Eating BIG in Greenville

Eating like a local:
Regional food specialties 
- Exploring the hub of South Carolina's Upcountry 

While I realize Greenville South Carolina is a spot most people will never find themselves you never know exactly what the future holds. We stopped there on the drive down to South Florida last January but it wasn't at random. I decided to make it the halfway point (give or take) and spend a couple nights checking out the hub of South Carolina's Upcountry region. I'd been hearing that Greenville was on the come up and decided why not stop there and check it out as it made sense from both a geographical standpoint and also getting to go somewhere I've never been. Plus I've always been intrigued with the local chili dog culture as there's lots of hot dog stands in the area. Also it was just for one full day as we would arrive in the early eve and hit the road early upon leaving. At the very least I figured there would be restaurants to check out and some areas to walk around and see the town. 

Pics from Greenville
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Duke Sandwich Company 

Greenville's biggest culinary claim to fame is being the birthplace of Duke's Mayonnaise. It's a long story that starts in the early 1900's with a local woman named Eugenia Duke who started selling sandwiches with her mother and her homemade spreads during the first World War. The all female operation served soldiers stationed at the nearby Camp Sevier and then when the war was over they began supplying sandwiches to local stores and textile mills. In the mid 1920's Duke sold her sandwich spread recipes and her mayo recipe to two separate men. C.F Sauer went on to open a Duke's Mayonnaise factory in the area while her former bookkeeper went on to establish a wholesale market for the sandwiches along with the opening of a few stores where they were sold. Today there's zero connection between the sandwich shop and the mayo - in fact back in 2019 there was a lawsuit filed by a private equity firm that had recently bought the Duke's Mayonnaise brand. They claimed the sandwich shop was trying to profit off of their name. That's nonsense as the sandwiches and the shops it spawned have been a part of the Greenville area dating back to the first World War. I'm not sure what happened with the lawsuit but Duke Sandwich Company is still slanging old school sandwiches stuffed with spreads like pimento cheese, egg salad, and their famous baked ham with pepper and onion as shown below. They come toasted upon request and cost around $2-$3 each. 

Sandwiches from Duke Sandwich Company 
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Northgate Soda Shop

Our next stop also has alot of history in the area. The Greenville News describes it as a "living museum of Greenville history." It's one of those places that looks kind of dirty from the outside but in a good worn down way. Little has changed at this locals spot I've had on my radar going back to the days of Roadfood. It was featured for it's pimento cheeseburger and the Cincinnati steak - the latter of which is a fried baloney sandwich with chili sauce. As much as I would've liked to try a Cincy steak sandwich (nobody knows why they call them that) I couldn't pass on a classic pimento cheeseburger paired with a cherry smash from the soda fountain. I'm not sure why but they love cooking their burgers to well done in these parts but the creamy made on site pimento cheese really lifted it all up. 

Pimento Cheeseburger at Northgate Soda Shop 
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Holmes Hot Dogs (Arcadia)

Holmes Hot Dogs was the first stop on the 'Upcountry Chili Dog Trot'. It's about 30 minutes from Greenville on the outskirts of Spartanburg. It's been a hot dog stand since 1953 when Walt Holmes purchased a popular lunch counter and added hot dogs to the menu. Ever since then locals have been flocking to Holmes for chili dogs with crinkle cut fries and ice cold bottles of coke. They give you the option to add slaw so I tried one with chili and one with chili and slaw. Overall this was probably my favorite stop of the chili dog trot. I enjoyed both the atmosphere and the hot dogs were pretty good for what they were. I think they were like $2 each and despite being skinless they had a little bit of snap to them. The size of the hot dogs are much smaller down here too which is why they’re often just a couple bucks. The buns are heavily steamed which means they’re kind of like hot dog sliders.

Hot Dogs at Holmes Hot Dogs
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The Hot Dog Cafe (Lyman)

Hot Dog Cafe is about halfway between Greenville and Spartanburg. There's not much online info aside from an entry on the old Roadfood website. They make a thick and meaty chili that reminded me a bit of Flint style coney sauce due to how dry it was, like loose meat. Once again the wieners themselves are nothing special but when you add chili, mustard and onions they kind of become their own thing. The star of the show here though are the fries cut fresh with an antique potato slicer. 

Chili Dog at Hot Dog Cafe
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Red Hill Hot Dogs (Lyman)

You'll find Red Hill Hot Dogs a half mile from our last stop. This place looks like a house if not for the sign hanging above one of the front windows. Inside feels like a prohibition bar except they're pushing cheap hot dogs as opposed to watered down Canadian booze. According to their website they've been around for more than 30 years but it feels much longer than that. The chili at Red Hill Hot Dogs a bit wetter than the previous two stops likely due to some sort of tomato sauce being used. 

Chili Dog at Red Hill Hot Dogs
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Skins Hot Dogs (multiple locations) 

Last stop on the chili dog trot takes to us to a hyper regional fast food chain known as Skins. They got into the game back in 1946 when Skin's Thrashers opened in the small town of Anderson. I really wanted to go to the original location with a pool hall like atmosphere where they also serve beer (limit two) but Anderson was the opposite way of the previous four spots. But with Skin's having more than 10 locations in the region I was able to stop in at one of their Greenville outlets for a chili dog. Skinless beef/pork franks are topped with mustard and onions and slathered in a dry chili. The steamed buns from here have a little more girth to them, almost like a lobster roll bun. If I hadn't just been to the previous three spots I might've tried the hot dog in a cup along with the one in a bun. 

Chili Dog at Skins
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The Jones Oyster Company 

Greenville is about 3 hours from Charleston and the South Carolina coast which isn't exactly close but it's also not too far. My point being I shouldn't have been as surprised with Jones Oyster Company as I was as you can get fresh seafood from the Low Country delivered up here in no time. Same goes for fresh oysters from up and down the coast. Between the fresh seafood and the wonderful job they did rehabbing the old building that housed a furniture store for which the restaurant is named after, Jones Oyster Co. felt like a spot you would come across in Charleston or Savannah. We had cold and briny oysters from a family ran farm in Virginia and also hot and cheesy grilled oysters from the Gulf Coast and a stick to your ribs plate of Low Country Crab Rice with a fried egg and bits of crisp bacon. 

Seafood at Jones Oyster Co. 
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Sum Bar 

Greeenville got a good one when a local chef known for her Chinese dumplings went from pop up to brick and mortar. Sum Bar is the project of Khailing Neoh who made a name for herself and her handmade shumai on the pop-up circuit. This isn't an old school spot with the carts and the menu that you circle what you want. It's new school in that there's a smaller menu with cocktail options and some untraditional dishes like the crab rangoon which are served up as nachos with wonton chips and a warm mix of cream cheese and green onions for dipping. But the shumai with pork and shrimp is very traditional as it's her grandmas recipe and it was as satisfying as any I can remember. An order of the green beans, also grandmas recipe, rounded out a fantastic pre-dinner snack.  

Dim Sum at Sum Bar 
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Scoundrel 

I always like to read those 'Best New Restaurant' lists by local and national food publications. That's how I found Scoundrel which was named in one by Omar Mamoon and his team at Esquire. The kitchen at Scoundrel is led by Greenville native Joe Cash who had cooked at a few of the country's best restaurants before returning home and starting his own. Cash and his team cook French fare with local flair like a deviled blue crab infused with chilis, bay leaf and sweet cream - you'll be reading about it again at years end if you catch what I'm saying. A simply prepared bowl of pasta made with Reginetti, Parmesan and Aleppo pepper showed great restraint by the chef as it didn't need any truffles or bacon as it was delicious as is. A well cooked piece of duck breast has become a favorite of mine lately and with that it was easy to decide what we would try from the entrees. Aged Pekin Duck is mixed with grilled swiss chard, big cherries, and mustard. Having just come from the previous spot we only got a few things from here but they were all delicious with the deviled crab being memorable.

Dinner at Scoundrel (click pics to enhance)
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Clare's Creamery 

I'm a bit of a ice cream snob in that I mostly only eat the small batch stuff. But it helps me stay away from getting it at the grocery store and eating it all in one sitting or just getting some bc I'm paying for gas and there's a cooler of ice cream bars next to the checkout. But I do like to check out the independent spots so I searched around and found Clare's. There's nothing special about it per se in that it has that clean and light aesthetic that most of the new ice cream shops have going for them but it also has some out of the ordinary flavors that switch with the seasons. Good stuff.  

Ice Cream at Clare's Creamery 
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Previous stops to and from South Florida 

(click links)

Roadfood in Chattanooga
Eating BIG in Alabama 

See ya next time @chibbqking

Indian Food in the Suburbs

-Grubbing in Chicagoland
Five of a Kind: Suburban Indian Restaurants  

When the question of where to get the best Indian food is discussed you might assume it's Devon avenue aka Little India to some - but that's changing. While there's still alot of Indian restaurants up and down Devon there's not that many new spots opening and that's because they're opening in the suburbs. Chicago's Indian community has grown so large that it's spread out around Chicagoland. It's not just one suburb either. There's two large communities in both Schaumburg and Naperville and with them lots of South Asian dining options and grocery stores in their immediate vicinities. Today we head to those areas to check out some of the newer Indian spots that have opened out there. 

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Turmerica (Schaumburg) 

This fast food import comes to Chicagoland via the state of Maharashtra in India. There's not much info online but they're known for their Maharashtrian dishes like Misal Pav. Misal is a spicy curry made with tomato gravy plus moth beans and pav is an Indian type of bread roll. The exact prep varies by region but it typically comes with farsan (salty snacks), onions, cilantro and cheese if you want it. The heat level can vary from mildly spicy to really spicy as it’s a DIY process. The spicy looking dark red oil served on the side determines how spicy you want to go. The end result reminded me of chili but I don’t recall a veggie version of chili quite as spicy and delicious as this. The pink sauce is called Solkadi. A follower on instagram told me it should be thinner than it looks in the pic as it's a drinkable digestion typically used after eating spicy food, which makes sense. I also tried an order of Kothimbir Vadi - a crispy and regionally popular snack from Maharashtra made with gram flour (besan), coriander leaves, peanuts, sesame seed and spices that are molded and fried and served with a savory chutney. Good stuff. Next visit I’ll get the Vada Pav, one of Mumbai’s signature dishes.

Kothimbir Vadi

Misal Pav at Turmerica
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Jay Bhavani Vadapav - Indian Vegetarian Street Food (Hoffman Estates)

Speaking of Vada Pav it's the signature dish of our next stop. Jay Bhavani is another recently arrived fast food chain from India. Bombay style burgers aka Vada Pav are their specialty (a deep fried potato fritter in a bun with chutney). JBV sits in the corner of a large strip mall where it has one of those sloppy slot shops as a neighbor. I visited in the fall when they were just getting going and I clearly wasn't the only one who knew of it as they were busy with customers. Vada Pav is one of India's most beloved street foods as it's adored by most and especially those with ties Mumbai. I have zero ties to India but lots of love for the Vada Pav. It was a little bit of let down that the green and red chutneys come pre-packaged but at less than $5 each these make for a great snack. As much as I like Vada Pav I've never tied one in India so I don't know exactly what separates the good from the great but this one was tasty and I would warmly welcome a closer location within the city.  

Vada Pav at Jay Bhavani 
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WKND PaniPuri (Naperville)

When the Mall of India opened in an old WalMart location its intent was to bring everything you can find on Devon to Naperville and that it has. I visited last year and perused around the ginormous grocery store for a little before making my way to the food court where WKND PaniPuri caught my eye. Pani Puri is an extremely popular Indian street food made up of of crispy, hollow, fried balls of dough (puri) that are poked open and stuffed with boiled potatoes, chickpeas, onion, and a spicy and tangy water (pani). The exact origins of this chaat family favorite are murky but it has many regional variations. The Pani puri at WKND PaniPuri is stuffed with a flavorful seasoned mash potato mix and served with cups of red and green water based liquid. The green one is made with herbs like mint and cilantro while the red water consists of tamarind and chiles among other things. The end result is a burst of flavors and textures and an absolutely sensational snack. They also make a variation from Mumbai called Sev puri which is similar to pani puri as far as filling but it gets topped with sev which according to wikipedia are "a popular Indian snack food consisting of small pieces of crunchy noodles made from chickpea flour paste, which are seasoned with turmeric, cayenne, and ajwain before being deep-fried in oil". There was a time when finding Indian street food in this former cow town would’ve been impossible but these days the suburb is an enclave for South Asians.

Sev Puri

Pani Puri at WKND PaniPuri
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A2B Indian Veg Restaurant (Warrenville) 

Whenever I’m going to a spot that I might not know a lot about there’s a few things I like to do including checking google reviews where I like to look at the most commonly mentioned words plus the pictures. This is how I ended up with the Royal Falooda at this vegetarian franchise from Chennai. The cold dessert with noodles has its origins in the Persian dish faloodeh. Variants of this are found across West, South and Central Asia. Traditionally it’s made with vermicelli noodles, rose syrup and sweet basil seeds plus milk and it’s often served with ice cream and powdered pistachios on top. A2B also has an extensive selection of Southern Indian dishes including a well made plate of Appam or hoppers as they're called in Sri Lanka. Appam is essentially fermented rice batter and coconut milk cooked in a deep pan similar in shape to a wok. A2B serves Appam with a savory vegetable curry and sweet coconut milk for dipping. The massive cones of dosa here looked really good. This is the type of spot that's great for groups and they come in droves during peak eating hours. 

Appam

Royal Falooda at A2B Indian Veg Restaurant 
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Mughal Biryani House (Park Ridge)

Towards the end of last year I did some Christmas Shopping at the outlet mall in Rosemont and it came some very good Indian food courtesy of Dan aka @polski_eater who met me at this biryani specialist. It opened last summer and has had very favorable reviews which is kind of a warning sign with Indian restaurants as the best Indian spots typically have a mediocre rating due to reviewers need to compare every dish to their moms and what not. Haha. But nah most of the good reviews for here were coming from the local Indian - American community plus I was already intrigued with their rather interesting menu. Many of the online reviews mention the chili chicken which is a favorite of mine so that was an easy pick as far as what to start out with. It was very good but lacked a bit of actual heat as it was served lukewarm but they were pretty swamped with orders so we didn’t want to further the delay. Had it been served steaming hot it could’ve been as good a version as I’ve come across in these parts but still not to the level of Yueh Tung in Toronto. On the other hand their biryani was pretty much as good as I’ve come across around here though I haven’t had enough versions to make a claim on where it stands amongst the best in Chicagoland. But it was fresh and fragrant and loaded with tender bits of Chicken 65. Same goes for the masala egg omelet which was a bit of revelation to me, masala seasoning should be a standard ingredient in all omelets. I always like to try Kothu Parotta if it’s on the menu as it is here. Torn up pieces of paratha are stir fried with chicken, eggs, and savory spices among other things depending on the recipe. This one was a real mouth burner (SPICY) but tasty nonetheless. We finished off with a steaming hot bowl of Gulab Jamun, a popular dessert of deep fried balls of dough sitting in sweet rose flavored syrup.

Dinner at Mughal Biryani House 
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See ya next time @chibbqking 

Hugo's Frog Bar

-Grubbing in Chicago  
Happy Hour and Friday Fish Fry in the Gold Coast

Today we head to a lesser visited part of the city, for me anyway. For others the Gold Coast is a playground. It’s an area most tourists staying downtown likely visit during their stay. As one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the city there’s plenty of shopping with lots of food and drink options to boot. Though it’s not an area I visit too often I do find myself there from time to time and more times than not it’s due to a visit to Hugo’s Frog Bar - home to my favorite happy hour in the city.

Locals (and tourists) Favorite in the Gold Coast 

Hugo’s sits on a prime piece of real estate along Rush street directly next door to its sister restaurant Gibson’s Bar. I’ve never been a big Gibson’s guy but the steakhouse is one of the highest grossing restaurants in town so it has more than its fair share of fans. Hugo’s is the seafood forward sibling of Gibson’s and I prefer it because of that. Specifically because of the oyster happy hour which is no doubt the best in town. It’s only available on Sunday-Thursday (3-6p) and you can only get it in the bar area which means space is limited but it’s worth going early for $1 oysters and half off almost all bottles of champagne and wine. Not only are the oysters still just a buck each which is rare in of itself but you can choose from any of the bivalves they have on offer and the choices are always really well rounded with pristinely shucked selections from both coasts. We like to add an order of their fantastic fresh cut fries to the mix and with that you got my favorite happy hour experience in all of Chicago.

Happy Hour Oysters and Fries at Hugo's Frog Bar 

Another strength of Hugo’s aside from its overall charm as a nice spot for a night out is its Friday special lake perch. There's surprisingly few places where you can find lake perch on the menu in Chicago and with that there’s very few places to get a real deal Friday fish fry. There’s plenty of spots to get fish and chips but to me a real Great Lakes region Friday Fish Fry has to have some sort of lake fish on offer be it bluegill, walleye, or lake perch (my favorite of them all). Hugo’s serves a pan fried lake perch special for $32 on Fridays. It’s a bit steep as far as pricing goes compared to a fish fry in Northwest Indiana or Southeast Wisconsin but it’s much closer for those of us in the city plus lake pech isn't cheap out there either. It also comes with your choice of a soup or salad. If you go the soup route you can get a big bowl of above average clam chowder to start off your meal. After that comes six soft and tender pieces of lightly pan fried lake perch sitting in a puddle of lemon butter plus a basket of those fantastic fresh cut fries, some of the best in the city for sure. I like to dip the fries into their refreshing dill tartar sauce which comes out with coleslaw and ketchup. While they don’t call it a Friday fish fry it’s essentially that and it’s probably the best Friday fish fry in the city from a quality production standpoint and it’s also more filling than most of them. So in my opinion it’s well worth it.

Friday Special Lake Perch 

Hugo's Frog Bar
1024 N Rush St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 640-0999
Website

Gaoku Izakaya

-Grubbing in Chicago  
Japanese-Thai Bar Food in Humboldt Park

There’s never a time when restaurants aren't opening. Some debut in between the food calendar years meaning they open after the years best new restaurants are chosen but also before the year is over. There’s always a handful of these in Chicago and today we head over to Humboldt Park to check one of them out. Gaoku Izakaya and Craft Drinks opened quietly in December of 2023. Its opening on a corner of California and Augusta has solidified that intersection as one of the best for food as it’s joined by Spinning J, Segnatore, and Rootstock - three very good spots. One of the people behind Gaoku runs Q Sushi and Omakase in Ravenswood which I have yet to visit but there’s people in the know who enjoy it. Gaoku focuses on izakaya style Japanese bar food with Thai influences. It’s also a cocktail bar mixing with Japanese and Thai ingredients making it a good choice for food and drinks. 

Recently Opened in Humboldt Park 

Gaoku very much has the feel of an updated neighborhood bar but what separates it from other similar spots is its unique menu of Japanese-Thai dishes. The dinner menu is broken down into two sections including hot and cold. We visited towards the end of the year and I really liked the potential of this place based on what we had. Service was also above average which I feel needs to be said these days. The pace at which the plates came out was on par with what it should be meaning there was minimal time in between us finishing a dish and a new one arriving. There were two of us eating but a group of four or more could easily try the entire menu. First up the Hotate Scallops are made with high quality Hokkaido Scallops and coconut dashi, lemongrass Powder, yuzu juice, Golden Kluga caviar, cilantro. It’s a cold dish that will hit the spot for those that are fans of both ceviche and southeast Asian flavors. The Hirame was just as good - Japanese Flounder marinated in Konbu seaweed, house ponzu, dry miso, Thai basil, Shichimi, grapeseed oil and topped with cilantro. Just like with with the previous dish I really enjoyed the Thai flavors paired with Japanese technique in this one. We both thought the tuna tartare was good but it wasn’t as impressive or satisfying as the first two cold dishes. I wouldn’t call it a miss but unlike the others I wouldn’t order it again. 

Hotate Scallops

Hirame Flounder 

Tuna Tartare 

Moving onto the hot options it seems like their Karaage chicken served with a Thai curry aioli is one of the popular dishes early on but we opted for a few other things including a delicious charcoal grilled Hamachi Kama - miso marinated yellowtail collar served with a Thai style chimmichuri. We scarfed that down and both felt it was the best dish up until that point. An order of the Tora Ebi (Charcoal Grilled skull Island Tiger Prawn, Motoyaki Sauce, Thai Curry Powder, Chives) didn’t satisfy in the same way but you might have better luck. I didn’t feel like it matched the pricepoint ($28) as far as size goes and there wasn’t as much flavor to them as I was expecting. However the opposite can be said about the Sakura Pork - Charcoal grilled marinated Duroc pork shoulder is served with a roasted rice ponzu and pickled shallots and scallions. The meat was extremely flavorful and very texturally pleasing from a trip over the charcoal. I've already got a spot for it on my year end 'best of' list. 

Hamachi Kama

Tora Ebi

Grilled Duroc Pork Shoulder 

Gaoku recently introduced a weekend lunch menu - Saturday and Sunday (12p-3p) - featuring a selection of ramen and rice bowls. I would highly recommend the Aburi Engawa - torched pieces of flounder fin served atop a mound of seasoned rice with pickled daikon and green onion. It’s a simple dish which means the ingredients need to shine and that they do. Flounder fin meat is neither easily obtainable or cheap and it’s also not abundant which is why this dish has limited availability. 

Aburi Engawa at Gaoku Izakaya

Each of the ramen options has some Thai flare going for it with the Khao Soi being the most obvious. It uses a Northern Thai curry style base mixed with ramen noodles and topped with Chicken Karaage, scallions, pickled mustard, and shallots. I enjoyed this genuinely spicy bowl of noodles with my only complaint being the fried chicken chunks were a bit too big to handle as far as a soup goes, they should cut them down a little bit as far as size. I thought a few other selections from the lunch menu sounded worth a try including the seafood donburi, specifically the one with charcoal grilled unagi (eel).

Khao Soi Ramen 

Gaoku Izakaya 
2759 W Augusta Blvd
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 698-6261
Website