Kim Chi on My Taco, Thank You

Del Soul. It's good. Like really good. You're gonna want to order more, but just let your tummy relax a bit before you make that decision. You ate too fast dude.
Del Soul Korean Street BBQ is located at 2568 N. Clark. Right near Molly's Cupcakes and Luigi's New York Pizza. Tough parking in the area, but if you are persistent, you can usually find a spot somewhere on Clark. Park near th Best Buy or even further north and walk. It's worth it. This is one of those restaurants that I always say, "If it was in NYC, there would be a line out the door, all the time." But it's not. It gets plenty of hospital traffic though, so the wait can vary.  I think actually I've ordered a lot on the menu, but I tend to get the same thing every time. As usual, we are typically there for lunch. We tried taking the kids for dinner, but they are less "adventurous" in their food choices.

Decor is "Eh". Order at the counter and grab a number.
Don't expect a Michelin Star anytime soon. 

The decor is nothing special. Hard surfaces and kind of cafeteria looking. But I'm not really planning to eat the tables, the floors or the wall treatments, so I just take note of how I would re-design it (as Claudia and I always do) and move along to the food.

What I Eat: I generally get the fish taco. It's tempura fried really perfectly with a crunchy fresh batter. A pickled bright pink onion that is just the right compliment to the fryness and the slaw. Honestly, I do think it's the best fish taco around (that is, not Mexican style). But still, I'm searching for better and have yet to have one here in Chicago . . . I tried a fish taco up the street at Dryhop once and spit it out. But I digress. Oh, the fish taco comes on a flour tortilla. I like it. Nothing special about the tortilla. Not handmade, but really takes a backseat to the innards of the taco. I suppose you could specially order a corn tortilla, but c'mon. The fries are simple and slender, but very good as well. (If you do want a great homemade tortilla, try the new Kokopelli in Bucktown. Just be careful of the spicy. The place just opened and they have yet to "adjust the heat".)
I also order the Kolbi Beef Tacos. Sweet Kolbi prepared. Sometimes it can have a bit of gristle or fat that is a bit "Ew" but in general, it delicious. This comes on the corn tortilla with cilantro onion relish and the "secret slaw".
They sell Kim Chi by the jar here. Great deal if you like Kim Chi. I do.
Also on the menu is the Sesame Shrimp Banh Mi. I have not ordered it, but friends of ours go there for this item. The Banh Mi's are probably good. I don't actually remember since I really go there for the tacos. They also love the Chili Sesame Shrimp Tacos. So maybe try those as well. Just don't blame me if you don't like them. Last I heard, we were not a shrimp boat town.
You can get larger items such as a Bento Box, Bibimbop or a Hotpot as well. I have also yet to try the Kalbi Poutine. Looks good but I'm afraid of feeling nasty afterwards so I haven't gone there.

Have an addiction to the Sour Apple Hi-Chew.
Maybe grab one of those on your way out.

So how does this compare to say . . . Big and Littles? I'm going to say it's just different. Larger tacos with more stuffed into them. Different flavors all around and more going on in each dish. So let's not compare too much. I think it's an apples to oranges sort of thing.
Seriously though, if you haven't made it to Del Soul, you are really missing out.  Get over there already. Or meet us there. And if you are still hungry afterwards, grab a cupcake and a cup of coffee at Molly's. Damn, am I hungry right now . . .

"Where do you wanna go?" "I dunno. Where do you wanna go?" "Banh Mi?" "Oh, yeah. That sound good".

Of all the places my wife and I frequent for lunch, there is no doubt that there is one restaurant that easily holds the record for the "most games played". True, it is only around the corner from the office, but so are 10 or so other restaurants.
No, there is something addictive about the food over at Banh Mi and Co. Let's start with the menu. It's simple, designed to be like a Chipotle. Pick your protein - tofu, chicken, pork or beef. Then pick your delivery method - Bowl of soup, sandwich, salad, or spring roll. However, within those selections, you can find a different way to satisfy your palette each time you are there. I would say we average 2-3 visits a week. We're trying to cut down, but it is so hard sometimes to resist the urge for the flavor.
Today for example was a Pho' (pronounces pha) day. Sort of misty outside. Chicago yet again not knowing if it wants to head full on into winter or pretend to be Seattle or San Francisco weather (without the mountains) or something for a bit. The broth of the Pho is rich without being heavy or too oily. When it is served you immediately say, "Oh, that's a big bowl, I could never . . . " and then you do.
I tend to get the beef. The key to eating it is not to rush into it. I always ask to have the lime and jalapeno on the side. Do this. Otherwise you'll burn your fingers in the hot soup.  Squeeze the lime over the top of the soup. Get as much as you can out of the lime. DO NOT forget to add the lime.  It's important as a balance to the salty sweetness of the soup and onions. Then mix slowly, separating the noodles with either a fork or your chopsticks. This technique will both mix the soup flavors and cool the broth till you can eat it.  Then just wait. Check your phone, email, facebook, twitter, instagram, email, text, whatever. Just wait. After maybe a couple tweets and liking a few photos of friend's kids being adorable on Facebook, the soup should be ready. The key to all of this is to let that fresh sweet onion and green onion meld with the meat and broth. It's incredible what a difference this will make to the richness of the broth and in turn, your experience with the Pho'.

Beef Pho at Banh Mi and Co. after Mixing and patiently
waiting for all the ingredients to start really developing.

What we eat:

1. Pho. Yes, we talked about that. The chicken pho can be a bit drier so I stick with the beef this days. The pork looks quite good as well.

The Pho' before adding the components in and stirring. 

2. The Banh Mi: I order the Lemongrass Chicken. A mayo spread on the bun takes care of the potential dryness of the meat and if you get the bread on a good day, it's fabulous. Warm and toasty. Nice crunch, but not enough to like cut the roof of your mouth or anything. The tangy pickled carrots and cucumber are so perfect in this sandwich. Wow, Pavlov. I am actually salivating. I've seen people come as a pair and order three different sandwiches to share so they can try the different flavors.

Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi. Simple and delicious.

3. The tofu spring roll. A good way to get your Banh Mi and Co in without overdoing it and passing out after lunch. It's a much lighter meal than the Pho or the Sandwich. I pair it with a small chicken and rice noodle soup, but the wonton is also very tasty although sometimes a little oily.

My wife gets this one. Lemongrass Chicken in a noodle salad. The noodles are buried below because she orders a "special" of course. That is, her usual of "less noddles, more salad". They have it pretty much already in the computer when they see her coming. 

We go to the Banh Mi at Briar and Broadway, but there are other locations. One in downtown Roscoe Village, one at Clark and Belmont, and a couple downtown. Note, the Banh Mi at Roscoe and Broadway is not of this small chain of restaurants and is not, in our opinion of the same quality of food. If you run into Lee, the owner, tell em' we sent ya. He may be moving so fast you can't catch him though. Enjoy. If you go enough, I can pretty much guarantee any of these may become your "Usual".

The Full Monti "Whiz Wit"

Are you a Philadelphia native who is tired of everyone telling you that the Italian Beef Sandwich is just as good as the Philly Cheesesteak? It is good, but it ain't no Cheesesteak.  Are you a Chicagoan ready to try something just a bit different? Tired of hearing the argument over Gino's vs. Pat's vs. Tony Luke's? Have you just watched so many of the Rocky movies lately that you can' help saying "Youz Guyzzzz" to everyone you see on the street and you want to meld that with an appropriate food type?

Well, there is a place in Chicago where you can get a very authentic Philly Cheesesteak. Monti's. Located just south of Lawrence on Talman. I've only been there once, but I can promise to go back in the near future and I highly doubt I will stray from one item on the menu. Philly Cheesesteak with Onions, mushrooms, and of course, the whiz. (At Pat's in Philly this would be a "whiz wit") Well, they call it cheddar cheese sauce at Monti's I think, but it's pretty much the whiz or a more natural version of the beloved philly cheese sauce that would typically comes in a very large can. Monti, the owner was quick to explain that every thing they serve is natural and healthier or something. I don't know as I was salivating so heavily, my ears clogged and I just couldn't concentrate. Natural, farm fresh . . . huh? I just nodded and ate my food as my eyes rolled back in my head. Oh, and there is nobody sending you to the back of the line here if you order incorrectly.

What I Eat: The Cheeseteak. My wife got the chicken steak. She was healthier for sure. I'm sure it was good, but I wouldn't know because she never even offered me a bite. I think maybe as her last bite was shoved in her already full cheeks she said, "you want a taste?"
The steak is chopped finely, more like Gino's than Pat's. Pretty standard really. The flavor was great. I have been to Philly's best and can tell you that those are not the correct flavors of a Philly Cheesesteak. It's all wrong. At Monti's the steak is a bit fatty, maybe that's ok, but I would be interested to see if it is the same next time. The onions were really nice and sweet and tender. The whizzy like sauce was nice and runny, not clumpy. And then there was the bread. Amoroso rolls from Philadelphia. I seriously don't understand why they can't make rolls like that here. They are incredible. Warm and soft. It melts in your mouth and is gone in a heartbeat. The bread makes it for me. My only real mistake was ordering an 8 inch long vs. a 12 inch. The bun for the 8 inch is too small for the steak and it all kind of falls out. I also ate it so fast that my brain got really confused and asked me to consider ordering another. Fortunately, my wife reminded my brain that my stomach would be very unhappy with me if I ordered another sandwich.

In the end, a definite recommendation. Careful if you go on an Eagles gameday. Learn more about the owners on their website or just go in and chat with Monti. A native Philadelphian transplanted to Chicago.

There are no more Tastykakes at Monti's. They stopped serving those when the company was purchased by a larger corporation and changed their policies and ingredients. I was kinda bumbed about that one. I was expecting to eat a lemon or cherry pie and drift into memories of my youth.  

The decor and location doesn't feel very "philly", but you just have to get over that and eat the Hoagies (pronounced "Hoewgee" if you are from philly). Some college pennants are on the wall, but that's it.
No signed photo of Dr. J or anything. 

The fries were excellent. I mean perfect. Not greasy at all. Perfectly cooked and salted. As you can see, the 8 inch hoagie roll is too small for the meat. I was confused about seeing a fork on my "plate", but understood that was a result of the smaller, though delicious roll. 

Big and Little's (Although after a few tacos, mostly big)

So, we may have over-ordered for two today.
But, it all disappeared pretty quickly anyway. 

I love tacos. I mean, really, I love em. I like to make them, I like to eat them, I like to talk about them. I would eat them for every meal.  

I'm sort of obsessed with tacos.

So, it's probably time to review Big and Little's or B&L's as we are calling it these days. They have two locations. One on Orleans, just north of Chicago Ave. Yes, it's there. I know you've driven by there a hundred times, but IT IS THERE. Look again. It has a parking lot and everything. Near that car wash with the orange sign and a bunch of cabby spots. 

Sorry, I'll not be reviewing that location. I'm reviewing the second and newer location on Belmont a couple blocks west of the L on the North side of the street. When you go there, you'll most likely be greeted by Omar. Sometimes, a smile and a friendly greeting elevates the perception of the quality of your food (in a good way) and this is one of those places. I hope Omar never leaves. He's awesome. 

There is a ton on the menu here. Get whatever you want. But I get the tacos. 

I generally mix and match. These are not traditional Mexican tacos. I'll review other places for that at some point as well I'm sure. The tacos here are small. I order 3 or 4 depending on whether or not I can take a nap afterwards. I recommend getting a couple fish tacos. There are a number of those to chose from. I essentially order any of the fried fish. The grilled are good too, but I've had some that were a bit on the fishy side and that just doesn't seem worth it to me. But, if you're health conscious . . . blah blah blah. Just get the fried deliciousness.  I love the Samurai, The Big and Little's, and the Banh Mi. The Poke taco is a raw sushi grade tuna in a hard shell corn taco. The Poke sauce is sweet and sits at the bottom. Very good. I don't get it all the time, but it's always been a hit.  

For meat, I stick with the beef. I'm sure the pork is great, but I love the Spicy Beef Short Rib, The Mexican, and the Japanese Short Rib. I also had the Lamb. If you like gyro's, get that. It's just a taste of a gyro without a major meal. Brilliant. 

Now I know all of you die hard B+L fans out there are going to whine and complain about not reviewing the Orleans location and you're going to say, "the tacos are smaller at the Belmont location, it's too clean" etc. Well, zip it already! 

I don't want to hear it! I like the Belmont spot. I can order multiple tacos each time with no problem and I can walk there. 

So, head on over there if you haven't already and high five Omar for me.

Ceres' Table. Pizza, Pastas and More.

With the new blog, it's difficult to even decide what food source to review and discuss next. So, instead of going right into all of the local places that have been around for a while, I decided to talk about Ceres' Table which has only been open since May. Since it's kind of a current obsession of mine and been in constant chatter with the locals as well as being recently reviewed by some more well known food critics, it seemed to be the time to tell you all a bit about it.

Ceres' Table is located on Broadway, a block and a half south of Belmont in what was the Frog and Snail location (Sura Thai before that and Mars Chinese before that. Sorry, that's as far back as I go).  

What I Eat: Pizza . . .  and more. I'm still trying to figure this place out, but I can tell you that after 4 or so times going over the past month or two, you should get the pizza. Now, I know everyone is picky about their favorite pizza. And some of you will immediately say, "oh, but Spacca is really the best" or, "have you tried Nella, so good right?!". Well, I'm not talking about those places so just listen up. 

I like the artichoke, olive, pizza but there are a variety of options and a lot of hammy choices if you are into that. Pizza is about the balance of sauce, cheese, and crust. The sauce is nice and sweet without being thick (I hate thick sauce which is more paste than sauce unless it's in a giordano's deep dish spinach and mushroom pizza). The pizza is cooked in a wood coal oven and the crust really is perfect. Like all thinner crusts, the more toppings and sauce, the soggier it tends to get. 

What Else I Eat: Pasta. Constantly changing right now it seems There always seems to be one pasta I want to try. The veal bolognese was delicious. We've had it as a lasagna and a papardelle. The papardelle noodles were very delicate and the dish had just the perfect amount of salt. My only complaint would be to get some more sauce. Maybe it's more authentic to have less sauce on the pasta, but I personally would have liked it a bit saucier. 

I haven't ordered the whole fish and probably never will. I saw teeth and eyeballs and I just don't need that on my plate. The brussel sprouts are nice and crunchy. Worth ordering for sure as are a few of the other little salads like the Little Jewel. The Burrata is very good. Not quite as good as the Burrata at Bar Pastoral (which I intend to review) down the block, but if you're hungry and love cheesy goodness, order it. 

For dessert, get the Budino. Puddinglike and cookie crumbly. Whoa, that's good!  

That's my take on it. I will continue to go. Oh, cost. I am probably never going to tell you a restaurant is too pricey just because that's really up to you. Check out the menu online and you can always vary your order to fit your wallet. 

Like all of the restaurants I frequent, we've tried a lot more at this place, but this has been what has stood out and I can guarantee will be my usual. Ceres' Table is here to stay ( I hope). 

Not sure she wanted her picture taken, but she was so nice to our kids. There is a nice little bar in the front as well. Our kids end up sitting at the bar every time after the meal.  

If you are one of the only families there on the night, they might give your kids an etcha sketch to play with before the food arrives. Love that. The decor is similar to the previous occupant (FandS) but they removed some of the high partitions allowing the space to feel cozy and open at the same time. 

Pizza. Get it. That's the Papardelle Bolognese on the right but sometimes it's just hard to get a picture in when you're hungry so it's already half eaten. 

The Olive, Artichoke Pizza. You should really make sure you order a pizza when you come here. 

Little Jewel Salad  . . . on the side?

Mint Chip in the Windy City

So I'm going to start off with a non-restaurant. That is, depending on how much you eat here and what you consider a restaurant. 

Windy City Sweets

If you don't know about it already, you're really missing out. If you have kids and haven't taken them there, you may want to reconsider your parenting skills. It's an amazing candy and ice cream store located just north of the Nettelhorst Elementary School in East Lakeview. With all of the choices here, you'd think I'd have tried them all and could give you the full rundown. But, I typically get the same thing every time. Mint Chip ice cream. Very creamy ice cream with just the right amount of chocolate chunks. Not too minty. I don't need actual mint leaves in my ice cream and I don't want it to taste like toothpaste. This Mint Chip (or mint chocolate chip) is fantastic. Yes, I've tried other ice creams flavors there, but this is my go-to. The staff is very nice there and the kids love looking at all the candy. They don't love when we tell them they can't have any. Note: if you have a 5 year old who likes chocolate ice cream, have him or her wear a shirt you can throw out afterwards. I'm not sure what's in that chocolate, but it doesn't come out. This is also the place to come for hand made dipped items including dipped Ritz crackers, Oreos, Twinkies, etc. So, get a bunch of those. Toss our your latest diet and indulge. 

That's my scoop on Windy City. 

It's easily one of the top ice cream/candy stores in the City.

If it's highly caloric, they'll dip it.

Avoid the Beanie Babies if possible. 

Homemade Pecan Turtles

Welcome to, The Usual Please. I'm a pretty particular eater. Always have been. My kids are particular too, and I know many of you out there are as well. I am also an architect who works from home giving me a relatively flexible schedule. I'll be sharing pictures and reviews of our local eateries in East Lakeview, Chicago, and also adding more places beyond the neighborhood as I go. 

But, don't expect me to review everything on the menu. When I like a place, I stick to a few items and that's what we'll be reviewing. Very rarely do you find a restaurant that is great at everything. If you are looking for that, check out a different blog. 

Because I tend to order

THE USUAL.