Abe Conlon and Adrienne Lo's Fat Rice opens for lunch and takeout service starting May 13, offering diners a chance to skirt its typical long wait times for dinner.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... unch-lunch

Had lunch last week on the second day of lunch service (happy coincidence on my part). Abbreviated menu, the star of which was a phenomenal Macanese pork chop sandwich. IMHO, Fat rice serves some of the most interesting food in town and I am always willing to try anything they are cooking. Also, can't wait for their bakery expansion to the east. I will be a regular lunch eater when I am on that side of town.

I've been to Fat Rice for lunch several times, including last week, when it was better than ever. It's relatively quiet during the day, so it's a great spot to have a leisurely and conversational lunch. The "Daytime" menu is pared down but there are still some great dishes available, including their Fatracha Chicken, which is one of their two takes on Piri Piri . . .


Curry Cabbage



Jumpwater Pickles



Minchi Hash | stir-fried minced pork and beef, sunny egg, greens, coconut rice
Loved the flavors and textures here. A delicious and comforting dish.



Piri Piri Chicken - Fatracha-Style | chilli, garlic, lemon
The star of the show. This should not be missed.



Boiled Dumplings | pork and ginger
Tender on the outside and full of meaty flavor on the inside

Lunch is currently offered Wednesday through Saturday, 11-2. It's a great option because the food is awesome, the location (right off the Kennedy) makes it ideal for folks meeting from the city and suburbs, and at least at the moment, the crowds are not quite as crazy as they are for dinner.

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Congrats to Class of 2014 GNR Fat Rice on their 2016 Jean Banchet Award for Best Restaurant Of The Year.

Eater coverage

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Having just been there for probably the 5th or 6th time, I am happy to see all the well-deserved recognition. We took a visitor from overseas (who lived in Chicago about 3 years in the mid 90s as grad student) and he was to use a cliche bowled over.

On an epic food+drink Saturday that contained Scofflaw, Parson's, Boeufhaus and Sportman's Club, I kicked the day off right with a brunch at Fat Rice.

Charlie's Peanuts lotus, burdock, star anise


Sweet Papo Seco


pork & ginger boiled dumpling sichuan garlic oil - sweet soy


Minchi Hash stirfried minced pork & beef sunny egg - coconut rice - greens


Nasi Lamak coconut rice - tea eggfirey sambal - greenstoasted peanut - tiny fried fish


Bone-In Pork Chop Bun jumpwater pickles, crab chips, chinese mustard

Holy hell, this is a good sandwich.

piri piri chicken (galinha a africana) char-grilled half bird, spicy tomato peanut sauce

A bit different than the one Ronnie had upthread, but still absolutely delicious. A nice, spicy, thick sauce.

And for dessert
Portuguese Egg Tart puff pastry, custard, love, secrets

incite wrote:On an epic food+drink Saturday that contained Scofflaw, Parson's, Boeufhaus and Sportman's Club, I kicked the day off right with a brunch at Fat Rice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh0-vJ3ISAc

Big Changes At Fat Rice As Bakery Opens Wednesday, Lounge Next Friday

http://chicago.eater.com/2016/6/30/1207 ... ting-menus

Fat Rice is on the latest Chewing podcast. Abe's reaction to the jelly bean was priceless. They are also coming out with a book. https://soundcloud.com/chewingpodcast/e ... -fat-books
and more about the bakery: http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/re ... story.html

Fatracha chicken is permanently off the menu. Sob!

Marija wrote:Fatracha chicken is permanently off the menu. Sob!

Bummer.

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The Africana is the better option anyways (by virtue of possibly being the single best chicken dish in Chicago period).

I can't wait to try to replicate it using my signed copy of The Adventures of Fat Rice.

Marija wrote:Fatracha chicken is permanently off the menu. Sob!

Are you talking about the lunch menu? It's been off of the dinner menu for some time.

deesher wrote:

Marija wrote:Fatracha chicken is permanently off the menu. Sob!

Are you talking about the lunch menu? It's been off of the dinner menu for some time.

Their website still shows the fatracha (and the africana) on the Daytime Menu but that may or may not be updated.

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Both piri-piri chicken are gone from the lunch menu, though they do remain on the online menus. Unhappy about the loss of our favorite chicken, we left and went to Cellar Door, seeking solace in their great bread, only to be told that the "bread didn't bake right today." Huh?!

Fat Rice featured in NY Times:

Article - http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/dinin ... ideas.html

Recipe - http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018456-arroz-gordo

With their cookbook chugging along and the crew now seamlessly running 3 interconnected entities on this once forlorn segment of Diversey Avenue, Fat Rice remains as delightful as it's ever been. Yes, the signature Arroz Gordo is still available but what's great -- and really separates Fat Rice from so many other popular spots -- is that they're constantly changing things up, putting new items on the menu and taking risks that ultimately result in an ever-evolving and dynamic experience for the customer.

4 of us had a light dinner there last week that was filled with highlights. Dishes I'm still thinking about a week later include a house-made Morcelo (bacon blood sausage) with ramps and a sunnyside up egg. Tender delectable medallions of braised Octopus plated elegantly atop a duo of deeply flavored red and green sauces was another showstopper. Our server started us out with the Sweet Soy Eggplant, which was nicely balanced and punctuated perfectly by thin rings of hot red chili. Pork & Ginger Dumplings delivered 105% on their promise of hearty umaminess. Snap-to-the-bite Chili Prawns (garlic, fermented black beans) were also sensational. We were also lucky enough to enjoy some jiggly-licious egg tarts for dessert, which should be in the Chicago Dessert Hall Of Fame (is there such a thing?).

Cocktails, wine and beer are extremely well curated. Dry and food-friendly are the keywords here (at least for the first 2 categories) and those characteristics run through almost all of the offerings from the top of the menu to the bottom. Service is impressive, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and remarkably friendly. This was on Saturday. We had a 5:30 reservation and it seemed that at that hour, some walk-ins were possible. And by 6:30, the crowd had cleared just a bit. Our server confirmed that it was merely a temporary calm before the storm. Unsurprisingly and deservedly, Fat Rice remains a popular and bonafide top-tier dining destination. It's exciting, fun and delicious. What's not to love about it?

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Hit up Fat Rice yesterday for brunch. I expected it to be packed considering the holiday, but I guess moms don't like Macanese (or at least are asssumed to not like it)? Got my favorite seat at the bar and gleefully watched the kitchen work their magic. And when I say magic, I mean it because there is no other word to describe the baked pork chop rice. I can't stop thinking about how good it was. Mixing cheese and curry seems wild but it works perfectly and the cookies in the breading push things over the edge into transcendent territory. I legit might go back next weekend to get it again. Thankfully, everyone finally got the memo this past xmas and loaded me up with Fat Rice gift cards.

As I posted on the Soft Shell Crab thread, Soft Shelled "Shelter" Crab (chilli, garlic, black bean, lemon aioli) is back on the menu at Fat Rice. It's quite possible my favorite restaurant rendition of all time and was part of a tremendous, seasonally-focused dinner 4 of us enjoyed last week.

Other highlights were Stir Fried Nettles (spring onion, swiss chard, queijo fresco, butter), Bacalhau De Vovo (olive, chilli, mint, bread), Acorda (fried bread, garlic poached egg, clams, prawn broth), Dry Fried Klug Asparagus (linguica, peixinho frito, preserved lemon, chilli) and the namesake Arroz Gordo (curried chicken, char siu, linguica, chilli prawns, clams, olives, chicken fat crouton), which was as delectable as I can ever remember. We finished up with a round of Egg Tarts, which were absolutely perfect - just sweet enough and with a perfectly flaky and buttery crust.

If you haven't been to Fat Rice lately, you need to get in there asap. They're throwing down exceptional dishes on a daily basis. Well . . . they're closed on Mondays but you know what I mean.

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Moved out of Chicago in summer '14. Never made it to Fat Rice. I'm getting married back there in a month and just added Fat Rice to our wedding week reservation list! So excited, especially after reading above review.

I actually popped into the Fat Rice bakery en route to my own wedding and ate the buns sitting on the steps waiting for people to arrive. I can assure you that you won't regret making it a part of your wedding week.

gnarchief wrote:I actually popped into the Fat Rice bakery en route to my own wedding and ate the buns sitting on the steps waiting for people to arrive.

Now that is the epitome of gnarly panache.

gnarchief wrote:Got my favorite seat at the bar and gleefully watched the kitchen work their magic. And when I say magic, I mean it because there is no other word to describe the baked pork chop rice. I can't stop thinking about how good it was. Mixing cheese and curry seems wild but it works perfectly and the cookies in the breading push things over the edge into transcendent territory. I legit might go back next weekend to get it again.

Yes, this. Just an incredible dish. At a recent lunch, I shared it with 2 other LTHers and it was so good, I wanted to eat it prison-style, with my right arm laid out in front of it like a barricade.

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I hate (love?) to rain in on the exaltation, but after three visits to Fat Rice it has never produced anything beyond good. This is extremely disappointing to me as I really wanted to love this place. The SE Asian cuisines represented here are pretty rare and the descriptions always sound so good. The execution is typically solid, it's just the flavors that never seem to pop.

Yet, when the food arrives I always get the feeling the menu overpromised. For instance I love pickles and I always try some intriguing variant at Fat Rice and they always just seem kind of muted. Our most recent meal was brunch. We had the piri piri chicken after hearing many good things about it. It arrives and it's a big plate of rice, some rather generic (and undercooked IMO) not-very-garlicky, garlicky collard greens and a couple small pieces of good, somewhat unevenly cooked, but unremarkable chicken. I personally enjoyed the sauce at Nando's more and can confidently say that I could rub a spice mix on some thighs and throw them in an oven for about 35 minutes and get something at least as tasty.

Then we had the porkchop rice. It was pretty good. I just don't understand the raving. It's a really mild yellow curry thrown on some rice with a nicely executed breaded pork chop and covered in cheese.

Also since I have seen the cookbook, I don't believe the recipes within it represent the dishes at the restaurant or they add a lot of unnecessary steps and ingredients I cannot detect in the final dish.

Lastly the bakery only gets a pass because of the incredibly weak competition in Chicago. Otherwise the price to quality ratio is shamefully bad.

Back on the lunch menu is Piri Piri Chicken. This is a rendition that pretty closely approximates the one that was originally on their menu, and it's made with char-grilled chicken thighs. It's a soulful, spicy and delicious take. Speaking of Piri Piri, about a week ago Piri Piri Rabbit Leg was being offered on the dinner menu (and it still may be). It was also excellent. I split it with a friend. That was a mistake. We should have each ordered our own!

In any case, here are a couple of cell phone pics from my most recent lunch . . .


Macau Baked Pork Chop Rice (po-bolacho fried pork chop, parrano cheese, garlicky greens, coconut curry)


Piri Piri Chicken (char-grilled thighs, garlicky greens, coconut rice)

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ronnie_suburban wrote:Back on the lunch menu is Piri Piri Chicken. This is a rendition that pretty closely approximates the one that was originally on their menu, and it's made with char-grilled chicken thighs. It's a soulful, spicy and delicious take. Speaking of Piri Piri, about a week ago Piri Piri Rabbit Leg was being offered on the dinner menu (and it still may be). It was also excellent. I split it with a friend. That was a mistake. We should have each ordered our own!

In any case, here are a couple of cell phone pics from my most recent lunch . . .


Macau Baked Pork Chop Rice (po-bolacho fried pork chop, parrano cheese, garlicky greens, coconut curry)


Piri Piri Chicken (char-grilled thighs, garlicky greens, coconut rice)

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I couldn't shake the images of this handsome duo– I'd been missing their piri-piri and that breaded cutlet +cheese +curry +rice looked too over-the-top to miss. The chicken was great, smoky and spicy. The dish didn't totally come together for me, though, a much drier dish than previous incarnations. More sauce would have tied together the otherwise dry rice & greens.

The pork chop rice did not disappoint one bit and achieved a harmony that the other dish lacked. Gnarly bone-in hunks of pork kissed with a fish sauce marinade and the just-sweet breading enveloped in layers of richness from the coconut & cheese with the greens adding just enough bitter counterpoint. Sensational!

It's a really fun week at Fat Rice, as they're celebrating their 5th anniversary with a menu full of very popular callback items, on both the food and beverage sides. They're pretty well booked but we walked over last night just after they opened and sat at the counter. Among other retired favorites, we enjoyed the Sweet Soy Burdock Root, Pork & Shrimp Potstickers, XO Fat Noodles, Chilli Clams, Galinha A Africana and Diabo Curry last night. Being so tempted by so many old favorites, we way over-ordered but ended up taking a bunch of stuff home. This menu runs through Saturday and you're interested in checking it out, I'd suggest getting in touch with them asap or going over very early. From what I understand, they're getting pretty maxed out.


5th Anniversary Food Menu - callback items in red

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A big win over some impressive competition, Abe Conlon won the Beard Award tonight for Best Chef Great Lakes. This was the only category in which Chicago-based nominees fared well (and a category in which only Chicago-based folks were nominated).

Chicago chefs, restaurants lose out at James Beard Foundation Awards

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ronnie_suburban wrote:A big win over some impressive competition, Abe Conlon won the Beard Award tonight for Best Chef Great Lakes. This was the only category in which Chicago-based nominees fared well (and a category in which only Chicago-based folks were nominated).

Chicago chefs, restaurants lose out at James Beard Foundation Awards

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One of the most satisfying aspects of Conlon's win is that Fat Rice is not a fancypants restaurant. It's no Alinea, Next or Grace (RIP), and that's a good thing; as the menu above indicates, the prices are exceptionally reasonable.

Conlon is a good guy, and I'm glad to see him get the kudos.

Reading through this thread, I gather that people have encountered some hits and misses at Fat Rice, but I'm nonetheless delighted to see this unusual restaurant get James Beard recognition.

I'd like to take my brother, next time he's in town, to Fat Rice for old times' sake. A little more than 20 years ago -- the year of the handover of Hong Kong -- I went with one of my brothers to visit another brother who was stationed in Hong Kong. He was supposed to have left before the handover, but his wife was close to giving birth and couldn't travel by air. My brother had a high-rise apartment in the Mid-Levels (about halfway up to Victoria Peak), and from that base, we explored not only Hong Kong but also Taipei (visited grad school friends there), the Kowloon Peninsula, the New Territories, the Big Buddha on Lantau Island, and Macau. We had memorable food experiences all along the way.

Macau was lovely. I will never forget wandering the night market at the foot of the ruins of St Paul's, lit up at night, the old Portuguese cannons mounted on fort walls along the shore, and a great dinner we had at a highly recommended and very old restaurant (I vaguely recall that this might have been at that time one of the oldest restaurants if not the oldest restaurant in Macau?), the name of which, alas, I can't remember 20 years on. But I have a great photo of my brother holding up the duck head that came with his dish to prove it was real duck that he was served. I have a feeling that I won't get a duck head on my plate at Fat Rice.

The Reader article mentions "the dwindling population of Asians with Portuguese ancestry" in Macau. My brother spoke fluent Mandarin but sometimes had a little trouble with cab drivers' Cantonese in Hong Kong, and similarly in Macau, Cantonese predominates, not Mandarin, although my brother's Mandarin served us well enough. Wandering around the shops and food stalls on my own sometimes, I found that I could usually find an older lady or gentleman with whom I could converse fairly well using my Spanish and their Portuguese. But that was 20 years ago.