Chatham Recs

Will be in Chatam near 83rd and Cottage Grove at an odd dining hour (about 4:30), but since I rarely get that far south I want to check out some chow. Any recommendations? I would be particularly interested in jerk places

Giallo wrote:Will be in Chatam near 83rd and Cottage Grove at an odd dining hour (about 4:30), but since I rarely get that far south I want to check out some chow. Any recommendations? I would be particularly interested in jerk places

If you check the old group and do a search of Jerk Places, you'll find a
few around the area (JR's, Chickie's etc - dont really know enough about
them to comment).

OTOH - which day are you going to be there? If its Saturday (as I sometimes
am, all too rarely sadly), I *always* go to Barbara Ann's. Its not quite
Chatham, but its between 76th and 77th Street on Cottage Grove. Easily
the best hot links in the city IMHO, by a long way (and a very very good
rib tip, also good ribs). They are closed on Sunday, however.

The other option is to drive down to 95th Street, and hang a right - and
go 2/3 miles down to Beverly, to 2116 W 95th Street. Thats Top Notch
Burger - possibly the best burger in the city, surely the best fries in the
city, and I doubt very much if there is a better malted shake in the city.
Also, sadly, closed on Sundays, however.

If youre in the area on Sundays... I dont know. Maybe go down Cottage
Grove to 75th Street, hang a left, and go a mile or two until you hit
Lem's (board consensus is that it has the best ribs in the city, though I
personally rank em 2nd or 3rd, maybe). Or you dont want to drive
much, go to 87th Street to "The Rib Joint" - rated by Steve Dolinsky of
Channel 7 and NPR as among the top 2 ribs in the city (I was there
2 weeks ago, but tried the tips and links, and didnt think either was as
good as at Barbara Ann's. But maybe their ribs are better). BTW, if
youre going to Lem's, as youre going down 75th Street there are at
least a couple of Jerk Chicken places there - but I havent tried them,
and so could not offer you a review.

I suppose none of these are quite in Chatham - but they are all really
quite close by, if youre driving. Especially if you arent in the area
very often. I mean, Iam not down South very often either - but when
Iam, even if Iam only near Hyde Park (about 57th Street usually), I
*still* drive up to Barbara Anns or Top Notch, because theyre usually
that good. If youre in the area Saturday, the hot links at BA's are a
must-try IMHO.

c8w

Cottage & 83rd, eh? No excuse for not eating well. There are many, many notable places within a mile or so. Just for reference, Cottage Grove Av is 800 E.

For Jamaican there are many choices. At the risk of sounding like a broken record my favorite jerk chicken is at Tropic Island (1922 E 79th). Jerk chicken, house-made ginger beer, steam cabbage, maybe some rice & peas, can't go wrong with that. This location is pretty much take out only though there is a little counter.

Tropic Island has another location at 537 E 79th. This is a sit down restaurant that I have never visited.

Daddy-O's Jerk Pit (7518 S Cottage) is not bad and has a very cool, very dilapidated, funky interior.

Uncle Joe's (8211 S Cottage) is another Jamaican place that looks promising. I have yet to eat there.

I haven't eaten at Maxine's Caribbean Spice (1232 E 87th) in ages but I have fond memories of it. This is probably the most like a "real restaurant" of the bunch. Stop at Artis' (1249 E 87th) for a drink and maybe some live music (probably not until later though).

West Indies International Bakery (841 E 79th) used to serve food but they recently remodeled so I'm not sure about that anymore. You can at least stop by for some beef patties to go and some of their really good bully cakes (like a giant ginger cookie).

Speaking of bakeries, you'll be right at Dat Donut (8249 S Cottage). It would be foolish not to get a dozen hand-made donuts to take home. You might be tempted by Leon's BBQ in the same building but there's much better nearby (see end).

Another Chatham notable is Old Chicago Pizza (742 E 79th). They sell slices of some of the better deep dish pizza around.

A few doors west of Old Chicago is another Caribbean restaurant whose name I can't remember.

Finally you're not far from Barbara Ann's BBQ (7617 S Cottage). Might as well grab an order of Chicago's best hot links for later.

I will be in Chatham on a Thursday. Two questions:

1) Does Barbara Ann's have a dining area? This place sounds good, but will be with a small group, most of whom probably won't be into eating off the hood of a car.

2) Is Captain Curt's really as mediocre as claimed on the old board? I ask becuase I love his hot BBQ sauce ("Boss Sauce") which is available most Chicago Dominick's.

Barbara Ann's has nowhere to eat, not even a counter. There is the adjoining Barbara Ann's Motel, where you can get hourly rates, but I suspect those unwilling to eat in or on the car wouldn't appreciate that either.

Captain Curt's is worth a stop just to see the interior. Unfortunately the barbecue is nothing special. It's certainly edible but with Barbara Ann's and Lem's close by it seems almost a shame to go there. There's nowhere to eat at Captain Curt's either.

If you need a place to sit and eat it sounds like Maxine's might be your best bet. I'd feel a little more confident recommending it if I'd been there more recently than 10 years ago. Maybe someone else can give a more recent report.

Rene G wrote:Speaking of bakeries, you'll be right at Dat Donut (8249 S Cottage). It would be foolish not to get a dozen hand-made donuts to take home. You might be tempted by Leon's BBQ in the same building but there's much better nearby (see end).

I've been long anticipating the opening of Leon's new place on Ashland & Fullerton, mostly because I live just behind it and am always curious about the new joints that open in my n'hood. Yesterday was it's grand opening. My good friend who is very well versed in the way of the rib advised me a while back to not "just do it". I didn't listen. sadly.

Now I don't claim to know much about ribs, but have learned a few things from reading the boards and doing a taste test w/my pal at both honey1 and lem's. the new leons does not come close. 1st indication of quality - they don't give you the option of "sauce on the side". not on the ribs, not on the links, nor the tips. but against by growing reservations i ordered away. 1/2 slab of ribs ($8.95ish) and 1 small link (@2.95ish) with mild sauce. i carried them the 2 minute walk home (thought the space looks big enough for a few tables, there aren't any yet), and dug in.

The sauce was gloppy and made me pucker up quite a bit (corn syrup & vinegar?) and permeated every bite. There was no "snap" to the casing of my link, no smoky flavor. not a memorable flavor in the least.

my ribs were also covered w/this sauce. the meat didn't have the "smoke ring" i've been told to look for. and the texture of the meat wasn't something that made me want to sink my teeth in and chew away. it was slightly "mushy". again, no memorable flavor (other than that of the less than desirable sauce).

both orders came with white bread and french fries (battered & fried).

I had a hard time getting simple answers from the staff (how do you prepare your meat? is it smoked?) they simply told me it was smoked. and as for getting the sauce on the side - they claimed it was cooked onto the meat. but as i watched my order being prepared, they just ladled it on.

last night i had bad dreams. and this morning my tummy hurt. I don't think i'll try the ribs or links again. Against my better judgement though, i might tried their fried fish. but not anytime soon.

Ciao
Sharon

I've been long anticipating the opening of Leon's new place on Ashland & Fullerton

Me too, and I also had ribs, tips, and links from the new Leon's yesterday. While I don't think I'd be quite as critical as you are about the offerings, I do agree in general with your negative opinion.

First, I'd point out that this Leon's, a franchise, is about the same as the south side Leoni, with the exception, in my opinion, of the original which has an operating aquarium BBQ.

First and foremost, where's the smoke? The new place clearly has an impressive ventilation apparatus, obvious from the street. Much more than is needed for a regular kitchen operation. I like to think that this was not constructed just for looks.

However, I was sad to neither see nor smell any smoke coming from the stacks at 8:30 on my way to work, at 5:30 on my way back, or at 7:00 when I walked in. The place didn't even smell smoky inside. This leads me to one easy conclusion: the meat was brought in from Leon's central bad BBQ facility somewhere on the South Side. My sincerest hope is that that will change.

My half slab of ribs actually showed some signs of smoke; the problem was instead that it was quite dried out, a sign of old age at a place that just opened its doors at 3 pm. Not good.

The tips were a little better, though also less smoky and, problematically, apparently "cured" with nitrates, a commonly cited problem assumed about Leon's.

Now, I liked the links, and always do from Leon's. The very course grind, heavy dose of pepper and less sage than others is a combo I like. The links get "grilled" a little more than BBQ'd at most places anyway, so these forgiving wursts were not so offensive, to me at least.

So, I'm also not in any hurry to return, at least until I smell smoke.

I also agree that service was clueless, the refusal to do dry, sauce on the side is unforgiveable, and that the sweet sauce is bad. I asked for hot, which is ok at other locations, but did not get it.

I was disturbed that this franchisee would leave the "grand opening" to a group of well-meaning but clueless Mexican guys who I really doubt worked at a SSide Leon's or any other BBQ place before based on their lack of very basic BBQ knowledge.

Folks generally rave about Leon's fired chicken and fish, in my experience, so that might be worth a shot.

In sum, the new Leon's really is nothing like Lem's or Honey One or BA, etc. Not even close. And it's not as good as less good, but still real BBQ, places like Uncle Bub's, Chuck's, Fat Willy's and Smoke Daddy (I said it). And, God forgive me, I even enjoy the "North Side Ribs" at Biasettis and the baked Asian ribs with chile, lime, fish sauce and hoisin at the new bar Neybours more than Leon's ribs. Or the beef ribs cut the wrong way at innumerable Korean, Colombian, and Argentine places. Or the ribs at Fogo de Chao, even. But I might stop by for links and wings in a pinch, maybe more if I smell smoke.