just have to step out of the norm, leave your comfort zone and try something new.  If you come and visit me here, we will go to Bar Toma and you will love it, and that is that.

Pizza Caprino

Next up on my list is Orange Gardenhttp://www.orangegardenchicago.com, the oldest Chinese restaurant in Chicago.  The sign speaks for itself and that is what first caught my attention.  There is something soothing about a cook neon sign.  It says to me, this place is a landmark and should be explored!  From the moment you walk in and get that kind of throw back feeling to the time you sit, look around and think to your self, “a group of servers are going to come out, bring a duck, chop the head off, and start singing christmas carols”, you know that what’s going to be placed in front of you will be Americanized Chinese food, but great quality food.  When I see large numbers of Chinese people sitting in a Chinese restaurant, I know I’ve made the right decision, especially a Chinese restaurant so far from Chinatown.  A brief history, as I said, Orange Garden is the oldest Chinese restaurant in Chicago.  It opened in 1924, making it a quarter of a centruy older than the People’s Republic of China.  The neon sign that attracted me here, is the oldest neon sign in Chicago and the clock on the wall has hung there since 1932.  And the owners live by the simple rule of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, and that’s pretty refreshing.  The current owner is only the second owner and was friends with the original owner.  Have I sold you on this yet?  Our server, dressed finely in a white button down shirt and black bow tie was certainly to the point, but was not rude.  Service was prompt and warm.  This will be my go to for Chinese, unless I want to submerse myself in the Chinese culture.  

Dinner that night was Sesame Chicken and Szechuan Beef.  Most of us are used to incredibly over breaded and over sauced sesame chicken, but this was a perfect coating.  This is what I’d love to have coating my fried chicken.  I don’t know if they do a simple corn starch coating, but this was amazing!  It was crunchy and sweet and complimented by a protective broccoli fort.  I could’ve eaten the entire plate, however I was also very interested in the Szechuan beef.  Once again, I’ve always had the experience with americanized Chinese food as being over cooked and over sauced.  The beef was tender and full of flavor and the veggies had crunch and you could actually taste what the vegetable was!  I was amazed!  And it certainly has changed my mind on this type of Chinese food.  I still want to try authentic Chinese though.  Sesame Chicken is traditional in most English speaking countries, I can’t find anything to show that it is an authentic Chinese entree.  Sichuan beef on the other hand is very common, however the recipe seems to have been changed to fit the American palate.   Once again, go to Orange Garden for a great experience!!  And call me when you do, I’ll meet you there!!

Sesame Chicken, after breaking through the walls of the broccoli.  

Szechuan Beef

Finally!!  A short talk about The Pecking Orderhttp://www.peckingorderchicago.com, which is a Chickencentric restaurant in Andersonville.  Once again, Time Out Chicago brought me here with one of the 100 best things eaten in 2012, with the City Bird sandwich being highlighted.  All of the chicken, regardless of how it’s prepared, marinades in a sugar, tamari, vinegar marinade that gives the chicken a crispy, juicy, salty, flavorful chicken, which can be sometimes really difficult to pull off.  For those of you that would like to know, the birds used here are free range, antibiotic free.  

First on the list, the Country Bird.  One bite and you are looking for your Grandmother that always made the best fried chicken, but this is on bread and not just any old fried chicken.  It’s a fried boneless breast, complimented with gouda cheese, pimento mayo, tomato, cilantro, shaved onion salad, dressed with calamansi vinaigrette(a calamansi is a Philippine lime).  The sandwich is served on grilled pandesal bread(a Philippine yeast bread).  This was a mouthful!  Crunchy, full of flavor, juicy.  I’ve never had chicken with this flavor before.  Definitely nothing that came from your favorite Southern kitchen, but man was this tasty.  I can easily see why this made the list.  But, you also have to try the City Bird, because it’s always a competition.

The Country Bird

The City Bird is a juicy, grilled Chicken breast, with pate, Mom’s pickles, and fried egg, served on grilled pandesal bread.  This is similar to a vietnamese bahn mi.  I think with the mere mention of a fried egg, I can stop because you know it’s going to be a kick ass sandwich.  You could eat this for Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner, and then you have experienced life.  As to whom was the winner, City or Country?  In my opinion, it’s the best of both world’s and a tie.  So, decide for yourself.  What I’m saying is go there, soon!!!!  Or Now!!!

The City Bird

More good eats to come my people!!  Thanks for reading and until next time!

Ciao, ciao!!

Sandwiches in Chicago

I would like to start by thanking editors Carly Boers, Penny Pollack, and Jeff Ruby of Chicago Magazine for this article and guide to sandwich life in Chicago.  In the November 2012 edition of Chicago Magazine, there is an article that all sandwich lovers, foodies, and hungry hounds should take note of.  It’s titled “The 50 most Savory, Saucy, Swoonworthy Sandwiches”.  Yes you should find this article, read it, use it as a map for all of your sandwich needs.  So, without further adieu, I bring you my take on Chicago Magazines, 50 Best Sandwiches that you should stuff in your pie hole. 

Let’s start with Ricobene’s and their famous Breaded Steak Sandwich. Now, I’m no fan of chain restaurants, but Ricobene’s is not your typical chain.  Ricobene’s has been in business for 66 years which should tell you that they are doing something right.  They are focused on Chicago’s Southside and south Chicagoland(burbs).  Ricobene’s caters to the working person, the blue collar person that’s not afraid to get their collar stained with red sauce.  If you are on a strict diet, then this is not the place for you, because there is nothing about the breaded steak sandwich that says “I am trying to lose weight”.  This is simple, Italian/American comfort food.  They started with a generous cut of Skirt Steak, bread it, and fry that bad boy up.  Then it’s placed, on a Turano French Roll where it’s topped with housemade meat sauce.  Then generously sprinkled with cheese and peppers, if you wish.  Of course because of the size of the steak, it’s rolled to fit into the bun.  What comes next is an experience better than any Italian Beef or sausage sandwich, than you’ve ever had.  The steak is tender, the sauce is tomatoey, and the cheese brings it together with a perfect balance of flavor.  The steak doesn’t get lost in the flavor of the sauce and that is really important, otherwise you may as well just order a sauce sandwich, which scary enough, I’ve had this thing called a sauce bun, which is exactly that, but that’s a story for another day, or how about an experience I’d much rather forget.  So, of all of the sandwiches that are listed in this article, this is probably the least intimidating for those of you that have comfort zone issues with food.  And it is also easily accessible for almost all of you.  So, take a look at their website and visit the closest Ricobene’s for a taste of one of the 50 Best Sandwiches in Chicago.  http://www.ricobenespizza.com

Next on this short list of Sandwiches that I have conquered is the Crab Cake from Mindy’s Hot Chocolate.  I would like to start by saying that this is my favorite restaurant to take people to.  Mindy’s menu has a little bit of everything for everyone.  And the desserts are ridiculous.  This year, finally and long overdue, Mindy Segal won a James Beard award for Outstanding Pastry.  So even if you don’t go for the Crab Cake or anything else, you will, no you must have dessert!  I could go on and on about her food and her desserts, but I have to discuss the Crab Cake.  Now, I’m a fan of crab cakes, as long as they are more crab less filler and that seems to be a problem here in the Midwest.  So I had high hopes for Mindy’s crab cake sandwich, because after all, it’s on bread, so why would you have bread sandwiched between bread?  This is going to be a very crabby experience I thought to myself.  On one of my recent blogs, I decided that I wasn’t going to sugar coat any of my reviews, blogs, comments, etc, so here goes.  It truly breaks my heart to have to say this, it really, really breaks my heart, but I was really disappointed.  This is a first for all of my experiences at Mindy’s.  Will it affect any chance of me going back to Mindy’s?  Absolutely not!  One bomb, out of many visits, well, it happens.  And it could’ve been an off night, but the crab cake sandwich was exactly what I was afraid it would be, bready.  I wanted the full experience of one of the best sandwiches in Chicago, so I left it on the bread, and that was bad.  The presentation of the sandwich was great.  The house buttered buttered bun, glistened in the light coming from the kitchen, which we were seated right next to, which added to the awesomeness of this visit.  Then a nice layer of Bibb lettuce and hidden under the bun was a house made roasted giardiniera tartar sauce which added just a slight kick to the sandwich.  I should’ve just pulled the crab cake from the bun and enjoyed it the way I’m used to, but then how could I rightfully blog about a sandwich.  The crab cake it’s had a great flavor.  It had a great balance of crab to filler, but on the bread, it was too much.  But, like a good kid, I cleaned my plate and marked another sandwich off of my list.  In the end, the Pumpkin Pot de creme, served with spiced cream, whiskey spiked toasted marshmallow(the marshmallows are house made), and brown butter graham crackers made up for the sandwich.  Oh, I can’t forget about the Pumpkin Hot Chocolate, white chocolate with pumpkin spices and a touch of molasses, yeah it’s as awesome as it sounds.  http://www.hotchocolatechicago.com

Finally, yeah, I know that’s only three sandwiches, but it’s so damn hard to just eat sandwiches with so many good restaurants in Chicago and the fact I’m trying to cook as much as I can as well.  But I’m ending on a high note with a new experience for me, Puerto Rican food.  At Papa’s Cache Sabroso, in Chicago’s Puerto Rican neighborhood of Humboldt Park, you will find the Jibarito.  The jibarito(pronounced hee-bah-ree-toe), is a Chicago specialty.  The jibarito was introduced at Borinquen Restaurant, a Puerto Rican restaurant, also in Humboldt Park.  This amazing sandwich substitutes bread with fried, flattened plantains.  Between the plantains you will have your choice of steak, pork, or chicken, cheese, tomato, and lettuce and do not forget the garlic mayo.  I ordered the jibarito with steak and white queso.  I was trying to think how these plantains would hold up to the filling without getting soggy and falling apart, but that never happened.  The flavors were amazing!  The steak was seasoned simply, grilled perfectly, topped with caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, garlic mayo, and the plantains.  The flavors balanced well.  The mayo wasn’t too garlicky, just enough to taste it, but complimented the steak very well.  The queso helped keep the toppings together, but some did fall out, which honestly is one of my favorite parts of eating a sandwich, it’s kind of like the crunchies that you used to get when you finished your meal at Long John Silvers.  And I’m a big fan of plantains, so it was very impressive to see them hold up to the load they carried and still have that great friend plantain flavor despite the stuffings.  All in all, it was the perfect size.  As an added bonus, they included a bit of smokey puerto rican rice, and of course to stay with the them, I tried a kola champagne(I will not be traveling down the kola champagne road again.  It was like a sweeter version of a creme soda).  And what really added to the meal was the hospitality of our hosts.  I wish I knew the owners names because they were incredibly friendly and even reminded us that the next time we visited that they are byob!  http://papascachesabroso.com

I have 47 sandwiches left to try, and I will, over time, even if I hate the idea of what the sandwich is, I will still bite the bullet, because I want to.  I don’t expect them all to be sure fire hits, but it could be a fun time trying these sandwiches.  I’m just trying to figure out how I’m going to do this and throw in my marathon training.  I’ll figure it out.  Stay tuned, there will be more to come.  I do hope you are enjoying the reading, and please, follow along, if you have any suggestions on places I should try, anywhere, throw a suggestion my way.  I would like to make this more interactive and I’m always looking for a good road trip.

Ciao ciao!!