The Best of 2024

- Memorable Bites from the Past Calendar Year

Year #17 of S'C'&C is complete and with that it's time to share my 12th annual 'Best Bites of (insert year)' list. But first lets take a look at the total numbers on the season. I switched to a weekly posting format and I think it went over well. Despite less posts overall (43) we still managed to check out a ton of Chicagoland restaurants and visit a bunch of out of town spots. Overall we ate at 100 restaurants in the Chicagoland area and yes I did the exact math on that (the number includes the eleven places featured in my most recent dining dispatch from Northwest Indiana which you can see HERE). We left the Chicago area to check out spots in Florida's Treasure Coast, Greenville South Carolina, SW Michigan, Central Illinois, Wisconsin, Indianapolis, and Atlanta. Then we left the country completely to visit Santiago, Buenos Aires, and London. These were the best bites featured on the site this year - 

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- 11 Best Bites from Chicagoland

(Click link for original descriptions)

11) Kebapche at Sofia Grill 

10) Pastrami Sandwich at Schneider Deli 

9) Dry Chili Fish Filet at China Wok 

8) Green Pozole at Santa Masa Tamaleria

7) Sichuan Za Jiang Noodle with Stewed Pea at Chengdu Bistro

6) Soup Dumpling Tortellini at Maxwells Trading

5) Breakfast Dosa Hash at Superkhana International

4) Aburi Engawa at Gaoku Izakaya

3) Miso Ramen at Akahoshi Ramen

2) Stewed Beef Hotpot at Mahanakhon Noodle Bar 

1) Chicken Makhani at Indienne 

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- 11 Best Bites from Beyond Chicagoland

11) Spicy Korean Pork Sandwich at Heirloom Market BBQ (Atlanta)

10) Martabak Manis at Wisanggeni Pawon (Indianapolis)

9) Bondiola at Parilla El Litoral (Buenos Aires)

8) Deep Fried Beef Empanada at El Gauchito (Buenos Aires)

7) Patagonian Scallops at Picaron (Buenos Aires)

6) Abalone aka Locos Stew at 99 Restaurante (Santiago)

5) Robata Lamb Chops at The Tamil Prince (London) 

4) Chunchullo (grilled intestine) at Perilla Don Niceto (Buenos Aires)

3) Isaan Style Deep Fried Seabass at Som Saa (London)

2) Chapli Kebab at Namak Mandi (London)

1) Sharmaji's Lahori Chicken at BiBi (London)

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- 5 Best Meals of 2024

5) Tasting Menu at Indienne (Chicago)

4) Lunch at The Tamil Prince (London)

3) Tasting Menu at 99 Restaurante (Santiago)

2) Dinner(s) at Parilla Don Niceto (Buenos Aires)

1) Tasting Menu at BiBi (London)

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- 2024 Roadfood 'Stop(s) of the Year'

Runners-Up:

King Neptune Restaurant (Stuart, Florida)
Holmes Hot Dogs (Arcadia, South Carolina)
Grand Mere Inn (Stevensville, Michigan)
Stockholm Pie and General Store
(Stockholm, Wisconsin)

Stop of the Year:

Bonge's Tavern
(Perkinsville, Indiana)

See ya next year @chibbqking

Mahanakhon Noodle Bar

-Grubbing in Chicago  
Real Deal Thai Food in Lakeview

As the year comes to a close we’re going to start seeing lots of end of the year food lists listing the best new open openings and the saddest closings and so forth. Today’s post is a crossing of an opening and a closing. One of the year’s saddest closings had to be Sticky Rice on Western. The popular Northern Thai restaurant closed their doors after pushing the city’s Thai food scene forward for more than 20 years. It’s a tough loss for fellow fans of bold Thai flavors but thanks to places like Sticky Rice the Thai food options in Chicago have never been better. Enter Mahanakhon Noodle Bar.

Recently Opened in in Lakeview

Mahanakhon Noodle Bar caught my attention as soon as I learned of its opening this past summer. It’s pretty easy to tell what type of customer base a Thai restaurant is aiming for by looking at the menu and the menu at Mahanakhon was clearly geared towards the local Thai community. As the name suggests there’s an entire section of Thai style noodle soups including two of my absolute favorites - Boat Noodles and Khao Soi as well as lesser known offerings. There’s also a “Chefs Special” section which lists some interesting items including grilled giant river prawns in a seafood sauce - they were out when I tried to order them. The first time I came here was a hot day so the soups weren’t calling my name the same way as an order of cold noodles. I tried the Yum Woon Sen (glass noodles salad) and was captivated by the fresh and funky flavors. Perfect paired with an ice cold beer on a 90+ degree day. It’s made up of a delicious medley of shrimp, minced pork, snow mushrooms, tomato, shallot, celery, carrot, scallion, chili, sugar, pickle garlic, fish sauce, lime juice. 

Yum Woon Sen

I’ve been obsessing over Thailand’s unofficial national dish of late. Pad Krapao or Phat kaphrao is a super popular dish consisting of spicy stir-fried minced meat and Thai basil. Chicken is the most common protein used but both pork and beef are also common. I decided I wanted to play around with it in my own kitchen but first I had to try a handful of versions around town including the Ka Prow Moo at Mahanakhon.  They use stir-fried minced pork, homemade sauce, chopped garlic, and chili with Thai hot basil served over rice and topped with crispy sunny side up egg. It’s a delicious mix of savory, spicy, and has a slightly sweet at the very end of each bite. Not only does it have great flavor but it’s neither too dry nor too wet so I would say it’s in the running for the best Phat kaphrao in town.  

Ka Prow Moo 

I waited a bit for the weather to get cold before trying their most popular items such as the Boat Noodles and the Khao Soi. Each of these beloved noodle soups represent Thailand’s two biggest cities in Bangkok (boat noodles) and Chiang Mai (Khao Soi) respectively. On my trip to Thailand back in 2018 I fell in love with both of these dishes and they’ve since found their way onto more Thai menus in Chicago and beyond but rarely are they on the same menu and it’s even rarer to find a restaurant where they’re equally delicious. I’m not sure which one I prefer but that’s a good thing as they both hit the spot. Boat Noodles got their name because they were once served from boats roaming Bangkok's canals. Backers of Boat Noodles love their savory rich broth and it’s beautiful dark hue which comes from a bit of pork blood added to the beef broth along with bits of tender beef, stewed beef shank, crispy pork rinds and Thai style meatballs which are dense but loaded with flavor from the broth they soak up. You have to go to Bangkok to get real deal Boat Noodles but nonetheless the version served here brought me back to Boat Noodle Alley which is a well known canal just north of the iconic Victory Monument where you’ll find Thailand’s best boat noodle vendors. 

Boat Noodles at Mahanakhon Noodle Bar

Khao Soi is just as craveable. It's found all over Thailand but comes from the northern part where it’s made with non local ingredients like coconut milk and wheat noodles as influenced by Burmese and Chinese cuisines. Mahanakhon serves a "Khao Soi Nuer Toon" which means beef shank is the protein used as opposed to the more traditional chicken leg. I actually preferred it with beef when I was in Thailand and the sliced shank they use is firm but tender in that it’s easily broken apart with a fork or chopsticks. This bowl hits all the high notes of a good bowl of Khao Soi as it’s rich and creamy with a subtle but soothing spice profile along with that classic contrast of both crunchy and regular boiled noodles. An immediate contender for the best bowl of Khao Soi in Chicagoland right now. 

Khao Soi Nuer Toon at Mahanakhon Noodle Bar

On my most recent visit I was with company that wanted something comforting on a cold day so I knew just what to get. On each one of my previous visits I saw a hot pot like dish filled with all sorts of stewed beef meat at a few tables each time. Clearly the Mor Fai Nuer Toon was a popular menu item and the friendly waiter confirmed it to me when I asked about it on my previous visit. He insisted I try it next time and that time was now. It’s described on the menu as “house recipe herb beef broth served with sliced beef, stewed striped shank beefs, stewed tender beefs, beef balls, bean sprouts, scallion, Chinese celery, fried garlic and cilantro” and it comes with a jasmine rice. Well if that sounds good to you I can 100% confirm it is. I loved all the different cuts of beef, each with its own texture. The tendon was terrific if you like that sort of stuff while the stewed beef was as tender as it can get without disintegrating completely. The herby broth was filled with flavor including star anise, cilantro, soy sauce and beef fat. At $25 it’s meant to share but one could easily enjoy this with by themselves with leftovers to boot. Mahanakhon Noodle Bar is named after a mixed use skyscraper in Bangkok and it’s a fitting name for a place that’s further raising the bar on Thai food in Chicago. Sky’s the limit.

Mor Fai Nuer Toon

Mahanakhon Noodle Bar
2907 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 975-3333
Website

Pierogi Kitchen

-Grubbing in Chicago  
Polish American Food in Wicker Park

Pierogi Kitchen opened near the beginning of the year. The new school Polish spot is from the owners of the short lived Firewood BBQ, the previous tenant at the corner of North and Wolcott. They also own Ella’s BBQ in Lincoln Park, Earls BBQ in Jefferson Park, and Mas Tacos in Irving Park. 

Recently Opened in Wicker Park

Pierogi Kitchen came about when owners Artur Wnorowski and Gosia Pieniazek did a complete revamp of Firewood BBQ. They wanted to try something a bit different than barbecue so they tapped into their Polish-American heritage with Pierogi Kitchen. The menu features a large chunk of Polish classics such as Bigos aka Hunters Stew or a unique tasting bowl of dill pickle soup made of a smoky broth, sour rye, kielbasa, boiled eggs, onions, and marjoram. The stuffed cabbage made with pork shoulder and chuck roll sitting in a sweet and tangy tomato sauce is as good as I’ve had outside of the Northeast Ohio region though my overall experience with Polish food is somewhat limited. 

Stuffed Cabbage Roll at Pierogi Kitchen 

Can you even be a real deal Polish restaurant if you don’t have pierogi on the menu? Artur and Gosia spent countless hours perfecting their recipe which is a boiled version with some really smooth skins. When they made the switch from barbecue joint to Polish kitchen they decided to keep the smoker and use it at Pierogi Kitchen resulting in menu items like the brisket pierogi. These had a divine smell when they arrived in front of me and really hit the spot on a day where I was craving smoked meat. 

Brisket Pierogi at Pierogi Kitchen 

I was never a big fan of traditional Polish sausage, at least not in the way I'm a fan of Italian sausage. Now I’ve always liked the Vienna Beef Maxwell Style Polish Sausage (natural casing of course) but that’s kind of its own thing compared to Kielbasa. That said I was tempted by the fact that they make their own kielbasa at Pierogi Kitchen and smoke it on site too. The Kielbasa Platter comes with three pieces of potato and cheese pierogi, sauerkraut, mustard, and cwikla which is a beet and horseradish relish. The smoked sausage was great both in terms of flavor and texture and it paired really well with the sides while the potato and cheese pierogi was every bit as satisfying as your typical bbq sides such as mac and cheese. I ate every last piece of food on my plate and decided right then and there that I liked Polish food more than I thought I did. Pierogi Kitchen has a full fledged bar with Zywiec on tap and happy hour specials to boot. Overall I think they made the right call switching over from traditional bbq to Polish American comfort food. Chicago needed a new school Polish spot like this.

Kielbasa Platter at Pierogi Kitchen 

Pierogi Kitchen
1856 W North Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 799-8273
Website

Roadfood in Atlanta

Eating like a local:
Regional food specialties
- Another Quick Trip thru ATL

Atlanta remains a bit of a mystery to me. I've been through there three times now but never for more than one night. All three of my visits to ATL revolved around driving to and from South Florida. Atlanta is basically the halfway point so it's a good spot to stop. That said I've always had trouble navigating the city and it's pain in the ass traffic. On my most recent visit last May I had a whole eating itinerary planned but I had to scrap it due to the crazy traffic which was so bad I decided we would only stay one day instead of two. So I don't really know much about Atlanta except to say it's not for everyone. As far as the food scene in Atlanta I don't know much about that either. It's harder to read than most food scenes and because I've never spent more than a day there it's still a bit of a mystery. That said 've always said there's good food to be found in every metro area including the Metro Atlanta area. 

Atlanta, Georgia
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1911 Biscuits and Burgers

I love a good biscuit but rarely get the chance to have one due to my home base (Chicago) being very north of the Mason Dixon line. So I made it a point to get a good biscuit sandwich while I was in Georgia. A few of the spots I wanted to try were either not open that day or they were too much out of the way. But 1911 Biscuits & burgers in Smyrna looked much better than anything you'll find back home and it was. I'm not sure how it stacks up against the Piedmont Regions best biscuit spots but the biscuit itself was soft and fluffy and just sturdy enough to remain mostly intact while the fried chicken had a nice spice profile to it. The biscuit and gravy wasn't as good due to an off tasting gravy. 

Fried Chicken Biscuit at 1911
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Busy Bee Cafe

If you're a devout regional eater you cant go to Atlanta and not get some fried chicken. The historic Busy Bee Cafe has been on my radar for a long time now as it's one of the city's most iconic restaurants. The restaurant was opened by a self-taught cook, Lucy Jackson, in 1947 on what was at the time called Hunter Street but is now Martin Luther King Drive. MLK himself was a regular during the Civil Rights Movement and today the cafe is popular with locals and tourists and celebrities alike. Busy Bee is known for their southern cooking featuring all the usual suspects but I had to try what some say is the best fried chicken in Atlanta if not the entire south. As of my visit last May it's takeout only so I went ahead and placed my order on our drive in once we were about 25 minutes out. I got a fried chicken dinner with two sides of my choice - Broccoli Cheddar and rice & gravy. Was it the best fried chicken I've ever had? No it wasn't but I've talked before about how fried chicken is pretty good no matter where you get it, as opposed to stuff like bbq and burgers. So it was still very satisfying. 

Fried Chicken at Busy Bee Cafe
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Heirloom Market BBQ

There's lots of bbq options in Atlanta and Heirloom Market BBQ was the most intriguing of them all. From the outside this place looks like your typical southern bbq shack but when you see the menu you realize that it is not. Heirloom is ran by a pair of local chefs with a Korean background. They incorporate both of their heritages into one with menu items like Gochujang beef ribs and the Spicy Korean Pork Sandwich made with smoked, diced and braised spicy pork topped with kimchi slaw. I couldn't resist sandwich which was probably the single thing I was most looking forward to eating in Atlanta and it more than lived up to the hype. This was a top tier sandwich in every regard. The meat had great smoke flavor and was filled with crispy bits mixed with tender chunks and the slaw was top tier. I wish I could've tried a few more things but I had to save stomach space for some other spots.

Spicy Korean Pork Sandwich at Heirloom Market BBQ
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The Original J.R. Crickets

Atlanta's wing scene is considered second to none by some. Every Atlantan has a favorite spot for lemon pepper wings - a flavor created here in Atlanta. J.R. Crickets is one of the most popular wing spots in town. They've been around since 1982 and were a local fixture long before it became a piece of pop culture too when featured on the hit TV show Atlanta on FX. I visited the semi original location in Midtown which is housed in an old IHOP building, it moved into there back in 2013 after the original location burned in a fire. I ordered half lemon pepper dry and half buffalo and thank goodness trey had a bar where I could have a beer or two because my order took what seemed like forever (best to call ahead like everyone else was doing). The wings were small but still pretty good despite that they didn't seem to come fresh from the fryer. I actually prefer a smaller wing to a jumbo as the smaller wings have much better texture to them but I felt like they could've been fresher in terms of how long we waited. Were they the best wings I've ever had? No not by a long shot but they did hit the spot. 

Chicken Wings at J.R. Crickets
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Bibi Persian Eatery

Ponce City Market was one of the country's first food halls back when it first opened back in 2014. The mixed use development is located in a former Sears catalog facility in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood on the city's eastside. I visited around dinner time and the place was packed. There's more than two dozen food options ranging from small stalls to full fledged restaurants. I was there to check out Bibi Eatery which is a Persian sandwich specialist. Atlanta has a decent sized Persian population as I learned doing research for this trip. Bibi serves up casual takes on popular Persian dishes like Koobideh and Joojeh kebabs and offers them in sandwich form too. The kebab in my Koobideh sandwich was made with a mixture of beef brisket and lamb shoulder and dressed with butter braised tomato, labneh, sumac onions, and pickles in between a piece of rustic bread as described on the menu. My thoughts? More Persian spots should offer sandwiches like these.  

Koobideh Sandwich at Bibi Eatery
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J-Bistro

I was determined to get to the area around Atlanta's famed Buford Highway despite it's out of the way location. The area out by the city's Northeast suburbs is home to a ginormous collection of Korean and other Asian owned restaurants and markets alike. It's only about 15 miles from the city center but it can take alot longer than that with traffic but I went out there anyway only to find the spot I had planned to check out closed due to a building issue. So no Korean grilled tripe this trip. Instead I headed over to this Korean-Chinese restaurant known for their Jjamppong among other things. Even though it was pretty hot outside I wasn't going to pass on a spicy bowl of spicy seafood noodles, with made on site noodles at that. This version had a ton of spice and lots of seafood to boot. Delicious. 

Jjamppong at J Bistro 
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Weekend in Atlanta (2016)

See ya next time @chibbqking