LTH Home

Lunch in the Loop: Trial by Ordeal

Lunch in the Loop: Trial by Ordeal
  • Forum HomePost Reply BackTop
  • Lunch in the Loop: Trial by Ordeal

    Post #1 - July 16th, 2004, 11:50 am
    Post #1 - July 16th, 2004, 11:50 am Post #1 - July 16th, 2004, 11:50 am
    Lunch in the Loop: Trial by Ordeal
    Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes you take lots of antacids


    Yesterday it was my turn to do my civic duty and appear on the 17th floor of the Daley Center to report for jury duty. Somehow, despite having a driver's licence and being a registered voter, I had hitherto fallen through the cracks, as it were, of this part of the judicial system, and so this was my very first appearance for service at the circuit court of the County of Cook. Having had a late hockey game the previous night (followed by a few libations in honour of Nike-- the goddess, not the company), I was a little short on sleep but vaguely looking forward to a new and possibly interesting experience with the law and a relatively rare chance to eat lunch out in the Loop to boot.

    My experience as a juror was the same, it seems, as that of most others: the utter and complete tedium that is naturally induced by any kind of 'waiting room' and cannot be relieved even by the most engaging reading material. Many are called, few are chosen, most struggle to find a comfortable position on a hard chair for some five or six hours...

    At the close of the first waiting session came the lunch break and, armed with a sheet of paper which Amata had kindly furnished me with a few recommendations from Chowhounds for nearby troughs, I set out, first to examine the stalls of the Daley Plaza Farmers' market, then to stretch out muscles and finally to feed.

    I ended up going to Haifa on Wells by Randolph (165 N. Wells). The recommendation for this place was specifically for the fresh, real-fleshmeat (i.e., not processed) turkey. Having had some time back a roasted turkey sandwich at a similarly conceived and named luncheonette* on Michigan just south of the old library, this option seemed a good one and as I approached the place, seeing a banner hanging from the scaffolding outside the restaurant, I decided quickly that I would take the turkey special: a roast turkey sandwich with a soda and bag of chips for $5.

    But once I entered, I started to experience conflicting urges... The confused babble of angelic daemons and daemonic angels rose up in my head and with that I became filled with prandial angst... Finally, some of the individual voices in my head started to become clear... One said "Forsake all fleshmeat; turn thine eyes instead to the fruits of the Garden of Eden; wash the blood from thy hands and order the Baba Ghanouj and Falafel..." Another voice in my head then spoke up, saying "Be not a fool; act upon the sage advice of others; turn to the turkey for sound nourishment..." And then a third did say "Antonius, be not Quixotic and instead take this opportunity to sample the new, the exotic; indulge thy whim..."

    Just at that moment, I realised the ordering line had moved along far more quickly than I had anticipated and I now stood before the steam table, behind which glowered a large and burly man, wearing surgical gloves and menacingly waving about a pair of kitchen tongs... "Next order... NEXT ORDER!", he bellowed, and for a moment I froze, my eyes darting about, from the terrifying aspect of the man with the tongs to a steaming tray of nice looking roasted turkey to the menu board above the counter... Tong-man bellowed again: "That's YOU, What's your ORDER!"

    At that instant, out of the roaring jumble of mumbling voices in my head, one arose, seemingly seizing control of my articulatory apparatus and I blurted out: "The Chicken shwarma plate!" and as those words passed by my teeth and lips I knew that it had been the daemon Pazuzu whose words I had spoken... I knew then, as I watched Tong-man fill up the compartments of a large styrofoam box with rice and salad and hummus and... chicken shwarma... yes, I knew, I would dine with the devil...

    The salad was tired, some leaves brown on the edges, the hummus strangely strong in flavour... too salty and garlicky, I think... the one falafel piece, plucked out of a bin in the steam table, was okay but no longer fresh... half a piece of pita... The shwarma meat had been spooned over the ample portion of rice and so, independent assessment of the rice is not really possible... The shwarma/rice combo was greasy and the meat was hyper-seasoned, spicy with very strong garlic and all-spice edges... also kind of salty... I, mangiatore forte, ate about half of Tong-man's offerings, perhaps a little more...

    *****

    As I took up again my post in the jurors' waiting room, I knew I would pay for my sins... The greasy, spicy shwarma would revisit me many times over the next several hours, resisting the chemical counter-measures which I applied liberally to the situation... one antacid, two antacid, three antacid more...

    *****

    There is a lucky person out there who could have gotten me on their jury, filled with the bitter bile and black humour caused by my culinary concupiscence, my surrender to the daemon in my head, and the gnawing regret for having passed up the turkey, which looked like it was good, sound nourishment...

    Oh Pazuzu, thou art terrible.

    Antonius


    *The word luncheonette has fallen out of fashion, a victim of the vast changes in culinary habits and especially the pseudo-up-scaling of tastes in this country over the past twenty or so years. But it is a good word and I will do what I can to bring it back into use.
    _________________
    Last edited by Antonius on July 16th, 2004, 12:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
    Alle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
    - aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
    ________
    Na sir is na seachain an cath.
  • Post #2 - July 16th, 2004, 12:38 pm
    Post #2 - July 16th, 2004, 12:38 pm Post #2 - July 16th, 2004, 12:38 pm
    Should have gone with the turkey.
  • Post #3 - July 17th, 2004, 12:02 am
    Post #3 - July 17th, 2004, 12:02 am Post #3 - July 17th, 2004, 12:02 am
    . . . turkey, yes, the turkey, my friend--in a pita with hummus, jerusalem salad, white sauce, and giardinera.

    And . . . the lentil soup there is to die for.
  • Post #4 - July 17th, 2004, 10:35 am
    Post #4 - July 17th, 2004, 10:35 am Post #4 - July 17th, 2004, 10:35 am
    While Antonius was walking over to Randolph Towers from the courthouse, I was hosting a staff and board lunch up on the 24th floor, catered by Haifa. They gave us a whole turkey (and they don't cook any small turkeys), a big pan of rice, another big pan of hummous (that's a lot of hummous), 40 pieces of falafel, a tray of salad, a couple of bags of pita, and a pint each of tahini and salad dressing for $135. It fed 25 of us and could have easily stretched to 10 more. As it was, we had plenty of everything except the falafel left over for lunch Friday.

    As I've previously mentioned, I eat lunch at Haifa almost every day. It's not in my top 10 Middle Eastern restaurants, and I don't think it's even as good as the Middle Eastern in the basement of the Thompson Center (which would have been closer to the courthouse). But I'm lazy, and it's in the building. My usual is the chicken kabob on salad, with extra onion and tomato, and with tahini if I'm feeling extravagant or my own diet dressing if I'm not. The tong man knows me and although his voice remains brusque, my daily dining entitles me to a smile as well. Besides the chicken kabob and the turkey I can recommend the kefta kabob. Sometimes the soup is, as Paul says, to die for. Othertimes its an inedible watery mess. But the schwarma? Well, now Antonious, and everyone else, knows better.
  • Post #5 - July 17th, 2004, 11:32 am
    Post #5 - July 17th, 2004, 11:32 am Post #5 - July 17th, 2004, 11:32 am
    Ann:

    Thanks for elaborating on Haifa... I wonder too if perhaps my less than optimal experience was in part due to the strain on their operations imposed by the need to fill the large catering order :) ...

    It also sounds as though my impressions of the chicken shwarma were not wholly inconsistent with those of others... I wish I could have eaten the rice free of the unpleasant intenseness of the seasoning of the shwarma...

    To you and all others I pose this question: Is the place on Michigan Avenue, north of the Art Institute but south of the Cultural Center, operated by the same folks? I think the name of that place is 'Jaffa' and they too serve fresh roasted turkey (as I mentioned in my post, I once had a turkey sandwich at the Michigan Ave. luncheonette and it was really good). Or are the similarities of the two places attributable to them both just reflecting a style of luncheonette that's popular in Israel (I believe I heard "Tong-man" and the woman assisting him quietly exchanging brief remarks in Modern Hebrew). But that being said, there are some obvious differences between the two: Jaffa is more sandwich oriented and features bagels, Haifa more oriented toward Middle Eastern food and thus -- setting aside the turkey-twist -- in ways resembles more the presumably Jordanian luncheonette 'Petra' in the neighbourhood of the Sears Tower.

    In any event, I'm willing to visit Haifa again, but must remember to wear the appropriate amulets to keep away Pazuzu and other evil spirits and also to make up my mind well in advance of arriving at the steam table and the dread presence of Tong-man.

    Antonius
    Last edited by Antonius on July 17th, 2004, 12:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
    Alle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
    - aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
    ________
    Na sir is na seachain an cath.
  • Post #6 - July 17th, 2004, 11:41 am
    Post #6 - July 17th, 2004, 11:41 am Post #6 - July 17th, 2004, 11:41 am
    Haifa at least used to serve bagels.. but yes, it's more middle eastern focused.

    On haifa's carryout menus I never saw any reference to Jaffa, so I think they're unrelated. There is also a Haifa Cafe (same owners) somewhere in Indiana. Indianapolis, I think...

    -ed
    Ed Fisher
    my chicago food photos

    RIP LTH.
  • Post #7 - November 30th, 2006, 2:13 pm
    Post #7 - November 30th, 2006, 2:13 pm Post #7 - November 30th, 2006, 2:13 pm
    Does anyone mind if I bump a thread from 18 months ago? Or is that a netiquette no-no?

    Jimthebeerguy and I ate here for lunch today. Our actual intended destination was "AsiaGoExpress," but we left to ditch it for the Burrito place next door, and when we stepped outside to do that, Jim saw the Haifa sign. That was a no-brainer, so we crossed the street right away.

    I got the chicken shwarma, and Jim got the beef shwarma & chicken kebab. I thought my chicken shwarma was good - at first. But after a few bites to sate my hunger, I realized it wasn't good at all. Well, it wasn't bad. But not good, either.

    The "salad" was a pile of shredded lettuce, no seasoning. The dressing options were unimaginative, so I put hot sauce and tzitzki (sp?) on my lettuce shreds, and wound up lumping that into a pile on top of the chicken and rice and hummus.

    I kept thinking longingly of the chicken pita sandwich my son Max had ordered at Pita Inn when we first visited it a few weeks ago. So moist and flavorful!

    Then Jim said, "So when's the next time we're going to Hyderabad House?"
    I laughed and said, "TONIGHT!" and he laughed. Then I said, "but don't forget we need to go to a hot dog joint soon, because I've been craving those lately."
    He asked, "Which one did you want to go to?"
    I said, "What was the name of that one place....? Not Superdawg, but...?"
    He said, "Hot Doug's?"
    "No, the other one."
    "Chubby Wiener?"
    "No, the other one."
    "Wolfy's?"
    "No, the other one."
    (I still can't remember the name of the place, but it's near Pratt & Western, that much I know!)

    OK, so at least now, having read this thread, I know what to order the next time at Haifa. Turkey sandwich & lentil soup it is!
    "Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you want and let the food fight it out inside."
    -Mark Twain
  • Post #8 - November 30th, 2006, 3:56 pm
    Post #8 - November 30th, 2006, 3:56 pm Post #8 - November 30th, 2006, 3:56 pm
    Saint Pizza wrote:Does anyone mind if I bump a thread from 18 months ago? Or is that a netiquette no-no?

    No, not in the least. Though, in my opinion, it's a good idea to use the name of the restaurant you are speaking about in the post, especially if 18-months has elapsed. Though, in this instance, atypically, there was not much thread drift.
    Saint Pizza wrote:(I still can't remember the name of the place, but it's near Pratt & Western, that much I know!)

    U Lucky Dawg
    6821 N. Western Ave.
    Chicago, IL 60645
    773-274-3652 U
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #9 - November 30th, 2006, 4:03 pm
    Post #9 - November 30th, 2006, 4:03 pm Post #9 - November 30th, 2006, 4:03 pm
    I'm not entirely sure where this is all going, but I do know that I've stopped going to Haifa for lunch. My new Mediterranean lunch place of choice (in the Loop) is Taza. I find the food there to be significantly better and fresher than Haifa.

    Taza
    176 N Franklin St
    (312) 201-9885
    -Josh

    I've started blogging about the Stuff I Eat
  • Post #10 - November 30th, 2006, 4:28 pm
    Post #10 - November 30th, 2006, 4:28 pm Post #10 - November 30th, 2006, 4:28 pm
    G Wiv wrote:U Lucky Dawg

    by jingo, that's it! Thanks G Wiv!

    jesteinf wrote:My new Mediterranean lunch place of choice (in the Loop) is Taza.


    Thanks for the heads up - we're always looking for good and new and cheap places to eat downtown. What do you usually order at Taza? Anything that someone should avoid, or anything that's particularly good?
    "Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you want and let the food fight it out inside."
    -Mark Twain
  • Post #11 - November 30th, 2006, 4:35 pm
    Post #11 - November 30th, 2006, 4:35 pm Post #11 - November 30th, 2006, 4:35 pm
    I usually go with either the chicken shwarma or the gyro plate. Or you can get a combo with both. Get a side of hot sauce and you're good to go.
    -Josh

    I've started blogging about the Stuff I Eat
  • Post #12 - November 30th, 2006, 4:54 pm
    Post #12 - November 30th, 2006, 4:54 pm Post #12 - November 30th, 2006, 4:54 pm
    Saint Pizza (thread drift warning):

    As a fellow Budlong Woodian (Budlongian Wooder?), I would recommend that you can get your hot dog fix and kicks on Foster Avenue, just east of Kedzie, at Charcoal Delites (aka The Pit).

    Theirs is a char dog, with toppings and bun which are of the Chicago hot dog school. They are consistently quite good.

    One might even opt for the jumbo 1/4 pound version....(Wade Roberts, based on the moster 1 pound burger he ordered there, might opt for 4 of their jumbos, stuffed into one bun).
  • Post #13 - November 30th, 2006, 5:00 pm
    Post #13 - November 30th, 2006, 5:00 pm Post #13 - November 30th, 2006, 5:00 pm
    Antonius,

    I really liked, "...sage advice...turn to the turkey..." A glancing, almost Shakesperian pun.
    "Strange how potent cheap music is."
  • Post #14 - November 30th, 2006, 5:39 pm
    Post #14 - November 30th, 2006, 5:39 pm Post #14 - November 30th, 2006, 5:39 pm
    jesteinf wrote:I'm not entirely sure where this is all going, but I do know that I've stopped going to Haifa for lunch. My new Mediterranean lunch place of choice (in the Loop) is Taza. I find the food there to be significantly better and fresher than Haifa.

    Taza
    176 N Franklin St
    (312) 201-9885


    Is this Taza the same as the restaurant that used to be on Wabash some years back? Their hook was fresh roasted chicken, with mostly Mediterranean side dishes. I think they had aspirations to chain-dom, but the concept (Or at least their execution of it.) never took off. They actually were really good early on. Then quality slipped drastically over time and they closed.

    Just wondering.
  • Post #15 - November 30th, 2006, 5:43 pm
    Post #15 - November 30th, 2006, 5:43 pm Post #15 - November 30th, 2006, 5:43 pm
    I've not been to the new Taza, but based on the descriptions, there appears to be no connection. The best part about the old Taza was the freshly baked pitas, and you're right, when the place first opened, it was quite good, but it was clear they sold it at some point and it went downhill quickly.

    Jonah
  • Post #16 - December 1st, 2006, 12:10 pm
    Post #16 - December 1st, 2006, 12:10 pm Post #16 - December 1st, 2006, 12:10 pm
    scatteredshadows wrote:Is this Taza the same as the restaurant that used to be on Wabash some years back? Their hook was fresh roasted chicken, with mostly Mediterranean side dishes.


    nope, completely different taza. though i liked the chicken roaster, i always found their slogan weird..."taza means fresh" (which while true in hindi, made absolutely no sense given than there wasn't a single thing about them to suggest the subcontinent). the spanish version, cup, didn't work for them either, so we always suggested that fresh was a mistranslation of their native phrase "broken spork"
  • Post #17 - December 1st, 2006, 12:40 pm
    Post #17 - December 1st, 2006, 12:40 pm Post #17 - December 1st, 2006, 12:40 pm
    hanse_coloursmay wrote:nope, completely different taza. though i liked the chicken roaster, i always found their slogan weird..."taza means fresh" (which while true in hindi, made absolutely no sense given than there wasn't a single thing about them to suggest the subcontinent).
    I believe Taza also means fresh in Arabic. I think the place on Wabash was the only (very distant) US outpost of a Saudi Arabian chain called Al Tazaj. Their website says the minimum capital investment for a franchise is $533,000 to $1.3 million or more. No wonder there aren't many of them around.

    http://www.altazaj.com.sa/english.html
  • Post #18 - December 3rd, 2006, 12:01 pm
    Post #18 - December 3rd, 2006, 12:01 pm Post #18 - December 3rd, 2006, 12:01 pm
    mrbarolo wrote:Antonius,

    I really liked, "...sage advice...turn to the turkey..." A glancing, almost Shakesperian pun.


    8)

    I'm glad you liked that, mrbarolo. There is in a more general way a strong influence in that post from Marlowe, one of my favourite playwrights.

    I had completely forgotten about both ordeal and post and it was interesting to reread the piece now; in the giddy days after the escape from under the cruel yoke of the House of Leff, one wrote with a sense of freedom and joy. The good old days.

    Antonius
    Alle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
    - aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
    ________
    Na sir is na seachain an cath.
  • Post #19 - September 30th, 2007, 4:21 pm
    Post #19 - September 30th, 2007, 4:21 pm Post #19 - September 30th, 2007, 4:21 pm
    What, no mention of Chicken Planet, next to Harold Washington library?
  • Post #20 - September 30th, 2007, 6:16 pm
    Post #20 - September 30th, 2007, 6:16 pm Post #20 - September 30th, 2007, 6:16 pm
    The Great Danton wrote:What, no mention of Chicken Planet, next to Harold Washington library?


    Is it worthy of mention? If so, is that because it's worth visiting? or worth avoiding?
    Joe G.

    "Whatever may be wrong with the world, at least it has some good things to eat." -- Cowboy Jack Clement
  • Post #21 - September 30th, 2007, 6:48 pm
    Post #21 - September 30th, 2007, 6:48 pm Post #21 - September 30th, 2007, 6:48 pm
    germuska wrote:
    The Great Danton wrote:What, no mention of Chicken Planet, next to Harold Washington library?


    Is it worthy of mention? If so, is that because it's worth visiting? or worth avoiding?


    Chicken Planet maintains a loyal following among some co-workers of mine.

    Me, I find it to be a hair better than awful. I'd rather eat at Boston Market.

    Best,
    Michael
  • Post #22 - September 30th, 2007, 7:04 pm
    Post #22 - September 30th, 2007, 7:04 pm Post #22 - September 30th, 2007, 7:04 pm
    The Great Danton wrote:What, no mention of Chicken Planet, next to Harold Washington library?


    Ok, I admit it. I eat at Chicken Planet at least twice during the work week.

    For $7.25, you get half a chicken, rice (or nasty mashed potatoes but don't do it), pita, and a soft drink. The chicken isn't much better or worse than other chicken shacks that exist throughout the city. The true secret to these types of places is your timing. I try hard to eat at Chicken Planet only between 10:45-11:15 when the first cooked chickens of the day are still somewhat moist. If you wait much beyond that and get one, they become dried out.

    After noon, it's a complete gamble.

    No doubt, the real selling point of Chicken Planet, though, is their salsa. Without it, I'm sure I wouldn't be going nearly as often.

    This is my absolute go-to work lunch place even though "the tallest midget in the circus" theory is in effect for a south loop lunch.



    Chicken Planet
    21 W Jackson Blvd
    (312) 360-1409
  • Post #23 - September 30th, 2007, 10:39 pm
    Post #23 - September 30th, 2007, 10:39 pm Post #23 - September 30th, 2007, 10:39 pm
    I too work in the South Loop area. I have tried Chicken Planet and while its okay, it did not ring my bell exactly. My lunch places of choice are the cafeteria in the Board of Trade Building, also the restaurant Ceres (good Asian Chicken salad), the Berhoff (again good Asian chicken salad), and Cavanaugh's in the Monodnock building. Haifa which is across from the prison is opening up in the Metcalf building "soon". I have not found their food to be very compelling but it will be a nice choice to have closer by.
    Toria

    "I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it" - As You Like It,
    W. Shakespeare
  • Post #24 - October 1st, 2007, 4:25 am
    Post #24 - October 1st, 2007, 4:25 am Post #24 - October 1st, 2007, 4:25 am
    I am also a big fan of Chicken Planet, although I have not been there early in the day, usually opting to leave for lunch around 1:00. I even ran into Pigmon there one time, although I usually bring my chicken back to the office and eat it there.

    It is a crap shoot as to whether your chicken will be moist or dry, but I've been lucky more often than not. I usually opt for the quarter chicken with rice and I agree, the salsa really makes the meal. Since my office supplies free beverages, my meal comes to under $5 and it's hard to beat for a reasonably healthy lunch in the loop.

    Suzy
    " There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life."
    - Frank Zappa
  • Post #25 - October 4th, 2007, 10:47 am
    Post #25 - October 4th, 2007, 10:47 am Post #25 - October 4th, 2007, 10:47 am
    oasis cafe
    17 S. Wabash
    http://www.oasiscafe1.com/

    is wonderful! it used to be in the back of a jewelry store but is now in the Ivan Reis (sp?) tobacco shop building food court
    great hummus and falafel
    spiced chicken in phylo
    fine shawermas also
    and hot tea is a nicely spiced surprise
  • Post #26 - October 4th, 2007, 10:56 am
    Post #26 - October 4th, 2007, 10:56 am Post #26 - October 4th, 2007, 10:56 am
    also coco's famous fried lobster, 426 S Clark St, 312-786-2070; Mon–Fri 11am–7pm, has increased it's formerly very cheap prices, but still has great wings, and very good burgers. the soul food specials are hit or miss. i usually stick with the wings.
  • Post #27 - October 4th, 2007, 8:06 pm
    Post #27 - October 4th, 2007, 8:06 pm Post #27 - October 4th, 2007, 8:06 pm
    This question touches far too close to my own predicament. I have just been chosen to sit on a jury for a 2 week trial! :( However, I just noticed that Bombon Cafe has opened up a new branch on Washington, just east of Wells -- not, certainly, the cheapest place to eat, but the food is good.
    Robert
  • Post #28 - October 18th, 2007, 1:01 pm
    Post #28 - October 18th, 2007, 1:01 pm Post #28 - October 18th, 2007, 1:01 pm
    A couple of new spots that I've tried in the last month or so.

    Polito's (sp?) - Chicken place that has opened on Wells between Washington and Madison in the old Harold's Chicken Shack space. Choice of grilled or rotisserie chicken, served as either sandwiches or accompanied by rice & salad. Granted I went on the first day, but I wasn't impressed. The menu also has a mole dish, but I didn't try it. I just went with a quarter grilled chicken with rice and salad.

    Roly Poly - Located in the alley off of LaSalle (between Madison and Monroe). It's right across the alley from Burrito Beach. Large menu of wraps. I went the with "Key West Cuban", which was actually pretty tasty (pork tenderloin, ham, turkey, melted swiss/American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle - with the whole thing heated up in a sandwich press). Today was only their second day open, so it was a bit of a clusterf**k, but hopefully that will improve. I also had a small potato soup which was very good. Wraps are around $6, which is actually a pretty good price since they are about 12 inches long.
    -Josh

    I've started blogging about the Stuff I Eat

Contact

About

Team

Advertize

Close

Chat

Articles

Guide

Events

more