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Reviews

Rica Arepa

I’ve been to Rica Arepa a few times and I always forget to take some pictures or write about it. They have multiple locations but I frequent the one on North Lincoln here in Chicago. Their staff is always friendly and you can’t help but have a good time.

I started the meal with Mini Cachapas Con Queso

Mini Cachapas con queso

This simple fried maize flour dish is like little pancakes folded over with cheese in the middle. They are slightly sweet and make for a great snack.

Being that I had a long day ahead of me, my second dish was the Rica Arepa Breakfast

Rica Arepa Breakfast

This dish comes with an arepa, scrambled eggs, ham, avocado, and cheese. I combined all of these with bites of the arepa and it is deceivingly filling.

I forgot to snap a picture of it but Rica Arepa’s Venezuelan Lemonade is a must at this stop. It is easily one of my favorite drinks on a hot day.

I hope you get the chance to stop by Rica Arepa as they are one of my favorite spots in Lincoln Park.

https://www.ricaarepachicago.com/

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Reviews

Chicago Q

I can’t say that I’ve ever sought out barbeque in Chicago but recently I had a hankering for some slow cooked meats. Doing some research I landed upon Chicago Q. Chicago isn’t the place I think of when I think about having good barbeque. I tend to think first of Texas then maybe to Kansas City but almost never do I think of Illinois let alone Chicago.

Anyway, I stopped by Chicago Q early on a rainy Saturday night. The place was pretty much empty which to me either means it is not good or I showed up way too early for the dinner rush.

I ordered the ”Flight” from the Low and Slow section on their menu as well as some wings and cornbread. I had mashed potatoes as my side with the flight.

The Flight from Chicago Q

The Flight is served with three meats. Pulled chicken, pulled pork and chopped brisket. You also get to select one side. The mashed potatoes were amazing and came in this nice little cast iron skillet. I also had a piece of corn bread which was a little bit too dry for my liking but not horrible. With enough butter it was pretty good. All of the meats were fantastic. I wish the portions in the flight were slightly larger. I would have liked to see a little bit more meat and less potatoes personally. The chicken wings were dry rub, cooked perfectly and had just the right amount of heat for my pale complexion.

Overall, the food here is great. The drink menu is spectacular and the service was top notch. The barbeque itself will never compare to that of Texas or Kansas City but when I have the desire to consume smoked and slow cooked meats this will definitely be one of the places I visit in Chicago again.

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Reviews

Dreamland Bar & Diner

I recently visited the great state of Washington. This is my first time in the Pacific North West. The rain did not disappoint. I was soaked on my second day as I ventured around the city on a guided chocolate tour!

But, that’s not what this article is about. On a break from the rainy weather, I wandered into Dreamland Bar & Diner an eclectic place of great cocktails and what might have been a midday dance party.

In search of some late lunch, the chicken sandwich piqued my interest. Served with a great portion of french fries this looked to be just what I needed to get me through the rest of the many miles I was planning on wandering for the rest of the day.

The french fries were perfectly seasoned and cooked perfectly so that the outside was a little bit crunchy but the inside was still a fluffy potato.

The chicken sandwich however left a lot to be desired… What appeared to be a great breading and seasoning was in fact a bland chicken thigh that had been deep-fried, slapped on a bun, and topped with melted cheddar cheese.

Dubbed the “Big Daddy Cluck” on the menu, this sandwich was classified as the ‘galaxy’s most feared emcee born on the floor of a saloon at stampede’. Allegedly served with buttermilk bacon slaw, a Macrina sodo bun pickled jalapeno, and sweet pepper jelly. For $18 I could have gone to the grocery store, bought all of these ingredients, and made my own chicken sandwich with the limited supplies in my AirBnB.

While Dreamland provided great vibes, an amazing selection of cocktails, and a bathroom hallway that will make a sober person drunk I cannot recommend that you get a chicken sandwich here. Maybe try their Crunchy Wrap Supreme instead?

See you again soon Seattle.

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Reviews

Galit

On North Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park Chicago sits Galit. A small restaurant across the street from Lincoln Hall. This James Beard award-winning Mediterranean restaurant serves a chef’s tasting menu to each of its guests. The menu is made up of five courses.

For the first course, the Hummus course I had the traditional “Tehina” hummus which was served with their delicious bread.

Tehina Hummus
Galit’s Bread

The second course, called “Salatim” consisted of some more amazing spreads as well as vegetables and some assorted pickled vegetables.

Spreads and vegetables

The hummus course and the Salatime course are served at the same time and the portions are perfect for two people.

After the first two courses came the Mezze course. I ordered the Iraqi Kubbeh Halab which was lamb in a crispy saffron crust served with dill leaves. The flavor in this small dish was amazing.

Iraqi Kubbeh Halab

For the main course, I chose to have the Turkey Shawarma. While the flavor was great I do believe that the meat was slightly overcooked. The char on the ends gave the whole dish a very strong burned taste to it. The shawarma is served on top of a pea puree and accompanied by orange blossoms which make a really great pairing.

Turkey Shawarma

For dessert, I had to get the Turkish Coffee Ice cream. Not your traditional coffee flavors here and I highly recommend it.

Turkish Coffee Ice Cream

Galit was a great date night spot with the chef’s tasting menu. All of the portions were great and the value for the evening was great. I would return to this restaurant if they created a new menu for me to try in a heartbeat!

Galit Website

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Reviews

Andy’s Thai Kitchen

Stopped by this local cash-only spot for a little Sunday dinner. Greeted by a very friendly staff who seemed overjoyed that we were visiting their establishment.

I ordered the Kao Soy and Chicken Satay. The Kao Soy is a yellow curry dish with egg noodles, chicken, onion, sour mustard, crushed peanuts lime, and some crispy noodles to top it all off.

Kao Soy

The portions were HUGE! The Kao Soy had just enough heat but wasn’t super overpower and every bite had a massive amount of flavor. Easily one of the best yellow curries I have had in a long time.

The chicken satay came with 4 screwers. The peanut sauce wasn’t very peanut forward but had decent flavor. The 4 pieces made a great appetizer for my meal.

Overall, a great place to get some cheap Thai food in Chicago! They also have a great selection of vegan and gluten free options.

Andy’s Thai Kitchen
https://andysthaikitchen.com/
950 W. Diversey Parkway
Chicago, IL  60614

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Recipes

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cups

Do you like Reese’ Peanut butter cups? I do. So I started making my own. This receipe is three ingredients:
1. Chocolate chips
2. Coconut Oil
3. Peanut Butter

With one bag of chocolate chips I made 9 cups. So, if you want more than that I would suggest using two bags!

To create these first start up your double boiler. I setup two as my peanut butter was very thick.

Add your chocolate chips and maybe half a tablespoon of coconut oil into your bowl. Get this all nice and melty!

You’ll want this to be a very runny consistancy. Once you have this melted down you will need to pour a layer of the chocolate into your cupcake molds.

Give this a few taps on the counter to help level it out. Then put it in the freezer until it’s solid. Once it is solid add your peanut butter. You’ll see mine turned out a little too runny. You will want a small little piece of peanut butter in the middle for each cup.

I tapped these on the counter as well to level them out as they were going to be more like layers now. Because mine was so runny, I put it in the freezer. You don’t have to do this if you have thicker peanut butter. Once you have your peanut butter set, cover it in more chocolate and then level it out. Once leveled, put it back into the freezer until completely frozen!

I suggest letting them come to room temperature before you try and eat them otherwise you will break your teeth. Enjoy!

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Recipes

Homemade Flour Tortillas

I’ve been trying to figure this recipe out for a while. The dough forms just fine, its the cooking process. So if you figure out how to cook these better than what I describe, send me a message as soon as possible.

Here’s what you need:

3 cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/3rd cup of olive oil, 1 cup of warm water.

Put your dry ingredients into a bowl and mix them up. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients, pour in your oil slowly, and then add in your water slowly.

Mix everything together with a spatula until your dough starts to form. Once the dough forms, transfer it to a floured workspace and knead it together for a few minutes until it is smooth.

I then let this rest for a few minutes while I got a plate out. Break off golf ball sized pieces and roll them into balls. Place on your plate. Do this until you run out of dough. If you want bigger tortillas for burritos then break off a tennis ball sized piece.

I let these chill for another 10 to 15 minutes. After this is done, use your hands to flatten them into disc shapes. Put them onto your floured workspace and roll them into the round tortilla shape.

If you’re some kind of weird perfectionist you can use a stencil to make these perfect circles. I’m not one of those weirdos.

Once you have your tortillas rolled out heat up a pan. I used a non-stick pan. The first time I tried this recipe I through the dough directly into the hot pan until it started to brown and then flipped it over. This resulted in dry crusty bread. This time I added a little olive oil to the tortilla before putting it into the pan. This made a golden brown tortilla that was softer.

Cook it how you like it and let me know in the comments what worked best!

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Recipes

Beef Brisket Tacos

I had a slab of beef brisket leftover from a different meal and I wanted tacos. So naturally I used my sous vide to cook the brisket. It took a whole day but boy they were good.

Set your sous vide to 135 degrees fahrenheit and season your brisket with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne and red pepper flakes. Vacuum seal it up and drop it into the sous vide for at least 24 hours.

Once that bad boy has sat for at least 24 hours you can take it out. I let it rest on a butcher block while I heat up my cast iron pan. Get the pan ripping hot and add some oil. I prefer olive oil but you can use whatever you want. Toss the brisket into the pan and let it sear for a few seconds on every side to get a nice crust. Once you have seared it, let it rest again before slicing into smaller bites for your tacos.

I assembled my tacos with some chopped onion, fresh cilantro and cotija cheese. Make your own tortillas for an even better taco!

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Recipes

Parmesan Broth

Have a bunch of parmesan rinds left over? I did for some reason. I thought about just throwing them out but I did some digging and found that I could make a broth from the remains and its supposed to be good.

Start by chopping up a quarter of a yellow onion and around 5 cloves of garlic.

Chopped Garlic
Chopped Onion

Once you have these chopped up, put some olive oil in the bottom of a large stock pot or dutch oven. Really any pot with a lid will work. Heat the oil and add in the onions. I decided to make my broth spicy by adding in some red pepper flakes. You can omit this if you don’t like spicy food. Add in your garlic to the pot. Sauté until the onions are cooked through. Reduce the heat and cover.

Chop up some carrots and celery and add them into the pot. Place your parmesan rinds into the bottom of the pot as well. If you have fresh spices, toss in some fresh oregano and thyme. Dry spices will work as well. Add around 7 cups of water to the pot and reduce by half. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Yummy Carrots

Once you have reduced by half, turn the heat off, strain the broth and extract the carrots because carrots taste good. This is what my broth looked like before I strained it.

Use the broth for a soup base or do what I did and add some pasta, chicken, and roasted tomatoes for a great dish. Here is a final dish I made myself for dinner.

Try and make the the broth. It’s not hard and you can do it! Send pictures of your creations!

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Recipes

Trash Hash

I call this one “Trash Hash” because its made up of all the food I had left in my refrigerator. To make this glorious hangover food you need some left over french fries, some sauces of your choice, cheese, and an egg.

Start off by putting your left over french fries in the oven for a little bit. We want them to be crispy to add some crunch to the dish rather than just a soggy slop. I pre-heated my oven to 400 degrees and left the fries in on a baking sheet for around 5 minutes.

While the fries were crisping I took a hot dog and pan seared it in a dry cast iron skillet over medium heat. Cook it to your preferred level of done-ness and slice into half inch pieces.

Once your fries are good and crispy take them out and let them cool a little bit while you cook your egg. I prefer my eggs over easy but feel free to cook it over medium or even scrambled.

While your egg is cooking, place your fries into a bowl and add your sauces. I chose to use ranch and hot sauce. Add in your hot dog and layer your egg on top of it.

Eat right away while hot and enjoy!

And there you have it! A finished Trash Hash for using up left overs in your fridge or whenever you just need to throw a quick meal together.