Chicago - Hot Dougs Redux

I love Hot Doug's. This was only my second visit despite multiple trips to Chicago in the last few years, mostly due to the long lines and general inconvenience. But I'd been planning this trip out to Avondale for months. It didn't take much to convince Carly to come with, her two year experiment as a vegetarian was foiled by a too-tempting hot dog. Last minute we coerced my parents into tagging along (aka, do the driving) and they sure were glad they did. Carly and I were especially happy to avoid the ~hour commute by public transit. Despite the hour and a half wait everyone loved their hot dogs, it was by far the most memorable meal of our vacation.

While we were waiting an ice cream truck pulled up and I thought "genius idea, this dude is going to do great with all people waiting patiently in line." But nope, it seemed most of the queue was saving their appetites for gourmet sausage. Carly was one of the few to give in to the icy temptation. She chose a bomb pop even though there were dozens of other more interesting treats on the menu.

Ribeye Steak Sausage with Chimichurri, Ardagh Wine Cheese and Crispy Fried Onions

The four of us each picked a sausage plus a few extras and passed them around. This was Carly's main sausage. The encased meat was beefy and substantial with a tangy chimichurri and delicately crisp fried onions. And so pretty with the mottled pink and cream wine cheese.

Swedish Potato Sausage with Dill Mustard and Horseradish Havarti Cheese

This was mom's pick and it was delicious. The potato sausage was particularly tender, more give, less snap to the casing. Quite a bit better than the potato sausage I had at Ann Sather. The horseradish cheese added a nice kick to the mild sausage.

Burgundy and Orange Pork Sausage with Roasted Garlic Aioli and Cheese-Stuffed Hot Peppers

Definitely our least favorite sausage of the day. The gring on the meat was pretty coarse, leaving the sausage unpleasantly tough and chunky. Unfortunately the orange just seemed to intensify the gamey-ness of the pork. The aioli was quite good and so were the cheesy hot peppers, but the elements just didn't work together.

Cheddar Cheese Pork Sausage with Coca-Cola BBQ Sauce and Vintage Farmhouse Cheese

We had no complaints, this one was super tasty. One change I noticed from my visit in 2009, the cheese on the dogs seems to be cubed a bit smaller and there seems to be less of it. I definitely approve, the sausages are easier to eat and the cheese rarely overpowers the meat.

The Dog

Classic, awesome. Great snap on the hot dog! And so cheap, just $2. It was Carly's favorite of the day. It's a classic for a reason, and Hot Doug's does it especially well. You choose how the dog is cooked - steamed, grilled, deep fried, etc. Ours was grilled, the casing taut and charred, giving way to the salty, juicy innards.

Smoked Portuguese Linguica with Saffron Rouille and Olive Manchego Cheese

My chosen encased meat, the sausage was fantastic, spicy and fatty with tons of snap. The rouille was spicy without being hot, French's mustard yellow, but with so much more flavor. This is the sausage I keep thinking about, wishing I could have another.

Duck Fat Fries

And, of course, the Duck Fat Fries. If you visit on Friday or Saturday, and you should, don't bother with the regular fries, duck fat all the way. Deep fried to a perfect caramel-y brown, the fries are surprisingly light yet satisfyingly crisp. Great on their own, yummy with ketchup, but now I wonder if you could order a side of, say, roasted garlic aioli or that amazing saffron rouille to dip? Perhaps next time I will dare to ask.

I've still not tried the Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage, perhaps the most famous Hot Doug hot dog. Bourdain raved about it on No Reservations and it's ever popular on flickr. Someday I will try it, someday! As usual Doug was behind the counter taking orders. And just like last time, when Dad tried to order a large soda he recommended a small instead as refills are unlimited. Go to Hot Doug's, it's worth the wait. And don't forget your cash!

Hot Doug's
3324 N California Ave
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 279-9550
Menu including daily specials!

Chicago - Dumplings and things

This year's Pitchfork Music Festival made me feel old. This was my fifth Pitchfork fest (years 2, 3, 4) perhaps my last. Maybe next year I'll feel differently. It seems that every year the crowds get larger, the lines longer, the weather hotter. I love live music, I love how songs change in a live setting, and I love when the musicians have a bit of personality, bantering and engaging with the crowd. By necessity some of this is lost in a festival setting, when crowds are bigger and set lists are shorter. And it's so hard to get a good sight line. I'm short as it is, so unless I get super close to the stage my visibility is basically nil. One of my most anticipated bands performing at this year's festival, The Radio Dept, was at the smaller stage. It was so crowded, I couldn't get close. I could barely see or hear, I was so disappointed.

But there were a few bright spots at the festival. Cut Copy was amazing. We got to the stage early and staked out a spot along the side rail. The view was great, the music was better and I was able to get some nice photos. Sweat was flying everywhere, at one point I brushed up against another person's sweaty arm and for the rest of the set I could feel that second layer of foreign sweat drying in an itchy swath across my forearm. Thank goodness event staff were nice enough to pass around bottles of cold water.

The other bright spot was pot stickers. Besides loads of brunch, I also ate loads of dumplings in Chicago. In general, food at the festival is pretty darn good, though, of course, a bit over priced. But not the pot stickers, you get a giant paper boat piled high with gingery chicken (and pork?) dumplings. Way more than you'd get at an actual restaurant for a $6 pot sticker appetizer. Star of Siam runs the Thai booth, which also serves up tons of pad thai and curry, and has a physical restaurant on the near North side.

Maybe the pot stickers would be disappointing at the actual restaurant. Maybe it's just the crowds and the heat and the craziness that make the dumplings such good festival food. I ate them two days in a row, sprawled on the lumpy, dusty ground between sets. A little respite from the stifling heat and ever-expanding crowds. Despite the mass production, the filling is moist and gingery, many of the dumplings develop a bit of crispy brown chew on the exterior. A ladle of red chili flecked soy-vinegar sauce is poured on top of the pot stickers. It's already a little spicy but an extra squirt or two of watered down sriracha is still welcome. The pina colada smoothies were perfect with the spicy dumplings, more icy than creamy, super refreshing in +90°F weather.

Sunday, after the festival, we had a quick dinner at Flattop Grill, one of those design your own stir fry restaurants. I was pretty happy with my food. I loved that they had noodle options alongside the usual white rice. I loaded my bowl up with egg noodles, tons of veggies (broccoli, snap peas, cabbage, etc) and a combo of chicken and pork. I spooned on all sorts of sauces (kung pao, sesame ginger, black bean garlic, hot red chili) and the mysterious garlic and ginger waters. Add a bit of stretchy, crisp roti bread and I ended up with a pretty tasty meal. The edamame was pretty great, tossed in salt, pepper and something citrusy then served with two dipping sauces. It certainly wasn't ground-breakingly amazing, but it was just right after a sweaty, exhausting day at the festival.

Chicago - So Much Brunch - Yolk, Wishbone, Ann Sather

Oh my, it's been a while. Through the spring and early summer I was really trying to update more often, more consistently. I've fallen off the wagon a bit since mid-July. Two trips to Chicago, my birthday, and a really exciting new project I've been working on has put me behind schedule. But about those trips to Chicago. In July I was up north for the Pitchfork Music Festival, returning to the fest after one year off. The most defining part of the trip was brunch, we ate a lot of brunch and only saw a little bit of music. So this post is about brunch, some good, some okay. Next post should be about music and non-brunch related food, we'll see.

I was super excited about Yolk but ended up slightly disappointed. The food was pretty good but not especially impressive. Service was iffy, and though I know it's a problem at most Chicago restaurants, why is it so hard to split checks? I guess I'm so used to Bloomington where large groups of people dine together all of the time, so servers are prepared and expected to separate checks. And if they hadn't made everything so difficult, maybe I wouldn't feel so bitter. Meh.

Yolk serves all of the expected brunch favorites, Eggs Benedict, waffles, etc, some with a twist. Ginny had the Bacon Waffles & Eggs, bacon baked right into the waffle, scrambled eggs on top. She liked it, but the bacon could have been a little crisper inside the waffle, especially to contrast with the soft scrambled eggs on top. My french toast platter was fine, the link sausage was awesome, though sunnyside up eggs were a bit albumen-y. Regular old waffles and crepes were good. Maybe the best meal of the morning was the South of the Border Benny, Eggs Benedict with chorizo and chipotle hollandaise.

Probably my fave brunch of the trip, Wishbone serves Southern food with a local, seasonal, occasional gluten free bent. Ginny's Biscuits and Gravy were delish, thick and messy and rich in the best way. Mariann had the Corn cakes, which were also great. Studded with sweet corn kernels and slivers of green onion, they're sweet and savory, served with a red pepper sauce.

I loved my Blackened Catfish, which was tender with a bit of chew. Perfect with over easy fried eggs, cheesy grits and a corn muffin. The homemade lemonade is totally refreshing, with a frothy top and icy bottom. Banana pancakes were also solid, home fries golden brown and very tasty.

This was my third time at Ann Sather, a super popular Swedish restaurant known for their brunch. There are a few Ann Sather locations in Chicago, for this trip we ate at the Belmont outpost. The Swedish meatballs weren't as good as I remembered. Take a look at this photo from back in 2008, so many more meatballs, smaller and nicely browned. They were from the Andersonville location, so maybe they're just better there?

The Cinnamon rolls are great, especially when they're hot, straight out of the oven. Like the Swedish meatballs, the potato sausage didn't quite live up to my memories. I did like my hashbrowns, which were plenty creamy in the middle but still nicely crisp on the outside. Especially good dipped in a little spicy mustard and lingonberry sauce. Applesauce is lovely as well, chunky and not too sweet. It tastes like real, fresh apples cooked until just soft. Mariann liked her Swedish Pancake plate, and the Swedish Waffle was a winner as well. The orange-strawberry-banana juice I ordered was great, refreshing and fruity and not overly sweet.

Yolk
1120 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60605-2301(312) 789-9655
Website + Menu

Wishbone
3300 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657-1108(773) 549-2663 ‎  
Website + Menu

Ann Sather
909 West Belmont Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657-4473(773) 348-2378 ‎ 
Website + Menu

Chicago : Topo Gigio

My family took a long weekend vacay to Chicago recently and ate some delicious food. On Sunday we had tickets for the Second City Etc show "Not Working" (hilarious!) and decided to eat nearby before the show. I yelped a few restaurants in the Old Town area before we left but we really picked Topo Gigio because of the lovely patio. It was an excellent choice, the food was fantastic!

Chicago : More Cupcakes Redux

Last October I blogged about Chicago's More Cupcakes, and how I wasn't super impressed. Well, my friend Mariann got me a gift card to More for Christmas, so we decided to give it another go. And I'm glad we did! Not only was I much happier with the cupcakes we tasted this time, but the employees at the storefront seemed a lot friendlier (less pretentious!). The shop's owner, Patty Rothman, was there giving out samples and talking about all the daily flavors. She was super nice, enthusiastic and definitely made the experience that much better.

Chicago : Hot Doug's

I've been trying to get to Hot Doug's (The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium) since last summer! I saw some special about hot dogs on the Travel Channel featuring the restaurant and was like 'Mariann, we must go!' But then we didn't and she went without me then bragged about how awesome it was. Well the stars finally aligned last Friday and it was awesome. My friends Katy, Ella, Ginny and I waited in line for over an hour and a half for our sausages but it was definitely worth it!

Chicago : Swirlz

For my last birthday my bff Mariann bought me a gift card for Swirlz Cupcakes in Chicago. We used it back in October and I'm finally blogging about it now. When I first read about Swirlz at Food in Mouth ages ago I got super excited about checking them out. My excitement waned a bit after visiting the super awesome Molly's Cupcakes, I figured Swirlz just wouldn't be able to measure up. Well Swirlz definitely exceeded my expectations. Where Molly's Cupcakes are decadent and rich, cupcakes from Swirlz are delicate and well-balanced.

More Cupcakes : Chicago

Savory cupcakes have been getting a lot of buzz lately and, in Chicago, More Cupcakes has been creating a lot of it. I read tons of articles and reviews of the BLT Cupcake at More. So, of course, we had to try it. Some of the yelp reviewers complained of having to wait a while but I visited (with Mariann and Ginny) early afternoon on a Friday and there was no line whatsoever.

The shop is small and very trendy, the employees wear all black and are kinda pretentious. The cupcakes are on display in a clear wall of shelves as you walk in so you can see what's available. After ogling the beautiful wall of cupcakes, I got a bit disappointed. The two cupcakes Mariann and I were most looking forward to were missing. The Salted Caramel for me and Brie Champagne for Mariann.

Dodos / Underdogg : Chicago

Chicago : Tsunami

Mariann introduced us to Tsunami last spring when we were in town to see Arcade Fire. The sushi was delicious that first time and has been equally satisfying on the several occasions we've visited since. Tsunami is a fairly swanky spot in the Gold Coast area of Chicago. It's much larger than it appears, with back rooms and seating on the 2nd floor. They also have a nice patio with doors opening to the main dining room. It is a bit pricey, but in line with other Japanese restaurants of similar caliber. Tsunami has a nice selection of vegetarian and seafood rolls as well as a full menu of other Japanese specialties. The reviews on Yelp are rather mixed, but I definitely recommend it if you are looking for sushi in Chicago.

There were five of us so we ordered a bunch of rolls to share. The best thing about ordering sushi in bulk is that they bring it out on a big boat!

Chicago : Chicago Cupcakes

These posts are not in order chronologically, sorry. Technically the first cupcakes we ate were from Chicago Cupcakes. The name of the place might actually just be "Cupcakes," but that's just too confusing. All of the cupcakes we tried there were good. Several of them were fantastic, but overall I think they weren't quite as good as the cupcakes from Molly's Cupcakes. Also, I took these photos on the table at the front of the (tiny) shop and just as I was snapping the last one they told me I couldn't take pictures in there. Luckily I was pretty much finished because, although the to go boxes do a good job of protecting the cupcakes, the frosting definitely wasn't as pretty when we got the them home.

Chicago : Molly's Cupcakes

Last weekend Christine, Mariann, and I were in Chicago for the Pitchfork Music Festival. Well, Mariann was already there but Christine (plus Ginny and Jocelyn!) and I were just visiting. In between the music we ate some yummy food and LOTS of cupcakes. We loved Molly's Cupcakes so much that we visited twice in one day. The cupcakes are that good. Seriously.