A shout out to the shrimp in coconut milk stew at Mulata. I'd liked the empanadas but maybe didn't love the sandwiches like some have. This was my first time with the entrees. Takeout, which two split with two empanadas on the side. Rich, with lots of shrimp and a strong seafood flavor, like a bisque. We loved it and now I want to try more of the entrees.

Per their website and social media Fiore Restaurant in Forest Park is closing until further notice, leaving just their market with Glazed & Infused donuts popup present on weekend hours only. I join the local speculators in befuddlement on this one since it was always busy at dinnertime and excellent, and Scott Harris Hospitality has a fairly significant footprint. This is in the same moment as Piacere Mio is sending off Gaetano, and folks are paying Ciro $30 for a quarter tray of ziti to try to make fetch happen. Non capisce.

Yeah, weird.

Also, Parky's is still out of commission for the time being, because a car crashed into it (!) back in October.

Santander wrote:Per their website and social media Fiore Restaurant in Forest Park is closing until further notice, leaving just their market with Glazed & Infused donuts popup present on weekend hours only. I join the local speculators in befuddlement on this one since it was always busy at dinnertime and excellent, and Scott Harris Hospitality has a fairly significant footprint. This is in the same moment as Piacere Mio is sending off Gaetano, and folks are paying Ciro $30 for a quarter tray of ziti to try to make fetch happen. Non capisce.

I really don't want to spread bad vibes so I've avoided saying anything on any Oak Park forums, but to me it seems the writing is on the wall for Ciro. I hope I'm wrong.
Opening a business with just one single, generally agreed upon to be overpriced dish, with others "in development", in an expensive space has to have him bleeding cash.
I know there was an online fundraiser but I believe that was to but a bunch of expensive equipment.
Time will tell.

A vent here in our BOPRFP catch-basin since NRebozo did not give me the energy to start a separate thread for it, but Something is Rotten in the State of Ohmygod.

In addition to eliminating paper menus - within the former brick Heritage space which blocks all wireless, rendering QR codes useless - they have moved to a time-limited reservation model where they are actively hustling you out to the point of lying about whether the coffee machine is working. I brought 'em a 5 PM Saturday reservation of eight healthy eaters who would have done two drinks each plus coffee and dessert after the feast, and they started to panic that we hadn't finished our first round and appetizers at about 5:40 ("my boss insists I have to take your small plates now, the food is coming") and then told us at about 6:35 that their 7 PM reservation for the same table was waiting outside and they needed time to clean.

It's a shame, because the food was still excellent, and Chef Paco his usual memorable host. The fiesta moles was vibrant and the tamarind mezcal margarita with whole pods and candy straw is a special treat.

In the reservation confirmation e-mail, they had reported:

nrebozo wrote:Your table is required to be returned at 7:15 PM. IMPORTANT PLEASE READ. We apologize for any inconvenience, due to the unavailability of seats caused by the absence of guests during their reservation time. To ensure that you receive your reserved seat, we will contact you through a phone call to confirm your reservation

They called to confirm and said the same thing. They're clearly busy (packed when we left) but it's just not close to hospitable or in this case even accurate, and I was ultimately embarrassed for them and for myself, and chagrined for my guests. Everybody has bad nights but this seems like a deliberate policy shift, so, cuidado.

From a recent Wednesday Journal article:

https://www.oakpark.com/2024/04/08/new-restaurants-await/

New restaurant openings in Oak Park (summarized from article)

Café Cubano, is moving from Elmwood Park to 113 N. Oak Park Ave. in the Hemingway District. Located at the former home of Fritzi’s Delicatessen, the new location plans to open May 1.

Egg Harbor Café is slated to open its Oak Park location in June at 1111 South Blvd. The site was vacant for almost two years after the previous restaurant, Wild Onion Tied House, closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also planning a June opening is Gyumon, which will be an all-you-can-eat Japanese barbecue restaurant where diners will get to cook fresh food right at their table. Gyumon will be located in the downtown Oak Park corridor at 105 N. Marion St. The restaurant is leasing the storefront once occupied by Kalamata Kitchen, which closed in September.

Not a restaurant but I want to check out Anfora Wine Merchants sometime. Italian-only or at least Italian-focused wine shop.

128 S Marion St
Oak Park, IL 60302

Decent Vietnamese within striking distance of Oak Park has been a weak spot since Saigon Pho moved from Madison to Lake to the Great Beyond. I'm pleased that [E.T.?] Pho Home 2 (near Harlem & Grand in Elmwood Park) which opened earlier in August sampled slightly better than average in all categories, though with a squarely standard suburban menu.

Grilled chicken thigh banh mi and short rib vermicelli plate with crispy spring roll reflected a well-seasoned grill and fresh herb curation, and pho on a separate takeout order was aromatic and clearly fresh though with relatively scant side greenery. It's a pretty and bright room right by the train tracks and appreciably closer than (unrelated as far as I know) Pho No. 1 Brewing which I also like. I'm sure I've posted on that one but can't find it at the moment.

Pho Home 2
2360 N Neva Ave
Chicago, IL 60707

Santander wrote:Decent Vietnamese within striking distance of Oak Park has been a weak spot since Saigon Pho moved from Madison to Lake to the Great Beyond. I'm pleased that [E.T.?] Pho Home 2 (near Harlem & Grand in Elmwood Park) which opened earlier in August sampled slightly better than average in all categories, though with a squarely standard suburban menu.

Thanks Matt. I agree I'd like decent Vietnamese within striking distance. I'll have to check this place out.

I will say, not really striking distance, and depending where you live in OP, really not striking distance, but there's a couple of decent enough places near Harlem and Irving that at least scratch the itch.

Vital Information wrote:

Santander wrote:Decent Vietnamese within striking distance of Oak Park has been a weak spot since Saigon Pho moved from Madison to Lake to the Great Beyond. I'm pleased that [E.T.?] Pho Home 2 (near Harlem & Grand in Elmwood Park) which opened earlier in August sampled slightly better than average in all categories, though with a squarely standard suburban menu.

Thanks Matt. I agree I'd like decent Vietnamese within striking distance. I'll have to check this place out.

Double thanks. Hit this place last night after checking out the menu. If for nothing else, they do a short rib pho. Wow.

The people running this place were all nice. They didn’t pick the best location in my opinion—they said they were hoping for the north/op avenue space—it’s on Neva, one block east of Harlem & about a block in from Grand. Find it. It seems worthy of patronage.

Thanks for the Pho Home 2 update. I miss Saigon Pho.

Has anyone tried the new / replacement sushi place on lake? Yama, I believe? Curious but have been too busy to try it yet.

My simple litmus test for takeout sandwich value in 2024 is whether or not the item is more satisfying than a $5.99 ($6.55 with tax) Double-Smoked Bacon, Cheddar, and Egg sandwich from Starbucks, also essentially available as a Kirkland Signature Breakfast Sandwich for $2/per if you have a good toaster oven or air fryer.

The $16.85 Cuban sandwich from Cafe Cubano in Oak Park did not pass. Pictured with fried plantain strips on the menu, it came with none, nor any mustard on or with the sandwich, nor any salsa. Pickles were scant. It was inoffensive but exceedingly bland on a non-crusty roll (and not even their medianoche roll). I will say that the decor of this iteration in the cursed Fritzi's / Erik's Deli location on Oak Park Ave. is the prettiest to date. Downstairs, Tony of the shoe clinic reports poor health, so please visit soon if you'd like to make use of that local gem again.

Santander wrote:My simple litmus test for takeout sandwich value in 2024 is whether or not the item is more satisfying than a $5.99 ($6.55 with tax) Double-Smoked Bacon, Cheddar, and Egg sandwich from Starbucks, also essentially available as a Kirkland Signature Breakfast Sandwich for $2/per if you have a good toaster oven or air fryer.

The $16.85 Cuban sandwich from Cafe Cubano in Oak Park did not pass. Pictured with fried plantain strips on the menu, it came with none, nor any mustard on or with the sandwich, nor any salsa. Pickles were scant. It was inoffensive but exceedingly bland on a non-crusty roll (and not even their medianoche roll). I will say that the decor of this iteration in the cursed Fritzi's / Erik's Deli location on Oak Park Ave. is the prettiest to date. Downstairs, Tony of the shoe clinic reports poor health, so please visit soon if you'd like to make use of that local gem again.

Actually, before Fritzi’s, the storefront currently housing Cafe Cubano was occupied for decades by Gepetto’s. Erik’s was a couple of storefronts to the south; the former Erik’s s storefront is still empty.

tazerowe wrote:Thanks for the Pho Home 2 update. I miss Saigon Pho.

Has anyone tried the new / replacement sushi place on lake? Yama, I believe? Curious but have been too busy to try it yet.

Answering my own question on Yama. Nothing to see here.

masha wrote:

Santander wrote:My simple litmus test for takeout sandwich value in 2024 is whether or not the item is more satisfying than a $5.99 ($6.55 with tax) Double-Smoked Bacon, Cheddar, and Egg sandwich from Starbucks, also essentially available as a Kirkland Signature Breakfast Sandwich for $2/per if you have a good toaster oven or air fryer.

The $16.85 Cuban sandwich from Cafe Cubano in Oak Park did not pass. Pictured with fried plantain strips on the menu, it came with none, nor any mustard on or with the sandwich, nor any salsa. Pickles were scant. It was inoffensive but exceedingly bland on a non-crusty roll (and not even their medianoche roll). I will say that the decor of this iteration in the cursed Fritzi's / Erik's Deli location on Oak Park Ave. is the prettiest to date. Downstairs, Tony of the shoe clinic reports poor health, so please visit soon if you'd like to make use of that local gem again.

Actually, before Fritzi’s, the storefront currently housing Cafe Cubano was occupied for decades by Gepetto’s. Erik’s was a couple of storefronts to the south; the former Erik’s s storefront is still empty.

Quite right, other side of the dojo but not as far as the driving school. Has anything been there since Altiro? What an odd stretch of leases.

Santander wrote:Quite right, other side of the dojo but not as far as the driving school. Has anything been there since Altiro? What an odd stretch of leases.

Funny this came up, as I was recently arguing with my daughter on this issue, with her insisting it was the Erik's locale.

On an un-related, Oak Park adjacent note. I was recently driving down Grand, the Elmwood Park stretch from Thatcher to Harlem, and I noticed new Colombian and new Venezuelan. Anxious to try both. Any one else been?

A post opportunity on the actual Citrine itself: dinner was an admirable showing on the plate this past weekend with particularly strong Balkan or Adriatic flavors I don't recall from previous menu iterations. Warm lepinja and ajvar as fresh and rich as I've enjoyed, shallow-fried cauliflower and lemon rings, gnocchi in a light mushroom cream, smoky carrots with lemon yogurt, and a spread like kajmak with very mild goat cheese in the mix. One successful oddity was the "Half-Amish chicken" (lol) which had both Asian condiments and rosemary, a combo I have not seen before, including ginger scallion sauce and chili crisp and string beans plus potatoes. Mixed drinks were excellent.

Service was eccentric as in the past, with food coming out quickly, but host and server abandoning us later in the meal with no early opportunity to order dessert (excellent flourless chocolate cake once it arrived) and not taking hint or request we wanted the bill. In a lively exchange the house provided a drink and care package to someone in obvious need of help after escorting him outside, compassionate but again not a choice I've really seen live at a slightly upscale place. They were completely empty near the start of service an hour after opening, but did pick up as the evening proceeded.

Couple of things: I noticed the new awning for Seoul Ave on Lake in the old Papaspiros spot. Per the town liquor license application, the owner is CIA trained and has cooked around. Fingers crossed, good Korean would be a huge add.

Second, Carnivore has Cajun boudin this week and it is really, really good and fun. Run, people!

I've been sitting on a gift Cert for Taco Mucho for two years from a silent auction fundraiser. Happened to get a random call from an old taco exploring buddy of mine who was in the hood, looking for a lunch companion, and we settled on Taco Mucho, since neither of us had been.

Nothing we had was bad, at all.
Some things were actually quite good, imo.
Nothing was really great, for the price.

The hand made tortillas were really good. Tender, a little chewy (in a good way,) pillowy, but small. All tacos were about 3 bites.

Carne Asada was a big, uniform dice - probably "cube" is a better term. Tender, obviously good quality, but overpriced for a small taco at 6.50 each. Good homemade tortilla, quality meat, I get it. Gotta pay to play. At 6.50, you leave yourself NO room for any sort of error. Meat, tortilla, salsa, onion, cilantro, portion size - all better be A tier. Portion was small, salsa was sad. Only ONE salsa on the day we went. It was just sad, blender salsa. Nothing made it stand out in any way from a host of other places. If they had a few salsas to even try to make themselves interesting, I would have less issue, but, whatevs.

Chicken Pastor - This one was more to my liking. I think these were only 5 bux each. Still small, again a big dice on the chicken, but it had a very nice flavor, and a little kick. Pineapple bits, and a good interesting seasoning. Spicy, sweet, a little charry. Good showing. Just small.

Carnitas was really good, but nothing that you couldn't buy at your local carnitas purveyor. Juicy, not dry. Not oversalted.

Whitefish Taco was REALLY good, imo. Blackened, spicy, surprisingly good for a non fried fish taco. It actually had a little bit of a crunchy crust from the blackening spices.

Green Chorizo Taco - another one that was quite decent. I wonder if they are using the green chorizo from Carnivore, but I couldn't really recall the Carnivore version's flavor profile, I just remember I liked it a lot. Taco Mucho's green chorizo was not strongly flavored, but more subtle, cleaner that your standard cheap taqueria stuff..

The rice and beans were completely just ok. Nothing that stood out from any other taqueria in anytown U.S.A. Again, not BAD, just nothing exciting.

I'd be a little more enthused to return if they had some interesting salsas to try. Like a cremosa, or an arbol, just anything. A few minutes, a blender, and an idea would have made things much more interesting, imo.

You could definitely do worse. I ate 6 tacos, rice and beans, and I was sated. I was still looking for a bowl of cereal as a mid afternoon snack before dinner. I'll probably remember the most that the tortillas were the best part of the meal. Again, nothing was BAD. As Michael Eisner would say, "Bring Money!" As I laugh at my attempt to be witty with that quip - this place would be right in line at Disneyworld for the price / quantity, and decent quality (when you find the Disneyworld hidden gems - if that makes any sense.)

I feel like this could be said about a number of different oak park taco spots. Our go-to in the area is Las Quecas in Berwyn—good options for filling as well as salsas. Have you tried that one?

Las Quecas
6311 w Cermak
Berwyn

Love,
John

Ideal Machine wrote:Las Quecas
6311 w Cermak
Berwyn

Love,
John

Definitely on the short list now. We're generally looking in Zacatacos' direction for tacos in the area. We used to really like La Lupita around East and Cermak for meals other than tacos, too, but we haven't been in a few years. Quecas better be good with Uncle Schwarma and the Bakery across the street.

seebee wrote:

Ideal Machine wrote:Las Quecas
6311 w Cermak
Berwyn

Love,
John

Definitely on the short list now. We're generally looking in Zacatacos' direction for tacos in the area. We used to really like La Lupita around East and Cermak for meals other than tacos, too, but we haven't been in a few years. Quecas better be good with Uncle Schwarma and the Bakery across the street.

Still so grateful for the Uncle Shawarma tip, which is now in the regular rotation, and another excuse to peruse nearby Play It Retro / Timeless Entertainment for overpriced gaming nostalgia and current scalped cardboard.

Those Taco Mucho steak cubes on their torta are really magical, if you want to drop $20 on a sandwich. I mean, a big Italian beef is almost approaching that with tax and both sweet and hot peppers lately for much more monotonous flavors. I can only justify it very occasionally but I do like the family and the art in there.

Brendan from Berwyn Chicken / Big Guys catering has been a proponent of Macho's Grill in Forest Park which I find excellent and value-priced. Ceviche tostada, cecina tacos, and licuados are consistent winners, as are their basic homey beans, rice, and salsas. They could not be nicer at the counter or for sit-down.

I am most regularly at Tacos '76 on Madison. The chiles toreados are excellent and the beef birria / quesabirria, chilaquiles, and al pastor from the spit are reasonably solid, plus horchata cold brew. It's fairly cheap and quick and while not super-distinctive scratches the itch.

My kids and I are eagerly awaiting the opening of The Wolf. It is hands down our favorite place for tea based boba drinks. It is the only reason why I would tolerate the drive to North Riverside twice a week for their swim practice. They swim, I get boba...

The staff at the North Riverside location said they hope to open this month (a few months ago, they said Feb, but :shrug:). Fingers crossed!

Santander wrote:Decent Vietnamese within striking distance of Oak Park has been a weak spot since Saigon Pho moved from Madison to Lake to the Great Beyond. I'm pleased that [E.T.?] Pho Home 2 (near Harlem & Grand in Elmwood Park) which opened earlier in August sampled slightly better than average in all categories, though with a squarely standard suburban menu.

I just tried Pho Home 2 last weekend with the kids! It popped up on Google Maps and I didn't really want to drive to HIP for Viet Taste! It is a solid choice! Kind staff and good pho. I ordered a banh mi and the fish sauce wings to go. The banh mi was average (but hey there isn't much competition!) but the wings are above average IMO.

I like their pho more than Pho No. 1 Brewing.

Edited to add:
Would anyone be up for an Oak Park Lunch event!?! I haven't seen yall in ages (and some I have never met!)

CrazyC wrote:Edited to add:
Would anyone be up for an Oak Park Lunch event!?! I haven't seen yall in ages (and some I have never met!)

As long as it's not in OP*

OK, even OP, I'd be interested/up

*unsolicited suggestions: Johnnies, Freddy's, the above referenced Pho Home 2, which is both good and needs love

Ahem.
I wish I could plop one of those old timey trumpet announcement sounds here but...

KPOT Korean BBQ
North Riverside – Cermak Road*

*Coming Soon.

I've only been to one KPOT in Michigan, but it was pretty damn solid. If the weekday lunch price will still be 20 ish bux, it might render anything near that price point obsolete, if you have an hour or so, and don't mind reeking of kbbq grill the rest of the day.

CrazyC wrote:Would anyone be up for an Oak Park Lunch event!?! I haven't seen yall in ages (and some I have never met!)

I would!

- zorkmead