We like lists here at ETW, and we (obviously) also liek food, so best of food lists are pretty much our favorite thing.
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Le Colonial
N. Rush
Chicago, IL
Yes, we are aware that French Indochina does not exist. However, Le Colonial does its best to channel a romantic fin-de-siècle Vietnamese atmosphere with elegant decor and potted palms. We enjoyed a very continental 9 o’clock dinner, which was too dark for a good ambiance shot – so here’s a photo from the restaurant’s website. The menu itself is a fusion of Vietnamese dishes with some French flavors and techniques.
To start off we ordered a few appetizers. M ordered Banh cuon (9.50), which was a chicken and mushroom stuffed rice noodle ravioli. It came with a delicious lime garlic sauce. L started with Tom cuon ram (10.50) which were shrimp beignets with an orange ginger sauce.
For entrees, L ordered the Tom xao sate ($24), which was a sauteed mixture of spicy shrimp and asparagus over a bed of rice. This is not a dumbed-down dish. It had more than a little heat to it and some great bite from the garlic and ginger. M ordered Ga xao xa ot (19) lemongrass-flavored chicken and portobello mushrooms, with a basil chili sauce. M felt the lemongrass was a bit overpowering, but L being a lemongrass lover was not bothered.
We don’t know how we had any room left after all of that food, but the Ciao Bella gelato looked enticing so we each had a scoop of mango (M requested his with chocolate sauce). And perhaps coolest of all, as we were sipping on our after-dessert espresso we had a Stephanie Izard sighting. Guess we were in the right place!
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Cinco de Mayo is actually more widely celebrated in the US than in Mexico, where it is primarily a holiday in the state of Puebla. The Cinco de Mayo holiday celebrates the defeat of the French army by the Mexican army in the Battle of Puebla, on May 5, 1862. So while most Cinco de Mayo restaurant specials in the area involve Margaritas, we decided to put up some tasty Poblano foods.
The New York Times called Puebla the “Lyon of Mexico” – known internationally for its fine cuisine. We certainly can’t argue with that, since Puebla has given us some of our favorite dishes like mole poblano. Mole Poblano is usually what people think of when they hear ‘mole’ in the US – the complex spicy sauce made from dried peppers with a hint of chocolate. Chiles en nogada is another archetypal Poblano dish. It’s particularly festive – especially since it is red (pomegranate), green (poblano pepper) and white (walnut sauce), the colors of the Mexican Flag. Elise at Simply recipes has a recipe for this photogenic dish. Epicurious has a few more delicious recipes including a tasty-sounding chicken and potato stew.
If you’ve got a hankering for Poblano cuisine and you don’t feel like staying in, you could also head out to Cemitas Puebla (3619 W. North Avenue) for some of the best cemitas (Poblano sandwiches on eggy bread) in Chicago!
Bangkok Cafe
17 N Vail Ave
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
Downtown Arlington Heights is a surprisingly nice little place, with a range of restaurants ranging from bars to Spanish Tapas. And for the burbs, it has a surprising number of Thai places, too. However, Bangkok Cafe is a notch above the typical strip-mall Thai offering endemic to the area. All in all, Bangkok Cafe is the type of local Thai place you would expect to find in a trendier area of Chicago – not too expensive (dishes under about $9 apiece), muted, modern decor, with the requisite gamut of noodle and curry dishes represented.
A friend in town and I were craving Thai while in the area, so we decided to give Bangkok Cafe a try. We stuck with some standby favorites – Mussaman Curry and the Pad See Eiw, though the menu did offer some more unusual seafood dishes. The Mussaman curry was good, but seemed to contain less coconut milk than usual, though it came with a nice topping of cashews. The Pad See Eiw was a bit unusual in that it came ontop 0f a bed of spinach – never seen that presentation before!
We were pleased with our meals, and the atmosphere of the restaurant was pleasant and conducive to chatting (though it was surprisingly full of teenagers at the time). We hear Bangkok Cafe also does a brisk lunch business and has a $6.99 special. Bangkok Cafe doesn’t break the mold (or the bank), but it’s a great place for a nice, low key dinner in the burbs if you are craving solid American Thai food.
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I’m always intrigued by new dishes, but it’s not often I encounter an entirely new fruit. So when I saw something called a Carica mysteriously jarred at Brennan’s in Madison, I knew I had to try it. So, what’s a Carica? It’s a sweet fruit, grown in South America, especially in Chile, and it is also known as a Mountain papaya. Despite the name, it’s not exaclty like the type of papaya we are familiar with here in the states. It certainly tastes different – with tinges of pear and peach alongside a the more familiar papaya notes. Carica would be good with anything that usually calls for a papaya. We like them over ice cream! The main importer of Carica in the US is Tamaya (check out their site for recipes), we don’t know of any places you can get it fresh yet.
Bien Trucha
410 W. State St.
Geneva, IL
If this is not the tiniest restaurant in Chicagoland, we would like to know what is. Occupying a small storefront originally inhabited by a nail salon, Bien Trucha (“Good Trout”) has five small tables with a maximum seating capacity of no more than 15; a reviewer on Serious Eats says it has “the square footage of a Volkswagen Jetta.” Yet all the food in this tiny place comes at you with an amazing amount of flavor and creativity, making it into one of the blogosphere’s new favorite Mexican restaurants. Obviously, we had to go. What we found was a tiny restaurant with a great knack for doing simple ingredients and flavors amazingly well.
We started with a pair of appetizers: Mexican-style ceviche ($7.95) and Poblano chile soup with potato cubes and queso fresco ($3.95). M is not normally a fan of Mexican ceviche (he goes for Peruvian when he can) but found this better than most others he has tried: the tomatoes, fresh fish, cilantro, lime juice, and avocado were served in a more generous portion than is typically found, and the extra juice from the limes and tomatoes kept the entire mixture very well-balanced, both in flavors and texture. Likewise, the Poblano chile soup was a treat, and managed to be both creamy and light. Straight, simple, and to the point – a great prelude to the rest of our meal, and an excellent warm, smooth appetizer to pair with the ceviche.
But Bien Trucha’s tacos are their specialty. We tried three varieties, all on flour tortillas: Camarón Tacos (grilled spiced shrimp with an avocado slice, 
$9.95;); Bien Trucha Tacos (grilled skirt steak, chorizo, manchego cheese and tomatillo-serrano salsa, $8.95) and Tacos de Pescado (battered fried tilapia, cabbage, onion, lime and chipotle aoili, $8.95). Each variety was nearly perfect. Served in groups of four on a simple wooden board, their presentation is a perfect complement to Bien Trucha’s style. What really stood out to us was how fresh everything was – even the fish tacos were great all this way inland. While we don’t know if these tacos are worth a 2 hour drive, if you are anywhere near the West suburbs, they’re worth the trip.
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Deta’s Cafe
7555 N. Ridge
Chicago, IL
The thing about places with small menus is that they usually do those few items really well. And the menu of Deta’s is about as small as they get. Think 2 items. Deta’s itself is blink-and-you’ll-miss-it small, tucked into a small storefront on Ridge off of a bustling stretch of Howard. At Deta’s you basically have a choice of either a Burek or a salad, and the dessert of the day. The showpiece of Deta’s is definitely the Burek, an intricate cousin of the calzone, which is a coiled pastry with a variety of fillings – Deta’s does meat or cheese. Call ahead if you have a particular preference – there was only meat when we visited.
Between the two of us we ordered a Greek salad ($6) and a meat Burek ($6.50). The Greek salad was simple but fresh, with tomatoes, red and green bell peppers and a generous helping of feta. The salad was bigger than we expected, but it was nowhere near as zaftig as the burek. As you can see below, the burek is monster-sized. The photo only features one half! The Burek is something of a national obsession in Montenegro, and is a major source of local culinary pride. And we can say that Deta’s does it proud. The crust was flaky and tender, and the ground beef filling was tasty and delicately spiced. We even surprised ourselves by finishing the massive dish. According to the menu, the burek is typically served with a yogurt drink, not typically ordered by American patrons. However we didn’t notice this until after we ordered!
Eating at Deta’s is like eating in your grandma’s living room. We kind of get the sense that this little cafe does pretty much serve as Deta’s living room. During our meal, Deta and a group of relatives and friends chatted and noshed in a big table behind us while music from Montegenro blared over dubbed soap operas. After dinner we chatted with Deta. We told her that we would have like to try the enigmatic yogurt drink mentioned on the takeout menu- and I think she was impressed by our modest attempt at culinary authenticity. She told us to try the yogurt next time and also to call in advance – she would make whatever type of Burek we wanted. We’re looking forward to making a return visit to try the cheese burek and to talk with Deta – she’s the Montenegrin grandma we never had!
The blogosphere is abuzz with the news that restaurants (and other businesses) will now be able to respond to reviews on the popular user-generated review site Yelp. Obviously, the buzz is that restaurants are looking to minimize fallout from bad reviews. We have mixed feelings on this. While it would give restaurants a chance to respond to slander – some bad reviews are justified. While we enjoy Yelp, and feel it provides a good general feel for many restaurants in the area, the site has had its share of problems over the years, including allegations that they delete and weight reviews for pay. It’ll be interesting to see how this latest move plays out. We shall see.
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Epic Burger
517 S State St.
Chicago, IL
Right away we was impressed by Epic Burger’s space – HUGE ceilings and bright orange and brown pop art walls. At 5 PM on a Wednesday, EB was already hopping, with Chicagoans of all ages scarfing down EB’s stock in trade – all natural burgers. Epic Burger’s tagline is a “more mindful burger” a reflection of it’s locally sourced foods. A burger with all the fixings runs you $5.99 (Junior 4.99 and a double 7.99). For an extra dollar you can get cheese on your burger – a choice between aged cheddar, havarti and blue. We both opted for the combo meal which was a burger, fries and fountain drink for $10. The burgers were good – the meat was high quality, making for a lean yet juicy burger, and each burger was grilled to order. The toothsome multi-grain wheat bun also held up well. Unfortunately, the sea salt fries were a bit soggy and seemed like they had been under a lamp for a while. We had a good quick meal at EB, but I’m not entirely sure the price tag is worth it. Next time I think we’ll just skip the fries.
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Shokolad
2524 W Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL
On the border of Ukrainian Village on Chicago Ave., Shokolad is an oasis of baked goods and borscht. When we entered the bright, airy space on a Saturday afternoon, a group of regulars were chatting in Ukrainian and a few others sipped coffee with newspapers at the coffee bar. The menu boasts a variety of Ukrainian favorites like Ukrainian dumplings – varenyky – filled with cheese and potatoes ($8) and a classic borscht ($3.25 for a bowl). Those feeling more brunchy can opt for the cheese and blueberry crepes ($6.50).
However, we were hungry for an afternoon snack, and the dessert case at Shokolad looked amazing. The prices didn’t hurt either. Featured was a delicate Opera cake ($4.25), alongside chocolate-covered cheesecake lollipops ($1.25), which were the perfect portion for snacking on the go.
Cookies rounded out the dessert selections, and at only $0.50 a piece we felt we could sample a few varieties, including Raspberry and Apricot spritz and Raspberry crumble (see above). The best cookie was the chewy gingersnap sandwich with cream, speckled with rock sugar crystals. Shokolad’s melange of cozy American cafe and Ukrainian hangout really work well, and anyone in the area should drop by for brunch – or an afternoon snack.
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There’s some new stuff happening at Eating The World. Spring is in the air! Here’s what we’ve been up to:
Twitter Feed: Check out the sidebar.
Tea Tuesdays: We love tea (along with many others), so we figured we’d talk about some of our global tea finds: Tea varieties, teaware, tea shops, etc.
A New Place: We created this feature because we currently have over 50 restaurants from 20 countries on our “to visit” list. It’s going to be a while before we get to them all, so we figured we’d feature new places for international eats as we put them on our list.
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Pupuseria y Restaurante Cuscatleco
Formerly 7109 N. Clark, now 3125 W Lawrence Ave.
Chicago, IL
I think we found our new favorite lunch fix. The pupusa. Pupusas are traditional stuffed cornmeal (masa) patties from El Salvador, and are the stock in trade at the Pupuseria y Restaurante Cuscatleco on North Clark. The menu itself is divided between Salvadoran and Mexican dishes. On the Mexican side there are favorites like burritos, tortas and tostadas ($2.50 – 6). The Salvadoran side boasts more unusual dishes like Tamal de Gallina (Hen Tamales, $2) and Yuca con Chicharrón ($7.25).
The king of the Salvadoran dishes however, is the pupusa, and Cuscatleco has several varieties including Chicharrón (pork rind), queso fresco cheese and beans. One of the more unusual choices is the loroco, which is an aromatic green flower, used often in Salvadoran cuisine. At 2 dollars a piece you can try a few – we went with the cheese and loroco. However, don’t think these are tiny little tortillas, three pupusas more than filled two hungry eaters.
Upon ordering, the cooks prepare your pupusas to order and grill them right there on the plancha. The space itself is pretty spartan, with some booths and high tables. The kitchen is right out front, so we could see (and smell) our pupusas in production. As we waited for our order, we took in the daytime delights of “Escándalo TV” (Showbiz TV), which was blaring from a TV in the corner.
In mere minutes our order was ready. The pupusas came with 2 thin salsas – a mild red and a spicy green and a bowl of traditional vinegary slaw, called curtido, which is typically eaten on top of the pupusa. The pupusas themselves were chewy and golden brown and brimming with queso fresco and the bright green herby loroco. We devored our lunch and were completely satiated. We just might become regulars here. I can’t think of a better lunch than watching some bad Daytime TV with a friend and some tasty, tasty masa.
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If you’re in the mood to celebrate with some actual pie, check out Serious Eats’ list of the best pies in America. Though I’m a tad disappointed they don’t have many Midwest listings, only including Hoosier Mama from Chicago. The Sun Times made a compilation a few years back including gems from all across Chicagoland.
Alliance Bakery
1736 Division St.
Chicago, IL
Tucked away in a vintage shop in a rapidly gentrifying stretch of Division, Alliance Bakery has been churning out classic cakes, cookies and pastries for over 80 years. The windows are lined with fantastically detailed (and sometimes absurd) custom cakes in the shape of hats, purses and multi-tiered wedding confections. For a smaller bite, the giant cookies are fantastic as are the perfectly-iced cupcakes. Along with a selection of European pastries, Intelligentsia coffee is brewed, and wide selection of bread is ready to take home. On a nice day, outdoor patio seating is prime. Alliance has recently expanded into the storefont next door, making a whole room dedicated to air-conditioned and wi-fi. If you want to people watch, you can nosh in the picture window on pink upholstered chairs, under the watch of the distinctive neon sign.
Alliance Bakery sign by Sam Howzit
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It was L’s birthday this week, and as one of her presents, M got her a molcajete. Isn’t it cute? A Molcajete is a traditional Mexican kitchen implement made from volcanic rock. So they’re pretty much awesome volcanic mortar and pestles used for making a variety of salsas and moles. They often come with animal faces, and the volcanic rock is said to impart some mysteriously delicious extra flavor into any sauce made in the molcajete.
But this was not just any model, apparently this molcajete has even been vetted by Rick Bayless himself, who praised its smooth surface. We were excited to try our molcajete out – but before using it we had to season it. To accomplish this, we first rinsed it thoroughly, ground dried rice into it, and finally pulverized a mixture of garlic, sea salt and cumin seeds. Now the molcajete is ready for business, and it will only improve with age. Look for some recipes soon.
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Brazil Cafe
1983 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA
I had a lunch break for my conference at UC-Berkeley – what to do? Downtown Berkeley is overrun with Asian fare, southern and eastern, but I was looking for something more esoteric. A quick call back to L at our home base, some internet research, and a leisurely walk later I found myself staring across Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley toward a parking lot wedged inside an office park – a parking lot home to Berkeley’s most colorful eatery, Brazil Cafe. One look at the small, festive stall and I knew this was going to be a good meal, and judging by the selections on the surfboard-menu, my hunch was right.
I walked right up to the counter, and before I even had a chance to order, the unemotional but efficient owner was shoving a toothpick of tri-tip steak toward my face – her speciality. Tri-tip is a special cut of meat, a little more marbled than other steaks and extra juicy, which at Brazil Cafe gets thrown on a sandwich and combined with a rich and flavorful green garlic sauce. “I’ll have that.” Along with a mango smoothie. A combination which, as it turned out, was one of the special student combos – all for $7.95.
I got a number and picked a seat out back, amidst the jamming sounds of contemporary Brazilian samba and photos of American tourists at Ipanema Beach. The wait for the food was short, so I was ready to dive in to my sandwich – and what a sandwich it was. The thin paper sandwich tray was clearly ill-designed to contain the massive tri-tip, a problem which I set out to rectify by scarfing it down. I was pretty hungry. And you have to be to come here, the juicy, lightly marbled meat, thick bread, and rich, flavorful garlic sauce make for a filling, messy, and tasty meal. The sauce makes the sandwich (as many sauces do), and I was frankly surprised by its heaviness and strong garlic flavor (not that anyone is complaining about too much garlic). Good as it was, the mango smoothie really hit the spot by balancing out the sandwich flavors with a nice, sweet, fruity, and really fresh finish to the lunch. All in all, it was one of those meals you could tell was all fresh ingredients used right on the spot, and given Brazil Cafe’s parking lot real estate, that was pretty surprising. So kudos to the owner (a Brazilian native – I could tell by her accent) for giving Berkeley a great, filling, fun lunch spot, particularly one that gets Brazil out of the all-steakhouse-all-the-time reputation it seems to have Stateside.
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Cafecito
26 East Congress Pkwy
Chicago, IL
Upon entering Cafecito we had our first sign that it was a hidden gem – directly ahead of us in line was a pack of Chicago Police officers. If there are 8+ police officers in a place at 5 PM on a Saturday, we figure the food has to at least be decent. Cafecito’s laid-back and colorful ambiance welcomed us in right away, and other than the cops, the place was populated by international teens and 20-somethings checking their e-mail – not surprising since Cafecito is connected to a hostel!
Cafecito focuses on reasonably-priced pressed sandwiches which are akin to paninis. However unlike paninis, Cuban-style sandwiches are pressed on a plancha grill – and have no grill marks. Cafecito’s most famous offering is their Cubano sandwich, recently rated as Time Out as the best in all of Chicago, which is no small feat. So naturally, when first visiting Cafecito, the Cubano was the sandwich of choice for most of our party. The hefty Cubano ($4.99) consists of the classic combination of roast pork, ham, swiss cheese mustard and pickles. The sandwich comes served on a pressed Gonnella roll (a Chicago touch). The flavors all melded together perfectly but the real standout was the juicy and tender roast pork. We can definitely see why this Cubano has won so much acclaim – our party practically inhaled the sandwiches. Though the Cubano appeared to be the most popular option – Cafecito has other sandwiches are worth noting. We can recommend two sandwiches with an excellent house-made Chimmichurri sauce – the chicken breast sandwich ($5.49) and the Choripan ($5.49) with Spanish chorizo.
We finished off the meal with some great, strong Cuban espresso with sugar $1.29 and hot chocolate ($1.99) which was good to take on a cold day to warm up. Cafecito also boasts a dessert counter full of miniature cakes and pasties, however it was pretty much empty buy the time we arrived. We are happy we found Cafecito – it’s a perfect lunch or dinner spot in the south loop – and will be a new go-to whenever we decide to hit the Art Institute. Or we just might make an extra trip or two for the Cubano.
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Beard Papa’s
2399 Telegraph Avenue (this location closed, various others open throughout the US)
Berkeley, CA
I (M) was in Berkeley for an academic conference, and naturally decided to take advantage of some West Coast eats that we don’t have in the Midwest. One place L and I kept hearing about was Beard Papa’s, a Japanese creampuff outlet with locations all around the Pacific Rim and NYC/New Jersey. With their Berkeley location just opened, I knew I had to stop in for some tasty cream puffs after a long day of lectures.
For starters, the best thing about Beard Papa’s has to be its logo. The white bearded, yellow hatted, pipe-smoking Alaskan fisherman (?) makes little sense as a creampuff symbol, but maybe that’s why he works so well. Whatever the allusion is, it is definitely memorable (maybe his face looks like a creampuff? You be the judge.)
It was late in the day when I made it inside, and was concerned they wouldn’t have what I wanted – and I was right. The ordering process is pretty simple: pick a pastry type (regular, cookie, or eclair) and pick a filling (Belgian chocolate, vanilla, or coffee). The flavors change from week to week – these are the choices this location had on this particular day. Regardless, the cookie crust (my favorite!) was out, so I settled on regular pastry with chocolate insides.
My verdict on the worldwide craze that is Beard Papa’s? Just OK. I cannot say I have much to compare it to in terms of creampuffs, but the pastry tasted, well, like a pretty standard pastry crust with pretty good soft ice cream center. Not that there wasn’t enough – the puff was much larger than I expected (a relative deal for $2.49) and more or less exploded with chocolatey goodness when I bit into it. But I definitely was not blown away by the offerings – maybe it was just the growing pains of a new establishment? I would definitely try one again if the opportunity presented itself, but as of right now, I find it hard to legitimate the worldwide obsession around the puffs.
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Adobo Grill
1610 N. Wells
Chicago, IL
We had an 8 o’clock show at Second City with M and his family, so we needed to find someplace close and crowd-pleasing for dinner. We settled on Adobo Grill, which is conveniently located right next door to the theater on Wells. The restaurant was lively when we arrived, with warm yellow walls and crowds of theatergoers getting a bite to eat of a drink at the bar. Adobo’s menu consists of some upscale takes on traditional Mexican food – tamales, sopes, enchiladas, etc. They are also known for their extensive tequila and drink selection.
M was pleased to see a rather esoteric ingredient on the menu, like huitlacoche, a specific type of corn fungus prized for its taste (sounds gross, but in reality tastes kind of mushroom-y). Intrigued, we ordered a huitlacoche quesadilla appetizer ($8.50). The quesadilla came stuffed with corn, cheese and ancho salsa, along with the huitlacoche. M said the taste of the huitlacoche itself was very mellow, an much milder than the type he remembers having in Mexico City. We also ordered Adobo Grill’s famous guacamole tableside. They even have a little cart set up with the ingredients all ready for the “Guacamole Lady” who expertly prepares the guac to order in molcajetes (sadly, plastic instead of stone) for each table. Despite the inauthentic molcajetes, the guac was good – we ordered two batches – spicy and mild ($7.99)
For entrees, I (L) ordered the chicken enchiladas with mole rojo ($14.99), but I substituted Oaxacan black mole sauce instead. The enchiladas came topped with sour cream, añejo cheese, onions; black beans. However, the mole was the star of the show, with perfect notes of sweet and savory. Unfortunately there was one major problem with the entree- the chicken. Honestly, an enchilada can hide a lot when it comes to the quality of the chicken. It seemed like they just took the whole bird, bones and all, and chopped it up to throw in the tortilla – not acceptable. I spent a lot of time simply picking out bone and cartilage chunks, which for $15, isn’t a welcome task. M fared better with his pollo al tamarindo ($15.99) – a grilled half chicken in tamarind-chipotle glaze. The chicken was tender, and the tamarind sauce was pretty sweet, but offset by the smoky chipotle kick.
To finish we ordered a chocolate flan ($5.99) and churros ($5.99) to share among the table. M and I were reminded again that we are not particularly fans of flan – as it is a bit too gelatinous for us. We know – that’s the appeal of flan – so we assume Adobo Grill’s rendition was perfectly fine. The churros were pretty basic (you cant mess up a churro) – but the chocolate sauce made the dessert and was perfect for dipping. Adobo Grill has to be used to theater patrons on tight schedules, because our meal went like clockwork, with plenty of time to spare before the show. Despite this, we still feel that Adobo Grill is good, not great, especially for the price point. We hear that a popular plan is to just order the guac and some drinks, which may be the route we go in the future.
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Rosa De Lima [Closed]
2015 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL
The Eaters decided to go global (as we always do) and celebrate a South American New Years ’09. We began the night with a visit to a restaurant so new that the old sign from the previous occupants – Cancun Mariscos – still hangs in front of the building. But don’t be fooled – Rosa de Lima, Bucktown’s newest Peruvian restaurant – is definitely there, and we think it has some of the best Peruvian cuisine we’ve had in Chicago.
Given the great reviews it got on Yelp and the fact it was New Year’s Eve, we were in a bit of a rush to make sure we arrived on time for our 7:30 PM reservations. We were a little surprised to find that, upon arrival, we were the only diners in the entire place. This is usually a bad sign, so we walked in assuming the worst. The decor was nice enough – dark, candle-lit booths and white tables flanked with wall-sized photos of famous sights in Lima make this a good date place, and particularly fun for anyone whose visited Lima and knows the mural locations. Our fears increased, however, when the waitresses muted the Spanish TV station blaring on the restaurant’s far side and instead turned on a steady bad stream of late 1980s / 1990s rock (Blues Traveler?). We still do not understand why so many world eateries play really bad American music, but after all, we’re not there to listen, we’re there to eat.
And eat we did. The evening began as our amiable waitress addressed us in Spanish (good sign on the authenticity index) and immediately brought us a full pitcher of water as well as two small cups chicken and wild rice soup with green beans. The soup was a great, light appetizer for what turned out to be a larger meal than we expected, and the Eaters are always impressed with solid free food before a meal. The water of course is necessary to cool the heat of the aji, a spicy Peruvian dipping sauce made with the pepper of the same name. We got a basket of semisoft and strangely-spiced bread to dip in the aji – it reminded us more of Italian bread than a Peruvian staple, but we let that one slide.
For the appetizer, M ordered one of his favorite dishes from his time in Peru: anticuchos, skewered cuts of goat or cow heart muscle, marinated in vinegar or oil and spices, then grilled. Some Peruvian restaurants in the US cater more to American crowds by substituting other cuts of meat for the heart muscle, but we think the real thing is better. The meat is very lean but not tough, while the marinade adds a nice, subtle kick without being overpowering. M thinks this is a hallmark of good Peruvian food – a good amount of subtle spices and a touch of heat that work well with the texture of the cuisine, without having sauces or marinades overpower the base ingredients. Anticuchos are a great example of this, as was L’s order: 1/2 baked chicken. The 1/2 Roasted Chicken with 2 side orders was a steal at $8. The chicken had a delicious spice rub and the chicken itself was moist and tender. Some of the best roast chicken I have had in a long time. The chicken platter came with a choice of two side orders – L got the Potato purée with milk butter and nut nutmeg and Tostones (fried plantains). The potato puree was like a soupier version of mashed potatoes (potatoes are big in Peru) and the tostones were deliciously crispy.
But if there is any dish where the marinade makes the meal, it is ceviche de pascado. M’s all-time favorite dish is an automatic-order whenever we’re at a Peruvian restaurant, but if there is one complaint, it’s that the order is always too small to be a full meal. That’s probably in the nature of the ingredients: ceviche de pescado is fresh, raw fish marinaded in citrus juice (in Peru, usually lime) and garnished with cilantro, onions, sweet potatoes, and oversized kernels of Peruvian corn (see photo). This ceviche came with a $12.95 price tag, a little less than most other ceviches I’ve seen on Peruvian menus, so I naturally assumed it would be smaller – but was shocked to find it nearly twice average size. It was a struggle to finish the entire plate, sweet potatoes and all, but by no means unpleasant.
To finish off we wanted to order some lucuma ice cream, but they were all out, so we ordered some Alfajores ($2.25 for one). Alfajores are basically two cookie wafers sandwiched with dulce de leche. The Peruvian version is covered in powdered sugar, unlike Argentine varieties, which are covered in chocolate. All in all, we were very impressed with our meal – the service was great, the price was right and the food was excellent. We can definitely say that Rosa de Lima is the best Peruvian food we’ve had in Chicago. We hope they get more crowded than they were on New Years Eve, because Chicago needs this kind of cooking.
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