Chinatown Noodle Special

 - Chicago Magazine Feature 

New Feature @ Chicago Mag (Pic: Jeff Marini for Chicago Magazine)

Click HERE

See ya next time @chibbqking 

Eat the Vote

- Best of Chicago Awards

Greetings readers, hope you're gearing up for a fun and or relaxing weekend. I interrupt nearly 8 years of regularly updated roadfood posts (771 to be exact) to let you know that the annual Chicago Reader's 'Best of Chicago' awards are currently being voted on. Truth be told I'm a little behind in posts as I work on a few collaborated projects and just didn't have the time to put one together this weekend so I just thought I'd throw it out there to regular readers should you want to vote. Feel free to vote for 'Smokin' Chokin' & Chowing' or 'The Chicago Taco Tour' or any other blog out there you regularly read. Another truth to be told, you must sign up and answer a minimum of 20 questions so I don't expect anyone to do it but should you already be voting, S'C'&C is for the people!

See ya Monday @chibbqking 

Midwest Tenderloin Trot

Eating like a local:
Regional food specialties
- Enjoying the BPT

Join me with Serious Eats as we check out some of the Midwest's best Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches. Please click HERE.

Mexican Soup Special

Carne En Su Jugo from Los Gallos

Hello to all my loyal readers. I've been out of the city on vaca. Apologies for the delay in posts, you'll be rewarded with another one of my classic regional eats reports very soon. In the meantime, with the cold front here, I wanted to share a Mexican soup special I did over at Serious Eats. Here are ten different varieties to help keep you warm this winter. Click HERE for story.

Introducing the Chicago Taco Tour

-Snoopin' around
a peak into my favorite food sites/reads

If you haven't seen or heard already there's been some big happenings regarding tacos in Chicago. After doing specials on them for both Serious Eats and my own site here I decided there needed to be a "homebase" so to say about where one can go to learn about the taco options of Chicago. I saw how people in places like Los Angeles and Dallas were spreading the word of the folded tortilla around their parts by sharing experiences, pictures and notes of the different taco shops around town. So what about Chicago? There's no way we as a 'land aren't one of the best places to eat tacos in all of the world so why don't we have an outlet dedicated specifically to them? We do now. Introducing the 'Chicago Taco Tour' your one stop guide to all the taco options this wonderful city and its surrounding communities have to offer. With over 150 spots already doc'd and ready to go up, the site will be updated daily. Those behind it will continue to stop in at each and every shop that looks like it needs to be indexed. Just this past week alone I've been into 10+ new to me places. So sit back, relax and strap on your seatbelt. You've never been a ride like this before. Taco Time!
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As Seen on the Chicago Taco Tour (Click HERE)

Supermercado Chapultepec

Taqueria El Pueblo

El Zarape

Taqueria La Zacatacana

Chisme Express

Tacos El Torito

Birrieria Ocotlan

El Conde SA

Cilantro Taco Grill

Where's that truck at? Stay tuned....100's more to come

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See ya next year @chibbqking

Papuseria El Excelente

-Snoopin' around
a peak into my favorite food sites

It's been a while since I had any papusa's and I still haven't found anything quite like Papuseria El Salvador (RIP) but was surprised to see a new papuseria had opened up on 18th Street in Pilsen. So I was on it for Serious Eats Chicago. Check out my trip to eat there HERE.

Salvadoran food in Pilsen

Papuseria El Excelente
1758 W 18th St
Chicago, IL 60608
(773) 978-8270

 

Mama Nena's Shrimp House

-Snoopin' around
a peak into my favorite food sites

Hey all good news! You can now read more of me over at Serious Eats: Chicago. Your favorite food site editors favorite food blogger has joined the team as I try and show some love to the Southside and elsewhere. I'll make sure to link any stories from there to here. First up is a Mexican owned shrimp shack in the shadow of the Stock Yards.

Click HERE for the article

The Barrelhouse Flat

-Snoopin' around
a peak into my favorite food sites

Has the cocktail scene taken off where your from? All around the country the art of handcrafted cocktail mixing is making a major comeback. Chicago included but for whatever reason my 'hood of Lincoln Park just hasn't gotten anything good and I know the people, myself included have been waiting. Well that's all about too change. Located at 2624 N. Lincoln, where the old Deja Vu nightclub used to be is where the Barrelhouse Flat is opening up. Lucky for me I also know the men behind what is sure to be one of the city and countries best cocktail stops. They got food too!

The insides as of this summer

B&B are bringing the Barrelhouse to the neighborhood after some heavy research and more importantly the passion and dedication to make it happen. I will hold off on any details but will let you know that you can follow their blog of the opening and get the news straight from the tap. Check them out HERE and also if your on Facebook make sure to like them HERE. Twitter doodles can follow them HERE. Who knows maybe they'll give me free drinks to get their blog going? Either way you'll find me there opening day and beyond this upcoming Fall season. I'm fully on board with the cocktail craze.

Some random liquor pics from my collection...

Stay tuned, big September ahead here @chibbqking
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The Barrelhouse Flat
2624 N. Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60614
Coming in Fall of 2011
Website

Grubseeker Goes Off in Nawlins

-Snoopin' around
a peak into my favorite food sites

Anyone out there have Mardi Gras vacation plans down in New Orleans? Oh how I wish I did. Not this time around, but a return trip to the Crescent City is in my future. I envy those who are headed down there this March. My guy Jim over at Grub Seeker just took his fam on a food and fun filled adventure down to Nawlins and shared it all with the world wide web. Anyone that goes by the alias 'Grubseeker' is going to no doubt be getting his grub on! Unless he's feeding you some mouth full of BS if ya know what I mean. After a week down in NOLA that included food stops of all types he was nice enough to share his plates and vaca experiences with us so we can use them as research for food and fun vacations down in the Big Easy. Anyone going to New Orleans looking for restaurant recommendations needs to hop on over to his domain m'aan. Jimmy got his grub on.

Seven Dishes Grub Seeker devoured that got my eye...


Duck Pastrami Slider from Cochon Butcher (Pic by Grubseeker)


"The Pig & The Peach" Root beer braised pork belly from Commander's Palace


Local caught crab ravioli from Luke Restaurant (Pic by Grubseeker)


Deep fried crab claws from Casamento's (Pic by Grubseeker)


Local caught fresh steamed crab from Big Fisherman Seafood's (Pic by Grubseeker)


20 day dry aged ribeye steak from Delmonico (Pic by Grubseeker)


Eggs Benedict with lump crab meat from Galatoire's (Pic by Grubseeker)

Hot damn huh? this White Sox fan knows how to eat, not your typical White Sox Fan's splurge of a 7-11 Wiener with a side of nachos along with a twelve pack of Old Styles 'eh? Grub Seeker is a great resource for Lasalle County IL area food stops as well as Chicagoland spots since he likes to head down this way and put down a few with you know who. Also wherever he's headed with his family on vacation, he's sure to eat it up right and not just all that but he's also a Cajun/Creole recipe king as well as a world class BBQ connoisseur. All of his New Orleans food stops are documented on his site during the months of January and February of 2011. All that as well as other great food stops and some big manly man recipes make it a regular in my rotation. Check out Da Grub Seeker HERE.

Low & Slow BBQ

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

It's time to sit back, relax and catch a contact as we throw some meat in the smoker on low and enjoy the beautiful fall weather with some real deal bbq. As an avid smoker I have gone thru many trials and tribulations in trying to reach the top and get to to that point where the making of bomb ass bbq is as routine as making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then I was enlightened with all the knowledge one needs to perfect the art of bbq along with top notch tips and dispelling of the myths. In come's Low & Slow. Written by the Godfather of Chicago bbq it is a book any and every bbq cook and connoisseur needs in his/her collection. GWiv is a friend of mine and his wealth of knowledge when it comes to smokin' is second to none in these parts.


Click HERE to order this must own manual from Amazon

I've been lucky enough to have done some smokin' first hand with Gary and it's always a blast capped off with some unbelievable bbq. His book will teach you everything you need to know to get perfectly smoked meat each and every time. It's broken down into five lessons and has instructions for smokin' with a offset smoker, a kettle grill and his toy of choice a Weber Smokey Mountain. In fact he likes the Smokey Mountain and knows how to use it down to a science that he wrote the manual for them. He's come to find that this product is the most reliable and easiest to use and once you get it down pat, it creates the best smoked meats. But it doesn't matter what you use as long as you follow the instructions exactly as he says too. This book is so helpful it will even tell you how to set a fire for your pit in the middle of a Chicago winter along with over 130 recipes and step by step instructions.


Smoke meat everyday...

Gary has spent years mastering his meats and has everything a pro at this game would have including his own rub. After years of playing around with different formula's he settled on his self named rub which is a wonderfully spicy mixture of seasonings that truly is some of the best rub I have ever used. You can find a similar recipe for this crazy good concoction in his book or if you can also get it from The Spice House where they make it fresh and a re sworn to secrecy with the recipe for fear of death. I always grab a few bottles whenever I stop in over there for spices. You can click HERE to go straight to their page for it. I highly recommend you put this in your spice cupboard. The stuff works great on all meats and in chili and anything else it sounds good with.


The bbq life coaches own bottle of his ridiculous rub

Now I'm not going to sit here and type out the entire book with how to make say the moistest most finger licking smoked chicken you will ever have. If you want to get yourself a life lesson in bbq for less than what it costs to have a meal of it at restaurant/stand your going to have to grab it and have it for whenever the craving for it comes along. Gary is a master of all meats and that's evident in the lesson for brines which includes a buttermilk version that when used with chicken thighs produces the best bbq chicken I have ever had from anywhere.


Buttermilk brined bbq chicken thighs

Gary has made 1000's and 1000's of different batches of ribs and so he knows what needs to be done whether were talking baby back, spare, St. Louis style. If you get the book and follow the leader and take it step by step to the exact instructions you can be a ribmaster in no time and the star of Sunday football bbq's. I prefer spare ribs and recently made a batch of St. Louis style following the coaches words. They turned out flawless with the perfect balance of smoke flavor and just the right amount of resistance of the meat from coming off the bone. I want some right now and just might make some for tonight.


St. Louis spare rib's done low & slow

Low & Slow Lamb Ribs

I do however have a recipe to share with everyone from GWiv. This is one I got to try when we were chilling over at Toons one night and he brought by some of his lamb ribs that he made earlier that day. Well they were so good I had to make them for myself a week or so later and did just that and am going to show y'all what the godfather showed me.

Ingredients

-Lamb Breast (1 breast serves 1-2 people)
-BBQ rub
-Mustard
-apple of cherry wood chunks (combo works too)

Note: Fresh farms in Niles sells lamb breast which is essentially the ribs and part of the breast.

Instructions

1) Start off by removing the tips from the lamb breast so that you have a rack of ribs like those seen in the pic below. Save the tips for an appetizer.

2) Take your rub (I used GWiv's) and rub it into the ribs and follow that up by squirting a line of yellow mustard down the middle and then spreading it around. Doing this vice versa is fine too.


Lamb ribs cut and ready for smoker

3) Set your smoker for low and slow cooking so that its around a constant temp of 250 degrees which is what we want the temp to be when the ribs are going in. Take your lamb tips and season them up with whatever you want and put them in a aluminum foil cooking pan and put those on the bottom rack and the ribs on top (we want the fat from the ribs to drip onto the tips).

Prepare your mop using the ingredients below under the picture of it.


Mop made of olive oil, lemon juice, pressed garlic, salt and fresh pepper

4) After about 2 hours on the smoker at a steady temp of 250 the tips should be done. Mop them up a few minutes before taking them off and enjoy while waiting for the ribs to be done or save them for part of the full meal when the rest of it is ready. Make sure your sides are taken care of.


Lamb rib tips


I made baked 'tatos with a tzatziki cole slaw and fresh sliced tomatoes

5) After three hours in the smoker at 250 the ribs should be ready. remove them and let sit for a few minutes while you dress up plates with the sides and proceed to put a rack on each plate for each guest.


Smoked lamb ribs
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So if you too want to master the art of BBQ. What are you waiting for? CLICK HERE.

4th of July Special: Pig Roastin'

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

It's that time of the year, my favorite holiday which would mean Happy 4th of July to all. Is there a better celebration? I don't think so. Not when its all about being outdoors, grilling, smokin' BBQ and drinking drinks and lighting fireworks and the only thing your supposed to do is have a good time, which isn't ever hard. There's going to be tons of smoke in the air this Sunday when people take to their parks and backyards and celebrate America's Independence day. I'm just starting to figure out whats going to be done for my festivities and so in the meantime I wanted to share the results of a recent pig roast party I went to down in Lasalle County thrown by my buddy Jim who is an avid smoker. There arent too many weekends that pass where Jim isn't smokin' some meats of some sort out in his backyard and having a High Life. Check out his adventures in the wide world of food right HERE.


Where the pig was made...a great one indeed

Jim got a 94 lb pig from a local butcher down in his county. It came head on, trotters removed, and butterflied. He roasted it whole using a La Caja China which is a specialty from down south in Miami used for roasting pigs and other meats of choice. You can see it pictured above and the pig goes in the box and is covered with the top which is layered with charcoal and it cooks for hours on end until the meat is ready. You can learn all about them from their website and might even want one in your collection. The night before Jim injected the whole pig with mojo and rubbed it with pineapple juice. it was then put it on ice until the party with some 70+ guests started the next Saturday morning. Even though this party was back in June it's what the fourth of July is all about and that's having a good old time. We had people from all over and all walks of life and a buffet and drinks bar that was as good as it gets. On top of the star of the show the roasted pig, we had everything from ABT's to grilled lobster to fresh made rum punch and it was a blast.


We had two types of ABT's, both were tailgate champion worthy

After the piggy went on at about 7a it was taken off around 2p and looked just perfect. I don't know if there's anything better than perfect but the pig was it.


Ready to roll


Looking good


Eat up

Great company and some glorious food made for a grand time and make sure that's how you spend your upcoming fourth of July holiday. Holiday. Check out my guy Jim's site right HERE.