Category Archives: Reviews

December 7, 2011 · 4:06 PM

Discovering Portuguese Cheese

We’ve been in Lisbon for two weeks now, and have noticed the cheese and meat shops we expected to be so plentiful, well, aren’t. So, we have been searching around to find some good cheeses, and managed to pick up two at a small grocery store close to home on Lisbon’s far north side. They have a small, but well-stocked, meat and cheese counter, along with some bubbly-personality butchers and cheesemongers, which always make a purchase better.

Our first splurge was Castelo Branco, a semi-hard goat milk’s cheese named for the town where it originated in west-central Portugal. Castelo Branco packs a strong, pungent punch dispersed in a crumbly texture. It’s far too strong to eat on its own, but does make a great complementary flavor with something softer, like a simple salad or a pasta. We found it worked particularly well with a simple pesto pasta, which we have made a few times since we’ve been here. (M also decided to throw in some chouriço, but that is a different story).

Opening the refrigerator door every day and catching the wafting smells of the castelo branco made us opt for a slightly more mild second cheese. We opted for Flamengo, a semisoft cow’s milk cheese that is a staple on Portuguese sandwiches. It’s inoffensive, nutty, tasty, and melts very well – especially on grilled cheese sandwiches, we discovered. Flamengo usually comes in a red wax package, wrapped in red plastic or foil. Our brand was Terra Nostra (pictured right).

Over at CataVino, Andrea Smith has a great user’s guide to Portuguese cheeses that did a great job enlightening us to some of the finer points. Most interesting for us, Flamengo – Portuguese for “Flemish” – is actually a copy of Dutch edam (we knew it tasted familiar!).

And for those of you link-obsessed readers who clicked on all the links from this post, you will have noticed that our brand of flamengo is noted as “Natural dos Açores.” Does this mean we have officially eaten Azorean food? We think so. So with apologies to the hard work of Anthony Bourdain and his crew, up goes the flag!

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November 29, 2011 · 7:03 AM

Becoming European: Bialetti Espresso

The eaters are in Portugal for a month for research purposes and have rented an apartment. In our apartment there is a Bialetti Moka espresso maker. While we have long been familiar with this iconic little device, we had never used one. At home only L is a coffee drinker, so she set out right away to figure out how to make a cup. The official directions are on the Bialetti site, as well as many other step-by-step versions on blogs, easily enough. The whole process involved a set of unfamiliar tasks like grinding coffee to a just-above-espresso grind (?) and lighting an old gas stove (!), but after a little effort, a cup of espresso finally emerged. The espresso was definitely thicker and stronger than the kind from our Chemex pour-over at home, as it should be, and definitely tasted more like the cafe coffee in Lisbon.  With familiar coffee tools thousands of miles away we are thankful for the Bialetti.

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November 6, 2011 · 8:47 PM

No Souvlaki on the bus!

Lucky’s Souvlaki
Main Street, Thira, Santorini 848

Santorini is a rather expensive island, no surprise given the huge tourist crowd. However, hidden in the corners are a few places where you can still get cheap, tasty eats. One such place is Lucky’s Souvlaki, where you can get a pita full of grilled meat for less than 3 euros. Lucky’s Souvlaki is just north of the bus station in Thira, where we had to make many transfers to Ia/Oia and other parts of the island. Lucky’s is a tiny storefront, but is extremely crowded with both tourists and locals alike hoping for a souvlaki fix.

We each ordered a chicken souvlaki to go, from a rather large menu of souvlaki, falafel, gyros and other pita sandwiches. Souvlaki itself refers to meat that has been cooked on a kebab in Greek cuisine, and Lucky’s had a small mountain of meat ready to roast. Our souvlaki was cooked fresh to order and served with a healthy helping of tzatziki and tomatoes. Moreover, there were fries IN the pita – we also saw this preparation in Chania – who knew this is an apparently native style of pita preparation?

Though we were huge fans, unfortunately not everyone in Santorini is pro-Souvlaki. In fact, while attempting to board the bus after purchasing our Souvlaki we got kicked off the bus with a curt “No Souvlaki on the bus!”

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October 28, 2011 · 4:42 PM

Southern US: Hominy Grill in Charleston

Hominy Grill
207 Rutledge Avenue
Charleston, SC

We absolutely love Southern foodways and Chicago actually has some pretty good options. But since we were in the Southern foodie haven Charleston earlier this year we figured we would find some excellent southern food that would blow our Chicago options out of the water. The only problem was there were so many options! In our research, we found a few names that always came out on top, including Hominy Grill.

Hominy Grill is located in old red house, covered in vintage sign paintings including one that proclaimed “Grits are Good for You.” Now that is a health message we like. The inside of the house/restaurant was charming, with simple wooden tables, a whitewashed tin ceiling and ever-spinning ceiling fans. Between the two of us we ordered she crab soup ($4.50 for a cup) and fried green tomatoes with ranch dip ($4.25). Though fried green tomatoes seems to be a one of those dishes that always graces a Southern menu, neither M nor I had ever actually had it before. Both the soup and grits came out piping hot. The soup was decadently creamy and the fried green tomatoes were pleasantly tart. Though both of our appetizers were very good, we were most looking forward to the entree.

The pièce de résistance was without a doubt the shrimp & grits ($16.95), for which Hominy Grill is justifiably famous.  These shrimp and grits were gussied up with mushrooms, scallions and bacon, as well as a little garlic. They didn’t skimp on the shrimp and when they said cheesy – they meant it. The shrimp and grits were phenomenal – we have never had better! We regretted slightly not ordering two orders of shrimp-and-grits, but despite the sign on the outside we are not sure that would have been the healthiest thing to do. Had we been in Charleston for longer I can guarantee we would give Hominy another visit. We found a recipe for their grits in Southern Living Magazine, but I suspect they will not quite be the same.

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October 24, 2011 · 9:41 PM

Pizza by the Slice in Rome: Pizzarium

Pizzarium
Via della Meloria, 43
Rome, Italia

So one of the things we were most looking forward to in Italy was getting some good pizza (cliché we know). When scanning through the blogosphere for delicious places to eat on the cheap in Rome, we came across many glowing reviews of Pizzarium, so when knew we absolutely had to get there. Pizzarium is helmed by Gabriele Bonci, who is known for his bread and pizza know-how (and who was recently featured in the Atlantic). Pizzarium itself is a tiny, bright store, with nothing in the way of seating or much counter space (we ended up eating our pizza on the curb). However, this tight space is only a minor inconvenience.

When we arrived at the tiny Pizzarium we were stunned by the sheer variety crammed into a single tiny glass counter. On that day, there were about 15 varieties of pizza to choose from. Instead of getting pizza by the slice in the way Americans conceive of it, at Pizzarium they serve Pizza al taglio which refers to large, rectangular pizzas that are literally cut with shears/scissors and sold by the kilogram.

We tried 3 varieties of pizza: a classical Margherita Pizza (see above), Potato and Ricotta, and spicy Red Pepper Basil. For four slices we spent roughly 15 Euros – which is a pretty good deal for Rome. The crust was phenomenal, and really set the pizza apart from any we had previously. The crust, while not as thick as Sicilian sfincione (more on that later), had a nice thick crust like foccacia bread. We also appreciated the inventive flavor combos and the amazingly fresh ingredients. Pizzarium was the best pizza we sampled in Italy, and is a must do for anyone after (or before) a trip to the Vatican.

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October 20, 2011 · 7:30 PM

The best gelato in Rome: Giolitti

Giolitti
Via degli Uffici del Vicario, 40
Rome, Italy

Who knew that something that only cost 2.50 Euros could be so wonderful. We had our fair share of gelato in Sicily, but nothing could compare to the amazing gelato we got at Giolitti in Rome.  Tourists and locals alike fill this place every morning until 1:30 AM, and probably have since its opening in 1900. It became a Roman ritual of ours to get a scoop (or 3) of Giolitti and walk over to the Pantheon, which was a few mere blocks away. Though both of these places were constantly packed to the brim, we never seemed to mind.

The ordering process at Giolitti is a little bit different than most shops. You pay at the front cashier and get a receipt with your order. You then take your ticket to the ice cream counter and elbow your way to the front. You tell the scooper what flavors you want – and fast! No time for pondering!

The only ‘problem’ is choosing between a dizzying array of flavors of ice creams and sorbets. There are common flavors like chocolate, hazelnut and strawberry, but also other more esoteric offerings like Indian Fig, Baba al Rhum and Champagne. The chocolate fondente flavor was the darkest richest chocolate gelato we had ever tasted, so we were pretty much hooked from first bite. But since there were 3 flavors per scoop we felt we had to try a few of the myriad options.  Here are the optimal flavor combinations we arrived upon after days of deliberation:

  • L: Chocolate fondente, Oreo & Raspberry
  • M: Chocolate fondente, Oreo & Coconut


If you wanted any evidence of the gluttony present, this is an example of a single scoop. Yes, a single scoop at Giolitti is in fact a triple scoop with a huge dollop of whipped cream on the top. Heaven! We will never forget our daily trip to Giolitti, and we would be hard pressed to find a better gelato anywhere.

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October 19, 2011 · 11:04 PM

Finer things Club: A Tavola

A Tavola
2148 w. Chicago Ave.
Chicago IL, 60622

A Tavola is quite a lovely little restaurant. It is perfect for a date night out with your special someone, but despite the ambiance or any other fine menu offerings, there is only one reason – one very important reason – to go to A Tavola – the gnocchi! This remains our gold standard of gnocchi, even after going to Italy (where we coincidentally had terrible gnocchi 😦 ). The A Tavola gnocchi are impossibly light and pillowy, so much so that one serving is hardly enough. They come served with a sage and brown butter sauce, definitely a classic preparation that compliment the gnocchi well. The sauce is quite good on its own as well, and we found ourselves scraping up the remainder with pieces of bread. What are the secret behind these gnocchi? We don’t know, but they certain put most of the other leaden gnocchi we have sampled to shame.

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September 11, 2011 · 8:45 PM

Eating the Thailand Menu at Next

NEXT
953 W Fulton Market
Chicago, IL

Our vain efforts at reading the Thai newspaper on our table were interrupted by our server: “Have you ever heard Thai hip-hop?” The music moving through the spare dining room was far from our usual interests, but our server’s first question seemed to set the tone for our evening at NEXT: unabashedly sophisticated delights, innovative presentations, and informed, efficient, and unpretentious service.

We entered the restaurant at 5:15, fifteen minutes ahead of our ticket time. As such, we were the first ones to sit down, and so we stayed a course ahead of everyone else in the place for the night, so we were first to find out the next surprise. What followed were nine courses spread over 2 1/2 hours, and easily one of the great meals of our lives. Each flavor, bold and distinct, melded together with a carefully orchestrated set of sensory stimuli Grant Achatz threw at us: the smell of flowers worked subtly into dishes; the flash of color changes of napkins and place settings; the tactility of piles of chopped cocount shells; and the flavors, monotonously recited by our waiters until the explosion of that first bite. What follows is less of a review than a memory recap, and sincere apologies to all of you who were not able to get tickets. Enjoy:

Course 1: “Thai street food.” Utensils: a Thai newspaper, a banana leaf; paper plates, and plastic knives and forks. Dishes: Roasted bananas topped with pickled garlic, fried shallots, tiny Thai chilis, cilantro flowers and leaves; Fried Prawn cake with white pepper, lime zest, and coriander; Sweet shrimp with raw garlic and bird chilis, wrapped in a mint leaf; Fermented Thai sausage topped with peanuts, galangal, and and grilled scallions.

Cleanser 1: Juice of guava, mango, and papaya.

Course 2:  Thai street finished with two steamed buns, filled with mushrooms and spicy green curry.

Cleanser 2: Juice of chrysanthemum, lemongrass, and lychee.

Course 3: A riff on Tom Yum Soup: hot and sour broth with pork belly, tomato, and kaffir lime.

Course 4: A bamboo basket of steamed rice, paired with three sauces: a) A spicy mixture – the finest combination of flavor and capsaicin M has ever had – with chilis, shallots, and garlic; b) a sauce of salted duck egg with green mango and white radishes; and c) a sauce of pickled fruits and vegetables mixed with basil (pictured).

Course 5: Catfish braised in caramel sauce with celery, coriander root, a hibiscus flower, and the most amazing pearl onions we’ve ever had. No idea what he put in those things, but they were worth the price of admission.

Cleanser 3: Juice of carrot, ginger, and orange.

Course 6: Panang Curry remix: braised beef cheek in a curry of peanut, nutmeg, coconut, and lemongrass.

Cleanser 4: Juice of watermelon and lemongrass.

Course 7: A hollowed out coconut, served two ways. On the left: freeze-dried egg yolk, coconut, chili flakes, and licorice-infused tapioca balls. On the right: sweet coconut sorbet.

Cleanser 5: Juice of corn and pineapple.

Course 8: Half of a dragon fruit, served with a “smelling pairing” of a pink rose. We were instructed to eat half of the fruit, then smell the rose and eat the second half, taking note of the difference in flavor.

Course 9: Thai iced tea served in a to-go bag, as is common in Bangkok.

For the price we paid this was an unbelievable amount of food, and all of it executed to perfection. We have never been so full or satisfied with such a high-end meal in our lives. And we hear there is a Sicilian menu in the works….

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September 4, 2011 · 10:16 PM

Brazilian Cuisine in NYC: Berimbau

Berimbau
43 Carmine Street
New York, NY

It is with a little irony that we went to a middle eastern restaurant on a street called “Little Brazil” in Midtown Manhattan. Up and down the street there were Brazilian restaurants and stores, but we were meeting a friend who suggested a Middle Eastern place, so we only could look wistfully at the signs advertising Açaí smoothies and the like. I took us a trip to Greenwich Village to get our fill of Brazilian food, when we ended up at Berimbau. We got a little turned around on our way to the restaurant (we went without the aid of smartphones at the time – can you believe it!), but we eventually found our way. The restaurant itself is tinier than tiny – with two rows of tables (probably seating for 20 or so) and exposed brick walls with a few Brazilian berimbaus on display.

The nicely edited menu contained many of our favorites as well as updated takes on some classics. We started out with one of our iconic favorite, Pão de Queijo ($6.95), little cassava flour rolls filled with Catipury cheese. We were the first diners there, by necessity of making an 8PM show that night. It was a tiny bit awkward, as the servers stared us down while we twiddled our thumbs waiting for our Pães, which turned out to be quite good.

For entrees, M ordered the Strogonoff de Frango ($17.95). The Stroganoff consisted of chicken breast in a mushroom cream sauce and came with rice and shoestring potatoes. The sauce itself was very flavorful with the aroma of mushrooms, but seemed like it was missing a little bit of a kick. L ordered the Bobo de Camarão (18.95) – a traditional Bahian fish stew with Shrimp and yucca. It came garnished with a heaping helping of cilantro, which is always a plus, and had a little bit of spice, which we found missing from M’s dish.

Berimbau filled something of an interesting void for us – an upscale Brazilian restaurant that was not an oversized steakhouse or a tiny mom and pop cafe. Of course, there is nothing wrong with either option, but definitely a Brazilian dining option we lack in Chicago. Berimbau, perhaps at a little bit of a later hour, would certainly be perfect for a date night out.

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August 17, 2011 · 4:01 PM

Next Menus at Next Restaurant

There had been much speculation about the next iteration of the shape-shifting NEXT restaurant, including some buzz about a possible El Bulli menu – but here’s the dish, right from Grant Achatz himself – being interviewed in Time Out Chicago:

So basically Dave [Berand, Next’s chef de cuisine] and I were going ‘All right, we did Escoffier and then challenged ourselves with Thai—which, side note, we don’t claim to be Thai experts but it was our version of it—so we did those and now what?’ … So he was like ‘What if we try to create a menu based on a book of children’s poetry?’ and I’m like ‘Oh Jesus, talk about taking a risk, now we’re opening a huge can of worms.’ But at the same time I thought it was really cool idea, very creative.

So Childhood next, Kyoto in spring 2012, Sicily in summer 2012…what about El Bulli?

So coming up in October is going to be a tribute to Childhood! I can only imagine what forms that will take. But to be honest, I’m really looking forward to the Sicily menu.

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August 12, 2011 · 12:06 AM

Mexico: Cemitas Puebla

Cemitas Puebla
3619 W. North Avenue
Chicago, IL

The name pretty much says it all – Cemitas Puebla specilizes in the cemita, a type of sandwich that is indigenous to Puebla, Mexico. Though we usually head to Pilsen (or Rogers Park for that matter) for Mexican food – we were surprised to find ourselves in the primarily Caribbean Humboldt Park (note to selves we need some Puerto Rican food, stat!) The space itself is relatively tiny and non-descript, and like most little places with hype there is always a wait and a line. Suffice to say, Cemitas Puebla is not a hidden secret anymore – and evidence of their various brushes of fame (Diners, Drive-in and Dives, etc) – is apparent. When we walked in we were greeted by a gregarious fellow we can only assume was an owner with a hearty “Hello – welcome! Do you know what a Cemita is, let me explain….” After listening to a little spiel we were ready to order.

Naturally we started out by ordering a Cemita ($6) – we chose a milanesa cemita (breaded pork cutlet) – other options were ham, cheese, carne asada and cow foot. Our food arrived at the counter just a few minutes later, and we were excited and a little bit nervous, as we often are at uber-popular restaurants (were we going to love it or hate it). Fortunately, the Cemitas did not disappoint. The pork was juicy and tender and topped with a crazy amount of avocado, a spicy chipotle sauce and a huge pile of Oaxacan cheese. All of the ingredients worked together perfectly, and each bite was packed with flavor. For good measure, we also got an order of the Tacos Arabes ($2.60), park tacos carved off a spit (like gyros) on a thick tortilla. The tacos arabes were also delicious, but did not shine like the cemita. Cemitas Puebla is good local place with a unique specialty, but definitely with a little bit of the TV treatment. But if you can get past that, the food actually does rock.

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July 31, 2011 · 9:51 AM

Brazil: Taste of Brazil

Taste of Brazil
906 S Oak Park Ave.
Oak Park, IL

Taste of Brazil is a tiny storefront covered in Brazilian flags, opened in March 2009. The restaurant is bright and sunny with a chalkboard menu and a cooler full of appetizers and cakes.  There were Brazilian flags and colors on the wall and stacks of Guarana soda piled high. When we were there, the server, Christiane, couldn’t have been nicer. When she found out we were something of luso-philes, she became even more excited.

We started out our meal with a few snacks from the many enticing options in the case. First, we sampled the Coixinha ($2.25), basically a delicious glorified chicken nugget shaped like a drumstick. There were also a variety of sweet and savory pastries to choose from. We chose a quintessential Brazilian favorite, Pastel Romeo & Juliet ($2.25) a pastry filled with Catipury cheese and guava jelly. For dinner we tried the quintessential North-Eastern Brazilian dish – Moqueca ($9.89) – fish stew with a coconut milk sauce. Their version is made with tilapia. The moqueca came with some piping-hot lentil soup clearly made from scratch. Owing to a large Lebanese population, lentil soup is quite popular in Brazil. The moqueca was creamy and delicious, with a little hint of spice, favored more in the Northeast.

Finally, and the icing on the cake (literally) were the delicious Brigadeiros ($1). Brazilians are known for their love of sugar, and Brigadeiros, little chocolate truffles covered in sprinkles, are a testament to that. From start to finish we were so pleased with our experience at taste of Brazil and we were really excited to support a nice local business.

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July 26, 2011 · 3:54 PM

Solid Indian buffet in Madison: Maharaja

Maharaja Restaurant‎
6713 Odana Rd #12
Madison, WI

We are totally into Indian Buffets and long story short: this is the Best Indian Buffet in Madison! Yes we are bolding it. We have been there several times, and are never disappointed in terms of quality or selection. The price of $9.95 for the lunch buffett ain’t bad either.

The buffet is tucked away in a back room of a pretty standard, if expansive (in a banquet-hall sort of way), Indian restaurant. The last time we were there the buffet had:

  • Palak Pakora – fried spinach and onion
  • Tandoori Chicken
  • Garlic Naan (Yes – we HATE when buffets charge extra for naan)
  • Masala Dosa – Indian crepe
  • Iddli – Tamil rice dumplings
  • Sambaar – Tamarind vegetable stew
  • Aloo Gobi – Spiced potatoes and cauliflour
  • Palak Paneer – Creamed spinach
  • Lamb Curry
  • Salad bar as well as soup
  • Dessert Selection: sorbets and gulab jamun

And of course we had a Mango Lassi to wash it all down.

SUCCESS!cimg0953

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July 21, 2011 · 12:48 PM

Brazilian Pizza in Chicago: Fogo 2 Go [closed]

Fogo 2 Go
926 W. Diversey Ave.
Chicago, IL

We are happy that there are now more non-rodizio Brazilian restaurants in Chicago. I mean having an endless array of meat skewers is good, but Brazil has so much more to offer! Right off of the Diversey El stop is one such restaurant, Fogo 2 Go. Fogo 2 Go, a tiny restaurant with a giant brick oven, specializes in fresh rotisserie chicken and a wide selection of Brazilian style pizzas (over 60 varieties). The two owners fell in love with the pizza in São Paulo and had originally opened a pizzeria there, later bringing that pizza expertise to Chicago. One obvious thing that sets Brazilian pizza apart from US pizza is an “anything-goes” approach to toppings, and not in a California Pizza Kitchen type of way. We’re talking about toppings of corn, tuna, capers, avocado slices and hardboiled eggs, all together.

The pizza menu includes dozens of selections, but any option can be customized. We went with the Frango com Catipury pizza ($17.19 for a medium, $24.69 for an extra large, $11.99 personal size), which came with rotisserie chicken, red sauce, mozzarella and a Brazilian speciality cheese, catipury that is something like Mascarpone. There are also an assortment of classic Brazilian appetizers on the menu like Kibe (yep, Lebanese kibbe), Coixinha (kind of like an excellent chicken nugget) and Pães de queijo ($3.39 for 5 cheese bread rolls – which we ordered of course).

We watched as our pizza was assembled by hand in front of us and thrown into the oven along with our pan of pães. About 10 minutes later, both our bread and pizza were ready, the the exceptionally enticing pizza was a mess of bubbly and cheesy goodness. The crust itself was crispy and held up the the mountain of cheese, and the rotisserie chicken was a revelation (new choice for a pizza topping, right?). We also thought that the brick oven firing made the pães especially delicious, but then again we have never met a pão we didn’t like.

So kudos to Fogo 2 Go. It is an unassuming but amazing place – but it turns out amazing food. As we left we were urged to come back for the back for the 1/2 chicken special, which was deemed the best in town, by two of Chicago’s finest. Maybe next time, along with our rotisserie chicken and pizza, we can also get a slice of the Prestigio Cake (cocnut and chocolate cake). Sound like a pretty good meal, no?

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July 10, 2011 · 9:18 AM

…Hitched!

We got married! Posting to resume shortly…

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June 15, 2011 · 10:42 AM

Thailand: Ruby of Siam [closed]

Ruby of Siam
170 W Washington St
Chicago, IL

This post is going to be brief, since we actually ate there a while ago, so the pictures will have to mostly speak for themselves. While the food itself was good, solid Thai (though nothing spectacular) the location is really what sets it apart. Perfect before catching the Metra, a movie or a jaunt at the AIC. We were impressed by the elegant decor and comfortable booths –  a big step up from many more spartan takeout places in the area. The early dinner crowd was somewhat thin, but we hear they have a good lunch buffet – also possibly of note – RoS is BYOB. If you’re not feeling like Potbelly or bar food Ruby of Siam was, quick, efficient and tasty Thai in the loop. However, for Thai food in the loop area Star of Siam is still our reigning favorite.

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Mussaman Curry ($10.95)cimg1522

[below] Pad See Eiw (8.95) Note the Cool aluminum bowl for the rice.

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May 26, 2011 · 12:52 PM

On the Road Again

The ETW-ers are on the road again in search for more good world eats (while still in the US). We are off to Boston first and then onto our storied BBQ Tour 2K11 – with stops in Nashville, Knoxville, Asheville, Charleston and environs. Stay Tuned!

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May 18, 2011 · 1:08 PM

Pizza: Great Lake [Closed]

Great Lake
1477 W Balmoral Ave
Chicago 60640

Great Lake has garnered honor after honor for having the top pizza in Chicago, if not the nation. Great Lake features a small, daily changing menu of specialty pizzas with locally-sourced ingredients, which justifies the relatively high price of the 14″ pizzas ($22+). Generally, hype lets us down, but sometimes we have wins (eg Kumas). So how would Great Lake hold up?

It is not joke to say that Great Lake is tiny. There are probably only about 8 seats in the place and you cannot sit down until you have ordered and your entire party is there. If you attempt to sit or stand in the restaurant without meeting these requirements you will be summarily kicked out. So long story short, don’t bank on sitting down. A steady takeout traffic also slows things down (a tip: if you’re gonna eat here, do takeout!).

When our party of three  finally got a table we shared a Cremini Mushroom, White Cheddar, Black Pepper Pizza with herbs ($23). The crust was pretty good, and though it was thin, it held up to the toppings, unfortunately, but was over-charred in places. We also had a prosciutto pizza with buffalo mozzarella ($25). Again, a good pizza with a solid crust, but an inexcusably sparse topping of both mozzarella and prosciutto. Now I know this type of pizza is sparsely topped as a rule, but for 25 bucks I want more than 5 mozzarella rounds….

In summary, Great Lake was good, but not THAT good. If I had gone to this place before all the hype I would have liked it more, but not much more. With all of this praise, it was inevitable that the actual product would be something of a letdown. I think the somewhat difficult seating/dining arrangement has also only served to build their paradoxical fame. If you are going to be treated like trash the product must be GREAT, right? All told, I would rather go to a similarly or cheaper priced place with actual tables and service that doesn’t seem to begrudge your mere existence.

A bonus: there were also hard-to-find Mast Brothers chocolate bars for sale.

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May 12, 2011 · 3:07 PM

Senegal: Yassa

Yassa
716 East 79th Street
Chicago, IL

The restaurant we visited when we first decided to start eating the World was Senegalese, so we have always had a soft spot in our hearts for Senegalese food. Of course, it does not hurt that it is extremely delicious! We had to travel quite a bit south to make our way to Yassa, and when we walked in we were greeted by some cool decor. There were murals on the walls and even a little store in the back selling Senegalese and Nigerian movies.

Yassa had an amazing selection of drinks for only 2 dollars apeice: we ended up choosing ginger and boabab drinks, other choices were tamarind and bissap (sorrel). The Ginger drink was super strong with an incredible fresh ground ginger flavor that was pretty spicy and refreshing. We also ordered some Baobab tea – a flavor wholly unknown to us. In fact, it is wholly unknown to the US, pretty much, since it was just approved by the FDA for consumption only recently. If we had to describe, we would say that baobab tasted unusually like hazelnut.

For our entrees we ordered Maffe ($11) and the Yassa Chicken ($11). The maffe, a classic Senegalese tomato and peanut butter stew of lamb with potatoes, carrots and yams, served with white rice. The flavor of the Maffe was rich and velvety and was a peanut butter lovers’ dream, which clearly pleased M. The lamb, which sometimes can get stringy, was moist and tender. The Yassa chicken came marinated in an onion and mustard sauce alongside white rice. The marinade was flavorful and there was a huge amount of on-the-bone chicken. Though we tried valiantly neither of us was able to finish more than half of our lunches.

We had heard that the service was a little bit slow, but it didn’t really bother us much. We were the only group in the place, and the servers were amazing attentive and they took very good care of us. The food at Yassa was amazing and we think they definitely deserve some more clientele.

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April 15, 2011 · 12:23 PM

Nigeria: Bolat

Bolat
3346 N Clark St
Chicago, IL

Bolat has been around for awhile, but the the slick redesign is much newer. The walls are a rich red and brown and there is an oversized mural on each wall, very different from the simple stark mom-and-pop restaurants that are the familiar faces of international food in Chicago. Located in Lakeview, Bolat features Nigerian, Kenyan and some popular-pan African dishes. Our waitress suggested that we each should order 2-3 dishes, but we think she  may have undersold the size of the dishes…. If we had followed her advice – I think we would have each had enough food for the week. For the three of us, we ordered 3 entrees and 2 appetizers.

We started out with Fried plantain with peanut sauce ($6) and Fried yuca with 3 sauces ($10). The fried plantain was amazing, and yuca tasted like a particularly starchy version of french fries. For our entrees we chose Peanut Soup over fufu with fish ($12), Yellow Goat Curry ($16 – with a little kick of heat) and Jolloff rice with goat ($18). Jolloff rice, made with onions and tomato, is a standard go-to order to gauge how good a west African restaurant is. The Jolloff rice we sampled at Bolat was excellent, and we were very pleased.

We also sampled an interesting dessert – a very strong hibiscus cordial – kind of like a beefed up Jamaica. There had been some complaints about the painfully slow service, but we found it to be perfectly pleasant, though it should also be noted that we were not in any sort of rush. Though it is a little pricey, Bolat is a good place to explore West African food in Chicago, and newbies will be tempted by the convenient location.

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