Chicago rec's.

[countrygirl_914]

Hello all! I went through the tags and found some posts similar to mine, but they're all from 2007, and I figure things have changed since then, so I hope this is okay.

Comments

[copperpixie]

Some suggestions:
1. Angel Food Bakery in Ravenswood makes a brisket sandwich that is to die for. They also do awesome mud pie cupcakes. I just had the mexican hot choclate cup cake and it was also great. Usually runs about $10 or $12 per person if you do a meal. (My boyfriend says: Angel Food isn't something I'd have people *travel* to.)

2. Hot Chocolate does some great stuff -- meals and desserts. The cheeseburger is actually really good, but the menu changes so... On the pricey side. Desserts are something like $11 each and smallish. They have a website that is generally up to date.

3. Sunshine Cafe in Andersonville (way up north) does super great homestyle Japanese. It's not sushi. It's the other stuff. Definitely get the potato croquettes. My boyfriend loves all their fish options, I really love the sukiyaki.

4. Kuma's Corner if you like burgers. It's a serious burger joint. All the burgers are named after metal bands and that's what plays inside, so be prepared to either not talk or scream over the music, but the food is completely amazing. The burgers are $10 - $12 but so worth it. Beers are beer priced.

5. But if you really like beer, you should try Hopleaf in Andersonville. They have a HUGE beer selection, especially belgian ales. You can visit them as a bar or as a restaurant. The food is excellent. I believe you can see the menu and beer selection online.

6. Big Jones is a southern place in Andersonville. Also very good. $20 per.

7. In Hyde Park, Rajun Cajun is completely amazing. Best Indian food possibly ever. Get the butter chicken meal, you won't regret it. Worth mentioning we travel two hours to get it sometimes. $12 per person.

8. Dixie Kitchen in Hyde Park is also very good. I've never been but the last time we went to Rajun Cajun, my boyfriend and his roommate almost made us switch to there. It's southern food. Obama likes it. $10 - 15 per.

9. If you have all the time in the world, Greentea in Lincoln Park (2500ish Clark) has really excellent, cheap sushi. Great for catching up over lunch, but the service is really... almost not there, so you have to be willing to sit forevvvvvver.

10. For a classic Chicago experience, the Weiner's Circle in Lincoln Park has Chicago-style hot dogs and fantastic fries. They are open until something like 5am, but I recommend during the day. The food is awesome, but late night experience involves the people behind the counter being very rude and the drunk assholes ordering being very rude.

11. Gino's East is a classic for Chicago style deep dish pizza. It's my favorite place to get it.

SPICE SHOP
In Old Town, there is a spice store (the Spice Merchants or something like that) and an Oil and Vinegar store. The O and V place is good for if you've ever really wanted to do an oil tasting. The spice shop is AMAZING. And really well priced. My favorite thing there is the chai tea spice mix. My boyfriend's favorite thing is probably the fancy French sea salt.

Fox and Obel is our super-super fancy grocery option.

Trader Joe's is fun, but it's basically a grocery store. You might want to try the three buck Chuck (it's $3 here) -- the super cheap wine that everyone talks about when they talk about TJs.

Whole Foods is, again, basically just a really nice grocery. Still, if you want a fantastic and cheap meal from there, we steam mussels in white wine and have fries with garlic aioli (the bread is for the mussel sauce). We totally stole the meal idea from Hopleaf (mentioned above), but it's great and relatively cheap. Plus, pretty easy to put together. (We had it tonight, in fact.)

That's all I've got for now.

[xiloxoch]

Re. #7: HAHAHAHAHA. I'm sorry, I mean this with absolutely no offense intended, but... are you serious? I'm a UChicago student and I have had many a drunken dinner there, but I can't imagine anyone travelling to HP for it when Devon St is likely just as close. It's a great place to go if you're already in the neighborhood and want some butter chicken with a side of collard greens and biscuits, but the food is out under hot lights for hours, the seasoning is completely unsubtle, and I have never not felt sick after eating there.

That being said, I of course love the place. Dixie Kitchen is actually very good (The Dark Knight to Rajun Cajun's Creature from the Black Lagoon), as is its sister restaurant Calypso. But dear visitor, if you want Indian, please consider Hema's Kitchen or Mysore Woodlands on Devon St. (and not the Lincoln Park location of Hema's.)

[copperpixie]

We've all agreed just now that Hema's is gross.
(We = my apartment -- there are four of us. We all dislike Hema's, but love Rajun Cajun.)

Also the boyfriend says, "The samosas [at Rajun Cajun] are delicious! And if anyone says differently, I'll fight them. That's a girl right? Yes. I'll fight them."

Also he says Indian food isn't about subtlety. I think it is great, but I mean, I tried to suggest places alllll over Chicago since I don't know where they'll be visiting.

[xiloxoch]

Truth: the samosas at Rajun Cajun are the one thing that has never disappointed me. I will indeed join you in your love for RC on that front. (As for Hema's: what was gross? I had an awful time at the one by Fullerton, every dish was so oily that the surface reflected. But the one time I ate at the Devon St. location, it was really good. That was just the once, though, so I'm curious.)

[countrygirl_914]

Thanks for all your suggestions! I'll be sure to mention them to my friend.

"Rajun Cajun" is an Indian place? That's...not what I would have expected, from the name. But it doesn't seem to be getting very high praise from others, so I don't know if we'll hit it up.

We're not really "visiting" any particular place. I know I want to spend at least one day shopping, and I've never been to the Shedd Aquarium or the Museum of Science and Industry, so I wouldn't mind going to one of those two, but other than that...nada. Our plans pretty much consist of:

1) Get to Chicago each day.
2) Do stuff.

Although I'll be there on St. Patrick's Day, so I have a feeling there will be a pub or something involved on that day.

[noreentry]

This. Rajun cajun is gross. The meat is so foul. Although I do kind of miss the samosas..