Capriotti's Sandwich Shop

Regional Fast Food
-Classic Delaware Sandwiches made famous in Vegas

I first read about Capriotti's on LTHforum, the Chicago based food forum. Someone, either from the East Coast or Las Vegas, wanted to know if there was anyplace in Chicago with sandwiches similar to theirs. Which the poster said he craves daily. Not too many people knew of Capriotti's since they have no Chicago or even Illinois locations. The closest one's to us are all in Wisconsin. They have two locations in Madison, neither of which were around when I was living there and one in downtown Milwaukee. I was intrigued by what I had read about them after learning of the place so I always had it on my list. I checked it off while in Milwaukee not too long ago.


Location in Downtown Milwaukee

Birthplace: Wilmington, DE
Type: Franchised
Founded in: 1976
How Many Today: Over 60
Locations in: 11 states incl. WI and FL
Menu item that made them: Sub Sandwich

Today Capriotti's is well known by those people who are lucky enough to be near one. It all started off in Wilmington, DE which if you were unaware is a sandwich paradise. I've never been to Delaware but when I do get there, I'll be eating a bunch of signature sandwiches from all over. Capriotti's was started by a young lady who wanted to open her own sandwich shop in Wilmington's Little Italy so she borrowed the money to do so and teamed up with her brother and they named the shop after their grandpa. A recent trip to Philly aka Sandwich City, USA confirmed my love for the cheesesteak so I gave Capriotti's version a try. Not bad at all, especially for a franchised place, in fact it was really good. It was cooked to order, chopped up and topped with fried onions, their famous hot peppers and sweet peppers too. Should of got two.


Capriotti's Cheesesteak Sandwich

It was in1987 that the Capriotti's teamed up with their cousin and opened up a 2nd and 3rd store. They started to introduce their signature sandwiches around this time including "the Bobbie" which is it's most famous today. The Bobbie was the sandwich the person looking for something similar in Chicago wanted. Their approach when they first started was to capture the heart of "real turkey lovers" and they would roast fresh turkeys overnight. This was something that separated them from the other seven sandwich shops in the neighborhood. They began roasting one a night but then were up to twelve per. The sandwiches were made to order with the turkey meat. The most popular today is the 'Bobbie' which comes with that fresh roasted pulled turkey meat, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo.

Capriotti's famous "Bobbie" sandwich

Again this was another very good example of a "fast food franchise" sandwich. The bread was the best I can remember from a franchised place and I thought the 'Bobbie' was a satisfyingly simple sandwich thanks to the fresh turkey paired with their bread. I'd say I slightly enjoyed the cheesesteak better but so do many as that's their most famous hot sub sold. Well the companies dedication to quality sandwiches with above average ingredients got them to 44 stores before they started franchising which they do today. Now located in Las Vegas (Where most of their locations are) the original founders sold the company to an original franchisee and they seem to be doing a great job with with plans to have over 500 locations by 2015. I'm a fan.


The "Bobbie" is something Subway franchise owners enjoy...

Capriotti's Sandwich Shop
111 E. Wisconsin ave #130
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 223-2277

*Please note there are multiple locations throughout the country. Click HERE.

The Original Nana's

-In Chicago: Every Dog Has it's Day

Do you ever have those days when you just want both a hot dog and a Italian beef? But not just any old of each? Legit representations! Well if you do I got the spot for you as today we head to the Northwest suburbs. You can ride all the way along Irving Park Road which is quite the ride for finding many different offerings of ethnic cuisine as you cruise it for miles on end from the lake all the way west past O'Hare. Once you get to the village of Streamwood you'll come across a spot which I consider to be the best place to get a good juicy beef and hot dog together.


a locals favorite/Vienna Beef Hall of Fame member in Streamwood, IL

I randomly found Nana's one day a few years back when taking a summer roll down Irving Park Road. As I can remember it's colorful sign letting you know they do Italian beef and sausage as well as Vienna Beef Hot Dogs along with a packed parking lot had me inside in no time. They've been around Streamwood since it was a sleepy little community back in 1973. It says alot that there still there today because plenty of eating options exist today but Nana's remains King. Originally owned by the daughter of Gene (from Gene & Jude's) and now Mike DiSilvestro. They perfected the art of the Chicago style depression dog aka the Minimalist dog with fresh cut fries.

A fresh fry cutter, seen at the best Chicagoland Hot Dog Stands

Mike who served our beloved country during Desert Storm added homemade Italian beef, grilled sausage, burgers, pizza and other items to the menu. Years and years of quality service to go with the authentic Chicago style eats and those hot dogs that remain the same as they ever were have this place a legend around its way. I love to stop in anytime I'm within 10-15 minutes of the area. Nana's offer's up a sweet combo deal that allows you to get one of their famous hot dogs as well as a mini beef and drink. You can go over to 'Beef With Hot' to check how their sandwich scored but I'll include here that their thinly sliced beef, which is homemade, is some of the best in Chicagoland and well worth the stop in for one.


Beef With Hot from Nana's (See how it scored HERE)

Then there's those dogs they do. Chicago is renowned as the best place anywhere for hot dog lovers such as myself and of course we got our own style, actually we got two. The Chicago style dog is a great, great creation but it's not the only way we make them here. My preferred style is the minimalist dog, which is what I grew up on eating Demon Dogs 5-7 times a week as a kid. The most famous place serving them these days is most likely Gene & Jude's in River Grove and as was already mentioned, Nana was Gene's daughter. So they got no problem making a classic version of "the other Chicago style hot dog". What makes this style so beloved by lifelong residents of the city is a combination of a couple of things.

a minimal amount of toppings available on your hot dog here

The first and most important part for making a perfect rendition is the dog itself. It's gotta be a Vienna Beef natural casing wiener. These all beef beauty's pack a nice beefy bite with a snap to them when you chomp in. Then they top the minimalist style dog with mustard, relish, chopped onions and sport peppers and stuff it inside a regular steamed hot dog bun and top all that with the other important part, the fresh cut fries. When you visit these famous minimalist style stands you'll see the workers cutting potatoes in the machine seen up above which are then twice fried to perfection and loaded onto your dog, almost like a topping. It's always standard they're included with the price which should never be more than $3. I always leave a few fries on when eating the dog. This my friends, is classic Chicago. No other city does it better.


Nana's Hot Dog with fresh cut fries

The Original Nana's
1102 East Irving Park Road
Streamwood, IL 60107
(630) 289-2226
Website

Annie's Jamaican Beef Patties

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

I recently got to spend an early afternoon learning how to make an old favorite of mine. Jamaican Beef Patties first won me over when I visited the island for the first time. The islands signature and most well known dish is jerk chicken but the patty plays an everyday roll in most locals diets. You can find the pastry's, traditionally filled with spiced ground beef, almost anywhere from the side of the road to a restaurant or the grocery store and of course bakeries too. They're quick, ready to eat and cheap and as long as you like a little kick, taste great. However the best beef patties I have ever had come from a beautiful Caucasian baker from the Bronx. Annie is her name and you may have had your soups at Toons.

A typical Jamaican lunch (chibbqking does Jamaica)

When I first tried Annie's Patties I was blown away. Never expecting that that there day I would taste the islands dancing the day away to dancehall in my mouth. Her miniature Patties came to be, not from a trip to the island, in fact Jamaica is still on her and her hubby's "to get too" list. They were made one day when she wanted to go back in time to grade school when Jamaican beef patties were served in the Bronx school cafeterias for lunch. Since she was already an amazing baker it took no time to perfect the beef patty. Lucky me! I got to learn how. Ja Live! Paaaaaty YEAH!


Pattie Dough ready to go (Please Note: Dough is best made ahead)

I have zero to little experience when it comes to baking. I've never had a big sweet tooth and it's more of a science than it is freestyle cooking. However if I get the chance to learn how to make one of my favorite treats, which includes spicy beef, then I'm willing to learn some tricks of the dough and oven trade to do so. It was actually super smooth and I may even go as far to say I could do these again without the help of the Pattie Queen, but probably not. If you have any prior experience baking and dough making you shouldn't have a problem with these top notch treats. So first up is the filling. Traditionally a spiced ground beef mixture is used and that's what I like best but the filling options are almost endless.

Ingredients for Ground Beef Filling
(Yield 75 mini Patties)

- 3 lbs ground beef
- 1 bunch of cilantro stems
- 6 stalks of green onion (finely chopped)
- 4 TBSP flour
- 1 TSP curry powder
- 1 Cup water
- 1 Cup Jerk Paste (Mild or Hot depending on preferred spice)

Essentially what you'll need

Directions

1) Start off by adding a little oil to the pan and then browning and draining all of the ground beef. Use a potato masher or something like a wooden spoon to crumble it into very a fine consistency.

2) When drained and crumbled add in the curry powder, cup of Jerk paste, cilantro stems, flour and then the cup of water and the green onions. Mush it all up until it blends as one and then cook it a little longer, browning it and set aside to cool once done.

The beef filling cooking

Next up was the dough. this is where I had no clue what was going on but I did get my hands dirty and learned some things that will come in handy next time I'm baking up some meat filled pastries. The dough is best made ahead and left to sit in the fridge for a little bit. That's what we did and the first batch was ready to be rolled while I made the second batch with her from scratch. Lets check out a step by step look at how it was done.

Ingredients for Pattie Dough
(Yield 75 mini Patties)

- 8 Cups Flour
- 1 TBSP Curry powder
- 1 TSP Salt
- 1 pound shortening
- 3/4 to 1 Cup of Water

1 Pack Goya
1 TSP Turmeric

Directions

1) Get your hands dirty and slowly start mixing the ingredients together until you have a nice ball of dough with the right consistency. Practice makes perfect. Add the water slowly allowing yourself to see and feel the consistency as you go, you cant take any out but you can always add more. Once ready give yourself a nice little space and sprinkle the area with flour and roll your dough.

Ready for rolling

2) Start from the middle and gently roll out from each side until its nice and thin. Flip the dough over each time you roll the pin from the middle out along each side.

Rollin' away

3) When the dough is stretched right to the point where any more and it'll pierce thru, your ready to cut it. Depending on what size you want them, take a cup or round cookie cutter and make circles of dough. Take the leftover dough and roll it together and repeat.

Ready for filling

4) Take the beef filling which should be at room temperature and also clumpy. This ensures that none falls out when biting into them, the beef sticks together. Use a small spoon to scoop out a mini meatball size worth and place each ball into a circle of dough as seen below.

Spicy beef filling


Ready to fold

5) Next your going to take the circle of dough with beef in it and fold them over. Use water to tighten them closed and then take a fork and press down making sure there are no air holes. Its gets easy after going thru a few. Make sure they're tightened otherwise they open during baking.

an unbaked beef pattie

Ready for the oven

6) Place your patties on a baking sheets with parchment paper and bake at 365 for 12-15 minutes (until golden brown) then serve. These make a great Super Bowl gameday snack and can be made ahead of time and reheated easily. I promise you wont have anyone that eats just one.

Please Note: Yes these will be the best beef patties you have had. I've had many and the ingredients here mold together perfectly and I love making them a little smaller so you can go thru a few. Do stay tuned, if like me, your scared of baking, you never know, a truck or store slanging these by the bag could come one day soon. Perfect munchies food.


Annie's Jamaican Beef Patties
________________________________________

See ya next time @chibbqking

Carniceria Ricardo

-Eating like a Mayan King in the Windy City

Those that love Mexican food and live in Chicago are lucky to do so. Whether you enjoy eating it out and whether that's the fancy high end or the low, low brow spots you love we got lot's. If you like to experiment in your kitchen and play around with recipes the Supermercados are as abundant as the taqueria's are and most of them have their own place you can eat at. The ingredients coming from the grocery store in almost all instances connected to each other so you can kill two birds with one stone and eat lunch while shopping for dinner needs. Always eat first before shopping. Today we head West on Diversey to a unique Supermercado Taqueria.


a locals favorite on Diversey in the Hermosa Neighborhood

I'll be the first to admit, not too many of these combo market/restaurants are different than one another, yeah the menus can vary but it's either the typical taco/torta/burrito menu or a cafeteria style line with stews and ready made meals like your at grandmas. But then at the same time, their almost always comforting, extremely filling, above average and have character to each their own. But what got Ricardo on my radar was their grilled chicken. The restaurant is located next door and connected to the grocery store. You can also enter the restaurant thru it's own door and you can see their awning with wood grilled chicken below.

Wood Grilled Chicken!? Sweet


As we enter

I was first rec'd Carnaceria Ricardo by Mike G from Sky Full of Bacon when he did a great round up of these Supermercado Taquerias over at LTH. It was an inspiring piece especially to someone like myself who will always try to stop in at as many of these as I can. Ricardo was named the favorite to that date. It wasn't just the food but the charm is what he said and I agree, when inside you can feel like you've stepped into Mexico. It's a popular neighborhood stop and one of their more popular ordered items is their wood grilled chicken adobo. No gas grills here, it's authentic, grilled with real wood and you just don't see this too often especially inside so when you do show some love. How can you not. Check out their setup below.

Wood Burning Grill

The menu is expansive and sitdown service is available but the chicken is what they boast about outside and it's what most people stopping thru for pickup are rolling in for. My visit was a couple months back but I got enough to feed three folks that can chow and couldn't believe the price, it was too cheap, I felt bad. The chicken being the highlight as advertised, it had some really nice wood flavor and was kicked up with the spice, it came grilled perfectly. Crispy skin, moist meat and plenty of warm corn tortilla's, grilled onions too.


Half of a Grilled Chicken Dinner (Rice, Beans and Fries included)

Since they grill up so much chicken they also have some specials like chicken tacos and flautas for $.99 which are popular with folks going into shop. These arent as good as the chicken dinner. The tacos were nice, they come with housemade salsa but the flautas are fried before and weren't crispy at all. But as cheap as they were I might even get a couple to chow on again if I ever stop in for some ingredients or a grilled chicken dinner. It's the places like Ricardo that keep Chicago running. I'm looking forward to exploring more of these Supermercado places this year.

Chicken Taco and Chicken Flautas

Entry into the Supermercado

Wood Grilled Chicken Adobo

Carniceria Ricardo
4419 W. Diversey Ave
Chicago, IL 60639
(773) 292-0400

Burger's, Pizza & Pasties up North

Eating like a local:
Regional food specialties
-Where WI meets MI in the U.P and the food they eat

Some chow from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan this past summer. I like to post about spots during there prime season, however. I can still share these spots here today since this area is also alive during winter with people skiing and snowmobiling. It really doesn't matter what season this area is a beautiful place with plenty of lively outdoor activities.


Where Wisconsin meet Michigan along Lake Michigan

The Pass-ty, Paste-e or whatever you call it is something I'm not sure why I like but I eat. Simple flavors and somewhat bland I still like a pastie once or twice a year when up that way. The breakfast ones if offered tend to be much better but both these places featured here today were without them on my visit. I stopped into the U.P Pasty Express when riding by while taking a cruise to Lake Superior from the Northwoods of WI. I guess the main reason I'll get a pastie is b/c of the reason they were made for the miners. They're fine if you eat them an hour or three after you get them and both these ones tried were eaten when I got a little hungry while along the lake.


Ironwood, MI

Miners special (beef, potatoes, carrots and rutabaga)

Well as seen in the pic above the potato to beef ratio is about 90% to 10 and the taste was so damn bland I used the ketchup it came with to liven it, I don't use that sweet shit on fries. I would of enjoyed it much more if I was working in a cave mining coal, starving hungry on the 2nd part of a double day/night shift. Dobber's was a place I stopped in at while up in Marinette, WI. This location was in Menominee, MI right over the WI/MI border. I liked theirs better than UP Pasty due to there being a tad more beef and enhanced flavor with the side of gravy it came with. I don't know why but I'll probably order a pastie the next time I pass a place in Yooper Land that sells them. I just hope they arent out of breakfast ones.

Dobber's Pasties (Multiple U.P locations)

An Old Family Vaca favorite

Next stop was a place we found while driving along the lake near the WI/MI border last Spring. Jozwiak's looked like a classic Midwest tavern from the outside. The fact they've been around since 1948 and that there was a nice pizza aroma outside along with plenty of cars in their lot made it a stop despite not having much hunger in me.



Menominee, MI

Oh boy, whats that? Gonna have to try one of them too now...

Well if there was any night to stop in when I wasn't all that hungry, the night we went was it. It turns out the Wabash is their famous burger and on this night the special was a small, one topping pizza, two Wabash's and two drinks for $11 and those drinks can be beers. Not bad especially since the other fellow I was with, an amateur when it comes to chowing with the King, wasn't able to withstand any more food after the order was placed and thus left before it arrived.

The "Wabash"

Which left me with two burgers, two beers and a small pizza pie. Not bad for cheap tavern eats. The Wabash is a double cheeseburger served in the same way of many places in Wisconsin along Lake Michigan such as Mickey Lu's (report coming soon) in neighboring Marinette. I didn't see a real charcoal grill on display but the patties are charred and placed inside a crunchy toasted semel hard roll and topped with a nice chunk of butter and slice of Wisconsin cheddar. Pickles, ketchup, mustard, onions and relish are your options.


Two all beef charcoal grilled patties inside a crunchy toasted semel hard roll and lots of butter

The pizza was also pretty good especially for the price. 'The brothers three' was a place started in Marinette, WI in 1972 which was started by The Brothers Three who's original place is in in Cicero, IL. So they say the pizza made at Jozwiak's today is the same recipe the family used in 1962 at their pizza place in Cicero and the other WI locations. Good tavern thin sausage pie, worth the stop on a trip into the UP thru Wisconsin with the fam or friends.


"the brothers three" sausage pizza from Jozwiak's

U.P Pasty Express
1310 East Cloverland Drive
Ironwood, MI 49938-1606
(906) 932-4414

Dobber's Pasties

Jozwiak's Bar & Grill
1010 16th Avenue
Menominee, MI 49858-2854
(906) 863-2229
Website

La Tacorea

-Grubbing in Chicago
New to the 'Scene'

I have a couple new places to post about located on Belmont between Sheffield and Clark streets right off the Red Line. Korean Taco's burst onto the scene a few years back in Los Angeles. The fusion tacos became a popular on the food truck scene giving yet another example of the good that comes out of America and it's diverse backgrounds. In case your a food fan that's been living in a cave these are actually more Korean than anything ingredients wise, it just all goes into a tortilla so thus they're called Korean tacos. In Chicago we only have three spots that I know of serving Korean tacos with the newest of the three being La Tacorea.


Newly opened on Belmont just West of Clark Street

La Tacorea had the awning on their new place up for a while before they actually opened so I passed by a few times and it stayed fresh in my mind and since it's not far from Lincoln Park I got to stop in eventually a little while after they opened. It's a son teamed up with this mother and the menu is pretty simple. They offer the namesake tacos which come with the options of bulgogi (thinly sliced ribeye), short rib, chicken, shrimp and tofu. On my first visit the chicken looked promising and I went with that inside a burrito.

Korean BBQ Burrito

I'm not a big burrito boy but must say I enjoyed this one for what it was. The chicken wasn't dry which is the main reason I usually don't get chicken as my filling. It was well marinated and chopped up nicely into perfect size chunks. Along with the chicken they threw rice inside the tortilla as well as a bunch of other options of your choice including the Korean loved kim chi. The real stunner though when it comes to these are the homemade sauce they offer with them. Its a Asian/Mexican fusion like the rest of menu and really hits the spot. Get extra on the side.


La Tacorea Honey Soy Chicken Burrito

Then there's those tacos. Here they offer "jumbo tacos". Unless your a big chow king odds are one might be enough for you. They use flour tortillas as opposed to the other Korean taco spots I've been to which use corn. I think the flour are good for here because they fill the tortillas up, stuffing an entire meal inside and they hold up well. The owner told me his moms bulgogi is where its at, so I tried a sliced ribeye taco and came away impressed. This was the best bulgogi I've had used as a taco filling yet. The best part being how juicy it was, which was created by it sitting in a bunch of its own juices. So in the end yes Mexican-Asian fusion is and or was trendy but also can be very tasty. I just wish they'd infuse more Mexican into them aside from the tortillas.


Bulgogi Taco from La Tacorea

La Tacorea
847 W. Belmont
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 549-3500
Website

Honey 1 BBQ

-Grubbing in Chicago
Where the locals eat.

Happy New Year and cheers to a spectacular 2012. Year number five promises to be a chowing adventure of biblical proportions here at S'C'&C. I cant believe the eating hasn't stopped since Sept. of 2008. In fact there's longtime favorites that I still haven't posted about and places I went to a few years ago that still haven't made there appearance on here. When I first started using the internet and LTHforum as a tool to find the best most locally loved food stops I had never been to, Honey 1 BBQ was one of the first places I tried out.


a locals favorite on Western just south of Fullerton

Honey 1 has long been a favorite of Chicago BBQ aficionado/extraordinaire Gary Wiviott aka Da Wiv. It was his love for Robert Adams (proprietor) smoked pork that put Honey 1 in my rotation. It's nice to have a real deal no frills wood smoked BBQ joint on the Northside and I know there's plenty of regular customers who agree with that. The ribs are very good here but my go to order is always the tips/links combo. Great gameday eats and perfect to bring to a party. Honey 1 will set you up with whatever amount you need.

Bucket of Rib Tips

It's only fitting that I quote G Wiv since he described it best over on LTH. "Robert Adams is a man in tune with his BBQ pit...The perfect marriage of wood smoke and pork with just the right amount of chew, toothsome but never tough, moist, flavorful meat" Mr. Adams and his son use a real Chicago style aquarium smoker and when you catch them at the perfect time this is some of the best BBQ the city offers. The hot links have the perfect amount of smokiness, nicely grounded with some crunch on the outside. If Gary's description didn't get you hungry for some BBQ then you just don't have the love for it others do. So there's nothing more I can say except check them out.


Rib Tips & Hot Links Combo

Honey 1 BBQ
2241 N Western ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 227-5130
Website