I was just thinking earlier today that there aren’t very many food bloggers (at least, compared to the Bay Area, say) in Chicago, considering how good an eating city it is. And then I read this on Chicago Foodie, in a post entitled GQ: Chicago is the Best Restaurant City in America:
“The irony is that I’ve been saying Chicago is the best restaurant city all along for another reason. I can’t think of another city that has such diversity and authenticity of ethnic restaurants. Almost more importantly, I can’t think of any other city where there is nothing better to do than eat.
BAHAHAHAHAHA! That is AWESOME. And really, true — I came here with two main activities in mind: to eat and to look at pretty buildings. (And because, as the post also notes, people here are less wrapped up in bullshit, and as a consequence are nicer and more down to earth.)
Month: June 2006
three meals before departing
I’ve been away on vacation since the middle of May, so my apologies for the lack of posts… but i have been eating my way across northern California with insane gusto, so there’s an avalanche of posts to come. MonkeyBoy has advised that I get a mini tripod to help out with those low-light restaurant photos, and I think I will take that advice, because an alarming number of the restaurant photos look like complete and total crap.
In any case, we had three lovely meals before we left, all at hometown favorites.
The night I hit Boston we stopped at Taiwan Cafe and got my favorite fu-chou fish ball soup, a tilapia in spicy sauce that tallasiandude had stumbled upon during a prior visit, and a plate of sauteed green beans that had me bouncing in my chair with the sheer pleasure of them. They were perfect, just the right doneness, and with a very clear, forward saltiness that came at least in part from the tiny dried shrimp. If you get nothing else at Taiwan Cafe, get these beans. Yum!
Another night we went to the Blue Room (watch out, link has &@^#%@ music!) to have dinner with one of tallasiandude’s classmates, and to sit at a table attended by another of his classmates. We had a lovely meal — the Blue Room is nothing if not reliable — with standouts being some grilled octopus, some liver-rific raviolis, and the bizarre but wonderful raisin-caper mash on top of my halibut.
And the night before we left, we joined up with littlelee and spleen for some korean kimchi treat in the fancified new Wu Chon House. I suspect some change in chef, due to minute variations in dishes, though the food is still as fantastic as ever. We had kimchi bokum of course, and a plate of bulgogi and another of kalbi. One of the pan chan was a braised beef that was just terrific, and the fresh kimchi was one of the most delicious i have ever eaten. It was nice to be home.
goat’s milk
As you wait for me to get my ass in gear and post stuff from our trip, let me just note that Whole Foods had some goat’s milk in quarts, and i picked some up on a whim yesterday. It’s great! It’s just like drinking regular milk, but with just the faintest whiff of goatiness. I love it. The subtaste of it reminds me of something from way back in my youth, but i can’t think what — maybe the nonfat dried milk we used to get? No, it is a *good* taste…. hmm. I will ponder.
harold, thank god
I just watched the finale of Top Chef — thank you, iTunes — and I am greatly relieved to find that Harold did indeed win the competition.
Though on some level I can relate to That Bitch Tiffani and her yearning to have money to travel, to taste food in its local contexts, to pay off her debts, and to finally feel free, the fact of the matter is that she got in her own way. She can be brilliant, if she would just stop trying to bend everyone and everything to her own will.
In any case, Harold is going to run the kind of kitchen I want to eat in: reliably delicious, just innovative enough, beautiful and down-to-bizness. Who wants to join me on a trip to his new place in NYC this winter? ELF? Directah? Boston peeps? Seriously — the more who come with, the more we can taste. Woo!