Category Archives: Comfort Food

Sweet Vinndication (Portland, Part 1)

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Mark T

Hey hey everyone and welcome to another edition of Mastication Monologues! I’m finally back from my four day long adventure to the Pacific Northwest, specifically Portland, Oregon, and I have plenty of food adventures for y’all to read about. However, I am going to switch up the style of my writing for this travelogue and instead just focus on one restaurant in each post. Let me know if you prefer it like this, one post for one restaurant, or a recounting of each day with multiple restaurants.

While I arrived in Portland on Wednesday evening, I wasn’t feeling up to grabbing a very late lunch due to general fatigue and the wonderful Portland weather that greeted me, i.e. an annoying misty rain coming down at random intervals. However, the next morning I suited up and was ready for my first day of my international teaching convention. While externally I seemed raring to go, I remembered that I needed to get the fuel to get my teaching mind firing on all cylinders. So, I remembered a breakfast place I passed while walking to a nearby Walgreens that was called Village Inn. It seemed like a local place based on its location away from the heart of the downtown along with its general appearance as a greasy spoon diner. I made a mental note of it and returned that Thursday morning. It was another dreary gray and drizzly day, but my formal attire seemed to catch the staff off guard as I entered, valise in hand. It looked like the average age in the place was 60, but I didn’t mind how empty it was at 8 a.m. As I surveyed the menu, it seemed that this was a chain of sorts that smacked of the larger Denny’s corporation in regard to the general interior decor and menu boasting breakfast, lunch, and dinner entrees at all hours. Plus, it brought the Baker Square vibe with their pie obsession. Very Important Notes: If you buy a dish on Wednesdays, you get a free slice of pie. Plus, they offer 69 cent beverages everyday of the week from 6 am to 9 am, and kids eat free on Monday and Tuesday. What’s not to like about this place? After looking at the plethora of eggs, pancakes, My Very.Innportant.Breakfast option, and heart healthy plates, I went for the strawberry banana supreme French toast for $9.69. French toast is my weakness when it comes to the first meal of the day, and I can’t say no to fresh fruit.

When it eventually came out, I was surprised that it looked somewhat similar to the picture that advertised it in the menu except with more strawberry sauce to make it look like the set from Carrie.

C’est si bon!

Thankfully, the taste was the opposite of horrifying, and I didn’t feel like killing everyone who humiliated me by making me eat their terrible food. The strawberries and bananas were actually fresh and not canned which I really savored. I felt like there could have been a bit more powdered sugar, but the slices of French toast by themselves were divine. Not only did I taste the subtle hints of vanilla in the batter with every bite, but the bread to cream ratio favored the former which I prefer. Too much cream takes away from the flavor of the actual toast along with destroying any sort of texture contrast in the dish. Overall, I was greatly satisfied with the food, service, and prices. Plus, if you need to be somewhere in a hurry, they don’t mess around with your order which I appreciated. So if you’re looking for a new breakfast restaurant that you’d like to try out for the first time or just need that coffee and pancake panacea to cure the hangover from last night, Village Inn is the place for you!

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Posted in American Cuisine, Bakery, Breakfast, Burgers, Chain Restaurants, Comfort Food, Pie and tagged breakfast, coffee, cream, French toast, Oregon, pie, Portland, rain, strawberries, Village Inn. Bookmark the permalink.

Flippin’ Awesome

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Mark T

What’s up, everybody? Welcome to another edition of Mastication Monologues! Today I’m going to be talking about a well known player on the Seoul food circuit that I finally managed to hunt down and sink my choppers into: Butterfinger Pancakes. I went to the one close to Gangnam station. Leave the station through exit #6. Walk straight ahead to the first street corner and turn left. It’s about 2 blocks down on the left next to Burger King. As for the hours, they’re open until 3 a.m. if you’re craving some American breakfast items.

I had always heard that it pretty much was the place to go to get a taste of back home, but that it was always super busy. The night Steph and I went there was no different. We went on a Saturday night for dinner, and there still was a 15 minute wait which wasn’t too terrible. We went up to the top floor, and surprisingly it was filled with mostly Koreans. Walking past the packed tables, I could see huge plates overflowing with food that the patrons were quickly inhaling like they never saw food before. Perhaps I would have a similar experience. I knew Butterfingers meant business when I was face to face with its menu.

I think they’re trying to compensate for something.

It literally was larger than life just like their prices which ranged from 10,000 to 30,000 Won. They had everything from pancakes to make your own omelet options. I wanted to try a little bit of everything, but I eventually went for the breakfast special (17,000 W) which contained eggs (scrambled/sunny side up/hard boiled), white sausage, ham, sausage links, hash browns, and pancakes with your choice of regular butter or vanilla butter. Steph got the French toast version of the platter. When they came out, I was taken aback at how much food there was on our plates.

Steph’s French toast plate

After living in a country where they eat kimchi and rice or maybe nothing for breakfast, this was a shock to the system. I quickly dove gob first into my meal starting with the eggs. I thought I would need some salt to make them more palatable, but I was pleased with their buttery goodness. Plus, they didn’t have that gross gelatinous texture that scrambled eggs can take on when made in restaurants like McDonalds. Next, there were the hashbrowns. Normally, I’m all about the crispy, triangular hashbrowns and don’t care much for the shaved-taters version.

A thing of beauty

However, I liked these better than how they’re normally prepared because they were squished into a thick potato-pancake of sorts that made them a lot easier to eat especially with a dollop of ketchup. The white sausage was just ok. It kind of had a hot dog flavor profile which didn’t really jive with the rest of the classic breakfast items. It was like that guy who brings Zima to a house party. True, it’s alcohol, but it should be at another party or perhaps another decade. However, the breakfast sausage links and ham were delicious and were only further enhanced through the addition of maple syrup. Nothing like a little liquid Canadian gold to make any breakfast better. Finally, there were the pancakes. I do have to say that Butterfinger Pancakes definitely lives up to their name with their mean flapjacks. They were perfectly cooked to a golden brown hue and had fluffy white insides. Taste-wise, they probably were some of the best pancakes I’ve ever had. I think what separated them from other pancakes that I’ve downed before was that they possessed a unique buttery/vanilla aftertaste that took my palate off to Paul Bunyan’s lumberjack heaven. Even though they were on the smaller side, they had enormous flavors. When I finished, I was satisfied, but in retrospect, it wasn’t the best breakfast overall that I’ve had. I think it was simply the fact that I haven’t had a normal American breakfast in so long that I really appreciated one when it came along. The plate I ordered you could find anywhere in America, but this was a case of distance causing the stomach to grow fonder.

I’m so aegyo

So if you are really hankering for some big breakfasts the way only the Stars and Stripes can do it, head on over the Butterfinger Pancakes in Gangnam.

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Posted in American Cuisine, Breakfast, Comfort Food and tagged America, breakfast, eggs, French toast, ham, hash browns, pancakes, potatoes, sausage. Bookmark the permalink.

Where Everyone Should Bee

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Mark T

Hey everyone! So today I am going to be bringing you quite the intriguing post where not only did I have a sumptuous brunch, but I also hit up what might be my new favorite summer hangout. Definitely worthy of my 90th post! First, there is the Honey Bowl. You can get to it by going to Hapjeong station and leaving exit 4. Head straight and take the first left by the bike shop. The street will split, so take the left path. Walk for about 10 minutes, and you will see it on your right hand side. You will pass a CU and a 7-11 on your way there in that order. Here is their Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Honey-Bowl/263651367034499.

So when I got there to meet up with two friends, we thankfully didn’t have to wait too long in the blazing sun, but once we got inside, we saw that the small eatery was tastefully decorated like the inside of a beehive minus the gross beeswax and scary killer bees. Their menu is quite comprehensive for a country that doesn’t really believe in the idea of breakfast, and it has all of your Western favorites like eggs and bacon, hash browns, sausage, and french toast. However, I was really craving some pancakes, so I went with the chocolate fudge pancakes (7,000 W). One of my main complaints with the restaurant was their water service. They gave us very small cups, and it was very hot out. Ergo, we were going to need a lot of water to stay hydrated. In other places operated by Koreans, like in my other post about Taco Cielo, they gave the table a large pitcher of water to save themselves the trip of constantly giving out refills. Not in the Honey Bowl. This key error negatively impacted the flow of the restaurant since the wait staff spent so much time filling water which then made orders come in slower for the cooks which then made the wait time longer for your food. However, I was glad I waited because these pancakes were light, fluffy flapjacks sent down from Paul Bunyan Jesus. He crafted them in his divine skillet in the sky, and then baptized them in the name of deliciousness by submerging them in the holy chocolate sauce that was just the right viscosity, i.e. not too runny and not too thick like cake frosting. The whip cream with chocolate chips on top were just gilding the rose, but at that point, I didn’t care. They sadly weren’t gigantic pancakes for someone like me with a Paul Bunyan appetite, so I also tried the Honey Bowl’s single plate of cheese potato (6,500 W). It was a very simple dish of potato wedges smothered in cheddar and mozzarella cheese along with pieces of American bacon. Surprisingly, it was not greasy at all, and the potatoes were neither soggy nor drowned out by the suffocating richness of the salty bacon and cheese. It also came with a side of sweet and sour sauce that had a chili pepper base that gave this mound of carbs and fat a bit of a spicy kick. After those two small items, it was time to hit up Fell and Cole again for some funkier ice cream flavors.

Today they had the type of ice cream that I was expecting from the Cali transplant. I got a double with a scoop of perilla or sesame leaf ( 깻잎) leaf ice cream and then a scoop of All Black which was a mix of Guinness and chocolate.

Why is mediocrity always on top of greatness?

The perilla leaf came first, and I can definitely say I prefer them deep fried instead of in ice cream form. If they’re eaten deep fried or in ssam bap form (raw), they have a strong, almost peppery flavor, but this dairy version made it taste like I was eating frozen sharp cheddar. I do love my cheese, but it is a bit unexpected and almost unwanted when you’re eating it as ice cream. Once I soldiered my way through that pastel green semi-abomination, I once again stumbled on buried treasure. Just like in my last post, Nosh Pit, the alcohol infused ice cream was better not just because it had a bit of alcohol in it. I love Guinness beer to begin with, so I might be biased. Nevertheless, the bold, black coffee cloak of the Irish classic enveloped the milk chocolate which somehow made my tastebuds do a Riverdance of joy. It was like a run-of-the mill chocolate ice cream that had a boosting agent that both complimented and intensified the cocoa element of the creation. If they ever have the All Black flavor, get it and you will thank your Lucky Charms you tried it. Well, that’s all for me on my end, so try Honey Bowl if you’re missing some delicious Western breakfast food. You won’t bee sorry.

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Posted in American Cuisine, Breakfast, Chocolate, Comfort Food, Desserts, Ice Cream and tagged Beer, breakfast, cheese, chocolate, ice cream, Korea, pancakes, potatoes, sauce, spicy. Bookmark the permalink.

When Irish Stomachs Are Shrugging

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Mark T

Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of Mastication Monologues! Today I’m going to be talking about a restaurant that I visited in Incheon after I once again was foiled by Taco Cielo. The name of the restaurant is O’Malley’s Irish Pub located at 1474-3 Guwol-dong, Top Plaza 4F. They don’t have a website but can be found on Facebook.

Since my good friend, Ravi, has come over to visit me from London, I’ve been trying to show him the sights and sounds of Korea whenever I’m not working. However, sometimes it’s nice to take a break from soaking in all of the culture, smog, and kimchi and indulge in some Western food. So, after having a short walkabout around Incheon’s Songdo International City, I decided I wanted to take him to Taco Cielo, a much vaunted Mexican restaurante in Incheon. As I mentioned in a previous post, “Not Phonomenal“, I went to this Mexican eatery on a Saturday at 2pm, and it was closed. It was closed again on a Wednesday night with a simple note on the window saying, “Closed today. Sorry.” Hopefully, the third time’s the charm, and I’ll finally be able to blog about it. Anyway, I instead took my friend to O’Malley’s which is a building over.

When we walked in, it was like any other type of British pub with darts, foosball, and a long bar. They serve mainly pub food like burgers, sandwiches, salads, and appetizers. We settled down to our seats, and we ended up ordering nachos (10,000 W) to share. I got a bacon cheeseburger (10,000 W) with a Red Rock beer on the side (4,000 W). I had this brew before on a night out when I was less than fully sober, and it tasted good. Now that I was of sound mind and body, this wasn’t the case like most Korean beers. The color overall was a warm reddish-brown with a slightly hoppy aftertaste with some minor sweet notes in the background. However, it was an extremely watery lager like all the other Korean beers. My expectations weren’t that high to begin with, so I wasn’t that disappointed. As for the nachos, they were another story. They came out, and it was a large plate of chips coated with meagre amounts of cheese but plenty of jalapenos, onions, and tomatoes along with a small cup of salsa. I wasn’t very satisfecho with this plato. Then, there was my burger.

A wee burger for a wee lad

I wasn’t too happy with the size of it, and I felt they cheated me with the amount of fries nestled next to the burger. Then again, I justified the size of the burger with the fact that we’re in Korea, and everything is smaller. Yet the Wolfhound in Itaewon didn’t disappoint in this department (See: “Everything’s Bigger In Itaewon“). As for the quality of the burger, it was pretty decent. The bun was soft, pliable, and resilient to my savage mauling since I was quite hungry after a long and frustrating day of work. The patty was perfectly grilled and juicy but had a strange pork taste to it like many burgers I’ve had in Korea. As for the bacon, it wasn’t heavily seasoned but adequately crispy. I really appreciated the basket of condiments (ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, Tabasco sauce, and vinegarette) they provided us when they came back with Ravi’s meal. Finally, the fries were quite tasty even though there was an inadequate amount of them. They were seasoned with a bit of allspice and salt, and their golden, crunchy exteriors led to fluffy white interiors.

Overall, O’Malley’s was a decent restaurant with really friendly staff, a welcoming atmosphere, and a variety of food. However, if you’re looking for a great burger for a good price, I’d still recommend The Wolfhound in Itaewon over O’Malley’s.

Spice That’s Twice As Nice

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Mark T

Hello everyone to another edition of Mastication Monologues! Today I will be highlighting an expat haven in Itaewon where one can find Western quality breakfasts, burgers, and wings when they grow weary of the kimchi and non-existent Korean breakfast food. I’m talking about Richard Copycat’s All American diner located at 56-13 Itaewon-dong Yongsan-gu Seoul South Korea.

Now, I do enjoy Korean food and trying new things, but it never hurts to go back to food that is familiar to you. That what I was looking for when I walked into the diner, and I found it and then some. They have a pretty extensive menu that is filled with familiar breakfast staples like French toast, omelets, and skillets. Even though they boasted about the quality of their breakfast options in the menu, I was feeling like trying a burger since it was closer to lunch time. I ended up choosing was the wasabi burger. It had cheddar and pepper jack cheese, jalapenos, and a wasabi infused mayo. Yeah, you read that right, Japanese horseradish and mayo together in one potentially overwhelming combination.

When it came out, I was bracing myself for Western portions, but it was Korean sized which kind of wasn’t worth the 14,000 won. Plus, as most people have already commented before on the internet, the service at this restaurant is very slow. If you ask them for a refill or for free pickles, they either take twice as long as they should or forget in regard to drink refills. Qualms aside, it was a pretty funky burger in a good way. The bun was buttery and held the sandwich together quite well even with the copious amounts of wasabi mayo applied to the bottom bun. The beef patty was thick and succulent, but the cheddar cheese was pedestrian even though it was so unnaturally orange that it almost looked like I was eating a sunny-side up egg. However, I greatly enjoyed the spicy elements of this burger. The jalapenos were pickled like back home, and the wasabi mayo became more and more intense as I proceeded to munch on the burger. It wasn’t too overpowering like eating a whole mini portion of the Japanese horseradish, but I did have that burning sensation behind my nose that could send any possible congestion packing. The fries that came with it were average, but I preferred them since they were somewhat underdone and not very salted. So overall, I would recommend this burger if you’re into trying spicy things and like wasabi. They do manage to take very potent flavors and pack it into an easy to swallow package. So if you’re in Itaewon and want a little taste of home while still maintaining a foot in the Far East, try the wasabi burger at the All American Diner.

One Tasty Mofo

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Mark T

Hello to everyone out there on the interwebz and welcome to another edition of Mastication Monologues! Since I’m finally recovering from the crazy Super Bowl weekend, this will be a relatively short post. Actually, it revolves around a restaurant/bar that I tried in downtown Chicago that apparently is one, or perhaps the, sports bar to watch Chicago sports or any event for that matter. I’m talking about Mother Hubbards located at 5 W Hubbard St Chicago, IL 60654.

I had actually never been to this place until someone suggested that we should check it out for Superbowl Sunday. Naturally, I am always down for a new adventure, so we made our way over to the establishment. As soon as we walked in, I could see what all of the hullabaloo was about. The walls were figuratively made of televisions, but it was definitely a good sign that I was not going to have to jerk my head about like a goon to catch a good view of the epic match-up between the Ravens and 49ers. Since I didn’t feel too hungry, I decided to go with something on the lighter side of the menu. I saw that they have the typical bar food like ribs, burgers, and Chicago hotdogs, but the “make your own grilled cheese” option seemed to be more fitting for my appetite at the time. There were so many options that I felt almost like a manically giggling Xzibit on Pimp My Sandwich, but I repressed my foodie urges to not scare our waitress.

“Yo dawg, I heard you like grilled cheez sandwiches, so we put grilled cheez sandwiches in your grilled cheez!”

I ended up choosing Chihuahua and Pepper Jack topped with Guacamole and fresh jalapenos on grilled rye bread. Plus, it came with a side of fries and a cup of homemade chicken vegetable soup.

When it finally came out, I was a bit underwhelmed by how small it seemed to be. It didn’t really seem to have the bombastic presentation of a previous grilled cheese restaurant we visited (See The Big Cheese). However, I was not planning on judging a sandwich by its crust. In reality, I found the sandwich to be a great fusion of Latino flavors with an American comfort food staple. Starting with the bread, it was pan-grilled to golden perfection, and the fleeting caresses of the caraway seeds provided an extra je ne sais quoi. The cheeses were plentiful but didn’t have very strong flavors. I know that the two aforementioned types of cheese aren’t blues by any means, but I would have appreciated a little more pop from the Pepper Jack. As for the guacamole, I’m not sure what separated it from the avocado option on the option, but it just seemed like they mashed up an avocado for my sandwich. There weren’t any discernible onions, tomatoes, and/or lime flavors that I am accustomed to tasting in any standard guacamole. It wasn’t a terrible spread but merely average. The jalapenos, on the other hand, were very fresh rings of seed packed flavor discs. They were crunchy and nipping my taste buds like a herd of feral Chihuahuas. Plus, I found that even though there was a generous helping of the guacamole on top of the jalapenos, not once did I fear for the safety of my sandwich. Normally these types of sandwiches with slippery spreads fall apart very quickly when you’re on a feeding frenzy, but Mother Hubbards makes a tasty and well-constructed bite to eat. As for the fries and soup, the fries were pretty tasty since they were golden and crispy and barely greasy. The soup was naturally the perfect side for the sandwich, and the hearty chunks of chicken and fresh carrots and onions fortified me against the bone-chilling Chicago winter gusts I encountered after the game. The entire dining experience was enjoyable, and the wait staff was very attentive throughout the game. Even though my team didn’t win, I felt I scored a mini-victory in choosing a tasty menu option.

So if you’re looking for a solid sports bar to watch your favorite team or a place to hold a boisterous get together with equally loud flavors, then come on down to Mother Hubbards!

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Posted in American Cuisine, Barbecue, Burgers, Chicken Wings, Comfort Food, Pizza and tagged Bar, Beer, Beverages, bread, cheese, Chicago, Chihuahua, dining, Food, fried, grill, guacamole, hot, Illinois, jalpenos, latin, Mexican food, Pepper Jack, peppers, potatoes, restaurant, Reviews, Sandwich, sauce, spicy, Tex-Mex. Bookmark the permalink.

Champpion of Burgers? Not Quite

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Mark T

Hello to everyone out there in the blogosphere to another edition of Mastication Monologues! Today I am going to be talking about a restaurant that I had been to before, but I never really tried their take on a classic type of burger. The restaurant I’m referring to is Champps Americana Restaurant located at 2301 Fountain Square Drive Lombard, IL.

The establishment is a typical American sports bar, but I did see an item on their menu that played to one of my culinary weaknesses: spicy food. Now I have proclaimed my spice tolerance in previous blog posts, so I won’t go into much detail about my Man versus Food-esque type adventures. However, I did see the Firehouse Burger which was calling to me like a spicy south of the border senora. Vale, vengo ahorita, mi amor! I got it well-done (I know many meat-lovers will call me a savage for “burning” my meat), and it looked delicious when it was presented to me. According to the menu, I was face to face with probably a half-pound mound of beef festooned with red and yellow bell peppers, green chiles, poblano peppers, onions, Chipotle Tabasco, Cajun seasoning, pepperjack cheese, and fresh jalapeno peppers. These various ingredients separated this burger in my mind from other typical spicy burgers I’ve tried in the past.

Disregard the sweet potato fries and put in delicious waffle fries

Disregard the sweet potato fries and insert delicious waffle fries

Plus, it was accompanied with a mini-molehill of waffle fries. When I started on the burger, I had to slice it in half because I put everything on it, and I can’t unhinge my jaw like a python swallowing a baby hippo. Upon first bite, I realized that I was in for a messy time because they seemed to have doused the bun with Tabasco which in turn led the bun to become quite soggy. Naturally, my originally firm grasp of the burger deteriorated into a melange of cheese and peppers. Thankfully the extra gooey and tasty pepper jack managed to hold it all together like some type of magical dairy rubber cement. So this detracted from the meal’s greatness, and the mild bell and poblano peppers really didn’t do much for the burger. Sure, they added vibrant colors to the general beige background of a hamburger, but they were mushed into the background. However, the jalapenos were game-changers because not only did their vibrant verdant hue brighten up the plate, but their crisp texture and loud flavor allowed the true spice of the burger shine above the general muck of mild peppers. Once I finally demolished my main entree, I began chipping away at the waffle fries which were not quite golden brown but were still crunchy on the outside and fluffy white on the inside with minimal salt=perfect fries.

No CTA pass necessary for this deliciousness

Afterward, I found out that they had a drink special (I don’t know if it’s everyday or not) where I could get a pint of certain beers for only $2.50! That is quite good for the Chicago suburbs for those of you who are unaware. I decided to pick a pint of Goose Island’s Green Line. It’s a pale ale that has a golden hue, and I could smell a slight citrusy aroma wafting toward me during every sip. There was a clear bitter, hoppy bite to the brew, but it was not overwhelming like other IPAs. If you’re looking for stronger tasting beers, this would be the equivalent of sticking your toe in the swimming pool to see if you’re ready to do a cannonball into the wonderful world of beer tasting.

So if you’re looking for some interesting burgers or great drink deals, head on down to Champps! It’s not quite the m.v.p. of sports bars, but I think if they work on the fundamentals they could be in the pantheon of greats.

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Posted in American Cuisine, Barbecue, Burgers, Chain Restaurants, Chicken Wings, Comfort Food, Tex Mex and tagged Bar, Beer, Beverages, bread, Burger, cheese, Chicagoland, dining, Food, fried, grill, hamburger, hot, jalapeno, peppers, potatoes, restaurant, Reviews, Sandwich, sauce, spicy, tabasco. Bookmark the permalink.

No Sticky Wickets

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Mark T

Hello everyone to another edition of Mastication Monologues! Today I will be doing a brief review of a restaurant where I tried something that I didn’t really expect to find on their menu. The restaurant in question is Wickets Bar and Grill located at 601 N Martingale Rd (at Woodfield Rd) Schaumburg, IL 60173.

I was meeting some college friends there just to catch up on things, and I didn’t know really what to expect from this establishment. Based off the name, I would have thought that we were going to be eating in an imitation English gastropub of some sort due to the cricket reference in the title. Instead, I walked into a very sleek sports bar that did not have a single Guinness poster anywhere or a cricket bat on the wall. The menu did have the usual litany of bar food items like nachos and burgers, but I began to see a pattern emerging that was downright confusing. Wickets offers different types of samosas for appetizers, a chicken tikka sandwich, and tandoori chicken skewers. Why was Indian food on a sports bar menu? My friend and I hypothesized that there was one Indian master chef who was called upon to make these delicious treats from his homeland. Either that or it was a nod to the popularity of cricket in South Asia and other British colonies. Menu construction theories aside, I decided to go for the two skewer platter and a Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale to drink.

I had already had this particular brew from Lagunitas before, but I knew that I couldn’t go wrong with this choice. If you haven’t had it before, it is an amber-colored beer with a clear hoppy taste that covers your palate initially, but at the end it gives you a little smooth sum sumpin’ at the end that makes you always come back for more. If you enjoy IPAs, I would recommend this beer to you.

Stomach don’t fail me now!

As for my entrée, I went with one skewer of beef with vegetables and the other with chicken tikka tandoori with vegetables. They were both served on a bed of basmati rice infused with herbs which was surrounded by golden flatbread triangles. Plus, I decided to get the cucumber chive yogurt sauce that was served on the side. Taken all together, these skewers were on point in terms of quantity and quality. If you are not really hungry, then you will take some of this home with you. The basmati rice with herbs was cooked to perfection, and the herbs provided the starch with whispers of rosemary and parsley. I used the flatbread wedges as pseudo-pizza slices to put the yogurt sauce on like sauce and then piled on the meat and rice which gave the meal an Indian vibe since I was eating with my hands which I always enjoy. The Tandoori chicken was actually quite tasty since it tasted exactly like the same dish I tried in some of the Indian restaurants I visited in London. If you never had Tandoori chicken, it is a type of specially cooked chicken coated with the right blend of cumin, turmeric, chili, and a slightly charred aftertaste. The beef was equally delectable since it was grilled completely through but still quite succulent. As for the veggies, it was a mix of mushrooms, green and yellow zucchini, bell peppers, and onions. All were adequately grilled, but they still maintained their original integrity which I enjoyed since sometimes over-grilling can lead to crumbling in vegetables with higher water content. Finally, the yogurt sauce was like mix between tzatziki and the Indian raita; the neutral yogurt element provided a cooling element to the slightly spicy tandoori chicken and the cucumbers and chives provided a texture change that interacted nicely with the semi-crispy flatbread.

Overall, I was stuffed and a satisfied customer. So if you’re looking for some delicious Indian influenced food in a very non-Indian environment, come on down to Wickets Bar and Grill!

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Posted in American Cuisine, Barbecue, Burgers, Chicken Wings, Comfort Food, Indian, Middle Eastern/Mediterranean Cuisine, Pizza, Southeast/Southern Asia Cuisine and tagged authentic, Bar, Basmati, Beer, Beverages, bread, Chicagoland, chicken, dining, Food, grill, herbs, hot, Illinois, peppers, restaurant, Reviews, rice, sauce, spicy, Steak, tandoori, vegetables, yogurt. Bookmark the permalink.

Come On Baby Light My Fire

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Mark T

Hello to everyone out there again in the blogosphere to another installment of Mastication Monologues! I will attempt to keep this post short and sweet since I am fighting off the effects of a food coma from a delicious grad school graduation dinner. I ended up going to Wildfire located at 232 Oakbrook Center Oak Brook, IL 60523.

Wildfire is a Lettuce Entertain You establishment and has created a reputation as one of Chicago’s/Chicagoland’s premier American eateries. When walking into this restaurant, it has the ambiance of a bygone era where you would expect to see the Rat Pack at the bar and the maitre d’ to offer the female patrons a cigarette to calm their nerves and keep a slim figure (For those non-smokers, thankfully the smooth, bold flavor infused part of that aforementioned bygone era is gone). Anyway, we sat down at a booth that had a perfect view of the dining room, and we were immediately welcomed by our waitress with a complementary plate of breads. One mini-loaf was an airy, buttery poppy-seed and onion concoction that was delectable, and the other, more globular loaf was a dark pumpernickel with both light and dark raisins. Personally, I preferred the onion bread to the pumpernickel, but the latter tasted more like a dessert type of bread due to the presence of fruit and nuts in the bread. Either way you cut it, they both were the best thing since sliced bread.

As for my main course, I went with the Eight Hour Barbecue Platter. It was the Dinner Special for Wednesday nights, and I feel like the name comes from the amount of time it should take a normal person to finish all of the food. However, I usually am hungrier than the average bear, so I naturally destroyed my meal in no time. Now I know that the picture does not do the meal justice since it isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing plate, but it truly was a meal of kings. I started off with the pulled pork (right hand side, in front of the corn muffin) that literally melted in my mouth with a smoky, southern twang aftertaste. After I finished that mini-mound of pork paradise, I moved on to the sliced brisket (left side of plate) which still possessed a similar savory personality but was a bit on the dry side. The baby back ribs were a mere afterthought at this point, but the meat was perfectly seasoned and fell of the bone which made eating them a breeze. I’m not the biggest fan of beans in general, and the beans they served me were no exception to my dislike. They weren’t terrible since they were simmering in the same barbecue sauce they used for the different meats, but they really did not bring anything different to the meal aside from a change in texture. Nevertheless, I was glad that I left the cornbread muffin for last because it was a sweet, bright yellow beacon of fluffy goodness shining through the shadows of the barbecue smoke. For dessert, we ended up getting an apple crumble which made my inhibitions crumble as I proceeded to tear down its caramel coated ice cream dome and combine it with its graham cracker and apple pie filling like some sort of confectionery hungry Godzilla. If you love apple pie or apple/cinnamon anything, I highly recommend this dessert, but remember to save some room for this monster.

So if you’re looking for a classy restaurant for a power lunch, a special dinner, or just a great place to catch up with friends and colleagues, check out Wildfire!

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Posted in American Cuisine, Barbecue, Burgers, Chain Restaurants, Comfort Food, Pizza, Steakhouse and tagged Bar, barbecue, beans, bread, Burger, Chicago, Chicagoland, dining, Food, grill, hamburger, Illinois, meat, restaurant, Reviews, Sandwich, sauce. Bookmark the permalink.

Grilled Cheese That’s Sure to Please

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Mark T

Hello everyone, and welcome to another addition to Mastication Monologues! The time has been flying by as of late which I blame on the advancement of Christmas advertisements and the Daylight Savings Time. However, last night I managed to slow down and enjoy a great meal at a new establishment that serves a childhood favorite with a twist. I am talking about The Big Cheese which is located at 4229 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL 60618.

I had actually saw in the Redeye (a local free newspaper in Chicago) that a new restaurant that specialized in grilled cheese sandwiches had opened up. The Redeye’s restaurant reviewer had mostly good things to say about it aside from one of his/her sandwiches not being completely melted. The same was said about the lack of melted cheese on Yelp. Nevertheless, I had to go and see what all of the fuss was about since it combines two of my favorite food groups, bread and cheese. When my friend and I got there around 6:50 p.m., the interior was dark and the staff was just sitting there. It turns out that their hours of operation on the internet and their sign were incorrect. They had just closed. However, they still let us in even though we felt bad for imposing. To make up for our troubles, the very hospitable owner, Mike, hooked us up with a free plate of fried pickles. They were pretty good for a little something to nibble on before the main event. The actual breading was a bit flaky, but its buttery taste complimented the sour crunch of the pickle quite nicely. Plus, it was served with a small cup of Ranch dressing to provide a cool tang for the palate.

Don’t judge a pickle by its breading

For my actual sandwich, I chose the Diablo Rojo (Red Devil for those who don’t habla espanol). This was a muy picante twist on the grilled cheese. The actual sandwich contained Toluca style chorizo, grilled jalapenos, and Chihuahua cheese, and it was all served on a Ciabatta bun. When I bit into it, it was like a fiesta in my mouth y toda la familia was invited. The chorizo was plentiful and was bursting with cumin and chili notes which provided an exquisite compliment to the smoky jalapeno flavor. Unfortunately, the cheese was overshadowed by the two aforementioned elements, but it provided a glue to hold all of the contents together within the sandwich. As for the Ciabatta roll, that was an improvisation by the cooks since they were out of regular bread, but I would recommend that they serve it on this type of bun. It was fresh and crusty but sturdy enough to handle all of those contents without crumbling under the pressure. With every sandwich, you can also order either soup or fries. I ordered the fries, but they also gave me a bowl of their tomato basil soup.

A sandwich sandwiched between two killer sides

The fries were golden straws of deliciousness that were lightly powdered with Parmesan cheese, a welcomed variation that really popped with cheesy goodness when eaten with ketchup. As for the soup, I’m not a huge crouton fan, but the actual soup was delectable. It was a creamy sunset orange that tasted like a rich marinara sauce which also doubly served as a dipping sauce for my sandwich (a move I highly recommend).

Overall, the ambiance of the place was quite laid back, and the service provided by the server, staff, and owner was very warm like one of their signature creations. So head on out to the Big Cheese for a little slice of paradise!

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Posted in American Cuisine, Comfort Food and tagged bread, cheese, Chicago, chorizo, dining, Food, French, fried, grill, hot sauce, Illinois, jalapenos, latin, Mexican food, peppers, potatoes, restaurant, Reviews, Sandwich, sauce, spicy, Tex-Mex. Bookmark the permalink.

Mastication Monologues

Category Archives: Comfort Food

Sweet Vinndication (Portland, Part 1)

Flippin’ Awesome

Where Everyone Should Bee

When Irish Stomachs Are Shrugging

Spice That’s Twice As Nice

One Tasty Mofo

Champpion of Burgers? Not Quite

No Sticky Wickets

Come On Baby Light My Fire

Grilled Cheese That’s Sure to Please

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