Tag: chicago

Categories
travel

Gold Coast Dogs – Chicago Style Jumbo Char Dog

Rusty and I were walking bar to bar in O’Hare Airport. Turn out all the beers cost the same . Around $8. One of the bartenders said the airport has one beer distributor under contract –that’s why. So you know, if you’re venturing around there for cheaper beer.

I guess I had to have a Chicago dog before I left Chicago. Got mine at Gold Coast Dog, which they say they are ABC 7 Chicago’s #1 Hot Dog in 2003. Pretty good. Loaded with spicy pickled peppers and stuff. The neon green relish kinda disturbs me. I like how they snip the ends to make them bloom. Reminds me of the Turtle Burger. My hands were a big mess after.

Gold Coast Dogs

Categories
seafood travel

Coco’s Famous Deep Fried Lobster (Chicago)

Rusty and I walked around Millennium and Grant Park on our last day in Chicago. Cool bean. Then met up with Ronnie Z for lunch at Coco’s Famous Deep Fried Lobster. I was excited to check it out, because it said it was famous.

I asked for water, but no water. Not even bottled water. I looked at the choices. Only sodas and Arizona Ice Teas. I was so confused. How does a restaurant not have any water …even if I wanted to pay for it? I almost wanted to say something but then saw the sign, “There will be $5 Charge for Whining” on the wall. I suppose it’s supposed to be humorous, but there’s probably a reason why it’s up there.

I ordered the Deep Fried Lobster ($11.25 for the small). Came with fries and a small cup of cole slaw, ketchup and hot sauce. It was pretty good, but I don’t know if it’s better than non-deep fried lobster. The deep frying is pretty much killing it, right? It’s not much different than fried fish chunks, except for the slight shellfish flavor.

Ronnie Z got a small white rice for $2.25. I don’t know who only orders just a small white rice, but this is how it looks at Coco’s (see below). He had one bite and then we left.

All I can think about is “no water.” And according to the signs out front, “No Public Restrooms” and “No Loitering.” …Alright, I’ll stop whining.

Coco’s Famous Deep Fried Lobster - 426 S Clark St (btwn Van Buren & Congress Pky) Chicago, IL 60605

Categories
bar/drinking sandwich

Italian Beef Sandwich @ The Shamrock Club (Chicago)

Rusty and I stopped in for a beer at the local pub in Downtown Chicago near our hotel for a second time. Both times were early in the day. There were a few people drinking at 11am.

I ordered the Italian Beef Sandwich that I noticed advertised everywhere in Chicago. Never heard of it before. The sandwich is like a cross between a French Dipped Sandwich and a Philly Cheesesteak. The lady pulled out the sliced beef from a pot sitting on the grill, juices dripping …which made the bread nice and soft. Awesome flavor.

This was seriously the best thing I ate in Chicago …and I don’t think this bar is exactly known for their food. The sandwich with fries and a beer came out to $7 – special of the day. Someone seriously needs to bring the Italian Beef to NYC.

The Shamrock Club - 210 W Kinzie St (btwn Franklin & Wells St) Chicago, IL 60610

Categories
backyard bbq

Chicago q – BBQ in Chicago

I had taken a long nice nap after the Chicago Food Film Festival award ceremony. So hungover from the previous night’s oyster party, but I recovered. I think I kinda forgot that I won such a prestigious award that very day …only because of I’m so used to the fast pace fleeting statuses on Facebook and Twitter. Now that I think about it, I’m very grateful and it was fitting that I went out to celebrate with Rusty and Ronnie Z that night.

I was looking on the Yelp app and decided on Chicago q, which happened to be right below Ronnie Z’s apartment …although I secretly wanted to try the Cheesecake Factory. Chicago q was so unassuming on the outside. I didn’t realize it was a restaurant or opened. Inside there were people and it looked kinda like a Dixie Steamboat.

Chicago BBQ …not too bad. The highlights were definitely the complimentary homemade pickles and potato chips. Also the food came out super fast. My platter of Pork Ribs, Pulled Pork and Cole Slaw came out literally two minutes after I ordered. The meat was okay. I do like the variety of sauces. A ton of food. The pulled pork sandwich I saw on another table looked monstrous.

Chicago q – 1160 N Dearborn St (btwn Elm St & Division) Chicago, IL 60610

Categories
partying

Oyster Roast at the Chicago Food Film Festival

Dang. This was the most exciting food event I’ve ever been to. Oyster Roast! Watched some rad films and then they got us wasted and handed us shucking knives. They drove up a Penske truck of Bulls Bay Oysters from South Carolina. You gotta see the film about these oysters that film festival host and Travel Channel’s “Made in America”, George Motz, made. The film was right up Rusty’s alley.

Best oysters I’ve ever had. Huge shells. Once you crack it open, some came out big and some relatively small (but probably the small is the same size as a regular). And the flavor was perfect. Already salty and tasty. I didn’t even need any hot sauce that I love so dear.

The guys who brought the oysters from South Carolina were cool. One of the guys brought Pickled Shrimp that he makes —Mama’s Pickled Shrimp. That was delicious. I was trying to get Rusty to eat it somewhere in the night, but we got lost in the crowd that was attacking all the oysters …They almost got their butts burned from the hot shovels of roasted oysters running up behind them.

Also I really liked the Brunswick Stew that The Bedford brought. The best Brunswick Stew I’ve had so far. I was glad I was able to get Russ to eat it. Sometimes he forgets to eat when he parties.

I’m also glad I got to try the Doughnut Vault donuts. I actually thought it was a dream that I had one until I saw these photos. The Doughnut Vault had a line around the corner at 10:30 on that Saturday morning when we got into Chicago. We thought it was a line to see some awesome indie band or something.

Rusty’s Chicago friend, Ronnie Z, called me and I was trying to text him back but forgot to hit send because I was in the middle of a conversation. Two hours later, I saw that I hadn’t sent it and felt like shit. Once I hit send, he popped out of the darkness like a vampire …or like Nicholas Cage. I felt so bad. I think he was watching us party from the outside that whole time.

I woke up the next morning and Rusty had picked me up an Egg McMuffin and Hash Brown. Best cure for a hangover …or at least temporarily.

Categories
pizza

Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Pizza (Chicago)

My first stop in Chicago: Deep Dish Pizza. I did some research. People were saying Uno is one of the best and always packed. But that’s the same as the Pizzeria Uno chain, right? Maybe Uno is better in Chicago. I tend to think of Uno as like an Applebee’s. But I could be wrong about them. I haven’t had their pizza in years. And I haven’t been to Applebee’s in years either.

Well there was a Lou Malnati’s close to our hotel. Seemed a little touristy. I think half the people eating were from out of town with a hotel coupon for a free dessert. The water glass was huge …almost pitcher-sized.

They let us split our small pizza –half “Lou” style (spinach, mushrooms and sliced tomatoes) and half “Classic” (sausage).  We’re talking a whole layer of sausage covering the entire portion of pizza underneath the cheese. That was pretty good.

The pizza appeared small and I thought we could eat a bigger one. But ended up so stuffed. Rusty and I went back to the hotel and passed out for three hours. Serious food coma. I hadn’t had one in years.

Lou Malnati’s - 439 North Wells Street. Chicago, IL 60610