LynnB wrote:Hello Western Suburbs,

I am looking for a take-out recommendation for dinner tomorrow night in the Oswego/Aurora area. This is my daughter’s first year on a dance team. It’s fun visiting areas I haven’t had a reason to previously. First competition was in Joliet and I got some great suggestions from LTHers. We’ll be at Oswego East High School. My husband’s mission will be to find food that we’ll eat at our hotel in Aurora after the competition performances. It has to be something that will hold OK as it will be around 10pm when we get a chance to eat. We understand anything will suffer a bit under those circumstances. Any ideas would be appreciated as I have no experience with either city.

Fortunately for you, you will be close to US Rte 34 and not too far from IL Rte 59, not to mention not too far from downtown Aurora.

Are there specific cuisines that your family would prefer?

We’re not picky eaters, with one exception. Mexican can be problematic with my daughter who won’t eat raw onion, any kind of salsa or cilantro. Also trying to avoid fries/fried food as there will be a delay from when it’s picked up to consumption.
We like all kinds of Asian food, pizza, pasta, a good sandwich...

I still have not been, it's a bit south for me, though right on your route off 34 in Aurora, is Da Beef recommended Pie Boss for South African meat pies.

Pie Boss
1649 Montgomery Rd, Aurora, IL 60504
pieboss.com
(630) 898-3448

Those pies look fantastic! Unfortunately, their current hours are noon-6pm and the earliest he could pick-up anywhere would be around 6:30pm. Definitely keeping it on the radar for another time though, thanks.

https://www.harnersbakery.com/restaurant

Plenty of options that won't break the bank. Plus, bakery to pick up for the morning.

Here are a couple of the more unique places nearby:

Asadoras Argentinas Burgers
https://asadorasargentinasburgersoswego.com/

Mr Broast
https://www.mrbroast.com/

Either than that, you have practically every chain in the Midwest within a couple mile radius.

I can make a recommendation for Vasili's in downtown Naperville in the newer Water District. The menu is Mediterranean focused and has a wonderful wood oven they cook most of the entrees in. I went for the half chicken which was in a 24 Feta brine. WOW was it tasty. I brought leftovers to my son and he went crazy for it. My wife got the lamb and could not stop raving about it, I tried a piece and it was tender and smoky. Good wine list and cocktails and located right along the river. It's a little on the pricy side, but thought it was worth it considering the elevated food and atmosphere.
https://www.vasilismediterranean.com/

Hi,

Tonight I visited Nana's in Streamwood for their famous hot dog. I also had a tickle of a memory they had a good Italian beef, too. Since returning home, it is a reliable place for both a hot dog and an Italian beef.

I did go with the hot dog, because I could not risk having food stains on my shirt. I ordered their famous hot dog and a small Dr. Pepper with no ice. I dickered about ordering fries, too, but I am glad I did not.

Nana's hot dog is in the style of Gene and Jude's with fries plopped down in the sandwich. I took my Dad to Gene and Jude's for the very first time recently. Dad commented about how much time I spent away from the car. He also did not especially like the pile of fries he had to eat through to find his hot dog.

I think Dad would have liked Nana's better. The fries were better cooked and crispier than Gene and Jude's. I had the impression they do the two-step cooking method. While fries are packed into this sandwich, there are not as many. You could eat the fries and still have an appetite left for the hot dog.

The basic Nana's natural casing Vienna hot dog has onions, mustard, and relish. You have the option to add tomato slice, celery salt, pickle, sport peppers and ketchup. I went for double onions and everything else except ketchup and sport peppers.

I ate half the fries, shoved the rest to the side, ate the hot dog alternately with the remaining fries. It was a really delicious hot dog. I especially liked the mustard with the relish. I think my Dad would approve, too.

Wednesday, July 20th is National Hot Dog Day. Nana's is offering up to four hot dogs for $2. each. There are other Vienna hot dog stands doing the same.

The Original Nana's Hot Dogs
1102 E Irving Park Rd, Streamwood, IL 60107
630-289-2226
https://theoriginalnanashotdogs.com/

Mrs Willie & I went to LaBarra in Oak Brook (very close to York Town Mall).

Nearly all of the patrons were dining on pizza. It didn't look like anything special but as we didn't try, can't comment on it.

Eggplant parm consisted of 3 pieces of breaded eggplant that had been over-fried & topped with some melted cheese, served with almost no red sauce. Big fail on the this dish.

Our friend had the chicken parm and same issue, over-fried, dry chicken w/no red sauce.

The only dish we had that held some promise was ORECCHIETTE CALABRESE w/Russo Sausage, Kale, Calabrian Chili, Garlic Bread Crumbs, Pecorino. A good dish but not worth returning for in light of everything else.

Service was very poor, we expected that as staffing continues to plague nearly every business, yet when the server just doesn't listen, that's a different issue.

I won't take anyone to Labarra and do not recommend it. That said, I am curious about the pizza, why were so many ordering it, was it because it is good or cheap? (based on quality of the food, I'm inclined to thank the latter)

wineaux wrote:One of our all-time favorites is Luong Loi in Wheaton. The fresh spring rolls, Vietnamese pancake & egg drop soup are all amazing. The browned sauteed garlic that they top the soup with really makes it! I'm not sure how she does it without burning the garlic, but it's crispy with a wonderfully earthy & nutty flavor to it. Their entrees are good too, but we're usually so full from the apps & soup, that we don't have room for them!

http://www.luongloi.com/

Was in Wheaton for the Powwow at the DuPage County Fairgrounds today, and my friend and I decided after several hours that it was time to look for food -- and Luong-Loi came up in a search. (Pa Lian, which I haven't been to since it changed over to Halal, was closed.) So we headed to Luong-Loi (can't begin to tell you what the GPS did with that name). Attractive place, enthusiastic staff -- and sensational food. They have pho, of course, but we went for the cold noodle dishes -- I had Lemongrass chicken on cold rice noodles with bean sprouts and cucumber. Absolutely perfect--flavorful, marinated chicken cut into thin strips with a sprinkling of crushed peanuts and scallions, delicate noodles, freshest veg I've had anywhere, delicate dipping sauce. Don't get to Wheaton often, but at least now I have a new destination when I am headed that way.

Friends -
I have a few visits per week for Bensenville for the foreseeable future. Mostly just dropping kids off for a sports practice, leaving me with a few hours of random shopping errands, and a solo lunch/dinner here and there.

The first thing I noticed is a Latino tinged shopping area on Grand Avenue, just west of York Rd on the north side of the street, near a bunch of car dealerships. This little strippy mall center houses:
El Toreo Supermarket
De Campana restaurant
Mi Quetzal restaurant
Kebab House restaurant
Tacos El Tio #5 restaurant
Santa Ana restaurant
Taqueria El Toreo
Possibly a tamale place, and others I may have missed.

I finally stopped and parked a few days ago with a mission on trying something.
I popped into the El Toreo grocery store after seeing signage that they sold tacos. medium small grocery store with a meat counter in back which looked like the tacos were sold there, according to other signs. I didn't see a seating area, and the line was a 4 or 5 deep and space was at a premium, so I headed outside to one of the other restaurants in the strip mall. After a few google review searches, and peeping in windows, I settled on Taqueria El Toreo. Standard issue, nothing great, but I'd easily go back, because nothing I had was BAD, just standard, and the creamy-green salsa was FIRE. It was a creamy green, not just a standard verde (which they also had.) I got a simple 3 taco dinner w/ rice&beans. Two steak and one pastor - the gentleman at the counter recommended those meats to try. The pastor was very decent, not a red, sloppy, sweet mess. It was not saucy at all, and I dug it. The steak was slightly above average, but still just griddled strips of skirt - not special, but not BAD. Everything came to the table piping hot, which helped a lot, and that creamy green salsa could probably make beets taste good, so it was an overall "win."

Checking if anyone is familiar with any of these joints, and anything to target next time, or anything close to this area as a "must-try?"

I've eaten at the Kebab House in that strip mall a number of times (although all pre-pandemic) and it is solid, but not awe-inspiring. You are not far, however, from GNR El Pollo Vagabundo at 101 Grand Ave in Northlake. To be fair, I haven't been there since pre-pandemic either, but the quesadillas and the roast chicken were both excellent.

Ooooooh!
Kid C- Good lookin out. Pollo Vagabundo is definitely next.
Tks!

With this thread popping up recently , I thought I'd add updates from the western reaches of DuPage Co. I guess a lot has happened since I last posted in January 2021.

First up, my favorite new pizza joint in the area, Slice Spot in West Chicago, which was just featured in a piece by Nick K at the Trib. This is a funny one for me, since I am notoriously cranky about all the love for east coast style reheated slices — why pay good money for leftovers! But we typically order their whole pies, which are huge, though the crust is deceptively light (with a nicely blistered undercarriage) and the toppings are applied judiciously, so my family can smash 3/4 of a 22" pie in one sitting. We stick to pepperoni, my fam's favorite. Authentically, they serve that east coast style of sliced gray discs of sausage, which I do not love at all. I've dabbled in some of the other offerings in slice format — the white is a fan favorite and it is a bit heavier with dollops of whipped ricotta. In his article, Nick mentioned the Sicilian, which I have also appreciated. The owner Joe is a nice guy, a family man with good taste in politics and 90's hiphop. 

A stone's throw past Slice Spot on 38 is the latest entry in a space that's rotated Mexican joints in quick succession over the past 5 years or so, most recently an outpost of La Quebrada. Machete #1 specializes in the trend of machete quesadillas, which are as long as your forearm. They're made with fresh masa a mano and they offer dozens of fillings and combos. I appreciate their range of veggie fillings like rajas and flor de la calabaza, though even with lighter fillings, I can usually only put away half. Their salsa verde cremosa is excellent. They also offer other antojitos Poblanos like cemitas and tacos arabes. The cemitas are quite good with a huge tangle of real deal queso Oaxaca on a crunchy cemita roll. 

My favorite regional Mexican is a little farther afield from me up in Addison, and an outpost of the Norteño mini-chain, Gordillas. I quite often crave their skinny burritos norteños, crackly handmade flour tortillas rolled up with punchy fillings. My favorite filling is asientos, which is salty fried shreds of pork mixed with creamy frijoles. They too offer a great range of veggie fillings.

The area northeast of me, Glendale Heights, Bloomingdale, and Addison seems to have a lot of interesting global options in strip malls up and down North, Army Trail, and Lake. In the spring I discovered an Iraqi h.i.t.w. called Nay. I ordered a combo platter which featured platonic versions of the hits: moist falafel, tahini-heavy hummus, and well marinated charred kebabs. The stand out offering was the Iraqi flatbread, served with each meal — it's fired in a tandoor and has a wonderful elasticity and lightly crunchy base. 

One spot that's sat on my list too long is Okapi Bistro in Bloomingdale on Army Trail Rd. Which could be the area's only Congloese restaurant?
 
Another corridor with lots of recent global action is 38 in Lombard, namely Indian and Pakistani joints. I tried the hyped chicken sandwich at Chi Café but found it to be a gloppy gut bomb. I was surprised it was a halal spot with an extensive tea menu though. I had a green chili chicken wrap at the recently opened Lombard outpost of Ghareeb Nawaz and it seemed much milder than the city version I've rediscovered thanks to triggered cravings by the constant banter over on Twitter. I also checked out a counter set up at a grocery called Al-Wahid Tandoor Express. Their chili chicken was of the saucier variety (I prefer the drier style) and I had to buy a whole pack of paratha, though I was pretty happy to wrap the flaky and toothsome breads around eggs for a week afterwards.

Pa Lian seems to be kicking still. They recently switched the menu to halal, which is a shame (for me) because I loved their pork belly curry. I hate to admit that I don't frequent them as much as I should, now that I roll my own laphet thoke since not one, but two Burmese grocery stores have opened off Schmale/Main clustered pretty close to Pa Lian – Hornbill in Wheaton and Kim Te in Carol Stream. 

Finally, everyone I know in my community was brokenhearted that Gnarly Knots pretzels left their little white shack in Winfield for spacier digs in Lombard (they just reopened.) I like a good soft pretzel, it's in my blood, though I'm not sure I love them enough to make the trek more than once or twice a year. I did not have a birria place opening in my tiny ass town on my suburban restaurant opening bingo card, but lo and behold, Birria Loca just opened in the old pretzel shack. It seems like they're focusing on quesabirria de res for now, which will be a fun addition to the rotation. I prefer a plato de surtido though and have heard chatter they will start offering the real deal on weekends. Stay tuned...

Jefe - great write up! Very helpful for folks who get out that way.

The GP wrote:Jefe - great write up! Very helpful for folks who get out that way.

And for those of us that live out this way! I see some new dining adventures in our future!

seebee wrote:
The first thing I noticed is a Latino tinged shopping area on Grand Avenue, just west of York Rd on the north side of the street, near a bunch of car dealerships. This little strippy mall center houses:
El Toreo Supermarket
De Campana restaurant
Mi Quetzal restaurant
Kebab House restaurant
Tacos El Tio #5 restaurant
Santa Ana restaurant
Taqueria El Toreo
Possibly a tamale place, and others I may have missed.

Pollo Vagabundo was closed for my last visit (Scroo You, Google) so I turned around and decided to try Tacos El Tio #5, even though I had to walk right by Taqueria El Toreo and their mouthwatering salsa. El Tio was decent, made me think I was in Tijuana, for real. Soccer on the cheap tv, Mexican music blastin on the stereo, VERY bright decor. I did a simple three taco dinner platter. I was recommended the pastor, so I went with one pastor, one asada, and one tripas. The pastor and tripas are definitely worth a try, both nicely crisped, and bountiful in the tacos. Steak was standard issue, not worth trying, but not bad. Rice / beans both very good. Only one salsa, a red arbol. I asked if there were any others - no. The salsa was earthy, and sizzling hot, so it was good, but El Toreo's green, creamy salsa was far superior. I might honestly try to buy some of that green salsa at El Toreo, and bringing it to Tio next time. The pastor and tripas were decent enough for a return visit.

The website is sub-basic, looks like someone started it, then just said, "whatever."
http://ordertacoseltio5.com/index.php
207 W Grand Ave
Bensenville, IL 60106

seebee wrote:

seebee wrote:
The first thing I noticed is a Latino tinged shopping area on Grand Avenue, just west of York Rd on the north side of the street, near a bunch of car dealerships. This little strippy mall center houses:
El Toreo Supermarket
De Campana restaurant
Mi Quetzal restaurant
Kebab House restaurant
Tacos El Tio #5 restaurant
Santa Ana restaurant
Taqueria El Toreo
Possibly a tamale place, and others I may have missed.

Pollo Vagabundo was closed for my last visit (Scroo You, Google) so I turned around and decided to try Tacos El Tio #5, even though I had to walk right by Taqueria El Toreo and their mouthwatering salsa. El Tio was decent, made me think I was in Tijuana, for real. Soccer on the cheap tv, Mexican music blastin on the stereo, VERY bright decor. I did a simple three taco dinner platter. I was recommended the pastor, so I went with one pastor, one asada, and one tripas. The pastor and tripas are definitely worth a try, both nicely crisped, and bountiful in the tacos. Steak was standard issue, not worth trying, but not bad. Rice / beans both very good. Only one salsa, a red arbol. I asked if there were any others - no. The salsa was earthy, and sizzling hot, so it was good, but El Toreo's green, creamy salsa was far superior. I might honestly try to buy some of that green salsa at El Toreo, and bringing it to Tio next time. The pastor and tripas were decent enough for a return visit.

The website is sub-basic, looks like someone started it, then just said, "whatever."
http://ordertacoseltio5.com/index.php
207 W Grand Ave
Bensenville, IL 60106

I was absolutely thrilled when #4 opened in Oak Park. Really good food at a really good price and open 24/7.
The Menudo and Birria De Res (only offered on the weekend) are both huge portions are really tasty.

Upscale pub in downtown Downers Grove called Pierce Tavern has some very well crafted yet familiar tavern food. Last night they had a few "Mardi Gras" special items and suddenly craved Jambalaya. Perfectly prepared shrimp, andouille sausage, chicken, spices, rice...delicious. The place is always packed, so we try to go before the rush around 5pm. Great drinks, wine, and tons of beer on tap.

https://www.piercetavern.com/

Hi,

Is there a middle eastern restaurant similar to Libanais or Al Bawadi in the western suburbs?

I did recently see a Pita Inn from the expressway when heading west. I want to go where I won't feel like I need to eat and run.

I recall seeing a nicer middle eastern restaurant on North Ave between Elmhurst and Carol Stream. It has been a while since I was in that direction.

Pita Inn
1835 Abriter Court
Naperville, IL 60563
630-799-0085

Thanks!

Regards,
Cathy2

Cedar Grill
2223 Ogden Avenue
Downers Grove, IL 60515
https://www.cedargrillchicago.com/

I have a client nearby. It’s my go-to for lunch if I’m not in the mood for Katy’s.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Is there a middle eastern restaurant similar to Libanais or Al Bawadi in the western suburbs?

I did recently see a Pita Inn from the expressway when heading west. I want to go where I won't feel like I need to eat and run.

Thanks!

Regards,
Cathy2

I haven't been to a Reza's in forever, but there's one in Oak Brook that is still open. We used to love the one location on Ohio, but that was decades ago. I don't think I've even ever been to the Oak Brook location, but I drive by it frequently and have fond memories. Definitely check for
recent reviews.

https://rezarestaurants.com//

There's also a place called Pita Pita Mediterranean Grill on Roosevelt that is pretty decent. It's in my lunch rotation.

There's actually a large number of Middle Eastern places between Rt. 83 and 355 on Roosevelt.

Pita Pita Mediterranean Grill
211 E Roosevelt Rd, Lombard, IL 60148
https://www.eatpitapita.com/

Jefe wrote:My favorite regional Mexican is a little farther afield from me up in Addison, and an outpost of the Norteño mini-chain, Gordillas. I quite often crave their skinny burritos norteños, crackly handmade flour tortillas rolled up with punchy fillings. My favorite filling is asientos, which is salty fried shreds of pork mixed with creamy frijoles. They too offer a great range of veggie fillings.

Gordillas popped up in the Trib this week as a burrito favorite, and I enjoyed a gordita-and-burrito combo with rice, beans, and a drink at the 26th street location, after previously only having a guisado plate out in Addison. The griddled tortilla game is just as both Jefe and Nick cited: fresh, crackly, and rich, and while not overstuffed the burritos are long and substantial. The texture recalls an arabe at the height of Cemitas Puebla, or a Hema's Kitchen butter chicken wrap. I had the gordita deshebrada which was mostly potato and excellent green chile stew with just a few shreds of beef, and the burrito asado de puerco in red sauce, which was salty and succulent. Cilantro and cebolla are free inclusions and some nice-looking diced avocado just a $0.50 upcharge.

Big Sammy's Restaurant & Bar opened in Plainfield a month or so ago. Brick oven pizza -- the pizza had a crisp crust with a puffy edge and a light sauce. The meatballs on the meatball pizza were huge and tasty. There is also a Big Sammy's sandwich shop in downtown Plainfield.

Calogero's Pizza opened last year in Naperville. New York Style pizza.

Ramsay's Kitchen is set to open soon in downtown Naperville.

Entourage Restaurant, a new concept from Vai's, is set to open soon on Rte 59 in Naperville in the old Bakers' Square location. Can't wait!

tcdup wrote:Big Sammy's Restaurant & Bar opened in Plainfield a month or so ago. Brick oven pizza -- the pizza had a crisp crust with a puffy edge and a light sauce. The meatballs on the meatball pizza were huge and tasty. There is also a Big Sammy's sandwich shop in downtown Plainfield.

We live other side of the corn field about half mile away. Been working our way through the menu.

No real misses to speak of yet. Miss Fox's Pizza which was there for a decade, but Sammy's sure fills a void.

Italian Wedding Soup and Pasta Fagioli were the better of the 4-5 soups we've had, and the Sausage and Peppers and Meatball apps are a nearly every visit item, along with the Italian Beef Egg Rolls.

Unfortunately, Chai Thai across the street has the rumor mill going if they will ever re-open, they just closed Monday until "maybe July", but we also know from a prospective buyer that the business is for sale. Who closes for 2 months while still recovering from a pandemic? Was a husband/wife or business partner relationship which split. Place was fantastic,.. literally, on a cornfield.

Bakery Round-up

Artrevete Confections is in "downtown" Montgomery. The croissants are great -- buttery, crisp. They are only open Friday through Sunday 8-3. Go early because they sell out.

Fiene's Bakery has a full line of baked goods. Doughnuts are good. They also have small quiche.

Sweetneecy's is a cake shop in Naperville at Rte 59 and 95th Street. The German chocolate cupcake was yum, as was the cupcake size cheesecake.

Petit Three Doughnuts makes fresh doughnuts throughout the day, and then tops them with various things like olive pistachio, chocolate ganache, or maple bacon. They're in Aurora at Rte 59 and New York Street, across the street from Pacifica Square, the pan-Asian themed strip mall with lots of Asian options.

Steve Buresh Cheesecake Store is not just a bakery, as it also serves sandwiches, soups and lobsters. He's been selling cheesecake in mason jars for years, and it's very good. Nice portion control! It's in Plainfield, in the same strip mall as Big Sammy's Restaurant & Bar.

I've been eating a lot of good food lately out here on the western fringe of Dupage Co!

I'll pick up where I left off – Birria Loca. My hopes for a real deal birrieria were quickly dashed. They serve a pocho cuisine that leans on the excesses of the quesabirria trend – birria ramen, birria grilled cheese, birria pizza, etc. It's cheesy and greasy stoner food to the max. That said, there's handmade care in all of their cooking and there are big flavors which reflect more traditional comida – the salsas are excellent, three tiers of heat – the mildest is jalapeño based, the medium is dry chili- based, likely arból, and the hottest is habanero – all in the emulsified "cremosa" style. The birria is good for beef birria, tender and shreddy like nice pot roast. The consomme has real depth, brick red from guajillo chilies with a warm spice note. They've beefed up their menu considerably over the past year and I try to check out new things on most visits. The Mazatlan burrito is noteworthy, a surf and turf affair with steak and shrimp bound in a matrix of Chihuahua. I've wrestled some burritos the size of my head in my day, but even half of that thing knocked me out! The owners David and Joe are cool as hell, they play in alternative rock bands. Their design aesthetic is a refreshing pop of psychedelia in sleepy Winfield and they support local artists in and out of the shop. Very grateful to have them here!

And the Birria Loca guys spread the love to other local spots – they recently hyped up a relatively new norteño spot in downtown West Chicago, Gorditas Liselena. I made bee-line over there and was not disappointed! The menu is similar to another spot I love, Gordillas, offering like two dozen fillings, half vegetarian. The difference though is that the range of fillings is only offered in gordita format and their burritos norteños only feature carne deshebrada in your choice of verde o rojo. I tried a gordita with chile pasado con queso, a somewhat fruity, mild rehydrated dry green chili with cheese, simple but pretty perfect enrobed in a toasty masa pocket. The burrito deshebrada was next level, an ideal guisado with melty beef and potato in chili rojo gilded with mayonesa. Great tortilla de harina too, I'm not sure if it was made to order, but almost certainly not factory-produced. 

Another eye-opening recent find was A2B in the Cantera complex in Warrenville. Apparently, A2B is an outpost of a well known vegetarian restaurant from Chennai. They have a sprawling menu, many familiar Southern offerings like dosai and various thali (worth noting those items seemed to be the most popular on tables of the Indian clientele.) They also serve a handful of  Sri Lankan dishes that caught my eye. Kothu parotta is a dish I'd only read about and I very much enjoyed it, sort of like Desi chilaquiles – shredded day old roti (aka parotta) sauteed with onions and peppers. It was served with a cool tangy raita and a small dish of kurma curry, which I was familiar with from my first visit. I actually enjoyed the parotta served in its pure state even more than the kothu, as flaky as the best croissant. Dipped in that kurma, so rich with coconut and deeply spiced, was one of the best things I've eaten this year. Much more to explore here.

Turning attention to points north of me, I mentioned Okapi Bistro in my last post, where I regrettably still haven't been. But Hungry Hound featured a new Vietnamese place in the same strip mall in Bloomingdale that looked very promising. Pholicious has a large menu with a lot of the usual suspects. But they put extra care into everything, notably baking their own bread for their banh mi. So far I've focused on the sandwiches. The bread is, indeed, best in show – light and fluffy interior with a shattering crisp crust. They offer super cool upgrades to the usual protein choices – short rib (for the pho as well) which I haven't tried yet and soft shelled crab, which I tried on my last visit. At $24, this was by far the most expensive banh mi I've ever had, but I got two pristinely fresh, deftly fried crabs in a giant sandwich. It kind of ate like a po boy, which makes a lot of sense. I enjoyed the house dac biet banh mi on my first visit, though they don't leave anything out and there were some chunks of skin in the head cheese that pushed the limits of my love for gelatinous-ly crunchy bits.

Down Schmale Rd. in Carol Stream I checked out a Da Beef recommended place for Uzbek cuisine, Chinar. Hidden in a strip mall, the place is actually a cavernous banquet hall. I was kind of shocked to find it more than half full, all men, at lunch on a weekday. I guess there's an Uzbek population in the area, who knew? Titus had mentioned the charcoal grilled kabobs, so I went in that direction with "beef lulu." They were very good, not at all dissimilar from cevapcici, kind of a bouncy texture with low key seasoning of garlic and black pepper. Lackluster-ly rounding things out were a too big pile of sliced off-season tomato salad and a puffy-looking flat bread, which was unfortunately a bit stale. On that winter day, almost every other diner seemed to be eating soup with a kind of empanada-like stuffed pastry, so maybe that's the move for my next cold weather lunch there.

Next, in category: unimpressed – we tried the relatively hyped Graceful Ordinary in St Charles. Walking into the space, things seemed promising – very cool room, overlooking the Fox River, open kitchen with de rigueur live hearth action. The service, well it's the suburbs – without going into all of the details, there were several inexcusable gaffes, they mis-represented the drink I ordered and lost my credit card (the host found it on the floor.) And the food was uneven. They were out of their signature octopus carpaccio, which I had been highly anticipating. A small plate of country ham was too thickly sliced and seemed like the dry leathery ends. My main was chicken two ways – fried and wood roasted. Both preps were great, especially the roasted breast which was super juicy and carried a lot of the woodsmoke. A weird plate of food though, it was mostly just chicken, served atop "greens gumbo" which was really a smear of sauce, tasty, but not quite punchy enough as a sauce, I would have enjoyed it more as soup. I don't think I'll be back (my wife had a better time than I did, but I was driving, lol) We can only afford to go out like that once a twice a year and I'd prefer, if not a perfect, then at least an overall good experience. 

Finally I wanted to give a shout out to a place that isn't particularly cool or interesting, a suburban chain, in fact. But it's a place that we enjoy, even rely on, Gia Mia. We particularly like to lunch at the St. Charles shop, a bright and airy space + big patio for warm days. Efficient service + decent tap and wine list.  They offer a great lunch special, personal pizza + salad for $13. 1/2 price 'za on Mondays too! The crust is solid, well fermented and proofed bread, lightly charred, topped with good quality ingredients. They even make kale taste good (salad with sunflower seeds, bacon, manchego, fancy radishes, lemon vinaigrette). Unlike their neighbor which I just panned above, they kinda get everything right.  

The little strip mall in Naperville at Bailey & Oxford Lane (just east of Washington Street) is quite the food destination.

First off, Little Italian Pizza has been serving red sauce Italian for almost 50 years. Pizza is a favorite in Naperville and the spaghetti marinara is good. Yummy garlic bread.

Then there's Mediterranean Oasis, a great Middle Eastern store with a take-out food area (and a little curbside patio). Excellent hummus, baba ghanouj, falafel, and more. Very nice friendly owners.

Brand new to the strip is B'n Changon, a family owned Mexican place. According to the Naperville Patch:

Gomez’s oldest son, Jonathan, previously worked as a chef at Cooper’s Hawk while two of his daughters, Jasmine, age 22, and Scarlett, 19, worked at local Panera Bread shops. His 18-year-old son Alex has also inherited the family love of restaurants...
...
Gomez, who has worked as a hotel and resort chef for more than 15 years before beginning his catering business six years ago, resisted launching a restaurant He knew how much work opening his own eatery would mean. He previously had offered his Mexican food at the Standard Market in Westmont for a year before customers of his catering business asked when he was going into business for himself.
...
While most Mexican restaurants offer red and green salsa, Gomez offers a salsa bar with six homemade varieties, including his take on chimichurri, the Argentinean salsa that is primarily made with parsley that is served with steak. Gomez replaces the parsley with cilantro and serrano peppers to offer his diners a different twist on something they may already know.

The food was packed to go very thoughtfully and everything arrived home in good shape, including flautas, taco asada and elote. Very flavorful. Definitely going back to explore the menu.

I smashed some tip top carnitas today from Carnitas "Chepa" a self described "hole in the wall" near me in West Chicago on 38. Its in the same strip as Slice Spot (which btw, changed ownership last year, I haven't been back but reports seem good. The OG owner, Joe opened a new spot, Pie Life in Glen Ellyn on 38.)

It's a carryout spot with some minimal grocery items, mainly accoutrements for carnitas. It's clearly a mom and pop place — the whole family is depicted in anthropomorphic pig form in an excellent mural above the kitchen. I was served by a super engaging young woman (I assume was a daughter) who asked if I wanted "tender meat." When I asked for mixta she admitted she had made an assumption since I was white, but was more than happy to ask the kitchen to chop skin and ribs into the mix. She was apologetic that the store was so empty but that they have lines outside the door on the weekends. I believe it...

Honestly, these were some of the best carnitas tacos I've had in quite some time — golden crisp edges, succulent and moist, jiggly gelatinous bits. I ordered three tacos, two stuffed me. Fine knife work on the onions and cilantro, always a good sign. Salsas were the weakest link, though unlike so many mediocre tacos, this meat was almost so good it hardly needed adornment (squeeze of lime was ideal.) If the product this was good on a lazy Wednesday afternoon, I can't wait to sample what they turn out los fines de semana!

"Carnitas Chepa"
932 Roosevelt Rd, West Chicago, IL 60185
(331) 465-4286
Wednesday-Sunday: 8 am to 5 pm