Shaw's Crab House

 -Grubbing in Chicago
Fresh Seafood in River North  

Today I thought I'd share an old meal from Shaw's pre-corona. Not a spot I get to often (that's case for all of downtown) but a place I always enjoy when we do go. Last trip in was a farewell dinner for a friend that was getting married. This put about 20+ of us in their special dining room where the service was magnificent. As it should've been considering all the seafood we ordered which was enough for major Lettuce Entertain You loyalty points. Shaw's just might the restaurant groups best spot. 

Locals favorite in River North 

Shaw's is one of the best seafood restaurants in town. I wouldn't say our seafood game here is strong but we got some good spots and Shaw's is often mentioned among the best of them. Fresh seafood is what they do. Which means the menu can switch with the seasons. On this visit it was still stone crab season and since the bill was being split amongst all of us I got a few rounds for the table. 

Oysters and Stone Crab Claws at Shaw's

Even though this is a seafood restaurant I love how they have all the common steakhouse sides. This makes for a great place to go with a group bc of that. But you don't want to fill up too much on the sides bc the seafood is what they do really well here. Particularly the lake perch when it's available. For my money it's the best you can buy in the region. Smaller filets (they're more tender) are lightly pan fried which is just perfect bc they're the type that will fall apart if you try to pick up a piece from one end. A sign of their freshness in terms of not being fried to a crisp. Some spots serving lake perch get the breading too crisp. Sure the lake perch dinner cost a little more here than it would from a shrimp shack or whatever but the quality difference is worth it from what I've tried. It hits the spot. 

Lake Perch Plate with a Crab Cake 

Shaw's Crab House 

21 E Hubbard St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 527-2722
Website

Tacos Puebla

-Eating like a Mayan King in the Windy City

Today's stop should've gone up a while back. I stalled on it's posting in hopes to include it in a sandwich special that I've since vacated. Partly so bc Tacos Puebla in Addison (near O'Hare) is a gem of a spot. I always say there's no such thing as a hidden gem anymore but this might be as close to one as it gets. Located in a small shopping center on a not so busy street means you kind of have to know about the place bc the odds of just driving by are slim to none if you're not from the area. 

Locals Favorite in Addison

I probably found this place browsing through Yelp or Google and I reckon the name caught my eye. The town of Puebla is located about 2.5 hours southeast of Mexico City and it's long been the home to one of Mexico's best regional cuisines. Over the last 5 years more and more spots have opened that are serving the food from this region. Usually cemitas will be front and center. I figured that tacos arabes would be on the menu too due to the name. Puebla is where the famous tacos arabes were born. It's the original al pastor and a dish that the Lebanese that came to Mexico adapted to local flavors with shawarma being the biggest influence. They basically just switched from chicken and beef to pork and served sliced pork from the spit in a hybrid wrap mimicking both pitas and tortillas. You kind of have to go to Mexico to get the real thing (spits of meat up and running) but some spots such as Tacos Puebla will serve what's sort of become the American adaptation. Anyone that enjoyed the Tacos Arabes from Cemitas Puebla (RIP) will enjoy the version served here. It's similar down to the addictive smoky and spicy chipotle salsa that comes served with it. Served on a toasted flour tortilla. 

Taco Arabe at Tacos Puebla

The real star of the show at Tacos Puebla is their perfectly constructed Cemita sandwiches. The specialty sandwich from Puebla has two distinct characteristics. The first of which is the bread of the same name. Egg rich buns turn crunchy and come studded with sesame seeds as is the case here. Pictured below is the Cemita Poblanito which comes with chicken milanesa, enchilada pork loin, head cheese, hot dogs, Queso Oaxaca, grilled onion, avocado, chipotle peppers, and the other key ingredient - Papalo. A common herb in Pueblan cooking that has maintained popularity even after the Chinese introduced cilantro. This sandwich definitely has alot going on so I took off the hot dog and ate it solo. Actually it made for a great palate cleanser dipped into an array of homemade salsas from a free for all salsa bar (pre-corona) - just another reason this spot is a top shelf taqueria so to say. 

Cemita Poblanita at Tacos Puebla 

Tacos Puebla
511 N Addison Rd Suite B

Addison, IL 60101 

(630) 433-2380
Website

In-On-Thai

 -Grubbing in Chicago
Thai Home Cooking in Uptown 

If you're a Chicagoan familiar with LTHforum or the city's mom and pop Thai food scene you've probably heard of In-On-Thai by now. Originally they opened in Lakeview where the building they were renting was sold for condos and they disappeared for almost two years before returning to Uptown on Broadway. As he always does with the city's best mom and pop gems my guy Mike Sula wrote about their return in the Reader last summer. This was of course after covid dining restrictions had gone into place but some people myself included got to dine-in right around the start of 2020 when they made their triumphant return. Today's post is a combo of visits going back to their original location and then also the grand re-opening of their current location which is takeout only for now.

Locals Favorite in Uptown 

In-on-Thai is a true family run spot. It's a husband and wife team with the grandmother / mother-in-law doing most of the cooking. The husband was born in Chicago but grew up in Bangkok where he met his wife Inon (the restaurants namesake) and married into the family business which was a local food court stall selling Central Thai rice and curry dishes. Any first time In-on-Thai customer who also happens to be a curry fan should make sure they try at least one of those. As Sula's story explains most Thai spots in the US make their curries from the canned stuff but not here where the grandmother makes them from scratch. You really cant go wrong with any of them but the stir fried bamboo shoots with chicken comes with a spicy homemade red curry that's tongue tingling delicious. The fact of the matter is it seems that pretty much everything they do here they do very well. A simple description of "Marinated Pork Ribs" doesn't do this appetizer justice. Little chunks of fermented pork ribs have a nice fresh and funky flavor profile and always seem to impress the first time visitors. 

Marinated Pork Ribs at In-On-Thai

Going down the menu there's also the Thai salads section. Nobody does salads better than the Thai's. Ha ha. If you know, you know. Lots of good options on there as well as a couple listed under the chefs specials. From the latter the "special salad" is described as green leaf lettuce, cucumber, hard boiled egg, onion and tomato with peanut dressing. Trust me when I say it's much more exciting than it sounds. The green bean salad is another one of my favorites. It's made with steamed green beans, hard boiled egg, shrimp, and ground pork on top with coconut milk and crispy shallots.

Green Bean Salad at In-On-Thai 

The previously mentioned 'chef's special' section holds another one of my favorites. Again it's description doesnt do it justice but when I first saw baked shrimp with clear noodles served in baked pot on the menu it was a flashback to our trip to Bangkok and the Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market. We'd had a similar dish there and this one was about as good as I think you're going to get in the States. Not quite the same but good enough to bring back some really wonderful memories. I love this dish for it's ability to do that. No surprise but like everything else the shrimp is cooked well here. 

Baked Shrimp with Clear Noodles at In-On-Thai 

But perhaps the best tip I can give to someone trying In-on-Thai for the first time is to make sure you try one of the fish dishes. There's a few that are really good examples of the uniqueness of this place to Chicago. Stuff you wont find elsewhere in the city. First up is the 'crispy fish with jungle salad'. Perhaps the single dish that brings me back to our travels through Thailand more than any other in town. This is what I get when I start getting an itch to travel back to Thailand. It's absolute explosion of flavors featuring crispy fish fillet with red onion, herbs, homemade lime dressing, sliced apples and dry chili peanut on top. Important to note In-on-Thai is at the top of the charts when it comes to packaging their food to go. If you order this dish you'll get the fish and dressing served separately. 

Crispy Fish with Jungle Salad at In-On-Thai 

Another stunner from the chefs specials is the 'In-on-Thai Spicy Fish' dish. Chunks of fish are stir fried until crispy and then tossed in a homemade curry sauce and topped with crispy basil leaf. I love this dish going back to the original location. It was my favorite thing here when they first opened. 

In-On-Thai Spicy Fish 

These days my current favorite is the 'Spicy Fish with Young Pepper' as it's called on the menu. Described as stir fried fish with young green pepper, herbs and crusted garlic chili sauce this is another dish that takes me straight back to Bangkok. The spice is real and there's definitely some other stuff not listed in the description like Thai eggplants and green beans. It's a medley of flavors that come together in a perfect way that will have you checking google flights to Bangkok shortly after you eat it. I cant stress this enough everything I've had from here has been stellar. Even if you're the less adventurous that must have Pad Thai when ordering Thai food - you need to try it from here. 

Spicy Fish with Young Pepper at In-On-Thai

In-On-Thai

4641 N Broadway

Chicago, Illinois 60640 

(773) 944-0114

Website

Illinois Fish Sandwiches

Eating like a local:
Regional food specialties

- Fish Sandwich Culture in Downstate Illinois 

No Friday Fish Fry's for me this Lenten season. Not unless the weather warms up and I can sit outside anyway. As regular readers know I've been active at Fish Fry's on both sides of the Illinois state lines as far as Northwest Indiana and Southeast Wisconsin go. Fish Fry's are a way of life this time of year in both regions. But what about the rest of the Midwest? The more land locked areas. During my travels in downstate Illinois and middle Indiana I've noticed that the humble fish sandwich is popular in different parts of both areas as well as a few other landlocked spots. Not in the Midwest but Western Pennsylvania is another area where I learned the fish sandwich is very popular. Same with Louisville and Nashville. My best guess is it's a catholic and lent combination as it's not like any of these places are are near the ocean. Heck most arent near a great lake. Though in many cases they are near a major river and when so they typically serve fish sandwiches made with river fish. 

Menu at Ed & Woodies Tap in Pittsfield, IL

The other reason for the fish sandwiches popularity in more rural Midwest areas may be simply bc it's really easy to make one. You don't need much and odds are lots of these spots are using frozen fish so it's not like that ever expires like the fresh stuff does. I'd hoped to visit a couple more Illinois places popular for a fish sandwich for this post but I've been hoping so for a few years now and that still hasn't happened. So it's time to post some old finds from over the years. Lets take a look at some spots downstate popular for fish sandwiches, especially on Friday's this time of the year. Places like O' Jan's down on the Mississippi where they fry up buffalo fish and throw it in-between some white bread with raw onion, mustard, and hot sauce. Or then there was the Seaboat in Champaign (RIP). 

Buffalo Fish Sandwich at O'Jan's in Grafton, IL

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Carter's Fish Market (Springfield, IL)

First stop up is an iconic business in my homestate capitol. Carter's Fish Market sells local fish as in different types of catfish, buffalo fish, and other lake and river dwellers. They have both a walk-up window where they sell fried fish sandwiches and also a market where they sell fresh river fish. They were out of Buffalo fish in the booth but had ribs for sale in the store. I'd never seen fish ribs but have since found them on the city's Westside. My second choice of a catfish sandwich was damn good. Perfectly fried to where the outside was crunchy and the inside was light and flaky. I could see this spot winning a Beard Foundation 'American Classics' award one day. If you live in Springfield you know of this place. A favorite of the State politicians who order boatloads of fried fish for both the House and Senate on Fridays during Lent. Blue/Red - Black/White. Everyone loves Carter's Fish.

Catfish Sandwich at Carter's Fish 

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The Fish Wagon (Farmer City, IL)

Our next stop is down in Dewitt County which is Central Illinois territory. You know what this means?! Smashed Crispy Burgers. I fully realize I'm probably the only person who registers that when Central Illinois is mentioned. But I do believe the areas popular burger style should be just as popular on a regional scale as the Horseshoe. The Fish Wagon is a new school spot by which I mean it's less than a decade old. They're popular for their fish sandwiches and yes their smashed burgers too. We stopped in to try both of those and also ended up getting some fish tacos too. They fry up Alaskan whitefish fillets and you get one wrapped with a flour tortilla if you order a taco. I enjoyed it for what it was while being fully aware if a place like Wendy's ever did fish tacos this is probably how they'd be. The fish sandwich here comes with four fillets and two pieces of white bread served with raw onions, pickles, and tarter sauce. As you can see from our first two stops these Midwest fish sandwiches are much of the time just a bunch of pieces of fried fish and some condiments with enough bread to make sandwich. But again I liked this sandwich which was in fact better than any fast food fish sandwich I've tried. Same goes for the burger no doubt. It was a damn good one with a pretty nice smash job. 

Taco, Burger, Fish Sandwich at The Fish Wagon 

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Marko's Fish House (Madison, IL)

There aren't many real deal old school undiscovered gems left but I feel like this place is one of them. Marko's is in the Mississippi River town of Madison, Illinois. They serve up a signature cod fish sandwich and it is wonderful. There's also catfish nuggets, fried shrimp, and burgers. But that's it. So I was told they've been making the same fish sandwich the same way since 1926 using the same local bakery as the bread supplier. Marko himself is Croatian and the bread is said to be an old family recipe baked just for them. Inside is small and there's three mini frying machines where all the work gets done. Talk about a perfect fry job this sandwich was one of the best fish sandwiches ever. No way they weren't using beef tallow because it had that flavor which stayed in me with each burp afterwards. Everything about this sandwich was money. From the soft but sturdy bread to the simple toppings of onion, banana peppers and tartar sauce. The only thing missing was the ocean in sight.

Fish Sandwich at Marko's Fish House 

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See ya next time @chibbqking

The Red Hot Chilli Pepper

-Grubbing in Chicago(land)
Indo-Chinese Cuisine in Evasnton

Months before the pandemic me and a friend rode out to Evanston for some Indo-Chinese. The fusion of Indian and Chinese flavors is a magical one and is very popular in spots like Toronto and Bangkok on top of all the major cities in India. But despite a large Indian community in the Chicagoland area there isn't a ton of Indo-Chinese spots. There's maybe a handful and a few more that sell Indo-Chinese dishes but RHCP boasts a large Indo-Chinese menu and pre-pandemic seemed to be a popular stop for Indian families in the area. They even have a bar and lots of space for groups. 

Locals favorite in Evanston 

Indian-Chinese cuisine is said to be traced back to the ethnic Chinese community of Kolkata. Like all groups of Chinese nomads they brought with them their recipes and adapted to the local ingredients and such. There's many of Chinese fusion cuisines and Indo-Chinese is one of the most exciting. RHCP offers a solid menu with many of the favorites as far as Indo-Chinese dishes go. While I haven't had the chance to check out a ton of Desi-Chinese spots I always like to try the Hakka Noodles when doing so. It's a simple dish that relies on the wok skill of the cook to determine just how good it can get. The version served here is my favorite from anywhere thus far. They're just cooked really well to the point where you yourself might wonder what makes this bowl of noodles so pleasing. So much so I've been itching for an order for what's been almost my entire time in quarantine. RHCP closed it's doors when the covid cases started rising and just reopened for takeout not too long ago. 

Hakka Noodles at Red Hot Chilli Pepper 

Indo-Chinese features a ton of stir fried dishes mixing the spices popular in each cuisines together. Personally I find spots that do good stir fried foods always tend to do the fish dishes well so we tried an order of dry chili fish from the appetizers menu. It hit all the notes you want in terms of bold flavors. It was a busy weekend night when we visited so our food took a while to come out and they brought us some lollipop wings to enjoy while we waited for the fish. Those are always pretty good. 

Chili Fish at RHCP

For an entrée we had to try the chili chicken the first go around. It's maybe the most popular Indo-Chinese dish though it's rarely made the same way at any two spots. RHCP does up a wetter version than I was hoping for and bc we got  chili fish too this the meal might've seemed a bit repetitive but between the two of us we scarfed it all down. It came served on a sizzling platter which I always get a kick out of. You know how everyone turns their head when you get your fajita platter at the restaurant wishing they had what you had. I also like how the pieces of chicken get crisper as time passes. 

Chili Chicken at Red Hot Chilli Pepper 

The Red Hot Chilli Pepper

500 Davis St #102
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 563-8085
Website

Dear Margaret

 -Grubbing in Chicago  
New to the 'Scene'

Welcome back! While restaurants haven't made a full fledged comeback they're def not dying off. In fact more places just keep on opening. My list of spots in Chicago I want to try just keeps on growing. One of them that shot up to the top of my list is a new place in Lakeview called Dear Margaret. It's described as "the love letter of Midwestern ingredients through French-Canadian cuisine" and is a joint project from a former restaurant PR person and Chicago based chef with roots in Canada. 

Newly Opened in Lakeview

First off I just want to say that I love the building itself. I drove up on it in the middle of a snowstorm and I could easily picture myself somewhere in Quebec City when pulling up. It's a cute little spot that will be a great date night for people in the area. But for now the inside is empty with no tables whatsoever. It's strictly takeout while we wait for the virus numbers to continue to dwindle. That said the menu seems to translate pretty well to takeout. French-Canadian food being considered comfort food and heavy comfort food tends to travel pretty well. The only item that might suffer in transportation are the Kennebec fries that they fry up in beef tallow. I ate those on the ride home.

a peek inside 

The menu is broken down into small, medium, and large sections with beverages and dessert rounding it out. We ordered mostly from the small and medium sized plates simply bc the items listed were the ones we wanted to try the most. Items like chicken liver mousse and putsins which is the French-Canada name for chicken and dumplings. I didn't get to snap a picture of the latter but it was such a comforting dish on a cold winter night. They roll the wheat noodles there in the kitchen.

Duck Liver Mousse with Apricot Jam

Another item that caught our eye was the fried smelts with pickles. Also fried in beef tallow. This dish may have suffered slightly in transportation but we still loved the crispy smelts laced with that distinct and delicious taste of tallow. The one dish I didn't love was the charred and smoked carrots which just didn't do it for me though it seems to be popular with others so I would still give it a go if it sounds appealing to you. Toasted almonds with feta, parsley, dill, oregano, and an almond butter vinaigrette. Biggest problem was the herbs were served on the side but werent cut down enough. I hate getting a big chunk of cilantro or in this case dill and I wish more fancier spots would finely chop their herbs.

Fried Smelts with Pickles

The entrees are all pretty tempting but a Tourtière is on there and this is a French-Canadian spot so I'll be damned if I'm not trying the meat pie. The meat in a Tourtière is most always pork and at Dear Margaret they also throw in some mushrooms, potato, and herbs. The lard crust was some of the flakiest in recent memory. The filling was wonderful too but I'm still thinking about the lustful crust. 

Tourtière at Dear Margaret 

The dessert portion of our meal ended up fittingly as the grand finale to a fantastic dinner. We got the butter tarts which are made with maple, dried blueberries, good quality butter, and that luscious lard crust. I liked these so much that I stopped by for two more orders the next day (dropped one off with my parents). I love blueberries and everything else described up above can make for a divine dessert so yeah I loved these. I'd list them as the best thing I ate in 2021 thus far. Stay tuned more to come. 

Butter Tarts at Dear Margaret 

Dear Margaret

2965 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60657 
(773) 360-8213
Website

Potstickers in Chicago

-Grubbing in Chicago
Where to find Potstickers 

Even though we said we wouldn't be back until March I have a special post to kick off both Year #14 of the site and also Chinese New Year which falls on Friday February 12th this year. There's quite a few traditional foods that are ate during the Chinese New Year. Each one having their own symbolic meaning. One of the most customary dishes enjoyed during this time of celebration are dumplings. So the legend goes the more dumplings you eat during this time the more wealth you will gather in the coming new year. If you were to ask me what the Chicago food scene is lacking in - dumplings would've been my answer a few years back. We have some damn good Chinese food in town but not enough spots focusing solely on dumplings. That said there's been quite a few new openings in the last few years. Soon we'll no longer be able to count the number of dumpling specialists on one hand. Today's post will focus in on some of the best places to get potstickers - pan fried dumplings.

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Qing Xiang Yuan

Search "best dumplings in Chicago" and this place will appear near the top and often after that. Qing Xiang Yuan, or QXY if your Chinese isn't great, might have been the city's first dumpling specialist. They opened around 2015 as a small stall in the Richland Center's food court basement. They got so big that they eventually moved upstairs in the building and are now one of Chinatowns most popular spots. They added the option to get their dumplings pan fried when they moved into their new digs. You have some really good choices when it comes to fillings. I like the classic of pork and cabbage the most as far as potsticker fillings go but dont sleep on the lamb or beef with cumin from here. They also run a spot called Jiao on Wabash downtown about a half mile walk from The Bean.

Fried Dumplings at Qing Xiang Yuan

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A Family in the Northeast

Speaking of the Richland Center basement there's a new stall selling open ended potstickers called “A family in the Northeast." This stall has hosted a few places over the years with this newest tenant specializing in open ended potstickers, bing, and bao. They offer a handful of fillings and the traditional pork and leek were pretty good. Some people arent fans of the open ended wrap bc of the juices from inside that they can lose. That said these were still pretty juicy but suffered slightly from a packaged trip from the mall to my car. They steamed a bit and lost some of that would be crunch. 

Potstickers from A Family in the Northeast 

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Hing Kee

Hing Kee is located in the Square. They get your attention by putting the dumpling ladies in the front window. From there they pretty much roll and fold dumplings all day. Lot's of people like their Xiao Long Bao aka soup dumplings but they have other styles on offer. An order of potstickers from here will always come out nice and crisp. It's one of the better spots in Chinatown to enjoy dumplings.

Potstickers at Hing Kee

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Ed's Potsticker House

Any time a place puts potstickers in it's name it's getting a visit from me. That said for whatever reason it took me a long time to try this place in Bridgeport out. Probably due to mixed reviews. Ed's makes cigar style potstickers and for that reason alone they're worth visiting. These dumplings are long and thin and come filled with a traditional pork and chive filling. I believe these are a Beijing thing as I visited a very famous spot there that does this style which they call dalian huoshao. 

Potstickers at Ed's Potsticker House

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Taipei Cafe 

Taipei Cafe sits in a strip mall on Halsted in Bridgeport. The neighborhood that's home to the White Sox is quickly becoming home to more and more Chinese restaurants up and down the block. As you might expect from the name the food from Taiwan is on feature here. There's some good dishes to be found up and down the menu with the potstickers being one of them. Their stuffed with pork in a small rectangle shape before being cooked in a pan which gives each order a half circle of crispy lattice coating. This is achieved by adding something like corn starch to the water used to cook them. As the water evaporates the starch turns into a brittle webbing that crisps up on the edging of them. 

Potstickers at Taipei Cafe 

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Northern City 

This place has been one of the Bridgeport Chinatown anchors for a while now. I'm not saying they were the first spot on the block but they've been there since this area around Halsted started to host a majority of businesses which are Chinese restaurants. As the name suggests they make lots of dishes enjoyed in Northern China. The aforementioned dalian huoshao are really good here. They're called "beef potstickers" on the menu and they're well seasoned with a nice golden hue from the pan frying. 

Potstickers at Northern City 

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Four Seasons Dumplings 

The city's newest dumpling shop sits on Halsted in Bridgeport across from the police station parking lot. I'd read that the people that opened Four Seasons Dumplings are some former employees of Ed's Potsticker House down the block. Aside from the dumplings in their name they also specialize in house made lo mein which is pretty good if you like subtle flavors paired with chewy noodles (try the green bean version). But don't miss out on the dumplings which potsticker wise are probably my favorite in town right now. I haven't tried the steamed options bc I think those would be much better dining in but the style of fried dumpling they do here aren't the type to get all stuck together when taken to go. They say they're handmade and the wrapping is a bit on the thick side but it has good bite and the fillings include juice. I've only tried the pork and cabbage but I've tried them three times now as I've been in  area fairly regularly. Pay with cash and all orders are 20% off (grand opening special) from now until end of March. Extra points for really good chile oil packed to-go with these. 

Fried Dumplings at Four Seasons Dumplings

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Mr. Dumpling 

Lincoln Park continues to be a spot that sees some interesting Chinese restaurant openings. One of the more recent is Mr. Dumpling on Clark. While the menu boasts a selection of both traditional and American Chinese entrees the namesake dumplings are what brought me in. They offer a nice selection of fillings and you can try them steamed or pan fried. They're on the smaller side being two bites at most but they're tasty and would serve me well if just out of college and living in the area. 

Potstickers at Mr. Dumpling 

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New China Station

As regular followers of my food endeavors know this is one of my most visited spots in the city. I always order the same thing these days which is their outstanding (though semi inconsistent) dry chili fish filet. It's very likely my most ordered dish in all of Chicago. Partly bc it's delicious chunks of spicy fried fish which pairs perfectly with white rice and partly bc it's only a 5 min drive from my house to it's North avenue location. It wouldn't be as good ordered delivery bc it suffers the longer it sits and steams. That said it's still really good and if you want to enjoy an appetizer I rec the potstickers. They make the thick and chewy ones associated with the old school American style Chinese restaurants of my youth. They're full of juicy pork with garlic and ginger and are an excellent example of that style. 

Potstickers at New China Station 

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China Chef (Morton Grove)

China Chef in Morton Grove is a destination for many Filipino families from around both the city and North Suburbs. It's a Filipino owned Chinese restaurant so items like pancit guisado are as popular as stuff like Mongolian beef and such. I wrote them up on here years ago. As I said then the pork filled potstickers here are a bit different in the way they wrap them. The skin on these is thinner than you'd normally get at a Chinese restaurant. I always enjoy these flute shaped dumplings bc of that. 

Potstickers at China Chef 

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Dangela's Dumplings (Libertyville) 

Our final stop takes us all the way out to Lake County. As the name suggests this is a dumpling house. Meaning that's pretty much all they do. Dangela being a middle aged Chinese lady who lives in the area and opened this spiffy clean ready for franchising restaurant towards the end of 2019. I visited around the start of 2020. I haven't been back but enjoyed my visit to this straight forward shop. Not just the menu which consists of both steamed and fried dumplings but also the friendly owner. We asked if she considered opening around Chinatown and she told us she had no interest dealing with constant critique from locals. They offer a handful of fillings that tell you the "exact" portioning of each filler (ex. Pork and Celery - 80% Pork, 20% Celery). We tried the shrimp (45%), Sweet Corn (40%), and Chinese Chives (15%) in boiled form and they were legit. I liked the fried pork and celery version even more as she ordered a couple machines from Asia specifically made for cooking dumplings. They're rectangular in shape so you can put in ten dumplings per machine then add water with starch and close the lid until they're cooked. They make them with the lattice laced edges here which isnt something you regularly find in the Chicago area. 

Potstickers at Dangela's Dumplings 

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See ya next time @chibbqking