It’s been a hectic August for me. My son’s summer camp ended right smack in the middle of August, and his half-day school kindergarten year didn’t start until just today. This means that for the past few weeks we’ve been on a bit of an enforced vacation–I’ve tried to work, but couldn’t do too much with him bouncing around the house, so instead we spent a lot of time outside enjoying the dog days of summer. This means that we ate out a lot and spent more money than we should, going to places like Legoland, Navy Pier, the Chicago Comic Con and the mall, and then swimming in our condo complex’s pool whenever we could. We also celebrated two birthdays during this time. My husband and my mother-in-law have theirs on 8/18 and 8/19, so we let my MIL pick the place. She picked Hackney’s.
Ever since I first moved to the Chicago area I’ve understood that Hackney’s was that traditional place that everyone has been to and everyone knows about, but isn’t trendy or hip or discussed ad nauseum. It’s been around so long that every local’s parents have fond memories of it. Of course I’ve gone there myself for after-parties and political organizing parties and things of the sort. It’s been a really long time since I thought to just go and have a meal there, but now that I’ve rediscovered it I’m determined I won’t forget about the place again.
When I think of Hackney’s I think of the restaurant’s signature French fried onions–I call them the Borg Wall of Onions because I’m a big geek and the big greasy concoction comes to you as a giant square and you pick off pieces. I understand Jay Leno once made a joke on the air about this dish, because locals understood that Hackney’s “half onion” meant half of a whole onion, and he was thinking one half of an onion ring. Or something like that. The story’s posted in the Lake Street Glenview restaurant right in front; I’ve certainly gotten it partly wrong but if you visit you can read it yourself.
Mainly Hackney’s is known for its burgers on daily-baked rye bread and American grill-style eats–the six Chicago locations all offer the onions and burgers but beyond that have carved out their own identities when it comes to menu items. The burgers are excellent, and you can order a half of one if you, like me, aren’t going to be able to finish a whole. I’d also recommend the Inside Out Burger, which was apparently featured on Food Network at one time. This Hackneyburger is stuffed with bacon and cheddar cheese. I’m also looking forward to trying the Bleu Cheeseburger, which is stuffed with bleu cheese (what can I say? Lately I’ve been all about burgers and fries).
You’ll find that each Hackey’s location provides an elegant, old-fashioned atmosphere, one that’s club-like and traditional but also quite distinctive. Hackney’s on Harms in Glenview is the original location (opened in 1939); there is another location in Glenview, one in Wheeling, one in Lake Zurich, Palos Park and Chicago’s Printer’s Row. Several have patios. Don’t look for your usual chain restaurant with big windows and awnings–look for the horse-and-carriage sign in front of what looks like a rather cozy house. Hackney’s is basically one of those local favorites with a ton of history that visitors might overlook in favor of flashier names, but it’s worth a stop if you’re interested in a family-run restaurant that’s truly an integrated part of the community.
Hackney’s on Lake (my local one)
1514 E. Lake Ave., Glenview 60025
(847) 724-7171
www.hackneys.net
Where the women are strong, the men good looking and the children above average
It has long been a tradition in New Orleans to abandon the city when the dog days of summer arrive. Something to do with the steamy oppressiveness brought on by the high of 110 and the low of 86. I recently took myself a much deserved trip to visit my girl in Minnesota. So this entry will be about what I found up there…since there isn’t a Minnesota based blog for Hungry?Thirsty?
As soon as I got off the plane I was whisked away to Matt’s on Cedar St. faster than you can say Ya’…sure…you betcha! You might remember this place from Man vs. Food and it is just as delicious as he makes out. Their signature sandwich is the Juicy Lucy which is in essence two patties of meat pinched together around a lump of Velveeta. 
When it comes to the table the cheese oozes out in a molten dairy flow after the first delicious bite. One order of fries is good enough for a table of four. And they, of course, offer some of the finest in local beers such as Leinenkugel’s and Grain Belt. Good deal, yah!
And if you’re there at the right time of year (this time) you simply cannot overlook the festivals for amazing food opportunities. The Minnesota Renaissance Festival is in Shakopee and offers Turkey Legs, Gyros, Scotch Eggs, Mead, Pickles, and so much more.
The Minnesota State Faire is off the hook with “Australian” Potatoes (potatoes sliced long and flat and then deep fried), Big Fat Bacon (honking slice of bacon on a stick), Pickle Dogs (pickle spear slathered in cream cheese wrapped in Pastrami) Hot Dish on a stick (casserole on a stick), Bratwurst Mit Kraut, the ubiquitous Cheese Curds, buckets full of homemade style chocolate chip cookies, buffalo and elk burgers and so much more! So much to eat and drink. I was all over this place like a Mack truck on a near-sighted deer! Most items seem to run around six bucks.
http://www.mnstatefair.org/find/food/
http://www.renaissancefest.com/MRF/
Next time we’ll explore the delights of Chippewa Falls and then back to New Orleans for Absinthe!!
Chi Tung Addicts
An addiction? Really? Isn’t that a bit strong? Are we completely helpless against the power of Chi Tung? Not according to the Chi Tung Addicts on Facebook. The loyal group boasts 400 members and is growing.
Chi Tung’s humble beginnings sprung from a small storefront on 95th street in Evergreen Park, Illinois. Flash forward, Chi Tung has grown up to a three-kitchen Asian food emporium, with a massive parking lot that fills up on the weekends and a carryout board that never stops.
So what could cause this addiction? Maybe it is because the drinks are only $6.00. Really – the Zen saketini is $6.00. Zombies – $6.00! Maybe we are addicted because all of the food is just that good. It is served hot and fresh. The portions are quite generous. The offerings can be simple, like, orange chicken, or they can be complex and exotic. Whatever the case may be, I am in Heaven when my heaping hot plate of awesome Asian food is placed on the table.
There are three separate kitchens preparing the food from the three menu sections. They specialize in Chinese, Thai and Japanese foods. In addition, Chi Tung has a newly built Hibachi Steak Room and a Sushi Bar. On weekdays, Chi Tung has a nice clean lunch buffet with good offerings at a bargain price.
Special events are great at Chi Tung. Last New Year’s Eve, diners were treated to $20.00 gift certificates to use in the New Year as well as yummy boxes of tea to take home. On Chinese New Year, Chi Tung celebrated by having a Dragon Dancing in the parking lot, complete with Chinese drums. Very exciting!
Warning! The large parking lot gets packed on weekends, as does the bar and waiting areas. Reservations are accepted. Call ahead to minimize wait times on weekends and holidays.
Chi Tung
9560 S Kedzie
Evergreen Park, Illinois
(708)636-8380
Thai food just isn’t that what it used to be. It’s less Bangkok than Oak Park. Everywhere you go it’s the same. The menu has the customary chromatic triumvirate of yellow, green, and red curry, along with the peanutty Massaman curry and the creamier Panang. There’s also a smattering of stir-fry and various rice noodle dishes with two to three syllable names all starting in “Pad” and offered with chicken, beef, or tofu. Occasionally they’ll spice things up with a menu item starting in “Larb.” The walls are decorated with images of dancing golden people, some with too many arms, and waitresses offer efficient, but impersonal service. A vegan or two will sit in the corner, appreciative of the respite from the ugly animal product infested restaurant scene.
Don’t get me wrong. Some Thai restaurants are definitely superior to others, but they are still variations on a theme. I’ll invariably sit down in one of these restaurants and order without looking at the menu. When the curry arrives, its deeply familiar flavor brings me comfort but no joy. I eat as a somnambulist walks, without awareness or direction. I chew and swallow as my mind drifts to a pile of laundry at home.
Thankfully, not every Thai restaurant is derived from the same curry paste. Last week, I had a meal at Sticky Rice, and it resuscitated my passion for Thai food. Located on a busy stretch of Western Ave., it initially felt the same as every other South East Asian restaurant I had visited. Brightly lit walls were garnished with yellow paint and tropical vegetation. It wasn’t until I cracked open the colossal menu that my heart started fluttering. As I scanned it, I felt the excitement and apprehension of a traveller stepping off the airplane in Bangkok for the first time. Items like stingray, intestine, pork blood, and ant eggs mingled alongside more mundane meats. Every item looked unfamiliar and alluring. Sticky Rice, as it turns out, specializes in Northern Thai food. You can get your Pad Thai or Red Curry if you want, but that would be like ordering a ham sandwich at a sushi bar. Don’t be that guy. Just flip straight to the “Northern Thai” section of the menu.
I had heard the service was slow, but that wasn’t my experience. The first item to arrive was the Northern Thai Sausage: pork infused with curry and other Thai spices. It was a pungent and spicy start to dinner, but nothing terribly unusual. A few minutes later, things took an interesting turn. The Khai Jiaw Khai Mod looked rather innocuous when it arrived but its four syllable name put me on guard even before I had read the description. It looked like an omelet with some red dipping sauce on the side. And yet, when you took a bite it was as if someone had translated bubble tea into an omelet. Each bite of egg contained small globs of discrete texture. These globs were not tapioca. They were ant eggs. In essence, it’s an inter-species egg omelet. The truth is, the ant eggs are surprisingly tasteless, offering an unusual texture rather than an unusual flavor.
Up next was the Gang Som Toon, a catfish soup with toon root, whatever that is. Fortunately, descriptions only matter when food is not delicious. The soup was aromatic, sour, and spicy. It tasted similar to Tom Yum Soup, but felt zestier, and the cat fish mixed well with it. I know that spicy foods tend to originate in hot places, but I could really sit down with a bowl of this stuff in the midst of winter. The final dish was the Gang Hung Lay featuring pork and garlic cooked in curry. It was definitely the best dish of the meal. The chunks of meat dissolved in my mouth leaving behind the pleasant aroma of star anise. If anything, it tasted more like a dish from an authentic Chinese restaurant, but with a bit more of a kick.
In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed my culinary journey to Northern Thailand. Slightly smaller dishes mean that I could sample three dishes between two people. I got out of there spending about $15 a person, more expensive than South East Asia, but extremely reasonable for the U.S. Most importantly, though, for a couple of hours, I felt like I had left Chicago for an adventure in Chiang Mai.
Address: 4018 N. Western Ave
Tel: 773-588-0133
Dear Louie:
I’m so glad that I finally introduced myself you the other day. I have to admit that I’d seen you previously, but was too intimidated by your grandeur and beauty to say hello at the time. At the time, I thought for sure that you’d only be interested in my money and would take me for everything I had. I was so wrong for being judgmental; forgive me.
To those who look only upon your exterior, you appear to be nothing more than a plain Jane; empty and lacking much substance on the interior. And yet you remain undeterred. You seem to welcome everyone with open arms. I was pleasantly surprised to find that your pristine interior is complemented by many notes of detail and beauty.
Your offerings of food were equally impressive and 
ample. The Penne Gambert was delightful, to say the least. You were generous with the shrimp and delicate with the garlic, allowing the other flavors of the dish to really stand out. I also relished the Chicken Parmesan that you served my guest. I must admit that I was slightly taken aback by the lack of pasta as a side for this particular dish, but fret not mon ami; you made up for the disappointment by providing my guest with a large 10 ounce cut of chicken.
I assure you that we were more than filled by our entrees; so much so that 
we didn’t have any room to eat dessert with you. Of course, that didn’t stop you from tempting me into taking a sweet morsel home with me, as a reminder of your culinary genius. Upon first bite, I knew that I’d have to visit you again. Something tells me that you and I will be good friends in the future.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Best,
Jen
Bottega Louie 700 S. Grand, Los Angeles, CA 90017
(866) 418-9162 www.bottegalouie.com
It’s all about the Q. Of all the food trends happening in Chicago right now, I must say, it’s all about the Q.
BBQ. Slow smoked meats. Dry rubs. Sauce. Pedigreed chef. Goodness.
Lillie’s Q took over in the former Aberdeen space on North Avenue, and ever since they opened, the place has been hoppin’. They join a slew of new BBQ restaurants opening up all over the city, but these guys are stocked and loaded with award-winning, grandma Lillie’s secret recipes. Grandma Lillie obviously had a trick or two up her sleeve.
The meats were phenomenal. Juicy, tender. The ribs just fell off the bone. I hate to say it (or do I?), but these ribs were better than anything I’ve had in Texas. Do not leave this place without ordering ribs.
It’s also about the sauce, though. Five very special sauces are on offer, including an “ivory” variety that is peppery, slightly vinegary, and of course, creamy. The Carolina is the most traditional BBQ sauce – sweet, tangy, and the perfect consistency to slather over meat. Carolina Gold is similar to the original Carolina but with a mustard after-taste. The last two – Smoky and Hot Smoky – were my favorites. They taste like the names suggest, smoky, a little spicy, and all around good.
Lillie’s also has a unique atmosphere that stands out from other BBQ joints. With a slogan like “Urban Barbecue”, you can expect something more industrial, more hip.
Lillie’s Q
1856 W North Ave
Chicago, IL
773.772.5500
the website is not up yet, but it will be located at http://www.lilliesq.com/
Last weekend on short notice I decided to go to one more festival before the summer ends (and in Chicago, it is actually starting to seem cooler these days each morning and evening). I know, everyone else was at the big annual air and water show downtown, so I headed the other direction and went to the Bristol Renaissance Faire instead.
The Renaissance fair here runs from July 10 through Labor Day. It’s located right along the border between Illinois and Wisconsin, and it sprawls over a seemingly endless stretch of ground with more shops than you can count. Like many festivals, it’s a huge money sink. You’ve got to bring lots of money to pay for games and rides and the million types of merchandise they sell here (soap! Jewelry! Swords! Bellydancing gear! Costumes! Leather gauntlets with claws coming out of them! Pirate scarves! Souvenir t-shirts! You get the picture). But it is a lot of fun to watch the jousts, and to give fruit to the flower fairy, and ride an elephant. Our family’s favorite activities here include Vegetable Justice, in which you throw fruit (yes, tomatoes are a fruit, people!) at a guy who continues to taunt you a second time; the pirate ship, where the $5 it costs for my son to clamber aboard is totally worth it because he stays there for a half hour at a time; and the selection of festival food, which is surely more diverse than it actually was during Renaissance times in Europe. I should add here that I’m the only one in my family for which this is a favorite. My husband, a vegetarian with a sensitive stomach, tries not to eat anything at all and forgets every year that there are actual restrooms on site. My kid just wants whatever’s fried, plus lemonade. Sigh.
When I was growing up in Lawrence, Kansas, I attended the Bonner Springs Renaissance fair every year. From those times I consider giant turkey legs to be the traditional food of any Renaissance fair, but I have never actually eaten one at the Bristol one. There are just too many other food selections to choose from. These days the one item I have to have is sassafras, which is basically root beer with a stronger licorice flavor. It costs $1 for a small cup, and I usually get at least two or three of these during the day. Sometimes I forget that I need actual water also and get dehydrated–better watch that next year!
I always have a hard time figuring out what I want to eat, and usually the main factor ends up being convenience, as in, whatever food stand I remember the location of when I finally get hungry. The past couple of years I’ve chosen the butterfly potatoes stand, where they also serve fried mac and cheese for my son and the next-door vendors offer corn on the cob and mushrooms sauteed in garlic. Yum. Every year I also determine I’m going to finally try some beef jerky and get a pickle, but I never do because the stands aren’t anywhere near where we’re going. We did get some dark chocolate gelato for dessert.
Seriously, the food offerings are pretty great. Shepherd’s pie, Cornish pasties, Italian beef, root beer floats, Polish sausage, artichokes (ooh, maybe I’ll try those next time), sundaes, shishkabobs, hummus, pretzel dogs, smoothies, slushies, even portobello burgers are available here. The Renfair even has a nice selection of cocktails and beer. I will go so far as to say that I come here at least in part for the food–my weakness for festival food rears its ugly head again. Fortunately for my diet, the summer’s almost over and I’ll just have to make do with regular fast food until after winter’s over.
Better get on that elliptical again.
Bristol Renaissance Faire
Off I-94 at the IL/WI Border (exit at Russell)
(847) 395-7773
Weekends only through 9/6
www.renfair.com/bristol
Deep dish pizza in San Francisco? Who knew! Located in the Mission District, Little Star Pizza is a casual restaurant serving pizza, salads, appetizers, and beers. The dining room had an exposed brick wall with different pieces of art. We arrived at 6 p.m. and a small crowd of diners were already seated and enjoying their meals. The bar area seemed like a good place to either wait for a table or for ordering a pizza to go.
My family and I split the mixed salad with mixed lettuces, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, red onion, Gorgonzola cheese and chopped walnuts with a vinaigrette dressing. The salad was large enough to share among four people. We ordered two pizzas: one was deep dish with mushrooms, onions, black olives, red bell pepper, garlic and roasted zucchini. The veggies didn’t drown in the sauce or cheese; the cornmeal crust was probably just an inch or inch and a half thick. In comparison to Chicago-style deep dish, this pizza was much easier to eat and enjoy. The second was a buffalo chicken pizza with blue cheese, carrots, and radishes. It was considered the pizza of the day, and it did not disappoint. If I lived in the Bay Area, I could easily eat that pizza once a week – the crust was cracker-like and crispy. The chicken was coated with just enough hot sauce and blue cheese, but the heat wasn’t dialed up too much. At the end of the meal, there was not a slice of pizza left!
Details:
Little Star Pizza
http://littlestarpizza.com/index.html
Mission District: 400 Valencia
Other locations:
Albany: 1175 Solano
Western Addition: 846 Divisadero
The Manhattan Diner is located on the upper west side of New York City. Don’t let the quiet surrounding streets fool you.. the inside of this place is hustling and bustling all day long. And why shouldn’t it be? This is one of the best diner’s I’ve ever eaten at. The prices are pretty average for a NYC diner (most meals ranging from $10-$20).
I ordered the grilled portobello salad, because I can never resist a good portobello. I thought the mushrooms were going to steal the spotlight, but I was surprised how many tasty surprises they could throw into one dish. The salad not only had mushrooms, but marinated string beans, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, and then all the usual salad fixin’s as well. The dressing was delightful, and the vegetables weren’t drowning in it which is always a plus. Also, the portions were huge. I couldn’t finish the whole thing and I consider myself to have a big appetite. If you do find yourself at the Manhattan Diner, I would also recommend the Mediterranean platter. It too was large. The hummus was smooth and flavorful, but my favorite part of it was the ginger tahini sauce. I know tahini sauce, and this was definitely a good one. The platter also had fresh pita bread, grilled vegetables, and baba ganoush.
During my dining experience at the Manhattan Diner, majority of the people around me ordered breakfast items despite it being 2:00 in the afternoon. I’m guessing they were locals who knew their way around the place. The pancakes came in sets of three and they took up the entire plate. They were covered in fresh fruit, syrup, and butter and looked delectable. Next time I stop by I’ll probably sample something off the breakfast menu to see what all the fuss is about.
Manhattan Diner
2180 Broadway (corner of 77th and Amsterdam)
(212) 877-7252
I think I gained a couple of extra pounds this weekend because I admit I have one big weakness–festival food. Oh yeah. And this past weekend two of my favorite local festivals took place: Lollapalooza and Northbrook Days.
I try to go to some of Lollapalooza every year, and this year I hung out there on Friday (yes, I saw Lady Gaga, even though all my much-cooler friends went to see the Strokes). However, a music festival isn’t the best place to try new foods, even if many of Chicago’s finer restaurants are located there. For me, at least, this is because I really hate porta-potties. There are real restrooms at maybe one location at Lollapalooza, which helps. But I’m super careful about what I put into my body when I’m there, because I don’t want to make the experience a negative one. I MUST have a Sweet Leaf Mint & Honey Tea (I know, I can get the same bottled tea at Whole Foods and many other fine grocery stores as well, but this tea is a tradition at Lollapalooza and it wouldn’t seem right to do the music festival without it), but for lunch I basically had a cupcake to tide me over from Chicago’s more. My little red velvet cupcake was perfect for the event; not too much, but sweet enough to satisfy my food cravings. And while I wouldn’t say it’s the best cupcake I ever had, I’ve never had a red velvet cupcake before so it was partially the experience. And my cupcake came in a little takeout box and I got a souvenir guitar pick, too.
Later in the day, as the festival winds down, I get a little more adventurous. For dinner I went to the Sunda stand to get pork belly bao, which were cut into little round sandwiches with a savory Asian barbecue sauce. The very definition of Asian fusion, and not too heavy. Then I finished with a treat from Graham Elliot–truffle oil and Parmesan popcorn, made spicy with a heavy dusting of fresh pepper. Although the popcorn itself was not the best, the flavor was out-of-this-world. My friend who was with me found it too spicy, but as he says, there’s a reason they tossed him out of New Orleans. Do they really make this stuff at Elliot’s restaurant? I’m totally there–who’s with me? It took me the rest of the night to finish the popcorn, and I was eating it on the “el” on the way home. I even saved some for the next day. That was totally worth the money.
The great thing about Chicago festivals is the food options. Really, I’d be happy to have done all three days of Lollapalooza just so I could work my way through the food booths. We’ve got plenty more foodie-friendly festivals coming up, so if you get the opportunity, definitely go. (Chicago Gourmet comes to mind; it’s pricey, but it’ll be here in a little over a month!)
The other festival I went to is close to my husband’s apartment in Northbrook (long story, not worth the time it takes to tell). We go there every year to see American English, the Beatles cover band who played at our wedding back in 2000. This is your basic fundraising neighborhood event, complete with carnival rides, games and other cunning ways of separating you from your money. Part of Northbrook Days, which took place this year from 8/4-8/8, is the Taste of Northbrook. So in addition to the regular festival junk food you also get some of the area’s favorite eateries, like Chicken Charlie’s (I had an Oriental chicken salad there), Zapatista (Mexican) and Bob Chinn’s.
However, I mostly avoided the restaurants that I can go to anytime in favor of the greasy, yummy festival food that I can only get at events like these. For one thing, my kid has never had a funnel cake so I had to introduce him to that carnival goodie for sure. I just love those fried, curly concoctions with the powdered suger on top. Of course, we weren’t able to make much of a dent in our cake so we left it in our kitchen overnight, but when we got up in the morning the whole thing had disappeared into my husband’s stomach. But that’s a marital squabble story for another time. 
I admit it. Fried candy bars sound both disgusting and delicious to me, but I’ve never been able to bring myself to try them. Actually there’s a whole subset of festival food like that, but I did take the plunge Saturday night (yes, I did NB Days on Thursday, Lollapalooza on Friday, and NB Days again on Saturday) and had to try the chocolate-covered bacon. It was surprisingly good–four strips of bacon covered and fried in dough, with chocolate sauce dribbled on top. The bacon flavor ends up being rather subtle, so you really mostly get a smokiness and crispness and hint of salty flavor to match the sweetness from the chocolate and your perfectly fried, not-too-sweet pastry.
So I think I got the best of both (festival food) worlds this weekend–the cholesterol-laden but heavenly fried festival foods and the gourmet Chicago treats that I might never get around to trying otherwise. And for me, the moral of the story is that I while I have no qualms about trying new gourmet foods from anywhere, I shouldn’t look down my nose at heart-attack-inducing lowbrow guilty pleasures, either. I should keep an open mind, and an open palate, and enjoy it all.
And then, I should work out really hard to burn all the calories off, which is what I’m going to do right now…
