The Roost (Food Truck)

Hello, today we are doing our first Food Truck Review.

The problem with food trucks is that they might not always be in the same spot. Roost had their truck parked at 600 W Chicago on the day we went there. (This is a spot where there are always food trucks during the work days, as far as we know.) You can check out the tweets of who is there on what days at Chicago Food Truck Finder.

Max:
I don't go to that much food trucks. And I've never been here. And honestly, for a fried chicken food truck, this is really good. You can choose to get you chicken bone-in or bone-out. And you can choose to get it in sandwich form, taco form, or bone-in with the sides. On bone-in, you can get Herb Seasoned, Spicy, or Nashville Hot. On bone-out, you can get Spicy, Nashville Hot on a buttermilk biscuit or kaiser roll. They also have tons and tons of sides. I got the bone-out as a sandwich with the Nashville Hot. and a side of peach cobbler, and cucumber coleslaw. The chicken is really good and incredibly spicy. In fact, it was so spicy that my tongue felt like it was almost on fire when I finished. But it was still delicious chicken. The coleslaw wasn't my favorite. Its just that I've had better coleslaw. The peach cobbler was delicious. It was some of the best peach cobbler I've ever had. It had just the perfect amount of peaches and sauce. So this was really good for a food truck. And I'll give 4.5 plates to The Roost.

Ruben:
Food Trucks. the new trend. what could be better then fried chicken mobilized. like seriously. I have had the Roost 3 times total now. once from the truck and twice from there restaurant on Irving Park Ave in my neighborhood. I had the bone in chicken herb seasoned with chips and slaw. the chicken is decent. i thought it was a little too much breading, but other than that it was good! The Chips were good, very crunchy. The slaw, a little too fatty and milky. i like more of a vinegar slaw. the service was very good and nice. I think The Roost was a great first food truck review. and i can't wait to try more trucks. I give The Roost 4.5 plates.

Otto:
I got the bone-in Herb Seasoned. And a side of fresh potato chips and a buttermilk biscuit. The chicken was great and it was pretty well seasoned. And the biscuit was delicious but not quite as good as Bang! Bang! Pie Shop, in my opinion. The chips were delicious. And I think that they were made on that day. The service was good. They were very nice. I would give the Roost 4.5 plates.

Us and the truck

Ruben's herb seasoned.

Max's Nashville Hot.

Close up

Paciugo Gelato

Hello, today we are reviewing Paciugo Gelato in Lincoln Square.

There are several locations of this in Chicago, and they're a franchise with lots of locations worldwide. We try not to review a lot of franchises, but when we find a good one, we think it is worth mentioning.

Max:
This is one of my favorite gelato places in the world. I know its not a local Chicago gelato place, but it's just a good idea to stop by here wherever you live. All the gelato here is good, and you can even stop by here if you're a vegan or lactose intolerant because they have soy flavors too, and sorbet. The atmosphere is like a real Italian gelato restaurant. And it looks how it tastes because the gelato here tastes like real Italian gelato. And I have had actual italian gelato before in Italy. and this is one of my favorites other than Italy. So i give it 4.5

Otto:
I got Coconut Dolce de Leche and the normal Dolce de Leche and Sea Salt Caramel. It's a little bit too much caramel. But they were all delicious. I don't have much more to say about it but it's just really good. So i give it 4.5

Ruben:
I have never been here before even though i have lived in the neighborhood and visited lincoln square frequently. I was very Impressed with Paciugo's selection. dairy free, fat free, sugar free Extra which is really great for me since I'm sensitive to dairy and i'm always looking for a good sorbet dairy free ice cream or Italian ice. I had half dairy, free strawberry, and half dairy free mixed berry. They were very flavorful tasted fresh and i was impressed since it is very hard to make a good dairy free ice cream/gelato. Even though Paciugo is a franchise they are very friendly and a great addition to the neighborhood. therefore i give it 4.5 plates.

Ice cream selection

Ruben

Max

As a bonus, you can stop in, at Gene's Sausage. (just across the street from Paciugo). This market has almost everything you need. Including a lot of imported chocolate.

Pork Shoppe BBQ

Hello, today we will be reviewing Pork Shoppe.

Ruben:
Pork Shoppe. now this is all American food. fries, ribs, coleslaw, ect. And let me tell you this is probably the best damn Barbecue in the city. and I have gone to quite a lot of places not to mention I usually go to Ribfest. First of all the service, very good. food came out in a reasonable time. the staff is very nice too. The atmosphere was so cool very Texas/modern/hipster. lots of pictures of pigs on the walls. and nice counter brewery signs. Now the food was awesome. we had all shared one slab of ribs. half baby back. half St. louis Ribs and they were good. first, i'll start with the baby back. they were pretty good. really nice seasoning. came easily off the bone but less meat then the St. louis ribs. one of the employes said that the St. louis definitely has more meat on it and a little more fat so it's a better deal. The St. louis Ribs were my favorite. the meat had a little different taste and i just preferred them more then the baby back. Oh and i almost forgot the sauces. there was Hot, Tangy, and Sweet. i liked the sweet and the tangy. so flavorful. The fries were probably the best fries i have ever had. i would say the fries of pork shoppe are tied with Franks'n'Dawgs waffle fries. Now i would say this is the best Barbecue i have had in the city of Chicago. for now and i plan to get me some of 'em ribs again soon i would give this place a prefect 5 Plates.

Max:
So this is real American barbecue. I have to say the ribs, coleslaw, additional sauces, chicken, corn, and fries are some of the best I have tried in Chicago. Especially their ribs and sauces. There's two different ribs you can order. St. Louis. And Baby Back. I liked the St. Louis a little more than the Baby Back. The St. Louis are flavorful and not too smokey, which makes them delicious, since some BBQ restaurants have ribs that are too smokey. The Baby Back ribs are sort of like the St. Louis ribs. Just not quite as good and well flavored. And now time to get to sauces. There's Tangy, Sweet, and Hot. In my opinion, the St. Louis and Baby Back ribs are very delicious and flavorful with the Tangy sauce. The Chicken is good with the Sweet sauce. The Fries are so flavorful with the Sweet and Tangy Sauce mixed together. I didn't like the Hot sauce, though if you're going to use it, I recommend to only use a little. But I loved this restaurant. and it's one of the best BBQ places I have tried in Chicago. So I'll give 5 plates to Pork Shoppe BBQ.

Otto:
I liked this place quite a lot. I personally liked the St. Louis ribs the most, and I think the Tangy sauce was the best of the sauces. The chicken was better with the sweet sauce, and I think we all agreed on that. The Hot sauce was too spicy for me. The atmosphere was a mix of rustic, with this one area on the wall of a bunch of license plates surrounded by sheet metal, some of it rusty. The floor was so greasy that it was almost too slippery to walk on. But I don't mean any of that negatively. I really liked it. I will give 5 plates to this restaurant. This is the best BBQ I've had in Chicago so far.

Outside

It's casual. You place your order at the counter.

Rustic (or rusty) art.

Know your cuts of pork.

Sauce center.

Before...

And after.

looking to the east

More interior shots.

brewery signs

Ribs and Slaw

Atmosphere

Yummy Corn on the Cob

what was left.