The Clove

-Grubbing in Chicagoland
Excellent Indo-Chinese (and more) in Glenview

The Clove is a relatively new South Asian restaurant in the Northern suburbs but it also has a bit of history in the North Shore area. It opened in Glenview last summer but the guy behind The Clove used to run now closed The Red Hot Chili Pepper in Evanston which I visited Pre-Pandemic. 

Recently Opened in Glenview

The menu is split into two - there’s an Indian-Nepali and an Indo-Chinese menu. This is fairly common but what’s not is having two separate kitchens (and cooks) for each menu. The Clove is located in a large strip mall so there’s a nice amount of space inside including a full bar which along with the food is 25% off on Mondays. The Indo Chinese food at The Red Hot Chili Pepper was the best I’d had in Chicagoland so I had The Clove pretty high on my list but it took some time to find myself out that way. Well that recently happened not once but twice in the span of a week so I got to try a pretty nice portion of the menu and as I suspected it would be - the Indo-Chinese food here is excellent.

Gobi Manchurian

Indo-Chinese food is a blend of Chinese style cooking techniques with Indian spices and chiles. It comes from the Chinese community that was living in India back when it was said to be created in the 1970’s by Nelson Wong, the same guy said to create Gobi Manchurian. There’s a set of dishes you’ll see at every Indo-Chinese restaurant whether it’s in India, Pakistan, or the suburbs of Chicago and Gobi Manchurian is perhaps the most popular of them all. Crispy fried cauliflower is wok tossed in a spicy soy-garlic sauce but despite the name it has nothing to do with Manchuria in China. It’s said to be invented in India in the mid 1970s at China Garden in Mumbai. I’ve had my fair share of Gobi Manchurian over the years and the version served at The Clove sits at the top my list. First off it’s a dry version so it’s not gloppy from a sauce and it’s got a really nice spicing to it while the fry job is also done well. Resulting in a crisp and tasty product. I would highly recommend starting with an order. 

Dry Chili Chicken at The Clove

Chili Chicken is another dish you’ll find on every Indo-Chinese restaurants menu. It too comes served wet or dry depending on the spot but at The Clove they do both. Again I’m a dry guy when it comes to Indo style chili chicken. This can be traced directly to Yueh Tung in Toronto where they serve a legendary chili chicken that I still think about now and then (fyi the Indo-Chinese food in Toronto aka “Hakka Chinese” is as good as it gets). To me dry is better because it’s crisper and tends to be more intense as dry is the preferred way in places like Mumbai. I’ve been searching for something similar to the version served at Yueh Tung for years now and the chili chicken at The Clove is the closest I’ve found up to now. This is in big part due to it being dry when most spots serve it wet but it’s also got great flavor from the ginger and chiles, speaking of which if you order it hot they bring the heat.  

Manchow Soup

Just like its American-Chinese food cousin, Indo-Chinese is popular to eat in large groups. Usually you order for the table and get a few apps plus entrees and sides. Manchow Soup is another one of those standard Indo-Chinese dishes. The soup has a few defining features including a soy-based broth, strong use of garlic and ginger, and lots of chili flavor. It’s thickened with cornstarch and packed with cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, and a variety of other vegetables plus chicken, tofu and other stuff depending on the recipe. Supposedly the name has no meaning other than to sound Chinese. The Manchow soup at The Clove is flavorful and filled with a ton of crisp vegetables leading me to believe it’s made to order as they wouldn’t be that crisp if it was made ahead. The only thing missing was the crispy noodles on top that typically come with Manchow but all the crunchy vegetables made up for the lack of crunchy noodles (note: they were included on my return visit). 

Hakka Style Noodles at The Clove

The Hakka noodles at previously mentioned Red Hot Chili Pepper in Evanston were among my favorite noodles in town and they’re just as good at The Clove. They get a ton of wok hei in the flavor. You can add chicken or tofu but I like it as it is as it already comes with a ton of crisp veggies. I haven’t gotten to try the fried rice bc I can’t pass on the Hakka Noodles but I’m guessing it’s just as good if it’s cooked the same way with lots of wok hei given off by an extra hot wok. Momo Dumplings aren’t Indian-Chinese but the Nepali and Tibetan style dumplings pair well with the rest of the Indo-Chinese food here. I don’t think of Chicago as a great Momo town but the chicken ones at The Clove are as good as I’ve had in the city or suburbs. The wrappers are thin and soft and the chutney is on point. 

Chicken Momo Dumplings

On my initial visit I was with my wife who really likes Dal Makhani and any type of seafood curry. I'm also a fan of these things so we got an order of the Dal and decided to try the Goan style snapper curry alongside it. The former was good but not great, though it tasted even better the next day. The latter was really good. The coconut based gravy had a sneaky hot spice to it and the fish was perfectly cooked making them the perfect match for each other in the same way The Clove is the perfect match for Glenview. The space is large and clean while the food is fresh and flavorful. 

Dal Makhani and Goan Snapper Curry

The Clove Indian & Nepali Cuisine
1827 Waukegan Rd
Glenview, IL 60025
(847) 999-0862
Website

The Works

 -Got Beef? (and lamb)
Gyro Shops of Chicago(land)

Longtime readers may remember when gyros made regular appearances on here. That was back in the blogs early years when Chicago style fast food was it's focal point. Well somehow The Works up in Glenview was never featured. The 2013 Vienna Beef Hall of Fame Inductee has been a favorite of a few generations worth of people from around this way. The Works sold it's first gyro plate in 1978. 

Locals Favorite in Glenview 

I'm not sure if their current location is their original spot but these days it's tucked away in a large parking lot that accommodates a bunch of businesses. The Works is your classic old school Chicago style fast food stand down to it's Greek owners. They offer up a majority of the classics from the Chicago fast food glossary with gyros being front and center. You probably know this by now but gyros in Chicago pretty much all come from the same place (Kronos factory) so they're not all that different from spot to spot. Except in terms of preparation in how well it's crisped up and then sliced as well as the condiments with which it's served, specifically the Tzatziki. The Works makes a really good one and they prepare the actual meat as good as anyone when it comes to the mass produced stuff. I don't eat this style of gyro as much as I did when I was a kid but I still enjoy one now and then. 

Gyro Plate at The Works

The Works 
2676 Golf Rd
Glenview, IL 60025
(847) 724-0616

Buncha Hanoi

-Grubbing in Chicago(land)

Vietnamese Buncha in Glenview

While putting together my ‘Best of 2018’ post I got hungry for some SE Asian food. So I rolled out to Glenview to try this new Vietnamese buncha specialist on my hit list. Buncha Hanoi is located on Milwaukee avenue in the same strip mall as about four or five Korean chains. It opened late last year. It was featured low key by Nick Kindelsperger at the Tribune during a month long noodles celebration.

Newly Opened in Glenview

I’m guessing most people reading this have seen the video of Bourdain and Obama eating the regional Vietnamese dish in Hanoi. If not it’s basically a salad of grilled pork and rice noodles with a little bowl of fish sauce laced dipping sauce. Me and my wife had a chance to enjoy this signature Hanoi dish while there. We ate at the same place where Obama joined Bourdain. I talked to one of the young ladies working in Glenview and she said it was their intent to make Buncha as popular as Pho. While they do serve bowls of Pho that's about it as far as the menu goes. They're specialists.

 Buncha at Buncha Hanoi

Initial thoughts? Pretty legit. This version might not be as funky as some veterans of this dish might like but they offer two different fish sauces on the side for you to funk it up. I liked the addition of little slivered of fried garlic to the noodles which are always served room temp. The pork was way better than what I remember in Hanoi as far as quality goes. The skewered pork was yakitori like. They grilled it up really nice. Aside from the skewers Buncha also comes with pork patties (and an egg roll here) and they too were done well. Not dry at all. I love seeing a specialist like this pop up and wish them luck. With success others will follow the model of picking one thing and doing it really well. 

Close-Up of the Grilled Pork

Buncha Hanoi
1705 Milwaukee Ave
Glenview, IL 60025
(847) 813-9150
Website

Spiro's Deli

-The Sammy's of Chi

Despite going to high school at Loyola which is just down the road from Spiro's, I never went to the popular deli in Glenview. So when a food friend who's taste's and opinions I highly respect mentioned Spiro's I was kind of surprised I had never heard or been. Since that is the case I don't know much about the place except that they are a Northshore tradition and many people from the area swear by the place. It's located in a tiny strip mall on Waukegan road just off Lake.


a locals favorite in Glenview, IL

It doesn't look like a whole lot from the outside and the same goes for the inside. It's basically a take out joint with a nice sandwich menu that includes but is not limited too both hot and cold sub sandwiches, Italian beef, gyros, burgers and hot dogs. Also offered are soups and salads as well as sides like onion rings and fries. Northshore Magazine named Spiro's the best beef in the area. I wasn't there for the beef with hot however. I browsed the menu and saw some delectable looking sammy's but there was one in particular rec'd by my guy from LTH that I just had to try.


The counter

I was there for the "Bomber" which consisted of Spiro's homemade Italian beef on a sesame seed roll topped with melted cheese, pickles and onions along with the house special sauce. I don't know about you but that sounded right up my alley, so then a couple months back I was able to stop in and try a bomber. Hot Damn! this thing was a delectable mess with the beef, gravy and sauce dripping on out it was like a Italian beef with Whopper qualities but this thing was much better than a Whopper. I guess it's one of the most popular sandwiches at Spiro's and I can totally see why. I'm going to have to go get another sometime soon.


Bomber sandwich from Spiro's Deli

Spiro's Deli
1210 Waukegan Road
Glenview, IL 60025
(847) 729-6650

fRedhots

-In Chicago: Every Dog Has it's Day

Today's stop on the Chicagoland food tour is to a place that could fit into alot of the featured series' here on S'C'&C. fRedhots is a spot that opened up in the last five years or so and in that time has made quite a name for itself. Located in Glenview the name comes from the owner, Fred, who started his high class fast food shop due to his passion for the food. Fredhots is a place that cares greatly about the food it serves and the customers who eat it. It falls into the "high class fast food" cuisine that Chicago is so well known for. While many people might consider it a knockoff of Hot Doug's, it is anything but. Yes fRedhots does have many specialty sausages on the menu but also oh so much more. It's more like a really good burger/dog/sandwich joint that also has some interesting specialty sausages.


an instant classic in Glenview

I don't even know where to start when it comes to fRedhots so I'll just start out with the fact its one of those places you can bring the entire family too. Grandma and Grandpa on to the youngest child down will all find something they enjoy on the impressive menu over there. You can expect all the usual suspects like Chicago style Hot Dogs, Polish Sausage and good old fashioned char grilled burgers along with fresh cut fries and also Italian Beef but there's alot more. Another popular go to on the menu board are the specialty sausages. Popular examples include the gyros sausage which is like eating a gyro in tube form and the Wild Game Sausage which varies on the specials board. One of the specials during Christmas time is the reindeer sausage. It doesn't matter what you get as your main course your going to want some fries to go with it, or Belgian potato frites as their known at fRedhots. The fries are 5 star worthy and come with a dipping sauce that come in a range of flavors. Some of my favorite dipping sauces are the Spicy Aioili and the Filipino banana pepper.They also have a dipping sauce flavor of the day.


fRedhots excellent french fries

It doesn't end with just the dipping sauces when it comes for ways to pimp out your fries. Here we have one of the many great specials you can find on that aforementioned board. The "Western fries" as they are called include little pieces of debris (fallen from the roasted beef) that is thrown on top of Fred's fresh made fries along with some BBQ sauce and cheese. Its a rich tasting batch of goodness, especially the bottom fries.


Fries with "debris" BBQ sauce and Cheese

Everybody has their go to item at Fredhots and for me that is the debris sandwich. It's similar to the Italian Beef but more like a roast beef po' boy. It was specifically made with the po' boy served at Mother's. Fred takes the "debris" from the beef roasts made for Italian beef which is just all the little pieces that fell off during its long cooking. The little shredded pieces of beef go on a roll that holds the juicy debris well and comes topped with lettuce, tomato and mayo. I like to add onions and extra pickles to mine. The sandwich is one of my favorites anywhere. Since this beauty was thrown onto the permanent menu I've had a hard time further exploring it.


Fred's Debris Po' Boy

However its a must to always peek at the specials board located to the right of you when your ordering. On one visit Fred had a Cuban burger available for order. Fred took the basis for a Cuban sandwich minus the pork (ham, roasted pork*, mustard, Swiss cheese and pickles) and threw a burger patty in there. As someone who has a love for a great Cuban sandwich, it was something I knew was going to be good as soon as I saw it. Well I wasn't wrong.

*They skipped the roasted pork part on the burger, good nonetheless.


Pressed Cuban Burger from fRedhots

I've had quite a few good sandwiches from Fred's and the sammy's might be the places strongest point. Over at Fred's there are no short cuts taken and that includes his Italian Beef. Fred's makes the beef in house and a sign in the spots reads "Our famous Italian beef is the best you will ever taste-Guaranteed" Well I'm a fan but its not the best. What I enjoyed greatly about the IB was the almost roast beefy like French dip feel from it, it tasted more like a pot roast sandwich than a beef but its still da bomb. I enjoy the heavy pepper addition. There's always a good a good sammy on the specials board.


Chicken Club Sandwich


Click HERE to see how their beef rated against others

But you know what? no matter how many progressive menu items this hot dog stand offers, they still gotta make a good dog if they wanna stick around. Well I got a feeling their going to be around for a while. The Fredhot aka a Chicago Style hot dog is one of Chicagolands best example of this style. Even though it actually includes ketchup, although I think they ask, that's still a sin. But we all can have our sins forgiven 'cause the fRedhot is a heavenly hot dog for what it is. Minus the ketchup its an authentic and excellent example of the more well known Chicago style hot dog. The people of Glenview and the surrounding suburbs are lucky to have a spot that cares so much about the product taste and customers of this all star hot dog stand.


a fRedhot aka Chicago style hot dog

fRedhots & Fries
1707 Chestnut Avenue
Glenview, IL 60025
(847) 657-9200
Website