Ethiopian Diamond

Hello, Today we will be reviewing Andersonville's beloved Ethiopian Diamond.

Otto:
I've only been here once before, and it was very good both times. The first time I went, I might have liked the meat I got a little bit better. We got two different plates from the Taste of Ethiopia, one the meat sampler and the other the vegetarian sampler (which I did not eat). They put both on the same big plate, with the injera (the spongy pancake that you use to scoop up the food) underneath. The way they serve it, it looks like a big artist's palette with little blobs of paint (but those blobs are the food). It doesn't sound very good when I describe it, but it actually is. I only ate the meats, and there were actually only three on the plate, so I only tried three of the things. Here are the ones I tried: Yesiga Alicha, which is beef cubed then cooked in a mild Alicha sauce of onions, garlic and ginger. Doro Wat, which is chicken legs marinated and cooked in spicy homemade "Diamond Berbere” sauce. I didn't like that as much as the chicken I got last time, which was with cubed pieces of chicken in a mild sauce. The last meat was the Yebig Wat, and that was actually my favorite. It was lamb (bone-in), also with the Berbere sauce. My least favorite one was actually the chicken, but that might be because I am not a big fan of chicken legs, and that was all there was. And sadly, since there were only three meats, and everyone was eating from them, there wasn't really enough that I could eat. Next time I would get an extra order of meat in addition so that there would be more meat for everyone. If you have never eaten Ethiopian, I should mention that you eat with your hands (they don't give you utensils). They bring you a plate of injera, which is a soft pancake-like spongy thing, and you tear off little bits of it and scoop up the meat or other stuff with it. It was good enough that even when I ran out of meat, I just ate the injera alone. I really liked the sambusas, which is the appetizer that comes with the sample plate. I got the beef, but they messed up our order and gave me a chicken one. Then they brought me the beef too, and I got to eat both. I liked the beef better, but the chicken was delicious too. I give this place 4.5 plates.

Max:
Ethiopian Diamond is one of the most famous restaurants in Chicago. And I have only ever been here once before. The atmosphere is very authentic Ethiopian. They have Ethiopian paintings, and they even have a 1 stringed banjo on the wall. I have never heard of a 1 stringed banjo. We got the taste of Ethiopia as a Platter. the injera that come with their dishes are really good. injera are Ethiopian Pancakes that are not like American pancakes at all, but they're delicious. The texture of injera aren't  Really like a pancake. It's kinda hard too explain the difference but injera are more like a bread texture than a pancake texture. There were so many different sauces that I can't remember all of them. But they were all very good. I really love to mix the sauces together. So like the meat sauces are great with the bean sauces. Also, all the sauces come on a Ethiopian Pancake, so if you run out of pancake you can eat the one on the dish. It's hard to learn how to eat the Ethiopian pancakes. What you do is rip a small peace of the pancake off, and dip it in any sauce you like. I think my favorite sauce is the beef. But I love Ethiopian Diamond, so I will rate it 4.5 plates.

Ruben:
Ethiopian diamond is quite an experience. it feels like your really in Ethiopia. I have been to Ethiopian Diamond about 3 or 4 times. I'm guessing it could be more though but that's what i remember. I have always loved Ethiopian food, especially the sour bread that they call injera. injera is a quite sour bread but it balances out when you put the filling, or you could call them sauces. there were so many. it is hard to choose which one is the best. but they're all really good. some of them spicy, some of them mild, some with meat, some without. so it's nice that they have a variety to pick from. so if you are a vegetarian, you can have some. and those meat lovers out there can have some also. we had these kind of Empanada shaped things. they are called sambusas. but they had different kinds like, chicken, lentil, beef. they where quite good but i was not crazy about the lentil. Ethiopian diamond has a great atmosphere, and it has an African feel to it, and it's pretty clean.  I do Think Ethiopian Diamond is one of the best Ethiopian Restaurants in the Chicago Area so i give it 4.5 plates.

Outside the restaurant.

Menu.

Platter.

In Ethiopian Diamond.

Hachi's Kitchen

Hello. Today we will be reviewing Hachi's Kitchen located in the heart of logan square on California Ave. (just south of Logan Blvd).

Ruben:
The minute i walked in i knew it was gonna be good. This was my first time at Hachi's but Max and Otto are regulars so they know everyone who works there. I was greeted very nicely and when i sat down i was presented with a steaming hot towel so nice and relaxing. the boys didn't tell me about that so that was a surprise and let me say it was a good one. I loved the atmosphere, and the look of the place. it felt very welcoming and friendly but at the same time cool and modern. We started off with some pot stickers and they were amazing crispy dough on the outside and fresh meat and veggies on the inside. very good. After the pot stickers we had some Miso Soup and it was probably the best Miso Soup i have ever had. very flavorful and i loved the broth. For my main course i had the classic California Roll i really liked it. The crab was okay nothing special but it was still decent and the veggies were also decent. I also had a bite of Otto's teriyaki chicken and that is what i'm getting next time cause that homemade teriyaki sauce OMG was it good. Hachi's kitchen is a great sushi joint and i would love to go back i give it 5 plates.

Otto:
I've been going to Hachi's Kitchen for years, and it is one of my favorite restaurants, even though I always get the same thing: the chicken teriyaki with rice or sometimes just the rice and teriyaki sauce. Their teriyaki sauce is the best I have ever had, and I've tried to find anything existing that is as good. We have bought many different brands, and we don't like anything as much as theirs. Sometimes we just order sides of the sauce and take it home with us so that we can make rice and teriyaki sauce at home. The pork pot stickers are pretty good too, although I didn't finish mine. I really like their miso soup, although I only eat the broth. The broth is delicious. I would give this place 6 plates if I could, but since there are only 5 to give, I'll give it 5.

Max:
I love this restaurant! I've been wanting to review this place for a whole long time now. I've been going here since I was very small. And it might just be the best sushi in Chicago. First off, I love the atmosphere, and the Japanese feel of the restaurant is so authentic and fancy. They also give you a hot towel for washing your hands before you eat. The restrooms are some of the nicest I've seen in a restaurant. And right outside of the restroom there's a huge wall of real roses that you can smell, that's right, roses. But now moving on to the food. I got the Soft Shell Crab Maki. It was delicious. I love how the crab legs were sticking out of the crab rolls. And they are also very fun to eat. The crab legs were fried, and I don't eat that much fried crab. And this was awesome! I also tried some of the Rainbow Roll. Its salmon, tuna, avocado, and yellow tail wrapped around a crab stick. That was also very good. Almost all the dishes they serve here come with ginger and wasabi. And that's good for me because I like my food pretty spicy. But not SPICY! just spicy. I love Hachi's Kitchen, so I give them 5 plates.

Outside.

Pot Stickers.

Max's Soft Shell Crab Maki

Otto's Chicken Teriyaki

Rainbow roll.

Revolution Brewing

Hello. Today we will be reviewing Logan Square's Revolution Brewery.


Ruben:
Revolution Brewing. I have been wanting to try Revolution Brewing for a year now! and let me say I was impressed. Revolution Brewing is beyond a cool awesome building, great location, and great decor.
lemme talk about the food. i had the Workingman burger. The bun was great. it tasted very fresh. The bacon went very well with the burger. The burger tasted a little too fatty and and my stomach hurt a little after. The fries were okay not amazing but better then average. We also got the soft pretzel for a appetizer and it was very good. it tasted fresh. not much salt and very soft in the middle. also the mustard that it came with, Oh my god. it tasted so good! some of best damn mustard my taste buds have ever tasted. So that's about it for food. but their service was great our waitress was very nice and the food came out in a reasonable time. I give REVOLUTION BREWING 4.5 plates.

Max:
This is a really good place to get a burger, in my opinion. I think that their burgers are the best thing on the menu. I've been going here for a long time. And everything about this restaurant is really cool. You can see the brewery through a large glass that's about half of the restaurant. And the atmosphere is very authentic brewery. We got the Soft pretzel as our appetizer. It was a delicious pretzel. It came with 2 sauces. One was a beer cheese sauce, and the other was a mustard sauce. The cheese sauce was too rich and creamy, and it gave me a small stomach ache. But that might be because i'm not a big fan of beer cheese. The mustard sauce was very good and it went very well with the pretzel. I got the Hombre Burger. It had cheese, poblano peppers, and avocado. It was very good, though I wasn't a huge fan of the poblano peppers. They were a bit smokey and not just my taste. I was impressed with the avocado. It really complemented my burger. My side was a caesar salad. It was about an average caesar salad. And i enjoyed it, but I've had better caesar salads. But anyway, I love Revolution Brewing. and it was delicious. So I rate Revolution Brewing 4.5 plates.

Otto:
I got a cheddar cheese burger with fries. Their burgers are big and good. They are served on a brioche bun which is toasted, which makes it even more delicious. I couldn't eat the whole thing. Their fries are pretty good, I think they are better than average fries. The pretzel is delicious. Soft and kind of salty, maybe a tiny bit too salty. It comes with a beer cheese sauce which I didn't try. We like to sit in the booths that are upstairs. It's nice because the upstairs is open to the downstairs, you look down on the bar from above. The walls are made out of the wood of old barrels, they are still roundish and make a kind of wavy pattern on the walls. The light fixtures have these cool covers that are made of the metal barrel rings, all crossed to make a globe shape. I like the overall atmosphere of it. There's lots of wood and it feels nice. It's fun to look down into the bar and look at all the pulls of the beer taps, which are all shaped differently and look really cool. Most of them are the Revolution Brewery fists, in all different colors and designs. Overall, I would give them 4 plates.

In our booth, overlooking the bar.

Inside

Soft Pretzel with beer cheese and mustard sauce

Ruben's Workingman Burger

Max's Hombre Burger

Otto's cheese burger and fries

First bites.

Beer Taps

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.