Data Points in Albany Park - Al Amira

One meal can't claim to be a substantive sample, but on the basis of our dinner at Al Amira, the new place that replaced 24hr Mataam al Mataam at the corner of Lawrence and Kedzie, it's a welcome addition to the neighborhood. The menu seems to be a replay of the menu at the former Iraqi Kebab house, if memory serves. "Iraqi" kufta, half-chicken with malakhan, mosul kubbe, grilled pomfret. It wouldn't surprise me if it was the same owner/chef, although the waitress maintained that the restaurant was new. They bring in lavash from Tannourine next door, and have seriously improved the interior of that space. Less cabbie dispatch waiting room, more upscale cafe.

I stuck to the basics last night - decent lemony baba ghnouz, passable hummus, very tasty kufta kebab, with pleasant crispy brown bits and an unbelievable mound of buttery saffron rice. K got a felafel sandwich the texture of which which suffered from sitting on the table too long, but was very "tasty". White bean soup was under-salted but good once corrected. Pickles were a special highlight - serious garlic tang and chunks of carrot and cuke to compliment the usual turnips (or are they radishes????)

Service is friendly: our waitress seemed never to have tried the special (malakhan) and enlisted help from the kitchen to explain what it was (apparently a sumac condiment served atop rotisserie chicken). This is another link to the Iraqi Kebab House, which on my one visit featured exclusively non-knowledgeable waitstaff.

I'll be back to try the rest soon enough.

Al-Amira
3200 W Lawrence Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625

Sounds great - what's the price point over there look like? Been spending a lot of time in Albany Park these days, and I'd like to stop for dinner next time I'm at Al-Khayem for pitas.

Dinner for two with more food than we could consume was $23.00 + tip. I'd put the price point between Salam and Semiramis.

Despite the economic downturn the Lawrence/Kedzie ME scene is booming - something I welcome wholeheartedly. Zahrat el Madaen opened a bit north near Montrose (across from Feyrous pastries), Baladna opened in the former Iraqi Kabab place (it's owned by some owners who jumped ship from Salaam and is quite good based on the meals I have had there), Mataam al Mataam thankfully reopened, and George Kabob is bumping at 2am on a Saturday night. All in all, things are good for the north-side ME scene.

An observation - I can't verify, but I imagine the thriving Iraqi/Assyrian restaurant scene might have to do with the massive influx of refugees that were slated to come to Chicago in late 2008 going forward.

And a question - any recon on Zahrat al Madaen or Baladna??? Someone wanna chime in?? I will try to get over to them ASAP.

I tried Zahrat, and then ran into Sula on my way out and some of what he reports (about the owner leaving things to the Mexican guy who didn't know what baba-ghanoush was) is what I mentioned to him then and, to judge by his evident multiple visits, remains a systemic problem. I think the place has promise, but it needs to be run like someone's life depends on it, not like a hobby in between cell phone calls.

Seth Zurer wrote:One meal can't claim to be a substantive sample, but on the basis of our dinner at Al Amira, the new place that replaced 24hr Mataam al Mataam at the corner of Lawrence and Kedzie, it's a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Welcome addition to the neighborhood indeed, in particular for the fact Al Amira is 24/7.

We were there at 1am and Al Amira, which as Seth mentions is more comfortable cafe than rough and ready cabbie joint, and service/environment was smooth as if mid afternoon. Friendly knowledgeable waitress, owner, at least I suspect it was the owner, happy to chat.

Kubba, dense potato dough w/ground beef interior in a rich tomato based sauce and unidentified green leafy vegetable, was the daily special. Firm starchy dough, dense, tasty, gnocchi on steroids. Served with Kubba Mosul (Fried), similar to Sahara Kabob.

Lentil soup, light puree, full flavor, needed a bit of salt. White Bean, rich full mouth coating, white beans tough chewy outer skin with empty interior, as if older beans were simmered and simmered in an effort to tenderize resulting in the interior cooking out. I very much enjoyed the soup and the interior starch from the beans may have contributed to the encompassing effect of the broth.

Chicken looked a star spinning and glistening on a rotisserie, has-been on the table, slightly dry, lacking in flavor. Accompanying mound of rice almost made up for the chickie, fluffy, buttery, delicious, even my carb avoiding dining companion could not resist its charms.

Baba ganush was satisfactory, appreciated the olives ringing the plate, found the flavor slightly washed out. Liked the hummus, also ringed with olives, though could have used more tahini for my taste, and purists may be off-put by the sight grittiness. Pita is of the flat Lebanese type.

Open 24-hours a day, 7-days a week Al Amira, along with Tabaq, are solid contenders in the reasonable option for lunch, lifesaver at 2am Chicago landscape.

Enjoy,
Gary

Al-Amira
3200 W Lawrence Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625
773-267-0333

Tabaq
1245 N. Clybourn
Chicago, IL 60610
312-944-1245

In a post on SSyal Ginseng House, the formidable GWiv refers back to an RST prose poem on that site which shall not be named about the braised lamb head at George's Kebab on W. Lawrence.

Last night, Kerensa and I worked to balance our tiredness with the urge to celebrate the news of the maleness of our progeny. Consensus: walk to the bank and deposit a check, then walk to a random place in the nabe to which we had not eaten, before settling in for the night in front Joaquin Phoenix & Reese Witherspoon walking the line in hdmi-upsampled splendor. George's fit the bill.

Strange place, I think. Not my favorite meal ever, but the joint has a certain rhythm; a certain feel that, in retrospect, was very comforting.

Like so many other of the middle-eastern places in our neighborhood, George's sports a buxom Russian waitress (I shall call her Svetlana), tasty pickles and a cone of shawarma spinning placidly, tanning on its electric-powered spit. No pacha on a Friday, but Svetlana zaftigly insisted that the lambs-neck special was the next best thing. "It's the only thing I eat here," she told me, "It takes no time to prepare - it's always ready. I love it".

So lambs-neck is what I had. It was ... fine. Underseasoned but very tender. Served with a generous mound of rice, a tasty tomato/potato soup and a bowl of limp salad. I liked it well enough, but I kept having a nagging sense of deja vu; a memory of a meal that was not middle-eastern. It hit me as a I teased apart the vertebrae on my plate: this tasted almost exactly like the pork neck at Edna's.

Kerensa's chicken sandwich came on a puffy loaf (not pita) and was topped with gently pickled torshi. She seemed more excited about the yoghurt salad than the sammy.

Chai came of its own accord. Svetlana beamed when I reported that I liked my necks. George came by to wish us well before giving an a-salaam-aleikhum to the toddler at the next table. A regular of Svetlana's from another restaurant who had recently lost a lot of weight stopped in for a meal after spying her decolletage through the window. She seemed genuinely happy to see him; they caught up on all the friends that they used to eat lunch with. An addled fellow came in and couldn't understand why the olives on his sandwich weren't pitted. Al Jazeera hummed on the big screen TV; iranian puppets entertained bored-looking children; the two guys at the counter talked politics or TIFs in Arabic with George.

And the cone kept spinning, round and round. It seemed like it'd been spinning forever. And perhaps it always will be.

Congratulations, Seth!

Zahrat el Madaen looked dead when I passed by Thursday around 1 pm and 7:30 pm well as this afternoon. All signs have been removed from the windows, which previously had a lot of them. Signs promoting fajitas probably indicated things were not going too well although perhaps not too surprising with a Hispanic cook. However, after the bits Mike G linked to upthread, failure is not surprising. This place seemed ill-conceived from the start.

Rather than start a new thread, as I am looking for data points in Albany Park…
We do carry-out dinner in Albany Park once a week. My daughter’s dance school is located close to Kedzie/Francisco. She gets picked-up from class and then we pick-up dinner. I would love to get some new suggestions for places in the vicinity to try.
Here is our regular rotation:
Golden Crust
Noon O Kebab
Brazilian Bowl
Lindo Michoacán
Kabobi
Wabi Sabi
LD Pho
Lawrence Street Fish Market
Salam
Thai Valley
Rojo Gusano

Tonight was Kabobi after a bit of an absence. Had a less than positive customer service issue, but enough time had passed that I wanted to give them another shot. Happy to report everything we had tonight was delicious and ready at the appointed time.

Any place not too far from the school to our home off Elston/Central is up for consideration and suggestions are welcome. Outside of Albany Park, but on the way home we include Mother Clucker’s, Mr. V’s & Paterno’s.

If the current version of Great Seas is making their wings in similar fashion to 15-20 years ago, I'd definitely give them a shot. Fried rice was a serviceable accompanying dish. I viewed San Juanito as superior to Lindo as well.

We really enjoyed our pickup food from Antelpi Turkish Gourmet back in July. We haven't been back, partially because it's not super convenient for us and partially because the mostly-likely-not-typical pickup experience on July 4th and a Sunday left something to be desired. I think we'll go back eventually especially now that Cafe Orchid is permanently closed.

Antepli Turkish Gourmet
4849 N. Kedzie Avenue

LTH topic: viewtopic.php?p=552845

I've been meaning to post about this place too long.

Torteria San Lenchito is a wonderful family-run place on a side street just north of Lawrence. The menu covers most of the usual Mexican suspects [burritos, tacos, seafoods, quesadillas] and the best part of the menu - surprise! - are the tortas. There are 23 different kinds. My current favorites are the al pastor and the chicharron prensado.

TORTERIA SAN LENCHITO
4810 N Drake Ave
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 654-1547

[the bakery in the strip mall across the street is worth checking out, too]

Giovanna

I live in this area so I appreciate these lists. Here's a few other spots that I've enjoyed

Marie's
El fogon de Elena
Pupuseria & Restaurant "El Cuscatleco
Torteria San Lenchito
Han bat
Nhu lan
Birrieria el Texcal
Taqueria Las Flores
Peking mandarin for jjampong
Subo
Montis
Food court at seafood city

A little further south but also enjoy these spots:
Jts genuine
Dcandela
Carnitas La esqunita
Brassa roja
Kale my name if you're looking for vegetarian

Giovanna wrote:I've been meaning to post about this place too long.

Torteria San Lenchito is a wonderful family-run place on a side street just north of Lawrence. The menu covers most of the usual Mexican suspects [burritos, tacos, seafoods, quesadillas] and the best part of the menu - surprise! - are the tortas. There are 23 different kinds. My current favorites are the al pastor and the chicharron prensado.

TORTERIA SAN LENCHITO
4810 N Drake Ave
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 654-1547

[the bakery in the strip mall across the street is worth checking out, too]

Giovanna

Just saw this. This is a great spot!!

Not quite Albany Park but maybe close enough is Carnitas La Esquinita. Just a great spot for the eponymous carnitas, barbacoa and a great variety of caldos, too.

Carnitas La Esquinita
3424 W Irving Park Rd
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 588-1649

=R=

I would throw a second recommendation in for Subo, a Filipino spot in a little strip mall on Kimball close to Lawrence. They have a combo option (choice of two meats with rice) and it scratches the chicken adobo itch since Isla Pilipina closed and is now only in the food court downtown. We especially enjoy the breakfast bowls with tocino and topped with egg, which are available all day.

SUBO
4712 N Kimball Ave
Chicago, Illinois 60625
(773) 478-2599

El Quetzal for traditional Guatemalan. Highly recommend the hilachas served with homemade tortillas, pupusas, Guatemalan style tacos, chuchitos (mini pork tamales), and atol de platano.

Ruby's Fast Food for excellent homemade Filipino food. Daily rotating menu, highlights include dinuguan, lechon, crispy pata (special order). They are taking credit cards now, best to call ahead and pickup.

El Michoacanito for tacos, guisados, consommé de borrego, and homemade tortillas.

El Michoacanito
4315 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

El Quetzal Guatemalan Restaurant
3445 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago, IL 60625

Ruby's Fast Food
3740 W Montrose Ave, Chicago, IL 60618

Giovanna wrote:the best part of the menu - surprise! - are the tortas. There are 23 different kinds.

You have piqued my interest

Thanks for all the replies/suggestions! Tonight my daughter and I carried out from Torteria San Lenchito.
Husband had another obligation so it was just the two of us. We reviewed the menu before her dance class and she chose the Conchenito Pibil Torta. I placed the order online and a few minutes later the owner called to inform me they did not have the Pibil tonight, but they would have it tomorrow. Perhaps it is only a weekend offering? He was very nice and we discussed other options. Ultimately, he recommended the Pastor for her.
Post dance class, on our way to pick-up, the combo of lightly falling snow and the condition of the Albany Park side streets were making me a tad cranky. Finally found a place to park and upon entering the restaurant felt an immediate and visceral sense of calm brought on by amazing smells and warm smiles. The woman working the register didn’t seem to speak much English but had no problem communicating what was needed to check out. After handing us our bag of food she gave us two small styrofoam cups of warm liquid and said they were for us from them. My daughter and I trudged through the slush to our car and immediately opened the cups and took sips. It was a sweetened tea with layers of spice and perhaps dried fruit? Kind of felt like the liquid equivalent of a warm hug. The past two years have been so crappy in so many ways that this small gesture of hospitality really felt huge.
Thank you Giovanna & WhyBeeSea - great recommendation. I loved the Chilaquil Torta. Looking forward to exploring more of their menu and more of the neighborhood suggestions.

I’ve asked Mr. Suburban to drop in some photos my daughter took at his convenience . . .

LynnB wrote:I’ve asked Mr. Suburban to drop in some photos my daughter took at his convenience . . .

Nice shots and wow, do those tortas look great! Thanks for letting me upload those.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

LynnB wrote:I’ve asked Mr. Suburban to drop in some photos my daughter took at his convenience . . .

Nice shots and wow, do those tortas look great! Thanks for letting me upload those.

I echo Ronnie's praise. Great photos and everything looks so good.

Husband and daughter voted for tacos last night. In my desire to keep trying places new to us, we went with Taqueria Las Flores. We ordered for pick-up via their menu on Toasttab. Ordering was a breeze and all the items were easy to customize with lots of options. Daughter and I liked that they offer options with eggs as we are both fans of all things Mexican-style eggs.
Daughter went with an egg and cheese taco, al pastor taco (her new favorite,) and a side of rice and beans. She loved that they used pink tortillas in honor of the upcoming Valentines Day holiday.
Husband got a birria taco, asada taco, and an egg & chorizo taco.
I went with a pepper & egg torta with a few add-ins. Knew fully well it was a risk but I wanted a data point to compare with the torta I had last week. There really was no comparison. San Lenchito for the win, hands down. Better bread, way more careful construction, and more complex flavors. Rice and beans were also more flavorful at San Lenchito.



Rest of the family enjoyed their tacos. I will try the tacos next time.
I would go back to San Lenchito next week but have a feeling I will get outvoted for a non-Mexican option!

Tony Sakmunwong opened Chim Thai Cuisine, 3254 W. Montrose Ave., at the end of last month with a menu focused on traditional Thai recipes.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/02/11 ... bany-park/

I sure hope Chim Thai Cuisine is a lot better than Am Thai, which was the previous restaurant in that space. The name of the latter probably gives a clue to their problem. Am Thai was the only place where my Thai iced tea was topped with whipped "cream".

We tried Chim Thai last night. (Thanks, Dave148!) We never had Am Thai so I can’t draw any comparisons. We were pleased with everything we had. Ordering for pick-up was very easy and direct via their website. Standout appetizer was the fresh spring rolls - tightly wrapped with lots of fresh herbal flavor. The crab rangoon (daughter’s request) stayed crispy despite a 20 minute drive home and were not at all greasy. Entrees were red curry with chicken, pad cha talay, and wonton soup. The seafood in the talay was tender and flavorful. Soup wontons were homemade and generously filled.











The menu is fairly large. There are a couple of salmon dishes I’d like to try as well as several som tum options.
I didn’t go in but my daughter said there was only one couple dining inside (7pm,) and that the interior was “cute”.

LynnB wrote:We tried Chim Thai last night.

I got carry-out from Chim as well, on Monday (points for being open on a day when many aren't). No complaints. My mom was very complimentary of the ground chicken with basil (Khao krapow gai kai dao) and wonton soup. I had the grilled pork shoulder appetizer (khor moo yang) and pad ped pla. They didn't hold back on the requested heat. Free crispy spring roll came with. Not being far from the 90/94 Irving Park exit was the inducement.

Family vote for pizza tonight. Daughter pushed for Golden Crust because she loves their calzones. It’s very difficult for the 3 of us to agree on one pizza because daughter balks against onions and peppers which are key ingredients for husband and I. So, sausage & pepperoni calzone for daughter, thin crust pepperoni, red onion, kalamata olive, and green bell pepper pizza for us. Their “thin crust” is closer to double dough to me. I find their pizza decent but nothing special. Greek salad was good. Audrey loved her calzone and will have more for lunch tomorrow.

LynnB wrote:Family vote for pizza tonight. Daughter pushed for Golden Crust because she loves their calzones. It’s very difficult for the 3 of us to agree on one pizza because daughter balks against onions and peppers which are key ingredients for husband and I. So, sausage & pepperoni calzone for daughter, thin crust pepperoni, red onion, kalamata olive, and green bell pepper pizza for us. Their “thin crust” is closer to double dough to me. I find their pizza decent but nothing special. Greek salad was good. Audrey loved her calzone and will have more for lunch tomorrow.

I think the student has become the master here. That’s a good looking calzone (and the pizza looks…uh…not as good )

I think the student has become the master here. That’s a good looking calzone (and the pizza looks…uh…not as good )

HaHa! As far as last night goes, I agree with you boudreaulicious. In fairness to the restaurant, we have had better looking/tasting pizzas from them in the past. Not great mind you, but better. Just another data point for the file…..