I'm not a big fan of heat/spice and usually steer away from Ethiopian, but I plucked some courage and played it safe at Awash Ethiopian. Missed snapping the zelezele tibs and chicken sambusa. I wish I could recall what the white puree-lookin' thing is because it was delicious.
First time with El Pupo Loco and I was super impressed though friends mentioned that they it has turned into a crap shoot. Been on a shrimp kick lately and them were some damn tasty camarones.

Man, if you can make it to Haire's Gulf Shrimp, best shrimp in the city for my money. Hienie's Shrimp House is way south but worth a trip, and Bob's in Hammond if you are out that way.

What I need is to find a good god damn egg roll. Not the frozen stuff (which does the trick sometimes), but a good old fashioned egg roll with crunchy cabbage, pork and/or shrimp, with a hit of peanut butter. New Star in Forrest Park is the best I've run into, but good chinese places in Chicago just seem to be vanishing or hard to come by. Even going to Chinatown is kinda a dice roll. Which sucks for me because I could eat good Chinese food every day and be happy.

Owen wrote: Mon Jul 08, 2024 11:59 am Hienie's Shrimp House is way south but worth a trip

My grammar school was located a block away from Hienie's. They used to have Burgertime and Moon Patrol! I haven't had Hienie's in a very long time, but I'm happy to know they're still kickin' though it probably gets overshadowed by Calumet Fisheries.

What I need is to find a good god damn egg roll. Not the frozen stuff (which does the trick sometimes), but a good old fashioned egg roll with crunchy cabbage, pork and/or shrimp, with a hit of peanut butter. New Star in Forrest Park is the best I've run into, but good chinese places in Chicago just seem to be vanishing or hard to come by. Even going to Chinatown is kinda a dice roll. Which sucks for me because I could eat good Chinese food every day and be happy.

Friendship Chinese, maybe? Speaking of Chinese food I rarely get down to Chinatown but had a mildly spicy shrimp dish at Chef Xiong a couple of weeks ago.

rsmurphy wrote: Mon Jul 08, 2024 12:41 pm

Owen wrote: Mon Jul 08, 2024 11:59 am Hienie's Shrimp House is way south but worth a trip

My grammar school was located a block away from Hienie's. They used to have Burgertime and Moon Patrol! I haven't had Hienie's in a very long time, but I'm happy to know they're still kickin' though it probably gets overshadowed by Calumet Fisheries.

What I need is to find a good god damn egg roll. Not the frozen stuff (which does the trick sometimes), but a good old fashioned egg roll with crunchy cabbage, pork and/or shrimp, with a hit of peanut butter. New Star in Forrest Park is the best I've run into, but good chinese places in Chicago just seem to be vanishing or hard to come by. Even going to Chinatown is kinda a dice roll. Which sucks for me because I could eat good Chinese food every day and be happy.

Friendship Chinese, maybe? Speaking of Chinese food I rarely get down to Chinatown but had a mildly spicy shrimp dish at Chef Xiong a couple of weeks ago.

We go to Ming Hin in Chinatown basically 100% of the time for Chinese food.

Calumet for shrimp if we can make the drive.

Owen wrote: Mon Jul 08, 2024 11:59 am What I need is to find a good god damn egg roll. Not the frozen stuff (which does the trick sometimes), but a good old fashioned egg roll with crunchy cabbage, pork and/or shrimp, with a hit of peanut butter.

I used to go to Yen's on Clark for exactly this, with some hot as fuck mustard. It was delightful, but I can see they've closed. I found a reasonable replacement at Yen Yen's in the suburbs, but that is very far away to go for an egg roll. I hope they preserve a couple of the proper classic "chinese-american" joints.

For Cantonese ( I think ), Honeymoon Cafe on Argyle is excellent. Salt and pepper cuttlefish, lots of greens dishes, chow fun, etc. Has become a go-to. No egg rolls though.

For Szechuan/Sichuan north side, Uptown Lao Szechuan and Chengdu Impression on Halsted. Sadly Sze Chuan restaurant in Chinatown seems to have closed.

Not sure about peanut butter, but Shanghai Inn on Damen is a time capsule of American Chinese food. Their egg rolls may be what you are looking for. I think they feed half the neighborhood on the regular based on the takeout business I see them doing. For that type of food, it's about the best ever.

Owen wrote: Mon Jul 08, 2024 11:59 am What I need is to find a good god damn egg roll. Not the frozen stuff (which does the trick sometimes), but a good old fashioned egg roll with crunchy cabbage, pork and/or shrimp, with a hit of peanut butter. New Star in Forrest Park is the best I've run into, but good chinese places in Chicago just seem to be vanishing or hard to come by. Even going to Chinatown is kinda a dice roll. Which sucks for me because I could eat good Chinese food every day and be happy.

New star is a flagship for white people chinese.

turnbullac wrote: Thu Jul 11, 2024 3:11 pm

Owen wrote: Mon Jul 08, 2024 11:59 am What I need is to find a good god damn egg roll. Not the frozen stuff (which does the trick sometimes), but a good old fashioned egg roll with crunchy cabbage, pork and/or shrimp, with a hit of peanut butter. New Star in Forrest Park is the best I've run into, but good chinese places in Chicago just seem to be vanishing or hard to come by. Even going to Chinatown is kinda a dice roll. Which sucks for me because I could eat good Chinese food every day and be happy.

New star is a flagship for white people chinese.

For sure, only speaking of their egg rolls which are handmade, not greasy, fresh cabbage, plenty of meat, and a real hit of peanut butter. House made, actually hot mustard (not the packet) is a big plus. I dont think there is a better egg roll around.

just had the best panang curry at a spot on Devon called Ezankaya.

Two Mexican places worth noting:

La Serpiente Emplumada, up by me at 5600ish Lincoln.
Very good, open super late, beans/rice are perfect which is always a good sign.
Been there a bunch.
Very limited inside space, easy walk-up takeout though and decent outside situation when it is warm.

5 Rabinitos in Pilsen.
Excellent, been there twice.
Very good mole, salsa is killer.
Pretty busy but they take reservations.