Noodles Party

-Grubbing in Chicago
A Thai Style Noodle Party in Albany Park

The holiday season is around the corner and with the year winding down it’s time to start thinking about the best new restaurants of 2025 plus the best pop-ups etc. This week we visit a spot that would qualify for both. When I first learned of ‘Noodle Party’ as I’ve come to call it, I knew it warranted an immediate visit (as do most places that Mike Sula features in The Chicago Reader). According to Mike he was tipped off by a local about this interesting pop-up taking place in Albany Park and upon further review he uncovered one of the coolest setups I’ve come across in a Chicago food operation. 

Locals Favorite in Albany Park

Noodle Party is hosted by a lady named Pramereothai “Aomjai” Phumpardit, aka Mae (or “mother”). Mae grew up in Bangkok where she began helping out at her mother’s noodle shop at a very young age. According to Mike’s story she was running it herself at the age of 11 while her mother would go sell snacks at a factory. The name ‘Noodle Party’ comes from the storefront where Mae and her husband and their team set up shop every Tues. and Wed. at 4205 W. Lawrence. When you step inside you’re transported to what feels like a noodle shop in Bangkok. Each week the menu features a different Thai noodle dish as well as a few supplemental dishes. The only thing is you have to have the link to her page on Facebook where she announces the menu each week, completely in Thai. Luckily for those of us who can’t speak Thai, the Facebook translation button translates it into English. Even if you don’t have Facebook you can go to her page and see these posts by clicking HERE. 

Behind the Scenes with Mae at Noodles Party

I attended my first Noodle Party the day after learning of it thru Mike Sula’s story. I think they may have strategically planned to feature her most popular offering the week the article came out as Boat Noodles were on the menu that week (Note: they’re also on the menu this week for 10/28 and 10/29). Boat Noodles are basically the unofficial dish of Bangkok dating back to the 12th century when this dish got its name due to it being served from boats on the canals. Eating Boat Noodles along the canal in Bangkok is one of those food experiences that stick with you. Mae and her team want to help trigger those memories to her fellow Thai people residing in Chicago and they've shown up in droves. 

Boat Noodles 

Diners can customize their bowls by choosing what type of noodles you want and there's often the option of getting them with or without broth. In the case of the Boat Noodles they're offered with pork or beef. I had plans to try a couple of different bowls thinking the very reasonable $10 price-tag would result in a smaller serving of noodles as is the case in Bangkok where customers often go thru multiple bowls of noodles mixed into a rich and dark and savory broth made with beef and or pork bones plus cubes of Mini Coagulated Pork Blood, which is how it gets its cloudy color. That said one bowl ended up being a complete meal when paired with a refreshing bowl of Thai Style Shaved Ice. 

Thai Style Shaved Ice

I was the only non Thai person on my initial visit but with each visit after that it’s gotten a bit more diverse as word starts to spread. I think I’ve been five times now as the timing works out really well for me as I usually work a little later on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Noodle Party goes from 11a-11p. So I’ve been heading over around 8:30/9p when most places around town are closing for the day.  

Bouncy Pork Noodle Soup at Noodles Party

As good as the boat noodles are my favorite to date has been the bouncy pork noodle soup made with Thai style pork meatballs. Mae and her team make these on site and there’s a big difference in their homemade version and the ones that come frozen that most places use. The frozen ones always seem to be way too compact which they’re supposed to be to an extent, hence the bouncy pork name, but they’re so packed they can be hard to put a fork thru let alone chew. The Thai style meatballs at Noodle Party have just enough bounce to give a little pushback when sliced. They work great with thin rice noodles in a soup broth that can be enhanced to your liking with condiments at each and every table. The meatballs are also awesome when covered in a spicy green curry and served with a plate of white rice. They do a fair amount of takeout too but it’s $5 extra per dish.

Meatballs in Green Curry

I really love how each and every week there’s a new treasure to uncover here. On one visit the special was Kuay Jab, or Peppery Noodle Soup, a streetside dish made with wide rice noodles and pork organs that makes for a sweet and a unique flavor. Every now and then they’ll do Khao Soi in addition to whatever is being featured that week and it’s tough to pass on that when they do. They make a textbook version utilizing a braised chicken leg with meat that easily falls off the bone into a rich and creamy coconut curry based broth with a wonderful balance of spicy, sour, salty, and sweet. It’s a contender for the best rendition in the city for sure. As previously noted this is a Tuesday and Wednesday operation but they’ve started to do Fridays and Saturdays too - with a completely different menu at that. Simply put this is the “find of the year” in that without Mike’s story many of us wouldn’t have a clue that there was such a high quality operation operating right under our noses. 

Khao Soi

Noodles Party
4205 W Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL 60630 
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Eating BIG in Cleveland - Part 2

Eating like a local:
Regional food specialties
- Return to The Land

We spent a couple nights in Cleveland last Thanksgiving. The reason for our visit was to spend the holiday with some of Erica’s family that resides in Akron but we always choose to stay in Cleveland since there’s a bit more going on in terms of the food and fun. It’s a trip we’ve made before though it had been a few years since our last visit. From what I could tell the local food scene seems to be getting better with each passing visit. I had quite a few spots on my radar but it was a pretty short trip. We drove up early morning on Thanksgiving day and spent two nights at the Kimpton in downtown Cleveland. I always enjoy these little jaunts to the Land as nicknamed by local hip hop artists and the one and only LeBron James who could be scheming a return home to finish off his career. If so that would make for a fun story and an interesting roster of both old and new which is also how I would describe the dining scene in Cleveland right now. There's a nice mix of both old and new to explore.

Pics from Cleveland
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Ferris Shawarma

We rode into Ohio early Thursday morning so there wasn’t much open as far as restaurants go. That said one of my favorite food stops in Cleveland was open last time I was here on Thanksgiving and that would be all I needed. Ferris Shawarma serves up Syrian style shawarma that just might be the best I’ve had in the States. You can tell this place is the real deal as soon as you walk in and see their tall and pristinely kept cones of meat which are clearly made from scratch as you can see it’s stacked layer by layer. They serve their shawarma wraps “Arabic style” which is mixed with garlic sauce plus pickles and cut into smaller bite sized pieces. I love this place. The Northeast Ohio area actually has some very good Middle Eastern food which is likely a spillover from nearby Dearborn Michigan.

Chicken Shawarma at Ferris Shawarma
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European's Best Restaurant & Bakery (Strongville)

The day after Thanksgiving is actually one of my favorite days of the year. It’s kind of holiday in and of itself and it’s always on a Friday so there’s good vibes to go with it. I like to get up early and go treat myself to a nice breakfast. I made sure to scout a spot before we left and I found exactly what I was looking for in the suburb of Strongville. European's Best Restaurant & Bakery is a real locals type of place that regulars call “Cheers without the beers” - the type of spot where everyone knows each other. I could feel this on my visit where there were a few groups of older guys scattered about and they all seemed to know one another stopping to chat as they passed each other. The menu here has all the stuff you expect to find at a diner as well as some Old World Eastern European plates. I was there for the pork schnitzel breakfast plate made with a lightly breaded and fried pork loin topped with house made paprikas sauce served with two eggs plus home fries and toast and it really hit the spot. This is the type of place where you get a paper placemat with advertising from local businesses and you go up to the front counter to pay. That’s also where the pastry case is strategically placed. I took a few Hungarian mini strudels to-go and was on my way back into the city. But not before taking a minute to take in what was probably the most NE Ohio dining experience I’ve ever partaken in. 

Pork Schnitzel Breakfast Plate at European's Best Restaurant & Bakery
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Martha On The Fly

Next I had to get the wife fed so I rolled back to the hotel to grab her and we were on our way to Martha on the Fly. This micro diner is known for their breakfast sandwiches which some say are the best in Cleveland. She opted for “The Pearl” which is made with a Mushroom sausage patty, avocado spread, American cheese, Martha's Sunshine Sauce and a fried egg. All sandwiches here are served on soft and semi sweet brioche buns which aren’t my favorite but I did enjoy the bite I tried. The made on site mushroom patty was very good. We also got a potato crispie which is a golden skillet fried hash brown served with Sunshine Sauce - it was nice and crisp if a bit oily. Cute spot to start the day. 

Breakfast at Martha On The Fly
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Mama Santa's Pizzeria

I took a ride into Cleveland’s historic Little Italy to try the pizza at the locally loved Mama Santa’s. I walked in around 12p and there was a line 25+ deep with a few large families in it - usually a good sign. After about a 15 minute wait I was led into a long, narrow and dimply lit dining room where every table had pizza and pastas on it. I went ahead and placed my order as soon as I sat down - one small sausage pizza with green pepper and an order of the made on site cavatelli with meatballs. No Great Lakes Christmas Ale here so I got a bottle of their Dortmunder German Lager instead. Loyalists of Mama Santa’s mention the crust and the dough as its strengths and the deeply dark cheese is also of note but the pizza here is kind of its own thing. It’s interesting bc Cleveland is a big pizza town with lots of options, both old and new, but there isn’t a specific regional style so it’s never mentioned among the country’s best pizza enclaves. That said Mama Santa’s is Cleveland’s most popular pizzeria so there do seem to be a few copycats out there. The pasta had good texture and came mixed with a standard red sauce and two medium sized meatballs - not bad. Overall a satisfying old school Italian American meal in that warm you up on a cold winter day sort of way. Since 1961. 

Lunch at Mama Santa's
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Clubhouse Restaurant + Bar

As you probably know by now I like to seek out the regional food of whatever area I’m in. The Northeast Ohio region is home to quite a few Old World Eastern European dining destinations. You’ll find a handful of them in the suburbs of Parma and Parma Heights including Clubhouse Restaurant + Bar. It's described as a modern European bar and restaurant but it felt old school to me. Stepping inside felt like going back to the 70’s / 80’s. It was dimly lit with a round bar and worn down walls with a nostalgic feel to it. Clubhouse is locally loved for a mix of things like their fish sandwich and a few Eastern Euro dishes too including their signature Chicken Paprikash which many call the best in the area. It’s rich and creamy with thick strips of white meat chicken and chunks of spaetzle mixed in. 

Chicken Paprikash at Clubhouse Restaurant + Bar 
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Amba

We were in town for two nights but one of those nights was Thanksgiving so we really only had one night to go out. As far dinner goes there were two spots I wanted to check out so we went ahead and did a 1-2 punch. First stop: Amba, a very stylish restaurant ran by Douglas Katz’s Edgewater Hospitality Group - he was nominated for James Beard ‘Restauranteur of the Year’ award not long after our visit. Diners indulge in shareable Indian inspired plates and unique cocktails in a cozy and intimate setting. We started with an order of the clay bread and added some dipping agents like a cool and creamy raita and some nice and chunky chili crunch too. We also got the namesake Amba which is a delightfully tangy condiment made from pickled mango. From there we moved on to an order of the crispy pani puri which at Amba is a mix of potato salad, zhug raita, tamarind, and green onion placed into a Crisp puri shell. Head Chef / Owner Douglas Katz also has a Middle Eastern small plate restaurant and you can tell that it rubbed off on the food at Amba. From there we moved onto the Pilau which is made up of basmati rice, quinoa, saffron, almonds, raisins, herbs, fried onions. The rice was cooked really well which is half the battle with a rice focused dish. We found all of the sauces we ordered with the pita to work really well mixed into the rice as well. We ended with a plate of Ghee Basted Shrimp which were described on the menu as having ginger, garam masala, lime, and coconut. This dish was a winner and a great way to end a good meal. The shrimp were plump and there was a lot of flavor in the sauce. I would gladly go back and spin the wheel on the menu again.

Dinner at Amba
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Cordelia

Our second dinner of the night was at another James Beard nominated place - Cordelia. We met up with some of Erica’s cousins at this hip and happening spot located in the middle of the downtown entertainment district. Cordelia is helmed by Akron native Vinnie Camino who was included in a 2025 Food & Wine list naming the best new chefs in the country. He was also a 2024 finalist in the 'Best Chefs: Great Lakes' category of the James Beard awards. Camino and his team mix heartfelt hospitality with community-rooted cooking with the menu at Cordelia being an ode to the chefs Midwestern roots - it's been described as “modern Midwest grandma cooking”. They use local farmers and push the regions food legacy into a modern setting with dishes like popcorn gnocchi and the signature Jojos - a regional type of seasoned, deep-fried potato wedge very popular in parts of the Midwest (and Portland Oregon too). The menu switches up based on the seasons so most of what we ate is no longer available but we all enjoyed apps of smoked whitefish and house fried rinds with ranch. We also got a salad geared after the extra large ones you find at old school pizzerias across the Midwest. I heard very good things about the burger box which is what they call their White Castle inspired burger served on an everything-spiced Japanese milk bun that can be separated into four pieces making it a good appetizer. It’s a double smash creation also inspired by Hamburger Station, an old school spot serving sliders in Akron. The burger is dressed with smoked cheddar cheese crust, pickle, onion, house sauce. As far as higher end burgers go this was a good one! All in all Cordelia is a great pick if you got one dinner in Cleveland and want to eat at a spot that personifies the city. 

Dinner at Cordelia
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Patron Saint

Drinks and snacks at Patron Saint ended up being a real pleasant surprise. They offer an all-day menu of Italian-inspired cafe dishes paired with espresso, spritzes, and warm Midwestern hospitality. The menu isn’t entirely vegetarian but it’s mostly veggie with just a couple of meat offerings. Erica had an excellent broccoli melt made up of roasted broccoli, provolone, giardiniera, and Calabrian chili aioli on a leavened sesame seeded hoagie roll. The bread was really good as was what was inside of it. I tried the chickpea piadina and it was also excellent. They mix ground chickpeas with fresh snow peas, and sun-dried tomatoes, wrapped in a warm pita with aioli + eggplant conserva. This was one of the best vegetarian meals I ate all year. It was Italy quality in that all of the ingredients were top notch. 

Broccoli Melt

Chickpea Piadina
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Larder Delicatessen and Bakery

Cleveland is a corned beef town but I had my sights set on some pastrami this trip. The last time we had visited Cleveland I stopped in at what was then a newly opened deli called the Larder Delicatessen and Bakery. It’s a new school deli that set up shop in old city firehouse. My initial visit was just ok. I left underwhelmed, but they were also new and a lot can change over a three or four year period so I returned on this trip as I had heard good things from people that would know what’s up. I came back to a packed restaurant - it’s not that big to begin with but this is clearly a popular spot with Clevelanders. While they do have a deli case with different stuff to pack up and put in your fridge the crowds are mostly here for the made to order food such as the pastrami melt. The first time I tried the pastrami from here it was a bit too tough resulting in a tough to eat sandwich but my return visit was a different story completely. The pastrami was much more tender this time around. It was exceptionally spiced and the sandwich as a whole was near flawless with excellent bread and a perfect toasting job to boot. As good as the sandwich was, and it was awesome, the fresh cut fries were an even bigger surprise. Simply put some of the best fries I’ve ever had. Now I can see why this place is so popular. Word on the street is they’re also a big part of the community too. Cool spot!

Pastrami Sandwich and Fries at Larder Delicatessen and Bakery
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Marie's Restaurant

The four-decades-old Marie's Croatian restaurant in the St. Clair-Superior area is what it is, and what it has always been: a no-frills Eastern European restaurant. I had a hard time deciding what to get at this Cleveland timewarp serving old world favorites like cabbage rolls, cevapi, city chicken. In the end I got the house goulash with dumplings which some say is the best goulash in Cleveland and beyond. The beef was fine but the dumplings were a textural pleasure. Next time I'd try the cabbage rolls.

Beef Goulash with Dumplings at Marie's Restaurant
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Farka's Pastry Shoppe

Last stop before heading home was Farka’s Pastry Shoppe for a couple of their signature Napoleon Pastries. There’s a handful of fantastic European bakeries in the Greater Cleveland area including this terrific Hungarian spot specializing in Napoleons or Krémes as they’re commonly called in Hungary. These tasty squared treats consist of layers upon layers of crisp and golden puff pastry with a hefty amount of vanilla custard sandwiched in between. Make sure you wipe your nose off after eating one of these so that you’re not mistaken for a rabid cocaine user. That’s it for this trip!

Napoleons at Farka's Pastry Shoppe
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Previous Posts You Might Like -

Eating BIG in Cleveland (2021)

Eastern European Food in Northeast Ohio (2018)

The Burgers of Akron (2015)
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See ya next time @chibbqking

Mirra

-Grubbing in Chicago
Indian and Mexican Merge in Bucktown

First thing I do when learning of a new restaurant is check the menu to see if it’s worth putting on my hit list. I’m looking for things outside the norm. That might be a regional dish you don’t see at many other spots or it could be a creative dish you’ve never seen anywhere else. Simply put I’m looking for places that stand out in a crowded field. Today we’re going to visit a spot that stood out - Mirra. 

Recently Opened in Bucktown

Mirra is the brainchild of Chef Zubair Mohajir and his biz partner slash executive chef Rishi Kumar. Mohajir was born in Chennai and grew up in Doha while Kumar is Singaporean. Together they’ve teamed up to create one of the most interesting menus in Chicago combining Indian and Mexican ingredients. Before we get into my visits let me just say that this isn’t some Chipotle like fusion concept putting typical Indian dishes in a burrito or turning them into tacos. I wouldn’t even call this fusion food simply bc some people hear that and shake their head assuming half baked attempts at combining two cuisines. Mirra is far from that. It's a vibrant fusion of cultures from the lens of a kitchen. Simply stated I think it’s one of the most interesting restaurants in the town right now. 

Huevos Rancheros Lababdar

We’ll start with brunch which they just introduced this past summer. Every now and then I’ll come across a brunch menu that’s the opposite of monotonous and only then am I down to overpay for eggs. My other issues with brunch are I prefer to eat sweet at the end the day and not the beginning of it and I don’t like to wait until dinner to get a little bit of spice in my life. Simply put brunch is boring to me but not at Mirra where the cuisines of India and Mexico merge especially well when it comes to a mid morning meal. I’m pro-fusion when it comes to food because it can make for interesting dishes with unique flavor profiles when the people doing the cooking have a good understanding of the cuisines they’re blending. Well they certainly seem to have that here which is why I’m always keeping my eye on the menu to see what’s next. On a recent visit I was tempted by the Huevos Rancheros Lababdar made up of two soft eggs sitting in a tomato-tinga masala with Salsa Macha plus avocado and a fenugreek roti to soak it all up. It tasted new to me in terms of the flavors they were combining and bc of that I wasn’t sure about this dish at first but I liked it more and more with each passing bite. 

Idli Crab Benedict

It’s pretty much standard to have some sort of Eggs Benedict dish on your brunch menu and Mirra does but it’s not normal by any means - two perfectly poached eggs are placed atop a plate of crab sukkha which is a spicy and aromatic crab dish considered to be a delicacy of the Mangalorean cuisine from the coastal region of Karnataka in India. As far as I could tell there wasn’t much that was Mexican about this dish but I respect that they don’t go overboard. The menu definitely leans Indian with a bit of Mexican preparation as you can see in an order of the Shrimp Pakoda tacos. Pakoda is a popular way of frying fritters in India and at Mirra they coat wild gulf shrimp with seasoned garam flour batter and fry them. The shrimp come out crisp with a nice bite and work in-sync with avocado crema, salsa macha and a crisp cabbage slaw, all on a slightly chewy made on site blue corn tortilla. 

Shrimp Pakoda Tacos

The dinner menu at Mirra is equally intriguing. I highly recommend starting off with the Mirra Mezze plate which comes with four different dips - house Achar, Salsa Tatemado, Sikil Pak, and Guacamole - plus Tlayudas and Papads for dipping. The achaar is intensely tangy while the salsa tatemado is nice and smoky and the sikil pak is nutty and the guac nice and creamy. It all blends together so perfectly well. I've eaten this as a complete meal in and of itself on a hot summer night and it was perfect.

Mirra Mezze

I’m a big fan of crispy tacos of any type so I had to try the fancified version made with Hudson Bay Scallops, Mexican Green Curry, Nopales Pico, and Crispy Fenugreek Roti. I thought these were good but the scallops had a slight fishy taste to them. Rasul’s Roti Quesadillas is perhaps the most joining dish on the menu. Roast Mushrooms, Amul Cheese, and Chettinad Masala is stuffed into a house made roti before a trip to the griddle. It’s been a mainstay on the menu since day one. According to a blurb I read in Chicago Magazine this dish is “an homage to a signature dish at Rasul’s El Ranchero, a now-closed Northern California restaurant that broke new ground by bringing together the foodways of the area’s Punjabi and Mexican immigrant communities.” I love a dish with a fun backstory. 

Crsipy Tacos at Mirra


Rasul's Roti Quesadillas

Softshell crab is another menu mainstay though they’ve switched the recipe up since I tried it. On my visit the fried softshell crab was being made with a Salsa Negra, Madras Mix, Yoghurt, and Mint Chutney. It was a delightful dish but they’ve since switched the ingredients to a fried soft shell crab with Gujarati Inspired Khavsa and Almond-Vanilla Salsa Macha. I’m going to go ahead guess that the new version is just as good if not better than the old one. That said whatever is on the menu at Mirra when you visit is going to be interesting so you really can’t go wrong no matter which way you go.

Soft Shell Crab at Mirra

Mirra
1954 W Armitage Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 729-6214
Website