--Tailgatin' and how to make mofos start playa hatin' (Recipes)
Its the end of February and so comes March and with it the start of Spring. In Chicago there can still be some cold ass weather during the start of it but just about everyone is ready to come out of hibernation and all it takes is St. Patty's day and the tourney for some March madness to happen. But what about the hangovers that come with it? they can only be beaten two ways 1) more booze or 2) lots of greasy good food and more booze. So if you need to kill that hangover with more shots of Jameson and plenty of ice cold beer than you can get back to Glascotts for more of it and a pound plus of gyros to go with it. All this while all the NCAA tourney games are on all the TVs and they have their annual St. Patty's Day Bash. Its going to be quite a fun March. So while your at it PLEASE CLICK HERE and scroll down and vote for them in the bar bracket tourney for me. It takes one click and its a favor back for these recipes I'm about to give you to kill your St. Patty's day hangover. Favor for a favor, that's how we do business.
Stop in on St. Patty's parade day for a shot of Jameson or 12
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The 2-2-2 Biggie Bagel
2 sausage patty's
2 fried eggs
2 slices of cheese
Your favorite steak sauce
1 onion Bagel
Its pretty simple to make, as it should be when your head is bangin'. The first thing your going to do is get the sausage patty's nice and crisp in a pan. While your doing that take your bagel and split it and toast it to desired doneness and spread steak sauce on each one. After the sausage patty's are cooked thru and crispy edged, add the eggs and fry them. When you flip the eggs add the slices of cheese on top and let them melt and proceed to build your sandwich.
Soak it all up...
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The-too much-Scotch Egg
I made this up one morning after a few too many of the hard ones. I needed lots of water and something greasy and gargantuan to soak up the scotch. I could barely think about what to do and didnt want to leave and go out into the cold and all I could think about was "I had tooo much Scotch" and so the idea came. I had some leftover hard boiled eggs from a potato salad I made and a roll of Jimmy Deans spicy sausage. It was time for some spicy Scotch eggs. Its basically the famous Scottish dish "Scotch Eggs" but unlike every home in Scotland, I don't have a deep fryer in mine. I wish I did though.
Ingredients (makes one)
1 hard boiled egg
3/4 of a pound or enough sausage meat to wrap around egg
Louisiana Hot Sauce
Picture by Picture Directions
Step 1)
^Take your hard boiled egg (shell removed) and wrap your sausage laced with hot sauce around it so it looks like the ball seen in the picture below.
Hard Boiled Egg Wrapped in Sausage
Step 2)
^Fry the ball evenly on each side in a pan with some oil. It will be ready to come out when the ball looks like it does in the picture below.
Too Much Scotch Egg ready for the oven
^To make sure the sausage is cooked thru, place the ball in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Proceed to cut it in half and eat away.
A peak inside
I was pleasantly surprised and quite enjoyed my sausage ball...don't get perverted now
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I just wanted to let all the readers know to get ready, 'cause this shits 'bout to get heavy. There's going to be some serious eating coming up. Stay tuned y'all.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Italian Beef from Portillo's
-Got Beef? Italian Beef
as seen on 'What's Your Beef?'
The next stop on the beef bus is to a place known to many. I'm not one to hate on Portillo's despite their fast food status. The truth of the matter is that Portillo's is a fine example of the American dream and a result of what can happen if one works hard. Odds are if you've visited Chicago then you heard of or stopped into Portillo's downtown for one of their famous hot dogs and or many other menu items including beef. What originally started off as a shack on North ave in Villa Park, IL is now a monster in the food game with almost 50 locations in Chicagoland. Its a spot I loved as a kid and whenever I was running around downtown with friends we would eat at the location on Clark street to eat. My order back then was always a dog with everything and a beef with hot. Not much has changed these days except I don't get there as much as I used to and now I always get a chili cheese dog and an Italian beef to go with it. I also always get these in the drive thru nowadays too.
The best drive thru beef in the city
Portillo's Menu
One reason I have always had a great deal of respect for Portillo's other than just their quality despite being a fast food place was also their consistency. Over the years I have had beefs from different locations and they always seem to be the exact same as the others. I also respect a place that can go thru so much beef like they do and continue to put out an acceptable product. If anyone is telling you Portillo's has the best either or well then they just haven't been around or simply aren't from here. However if someone, such as myself, tells you that they have good examples of each (dogs and beef) and its better than some spots and not as good as others, well that's the truth of it. I find that everything from the bread to the beef and the gravy and peppers to be better than average but not great. When put together as a whole its a well made Italian beef sandwich and easily one of the best in the downtown area. Its nice that they are also throughout Chicagoland and are always a good option for a quick drive thru meal. Much better than BK, Wendy's, Subway, Taco Bell, McD's etc...Just another reason Chicago is fast food king.
beef with hot from Portillo's
Rating Scale 5/5
beef: 4
bread: 4
gravy: 3
hot peppers: 4
Score: 15/20
Portillo's
100 W Ontario
Chicago, IL
(312) 587-8910
Website
locations throughout Chicagoland
as seen on 'What's Your Beef?'
The next stop on the beef bus is to a place known to many. I'm not one to hate on Portillo's despite their fast food status. The truth of the matter is that Portillo's is a fine example of the American dream and a result of what can happen if one works hard. Odds are if you've visited Chicago then you heard of or stopped into Portillo's downtown for one of their famous hot dogs and or many other menu items including beef. What originally started off as a shack on North ave in Villa Park, IL is now a monster in the food game with almost 50 locations in Chicagoland. Its a spot I loved as a kid and whenever I was running around downtown with friends we would eat at the location on Clark street to eat. My order back then was always a dog with everything and a beef with hot. Not much has changed these days except I don't get there as much as I used to and now I always get a chili cheese dog and an Italian beef to go with it. I also always get these in the drive thru nowadays too.
The best drive thru beef in the city
Portillo's Menu
One reason I have always had a great deal of respect for Portillo's other than just their quality despite being a fast food place was also their consistency. Over the years I have had beefs from different locations and they always seem to be the exact same as the others. I also respect a place that can go thru so much beef like they do and continue to put out an acceptable product. If anyone is telling you Portillo's has the best either or well then they just haven't been around or simply aren't from here. However if someone, such as myself, tells you that they have good examples of each (dogs and beef) and its better than some spots and not as good as others, well that's the truth of it. I find that everything from the bread to the beef and the gravy and peppers to be better than average but not great. When put together as a whole its a well made Italian beef sandwich and easily one of the best in the downtown area. Its nice that they are also throughout Chicagoland and are always a good option for a quick drive thru meal. Much better than BK, Wendy's, Subway, Taco Bell, McD's etc...Just another reason Chicago is fast food king.
beef with hot from Portillo's
Rating Scale 5/5
beef: 4
bread: 4
gravy: 3
hot peppers: 4
Score: 15/20
Portillo's
100 W Ontario
Chicago, IL
(312) 587-8910
Website
locations throughout Chicagoland
Monday, February 22, 2010
The Egg Roll King?
-Grubbing in Chicago
The Elusive Egg Roll (Part 3)
Were back on the hunt for that elusive egg roll perfection we've been seeking. So stop #3 takes us to a place on Broadway over in Uptown. Well anyplace that calls itself the Hunan Egg Roll King certainly deserves a shot at the crown however I'll be determining who's King around here. I've actually been here for egg rolls before my recent visit but that was at least 3-4 years ago way before I had a camera and was on this quest. I didn't remember loving them but I also don't remember them tasting like hot garbage so I needed another visit and that came a few days ago.
In Chicago's Uptown neighborhood
Hunan has been in its small storefront for awhile now, I remember it from way back. Inside its a small no nonsense dining room and most of the orders are taken to go or delivered, which is what I recommend you do. The menu is your typical Chinese-American spots menu but I cant speak for anything but the egg rolls. The prices are really low over there and when I paid my recent visit here there were a couple people dining in and at least three others that stopped in for pick up and the lunch specials seemed to be popular. I peeked at the menu and saw that egg rolls came in orders of two and were about three bucks, so pretty cheap. The nice lady told me to give her 5-10 minutes and I said no prob and took a seat to wait for the Hunan Egg Roll Kings egg rolls. Would they take the crown?
Egg Roll from the Egg Roll King
So are they the self proclaimed King of Egg Rolls? or the peoples choice? well while they were not bad I still enjoyed the rolls from stops one and two much more. The Hunan's rolls were a little longer in length than the other two spots but that's about where it ended with advantages it had over them. The egg rolls were somewhat soft and not very crispy and it was even hard to slice it open because the roll was pretty limp. After I was able to gut it open I noticed it was real heavy on the cabbage and real light on the meat and or shrimp. The hot mustard was the stuff in the packets that most places use so another not so good thing. All in all the egg roll was fine but nothing about it was top notch. If I lived right near here I may even get an order of them again here and there out of convenience but have no reason to drive there for them.
These egg rolls didn't have the perfect balance sought
Hunan Egg Roll King
4204 North Broadway
Chicago, IL 60613-1610
(773) 883-2647
The Elusive Egg Roll (Part 3)
Were back on the hunt for that elusive egg roll perfection we've been seeking. So stop #3 takes us to a place on Broadway over in Uptown. Well anyplace that calls itself the Hunan Egg Roll King certainly deserves a shot at the crown however I'll be determining who's King around here. I've actually been here for egg rolls before my recent visit but that was at least 3-4 years ago way before I had a camera and was on this quest. I didn't remember loving them but I also don't remember them tasting like hot garbage so I needed another visit and that came a few days ago.
In Chicago's Uptown neighborhood
Hunan has been in its small storefront for awhile now, I remember it from way back. Inside its a small no nonsense dining room and most of the orders are taken to go or delivered, which is what I recommend you do. The menu is your typical Chinese-American spots menu but I cant speak for anything but the egg rolls. The prices are really low over there and when I paid my recent visit here there were a couple people dining in and at least three others that stopped in for pick up and the lunch specials seemed to be popular. I peeked at the menu and saw that egg rolls came in orders of two and were about three bucks, so pretty cheap. The nice lady told me to give her 5-10 minutes and I said no prob and took a seat to wait for the Hunan Egg Roll Kings egg rolls. Would they take the crown?
Egg Roll from the Egg Roll King
So are they the self proclaimed King of Egg Rolls? or the peoples choice? well while they were not bad I still enjoyed the rolls from stops one and two much more. The Hunan's rolls were a little longer in length than the other two spots but that's about where it ended with advantages it had over them. The egg rolls were somewhat soft and not very crispy and it was even hard to slice it open because the roll was pretty limp. After I was able to gut it open I noticed it was real heavy on the cabbage and real light on the meat and or shrimp. The hot mustard was the stuff in the packets that most places use so another not so good thing. All in all the egg roll was fine but nothing about it was top notch. If I lived right near here I may even get an order of them again here and there out of convenience but have no reason to drive there for them.
These egg rolls didn't have the perfect balance sought
Hunan Egg Roll King
4204 North Broadway
Chicago, IL 60613-1610
(773) 883-2647
Friday, February 19, 2010
Don's Dock
-The Shrimp Shacks of Chi
Its the Lenten season and so the fish and seafood consumption is going to go up during this time. I don't practice the whole eating rules of religion or any of that stuff for that matter and I'm not going to get into anything religious over here. You know like Chris Rock said and I totally agree with "I have a hard time believing my diet is going to come into question in the afterlife" except that I will say that at least its an excuse to eat me some seafood. Don's Dock is a spot I've only been to once and that was late last summer and I enjoyed my visit there and will get back next time I'm in the area. The family run fishing shacks of Chicago's past are becoming less and less these days but a few with a strong history remain and Don's Dock is one of them. Owned and operated by the Johnson family who started commercial fishing the Great Lakes during the 1930's, they opened up their first market in 1939 and have been at the present location in Des Plaines since 1971 and have been running Don's Dock since 1951.
A familiar face along Northwest Highway
Since 1951 for a reason
Its a family run joint that has over 100 years of experience from their veteran employees and they take care of all the fresh seafood needs in the area. Sometimes fish is delivered to Don's three times a day and you can take fresh fish home and prepare it your way or you can also pick up such specialty's like fried shrimp and other golden seafood goodies to dine in or carry out. As well as smoked fish, cocktail shrimp and homemade salads to accompany them. They will always have specials going on as well for all the different seasons. On my first visit me and a buddy kept it real simple and we went with a pound of fried shrimp and some fried Lake Perch which was in season and from the Great Lakes region.
Fried Shrimp from Don's Dock
Great Lakes Yellow Perch
I enjoyed both quite alot and slightly preferred the perch with the breading they use. The fried shrimp were fried hard and had a very crunchy texture because of this. I prefer a light coating on my shrimp but this was one of the better heavy coats I've e had. The sauce was more of a cocktail based than hot sauce but worked well with the shrimps. If I only lived a little closer to Don's I would use them on a regular basis. They had a glass display case with all sorts of fresh fish by the pound to take home along with smoked shrimp, whitefish and other specialties of the Great Lakes region. Its nice to see the multiple generation family run joints take it to the big boys.
Don's fried their shrimp hard
Don's Dock
1220 E. Northwest Hwy.
Des Plaines, IL 60016
(847) 827-1817
Website
Its the Lenten season and so the fish and seafood consumption is going to go up during this time. I don't practice the whole eating rules of religion or any of that stuff for that matter and I'm not going to get into anything religious over here. You know like Chris Rock said and I totally agree with "I have a hard time believing my diet is going to come into question in the afterlife" except that I will say that at least its an excuse to eat me some seafood. Don's Dock is a spot I've only been to once and that was late last summer and I enjoyed my visit there and will get back next time I'm in the area. The family run fishing shacks of Chicago's past are becoming less and less these days but a few with a strong history remain and Don's Dock is one of them. Owned and operated by the Johnson family who started commercial fishing the Great Lakes during the 1930's, they opened up their first market in 1939 and have been at the present location in Des Plaines since 1971 and have been running Don's Dock since 1951.
A familiar face along Northwest Highway
Since 1951 for a reason
Its a family run joint that has over 100 years of experience from their veteran employees and they take care of all the fresh seafood needs in the area. Sometimes fish is delivered to Don's three times a day and you can take fresh fish home and prepare it your way or you can also pick up such specialty's like fried shrimp and other golden seafood goodies to dine in or carry out. As well as smoked fish, cocktail shrimp and homemade salads to accompany them. They will always have specials going on as well for all the different seasons. On my first visit me and a buddy kept it real simple and we went with a pound of fried shrimp and some fried Lake Perch which was in season and from the Great Lakes region.
Fried Shrimp from Don's Dock
Great Lakes Yellow Perch
I enjoyed both quite alot and slightly preferred the perch with the breading they use. The fried shrimp were fried hard and had a very crunchy texture because of this. I prefer a light coating on my shrimp but this was one of the better heavy coats I've e had. The sauce was more of a cocktail based than hot sauce but worked well with the shrimps. If I only lived a little closer to Don's I would use them on a regular basis. They had a glass display case with all sorts of fresh fish by the pound to take home along with smoked shrimp, whitefish and other specialties of the Great Lakes region. Its nice to see the multiple generation family run joints take it to the big boys.
Don's fried their shrimp hard
Don's Dock
1220 E. Northwest Hwy.
Des Plaines, IL 60016
(847) 827-1817
Website
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
A Cabbie Stop
-Oh Yeah, I've been there too
Pita Grill
Neighborhood: Old Town/Cabrini
Cuisine: Middle Eastern Mainstay's like shawarma
Price Range: $5-$10
Would I go again? Ya I'll get back there again, I've already been a few times
In a desolate stretch along Clybourn
I first noticed the Pita Grill from when driving by and seeing all the pictures of their food in the window around when they first opened. After driving by it a few times here and there and noticing that the streets were flooded with cabbies that it might be worth a shot. So a few months back I stopped in there late nite to pick up some falafel and see what else they had. The menu is pretty much all the usual stuff you would expect to find including shawarma, tabbouleh, Jerusalem salad and hummus along with some Indian and Pakistani dishes. Its usually got quite a few people inside and coming in and out from the place of worship in back. There is a large dining area and Al Jazeera is always on. I've visited three times total and was pretty satisfied with each visits munchies. I tried the house falafel pita served with extra goodies inside like roasted potatoes and cauliflower.
House Special Falafel Sandwich
I'm not an expert on falafel but I've had my share from here and there and I usually eat it in binges. So the three times I visited I always had to have some and I was satisfied with Pita Grills offerings of it. As far as this area goes its the best around or near downtown and the prices are right. I think I spent around $10 each visit and always had a boatload of food. Other items I tried were the chicken shawarma and a mixed plate with a kefta kebab and a couple other grilled items. You gotta like the fact they are open late night and the prices are right so if you don't feel like Mexican food shoot over to pita Grill next time your hungry after a night of partying.
Chicken Shawarma and falafel balls
Pita Grill
1241 N Clybourn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 255-8122
Pita Grill
Neighborhood: Old Town/Cabrini
Cuisine: Middle Eastern Mainstay's like shawarma
Price Range: $5-$10
Would I go again? Ya I'll get back there again, I've already been a few times
In a desolate stretch along Clybourn
I first noticed the Pita Grill from when driving by and seeing all the pictures of their food in the window around when they first opened. After driving by it a few times here and there and noticing that the streets were flooded with cabbies that it might be worth a shot. So a few months back I stopped in there late nite to pick up some falafel and see what else they had. The menu is pretty much all the usual stuff you would expect to find including shawarma, tabbouleh, Jerusalem salad and hummus along with some Indian and Pakistani dishes. Its usually got quite a few people inside and coming in and out from the place of worship in back. There is a large dining area and Al Jazeera is always on. I've visited three times total and was pretty satisfied with each visits munchies. I tried the house falafel pita served with extra goodies inside like roasted potatoes and cauliflower.
House Special Falafel Sandwich
I'm not an expert on falafel but I've had my share from here and there and I usually eat it in binges. So the three times I visited I always had to have some and I was satisfied with Pita Grills offerings of it. As far as this area goes its the best around or near downtown and the prices are right. I think I spent around $10 each visit and always had a boatload of food. Other items I tried were the chicken shawarma and a mixed plate with a kefta kebab and a couple other grilled items. You gotta like the fact they are open late night and the prices are right so if you don't feel like Mexican food shoot over to pita Grill next time your hungry after a night of partying.
Chicken Shawarma and falafel balls
Pita Grill
1241 N Clybourn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 255-8122
Friday, February 12, 2010
Toons Bar & Grill
-Grubbing in Chicago
Where the locals eat and drink.
Get your drinking faces on and while your at it work up some major munchies because were headed to a classic Chicago neighborhood bar that takes both its drinking and eating very seriously. In fact its the last of that type on the stretch of Southport that goes from Addison down to Irving and is filled with commercialized, corrupted scenes of spots where there are more Blue Moon's and Martinis drunken than Guinness' and shots of Jameson consumed. Where you'll find more sushi and salads than chicken wings and burgers. Like the rest of the city, the business district of Southport has a whole bunch of trendy bars, boutiques and hair salons. Not much going on in these parts for the All American male, unless you like to go to see play's, but then I guess your not really an All American male who loves good regional food like Po' Boy's and BBQ and prefers to eat them with classic American microbrews while watching some football or taking in the scene on Southport on a hot summers day. I keed, I keed. Which brings us to the last of a dying breed and one of my favorite Chicago neighborhood bars.
The best bar in Lakeview
Toon's has been around since 1989 but the corner of Southport and Byron has been home to a bar since the neighborhood was heavily populated with Germans back in the day. I guess from the story's I've been told was that Doninger's Tavern was a low key place with quite a few local "drinkers" that had only one bartender who was quite a character himself. So then when Doninger's was no more, it was bought by a longtime friend of mines dad who turned it into Toon's. The name came from the cartoons that were once painted on the outside wall of different bar paraphernalia like beer mugs and cocktail glasses and I always loved driving by it as a kid. As time went on the bar was eventually sold by my friends dad to one of his longtime employees who worked at his other bars and he pretty much kept it the same. Which was the way to go. The current staff here is super freindly and ready to make sure your first visit makes you a regular.
Toon's has two rooms and has always had a real shuffle board
Danny Beck is from Kansas City and along with his partner Dene Lencioni they are the current owners of Toon's Bar & Grill. When you hear his story or at least when I did, I thought damn dudes done it up bigger and badder than Bourdain. Over the years he has lived a life most people would only day dream of while sitting inside your cubicle. Danny went to college at KU in Lawrence so the fun started in his early 20's attending a great university in a really live college town. What was that? You bet it is-Toon's is a KU bar and you can catch all Kansas Jayhawk basketball games there and there's not a better spot to do so. Toon's will be rocking come March when the conference tournaments start and then after them when people start dancing to the madness. Do I think KU will win it all? no comment.
Watch all KU games at Toon's while you eat and drink like champs
It was after his days at KU that Danny decided to live up life the right way. Screw getting a real job and working 9-5 and never being able to rise up from where you started. Danny took his ass to the Caribbean where he lived and worked in St. Thomas for a couple years before relocating to Florida. He spent his time in both spots working in the restaurant/bar game and then after a few years decided to make his way to Chicago. Danny then settled in working at both Toon's and Nick's Beer Garden, which is also where his partner worked. Danny also attended classes at Kendall college learning the tricks and trades of the culinary world. After making a name for himself he was then given a job to be in charge of Planet Hollywood Chicago and then moved to Las Vegas to run the PH there. After Vegas it was a stop in Nashville and then back to Chicago to run the House of Blues and eventually he would buy Toon's with his partner Dene and settle down with his family here in the Windy City. It was his goal to have a neighborhood place with a nice selection of good beer on tap and also a place where to go with that good brew, you can get some great grub. Toon's has 15 beer's on tap.
Great Lakes Xmas Ale on Tap during the Holiday Season
But what about the food? It's amazing how much good eats come out of that small ass kitchen. The kitchen over there is smaller than most little brats from the Northshore's closet space. I'm talking maybe 10 by 10 feet at most so they got some grill space and a fryer and some room to prep what needs to be done and it leaves very little room to move. Danny is a student of food and loves it like me. During his time at HoB and while in the south he developed a love for New Orleans style food and all things Cajun. So part of the menu is influenced by this cuisine like the fact that since late January up thru Fat Tuesday the specials board has featured different gumbos in celebration of the upcoming Mardi Gras season. You would never expect it by just looking at the bar from outside but inside they serve one of if not the best bowls of gumbo in the city.
Toon's usually has Gumbo on the specials board
"No shorts cuts" should be the motto over there and the Gumbo is an example of why. It's not easy to make a real deal batch of goodness and it takes time and passion. Its also one of those foods much like BBQ and chili that can cause a war of whats real, whats not and how its supposed to be or or how its not. Well your going to get a gumbo with a broth deep in flavor along with whatever is in it on the day you visit. I've enjoyed a chicken version and a shrimp, sausage and crawfish one as well. You cant ask for anything better on a cold winters day watching the snow fall away with an Abita at your side. Its smokey, rich and full of flavor.
The Insides
Its not just a NOLA themed menu there's also all the classics of good American bar food. One of the more interesting things to try is their chili. I usually don't like it from most spots in Chicago and wouldn't expect a bar on the northside to do anything close to good but Toon's once again proves why you don't judge a book by its cover. I never would of thought of it but they use crumbled Italian sausage as their base meat in the chili and its served with the must haves of cheese, sour cream and chopped onions and with a side of tortilla chips. The onion rings are about the only thing they don't do from scratch and its easy to understand why when you see the space they would have to toss and coat onion rings all day. Nonetheless they still have an excellent beer battered brand that you must eat with the housemade BBQ sauce.
Toon's Chili...gets my approval
Beer Battered Onion Rings go great with the house BBQ sauce
I'm always having trouble deciding what to order when I'm over at Toon's but one thing I usually just cant pass up are the real deal New Orleans style cheese fries. Just like the ones you'll find at the bars in New Orleans being chowed down by hammered patrons in them. In New Orleans cheese fries are done by loading a blend of shredded cheeses on top of a mound of fries, they are then placed under a broiler and melted down into one of the best drunken eats of our great states. I've been to NOLA and I don't remember the cheese fries at F&M being nearly as good as the ones at Toon's. One way to tell if a places takes its food seriously is the use of fresh cut fries. I wouldn't hesitate to call Toon's spuds the best bar fries in Chicagoland and their cheese fries the best in Chicago. If you like chili cheese fries, you gotta get them at Toon's. Other apps I have to have are the pulled pork quesadillas and the fried shrimp on a bed of those fries. Hell even the pickles that come on the side of every dish ordered are some of the best I have ever had, made in house. Next time you stop by, tell them you want them fried!
Toon's New Orleans Style Cheese Fries
Pulled Pork Quesadilla's hit the spot, Monday's all apps are 1/2 price
Popcorn Shrimp with dipping sauces and their perfect pickles
-KingT's Wing Fling
When I told you Toon's had the barfood down pat the wings are where we start. I've been on my wing fling for years now and have sampled Buffalo wings from 100's of spots around town. If your a Winger like me and also love your sports then you might of heard the recent "best Buffalo Wings in Chicagoland" contest over on Sportsradio 670 the Score. Well when you include places like BW-3 and Wingstop in the discussion, you've already got me questioning your knowledge and have people questioning the nomination process. Guess where I go when I have to get my wing on? I have always loved the Birds Nest and their most excellent wings but over the past year they had their title taken by Toon's. Where I go to calm my wing fiends. In fact one of my friends who is as knowledgeable as it gets when it comes to regional eats and is from Buffalo originally said this "No doubt about it, Toons is this Buffalonian's current choice for wings."
Real Deal Buffalo Wings from Toon's and the best in city
Word spreads fast when around Chicagoland because Toon's wings have been featured in the Tribune and named best in city by 100's of food lovers like myself in a very short period of time. Your going to get textbook Buffalo Wings when you eat them here. The wings are big and meaty so its important they are fried perfectly, well they are. The next step is the sauce which needs to have the perfect balance of hot and sour and made with the basics, butter and vinegar laced hot sauce. Everything about Toon's Buffalo wings are the best in city. Even the blue cheese dressing is the real thing with chunks of blue cheese and by far the best of its type I have had. Danny also makes an in house KC style BBQ sauce that can be had on the wings. His BBQ sauce is some of my favorite out there and if you mention chibbqking they'll make you up a batch of KC-BBQ wings that they finish on the grill. They aren't on the menu due to limited grill space. I'm getting really hungry. Not surprisingly The Score's Wing contest didn't even include Toon's or Bird's Nest as contenders. Pfffft!!!
KC BBQ Wings, Thursday is Wing Night ($2.50/basket)
-Got beef?
The burgers of Chi
Just like any other joint that is considered to have good bar food they do up a fine burger at Toon's. Nothing frozen or pre-formed here. If you decide to go the route of a burger you'll get a fresh hand patted, half pound beauty available in a variety of ways and served with the fresh cut fries and plenty of them perfect pickles all on a wonderful bakery baked bun. If you go on a Wednesday they'll be just $4 along with $3 drafts, cant beat that. Especially when those $3 drafts include some real nice beers.
Surf & Turf: Toon's burger paired with fried catfish
KC Burger Special comes with bacon, cheddar and plenty of BBQ sauce
Wednesday is burger day at Toon's ($4) pictured is a black and bleu burger
-The Sammy's of Chi
Continuing with the theme of NOLA and other southern delights on the menu are the Po' Boy's and other sandwiches which are all outstanding. You will also find a wonderful ever changing selection of sammy's on the specials board along with the everyday goodies. One of my favorite sandwiches is the fried oyster Po' boy which is on special thru Fat Tuesday and always ordered with extra pickles by me. When it comes to the sandwich selection you pick which one sounds good and it will be. There's a fried buffalo chicken Po' Boy that is excellent as well as a grilled Cajun dusted Po' Boy that is as good as any grilled chicken I've had. Not pictured is the catfish Po' Boy and that's great too. I haven't tried the grilled portabella shroom sandwich but I bet I'd like it if I was a veg-head.
Fried Oyster Po' Boy on special thru Fat Tuesday
Buffalo Chicken Po' Boy
Grilled Cajun Chicken Po' Boy
Its not over folks, Toon's takes all of its space and puts it to good use. This is why out back behind the bar in the little two car parking lot you'll find a smoker where they do up real smoked BBQ items such as ribs, pulled pork and turkey breasts smoked with wood and those are just the everyday items-food specials come from the smoker too. Screw the fact there isn't but room for a 10 by 10 foot kitchen, they just smoke some BBQ out back. Once again you would never know it (unless you got a whiff of the smoke from out back) but the longtime corner bar at Southport and Byron also has some of the best BBQ in the city and certainly the best of any bar. Danny is from KC and is a true student of BBQ. He's been all around the country in search of it and seeking out tips and advice from some of the best like Mike Mills on how to perfect it. So there isn't a day that goes by where you wont find Danny and his top notch staff smokin' out back.
Smoker with a full house of chicken, ribs and pork (Pic by Jim Quinn aka Grub Seeker)
Along with those many fine sammy's mentioned above there's another one to be had. The staff will smoke turkey breasts and uses the meat for an amazing turkey sandwich that is sure to have even someone like me who's not big on turkey, loving it. When I had my 1st fried turkey about 6 years back I knew I was done with the baked stuff. Great stuff it was moist and full of flavor from the homemade rub with the perfect touch of smoke, which goes really well with turkey. You can try it the Jive way and the pulled turkey comes topped with BBQ sauce, provolone cheese, bacon and fried onion straws or get it with just the BBQ sauce on top.
Turkey Breasts Smokin' away
Pulled Turkey Sandwich made with smoked turkey breast
I've had the ribs quite a few times from Toon's and never had a bad batch. Sure like any other real deal BBQ place the goodness can vary depending on when your getting them since you don't make real BBQ in 15 minutes. I've had them fresh off the smoker and when ordered from the lovely female servers and they always make my mouth drool. I think the best batches have perfect smoke flavor and were just in between from being too chewy and too loose making them just right. When you consider this is a neighborhood corner bar (in Lakeview) putting out ribs like that, its damn impressive. Look I love Twin Anchors and its history and old school charm and will even eat their tasty Baked (not BBQ) ribs (if your paying) but there's no way they have the best ribs in Chicago and there's no way they have the best ribs at the bars. That honor belongs to Toon's. Danny being as he is from KC has even spent the past years perfecting a KC style BBQ sauce that is one of my favorites out there.
Toon's Ribs are real smoked BBQ, nothing baked or boiled here
Friday is rib Night ($10 for 1/2 slab)
Smoked Ribs ala Toon's
But even after all the great grub previously pictured we haven't even gotten to Toon's signature move in the food game. Going on for over ten years now has been the Toon's all you can eat crawfish boil done up just like they would down in Louisiana. In fact its gotten so popular that its not just a one time thing anymore they have quite a few during the crawfish season. With it being the very early start of mud bug season there was a small boil of 250 pounds there on Super Bowl Sunday and it was da bomb. Who Dat?
a cooler full of mud bugs, sausage, corn and potato's
In just another fine example of taking everything seriously Toon's will order their crawfish from Louisiana and have them delivered live the day of the boil where they are picked up at O'Hare that morning. When they get back to the bar with the mud bugs Danny and his team of super cooks get to work by throwing the crawdaddy's into pots of spiced water along with halved heads of garlic, corn, potatoes and three types of sausage. The tubed meat's thrown in were andouille, kielbasa and Child's Play hot dogs (the cheap turkey/chicken/pork kind) of which the Oscar Meyer like hot dogs actually came to very good use. One of Danny's buddy's Mark introduced me to this little trick to make cheap hot dogs actually edible. The dogs absorbed a high percentage of the spicy crawfish infused cooking liquid thus packing them full of flavor with everything in the pot making its mark in them.
Video from Super Sunday
The boils work like this. You pay your $25 and you grab a seat at any of the tables layered in newspaper and take a bucket and throw what you in it from the cooler and bring it back to your table and dump it out and start chowing down. Also included in this wonderful must do eating deal are all the red beans and rice you care to eat. Its all in the family with the Beck's as Danny's lovely wife Annie takes care of a few of things fro the Bar including the creamy red beans and rice packed with the perfect amount of smoke flavor from a whole lot of sausage. I would pay $20 to eat the beans and rice alone all day while I drink $3 High Lifes and watch sports.
Mrs. Toon's magnificent Red Beans & Rice
If your looking at these crawfish boil pics and starting to get an itch for them well you need to mark off Saturday March 20th on your calendars. That is the date of the next crawdaddy extravaganza over at Toon's and it also happens to be the Saturday of the opening weekend of the NCAA Men's basketball tournament. I can hardly wait. Come catch me and lets throw a few back and kill some crawfish and watch our tourney sheets closely. I also have a special offer to all my readers from the peopel at Toon's. I met Danny thru the neighborhood and being known by the same people and he's a big follower of S'C&C and would like to offer all of its readers a 20% discount on all food bills thru next Friday. So in case you were wondering where you were gonna spend your Fat Tuesday...you now know. Holladay.
Toon's annual crawfish boil is a blowout each March
Toon's Bar & Grill
3857 North Southport Avenue
Chicago, IL 60613-2823
(773) 935-1919
Website
Where the locals eat and drink.
Get your drinking faces on and while your at it work up some major munchies because were headed to a classic Chicago neighborhood bar that takes both its drinking and eating very seriously. In fact its the last of that type on the stretch of Southport that goes from Addison down to Irving and is filled with commercialized, corrupted scenes of spots where there are more Blue Moon's and Martinis drunken than Guinness' and shots of Jameson consumed. Where you'll find more sushi and salads than chicken wings and burgers. Like the rest of the city, the business district of Southport has a whole bunch of trendy bars, boutiques and hair salons. Not much going on in these parts for the All American male, unless you like to go to see play's, but then I guess your not really an All American male who loves good regional food like Po' Boy's and BBQ and prefers to eat them with classic American microbrews while watching some football or taking in the scene on Southport on a hot summers day. I keed, I keed. Which brings us to the last of a dying breed and one of my favorite Chicago neighborhood bars.
The best bar in Lakeview
Toon's has been around since 1989 but the corner of Southport and Byron has been home to a bar since the neighborhood was heavily populated with Germans back in the day. I guess from the story's I've been told was that Doninger's Tavern was a low key place with quite a few local "drinkers" that had only one bartender who was quite a character himself. So then when Doninger's was no more, it was bought by a longtime friend of mines dad who turned it into Toon's. The name came from the cartoons that were once painted on the outside wall of different bar paraphernalia like beer mugs and cocktail glasses and I always loved driving by it as a kid. As time went on the bar was eventually sold by my friends dad to one of his longtime employees who worked at his other bars and he pretty much kept it the same. Which was the way to go. The current staff here is super freindly and ready to make sure your first visit makes you a regular.
Toon's has two rooms and has always had a real shuffle board
Danny Beck is from Kansas City and along with his partner Dene Lencioni they are the current owners of Toon's Bar & Grill. When you hear his story or at least when I did, I thought damn dudes done it up bigger and badder than Bourdain. Over the years he has lived a life most people would only day dream of while sitting inside your cubicle. Danny went to college at KU in Lawrence so the fun started in his early 20's attending a great university in a really live college town. What was that? You bet it is-Toon's is a KU bar and you can catch all Kansas Jayhawk basketball games there and there's not a better spot to do so. Toon's will be rocking come March when the conference tournaments start and then after them when people start dancing to the madness. Do I think KU will win it all? no comment.
Watch all KU games at Toon's while you eat and drink like champs
It was after his days at KU that Danny decided to live up life the right way. Screw getting a real job and working 9-5 and never being able to rise up from where you started. Danny took his ass to the Caribbean where he lived and worked in St. Thomas for a couple years before relocating to Florida. He spent his time in both spots working in the restaurant/bar game and then after a few years decided to make his way to Chicago. Danny then settled in working at both Toon's and Nick's Beer Garden, which is also where his partner worked. Danny also attended classes at Kendall college learning the tricks and trades of the culinary world. After making a name for himself he was then given a job to be in charge of Planet Hollywood Chicago and then moved to Las Vegas to run the PH there. After Vegas it was a stop in Nashville and then back to Chicago to run the House of Blues and eventually he would buy Toon's with his partner Dene and settle down with his family here in the Windy City. It was his goal to have a neighborhood place with a nice selection of good beer on tap and also a place where to go with that good brew, you can get some great grub. Toon's has 15 beer's on tap.
Great Lakes Xmas Ale on Tap during the Holiday Season
But what about the food? It's amazing how much good eats come out of that small ass kitchen. The kitchen over there is smaller than most little brats from the Northshore's closet space. I'm talking maybe 10 by 10 feet at most so they got some grill space and a fryer and some room to prep what needs to be done and it leaves very little room to move. Danny is a student of food and loves it like me. During his time at HoB and while in the south he developed a love for New Orleans style food and all things Cajun. So part of the menu is influenced by this cuisine like the fact that since late January up thru Fat Tuesday the specials board has featured different gumbos in celebration of the upcoming Mardi Gras season. You would never expect it by just looking at the bar from outside but inside they serve one of if not the best bowls of gumbo in the city.
Toon's usually has Gumbo on the specials board
"No shorts cuts" should be the motto over there and the Gumbo is an example of why. It's not easy to make a real deal batch of goodness and it takes time and passion. Its also one of those foods much like BBQ and chili that can cause a war of whats real, whats not and how its supposed to be or or how its not. Well your going to get a gumbo with a broth deep in flavor along with whatever is in it on the day you visit. I've enjoyed a chicken version and a shrimp, sausage and crawfish one as well. You cant ask for anything better on a cold winters day watching the snow fall away with an Abita at your side. Its smokey, rich and full of flavor.
The Insides
Its not just a NOLA themed menu there's also all the classics of good American bar food. One of the more interesting things to try is their chili. I usually don't like it from most spots in Chicago and wouldn't expect a bar on the northside to do anything close to good but Toon's once again proves why you don't judge a book by its cover. I never would of thought of it but they use crumbled Italian sausage as their base meat in the chili and its served with the must haves of cheese, sour cream and chopped onions and with a side of tortilla chips. The onion rings are about the only thing they don't do from scratch and its easy to understand why when you see the space they would have to toss and coat onion rings all day. Nonetheless they still have an excellent beer battered brand that you must eat with the housemade BBQ sauce.
Toon's Chili...gets my approval
Beer Battered Onion Rings go great with the house BBQ sauce
I'm always having trouble deciding what to order when I'm over at Toon's but one thing I usually just cant pass up are the real deal New Orleans style cheese fries. Just like the ones you'll find at the bars in New Orleans being chowed down by hammered patrons in them. In New Orleans cheese fries are done by loading a blend of shredded cheeses on top of a mound of fries, they are then placed under a broiler and melted down into one of the best drunken eats of our great states. I've been to NOLA and I don't remember the cheese fries at F&M being nearly as good as the ones at Toon's. One way to tell if a places takes its food seriously is the use of fresh cut fries. I wouldn't hesitate to call Toon's spuds the best bar fries in Chicagoland and their cheese fries the best in Chicago. If you like chili cheese fries, you gotta get them at Toon's. Other apps I have to have are the pulled pork quesadillas and the fried shrimp on a bed of those fries. Hell even the pickles that come on the side of every dish ordered are some of the best I have ever had, made in house. Next time you stop by, tell them you want them fried!
Toon's New Orleans Style Cheese Fries
Pulled Pork Quesadilla's hit the spot, Monday's all apps are 1/2 price
Popcorn Shrimp with dipping sauces and their perfect pickles
-KingT's Wing Fling
When I told you Toon's had the barfood down pat the wings are where we start. I've been on my wing fling for years now and have sampled Buffalo wings from 100's of spots around town. If your a Winger like me and also love your sports then you might of heard the recent "best Buffalo Wings in Chicagoland" contest over on Sportsradio 670 the Score. Well when you include places like BW-3 and Wingstop in the discussion, you've already got me questioning your knowledge and have people questioning the nomination process. Guess where I go when I have to get my wing on? I have always loved the Birds Nest and their most excellent wings but over the past year they had their title taken by Toon's. Where I go to calm my wing fiends. In fact one of my friends who is as knowledgeable as it gets when it comes to regional eats and is from Buffalo originally said this "No doubt about it, Toons is this Buffalonian's current choice for wings."
Real Deal Buffalo Wings from Toon's and the best in city
Word spreads fast when around Chicagoland because Toon's wings have been featured in the Tribune and named best in city by 100's of food lovers like myself in a very short period of time. Your going to get textbook Buffalo Wings when you eat them here. The wings are big and meaty so its important they are fried perfectly, well they are. The next step is the sauce which needs to have the perfect balance of hot and sour and made with the basics, butter and vinegar laced hot sauce. Everything about Toon's Buffalo wings are the best in city. Even the blue cheese dressing is the real thing with chunks of blue cheese and by far the best of its type I have had. Danny also makes an in house KC style BBQ sauce that can be had on the wings. His BBQ sauce is some of my favorite out there and if you mention chibbqking they'll make you up a batch of KC-BBQ wings that they finish on the grill. They aren't on the menu due to limited grill space. I'm getting really hungry. Not surprisingly The Score's Wing contest didn't even include Toon's or Bird's Nest as contenders. Pfffft!!!
KC BBQ Wings, Thursday is Wing Night ($2.50/basket)
-Got beef?
The burgers of Chi
Just like any other joint that is considered to have good bar food they do up a fine burger at Toon's. Nothing frozen or pre-formed here. If you decide to go the route of a burger you'll get a fresh hand patted, half pound beauty available in a variety of ways and served with the fresh cut fries and plenty of them perfect pickles all on a wonderful bakery baked bun. If you go on a Wednesday they'll be just $4 along with $3 drafts, cant beat that. Especially when those $3 drafts include some real nice beers.
Surf & Turf: Toon's burger paired with fried catfish
KC Burger Special comes with bacon, cheddar and plenty of BBQ sauce
Wednesday is burger day at Toon's ($4) pictured is a black and bleu burger
-The Sammy's of Chi
Continuing with the theme of NOLA and other southern delights on the menu are the Po' Boy's and other sandwiches which are all outstanding. You will also find a wonderful ever changing selection of sammy's on the specials board along with the everyday goodies. One of my favorite sandwiches is the fried oyster Po' boy which is on special thru Fat Tuesday and always ordered with extra pickles by me. When it comes to the sandwich selection you pick which one sounds good and it will be. There's a fried buffalo chicken Po' Boy that is excellent as well as a grilled Cajun dusted Po' Boy that is as good as any grilled chicken I've had. Not pictured is the catfish Po' Boy and that's great too. I haven't tried the grilled portabella shroom sandwich but I bet I'd like it if I was a veg-head.
Fried Oyster Po' Boy on special thru Fat Tuesday
Buffalo Chicken Po' Boy
Grilled Cajun Chicken Po' Boy
Its not over folks, Toon's takes all of its space and puts it to good use. This is why out back behind the bar in the little two car parking lot you'll find a smoker where they do up real smoked BBQ items such as ribs, pulled pork and turkey breasts smoked with wood and those are just the everyday items-food specials come from the smoker too. Screw the fact there isn't but room for a 10 by 10 foot kitchen, they just smoke some BBQ out back. Once again you would never know it (unless you got a whiff of the smoke from out back) but the longtime corner bar at Southport and Byron also has some of the best BBQ in the city and certainly the best of any bar. Danny is from KC and is a true student of BBQ. He's been all around the country in search of it and seeking out tips and advice from some of the best like Mike Mills on how to perfect it. So there isn't a day that goes by where you wont find Danny and his top notch staff smokin' out back.
Smoker with a full house of chicken, ribs and pork (Pic by Jim Quinn aka Grub Seeker)
Along with those many fine sammy's mentioned above there's another one to be had. The staff will smoke turkey breasts and uses the meat for an amazing turkey sandwich that is sure to have even someone like me who's not big on turkey, loving it. When I had my 1st fried turkey about 6 years back I knew I was done with the baked stuff. Great stuff it was moist and full of flavor from the homemade rub with the perfect touch of smoke, which goes really well with turkey. You can try it the Jive way and the pulled turkey comes topped with BBQ sauce, provolone cheese, bacon and fried onion straws or get it with just the BBQ sauce on top.
Turkey Breasts Smokin' away
Pulled Turkey Sandwich made with smoked turkey breast
I've had the ribs quite a few times from Toon's and never had a bad batch. Sure like any other real deal BBQ place the goodness can vary depending on when your getting them since you don't make real BBQ in 15 minutes. I've had them fresh off the smoker and when ordered from the lovely female servers and they always make my mouth drool. I think the best batches have perfect smoke flavor and were just in between from being too chewy and too loose making them just right. When you consider this is a neighborhood corner bar (in Lakeview) putting out ribs like that, its damn impressive. Look I love Twin Anchors and its history and old school charm and will even eat their tasty Baked (not BBQ) ribs (if your paying) but there's no way they have the best ribs in Chicago and there's no way they have the best ribs at the bars. That honor belongs to Toon's. Danny being as he is from KC has even spent the past years perfecting a KC style BBQ sauce that is one of my favorites out there.
Toon's Ribs are real smoked BBQ, nothing baked or boiled here
Friday is rib Night ($10 for 1/2 slab)
Smoked Ribs ala Toon's
But even after all the great grub previously pictured we haven't even gotten to Toon's signature move in the food game. Going on for over ten years now has been the Toon's all you can eat crawfish boil done up just like they would down in Louisiana. In fact its gotten so popular that its not just a one time thing anymore they have quite a few during the crawfish season. With it being the very early start of mud bug season there was a small boil of 250 pounds there on Super Bowl Sunday and it was da bomb. Who Dat?
a cooler full of mud bugs, sausage, corn and potato's
In just another fine example of taking everything seriously Toon's will order their crawfish from Louisiana and have them delivered live the day of the boil where they are picked up at O'Hare that morning. When they get back to the bar with the mud bugs Danny and his team of super cooks get to work by throwing the crawdaddy's into pots of spiced water along with halved heads of garlic, corn, potatoes and three types of sausage. The tubed meat's thrown in were andouille, kielbasa and Child's Play hot dogs (the cheap turkey/chicken/pork kind) of which the Oscar Meyer like hot dogs actually came to very good use. One of Danny's buddy's Mark introduced me to this little trick to make cheap hot dogs actually edible. The dogs absorbed a high percentage of the spicy crawfish infused cooking liquid thus packing them full of flavor with everything in the pot making its mark in them.
Video from Super Sunday
The boils work like this. You pay your $25 and you grab a seat at any of the tables layered in newspaper and take a bucket and throw what you in it from the cooler and bring it back to your table and dump it out and start chowing down. Also included in this wonderful must do eating deal are all the red beans and rice you care to eat. Its all in the family with the Beck's as Danny's lovely wife Annie takes care of a few of things fro the Bar including the creamy red beans and rice packed with the perfect amount of smoke flavor from a whole lot of sausage. I would pay $20 to eat the beans and rice alone all day while I drink $3 High Lifes and watch sports.
Mrs. Toon's magnificent Red Beans & Rice
If your looking at these crawfish boil pics and starting to get an itch for them well you need to mark off Saturday March 20th on your calendars. That is the date of the next crawdaddy extravaganza over at Toon's and it also happens to be the Saturday of the opening weekend of the NCAA Men's basketball tournament. I can hardly wait. Come catch me and lets throw a few back and kill some crawfish and watch our tourney sheets closely. I also have a special offer to all my readers from the peopel at Toon's. I met Danny thru the neighborhood and being known by the same people and he's a big follower of S'C&C and would like to offer all of its readers a 20% discount on all food bills thru next Friday. So in case you were wondering where you were gonna spend your Fat Tuesday...you now know. Holladay.
Toon's annual crawfish boil is a blowout each March
Toon's Bar & Grill
3857 North Southport Avenue
Chicago, IL 60613-2823
(773) 935-1919
Website