Thanks for all of the suggestions so far. I am going to try to get to Hot Doug's on Saturday before sound check so that I can get the duck fat fries. Everything described so far sounds good.

Jon

yeah fat willy's rib shack is great. i prefer it over honey 1 easily.

everything they have is so fucking delicious.

pulled chicken sandwich.
pulled pork
onion rings and fried shrimp that are unbelievable
and insane burgers!

now i gotta place an order.

Did anyone mention Smoque yet?

tmidgett wrote:Lem's (short ends/links)

My friend Andrew and I have been making a lot of barbecue lately.

Sometimes, it's pretty damn good. He concentrates on brisket and pulled pork, I do ribs, we have both done pretty great rib roasts.

I had Lem's a few weeks ago, and it reminded me of how far one can go when it comes to smoked meat.

It was transcendently great, as it sometimes is. It's always at least real good.

Also, I wanted to add schwa to the discussion. They are closed for now, but they are supposed to be reopening in the next month or so.

I very much enjoyed eating at schwa. Small-plate experimental food not a mile away from Grant Achatz' at Alinea.

Alinea's food and service is essentially perfect. Schwa's food is not as consistent, and the service is nice and competent enough but intentionally perfunctory, though not the kind of thing that will bother anyone who isn't a tightass.

schwa also costs maybe 1/3 as much, it's BYOB, and it is a very relaxed atmosphere that just added up to a loose, extremely enjoyable meal.

Out of the twelve things we ate, one was a total miss (the last course, dessert, just not that good), a couple had proportion problems (too much pine gel in the pine cone thing), and the rest was varying degrees of great.

I last saw Michael Carlson, the head chef there, eating Xmas eve dinner at San Soo Gab San. I hope to see him next in the kitchen of his restaurant.

John George Peppers wrote:Mr. Beef: arguably the best Italian beef in Chicago.
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overvie ... RefID=1307

Disagree. Best Italian Beef in Chicago is Al's. Period.

caix wrote:

John George Peppers wrote:Mr. Beef: arguably the best Italian beef in Chicago.
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overvie ... RefID=1307

Disagree. Best Italian Beef in Chicago is Al's. Period.

Pff. North siders. Not knowing shit about shit since forever.

It's okay, I was one of you(se) once.

The correct Italian beef answer is Freddy's on 31st and Union.

And what's more, Ricobene's on 26th by Wentworth accidentally has the city's best thin-crust pizza. I mean that. Really.

The place is known for breaded steak, and everybody loses their mind over that. And it's pretty good, sure.

But in the shadows of that dish, off to the side, at some point the Ricobene family just kind of accidentally solved pizza.

Get the vegetable. Watch the incredulous faces as you order it widdout meat.

Oh, the vegetable. Over by dere. By Ricobenes.

-r

caix wrote:

John George Peppers wrote:Mr. Beef: arguably the best Italian beef in Chicago.
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overvie ... RefID=1307

Disagree. Best Italian Beef in Chicago is Al's. Period.

Hence, "Arguably" the best.

warmowski wrote:.
The correct Italian beef answer is Freddy's on 31st and Union.

This beef sandwich thing has always made me laugh. The beef used at all these restaurants is the same. Not one of these restaurants is getting special beef flown in from a different distributor. Al's, Mr. Beef, Freddy's, even Portillos, etc...they taste the same, and they are all great beef sandwiches. It's just a personal preference thing and if asked I'll say Mr. Beef, but they are all the same.

So, Barbo, no matter where you go just pick up a beef sandwich before you leave town. Don't go out of your way for one of these, just go to the nearest.

Some of those places cook the meat until it's dried out and unchewable or just not tender at all. Plus, there's something in the Al's juice that's just... untouchable. Their fries are also very good, and I generally don't like that style of fry.

So, yeah, they all get the same beef. But they all cook it with different recipes.

John George Peppers wrote:This beef sandwich thing has always made me laugh. The beef used at all these restaurants is the same. Not one of these restaurants is getting special beef flown in from a different distributor. Al's, Mr. Beef, Freddy's, even Portillos, etc...they taste the same, and they are all great beef sandwiches. It's just a personal preference thing and if asked I'll say Mr. Beef, but they are all the same.

So, Barbo, no matter where you go just pick up a beef sandwich before you leave town. Don't go out of your way for one of these, just go to the nearest.

Of course it's preference, but don't go lying to the guy.

What you're describing is a TGI Bennigans. Crack open a can and out it comes, fuck that.

What Freddy's does is season, pick the bakery for the right roll, overload that roll, select the correct giardinera go with either the red gravy, the brown gravy or (ha) "dry" and then cook up the right peppers, Peppers.

See what I did there? With the peppers?

Heh.

-r

Or go to the Vienna Beef hotdog company outlet store on Damen (just North of Fullerton) and buy some Italian beef, au jus, and some Italian bread there, take it home and make your own.