Eatin' Good in the Neighborhood Pt. 2

-Grubbing in Chicago
Five of a Kind: Logan Square Favorites

Another calendar year is winding down and with it I have a collection of delicious dishes from Logan Square to share. Some readers may remember a post from last year where I declared Logan Square the city’s best food neighborhood and that's still the case today. If you want a little bit of it all when it comes to eating options Logan Square is your top spot in Chicago. Today’s post is a collection of five great things I’ve ate in the neighborhood of late - all from places I've previously featured on here.

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Superkhana International

I’ve never been a big brunch person but brunch has never been quite as exciting as it is these days. Omelets, Eggs Benedict, Pancakes and the likes just don’t excite like the Breakfast Dosa Hash at Superkhana does. For the uninitiated Dosa is a thin and savory crepe common in South Indian cuisine. It's made from a fermented batter of ground black gram and rice and is commonly served as a meal with pickles, chutney, and a variety of fillings. Masala Dosa comes with a flavorful spiced potato curry and is one of the most popular ways to enjoy it. At Superkhana they serve it with cabbage, curry leaf, a sunny side up egg, fried potatoes, and chile crisp and it’s been my favorite breakfast dish in town for a few years now even though it’s a vegetarian dish. But so what it has way more depths of flavor than a plate of bacon and eggs can bring. I just love what Chef Yoshi, Chef Zeeshan and their team are doing over at 3059 W. Diversey - one of my favorite restaurants in town.

Breakfast Dosa Hash at Superkhana International
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Best Intentions

Speaking of my favorite places in town, Best Intentions is another Logan Square spot on that list. I love what they did at 3281 West Armitage in turning an old neighborhood dive into a new neighborhood dive. Best Intentions has everything I want in a local bar - the drinks are reasonably priced and can range from a bottle of High Life to a well crafted cocktail - there’s a really nice sized patio and an outdoor bar to boot - and most importantly they have some damn good bar food. The burgers and fries are top notch but of late I’ve been planning my visits around the Filet ‘O’ Friday - their take on the Filet-O-Fish. It’s a pretty classic rendition down to the square shaped filet of breaded cod they use. The fried to order fish is dressed with a miso tartar sauce plus shredded lettuce and chile oil on a toasted potato bun and it’s the best fish sandwich in town right now (Friday's only).

Filet 'O' Friday Sandwich at Best Intentions
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Bar Parisette

Back in February I posted about ‘atta girl at 2829 W. Armitage which was a collabo between the Table, Donkey and Stick team and a chef from the now defunct Cafe Marie-Jeanne which was in Humboldt Park. Well despite my mostly glowing review it didn’t last long due to the head chef being a bit of a head case and it closed in May. But the team behind Table, Donkey and Stick did a bit of a rebrand and opened Bar Parisette this past July. The French bistro inspired neighborhood spot is led by Chef Madalyn Durant who was recently nominated in the Rising Chef category by the Jean Banchet Awards. I visited this past summer and had one of this year’s better burgers there. The ‘Cheeseburger Maison’ starts with a thick patty of high quality beef topped with a smoked onion mayo, shredded lettuce, pickles and cheddar, on a house baked sesame seed bun. The bun is incredible and I hope more spots start to take that part of the burger more seriously. Also of note are the fantastic fresh cut fries that come with it. I really liked the burger at ‘atta girl but the one at Bar Parisette is just as good.

Cheeseburger Maison at Bar Parisette 
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Izakaya Nomonomo

The family behind Ramen Wasabi continues to low key be one of Chicago’s best restaurant groups. They’ve built a bit of a mini empire over at the corner of Milwaukee and Maplewood where they also run Nomonomo Japanese Pub + Grill next door to Ramen Wasabi and Nomonomo Sushi across the street. I’ve been a repeat visitor at both places of late. We enjoy the happy hour deal(s) at Nomonomo Sushi which has $8 spicy tuna rolls and $14 Hamachi Kama (fried tuna collar) on Tues-Sat from 5p-7p. When it’s nice out they open the windows and you can people watch on Milwaukee and the rolls are always fresh. We also like hitting up their izakaya across the street which is kind of the opposite of the sushi spot in that it’s dark inside and instead of fish they focus on Japanese bar food including grilled meat skewers. As the weather starts to shift you’ll want to take note of their ‘Tan Tan Udon’ which is a Japanese version of Chinese Dan Dan Noodles using nikumiso pork, scallions, sesame, bok choy, chili oil plus thick and chewy udon noodles in a spicy bright red broth - good slurping.

Sushi, Fried Fish Collar, Udon at Nomonomo Sushi and Izakaya Nomonomo
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Bungalow by Middle Brow

You may already know this by now but ‘Tavern Tuesday’ is a thing over at Bungalow by Middle Brow in case you didn’t (2840 W. Armitage). Count me among the impressed when it comes to their take on one of the the hottest food trends in the country at the moment. It’s just called thin crust in Chicago but "tavern thin pizza" is a thing throughout the Midwest and now the rest of the country too due to hip spots like this putting their own spin on the preferred style of pizza among Chicagoans. They usually make a really great Neapolitan style pizza with a bit of sourdough starter except for on Tuesdays when tavern style thin takes over the menu. You can choose from a handful of offerings including a traditional version made with sausage or a more novel offering like the Cacio e Pepe. Whichever option you choose it’ll be a contender for the thinnest and crispiest pizza you’ve ever had. We got both of the aforementioned options and each of them was like a pizza mixed with a pasta. The sausage is loose like you might find in Northwest Indiana and the Quad Cities region and while I prefer it in chunks, this was like a hearty Bolognese spread on some crackers and it slapped. The Cacio e Pepe was giving off all the flavors of the Roman classic but in pizza form. It was rich and sharp and it was loaded with fresh pepper. This was the first time I’ve ever had a tavern thin pizza paired up with a seasonal salad. You won’t find any Old Style here but their signature Bungalow lager is a much better partner for your pizza. Only on Tuesdays in Chicago's best food neighborhood - Logan Square.

Tavern Thin Sausage Pizza at Bungalow by Middle Brow
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Eatin' Good in the Neighborhood Pt. 1

See ya next time @chibbqking