On Wednesday, September 16, 2009, Mexican Independence Day, the Historic Pilsen Community will be serving up the second annual Buen Provecho! Pilsen.  Over twenty-five local restaurants, cafes and bakeries will be participating in the restaurant tour providing visitors with a sample of their dishes.
“We’re thrilled to be able to showcase the variety of businesses that Pilsen has to offer.  I can’t imagine a better way to spend Mexican Independence Day than on a walking restaurant tour of our beautiful community” stated Alderman Daniel Solis. “With a large Mexican population in Pilsen, the food is some of the most authentic in the city” adds Solis.

Buen Provecho! Pilsen is centered along 18th Street in the heart of Pilsen’s commercial district and will feature over 25 restaurants, cafes and bakeries providing a sample of their signature dishes to attendees between the hours of 5:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.  Restaurants featured at this event include:  Birreria Reyes de Ocatlan, Café al Teatro, Café Jumping Bean, Ciao Amore,  Cuernavaca, Don Churro, Fig Catering, Fogata Village,  Honky Tonk BBQ, Kristoffer’s, La Esperanza, Lawrence’s Fisheries, Los Comales,  Mundial Cocina Mestiza, Nightwood,  Nuevo Leon, Panderia El Paraiso, Panderia Nuevo Leon, Perez Restaurant, Pollo Express, Take Me Out, Simone’s and Taqueria Cardona’s.

Tickets to this event are $25 in advance and $30 the day of the event  – however,  if,  your audience joins “Friends of ESDC” on Facebook tickets can be purchased in advance, at a promotional rate of two for $40.  All proceeds benefit the Eighteenth Street Development Corporation, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.  Tickets may be purchased by visiting www.eighteenthstreet.org,  via Facebook or in person at ESDC’s community office located at 1843 South Carpenter, Chicago, IL  60608, 312-733-2287.  Attendees will receive their ticket along with a routing map guiding them through Pilsen and all the participating restaurants to ensure they have the opportunity to visit each site.  Please visit the website for exact locations of restaurants and additional information.

What a great idea (and so much less messy).  Just go buy the piggy party and bring it to the pigskin party. LH

Instant Pig Party To Go

Brother Chris grills a 75 lb piggy

Smoke Daddy Rhythm and BarBQue, located in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, now offers a special “Pig in a Box” party to-go.  Perfect for fall sports season with tailgating, football drafts and in-home viewing parties just around the corner, “Pig in a Box” includes four sections of baby back ribs, eight spare ribs, six rib tips, one pound of pork, six buns and two pints of side items (sweet potato fries, hand cut fries, smoked pit beans, coleslaw, piece of cornbread, veggie of the day, homemade BBQ chips, mac-n-cheese) for $48.

Fine Print: No Substitutions on meat. Plates, napkins, silverware and serving utensils are included. Available with one day notice.

Smoke Daddy Rhythm and BarBQue

1804 West Division, Chicago, IL 60622
773-772-6656
www.thesmokedaddy.com

My friend Hannah and I stopped by Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Arlington Heights a few weeks ago.  I have been to Pappadeaux before – but sometimes it’s nice to go back and find out what’s new.

We were greeted by General Manager Timothy Grodek – a young and energetic “leader of the seafood circus” there at Pappadeaux.  The place is really expansive looking – I’m almost certain they could host the entire NFL for dinner and still have some room.  This is certainly a multi-use restaurant – with plenty of space for parties and gatherings.

We started out with some drink specials – I had the twisted hurricane (with frozen margarita and raspberry and citrus vodka infusions.  It was cool and refreshing.  Hannah tried the mango mojito with pineapple rum and mango.  Both were a nice start to the evening.

I have an allergy to crab – so all dishes I tasted had no crab.  However, Hannah did order their crab cakes (they are one of the house specialties) and she said that they were great.  For those who love crab – you’ll have no problem finding a diverse selection of offerings.

Crab Cakes

The menu can serve any taste – fried, sushi, oysters, steak, chicken in addition to pasta and New Orleans specialties like shrimp etouffee. I always tend to eat what the restaurant is known for. In this case, it’s seafood.

I tried the blackened shrimp and crawfish fondeaux for an appetizer.  This was simple, straight forward and comforting.  The shrimp and crawfish were melted with a Monterey Jack cheese and incorporated with sautéed mushrooms.  Rolling some of this rich fare on top of some warm garlic bread was frankly addicting.  I think I could have this dish every day and not tire of its creamy comfort.

Blackened Shrimp & Crawfish Fondeaux

We took a few spoonfuls of both their traditional clam chowder and one of their best sellers – the lobster bisque. The clam chowder was too “clammy” for me.  The fish overwhelmed the soup. I loved, however, the lobster bisque with such a great richness of real lumps of crab, and nice chunks of tomato. This was very satisfying.

I was anxious to try the unique dishes that the chefs had to offer.  Basically, we know that all of the seafood is fresh and cooked well – whether it is shrimp, salmon, tilapia, tuna or catfish.  So, Tim suggested that he present a sautéed piece of halibut (one of my favorites) and then serve it with samples from four or five sauces.

The halibut was pan sautéed and included a house Cajun seasoning. We tried a Diablo sauce (pico de gallo in a garlic lemon butter sauce).  Another choice was buttery citrus herb sauce, and we tried a classic ver blanc to name a few.  What a great opportunity to weigh in on a sauce’s impact on a dish. Honestly, that piece of halibut was cooked just right and I would have readily eaten it without sauces. All of the sauces were perfect for almost any piece of seafood that could be served.  They all were so rich that “a little dab will do you.”  I leaned toward the classic ver blanc.

The fish was served with these smashed red seasoned potatoes served with parmesan. I told Tim that these potatoes were so fresh I could tell they were recently picked. I can really tell how fresh potatoes are.

Banana Pudding

For dessert, we tried the banana pudding and the crème brulee. The banana pudding was filled with chunks of banana, whipped cream and the bottom had classic vanilla wafers. Again – it is such a comforting dessert – and it takes me back to Sunday dinners with family in the 1970’s. Something big happened in the 70’s with banana pudding and vanilla wafers. I know I had that dessert more than once at my Aunt Pat’s house. But, I digress.  The crème brulee was creamy and sugary – as it should be – served with fresh fruit.

There are two nearby locations – in Westmont and Arlington Heights. Try to catch some of their discounted seafood specials and Pappadeaux becomes a very affordable option for a family dinner.  This place has always been busy when I’ve come in – which is testament to good food at an affordable price.

Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen
www.pappadeaux.com
798 W Algonquin Rd
Arlington Hts, IL 60005-4416
(847) 228-9551

Giles started to hear the buzz about great food at Amelia’s Mestizo Grill on Halsted.  Chef Eusevio Garcia migrated from Mundial Cocina Mestiza restaurant in Pilsen and brought his menu with him.  Amelia’s Grille has been in the Back of the Yards neighborhood serving traditional Mexican food for over ten years.

Amelia’s is settled into a quaint storefront building in the middle of an industrial area. Across the street are big stacks of unused railcars.  In my mind, that area reminded of the place grandpa decided to stay in his home even though almost everyone else had moved.

But, with a restaurant like Amelia’s, the food is so outstanding that it should not matter. It will (or should) end up being a destination place due to the creativity of Chef Garcia.

The interior is full – floor to ceiling – with exposed brick. It’s cozied up by incorporating the warm colors of Mexico – red booths, orange textured drapes. There is indigenous colorful artwork displayed, authentic wood carvings and textured brick to give one the feeling that we just stumbled into this place around the corner in a little Mexican town.

Everyone was friendly and accommodating. I made friends with young Andy, who poured our water and wasn’t used to such open people.  Our server was a champion of the food and certainly took ownership of our choices.

With each dish, Chef Garcia takes what we all consider traditional Mexican cuisine, and turns it on its ear.  It’s really full of surprise, both in how it’s presented, and absolutely in how it tastes.  There is a hint of the traditional, but so many other taste sensations overlaid in a sophisticated way.

We ordered a tamal judio – tamale layered with puree of black beans, green mole and shredded chicken. It’s a little hard to describe, but the tamale itself was not like any other I’ve ever had.  It was moist and very very dense.  The moist chicken was covered in this black bean and mole blended sauce that had been married and the kicked flavor was just on its honeymoon.  This was a kick, but it was a kick of seduction.  With each bite of that seasoned chicken, one wanted to go searching for some of that tamale and to keep going. The more I think about it, I think it’s that mole that brought the seductive heat.  A few nuts on top gave the dish added texture.

Quesadilla de Cuitlacoche

We also ordered quesadilla de cuitcacoche. Corn truffle, Oaxaca cheese, epazote, roasted corn salad and black bean and tomato salsa.  I felt my mouth was dancing like Shakira while I was eating this. It was a big fiesta.  The surprising lime tartness just showing up along with the comfort of the cheese, the earthiness of the black beans and texture of the organic greens on top.  This was akin to a fire cracker popping – one taste discovery at a time. The best of the best!

We ordered two entrees – the first was camarones a la diabla: jumbo shrimp, garlic, applewood bacon, roasted peppers, scallions and zesty valentine sauce.  There was rice that you could also lovingly drag around to attract the roasted peppers and bacon.  Giles asked that the shrimp be cooked just a tad under to keep its firmness and they did exactly that. Again, this is a dish with a sauciness and fire crackers of savory flavor.

Rib Eye San Pedro

We wanted to order a beef entrée, and our server drew us back every time to try the ribeye san pedro (potato wedges, poblano rajas, asiago cheese, red wine sauce with cuitlacoche butter.) Outstanding.  It was such a proud, sexy male looking dish with the steak pointing to a mound of thick, crispy, tasty potatoes.  The steak was seasoned to perfection.  I can’t quite describe the seasoning except that there was a hint of traditional Mexican flavors (cumin, lime, cilantro, for example) and “something else.”  Giles and I agreed that it was not the finest cut of beef we ever had but it did not matter – it was flavorishous and cooked to perfection.  I wanted to know… what was the magic?

For dessert I launched right into the crepas locas (caramelized bananas, marshmallows, chocolate chips, caramel sauce and chef’s ice cream.)  Every single ingredient is one that would make me happy.  This dessert was whimsical and amusing. The crepe was not thin, it was thick and dense. I guess I was looking for the grown up version of this – with home made marshmallow perhaps a little fire crisped, and real chocolate cascading chips made by a Mexican chocolatier.

Blueberry Bread Pudding

Giles ordered blueberry bread pudding with chocolate chips, apricot campote, mix berry sauce and cherry ice cream.  The bread pudding was so comforting I built a fantasy of coming in from ice skating and being served this warm with a cup of hot cocoa.  The cherry ice cream was a nice surprise.

Amelia’s is currently BYOB.  I would suggest you come and BYOB often – it’s a destination restaurant!  Next for Chef Garcia – I would like to see new specials and culinary inventions that further stretch his creativity.

Amelia’s Mestizo Grill
4559 S. Halsted
Chicago, IL 773-538-8200

Stephanie Izard is still our hometown hero for her Top Chef win, but now we have another local chef in the running to win Top Chef Master: Rick Bayless.  So, the site to lurk at is: www.root4rick.com

And, here’s a list of things many, many people might not know about Rick culled from the website:

1. Do you have any food allergies? No, but tomato juice makes me gag

2. What did you buy with your first pay check?  A Sports car and a pet monkey

3. What is your favorite scent? Wood burning fire

4. What is your favorite ride at Disneyland? The funnel cake stand

5. Guilty pleasure? Doughnuts and gossip girl  xoxo

(That last blurb about Rick and gossip girl just might be too much information!)

There is a full court PR push to write haiku’s, twitter, have a Bayless party, or just do the wave by yourself in your living room.  All are possibilities for Wednesday’s finale.  It’s not even a bad excuse to buy my favorite Tequila..Patron!

So tune in, turn on, and feel groovy while voting for our local master Rick!  Wednesday August 19th on Bravo.