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

Suburban Finds

-Grubbing in Chicagoland
Five of a Kind: Northern Suburb Finds

It’s been a minute since I posted any of my findings in the suburbs so I figured I would throw something together for this week’s post. We’ll focus in on the northern suburbs which has had some interesting spots open in the last year or so. Here’s five of them that I would highly recommend - 

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Lao Tian Dumpling House (Evanston)

The Chicagoland area continues to be a bit of a dumpling desert compared to East and West Coast cities but it’s gotten better in the last couple years. Take for example the suburb of Evanston which despite being the home of a Big Ten university was without a spot a true go-to dumpling spot. Dumpling shops near college campuses have become very common these days. Lao Tian opened almost a year ago and I immediately wondered if there was any relation to QXY Dumplings. Reason being is the menus are very similar with the option to get your dumplings boiled, steamed, or fried. As far as I know there isn't a connection between the two though the quality of the product here in Evanston can match that in Chinatown. I’ve stopped in here a handful of times allowing me to try a bunch of different dumplings and they all hit the spot. I recommend going with the lamb and dill boiled or the pan fried with pork and cabbage. If you’re looking for a little more both the Sichuan Wontons and Zhong’s Dumplings are spiked with chili oil. The Zhong's Dumplings are a regional snack of Sichuan dressed with sweetened, spice-infused soy sauce, chili oil, garlic and sesame seeds.

Steamed Dumplings

Boiled Dumplings


Pan Fried Dumplings


Sichuan Wontons


Zhong's Dumplings
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Alan's Falafel (Skokie)

Here’s something I didn’t know until just recently - the largest and oldest Iraqi community in America is in Chicago, home to the largest Assyrian population in the United States. Honestly I never really thought about it but this makes sense as I know a few Assyrians myself and have also noticed a steady increase in Iraqi restaurants in the suburbs. Alan’s Falafel sits in a mini strip mall on Dempster and seems to stay packed with local Iraqi families. I recently visited and was greeted by two pristinely kept cones of meat - one beef and one chicken. When it comes to shawarma beef is more popular in Iraq and although I tend to prefer chicken I decided to try the beef shawarma samoon which consists of freshly sliced beef shawarma loaded into Iraqi Samoon which is a flatbread baked on-site. This sandwich is loaded with meat and ends up being a great deal too at just $10 each with a piece of piping hot Iraqi falafel included with the sandwich. I appreciated the fact they had bottles of sauce at each table too. Beef shawarma tends to be a bit dryer which this was but the sauce really fixes that. This was a really good sandwich at a super fair price-point. I can see why this place stays busy. 

Beef Shawarma Samoon Sandwich at Alan's Falafel
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Da Local Boy (Highwood)

Let’s go get some Mochiko Chicken on Da North Shore - except we’re not going to Oahu, we’re headed to Highwood where Da Local Boy was opened by a couple that moved there from Maui. There’s a handful of Hawaiian restaurants in Chicago but I can’t recall having Hawaiian fried chicken at any so I went with that on my initial visit and it hit the spot in a way Hawaiian food always does. I’m not a native but I’ve always found Hawaiian food to be extremely comforting. Mochiko Chicken is an iconic Hawaiian-style dish made with chunks of fried chicken. It's known for its sweet, savory, and chewy texture. The dish's signature characteristics come from its key ingredient: mochiko, a Japanese sweet rice flour. A plate comes with a scoop of steaming white rice and mac salad. Da Local Boy was recently featured in a NYT dining article about where to eat in Chicago but if you follow me on Instagram you knew about this place before it was in any local or national publications. I put their North Shore neighbor and former Bears legend and Hawaii Native Olin Kreutz on - he loves it.

Mochiko Chicken at Da Local Boy
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P Dern Thai Kitchen (Niles)

The locally owned Park2Shop grocery chain took over Assi Plaza on Milwaukee avenue in Niles a while back and the food court had some turnover too. There’s a few new non-Korean spots now including a Pho place and an outlet of a Sichuan spot in Bridgeport. There's also P. Dern Thai Kitchen ran by a Thai lady who can flat out cook. After a few visits it’s become one of my favorite Thai spots in the Chicagoland area due to an extremely high hit rate. I haven’t even had a chance to get into any of the Northern Thai options which are on a secret menu but don’t sleep on her spicy basil dishes. Pad Kra Pao is a good dish to gauge the talent of a Thai kitchen and the version at P Dern is among the best in the Chicagoland area - loaded with holy basil and Thai Chiles. But if you’re a fan of crispy basil pork you need to try the version from here which is as good as it gets. Super crispy chunks of pork belly are tossed in a mouth watering sweet and spicy sauce. You absolutely want to pay the up-charge for the fried egg sitting atop a mini mountain of jasmine rice. They don't skimp on the heat here so long as you can convince them you want it “Thai people hot” which I very much appreciate. 

Crispy Basil Pork Belly at P Dern Thai Kitchen
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Tandoor Curry Hotspot (Riverwoods)

Every now and then I learn of a new to me food spot that shoots to the top of my ‘to try’ list and Tandoor Curry Hotspot out in Riverwoods was a recent stop that attracted my attention in that way. I had kept hearing good things from reliable food friends about this Northern Indian restaurant in a very random suburb. When I finally got the chance to check it out I came away just as impressed as everybody else. I would say the Chicken 65 is my favorite rendition of that dish to date. It’s a very well seasoned dry spiced version made up of popcorn chicken sized pieces that are fried to a perfect crisp. The same can be said for the Gobi Manchurian which features little morsels of wok fried cauliflower bits tossed in a sticky chile sauce with some real deal heat. Dal Makhani is the dish I use to gauge a Northern Indian kitchen such as this and it was outstanding. Both the garlic naan and the basmati rice were very nicely done. The lamb chapli kebab was great as far as flavor but more like a meatball than a patty so I would probably list those as a one and done. I haven’t had a chance to try any of the “Ugly Delicious” portion of the menu but it features Northern Indian street food favorites like Samosa Chaat. The food seems to be really consistent from dish to dish so I might try an entirely new set of dishes next time with the exception of the Chicken 65 which will be a must on each visit. 

Chicken 65


Gobi Manchurian


Chapli Kebab


Dal Makhani
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See ya next time @chibbqking

Coup de Thai

-Grubbing in Chicago
Modern Southern Thai Food in Lakeview

Thai food continues to ascend in Chicago right now. You may remember back in March when I posted about a hot new Thai restaurant from NYC that opened a location in the South Loop. Well today we’re going to check out a hot new Thai restaurant from California that opened in Lake View East.

Recently Opened in Lakeview East

Coup de Thai comes to us from Los Gatos California (homebase of Netflix). It opened at the end of July and started gaining buzz almost immediately. We visited on a Friday night in the beginning of August and the entire neighborhood was buzzing with people from all walks of life and that spilled over into the restaurant. Coup de Thai describes themselves as a modern southern Thai restaurant - it’s currently byob but that may change. The menu is smaller and made up of two sections 1) The Opening Act and 2) Center Stage. When I visit a restaurant like this I like to find menu items that stand out in terms of dishes you don’t really see elsewhere and I found a couple immediately in the ‘Dragon Balls’ and the ‘Tom Yum Ceviche’. First out were the Dragon Balls which are described on the menu as “spicy chicken balls fried with mint, shallot, green onion, cilantro, kafir lime leaves, and salad.” This appetizer is actually at the center of a lawsuit with their California location that alleges this dish was too spicy and caused permanent damage to a customer - sounds a bit like a Karen’s claim but I won’t pretend to know the whole story. What I do know is the version served at this location was far from spicy. They were nicely spiced and I liked the fresh herbs that came with them and the dipping sauce too but they weren’t spicy at all. Though the Tom Yum Ceviche was a different story completely. Shrimp gets the ceviche treatment with tom yum ingredients resulting in a bold and sour and super spicy dish. We also tried the ‘Golden Shrooms’ on our waitresses rec and those were also good. I liked the use of enoki mushrooms and the tangy chili sauce that came with it was excellent.

Appetizers at Coup de Thai

I counted about five Southern Thai dishes on the menu including Khua Kling which is a spicy dry fried curry consisting of ground chicken stir fried in a homemade southern Thai style red curry paste with lots of fresh herbs mixed in. When they say that a dish is spicy here they’re talking spicy like you would find in Thailand. Real deal heat. If you don’t like spicy there’s options like Shrimp in Noodle Claypot which is one of my favorites going back to the first time I tried it at the Floating Market in Bangkok. Coup de Thai makes theirs with firm black tiger shrimp and glass noodles tossed with ginger and onion and served in a piping hot claypot. I love the different textures this dish gives off.

Shrimp Claypot Noodles at Coup de Thai

Since they just opened on our visit there wasn’t much info out there about what to get but the Crab Curry caught my eye as it’s a pretty typical southern Thai dish and I had read somewhere that all the curries are made from scratch so it seemed like it would be something worth trying and that it was. The menu describes their crab curry as jumbo lump crab meat with wild betel leaves simmered in a homemade turmeric curry which doesn’t sound all that spicy but this was one of the spiciest (and most pleasurable) dishes I’ve ate of late. It took me back to a famous stall in Bangkok where we ordered the stir fried crab with medium heat and it was just about the spiciest thing we ever ate but we couldn’t stop eating all the luscious crab which was the same story with the crab curry at Coup de Thai which comes filled with chunks of soft and succulent crab. This dish will either blow your tastebuds through the roof or have you gasping for breath while grabbing for your water - it won’t help. If you can handle the heat you’ll be taken to levels rarely reached with Thai curries in Chicago. 

Southern Crab Curry

Coup de Thai
2932 N Broadway
Chicago, IL 60657
(224) 236-2636
Website

Art's Drive-In

-Grubbing in Chicago
Greek Food and Banter in Bucktown

The corner of North and Elston is kind of a no man’s land in terms of the area and the neighborhood. It’s Lincoln Park according to the signs on the light pole banners but Google says it’s Bucktown. Really the only time people ever found themselves in this area would be when we went to Stanley's Fruits and Vegetables which was a retirement home for produce that closed suddenly in 2019. There was also Art’s Drive In located across the street from Stanley’s but it too closed abruptly when a fire blazed thru the building in 2022. Well the more things change, the more they stay the same. Stanley’s remains gone for good (the building was razed) but Art’s Drive-In is back and better than ever. Note: If you’re going to a concert at Salt Shed this is your spot to grab a bite before or after the show. 

Locals Favorite in Bucktown

Before the fire Art’s was a prototypical Greek owned Chicago style fast food shack. You could get breakfast, lunch, or dinner there and the menu had everything from pancakes to Greek salad to their signature skirt steak sandwich. There used to be a ton of spots like Art’s all across the city but these Greek owned fast food diners are starting to fade away as time goes by (many retired and or moved to Glenview). Enter Alex - new owner of Art’s. Alex is a Greek American Chicago guy whose wife’s family used to run Art’s. When the family decided they wouldn’t be reopening after the fire, they worked out a deal to have Alex take it over. It’s a perfect match as Alex is quite the character and these type of spots always seemed to be run by characters back when I was a kid. Not only is Alex a hoot but he’s a passionate food person who’s serious about putting out a quality product. He refuses to do gyros because he’s not a fan of the factory made cones. Though he has plans to put a made from scratch souvlaki on the menu. The fries are fresh cut and he uses beef tallow as his oil while the hash browns are also made from scratch. Both the cheesesteak and the chicken parm cutlet are covered in Cooper Cheese and the cheese fries get the Merkt's Cheddar treatment. When in-season he uses strawberries from Michigan in the milkshakes which are made the old fashioned way. Same goes for the donuts which are fried fresh on site and topped with delicious homemade frostings. 

Fresh Cut Fries

On my first return visit to Art’s I was immediately greeted by Alex like I was a longtime customer. We hit it off like we had known each other forever. Actually we know some of the same people as Chicago really is the world’s largest neighborhood. Alex grew up on the Northwest Side where his grandma ran a Greek bakery and grocery store called Hellenic located at 6056 W. Diversey. It was there where he would develop a passion for cooking as he often helped her in the kitchen. For my first meal here I had to try the skirt steak sandwich that helped put the previous iteration of Art’s on the map back when it first opened in 1967. I wrote a post about it in 2018. Honestly I’m not a big steak sandwich guy but the skirt steak at Art’s swayed me a little more towards their side. It was more tender than I remember most steak sandwiches to be and had a nice hot/cold element going for it with the lettuce, tomato, and grilled onions. The bread isn’t a typical Turano roll either so that was nice. It’s tough to go wrong with any of Alex’s sandwich creations - every one I’ve tried has been super satisfying. 

Skirt Steak Sandwich at Art's Drive-In

I knew I liked Alex right away when I asked about the Italian beef sandwich and whether it was made on site or pulled from a bag and he almost seemed offended I would ask. No hormone filled bagged beef here. Alex takes the time to roast his own fresh chunk of bottom round which is sliced on site and seasoned with a unique sweet tasting gravy that gives it a flavor unlike any other Italian beef in town and that’s exactly how it should be. Italian beef shouldn’t taste exactly the same from spot to spot. 

Italian Beef at Art's Drive-In

Art’s Drive-In opens at 6am Monday-Saturday and at 8a on Sundays making breakfast a big part of their day. It also makes Art’s a popular stop with the city’s working class just like the original iteration of Art’s was. Honestly I’m not the biggest breakfast guy. Usually my first meal of the day is lunch and sometimes it’s not until dinner believe it or not. But on one of my early visits I asked Alex what I needed to try the next time I stopped in and he was quick to tell me the pastrami. He was adamant that if I was there in the morning I needed to try the pastrami, egg, cheese on the burger bun (it’s served on French bread otherwise). If later in the day he insisted I try the pastrami burger which he told me is an ode to La Jolla, the neighborhood in San Diego where his dad lives. Alex and him often get pastrami burgers when he’s down there so he went ahead and put one on his menu here. 

Pastrami, Egg, and Cheese

Both the pastrami breakfast sandwich and the pastrami burger are delivered via an incredible bun that Alex has baked for him off site. Each of the top and the bottom bun are studded with black and white sesame seeds and they’re soft but sturdy enough to carry the load be it it thinly sliced extra peppery pastrami with egg and cheese or a fresh all beef patty grilled to order with the same pastrami plus lettuce, tomato, onions, and cheese. These made me wonder why pastrami hasn’t caught on with Chicago style fast food the same way it has out in Southern California. The only thing I would do different is I prefer when a breakfast sandwich comes with a runny yolk so I’d ask for that next time.

Pastrami Cheeseburger at Art's Drive-In

Art’s also makes for a great dinner destination with some super fresh Greek forward dinner plates. If it’s a nice day he has patio seating and it can be really chill to just sit outside and watch the cars ride by. I did this a couple weeks ago on what was a hot and muggy evening so I wanted to get something refreshing and a Greek Salad with skirt steak was the perfect call. As you should know this far into the post - all salad the dressings are made on site. The pork chop plate was equally satisfying with the hash browns being the perfect match for two Greek seasoned pork chops grilled to order. 

Greek Salad with Skirt Steak

Pork Chop Dinner with Hash Browns

I don’t think I’d had Biftekia before I tried it at Art’s one night when I was looking for something a bit more substantial and Alex told me I was having that for dinner. Biftekia are savory, herb-infused beef patties, similar to hamburgers but traditionally served without a bun. They’re kind of like a Greek version of Kofta. At Art’s you get two healthy sized discs of Biftekia served with rice, bread and salad making for a complete meal. You owe it to yourself and to Alex to go have a meal at Art’s. I can’t recall a restaurant with a similar setup where the owner was as passionate and welcoming as Alex is. Skip the hot dogs at Home Depot down the street and have one here - just $5.99 with fresh cut fries. 

Biftekia at Art's Drive-In

Art's Drive-In
1333 W North Ave
Chicago, IL 60642
(312) 500-2787
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