Category Archives: Beer

Tierra del Fuego

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Mark T

What’s up, everyone out there! Welcome to another funky-fresh edition of Mastication Monologues! While the weather has been getting better, that means that more and more people are getting out and about in Chicagoland. During much colder times, Janice and I visited the Firehouse Grill in Evanston and had a wonderful time there.

The overall ambiance is of the general pub variety, so no need to bust out your Sunday best when checking out this casual eatery. Looking over the menu, it wasn’t pages and pages of items, but what Firehouse does offer is tons of variety on every page. You want bacon wrapped jalapenos? Pierogi? Sweet smoked pork tacos? You got it! We started our meal with a couple of drinks. I got the decadent cookie dough milkshake ($5) while Janice got the Secret Stache Stout. My drink was as delicious as it sounds with plenty of creamy vanilla ice cream jam-packed with pieces of chocolate chip encrusted cookie dough, and Janice’s beer was a super stout with hints of vanilla and chocolate throughout the ebony brew. As for an appetizer, Janice was feeling the warm pretzel with the warm cheese sauce on the side ($7). We shared it, but I don’t think it was worth it. True, the bread was warm, soft on the inside, and slightly crispy on the outside, but it was on the smaller end along with an extremely liberal coating of salt atop it. Not my style. However, my entree ended up being the Gaucho Burger ($13). It was simple but everything I enjoyed in a burger. The goat cheese was plentiful, and the chimichurri sauce on the side was the icing on this cake of beef. I could now see why they called it the Gaucho Burger because of two clearly Argentinian cultural items. First, the gauchos were like Argentina’s answer to America’s cowboys, but they dressed a little differently, din’t carry guns but a giant knife instead, and were more prone to violence even over extremely small things. Second, there is the chimicurri sauce that is an icon of Argentine cooking. The South American country is well known for its high quality steak, which was connected to the gaucho’s herds of cattle, but instead of slathering A1 on a nice porterhouse, they dip pieces into this garlic, oregano, and olive oil based sauce. The name of the sauce is unknown, but I think the most logical answer is that it comes from the Basque word “tximitxurri” which roughly translates to “A mix of several things in no order”. Whatever it means, I didn’t care in that moment as I combined it all into one hearty and flavorful burger. The bun was sturdy and fresh with a light coating of flour on the bottom that made it easier to grip even though it was never going to fall apart in the first place. The bold and notable goat cheese melted on the medium well beef and combined very well with the garlic and herbal notes from the chimichurri’s olive oil. I was greatly satisfied with my meal, and Janice was as well.

So if you’re looking for a solid choice to eat some comfort bar food or try a new twist on an old favorite, check out Firehouse Grill in Evanston!
S

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Posted in Alcoholic, American, American Cuisine, Barbecue, Beer, Beverages, Burgers, Chicken Wings, Comfort Food and tagged Argentina, beef, Burger, cheese, chimichurri, Evanston, gaucho, goat, ice cream, onion, pretzel, salt, sauce. Bookmark the permalink.

All Fired Up For Demera

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Mark T

Hello and sorry everyone for the lull on Mastication Monologues, but I’m back with a fresh new post that is part of Restaurant Week that is now over in Chicago. For those of you who don’t know, Restaurant Week in Chicago is a multiple week event where a multitude of eateries throughout Chicago open their doors to everyone with great deals. In this post, I’d like to tell you a little bit about Demera, one of Chicago’s premier Ethiopian/Eritrean diner.

Janice and I went there for their lunch special, and the inside was brightly lit and bumping with some funky Ethiopian jamz. We were quickly seated, and we had some trepidation with what to pick since everything sounded so delicious. I started the meal off with a St. George Beer to drink. Ethiopia is interesting enough since it is a mainly Christian society surrounded by Muslim nations, and some go on to even speculate that the Ethiopian people are descendants of one of the 12 lost tribes of Israel. The name of the place, Demera, is the term in Amharic for the ceremonial bonfire used in the Ethiopian Christian version of Ash Wednesday, and we had a similar religious experience with the food. However, the St. George Beer wasn’t very noteworthy since its neutral flavor and watery consistency left me hoping for the second coming of my food savior to resurrect my taste buds from the bland rapture. Luckily, the beef sambussas and timatim selata did just that. First, there were the beef sambussas that I could liken to a lighter version of empanadas. The dough was less pie-like and more flaky and light like Greek philo dough. The meat was spiced and amped up in terms of flavor with the spicy yet sweet yet dangerously addicting awaze sauce. We also got an order of the timatim selata which I likened to an Ethiopian version of pico de gallo. It consisted of tomatoes, onions, and jalapeno pepper slices all coated in a lime vinaigrette. It was tangy and flavorful and was handily consumed (pun intended) with the ubiquitous Ethiopian flatbread known as injera. While flatbreads can be found around the world in cultures that eat with their hands like naan in India or pita in Greece, injera is super unique in the sense that it is spongy with a slightly sour taste compared to its more doughy brethren. Thankfully, it had plenty of nooks and crannies to soak up all of the lime juice but was also strong enough to enclose the large slices of tomato. After polishing off that flavorful and refreshing appetizer, we got our main entree. Traditional Ethiopian cuisine focuses on family style dining where everyone eats from the same plate. On our plate, we got the ye-beg alicha (mild lamb cubes), doro wat (chicken in a mild sauce with ayib cheese), ye-misir wot (split red lentils in spicy berbere sauce), and gomen (chopped collard greens). With the spicy lamb, it was a great mix of spice and the slightly gamey taste that comes with lamb. The doro wat chicken wasn’t as bold as the lamb, but the ayib cheese was like an African queso fresco that gave this savory part of the meal a cool and semi-salty twist. I really enjoyed the split red lentils because they were super spicy, but I was mixed on the collard greens. On the one hand, I enjoyed the earthy, spinach tones, but the ginger notes kind of left me cold on this hot entree. Surprisingly, we had a bit of room for dessert, but we could only get the missionary delight, a basic vanilla sundae, because they apparently didn’t have enough ingredients for the dessert we wanted, the sambussa turnovers. Super normal for a restaurant that serves food that isn’t on many peoples’ radars, but thankfully, our waitress told us that we could get the dessert we originally wanted, the turnovers. What they consisted of were sweet versions of the savory sambussas we had earlier in the meal. It was the same flaky dough, but instead of beef, there was a melange of walnuts, cardamom, walnuts, saffron, and rose water. It reminded me of a honey-less baklava with an almost flowery aftertaste compliments of the rosewater. The strawberry sauce was a bit too much of guilding the rose for me which made me prefer the savory version of these handheld treats. At the end of the meal, we were absolutely stuffed but greatly pleased with Demera’s food selection.

So if you’re tired of the same old restaurants serving foods you’ve heard of before, check out a red-hot slice of Ethiopia at Demera.

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Posted in African Cuisine, Alcoholic, Beer, Beverages, Ethiopian, Ethiopian and tagged Beer, Chicago, chicken, collard greens, dessert, Ethiopia, flatbread, injera, lamb, lentils, onions, Restaurant Week. Bookmark the permalink.

Smoking the Competition

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Mark T

Howdy, partners! I’d like to welcome y’all to Mastication Monologues where you’ll read some of the most unique and creative restaurant reviews in the world. I’ve been around the world and eaten many interesting meals, but I have to say that American barbecue is one of the most comforting foods I’ve tried and enjoyed. The word “barbecue” originates from the Taino Indian word “barabicu” that was adopted by the Spanish as “barbacoa” and eventually made it to English as the form we have now. As for the origin of the cooking method, it was a Colombian exchange moment to thank for it. First, the Spanish introduced the pig, the staple of American barbecue, to the Americas, and the Native Americans showed European settlers how to smoke the meat and slow roast it over different types of wood to get different flavors. All of this slowly evolved as the barbecue we know today. However, if you go to different parts of the United States and ask for barbecue, you will encounter regional specialties that highlight the resources local cooks can utilize. For example, Hawaiian barbecue does have pork, but it is served in a luau style with a full pig roast and tropical fruit based sauces. While Midwestern sauces are tomato based and much sweeter than the spicier sauces from Texas. The list goes on and on, but today’s restaurant, Green Street Smoked Meats, falls into the Texas category of barbecue.

We ended up at Green Street in the middle of the day of all days for a foodie: Taste Talks. While we were still reeling from meeting the famous and friendly Rick Bayless, we really were fading from hunger after talking about so much delicious food. So we decided to go to Green Street Smoked Meats. It was set back in a charming alley that would be hopping during the summer but not during our drizzly gray afternoon. Upon walking in, we were greeted with the jazzy baseline of Jerry Lee Lewis and sawdust on the floor. It was set up like a quirky Texas bbq roadhouse like you might find in the Lone Star state. There were beers in old sinks filled with ice you could pick up before wandering up to the food board that was hanging in front of the all wood smoker. We perused the menu as the chefs were expertly slicing ribs, pork belly, and this sweet sweet brisket.

A brisket beauty

Eventually we decided on getting a half pound of pork belly ($12.50), a Frito pie ($6), spicy pickles ($4.95), and potato salad ($4.95). Once they served it all to us on a tray, cafeteria style, we got a seat at one of the communal bench seats in the main dining area. We also needed something to drink, so I bellied up to the bar to get Janice a beer she noticed at the bar due to its, shall we say, “distinctive” draft handle.

One of these things is not like the other…

I later found out that this beer was called a Morning Wood that was brewed in Chicago and was a lip-smacking, mildly malty red ale ($9). As for me, I got a cheaper Lone Star beer ($4) which dates all the way back to 1884. The price justified the flavor. It was your typical American lager with roots in German pilsner traditions, i.e. light on taste and body. However, it was clean and refreshing while sampling all of our food. First, all of it was the perfect amount of food for the two of us. Second, the pork belly was a meaty masterpiece. Not only was it sliced to an ideal thickness to let it melt on your tongue, but the peppercorn crust combined with the smoke gave it a real bold flavor with a spicy afterbite that kicked its spurs into your palate. The Frito pie has made many appearances on King of the Hill, including an episode where a Bostonian client’s wife was taken aback by this spicy Southern treat. I think the best way to describe this unique Texan side would be corn chip nachos. It was served up in the Frito bag, and the chips were covered with cheese, ground beef, beans, and jalapenos. Unfortunately, taste-wise it wasn’t as big as the state it hails from. The Fritos were too soggy due to the massive amount of toppings, so it just tasted more like a chili with a couple jalapenos on top with the occasional crunch. The spicy pickles were not as disappointing but not spectacular. True, they were sour and provided a fresh alternative to the heavier meat dishes, but I didn’t really understand where the “spicy” element was. I just tasted a lot of vinegar and pickling brine coursing over the onions and pickles. Finally, there was the potato salad that was actually the better of the two veggie sides. It utilized small red potato segments coated in a semi-thick slathering of cumin-infused mayo that gave the tubers a funky zest with each forkful.

Overall, our trip to Green Street Smoked Meats was an enjoyable visit during a day all about food. While I’m sure it doesn’t truly recreate the true Texas flavor like the home of the Cowboys and the Bush family, I’d recommend it as a fun and finger-licking good time and one of the best barbecue joints in Chicago. Just remember to bring your wallet, buckaroo!

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Posted in Alcoholic, American, American Cuisine, Barbecue, Beer, Beverages and tagged ale, barbecue, Beer, Chicago, pepper, Pilsner, pork, potato, salad, Texas, vegetables, West Loop. Bookmark the permalink.

The Cellar: It’s Goin’ Down!

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Mark T

Happy Fall to all with this newest edition of the funkiest and freshest food blog in Chicago, Mastication Monologues. Today’s entry takes us north of the City to the university town of Evanston, home of the Northwestern Wildcats and the American fusion diner known as The Cellar.

It seems that it is located next to a wine and tapas bar that is called the Stained Glass, but we went to the restaurant for a dinner date earlier this summer. Even though it wasn’t the actual tapas bar, I was informed that most of the dishes were designed like tapas, i.e. smaller portions that are meant to be shared (as oxymoronic as that sounds). I started with a cold brew in the form of a Headless Man Amber Ale from Tyranena Brewing in Wisconsin. It definitely was an aromatic choice that had a slightly hoppy aftertaste with hints of caramel throughout the beer. It was light though to compliment the first dish of the night: the butter and salt flight with a warm loaf of sliced French bread ($6.50). If you blinked, you would have missed it being set on the table since we devoured every morsel. This dairy-palooza sported three different types of butter: Parmigiano Reggiano butter with fleur de sel, goat’s milk butter with pink Himalayan salt, and truffle butter with truffle sea salt. The Parmigiano butter with the fancy French sea salt obviously tasted nice and cheesy but not obnoxiously so. It was personally my favorite since the goat’s milk butter wasn’t as pungent and strong as I would expect from a butter that should have had the soul of a good Feta. With the truffle butter, I was somewhat surprised that it didn’t possess the aromatic potency I’d expect from the world famous and ludicrously expensive fungi that I sampled firsthand at London’s Borough Market. I still would recommend this appetizer though. Our second round consisted of the elotes callejeros ($4.75) and the smoked salmon flatbread ($12.50). The former was a nod to the Mexican street food scene (calle meaning “street” in Spanish), and it shown through with the fusion of smoked paprika and grilled corn. The mayonnaise was a more savory choice over the typical butter one can find at any picnic in ‘Murika. It was a more decadent partner to the more understated smoked salmon flatbread. This bite of more Northern Europe cuisine with the cold salmon and greens reminded me of the Swedish flatbreads common to smorgasboards. Instead of a white cream, they utilized a more Mediterranean flavor with the pesto sauce and goat cheese. It all kind of overpowered the salmon itself, but I enjoyed the herbal pesto along the creamy, potent goat cheese. It was delicious, but if you’re looking for a great salmon meal, look elsewhere. Our main dishes finally came. I got the shrimp tacos ($13), and Janice got the empanadas ($9.50). The latter consisted of the ubiquitous, fried Latin turnovers filled with roasted poblano peppers, sweet corn, Oaxaca cheese, and avocado-tomatillo salsa on the side. The flaky yet crunchy crust was bursting with the spicy peppers and were countered with the creamy cheese and sweet corn. Plenty of textural and flavor contrasts that worked together in harmony. As for my tacos, I felt that the tortillas were a bit too small for the fried pieces of seafood that were resting on a kale citrus slaw and topped with grilled sweet red onions. Once I piled all of these ingredients into the flatbread with a dollop of the semi-spicy aioli for good measure on top, I got a mouthful of quality food from beginning to end. The breading was buttery and golden brown, but the shrimp was just ok. However, the citrus slaw and semi-sweet onions provided the zest to the seafood that gave the taco a punch of ceviche flavor. Even though we were chowing down for a good while, we managed to find room for dessert which took the form of the creme brulee sampler ($7.75). It was three small cups of high quality burnt sugar and egg custard with different kinds of flavor infusions. The Mexican chocolate one had a bit of a spicy kick in the form of cinnamon and a little hint of chili pepper. I’ll just say up front that this was my favorite, but the french vanilla was a close second. The chai one was my least favorite since it was a bit too subtle for my liking, but maybe you’ll enjoy it more than I did. It was a sweet flourish to a light but filling dinner.

So if you are in the Evanston area and looking for a fusion restaurant that I could liken to a more affordable Girl and the Goat, check out The Cellar!

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Posted in Alcoholic, American, American Cuisine, Beer, Beverages, European Cuisine, Latin American Cuisine, Mexico and tagged cheese, chocolate, cinnamon, corn, creme brulee, empanada, empanadas, Evanston, onions, restaurant, Reviews, shrimp, taco, tacos. Bookmark the permalink.

Little Bucharest: All the Meat That’s Fit to Eat!

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Mark T

Romania. A linguistic anomaly in Eastern Europe along with mostly being known for gypsies and the Prince of the Night, Dracula. However, a trip to Romania back when I was studying in Spain left me with a different impression of the nation. It was a bit off the beaten path in terms of the tourist trails of Europe, but it had plenty of character, friendly people, and great food. So, when my girlfriend said that she had a Groupon for a Romanian eatery in Chicago called Little Bucharest, I was more than excited.

It was a cold and rainy night, similar to the weather I experienced while traveling between Bucharest and Sighisoara, so I was having a serious case of deja vu minus the feral dogs running around in the street and the airport. It had a charming exterior with a patio that obviously wasn’t being used that night along with a fountain. Upon setting foot in the establishment, we were warmly welcomed by the staff and led quickly to a table. The cheerful music and clean interior put me at ease since other Eastern European restaurants are a bit more rustic in terms of their setup. To drink, Janice got a sweet red Romanian wine, and I got a beer from Timisoara. It seems the alcohol content was a bit much for her along with its sugary aftertaste, but it was still enjoyable. As for my beer, it was a light lager that could be comparable to Heineken. We also destroyed a basket of fresh baked bread that wasn’t warm, but they said they baked it in the morning. This definitely showed in the overall quality of the sliced loaf. It was chewy but slightly crispy on the outside while the inside was fluffy and white. We demolished it so fast that the owner came over to say that our healthy appetites for his bread were quite the compliment. For our appetizer, we got an order of the Mititei ($10). These little sausages were served with a side of salad, fried polenta, and mustard. These chubby meat nuggets were quite heavenly and juicy with a heavy emphasis on the garlic, and it seemed to have more beef than pork in the meat blend that jived well with the sour mustard. The fried polenta (corn meal) was warm but not piping hot. It also had an enjoyable butter flavor that had overtones of French fries. As for our entrees, Janice got the sarmale ($18) and I got the chicken paprikash ($20). The sarmale are similar to Poland’s golabki or stuffed cabbage rolls. These wee bundles were stewed in tomato sauce which led the cabbage to be extra soft but firm enough to keep all of the pork, ground beef, and rice from bursting forth. It was a bit more sour than the Polish version of the dish, but it still had the Slavic heartiness common to both meals. As for my meal, the chicken paprikash was essentially half a chicken in a paprika infused gravy along with green beans and pearl onions. The sauce was the boss for this dish, and the chicken was falling off the bone. Beware of the small bones in the chicken though! For both the sarmale and chicken paprikash, there was mamaliga or soft polenta served on the side. This was my favorite food I tried in Romania, and it was like going into a culinary time machine for me from the first bite. From the smooth, golden polenta to the cool sour cream and strong Feta cheese, I was in heaven. The only differences between Little Bucharest and the real Bucharest was that the mamaliga in the Motherland was served in a bowl and with a fried egg on top. Aside from that, it was the perfect comfort food to combat the terrible weather outside. I couldn’t finish my meal since my stomach was about to burst from all of the polenta and grilled meats, but I didn’t feel bloated like I did with other meals where I ate a lot. At the end of the meal, we were walking out, and the owner wished us well and told us to check them out on Facebook. I then told him that I write a food blog, and he was so overjoyed that he hugged me and gave me a bottle of Romanian dry red wine on the spot. I’ve never experienced such generosity from a restaurant in Chicago or perhaps anywhere else in the world. Thanks, Branko!

So in closing, we walked away from Little Bucharest greatly satisfied with the friendly service, great prices for huge portions of delicious Romanian fare, and a memory of one of my many distant travels around the world. This is the real deal if you want to try Romanian food, and they even run their own limo service if you want to experience it in style.

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Posted in Alcoholic, Beer, Beverages, European Cuisine, Romanian, Romanian and tagged beef, bread, Bucharest, cabbage, cheese, chicken, paprika, polenta, pork, restaurant, Reviews, rice, Romania, sarmale, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Nacho Average Restaurant

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Mark T

Hoo doggy! It’s heating up in Chicagoland right at the end of summer, and today’s Mastication Monologues post is a real firecracker. If you’re looking for a fun new bar that has a giant photobooth to document a crazy night or a beer pong table to relive old glory days in college, then check out D.S. Tequila Company!

It is a restaurant that has plenty of attitude in terms of its decor and events that are held every weekend that range from trivia to bingo. The inside is quite modern in design with mostly metal, exposed brick, and dark wood accents. However, my favorite part of the restaurant is the patio. Both times I’ve been there, it was nice weather, so it was packed with partiers and diners. In this post, I’ll just be talking about my second time there when I went with my girlfriend for lunch. She had been raving about their nachos there, so I couldn’t say no to a Tex-Mex and personal favorite. We sat on the patio on the oddly humid/on and off drizzing day around noon. Due to the precipitation, we got to see their retractable roof on the patio in action, so no worries if it’s raining. You can still get your groove on outside. This lunch experience was the complete opposite of the first time I went there on a rowdy Saturday night. There were patrons calmly talking over their meals, and we proceeded to do follow suit when the menus were placed in front of us. We started with ordering drinks. D.S. Tequila lives up to its name with their own homemade brew ranging from blanco to anejo which you can purchase in the restaurant if you are completamente loco for the Mexican mezcals. I ended up getting one of their frozen mug drinks ($8 for a glass/$32 a pitcher): the black and green. It was an intriguing drink since it came out in a large beer mug, but it looked like a root beer slushy. Turns out that the darker liquid was the Negra Modelo Mexican beer, and the slush was D.S. Tequila’s original margarita. It was like an inversion of a margarita I had at Gusto Taco in Seoul. However, I think I preferred this inverted beergarita since the full bodied lager enveloped the sugary slush, but the citrus zest made each sip really pop. While imbibing this innovative icy beverage, Janice ordered the regular sized Texas Trash Nachos ($9.89). I was confused why she thought that this would suffice for someone like me with a giant appetite. I was looking at the other options on the menu like their tacos, burgers, salads, or soups, but she assured me that this would demolish even the biggest of stomachs. She was totally right. The nacho equivalent of Mount Doom was placed in front of us with an ominous, heavy clunk on the tabletop. I didn’t know where to start.

Guess which one of us is intimidated?

Dive headfirst into the ingredient-rich top layer or play it safe with the unadorned chips around the borders of the plate? I took the bull by the horns, and rode that toro through chunks of succulent steak, chunky guacamole, cool sour cream, two layers of cheese, pickled jalapeno slices, and acidic pico de gallo. Needless to say, that they all came together in one of the best nacho platters I’ve had. The only problem, as with most nacho platters, is the refried beans foundation that often times results in soggy chips towards the end of the meal. That would be my only complaint with the dish, but at that point, I didn’t really care because I was really hungry. We ended up finished the entire thing, and it was a great bargain for less than five bucks a person. I’m scared to think how big the “family size” nachos would be.

Overall, I’d recommend D.S. Tequila for a great patio experience or just a rocking good time on a weekend. Their drinks are strong, and their portions are huge. What more could you ask for?

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Posted in Alcoholic, American Cuisine, Beer, Beverages, Burgers, Comfort Food, Latin American Cuisine, Mexican, Mexico, Mixed Drinks, Tex Mex and tagged Beer, cheese, Chicago, guacamole, Margarita, nachos, pico de gallo, sour cream, Steak, tequila. Bookmark the permalink.

Something Old, Something New, Something Fried, Something Brewed

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Mark T

Ah what a summer this is turning out to be. The weather is warming up, and the festival season is in full swing. Not only that, but the World Cup has lit up Chicago like I’ve never seen before as futbol fever is sweeping over the city. I’ve got a fever myself for not only the beautiful game but wonderful food. Sorry, no cowbell here. Today’s post on Mastication Monologues takes us to George Street Pub in Lakeview.

The exterior of the bar was quite average looking as it blended into the genteel surroundings common to the northside. Upon stepping into the establishment, it was designed like any other sports bar sans memorabilia on the wall: exposed brick, plenty of tvs showing World Cup matches and baseball games, leather booths, and dark wood furniture. There is indoor and outdoor seating, and we opted for the latter option. That proved to be our downfall as the temperature dropped it like it was hot as a chilly wind descended upon us on the exposed patio. They had a few heat lamps but way too few to warm up such a large space. Unless, it’s perfect weather out there, I’d recommend sitting inside. Upon sitting down, we ordered some drinks, and I picked a Midas Touch Golden Elixir beer ($6). I picked it since it was described as “spiced” on the menu which naturally piqued my interest as it was nestled among the porters, IPAs, and lagers. After doing a bit of research, this “beer” is somewhat between wine and mead as it is derived from residue found in clay vessels from 8th Century B.C. in the tomb of the legendary King Midas. At the time I didn’t know this, but now I know that I sampled the beer of the king who turned everything he touched into gold made me feel like I was getting a bargain. Once it came out, I was greatly intrigued to see what I actually looked like, and it was imbued with a rich, golden hue.

A drink fit for a king

It wasn’t carbonated, and the taste was unlike anything I’ve ever had. It had a sweet aroma due to the honey and a slightly herbal scent compliments of the extravagant saffron. The beer was light and clean with dulcet tones of the muscat grapes that were tempered with the spices. I’d highly recommend it, and the bartender there said it was his favorite beer out of the hundreds on the beer menu. I now know why the Midas Touch was a hidden gem. Since Janice and I were a pair of Hungry Hungry Hippos, we decided to get some of the chicken wings ($7) while waiting for her friends to finally arrive. Diners have the option of mild, medium, or hot wings along with ranch and blue cheese for dipping. We got mild ones with extra hot sauce and blue cheese on the side. The different levels of spice depends only on how much of the sauce they put on the chicken pieces. They came out, and they looked a bit underwhelming. While we got plenty for the price, they were on the smaller end with semi-adequate amounts of meat on the bone. I really liked the buffalo-style sauce on the skin that had a real hot punch that jived with the reinvented blue cheese sauce that had oregano and garlic in it. Eventually, her friends arrived, and they picked the pesto bruschetta ($6.95). When it came out, it would have made nonna say “Mama mia!”. It was a much more simplified yet modified version on this Italian antipasto. While the crispy bread was surprisingly warm and semi-soft, it was rubbed with a little bit of garlic and pesto. The toppings were a departure from the typical minced tomato and basil mix, and instead it was like a caprese salad fusion complete with a slice of buffalo mozzarella and tomato. It was a refreshing remix covered with a hefty helping of creamy and rich pesto. I’d recommend this appetizer over the chicken wings. When it came time to order, I got the George Street Pub burger ($10) along with a Smuttynose Robust Porter. They both came out at the same time, and both complimented each other perfectly. The Smuttynose doesn’t get it’s name from that creepy guy snooping around the dirty magazine section in the supermarket but rather the name of an island off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire. It was a smooth pour and taste with hints of chocolate and coffee that brought big flavors to match the gargantuan burger in front of me.

Excalibur got a new home

The George Street Pub burger was a half pound patty sandwiched between two pretzel bun halves and topped with a thick slab of smoked cheddar. When I bit into the sandwich of kings, I was greeted with a patty bursting with flavor and bacon bits, caramelized onion, and chorizo within the bulging beef cocoon. It was a ton of meat spiced up with the mish-mash of chorizo and the pungent onions. By the time I finished the burger, I thought I wouldn’t be able to pass one waffle fry past my lips, but I was wrong. These bad boys were delicious, but unfortunately I couldn’t enjoy all of them due to my struggling stomach.

Overall, George Street Pub is like many gastropubs that can be found around the Chicagoland area, but I’d recommend it if you’re just looking for a relaxed place to catch a game or stuff yourself silly with good food and great beers.

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Posted in Alcoholic, American, American Cuisine, Barbecue, Beer, Beverages, Burgers, Chicken Wings, Comfort Food and tagged Bar, Beer, bruschetta, Burger, cheese, chorizo, gold, history, King Midas, onions, pesto, Porter, Pub, tomatoes, wings. Bookmark the permalink.

Ribbed For My Pleasure

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Mark T

Burgers, barbecue, and beer. What more could one ask for for dinner in the summer? Perhaps a big pool or white sand beach and plenty of sunshine instead of the dreary weather I encountered upon meeting my friends out in Schaumburg at Westwood Tavern and Tap.

As my friend, Erin, who thoughtfully supplied me with an umbrella, and I quickly ran inside from the rain, we were greeted with a spacious and elegantly furnished sports bar. From the stone finishing on the walls to the towering wall of illuminated liquors behind the bar, it was a welcoming place for sports fans trying to catch the next nail-biting Hawks game or a couple out for their first date. We were a party of three and were seated in a booth that was a bit too wide for adequate conversation between three people. So we all had to get a bit more intimate with each other in regard to proximity which might not be as easy with larger groups in the booths. I started by looking over the drink menu, and it was like a yellow pages for Brewtown, USA. While I was well acquainted with most of its residents, I noticed a new neighbor on the block. So, I gave the Black Butte Porter ($5) a warm welcome. The simple label belied its pleasant, rich, chocolate/coffee flavor contained within an enveloping shade of ebony. As for the food, I could choose from a variety of items ranging from sushi, flatbreads, salads, signature entrees, and of course, burgers. I had a hankering for a good burger, and who doesn’t when you’re hungry? I settled on the Baby Back Burger ($12) along with a complimentary side of fries and smoked jalapeno mayo. I’m sure you can reason what the “baby back” in my burger derives from. If not, perhaps this catchy Chili’s jingle can explain it for you. Before I get to describing my meal, I do have to point out that our waiter screwed up my friends’ orders. Erin wanted sweet potato fries, but she got normal fries. Carolyn didn’t even get her sushi either. I don’t know if the server was having a bad day or if there was a mix up, but he made up for it with a heaping bowl of sweet potato fries and eventually brought Carolyn her sushi. Anyway, it’s true that they put bbq rib pieces on top of my burger along with cheddar cheese, chipotle mayo, and onion strings. I couldn’t believe it when I was looking at it. I placed all of it together in one sexy package and proceeded to take a bite. It was like your typical barbecue, cheddar, bacon burger sans the pork belly, but the barbecue brought a smoky sweetness that jived with the crunchy onion strings. Even with all of this going on inside the burger, the bun managed to hold together the party on my plate. As for the fries, they were ok, and the jalapeno mayo could have been a bit more flavorful. I could see that they were trying to bring a bit of the pepper infusion to an otherwise bland condiment, but it’s back to the drawing board for this one.

Overall, Westwood Tavern has plenty to offer for diverse tastes to a certain extent, but aside from that, it’s just another fancy sports bar and grill.

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Posted in Alcoholic, American, American Cuisine, Barbecue, Beer, Beverages, Burgers and tagged beers, black, Burger, Fries, jalapeno, mayo, onions, Porter, ribs. Bookmark the permalink.

Dude…Mellow Out…Try This ‘Shroom

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Mark T

After a week of fun in sun in Florida, I’m finally back in Chicago to wait and see if I finally get a job that would really be great for my career as a language instructor. However, in the meantime I would like to present you with a bunch of posts relating my crazy food adventures in the Sunshine State. Today’s entry involves a popular destination in Delray Beach, FL that is as delicious as it is funky in nature, Mellow Mushroom.

I had originally read about it on Wikitravel as having very creative pizza creations, so that naturally whetted my appetite for adventure. We visited the fungus-inspired eatery on our first day in Florida, and the weather was beautiful. They don’t have a lot of parking aside from their crackerbox-sized lot behind their establishment, but luckily street parking is plentiful out front. They have both indoor and outdoor seating, but we opted for the latter in order to enjoy the sublime sun and breeze. As we were led through the restaurant, it had a very laid back vibe to it with lots of psychedelic artwork along with some very well known pop culture references I enjoyed. The artwork and name of the restaurant made me wonder if they had a secret menu of “special” munchies based on the surroundings along with a sign that said, “Hippies use the side entrance”. Far out, man…would be a good way to describe their menu in regard to their prices. It’s not the cheapest pizzeria you could visit, but they certainly do have creatively named and designed pies (From 10 inches to 16 inches; gluten free dough is available as well) as I mentioned earlier along with sandwiches, salads, calzones, and appetizers. I started off with a brew that I picked solely based on the name: Monk In the Trunk ($7).

Daaammnnnn shorty!

Like its title, this ale had plenty of aftertaste flavor as spicy and malty sweet flavors had a twerk-fest on my palate much to my elation. As for pizza, I had the option of creating my own, but I instead wanted to see what the cooks in the back could whip up to satisfy my soul. There were plenty choices that looked scrumptious, and eventually I settled on the 14″ Thai Dye pizza ($20). When it came out, I immediately felt the good vibes with how fresh it looked. It wasn’t as hefty as Chicago pan pizza but not as floppy as NYC’s slices. I loved the fresh cucumber slices and fresh basil on top since they were drizzled with a sweet chili sauce that left me with a smoldering kiss with each bite. Taken as a whole, the staff managed to combine a Thai chicken curry dish with a traditional pizza in perfect harmony. The chicken was groovy and not rubbery, and the curry spices jazzed up the cheese every so often. Eventually, I reached the crust which was chewy with a slight crunchy crust on the outside. The most peculiar part of the crust was that it had ever so subtle cinnamon notes that I noticed through the garlic butter that was brushed on before going into the oven. I almost finished the entire meal, but I was all carbed out by the end and could go no further.

My date home.

So if you’re looking for quality, creative, and crazy pizzas at slighty expensive prices, rock out at Mellow Mushroom.

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Posted in Alcoholic, American, American Cuisine, Beer, Beverages, Pizza and tagged basil, Beer, cheese, chicken, crust, curry, Florida, mushrooms, pizza, sauce, Thai, tomatoes. Bookmark the permalink.

A Real Brew-Ha-Ha (Portland, Part 6)

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Mark T

Welcome to another edition of Mastication Monologues! Today is the penultimate installation of my Portland, Oregon adventures, and this post will finally touch on the craft brewing scene that Portland has to offer.

I met some new friends during one of the educational sessions on motivation in the classroom, and they seemed quite interested in inviting me out to dinner with them. So after I had to do some schmoozing with some State Department representatives, I was on my way to Bridgeport Brewery located at 1313 NW Marshall Street Portland, OR 97209. It was a bit of a pain for me to get there by the streetcar system, but it seemed to be no problem for the girls by car. The exterior of the restaurant looked more like a Victorian factory where I half expected to find rows of women churning out textiles while small urchins scampered about fixing broken down weaving machines. Thankfully, the interior is much classier than a sweatshop, and the service is quite cordial. After roughly a 20 minutes wait, we were escorted to our table. We started with some drinks which naturally were beers. I first went for a pint of limited edition Old Knucklehead ($7) brewed at Bridgeport. It’s a barley wine ale which is very aggressive in flavor initially but has a soft finish of oak, cherry, and a bit of vanilla. I also tried their very rare cherry chocolate stout ($8) that also is brewed at the restaurant that lived up to it’s name. Think Guinness mixed with a very hearty black forest cake. Foodwise, they have all the basic gastropub foods like burgers, sandwiches, soups, and salads, but I wanted to try something different (go figure). I looked down their “favorites” section of the menu, and I cast my bet with the chicken souvlaki ($10). I know I could probably get much better back home in Chicago, but I decided to see the xeni (non-Greek people) take on this Mediterranean classic. It came out with my beer, and it looked a lot better than the pasta and burgers people got. The Greek dish was a solid meal. The pita was warm and fluffy, and the tomatoes and lettuce were fresh. The chicken pieces were succulent and not rubbery, a common pitfall for any chicken dish. I personally think it could have used more tzatziki sauce and feta cheese, but it didn’t make that much of a difference. The souvlaki also came with a side of vegetable couscous salad which was competently made but didn’t make me shout “Opa!”.

Overall, in regard to Bridgeport Brewery, I would follow the advice of my friend who is a native to Portland and was at dinner with us, “Come for the beer, stay for more beer. Food is secondary or maybe tertiary in Portland gastropubs”. Well put, sir.

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Posted in Alcoholic, American, American Cuisine, Beer, Beverages, Burgers, Comfort Food, English, European Cuisine, Greek, Pizza and tagged ale, Beer, burgers, craft, Greek, microbrew, Oregon, pasta, pita, Portland, salad, souvlaki, stout, tzatziki. Bookmark the permalink.

Mastication Monologues

Category Archives: Beer

Tierra del Fuego

All Fired Up For Demera

Smoking the Competition

The Cellar: It’s Goin’ Down!

Little Bucharest: All the Meat That’s Fit to Eat!

Nacho Average Restaurant

Something Old, Something New, Something Fried, Something Brewed

Ribbed For My Pleasure

Dude…Mellow Out…Try This ‘Shroom

A Real Brew-Ha-Ha (Portland, Part 6)

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