Posted by ayersian
, July 23, 2010 11:41
Chicago…oh, Chicago. You certainly demand an entire blog entry just for yourself. After catching a Cubs game at Wrigley (and consuming the standard ballpark fare that comes along with such an outing) on Monday night we were able to cross “attractions” off of the Chi-town list and move on to the “dining.” Some may not consider Doug’s Dogs on N. California to be the place to break one’s morning fast, but knowing that the lines grow exponentially in relation to the time of day, we made it our first stop of the day. With so many unique combinations of exotic sausages (Foie gras dog! Corned beef sausage!) and designer toppings (Havarti cheese! Shrimp remoulade!), the selection process can be difficult. We decided to go with the “Game of the Week” (proudly posted beneath the head of a stuffed jackalope?), a wild rice and asiago cheese bison sausage topped with roasted yellow pepper mustard and Chimay beer cheese. A quick stop down the road at the Bleeding Heart Bakery (advertised as a “punk rock bakery”) for a Veruca Salt (salted caramel) cupcake and a couple of cake balls (think of a moist cake, then think denser, then denser again), and we were on our way to meet up with Gregg “Chi-Town Diner” Pill and his wife Patty for an afternoon/evening of Roadfood indulgence.
First stop (and certainly one of the highlights of an all-around 5-star day) was at Paradise Pup in Des Plaines. The charburger would have been delicious on its own, but when liberally topped with Merkt’s cheddar, tomato, and grilled onions…there are few words. Equally fabulous were the char dog (dressed Chicago-style), three-way fries (with Merkt’s, sour cream, and bacon), and the fresh raspberry shake. For something totally different, we made our way to Freddy’s in Cicero, a neighborhood Italian corner store that packs a tremendous amount of home-cooked food into a very small interior. Among the highlights of this stop were the stuffed gnocchi, tomatoes layered with fresh mozzarella and prosciutto, and the multiple cups of gelato and Italian ice shared around the table. After receiving an email from Gregg nearly a month back that simply read: “My 4 words for the day will be: Hoosier Mama Pie Company,” we were psyched for our next stop. The pie company has a very small (perhaps 2 tables?) storefront on Chicago Avenue from which they serve up a long list of homemade sweet and savory pies, including our choices of banana cream, chocolate chess, and apple raspberry with pecan crumble topping. Each of us seemed to come up with a different rank ordering, but everyone agreed that the pies were top-notch and worth a major travel detour when in town!
Our next stop was the iconic Margie’s Candies on Western Avenue for ice cream sundaes. Like Lagomarcino’s, they serve the hot fudge on the side—but here it’s in a silver pitcher, with ample fudge plus a delicious sugar wafer as garnish. The dish looks like a huge conch shell, and coupled with the old-timey memorabilia and fixtures, Margie’s is a must for all sweets lovers. Returning to hot dogs, we enjoyed a works dog stuffed Primanti’s-style with French fries at Redhot Ranch on Western, but the real draw here was the fabulously fried shrimp and cocktail sauce—excellent! Gregg took this opportunity to show us the Vienna Beef Factory where the Chicago hot dog magic happens, but it was all about the beef at Johnnie’s in Elmwood Park: steaming Italian beef, sopped with juiciness, redolent with hot giardiniera, cooled only by Johnnie’s Italian lemon ice with bits of rind mixed in. Does Chicago get better than this? Actually, yes it does—when we started Route 66 the next morning with breakfast at Lou Mitchell’s downtown on Jackson Street. Gregg had told us that when he was there last, The Travelin’ Man wouldn’t share his Apple and Cheese Omelette with anyone, so of course we had to try one for ourselves: Michigan sugar sweet apples topped an ultra-fluffy omelette stuffed with gooey Old English cheddar, sided with crunchy hash browns…TTM, we don’t blame you one bit! As always, a thousand thank-yous to Gregg and Patty for showing us their town. Now to actually get on the road and start Route 66!
