-Grubbing in Chicago
Five of a Kind: Newly Opened in Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park has long been one of Chicago's premier neighborhoods in terms of living but only recently has it started to enter the chat of Chicago's best food neighborhoods. The food scene in the neighborhood I grew up in has exploded over the last five years or so. Take Lincoln Avenue for example. When I was a kid the stretch of Lincoln that cut thru Lincoln Park was mostly watering holes. I remember when the Bulls were winning championships and Lincoln Avenue was one of the main places people would go to celebrate when they won. Then in the early 2000’s it kind of became dead over there for quite a while until restaurants like Galit and more recently Nadu started setting up shop. Fast forward to today and LP has suddenly become one of the city’s most desirable neighborhoods when it comes to opening a restaurant. But how come? Two guesses 1) people have money to spend in that area and 2) it’s become much younger and much more diverse as a neighborhood leading to some interesting restaurant openings. Today we take a look at five spots that opened in Lincoln Park in the last year or so. The type of spots that would’ve been out of place in this area a decade ago.
For our first stop we head over to Clark street which is also booming right now. The stretch of Clark between Fullerton and Diversey has seen a handful of international openings the last couple years. Kook Kook Khao Man Gai is one of the more recent spots to set up shop. It’s ran by a guy from Nashville by way of Thailand. So I was told the owner runs a bubble tea shop in Nashville but he wanted to do something a bit more personal here and he’s doing exactly that at 2532 N Clark where he’s serving up Thai style Chicken and Rice aka Khao Man Gai. This chicken and rice dish consists of boiled chicken, rice cooked in broth, sauce, and a chicken soup as a side. It's a Thai version of Hainanese chicken with which it shares a common origin, though they differ mainly in the sauce and accompaniments. Khao Man Gai is known for its punchy, complex dipping sauce, most often made with fermented soybeans, vinegar, and chili, and is typically served with chicken soup and cucumber slices. It’s not the most instagramable dish you’ll come across but it’s likely to be one of the more flavorful. Kook Kook serves up an excellent version that comes with or without the skin - get it with for extra flavor. All facets of this dish from the tender boiled chicken, to the rice infused with broth, and the garlic sauce are very well made. The menu is small with a few other options including what’s said to be a good Tom Yum soup plus other chicken dishes like Khao Mun Gai - fried chicken and rice.

Khao Man Gai at Kook Kook Khao Man Gai
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China Wok
Next we head a couple minutes down the street to China Wok located at 2485 N Clark I’ve featured this spot before as the owner here used to run a takeout spot called New China Station in Humboldt Park where I was a regular. The dry chili fish filet at New China Station was one of my favorite dishes in town until it suddenly closed out of nowhere. I spent a couple years trying to find a replacement for it often to no avail until one day I decided to try this newly opened spot called China Wok that had quite a few Sichuan dishes including dry chili fish filet. As soon as it came out I knew I had found my favorite version again as the owner of China Wok previously ran the kitchen at New China Station. So you know about the dry chili fish filet but what else is worth getting? Here’s my go to order when we go with a group as it’s great place to byob as the family is so accommodating. First up I suggest an order of their old school potstickers which are thick and chewy and bursting with pork and ginger flavor. I’d also go for an order of the Sichuan green beans which always come out crisp with a nice spice kick. Then I recommend a plate of the “Thai Crazy Spicy Noodle” for the noodle lovers in your group. These are made with thick stir fried rice noodles mixed with onion, Chinese broccoli, jalapeño and basil leaves. We usually get the shrimp as the beef is a bit chewy but the noodles are always cooked well with hints of wok hei abound. I also love the “Szechuan Fish Casserole” which seems to be an Americanized description of Shui Zhu Yu or Sichuan boiled fish. This is a popular dish where marinated fish is boiled, then hot oil is poured over it, with heavy use of chili and Sichuan peppers. But whatever you get make sure to try the dry chili fish which is still the best in town on my watch.
Moving along we head over to Clybourn just off Webster where there’s yet another string of recent openings including Trilokah Kerala and South Indian Restaurant at 2239 N Clybourn. Trilokah isn’t exactly new though as they moved to Lincoln Park from Mount Prospect. I never got a chance to try this regional Indian restaurant when it was in the suburbs but I’ve been a few times since they moved into the city. Trilokah is cooking up food from Kerala, a state on India's tropical Malabar Coast. Judging by the crowds on my visit they made the right call moving to Lincoln Park. They did a nice job on the inside giving it a fun feel with colorful pieces of art lining the walls. On my first visit, which was solo, I had to try the Kothu parotta - a popular South Indian and Sri Lankan street dish made up of shredded flatbread (parotta) stir-fried with assorted vegetables, eggs, and meat in a spicy masala. The name "kothu" literally means "minced" or "chopped," referring to its preparation method. This dish is kind of like fried rice except it’s diced flatbread instead. Trilokah serves up the best version I’ve tried in the States. It’s super fluffy and not mushy at all with a nice spice profile. I tried it with beef which might seem out of place at an Indian restaurant but not one featuring the food of Kerala which has a large Christian population that often eats beef. Actually beef seems to be the move here, the beef curry has a ton of mentions in online reviews and most of them are favorable. As far as appetizers go the Tawa Roasted Shrimp makes for a great group starter with a thick and flavorful coating.
The menu at Trilokah features quite a few dishes I’d never had before including Kizzi Porotta - a popular and aromatic South Indian delicacy where flaky, layered parottas are combined with a flavorful, spicy meat or vegetable curry, wrapped tightly in a banana leaf, and then steamed or slow-cooked. I decided to try it with beef and even though I had never tried this hands on dish it brought back a ton of memories upon first bite as it tasted like an Al’s Italian beef to me. I can see myself returning on a cold day as this dish had the same warming effect as a pot pie does. On a more recent visit we very much enjoyed the Kottayam style fish curry which is a semi spicy curry from Kerala cooked with kudum puli (malabar tamrind) and red chili powder which produces a vibrant red color that really stands out on a crowded table of food. Be sure to add a side of flaky porotta for dipping purposes. I look forward to further exploring the menu at this exciting new spot.
Tavern style pizza is having a big moment across Chicago right now with lots of chefs chasing the crowds that come with it. Dimmi Dimmi Corner Italian opened up at 1112 W. Armitage and it’s been a hot stop since first opening their doors this past August. It’s ran by the Cornerstone Restaurant Group which took over the former space of Tarantino’s, a family-run Italian spot that closed last year after a 30-year-run. The kitchen is helmed by executive chef Matt Eckfeld, who previously worked at some very popular red sauce joints in New York such as Carbone. I really like the dining room which gets very lively on the weekends with groups of friends and families sharing plates of pasta and super thin and crisp tavern style pizza. I haven’t had the pasta, prices on that are getting pretty ridiculous, but the pizza is pretty damn good. It reminds me of the version served at Middlebrow as it’s super thin and almost too sturdy if that makes sense. It comes out as if you requested it extra well done. The namesake salad was a perfect pairing with the pizza. Some people don’t like this recent trend of cheffing up a working man’s treat but I find it refreshing in that a lot of pizza out there is average at best. It's the same product at a lot of spots as they all use the same supplier (Sysco) for their cheese, and toppings and so forth but places like Dimmi Dimmi are giving it a bit of a more personal feel.
Last stop takes us over to the beautiful Belden Stratford building at 2300 N Lincoln Park West where S.K.Y. recently relocated after spending seven years on 18th Street in Pilsen. As was to be expected it’s a beautiful space and a quite large one at that though I only walked through there to get to their new hidden wine bar Le Mistral. It’s a sleek looking spot hidden in a back room that you have to pass thru the kitchen to get to. It has the feel of a posh hotel bar in Europe and I don’t mean that in a bad way. On top of cocktails and wine they also have a little food menu that’s separate from S.K.Y. but I think you can order off the standard menu too. I saw something about their French Onion Burger which comes with a dipping sauce though it’s not poured over the top like those viral ones you've seen on social media. But this burger felt like a bit more than a viral stunt with a nice juicy patty covered in buttery onions and melted gruyere cheese with a Parmesan crisp added for crunch. It’s served with a rich and indulgent gravy like you might find on an upscale version of poutine. It hit the spot but I thought the Parmesan crisp was a bit distracting though that sauce would be good on anything beefy. Not cheap ($24) but with a bit of a tweak they can make it worthy of the price. I look forward to trying the new iteration of S.K.Y. which has a few old favorites and some new dishes too.

French Onion Burger at Le Mistral
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See ya next time @chibbqking
























































