Triple Crown - Chinatown

Went back to Triple Crown for an early dinner yesterday. The big lure for me is the tanks of lobsters, fish and Dungeness crabs. This is my second meal there in less than a month and the preperations of the seafood is pretty good.

last night got a Dungeness Crab - Hunan Style, in a nice sauce, lots of garlic, some spice, and green onions. - $25, leftover cold from the fridge it was even better tonight



also I am addicted to the flat rice noodles, crispy and wok seared. this version was with shrimp, bok choy, and a light sauce. crispy, and really nice:





the best Chinese restaurant in Chicago, no, but you wont go here and be told they are out of Dungeness crab or lobster.

Triple Crown
2217 S. Wentworth
Chicago, Il.

Triple Crown was the site of what may become a new Thanksgiving tradition for us. Though most dishes were about 20% more expensive than other places, Triple Crown made up for the price with friendly service, clean bathrooms, several fish tanks on display to mesmerize my little 6 month old, and a Cantonese, pescatarian focus that makes my wife happy.

We started with shrimp and chive dumplings which were well seasoned, hot and fresh. Clams with black bean sauce were as good a version as I've had. Lobster with ginger and scallion could have had more thoroughly cracked shells to make the eating easier, and though the dish was tasty it wasn't worth its absurd price tag. My favorite dish was the tung choi with preserved tofu, in which the crisp greens and pungent tofu shared plate space with a light wine and broth based sauce that was the perfect flavoring agent for our bowls of rice.

It should be noted that Triple Crown closed its old location a year or two ago, then reopened sometime later at the address in Jim's post above. In a move that our server said angered Triple Crown's owners, someone else has opened a restaurant in the old location. That one, believe it or not, is called "Original Triple Crown Restaurant" even though it apparently has nothing to do with the old place. I understand that the feud involves lawyers and lots of yelling.



"Original Triple Crown Restaurant"
211 W 22nd Pl


Triple Crown Restaurant (the one actually run by the original owners)
2217 S. Wentworth

Kennyz wrote:It should be noted that Triple Crown closed its old location a year or two ago, then reopened sometime later at the address in Jim's post above. In a move that our server said angered Triple Crown's owners, someone else has opened a restaurant in the old location. That one, believe it or not, is called "Original Triple Crown Restaurant" even though it apparently has nothing to do with the old place. I understand that the feud involves lawyers and lots of yelling.

The English names are indeed deceptively similar but I think the "real" Chinese names may be different.

The Real Triple Crown


The Imposter


Can anyone give a detailed translation of the two names?



I have a Chinese friend who follows the Chicago food scene quite closely. It's funny that we often have a difficult time discussing specific restaurants in Chinatown because he knows only the Chinese name while I know only the English and there's often very little correlation between the two. Is that the case here?

Triple Crown Restaurant
2217 S Wentworth Av
Chicago
312-842-0088

Original Triple Crown Restaurant (Imposter)
211 W 22nd Pl
Chicago
312-791-1030

The one on the left, for the actual Triple Crown, is not too far off--It's something along the lines of 3 Great Men--the third character, yuan, probably meaning yuanshou, or a head of state. I don't think it can mean "crown" per se, but it's close. The imposter is something like "Bright Star Restaurant"--not even close.

The first is Three Big Yuan (Chinese currency) and the second is Star Family Pub. (according to our young scholar.)

Chinois has it right.

The "crown" reference is a play on the British crown (denomination of gold coin) - hence the coin images as well.

That's fascinating! I've been going to Triple Crown for many years now both on W. 22nd Place and in Westmont. The Westmont location would continuously open and close after various incidents (fires, remodels, etc.) and finally closed for good as the recession set in a few years ago. I always assumed that the two restaurants were related, as their menus were nearly identical with the exception that the Westmont location served pretty good Dim Sum on the weekends and the hosts and waitstaff were very professional and engaging.

The 22nd Place location had an edgier feel to it and the staff could be a little more gruff at times, but their seafood was always fresh and very well prepared. I was there in the Spring or Summer of 2009 and had a very, very unpleasant experience that wasn't directly food related. I wasn't at all surprised to see it close shortly thereafter. In September I was in the area and was shocked to find it open again. Being curious I decided to give it another try and was pleasantly surprised with the remodel, even though the dishes weren't as good as they had been in the past. The ownership change explains a lot.

About five or six years ago, I tried a place on Halsted in Bridgeport called Triple Crown Express. I thought it might be in the "family" of Triple Crown restaurants, but it was actually very bad; MSG-laden cheap lunch specials and American Fast Food. I have no idea if they were actually part of the "family" but if they were, I'd disown them. I'll have to try the Wentworth location next time I'm down there.

HI,

I haven't been near the Triple Crown in Westmont in months. Last time I was there, looking through the windows all the tables were set ready for service. Most restaurants closed forever have a less inviting look to them.

Regards,

radiator wrote:The 22nd Place location had an edgier feel to it and the staff could be a little more gruff at times, but their seafood was always fresh and very well prepared. I was there in the Spring or Summer of 2009 and had a very, very unpleasant experience that wasn't directly food related. I wasn't at all surprised to see it close shortly thereafter.

I should note that the "real" Triple Crown - the one now on Wentworth - had exceptional service on Thursday. This may be the place to bring people who prefer "Western" style service delivered in perfect English by young men and women who likely grew up in the States.

We went to the Triple Crown on Wentworth for Dim Sum yesterday (Saturday) and found it excellent. Everything was fresh and tasty. Service was good, and I thought the selection was fine. They will bring you a menu with pictures, if you ask - certain dishes come on carts, but some are only made fresh right when you order them.

A friend who was with us says that there is a set of dishes you can only get at EITHER Phoenix OR Triple Crown, but not both (for instance, a warm soft tofu dessert she really likes is only served at Phoenix). So depending on who wants what, that's the deciding vote as to where she and her family go.

I shared some delicious 8:30 PM dim sum at Triple Crown earlier in the week, and each dish edged Phoenix at 1 PM two weeks earlier. No carts, but everything was fried and steamed to order and tasted fresh and unfunky. The pork and taro eggrolls and the egg-shaped fried pork dumplings were smile-inducing. Great table in this retro 2nd floor dining room overlooking the street, nice service, and the price was 60% per person of Phoenix. I'm not sure how crazy they get on weekends but will be back for their evening dim sum service soon.

We went to Triple Crown for the first time last week, and I now have a new favorite dim sum spot in Chicago.

We arrived at 10:30 on Sunday morning and there was no wait. When we left close to 11:30 the restaurant was full but there were only one or two parties waiting to be seated.

We started off ordering from the carts. Both of the dishes we ordered were lukewarm, so we changed course for the menu. The menu is easy to navigate particularly since every dish has a picture. Our favorites were the curried, fried octopus and scallop dumplings, though everything was well prepared and piping hot with the exception of the gummy turnip cake which we were pretty certain was picked up from a cart. The price was reasonable and the service was quick. They offer solid renditions of all the classics and a handful of more unique items. It's everything I'm looking for in a stand-by dim sum spot.

They also have a special late night menu. It think it starts at 10 PM. Things are cheaper and slightly smaller portions. You are able to try more things out. If you can wait that late, it is a great deal.

I've never thought about eating in Chinatown at 10 pm. I know alot of locals eat out at that time, but the location when the area wasn't as built up, kind of scared me at night. This is a great idea when in the city!

It is a usual Friday night thing. Get a group of people and starve ourselves till 10 PM. But, I don't live too far away so I just snack till then. It is a good option for late night dining on the cheap and good.

Decided to load up the family and meet some friends for the New years parade today and some dim sum. This was our maiden voyage to Triple Crown, and overall I have to say we were impressed. As one would expect, at 11am the place was swamped, but the estimated 45 minute wait was completely accurate even though there were a lot of people ahead of us.

The place seemed less run down than many places we have visited in Chinatown, and the kids enjoyed seeing the fish tanks. For those of you that like cart service, it was available for much of the dim sum menu, but they would gladly get you anything fresh if you asked. It seems as though seafood dishes are the specialty of the house, but most of what we had was very good, and that which wasn't was at least serviceable.

The bill came to a ridiculous $62 for a party of 6. Items ordered included, shrimp dumplings, sticky rice with chicken, beef teryaki skewers, congee with pork and preserved egg, shrimp with chive dumplings (2 orders), potstickers, spring rolls (2 orders), mongolian beef, salt and pepper squid, sesame balls, wonton soup, baby octopus in some type of light curried sauce, and I may have missed a couple more.

Like Jim said in an earlier post, it won't be the best Chinese you have ever eaten, but you will get solid renditions of dim sum favorites at a very good price point.

Hello esteemed diners – A friend and I are coming down to Chicago this weekend (from Grayslake), seeking a dim sum experience. We’ve pretty much decided on Triple Crown based on the forum chat (so no, not the Original Triple Crown).

The main theme of the question: What are the “don’t miss” items we have to try? What’s the spiciest? Do we really want to try the chicken feet? And if so, which style? What do we want for best flavor, and/or for most authentic?

By the by, the last time I asked here, we ended up with Crispy Noodle Barbecued Duck, Salt and Pepper Head on Shrimp and Crispy Skin Chicken at Little Three Happiness. The chicken wasn’t bad, but seemed only lightly spiced with 5ive spice (? – it was that light; a little dry, too). The shrimp started out tasty, and seemed to get better crunch by crunch. But that crispy noodle dish was jaw-droppingly flavorful. So much so, we may stop for a carry out after our dim sum gorge.

Thanks in advance – Bobbie K

Think the tallest midget in the Chi dim sum circus is Lao You Ju by a head.

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=36124

Thanks for the Lao You Ju suggestion, but our group has spoken in favor of the Crown.
I'm hoping the timeliness of this request doesn't get buried here. Guess I should just have faith, eh?
The major thrust of most of the posts above seems to be dinner options, not dim sum.
Wondering too -- tough to share a plate of it -- but is the congee an item to try?

My philosophy with dim sum is that stuff is cheap, so order a lot. If you haven't tried chicken feet,get them. They don't taste weird, but (to me) aren't that interesting.

Ordered carryout lunch today from Triple Crown and enjoyed every bite! Contactless pickup, my order was on a table for me to grab upon arrival. The xiao long bao and har gow traveled surprisingly well to Lincoln Square, then covered with a damp paper towel and reheated in the microwave. Along with a few other dishes, threw in a 4-pack of Triple Crown Lager, their collaboration with Marz Community Brewing, a rice lager with jasmine tea. This might not appear to be one's ideal way to eat, but given we are still uncomfortable with on-site dining, this meal did even better than scratch an itch that has been ignored since March.

Triple Crown, a Chinatown mainstay for 25 years, facing eviction after losses attributed to pandemic economic downturn

https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavi ... story.html