Pie Lady wrote:The chocolate cream pie from Defloured. Yowza, that's rich.

It’s much better the second time...

Octarine wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:The chocolate cream pie from Defloured. Yowza, that's rich.

It’s much better the second time...

I brought it to work; I didn't have the chance! I knew I should have swooped up that last piece.

Eggplant with String Beans at Szechwan JMC in Chinatown. I usually go to Mala Spicy Spirit almost exclusively because they are willing to make stuff off-menu for me that is vegetarian.

But this surprised me. I had the Mapo Tofu as well, and although that was good; it wasn't the best I have had. But this dish was awesome. You can clearly taste/smell the wok-hei in the dish. I am very glad that now I have two Szezhwan places that I can go to that are this vegetarian friendly and tasty!

The burnt carrot salad at Metropole, the restaurant at the 21C Hotel in Cincinnati, was one of the best things I have eaten in a long long time. Its made with Avocado, pickled onion, feta, cilantro, toasted pumpkin seeds and it was excellent!

https://www.21cmuseumhotels.com/metropo ... nner-1.pdf

Metropole
609 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
513.578.6660

The Tuesday special pre-fixe at Le Sardine tonight.
Lyonnaise salad, steak frites, and apple tart were all superb.
Tuesdays for me are booked for the foreseeable future.

Just had a fantastic (splurge) lunch pasta dish from Eataly.

Tagliolini al Ragu Bianco: thin, housemade string pasta, white short rib ragu, pecorino romano zerto.

Amazing! Tender pasta, superb ragu, just perfect. (except its $23!)

Octarine wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:The chocolate cream pie from Defloured. Yowza, that's rich.

It’s much better the second time...

Salacious banter is not acceptable on LTH, but don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody.

This is several tiers below a fancy sit down joint, but the Popeye's chicken sandwich, both spicy and regular, was better than Chick Fil A. Thick piece of white meat, tender and juicy, with a flaky crust, I heard people praising it and it's legit. The spicy version only had a slightly spicy mayo instead of the regular mayo, I preferred the regular version though both were good.

Onion rings new on the menu at Big Ange's Arlington Heights. Onion ring perfection.

The Pork N' Beans on the specials board at Cafe Marie Jeanne are whats up.

How about a little description of the Pork-n-Beans. Please.

Cranberry beans, lil baby potatoes, a bit of greens and smoked pork scraps cooked in what I am assuming is white wine, butter and mustard served over generously buttered toast. One could understandably roll their eyes at a $16 plate of beans (and I fuggin love beans let me tell you what) but in consistent CMJ form its that good and its worth it. Positively the best thing I've eaten lately.

MunicipalTruckin wrote:Cranberry beans, lil baby potatoes, a bit of greens and smoked pork scraps cooked in what I am assuming is white wine, butter and mustard served over generously buttered toast. One could understandably roll their eyes at a $16 plate of beans (and I fuggin love beans let me tell you what) but in consistent CMJ form its that good and its worth it. Positively the best thing I've eaten lately.

Had this on Wednesday and I sopped up every single drop of sauce on the plate. Can't recommend the pre fixe they run on Wednesday enough.

The chicken wings at Landbirds in Logan Square. Very delicious. Barebones place with very limited menu. But what they do they do well. Lollipop style wings with an Asian style sauce and jasmine rice.

toria wrote:The chicken wings at Landbirds in Logan Square. Very delicious. Barebones place with very limited menu. But what they do they do well. Lollipop style wings with an Asian style sauce and jasmine rice.

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Does this really need to be pinned? They are always at the top anyway.

Maybe it’s a moderators favorite and wanted easy access?

Might as well pin ‘Worst’ and ‘Openings’ too.

Just my $0.02. No reply required for this grumpy old guy.

Italian beef at Mr. D's. Been going for years, slightly obsessed with the steak sandwiches the last few months. Kept hearing how great Mr. D's Italian beef was, top tier, up there with Al's on Taylor and Jonnie's, I agree.

Butterfly kiss tender beef, full rich beefy flavor, bouncy crunchy giardiniera, roll that was ~just sturdy enough to support the juice (I like-a da juice) an overall A. Mr. D put peppers on my sandwich by mistake, which were tasty but not in my typical Italian beef rotation, and a small plate of giardiniera which I also used for the wonderful fries.



Was the brides first time/steak sandwich at Mr. D's, count her a fan!

We tried Wherewithall today, and while the meal as a whole deserves a writeup and was wonderful, let me say quickly that the first amuse, onion with black mint, was utterly the most transcendent onion ring I've ever eaten.

annak wrote:We tried Wherewithall today, and while the meal as a whole deserves a writeup . . .

Yes, please!

=R=

"The Farm" Gaspacho at Smyth. This elegant thing has about 20 elements including ripe berries.

I had "The Schwartzy" at Eleven City Diner yesterday. I've had it a few times over the years. Thinly sliced, super tender smoked brisket on a challah roll with smokey au jus. I could eat two of them.

Sesame Cauliflower.
Hyderbaad House, Buffalo Grove.

I'm a staunch omnivore. This ain't gonna make me go vegetarian, by any means, but lemme tell ya, I'd order this with confidence if it was on their regular menu. I tried this offering from their lunch buffet, and it was crazy good.

Think chicken crack from Lao Sze Chuan made with cauliflower instead of chicken, with a decent amount more hot pepper in the batter, liberally sprinkled with sesame seeds. Some of the batter got soggy from being on the steam tray, but the crunchy chunks were fantastic. I wasn't sure at first, but after a second larger spoonful, yeah buddy. It BORDERED on too sweet, but never really crossed over to too sweet. It was a perfect contrast for some decently spicy Indian food. Crunchy, just borderline sweet, and light cauliflower inside. I'd order this as a side dish anytime I go there unless I was partaking of the buffet.

I like this place so much, and use it for quick, casual business meetings so often, that I call longtime GNR Cross-Rhodes in Evanston my corporate headquarters.

Greek diner-style all the way, and that's a good thing. Lemony avgo soup, crisp Greek salad with silky feta. Toasty pita rounds.

But the long, juicy skirt steak, with perfectly-done steak fries that soak in the steak juice, redolent of garlic, lemon, oregano & pepper, is truly a thing of beauty. The half-carafe of Malbec didn't hurt either.

The Greek chicken looks great too--I observed diners eating it down to the carcass--but I might never get a chance to taste it!


Cross-Rhodes Restaurant
913 Chicago Ave.
Evanston, IL
(847) 475-4475

Chanterelles on toast at La Sardine.

The Steak Frites at Francois Frankie. Maybe "Super Prime" steak is just marketing, but the hanger steak was amazing! The BEST $30 steak I have ever had, tender, beefy, lush. Maybe it's low expectations talking, but it was really good. The frites, were crispy and held their own versus the steak.

Francois Frankie
222 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 600-9659

Pide at the Turkish cafe in the building next to the Irving Park Brown Line Station.

I-Cafe/Sukur’s Place/Pide ve Lahmacun, as they call themselves. What a weird name! Let's call it I-Cafe for short.

I was not expecting a lot, as these kind of places are not very Vegetarian friendly. But I was pleasantly surprised. Along with the usual Hummus, Baba Ghanoush, Dolmas; they had Haydari(Greek style Yogurt dip with garlic and dill) and Ezme (Hot and spicy vegetable dip); along with a variety of Pide. This is like a open-top Calzone and made fresh. I loved it.

But the place looks like it is made for carnivores. A lot of Kebabs, Doner, Korma, Grilled Steaks etc. featuring Beef, Lamb and Chicken with some Fish dishes too.

I-Cafe/Sukur’s Place/Pide ve Lahmacun
1814 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago, IL 60613.
Su-Sa from 11:00am-11:00pm

the house burger at the rocking horse bar in logan square. i'm not going to argue that it's the best burger in town, but it's delicious and clearly hand formed. and what makes it extra tasty, is eating it regularly on wednesday nights, when a burger and really decent fries are only $6. that, plus a bottle of perry cider makes a totally satisfying $12 meal....

Aloo Karela (Baby Potatoes with Indian Bitter Gourd) curry at the Sunday Buffet at Siri Restaurant in UIC Medical District.

It is very unusual to see a Bitter Gourd Curry served as a part of a Buffet. But it was really well made and the Proprietor was saying that they do this every now and then, and some days it is a hit and some days not so much.

The whole Buffet, although limited in number of items, always kicks ass. Just really tasty. Everything else was solid, Sambar, Biryani, Dal Makhani, Paneer Jalfrezie, Mango Kulfi, Naan; but the Aloo Karela was the standout.

Edited to add: Yay .. after 15 years I finally made it to 200 posts!

When I take my 93-year-old mom out for lunch, which I do a couple of times a week, I'm usually looking for different things than most LTHers -- such as handicapped parking near the front door and ADA-compliant restrooms. But occasionally I find those and a bonus of unexpectedly tasty food. Took mom today to Salsa Street in Palatine -- and while everything was pleasant, the barbacoa taco was the standout -- the thing that made me want to post here. Big, beefy flavor, moist meat falling apart from long cooking. Just lovely. Nice to know I can just go by and order individual tacos. Very yummy.

Pictured are leftovers--Katahar Kebab that my daughter ordered last night at Himal Chuli on State St. in Madison, and she brought me the rest.

Green jackfruit marinated with a blend of Nepali curry-ish spices, sauteed with onions, tomatoes, peas & cilantro, and I cooked up some brown rice to mix in.

Really amazing--it's the consistency of artichoke heart without the brine, and maybe a tad more starchy. Taste is slightly bitter but not unpleasantly so. I had always shied away from jackfruit because my couple of experiences were less than passable, but this was just great stuff. And I've dined there multiple times during daughter's run at UW about 10 years ago--really a unique place, but tiny & unassuming.

Himal Chuli
318 State St.
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 251-9225