Big Easy Eatin' in a Windy City Winter

-Cookin' Cajun in Chicago (Recipes)
--Bears vs. Saints Thursday Night Football

Thursday night football is invading Chicago as the Nawlins Saints come marching into Soldiers field to take on Da Bears. The NFL really got it right with these Thursday night games, I expect a playoff like atmosphere at Soldiers. As good as the Saints offense has been this year they aren't ready for the frigid weather on the lake. As bad as both the Bears players and coaching staff has been at times this year we are still in the playoff hunt in the mediocre NFC north.

The Saints are a great home team but that high powered offense isn't going to be able to click in the cold weather, they aren't built for it. They are a much better home team and being away in 20 below outdoors isnt a good thing for New Orleans. The Bears however are built for the cold weather and have a ridiculous record as a franchise when the temp is below 20 degrees at home. We will ride ROY favorite Matt Forte to a victory under the lights on Thursday night. I expect a close game similar to the two team's battle in the playoffs in '06-'07 won by the Bears.


Matt Forte is making Bears fans forget this face

Ive mentioned before how nearly impossible it is to find good Cajun eats in Chicago so I just make it myself. Here are two different options you can cook up for the game if your not going on Thursday. Don't forget to grab some Abita beer from Binny's or to mix up your own hurricanes before the game so you have a liquor blanket if your in the stands.

First up is a Cajun dinner from Whole Food's so this can be made by anyone who has a WF's and anyone who can cook cup o' noodles can make this.

KingT's Cajun Blackened Wangs with Red Beans & Rice
-a bandit production for Eez

-2 lbs of Wing drumettes from Whole Foods
-2 lbs of chicken andouille sausage from Whole Foods
-1 package of Tony Chachere's red beans & rice or any other quick 20 minute brand

~Season the chicken wings with a Cajun spice dust of any sort homemade or store bought and let sit in the fridge for a few hours if possible. Start up your grill or get your charcoal ready at least 40 minutes before your wings and sausage go on.

~Cook the red beans & rice according to the packages instructions

~While the red beans & rice is cooking, grill your wings until perfect which is 35 minutes give or take. Just make sure you keep your eye on them and turn them often. Put the chicken sausage on the grill and cook until crispy on outside and juicy inside, take off when done. You'll know when the wings are ready to go when the meat falls off the bone.

~As soon as you take the wings off melt your stick of butter in bowl with a liberal amount of the Cajun seasoning and toss wings in the melted butter and serve alongside red beans & rice with sliced pieces of chicken sausage on top.

~enjoy!


a Cajun dinner for people who don't do pork

Did I hear someone asking "Where's the beef" well its right here. I'm a big fan of the site NOLAcuisine.com and I have tried a few recipes from it recently. If you want yourself a real deal New Orleans Roast Beef Po' Boy and you don't live in NOLA then you better check this recipe out. This guy knows whats up and this po' boy is proof of it.

Roast Beef Po' Boy with debris gravy recipe


Roast Beef Po' Boy made by KingT following NOLACuisine's instructions.

I pretty much followed the recipe to the core except I added thinly sliced kosher pickles and a slice of cheddar on half of my sandwich. These were damn good, great for lunch or dinner and perfect for football gameday in the winter. It really tasted up to par with roast beef po boy's I have had from NOLA. It was however not quite as good b/c I wasn't in New Orleans at an old school joint listening to some music and enjoying the vibe with a bottle of abita to wash it all down. There wont be much of a vibe there Thursday night around midnight when the Bears take care of the Saints at a frigid or maybe snowy Soldier field.

Other Cajun recipes from chibbqking

Hot Sauce

2 for 1 Hot Dog Special: Donald's & Doug's

-In Chicago: Every Dog Has it's Day

Just in case you haven't figured it out by now, Chicago has more hot dog stands than McDonald's, Burger Kings, Subway's, Wendy's, Jamba Juicy's and Taco Bell's combined. The truth is that about 95% of these places are more than passable. If they were spots in other parts of the country with nothing but strip mall food they would be great. Who knows maybe one day I'll get to all of them, which seems almost impossible because there are so, so many. Here is a peak into two more.


Donald's Hot Dog's on Western ave.

Considering that Western ave is the longest street in the world I am going to put the over under on hot dog stands located on Western ave at 54.5 and Donald's does a respectable dog with some average run of the mill fries sprinkled with a little spice dust.


Hot dog from Donald's
________________________________


What the hell is this Doug? were in Chicago

Doug's dogs is located out in da burbs and has quite an unusual practice. They ask if you want a beef or pork hot dog. Really? Doug, were in Chicago. We eat all beef hot dogs either Vienna beef or Best's Kosher and nothing else. Doug also offered up a bunch of different ice cream flavors from the machine leading me to believe they get alot of family's feeding kids. Maybe the Oscar Meyer wieners were for the kids amusement? Parents if your raising your children on Oscar Mayer's than you should be looked at by child services. It is an injustice to any child who grows up in or near Chicagoland to be fed Oscar Mayer tube meat. On top of all this, whats the deal with the statue of liberty? Doug were in Chicago.


Doug's Dog (beef) Yes that's a cucumber

Donald's Famous Hot Dogs
2325 S Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60608
(773) 254-7777

Doug's Dogs
6100 159th St
Oak Forest, IL 60452
(708) 687-1122

Chicago, Chicago, that toddling town...

-Grubbing in Chicago
Where the locals (and celeb's) eat.

Chicago is so damn full of notable places to eat that this site will be updated regularly for years and years to come. As long as my heart survives the tour. I haven't had a chance to bring you any of the BBQ around town and I'm not going to have a chance to post about any REAL BBQ this time either. I am a lover of food from around the world and I'm not going to leave out my city's weakness so when it comes to "Chicago style BBQ" its not really BBQ. You see the definition of BBQ is smoked meats and Chicago style ribs never see any flames nor smoke. The ribs are coated with sauce and baked until they fall off the bone. Fans of real BBQ call it "meat jello" and while I know that Chicago style ribs aren't really BBQ, I still like them because I ate them as a kid and they are still ribs. There are a few spots that are well known around town for their Chicago style ribs but Twin Anchors is globally known and has such a great vibe that it gets to go first.


The World famous Twin Anchors tavern (Old Town)

Since as far back as 1910 there has been a tavern operating at the corner of Sedgwick and Eugenie in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood. During some point of world war one, the Schlitz brewing company donated the bar that remains in use to this day. During prohibition a speakeasy known as the "Tante Lee Soft Drinks" provided refreshments for the "thirsty" at this location. So as you can imagine, this place has some stories to tell. The list of famous people that have dined at Twin Anchors is pages and pages long and scenes from "The Dark Knight" were filmed there during filming as well most of the scenes from the movie "Return to Me" with David Duchovny.

The most famous avid fan of Twin Anchors was most likely Frank Sinatra. When Frank was visiting one of his favorite cities on earth he could always be found in booth seven at Twin Anchors dining on his beloved ribs. Mr. Sinatra was a visitor during the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's and when he wasn't in town he was having the ribs shipped to him on the road across the country.


Full slab of ribs with onion rings, pickle and slaw

I am a fan of Twin Anchors and everything that it is. They are by no means the best BBQ ribs in the world but they sure are some of the best when it comes to baked ribs with barbecue flavor. The ribs aren't the only thing on the menu, which is pretty consistent up and down. I enjoy the burgers and love the chili during the winter while sitting at the bar and having a beer and watching some sports. Long story short, Twin anchors is a Chicago tradition dating back eight decades that isn't going anywhere, anytime soon.

"Chicago, Chicago that toddling town
Chicago, Chicago Ill show you around - I love it
Bet your bottom dollar you'll lose the blues in Chicago
The town that Billy Sunday could not shut down

On state street that great street I just want to say
They do things that they don't do on Broadway - say
They have the time the time of their life
I say a man and he danced with his wife
In Chicago, my home town"

-- Francis Albert Sinatra & Tony Bennett

Twin Anchors
1655 N Sedgwick St
Chicago, IL 60614
(312) 266-1616
Website

Fred's Burger

-Got beef?
The Burgers of Wisconsin

I recently took a ride to meet a friend and try a self proclaimed "best burger in the world" from Fred's bar in Burlington, Wisconsin. Its about a 75 minute drive from Chicago and not to far from Wilmot ski mountain. Its also known as "Chocolate City" because it is the home to a Nestle factory. Well its not just the home to chocolate treats but also one of the best burgers in the world and the childhood home of NFL superstar Tony Romo as well as River Valley ranch Mushroom Farm and their amazing five cheese garlic spread. Not to jump off topic but that five cheese spread is the best condiment from the state of Wisconsin. So theres alot going on in this little town that resembles most of America and the burger is the star of the show, the Dallas Cowboy's QB and boyfriend of Jessica Simpson isn't even a close second and he'd be the first to tell you that.


Fred's burger wins best of Wisconsin and that is an honor!

Fred's is your typical Wisconsin bar with some not so average food. Its a very locals like bar and a relaxing place to stop in for a beer and a bite to eat. The walls are decked out in Packers memorabilia along with tons of Tony Romo pictures as well as stories about the burger from a few different print publications.


Black Wednesday in Burlington

When my friend and I entered the bar, the bartender was quick to greet us and make sure we knew the deal since she most likely assumed we weren't from there with my Bears hat on. You seat yourself and write out your order on a pad at each table and hand it to the bartender who then brings it into the kitchen. When I peeked in the back of the kitchen I saw boxes and boxes of fresh Idaho potato's stacked up to the walls. A good sign, no?


Spotted Cow on tap...an even better sign.


Fred's homemade chips with Cajun seasoning


Fred's homemade curly fries


Fred's homemade chili...a hearty Midwestern blend.

But the star of the show here is the burger. Its a fresh ground (daily) 1/2 lb patty sprinkled with a little spice secret and then griddled until cooked perfect. They top it with a fresh homemade bun from a bakery down the street that is buttered and crisped on the griddle. They offer a wide range of cheeses but I had to go with good old American and grilled onions with pickles. This is after all Wisconsin, also available is a double, yes a double with bacon if you want...next time.


If you could scratch and sniff this photo, you would be in heaven like I was when it arrived. I knew it was going to be the real deal just by the smell and love put into it.

Its so hard to declare one burger the "best ever" because there are so many variations and so many good ones across the country. How good was it? maybe and most likely the best I ever ate. It was my favorite large sized burger cooked on a griddle that I can remember, the best bar burger I can remember, the juiciest burger I can remember and the best burger in all of Wisconsin that I can remember and I lived and drove around the state for 4 years in college eating stuff like burgers and brats.


Notice the juice at the bottom of the bun

I got a chance to meet Fred who was arriving as we were finishing up and he was as nice as could be as were all his employees and all the regulars at the bar when we were there. They treated us well despite our Bears loyalty and it made the experience all the better. Its easy to see why Tony Romo is one of the nicest and most down to earth athletes out there. There was a framed newspaper clipping from the local paper the day Tony Romo signed his hefty contract to become one of the NFL's highest paid players.


Tony Romo is the real deal

The best thing about this place is its closeness in proximity to so many other good eats in Wisconsin. Which is just full of them. Burlington is about a 20 minute ride from Kenosha and halfway between Kenosha and Lake Geneva. The town of Kenosha is filled with good eats. Go over to LTHForum and search "Kenosha" if you don't believe me. Now when I want to I just get in the ride and drive, I can stock up on RVR five cheese garlic spread, Spotted Cow, groceries from Woodman's like micro brewed mustards and kringle's and Italian meats and cheese's from Tenuta's and grab a beer and burger from Fred's. Thats an area rich, rich, rich in food.

This is a big week in the NFL coming up for da bears and a few other contenders/pretenders and in the game of the week it will be Tony Romo and the Cowboy's vs. The Steelers. I never thought I would be a fan of the 'boy's and I still am not fond of T.O but Tony Romo has proven his worth to T.O, the team and his doubters since he came back from his injury. Can he do it again this weekend?


You know me and Tony are good

Fred's
596 N Pine St.
Burlington / WI 53105
Phone:(262) 763 8370
Website

RVR Mushroom Farm
39900 60th St.
Burlington, WI 53105
262 539 3555
Website

Another Classic: Chickie's Beef

--Got Beef? Italian Beef

Chickie's beef at 28th and Pulaski is a locals favorite that still remains deep under the radar. It also happens to be one of my favorites and the home of the best giardinara in the city. This is a beef shack that is relatively unknown to those who love themselves a good IB and I cant figure out why that is. They recently went under new ownership to a family of longtime customers and they have wrinkled out the kinks that come with starting a restaurant and are at full strength. The IB here is a favorite amongst Streets and Sans workers so you know its good. It is also on my starting five all Chicago-beef team. Now you really know its good.


The old beef shack at 26th and Pulaski (Chickie's)

I'm not saying Portillo's is awful but if you think they have the best beef in Chicago you haven't been to Chickie's or almost any of the other round-ups throughout this site. Most good beef stands are nowhere near downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. This means your going to need to venture out if you want to understand why the IB is king of all the regional sandwiches. Chickie's is a good place to start if you disagree with that statement. The beef at Chickie's is of course homemade and the beef is cooked and sliced perfectly but what puts them over the top is the gravy and hot peppers. The gravy has the deepest most rich beef flavor of all the stands around town and the homemade hot peppers are loaded with jalapeños and celery creating a neon color that is really, really pleasant to my eye. The fries are also the best set of fries served at any beef joint around town. They are very, very similar to the now gone Fazzio's in Lincoln Park (RIP) that was the place that made me love beef like PETA made Pamela Anderson love tofu.


Chickie's top notch fries


beef wit hot from Chickie's

Rating Scale 5/5

beef: 4
bread: 4
gravy: 5
hot peppers: 5

Score: 18/20

Chickie's
2839 S Pulaski Rd
Chicago, IL 60623
(773) 277-2333

Previous Beef Scores: Johnnies, Novi's, Lil' Joe's, Frannie's, Carm's (L.I), Pop's, Al's, What's the beef, Max's, Duke's (North)

Winter eats in Chi: Carne en su jugo (Part 1)

Eating like a Mayan King in the Windy City
--The place for carne en su jugo

December is here and that means so is soup. I have said it here and elsewhere and I will tell you again, Chicago has the best Mexican food in the world, including Mexico. I know it sounds crazy so let me explain again why I make that claim. You see Mexico, just like in America, has so many different regional variations of eating and Chicago has all those regions tied up into one city. The only Mexican eat's we are missing is a place to get legit fish tacos like those found in Baja, Mexico and San Diego. The climate is a little different up here and when it comes to winter in Chicago, there isn't a more satisfying meal than Carne en su jugo.

Carne en su jugo literally translates to meats in their own juice. I was first made aware of this wonderful soup from a poster at LTHForum. Click the link if you want the best report on CESJ on the internet, its filled with everything you need to know about this wonderful steak soup.

Pigmon explains: "Carne en su jugo consists of beautiful beef consommé peppered with chopped steak, and normally accompanied by bacon and beans, and garnished with the condiments of radish, avocado, raw onion, cilantro and chile de arbol. Being a soup man from way back, this is definitely was my idea of a great dish. I decided that carne en su jugo was worth a bit of research since, strangely enough, I had never noticed it on any menu before in my numerous Northside Mexican dining experiences over the years. Even after my extensive search throughout Chicago for this dish, I was only able to find relatively few examples of this treasure." Another point of emphasis is that it is a dish primarily associated with the Jalisco state of Mexico.


Bowl of CESJ from Los Gallo's

If there is one reason to be happy about winter arriving then CESJ might be it. I have been on a little tour using Pigmon's guide and have found a few that really stand out from the rest. There are a few locations of Los Gallos Taqueria around the city but I have found the CESJ at the Archer ave location to be my favorite. The broth is clear and has a real clean flavor and the steak is grilled and then added to the soup as opposed to poached. The bacon is also added last so that it has some crispiness to it...hmmm.


Carne en su jugo is the specialty of the house at Los Gallos


Close up of steak and soup (click for extreme close-up)

I'm a big fan of soups and for a while there, New England clam chowder was my favorite. When I was a kid and we would travel to N.E it was clam chowder that I would get most excited about. If I were to ever leave Chicago for a significant amount of time and I came back to visit in the winter, CESJ would be my first meal. It is the first thing I take people to eat when they want to go get something in the dead of winter. I will bring you some other pictures and reports from a few other spots later this month and thru the winter. Now get out and try some.



Taqueria Los Gallos #2

4252 S Archer Ave
Chicago, IL 60632

(773) 254-2081

Cookin' Cajun in Chicago

--Tailgatin' and how to make mofos start playa hatin' (Recipes)

One of the best parts about the USA to me is the regional eating from coast to coast from the border towns of Canada to the Mexico border. There are so many different types of food specialties across all 50 states as well as specific cuisine's that originated from the family's who relocated to America and used the areas produce and resources to make food unique to that region. One of the best culinary experiences in the USA is the Cajun & Creole cuisine of Louisiana.

I love Cajun food and on a trip to New Orleans right before the hurricane I learned how much I love food travel. I haven't been on a trip since that did not revolve around food in some way or another since. When I lived in Madison I had weekly visits to New Orleans Takeout which is one of Madison's best restaurants for good eats. We don't really have anything in Chicago close to as good as NOTO let alone the real deal down south. So when this is the case I just do it myself. My goal is to become a better than good Cajun cook. Nothing is quite as fragrant as the aroma of Cajun cooking on a cold Sunday afternoon while watching football.


KingT's Cajun wangs (recipe coming soon)

First thing your going to want to do is make your own hot sauce for the all the meals you make in the future. Here is a Tabasco style sauce I created with a batch of fresh grown hot peppers from Uncle Gary. You can use any type of hot red peppers that you can come across.

Uncle Gary's Hot Peppers Hot Sauce (makes about 6 cups)

2 lb's of red chili peppers
2-3 cups of Borinquen homemade vinegar or regular white
half on an onion chopped down
3 garlic cloves
Cajun seasoning

Combine the chile's, garlic, onions and the vinegar so that everything is just covered in a saucepan and heat.



Stir in the salt and seasoning and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool, and place in a blender.

Puree until smooth and place in a glass jar and allow to steep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Remove, strain the sauce, and adjust the consistency by adding more vinegar if necessary.


KingT's Tabasco style hot sauce

The sauce came out a spicy bright orange very thin sauce that I cant stop using on everything I eat now. Its not super hot so don't be scared to make yourself a batch. Just don't be surprised when your addicted to it. I already know that this sauce would make a great buffalo sauce coating for wings so Ill be trying those soon.

New Orleans Take Out (two locations)

1920 Fordem Ave

Madison, WI 53704

(608) 241-6655

Egg's in Hell

--That Tex-Mex Crave (Recipes)

If you have a friend or relative who likes cookbooks then I have the perfect book for them this holiday season. I am one of those people who owns 50+ cookbooks that fit my taste. One of my favorite styles of regional eating is Tex-Mex but there is so little known about it and it is perceived as the bastard child to Mexican cuisine. Believe it or not theres a whole lot more to Tex-Mex than just burritos and nachos with pickled jalapeños and yellow cheese. If you want to learn the real scoop on this fascinating cuisine then the best reference guide to check out is "The Tex-Mex cookbook" by Robb Walsh. This is one of my all time favorite cookbooks. What I love about it is how authentic it is, the stories, photos and recipes with stories behind those recipes are so real you almost feel like a lifelong native of Texas after owning it for a couple years.


The Tex-Mex cookbook

I purchased this book a few years ago and have been using it like a bible for my quest to become an expert in Tex-Mex. It is my dream to one day open Chicago's first and only real Tex-Mex restaurant. Complete with great plates of food, a party atmosphere, music, outdoor seating and of course homemade margarita's. Look out for "T's Tex-Mex Inn" in the next decade. I am going to use my site to let others join in and see and read about my Tex-Mex experiment. Please keep in mind, I am by no means an amateur I have been preparing Mexican food for over 10 years now and its really helped the last couple years blending that into Tex-Mex cooking.

First up is a breakfast recipe perfect for a hangover or any campfire cooks that might be looking for something new.

Robb points out that: ""Ox eyes" or "eggs in hell" are among the colorful names for eggs poached in hot sauce."

Ox Eyes (Serves 2)
Recipe source: Robb Walsh (Tex-Mex Cookbook)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded and minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
one 15 ounce can pureed tomatoes
4 eggs
4 flour tortillas, warmed
salt & pepper

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. add the onions and peppers and chiles and saute until translucent. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. (The sauce should be runny and fill the pan to the depth of an inch, if it s too solid add water.) Salt to taste.

Stir the sauce well and then gently break the eggs into the pan. Cover and allow to cook for 4 minutes or until the egg whites are well set but the yolks are still soft, or to desired doneness. Sprinkle fresh ground pepper on each egg.


Eggs poaching in salsa

To serve, put 2 tortillas on each plate. Gently lift the eggs out of the pan and place one on each tortilla. Spoon the sauce around the egg's and serve with refried beans.


one helluva breakfast taco

Bonus Recipe: KingT's Refried Beans

2 cans of pinto beans or a combo of pinto and chili beans

--I have to use the Kuner's southwestern brand available at TI. I like to use a combo of their pinto beans, chili beans and ranchero beans.

four slices of bacon

3/4 cup of chopped onion/jalapeño

Cook the bacon till crisp and remove. Saute the onion/peppers mixture in the bacon grease until browned and add the cans of beans reserving some of the liquid.


Before

Let the beans cook thru and mash everything together with a potato masher and add the chopped up bacon and top with cheese.

Note: reserved liquid can be used to get the consistency you prefer.


After

also...

West Texas stacked enchiladas

Gyro melt from CND gyros

-The Sammy's of Chi

Did anyone happen to read the Chicago Tribune lunches in the loop photo gallery story? They gave 25 different places where you can eat lunch if you are shopping or working downtown. How many of these places take out ad's in the Tribune? Most people will tell you that downtown for the most part is a dining dump and its flooded with chains and spots with high end prices and low end quality aimed at taking tourists money. I was shocked not to find a few spots on that list that more than belonged in the good lunch category, I don't know maybe its because you can get out of there spending under $10.

ATTN: Tribune, Where is CND?!?!?!


Tucked below Michigan ave is crowd favorite CND

CND gyros is a place that I hadn't been to since I used to roam downtown with my friends on off days in grade school. In fact I had totally forgotten about it until I read an amazing description of it on the internet over at LTHforum. I cant do close to a better job describing this place, so here is what I read.

"Tucked underneath the Michigan Avenue hustle-bustle, surrounded by construction sites building huge, modern condos, and in an area where many restaurants seem more consumed with selling the latest trend at high prices than with serving a good, honest, affordable meal, CND Gyros stands as a lone soldier in the fight to maintain a certain "realness" in the neighborhood." KennyZ - a poster at LTHForum

CND is a time warp and another one of Chicago's gyro places that hasn't changed a bit over time. CND has better food than all those chains like Panera and Popeye's that are flooded at lunchtime downtown. One of the best things about this place is the menu and how long it extends with good options. If you want a cold one to go with your lunch then by all means have one at CND. One day I will get you a review of the gyros dinner on my gyrotron but today its all about the gyro melt.



The gyro melt is just another sandwich born and raised in Chicago. The gyros at CND are some of the better tasting and prepared gyros in the city. They also do a fantastic gyro melt which is gyro meat tucked between two slices of toasted Texas sized bread and topped with grilled onions and good old processed yellow cheese. C'mon you know that its good even if it sounds like you could croke any second after eating one. The only thing that this sandwich was missing is bacon. I now have a place to eat when I must head down to Michigan ave to do whatever it is tourists do. Whether your a local or a visitor, CND is right for a quick good lunch at a more than affordable price.

CND Gyros & Lounge
205 E Grand Ave - At N St Clair St
Chicago, IL 60611
312 467-4195

The Fried Chicken King

-Grubbing in Chicago
Where the locals eat & KingT's Wing Fling

Buffalo, New York is the birthplace of buffalo wing's and the city that made the wing thee thing of bar food. Over here in Chicago chicken wings come in all variety's and not just buffalo. I will bring you the best spots around town to consume all sorts of different variations of chicken wings. The most well known name in fried chicken is KFC and Colonel Sanders' original recipe. In Chicago Colonel Sanders is just that...a colonel. The King of fried chicken is Harold's chicken shack, another Chicago original. The 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama is a huge Harold's chicken fan.


The old Harold's #2


Harold's on 53rd

Harold's is a Chicago institution from the south side that is known for its perfectly made fried chicken and for the unique experience of eating at a real deal shack, which is what most of them are. You see not one Harold's is the same, even though they all have the same great fried chicken other stuff varies from store to store. Harold wanted each of his franchises to stamp their own personality on each store so that they didn't all fit the same mold. One thing thats common at all the Harold's I have been to is the bulletproof glass between you and the server. The genius of Harold's developed out of the fact that the larger fast food chains tended to avoid African American neighborhoods back in his day. Harold's became a player on the south side in 1950 and hasn't looked back since. Harold's has the best fried wings in Chicago and once you pop one you really cant stop. Simply amazing.


Warning: Clicking pic will cause you to drool: Harold's perfectly fried wings with hot and mild

What makes this place so good? well aside from the love Harold had for his place they use a combination to fry the chicken in half beef tallow and half vegetable oil as opposed to just veggie oil. Chicago style fried chicken is a gangload of hot sauce and mild BBQ sauce poured over the chicken and fries with a piece or two of white bread to pick at with and keep your fingers clean or make a sandwich out of with some chicken and skin. DonBarzinini will tell you that the Harold's chicken on 53rd in Hyde Park, basically in Barack Obamas backyard is the best shack in the city. Over the years Harold's has grown from a mom and pop chicken shack on Chicago's south side into a small chain with spots all over Chicagoland and locations in Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Dallas. The product does vary at each location so share with me your go to Harold's in the comments section. Thanks.


Overheard at Harold's on 53rd "Y'all need to put a little Amen spot in the corner up here, cause after we taste this chicken, we need to go talk to Jesus." No Joke its that good (Pictured: 1/2 Dark meal)

Just like Mike Mills brought Bill Clinton ribs on Air Force One, I think we will be hearing about Harold Pierce's son delivering President Obama with some wings one day while he is in office. The crave will be too much for him to resist and he'll put in a call for some Chicago style chicken from the oval office to kill that crave.

From abcnews via an interview on 60 minutes: Obama and the future first lady Michelle Obama talked about their looming life in the bubble of the White House with CBS' "60 Minutes" over the weekend. They looked back at where they came from, including such highlights as Obama's old Chicago bachelor pad near Harold's Chicken Shack.

"That was a dump," Michelle Obama recalled.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad, I lived right next door to Harolds" Barack Obama

Harold's Chicken Shack
Locations throughout Chicago

Harold's Chicken Shack on 53rd
1208 E 53rd Street
Chicago, IL 60615
773-725-9760