Troha's [Old Southwest Side Fried]

Troha's has perfected the art of frying over 90 years, and could teach the rest of the city how to do it right. Golden, light, flavorful, and fresh, its shrimp, chicken, fish, and pork are an art and a delight, and moreover, a bargain. I can't eat a schnitzel in the city without lamenting that Troha's does it better. The shrimp are juicy-moist on the inside and usually greaseless on the exterior, a balance I haven't seen duplicated, South Slavic tempura magic.


photo: ronnie_suburban

Below: one of my favorite box lunches in the city, this ran me under $7 with a large fountain drink last week, and came with sour pickle, house-mixed chili sauce, decent coleslaw, passable fries, and lemon. Same as it ever was:

Rene G wrote:No tables, no counter, nothing. Chicken is very good but, believe it or not, one of the best things to get at Troha's is the pork. Something like seven bucks gets you a cool little box holding a couple nice schnitzels, decent fries, a dill pickle spear and a lemon wedge—one of the great deals in Chicago.

photo: Santander

Some other notable mentions:

Da Beef on the fried chicken

Binko on Troha's as an essential food symbol of Chicago

Dicksond on the shrimp as his gold standard

Wiv on the magic

The food speaks for itself, but the history, family continuity, atmosphere, and remarkable level of service elevate the experience to the level of our archetypal Great Neighborhood Restaurants. It's hard to imagine a warmer phone response, with offers to run the order out to the curb since 26th is ever more like a parade each year. These are truly nice people, handing out pride with every order.


photo: Da Beef

We need more South Side (/West /Southwest) on our list; I considered a perennial favorite bar which now serves one of the best burgers in the city, but Troha's quickly won my heart after the revisit. Already thankful to LTH (see their website), this is a deserving if just slightly-under-the-radar spot for our roster. Make a snack run soon to be charmed again or for the first time, and here's to another 90. And if you're feeling slightly sacrilegious (or, like me), I won't blame you for bringing your favorite roll and making the best po' boy imaginable in your car.

Troha's Chicken & Shrimp House
4151 W 26th St
Chicago, IL 60623
773-521-7847
http://trohas.com/

This is a brilliant and long overdue nomination.

GNR=YES

Wow! What a fantastic nomination -- so obvious and yet, it was completely off my radar. These are, by a wide margin, my favorite fried shrimp in Chicagoland. This is one of those places about which you think "isn't this already a GNR?"

=R=

like maybe only one or two other nominations this GNR cycle, Trohas is what the GNRs is about(at least to me). I only get here a couple times a month, but enjoy every visit. Cant beat those fried shrimp.

GNR = Yes

I had a great lunch at Troha's yesterday. I posted about it here.

I have already been quoted on this, so all I can add is that when I am in the neighborhood it is always a toss up whether I go for to El Gallo for carne en su jugo, or Troha's (Chickie's was on the list, too). Usually, I end up doing both.

A true Chicago classic.

Made it to Troha's over the weekend to try out the shrimp and I wasn't disappointed. The shrimp were perfectly fried. The shrimp themselves were plump and juicy, and the batter was light and greaseless. The owner knew a lot about the history of the restaurant (I believe he's fourth generation) and even gave me a rundown of how the neighborhood has changed over the years. In short, it was everything you'd want from a fried seafood house. Quick, tasty, friendly service. Even the potato salad was fantastic.

Thanks for bringing this place to my attention!

I guess I'll suck it up and be the one voice of opposition here.

While I do see the charm of the place, and there was nothing wrong with the food, I just don't see the allure of the place. The shrimp was good, but nothing revelatory, a recent trip to captain porky's a couple weeks ago turned up much better, much more flavorful shrimp. The fried pork tenderloin was probably the best item. It was juicy and buttery, but one of the 2 we ordered was just about paper thin, so if you're in it for the protein, you'll be wishing for a thicker cut of meat. I thought the smelt was fine, but I'm no smelt expert, so can't weigh in too much on that.

Everything was fried well, not too greasy, but that's something I expect, not applaud. Service was friendly, the place has charm. Perhaps it's a personal preference, as I'm not often in the mood or fried food, but I don't see myself making a return visit soon. Everything was above average, but a little short of great in my book.

It's been about a year since I've been there. Last week I was driving to Midway from the Loop on side streets to avoid the mess at the Stevenson and Cicero, and found myself heading south on Pulaski from 26th. I thought to myself "some Friday soon when the weather gets nicer, I'll have to stop at Troha's to get dinner."

I can wholeheartedly support this nomination. I only get there about twice a year, but it's always an excellent meal. There's nothing quite like inching down the Stevenson during the rush hour in the summer, windows down, with a pound of excellent fried shrimp and a big cup of spicy cocktail sauce sitting on the passenger seat... car comes to a stop in traffic, pop another shrimp. The last of the shrimp never make it past Route 83.