Small HH Food Exchange @ Mazalae Mongolian, Sun Jan 12, 5 pm

We were hopeful. We were optimistic. But it's looking almost certain that Al Bawadi in Niles won't be open by Sunday. On to Plan B.

Mazalae Mongolian Mongolian Restaurant, as C2 points out, is less than three miles from the Al Bawadi site in Niles; still relatively convenient to the Tri State Tollway (And closer to the Edens Expressway). Cynthia, among others, has sung the praises of Mazalae.

The Small Household Food Exchange, among other things, is an opportunity for like-minded folks to gather, share the ordering power of a group, and describe and show off their cooking skills.

So get to work cooking dishes to share with other LTHers.

Or don’t … everyone’s welcome to join for the three c's — camaraderie, conviviality and companionship.

Note that we cap attendance at 12 with a maximum of 10 people exchanging dishes. Those who exchange dishes will have first priority, but they should post by January 8, to allow cooks to plan, shop and create.

The Basics
We’re always interested in fresh blood. Even if you can't exchange, please join us for dinner and conversation! But we encourage all to bring a few samples of the cuisine you enjoy at your home; it’s a great way for all of us to get to know each other better, discuss food and cooking techniques, and ultimately, later, have a meal at home that we might not have thought of making for ourselves.

What is the Small Household Food Exchange, you may ask.
Most importantly, it’s a gathering of like-minded folks at an interesting restaurant for a meal, taking advantage of the ordering power of a good number of people to share and sample a good number of menu items.

The Small Household Food Exchange started so that those of us in 1-2 person households who love to cook aren't stuck eating that big pot of chili for a whole week. Instead, we make 4-10 servings of one dish, and bring home 4-10 different dishes. Exchanging participants bring one pre-portioned serving of their food for every exchanger who has RSVP’d to come that month. The priority will be for entrees, meats, soups, salad, stews, pastas, grains, etc. (Check the Events Board, there’s a separate Dessert Exchange.)

The fine print
Number in the group: We will cap attendance at each gathering at 12, and food exchange participants at 10, so that participants are never making more than 10 servings of anything. Couples can be counted as one serving, or two — if you come as a couple, please specify whether you're bringing one or two dishes to exchange.

There will be no restrictions on the food – we’re an omnivorous bunch. IF ANYONE HAS ANY ALLERGIES, PLEASE LET THE GROUP KNOW.

The containers/delivery system: Everyone in the group should use the GLADWARE 3 1/8 CUP PLASTIC CONTAINERS (7” x 7” square container with a blue lid). You’ll portion your food into those containers to bring and hand out at the gathering. You can freeze them or not depending on your schedule and when you make your food. If you use something else to deliver your food that month (Ziploc bags, plastic wrap, etc.) you should also return the empty containers from the last round so that everyone always has a stash of these containers for the exchange, and no one has to run out and buy more. Ideally, everyone will find a way to label their containers, describing the contents, so we don’t end up staring into our freezers at a field of blue-lidded containers and wondering what’s in each one (not that there’s anything wrong with the occasional surprise …).

Please RSVP your attendance by responding in this thread about one week before the monthly gathering. If you're exchanging, please post what you're bringing at least three days before the gathering.

The organizer will monitor the thread to see what people are bringing. The organizer will also make reservations for the group at the restaurant where we will be gathering.

Hope to see you there!

Attending:
Dinner and Exchange (bring four servings)
nr706 — coq au vin
moetchandon — stuffed shells
Cathy2 — red beans and rice with pickled pork
Food Nut — Pork butt, Adobo sauce, black beans and a cornbread muffin

Dinner and sparkling company
aribucs
GAF
maybe you?

Save the date!
Sunday, January 12, 2020, 5 pm

Mazalae Mongolian Restaurant
9216 Waukegan Rd
Morton Grove, IL 60053
(224) 470-5090

Hi,

I plan to attend for everything.

I am planning to make the red beans and rice using the pickled pork I recently purchased.

I am looking forward to whichever venue we happen to meet.

Regards,
Cathy2

A small sign of progress toward Al Bawadi Niles opening: their website has the address & phone number and says it's 'coming soon'.

Giovanna

Planning to attend!

I need to know the location before I can commit. Going further than Niles is not on my radar next Sunday.

PSA - I drove by AB last night at around 5pm. Still dark.

Food Nut wrote:I need to know the location before I can commit. Going further than Niles is not on my radar next Sunday.

It is about 2.6 miles or 6 minutes between the two destinations. East to Waukegan, then north.

Regards,
Cathy2

I will join, just for dinner.

Just checked Yelp !!!:

Question:

Is this location in Niles open yet? I see there are 3 reviews already but I think they may be misplaced?

Answer:

I just called them, she said they will open after Jan 6...
Nazia R.2 weeks ago

Hi,

I called the phone number for the Niles location. It was picked up by Bridgeview.

I inquired when Niles will be open, they advised two weeks.

I'm sure they must be frustrated by this slow pace.

Regards,
Cathy2

I made stuffed shells. I only have 2 exchanges available. One is going to Cathy and 1 for one other person who may exchange.

See you there. I don't know what I am exchanging yet but will try for something truly delish.

Pork butt, Adobo sauce, black beans and a cornbread muffin. This dinner menu will be challenging for me so excuse my limited red meat consumption in advance. I may do a separate check. See you soon.

Any comments about how dinner was?

This is near my house. I was there a bit after it first opened and was not terribly impressed, but then I don't know much about the cuisine. For all I know, they cook great food, but it might not be something I care for.

Giovanna

HI,

It was great nr706 reserved in advance. They brought in a fill-in waiter who spoke English.

A milk tea was ordered which was salty and not sweet. An order of dumplings in milk (green) tea was the same salty tea served now in a soup bowl with dumplings. I liked it and certainly was a new dumpling presentation.

Just about everything ordered was delivered to the table at once. If I knew this was their style, I might have suggest a more staggered delivery.

Their creamy carrot salad was highly regarded by everyone. Their cabbage salad was fine, but just not as good as the carrot.

Nr706 took pictures of everything, which will be easier to comment.

When we settled the bill, we all had $20 bills. The restaurant had no change. They received a higher tip than they might have otherwise. Our waiter came back explaining we paid too much, but we assured him we did what we intended.

It might not have been a $2020 tip recently offered by a celebrity for a pancake breakfast. Our waiter seemed just as pleased for $20.

Regards,
Cathy2

I agree. I thought that the dinner was surprisingly good, including the noodle dishes, which were sort of a Mongolian pad thai, and very generous servings. I thoroughly enjoyed the milk tea soup (not everyone did), which to my taste was less salty than the milk tea itself. The carrot salad was excellent with a distinctive spice profile. Our large order would have come to $16 each, but on such a slow night, I was happy to add a few extra dollars for the tip. Given that it is so near where I live, I am sure to be back.