Art of Chicken

Today Otto is doing a solo review of Art of Chicken in Logan Square.

Otto:
The Art of Chicken is pretty small, it would probably seat 15-20 people inside, and they have a little outdoor seating if the weather is nice. The outdoor seating is fenced in by chicken wire, which I really like. There are lots of similar touches inside, lots of reclaimed wood stuff, and the wallpaper has funny paintings of chickens on them. We got a whole chicken, half El Jefe and half Crazy Chico. I personally like Crazy Chico better, which is marinated with herbs. The El Jefe is supposed to a bit spicy, but it doesn't really taste that spicy to me. It seems more like fried chicken, even though it's grilled. It's got a bit more crispy crust. But both are really good. Their french fries are some of the best french fries I've ever tasted. They are battered and they have lots of seasoning on them. I can't really eat the rest of their sides, but they don't seem all that good to me. We have picked up just their chicken and brought it home for dinner, and it's really good for a quick dinner like that (you can make your own sides, since they don't have as many to choose from, but we usually get their fries, since I like those). I'd give them 3.5 Plates.

Waiting for our food.

Lunch is served.

Battered fries.

Shake Shack

Today we are reviewing Shake Shack in River North.

Ruben:
New York's Shake Shack finally made it to Chicago and man are we happy and so is the rest of the city. We usually don't go to chains but we made an exception this time. So I go to Brooklyn at least once a year usually or more because I have family there and I had not even heard of Shake Shack until everybody in Chicago was going crazy about their first location here. So we went there pretty soon after the opening. I walked in seeing all these people in line and I thought oh, this is going to take a long time. But surprisingly it didn't. The service was fast and we were up at the counter ordering in no time at all. I was very impressed. I had the Shack Burger. I thought it was really good. The bun was so good and the Shack Sauce was good too. It was a little too greasy for my taste but other than that it was really good. Their crinkle cut fries have gotten some thumbs up and some thumbs down. I would give them a thumbs up. They're nothing special but I liked them. Shake Shack reminded me so much of Epic Burger which is also a more healthy burger chain. But they only have five or six locations. And they are all in the Chicago Area. I think Shake Shack is a great place and I will definitely be going back soon. I give Shack Shack 4.5 plates.

Max:
Shake Shack is an excellent burger chain that had its original location in NYC, but they now have a location in Chicago! I have been to Shake Shack quite a few times. But not this location. I had always eaten their burgers in Brooklyn since I go there to visit friends. But now since they have a location in Chicago I can go here all the time! We all started by getting burgers, and then we ordered fries and shakes. I got the ol' classic ShackBurger. It's a cheeseburger topped with lettuce, tomato, and Shack Sauce. First of all, the Shack Sauce is brilliant. I don't know what they put in the sauce but it's plain awesome. It reminds me a lot of the Epic Sauce that they serve at Epic Burger. And they're both really good. The buns that they use here at Shake Shack are awesome. They're soft but a little bit crispy. And they're good even if you eat them plain. The crinkle cut fries are good. Not anything special but good. I had heard bad stuff about the Crinkle cut fries in the Chicago Reader. So I was kind of expecting them to be bad, but they were fine. This visit I got the Shack-made Lemonade, which was pretty good. I have also tried their chocolate milkshake. It's really good. Its got a nice creamy texture to it and it's just overall a really good shake. I give Shake Shack 4.5 plates.

Otto:
I'm glad that Shake Shack finally came to Chicago because I have eaten it in Brooklyn and it was so good that I'm glad I can eat it more often in my own city. I guess it is technically fast food, but it feels nicer than normal fast food. It's cool how they serve the food on these little trays, like baking trays. And they wrap the burgers in little paper bags, but it seems all really nice. I got the Shack burger, with no cheese. As you may know by now, I eat my burgers plain, but that means I am a pretty good judge of the meat and bun. Both of them are good here. We also got an order of fries to share. Many people say they are like cafeteria fries, and they don't like them, but I thought they were good. I have also not had a lot of cafeteria fries to compare them to, so maybe that helps. I got a caramel milk shake, which was really good. They also have these shakes called Concretes, where they mix in things like cake and donuts. There is one that uses Glazed and Infused donuts and one that uses Bang Bang Pie's S'mores Pie. Those could be good too, and it's cool that they use stuff from local places that we already reviewed and like. But I like the regular caramel shake. I give it 4.5 plates for being good and fast and pretty cheap for what you get.

Max's Shack Burger

Ruben's Shack Burger

Crinkle cut fries

First Bite!

Do-Rite Donuts

Today we are reviewing Do-Rite Donuts, on W Randolph St. in downtown.

Ruben:
Do-Rite Donuts! Let me say Do-Rite Donuts did it right. This was my first time going to Do-Rite. I have heard many good things about it. I think my favorite thing about this place is that they serve vegan donuts. I don't know any other donut shop in Chicago that has vegan donuts. There are a ton of people out there that are lactose intolerant, milk free and vegan. That is one of the things that really stands out about Do-Rite. The shop is very small. I'm talking so small that people have bigger closets then their whole space. But there is an advantage to being small. Everything has its place and really makes it have a cute atmosphere. All they have at Do-Rite is donuts and Dark Matter Coffee, which is actually brewed right near my house. I tried the Butter Milk Old Fashioned Donut because I wanted to see if something so simple could be so good. And it was. The cake donut was perfectly baked. Moist on the inside, crunchy on the outside. Just how I like it. I also had a little bit of the Vegan Chai Donut. It was okay, but if you go here, get a cake donut. If you want a good yeast donut head up North to the Donut Vault. I give Do-Rite 4.0 plates.

Otto:
Do-Rite Donuts is really small, with no inside seating. But they have tables outside. I got the Buttermilk Old Fashioned and the Vanilla Bean Glazed. Both were delicious. They have a limited amount of donuts each day, and when they sell out, they are gone. But the times we have gone there have both been in the afternoon, and they still had donuts, just not much of a selection. I like the more basic donuts anyway, and they had those on both visits. I give them 4 plates.

Max:
Do-Rite Donuts kind of reminds me of Doughnut Vault. Because they are both very small. I've been to Do-Rite once before and their donuts are really good. Today, I got the Chocolate Glazed and the Vegan Chai. The Chocolate Glazed is a classic cake donut dipped in valrhona chocolate. It was awesome! It tasted like a high quality and gourmet donut. The Vegan Chai was a little disappointing. I have had better vegan donuts in my life (from West Town Bakery, for instance), and the chai just tasted weird with the rest of the donut. I wish I had liked it better but it just wasn't that good of a donut. The atmosphere is pretty cool. It totally captures an old fashioned bakery kind of look. And like I said earlier in the post, Do-Rite is very small so they don't have any indoor seating. You can either take your donut to go, or you can eat it outside, were they have a few tables and chairs. We all ate ours outside, and it was a pretty cold day out so we were a bit chilly, but that was okay. Do-Rite donuts was pretty good so I give them 3.5 plates.

Outside

Big Donut

Max's Chocolate Glazed

Max's Vegan Chai

Ruben's Buttermilk Old Fashioned 

Pączki Day

Happy Pączki Day! Hope you enjoy some fried, filled dough today too!

!Bang Bang! Pie & Biscuits

Today we are reviewing !Bang Bang! Pie & Biscuits in Logan Square.

Ruben:
So after years of hearing about how awesome Bang bang! pie was i finally got there on a cloudy january day. Max and Otto since they live right by Bang bang go there regularly but i have never been. I really liked the atmosphere of the place it felt very nice and small with a rustic feel with red picnic tables and stringed lights in the back yard. I actually can't wait to go back here in the summer cause of the yard also they have garden in the summer which they grow fresh veggies. I asked max and Otto what i should get? they recommended the scratch biscuit which is just a homemade fresh biscuit with honey mustard butter and fresh made jam. I would say the biscuit was okay but it had way to much lard and butter for my taste. It was so moist and basically  was almost falling apart. The jam did balanced it out but the butter just added to the fat so it just made it worse. Although there are biscuit sandwiches on the menu so that might balance it out so i have to try that. The pie is good. It was good it was fresh but i don't really think it was amazing a lot of people think it is. Maybe i'm missing something or the flavor we got was not the best thing on the menu or something like that. We got the raspberry jam tart and the blood orange meringue. I thought the meringue was really amazing and the rassberry filling in the raspberry pie was really good. I have to try some more things at Bang bang pie but for now i'm giving 3 plates i will do a another review in the future so stay tuned. Keep on tasting, Ruben.

Max:
I have been going to !Bang Bang! Pie since they first opened. And we have always tried to convince Ruben to try them, but we never did...until now. Their biscuits are maybe the best in Chicago. I'm seriously not joking. I have never tried a biscuit as good as theirs. My mom tried to make a biscuit as good as theirs, but she wasn't even close. (She's actually a good baker, but that's how good these biscuits are.) We all started with some Scratch Biscuits. They come with seasonal jam and honey butter. I also added a poached egg to it. Like I said, the biscuit is amazing, and one of the reasons that makes it taste so good is the lard and butter inside of it. The seasonal jam was blueberry. It was very good. The honey butter was delicious, although the biscuit is already so buttery that I don't completely see why you should put it on. The poached egg was also delicious. It was served with salt, pepper and chives. The egg was perfectly done. The yolk was runny, but I like it like that. The chives went amazingly well with the egg, and it inspires me to do the same next time I make a poached egg. After that, we ordered the Blood Orange Meringue. I actually didn't try any of it because I was so full after the biscuit, but I've had it on a previous visit. I also want to talk about their pie. They change their pie menu frequently and seasonally. So they don't always have the same pie on the menu. But they usually have at least one custard pie, one fruit pie, and than also a sweet pie, like chocolate. The Key Lime pie is my favorite pie on the menu. It's sour, but it's so good. And this time when we went they didn't have the key lime pie on the menu, but that was fine because we didn't order it. I actually think that their biscuits are a little better than their pie, but I still like them both a lot. They also have fresh squeezed orange juice and hot cider. Today I got the fresh squeezed orange juice. The atmosphere is really rustic and cool. It's a little small, and it was crowded when we came, so it took a little while before we got a seat, but that was fine. They also have a patio in their backyard, so you can sit outside when it's warm out. I think that !Bang Bang! Pie & Biscuits is one of my favorite bakeries in at Chicago so I give !Bang Bang! 5 plates.

Otto:
I love !Bang Bang! Pie Shop. They have the best biscuits I have ever had. I got the Scratch Biscuit, which automatically comes with jam and butter, but I just eat it plain. It's so good it doesn't need anything else anyway. I also like their sweet and custard pies. I usually get either a chocolate or a lemon or lime one. This time they didn't have either of those, so I tried the Blood Orange Meringue. I didn't like it as much. It tasted too strongly of the blood orange for me. I guess I don't like orange as much as lemon or lime, as least not in pie. I also got a cup of hot cider, which was really good (especially on such a cold and rainy day). I really like going there when it is warm enough to sit outside. They have a really nice patio. I give them 5 plates.

Waiting for biscuits.

Group shot.

Biscuits and pie.

Backyard.

Oiistar

Happy Anniversary to us! Chicago Food Boys is now 1 year old! For our celebratory lunch, we were trying to decide if we should revisit a place we had all loved, or if we should try something new. Two of our favorite meals were the ramen at Urban Belly and at Slurping Turtle, so we decided maybe we should try another ramen place. We went to Oiistar in Wicker Park, another ramen place which has gotten good reviews.

Max:
Oiistar is an Asian Fushion/Japanese restaurant. It is located on Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park. They are known for their ramen and steamed buns. First let me start with the atmosphere. It's kinda dark and modern. Definitely an asian fusion looking place. But of course, it's really cool looking. Now, let me talk about the food. We started with some steamed buns. I got the Tempura Shrimp. it comes with tiger shrimp, thai chili mayo, fennel slaw, and roasted sesame seeds. The tiger shrimp is amazing. It's perfectly cooked and delicious. The thai chili mayo really complements the tiger shrimp. The fennel slaw is about average, but goes well with the sesame seeds. After that, we all ordered ramen. I got the Musclemen ramen. It comes with mussels, onions, chili peppers, scallions, and bonito miso. The broth was a little spicy, but still tasty. I feel that they didn't need to put so much chili peppers in it though. The noodles were really good. I don't know what kind of ramen noodles they were but they were great. The overall ramen was pretty good. The service isn't the best. One of us ordered the Pozolmen. And our waiter said that it was his favorite ramen if you like it spicy. But he didn't say that it was going to be PIPING SPICY! Seriously, I tried it and it was like eating a ghost pepper fresh off the vine. And when he came back and asked us how much we like the ramen, we said that one of us got the Pozolmen and it was way too spicy. And he said - well I warned you it was going to be spicy. But that wasn't true. All he said is that it was spicy and that it was his favorite ramen. He didn't warn us about it like it was going to be REALLY spicy. But anyway, back to the review. Oiistar is overall a good restaurant, so I give 4 plates to Oiistar.

Otto:
I started with the BBQ Beef steam bun as an appetizer. I asked for it to be plain (just the meat and the bun). It was the best steam bun I have had yet. I got the Chadolemen Ramen, which was also beef and normally comes with vegetables too, but I asked for it to be just the meat and noodles and broth, which they said was no problem. It was really really good. The broth was really good, and after a while, it got to be a bit too spicy for me, but it was still amazing. It was a gigantic bowl of ramen, and I only eat a little bit of it, so we took a lot home. I would give it 4 plates.

Ruben:
It's been one whole year folks of Chicago Food Boys. hard to believe right?

So for our blogaversery lunch we went to a ramen place in wicker park called Oiistar. You might ask why ramen for our blogversery. well, we we're just in the mood for some ramen thats it. Everybody walked in with excitement. we sat down at our table not knowing what to expect. The menu i thought was very interesting they had a wide variety of buns, ramen, and some American Japanese appetizers. We all decided to get one bun and one ramen cause that's what the waiter recommended. I ordered the goki bun a barbecue beef bun. I thought it was very good the beef was a little to chewy for my taste but it was still okay. The garnish on the bun, i liked it. it went well with the beef but i would have to say my favorite part of the bun was the creme fraiche which was very sweet but not so sweet and the bun also had hot sauce so both the sauces really complimented each other very well. The ramen i ordered the chadolemen which is not on their online menu. for some reason so i had to look on yelp to see what it was called which is very weird to have a item on your physical menu but not your digital. It actually had a mix of beef brisket and ground beef which i thought was pretty good. I think i liked the broth the best, though it was spicy and had a lot of flavors that you could smell and taste. There was some bean sprouts and kimchi in the ramen to which were okay to but nothing special. I give oiistar 4 plates.

The Food Boys

Inside

Cod Steam Bun.

Max's Tempura Shrimp Steam Bun.

Ruben's Goki bun

Otto's Ramen.

Max's Musclemen Ramen.

Ruben's  Ramen

Max and Musclemen.

Slurping Ramen.

Otto and noodles.

La Creperie

Today we will be reviewing La Creperie on Clark and Diversey.

Otto:
It was a very nice evening when we went here, and the outside seating in the back was very pretty with all the string lights and the rest of the decorations. For my entree crepe, I got the very plain crepe with butter and sugar because I was just in the mood for a simple crepe. I've tried many crepes like this, and this was one of the best I've had. There's not much to explain, though, about a plain butter and sugar crepe. For dessert, I chose the caramel and salted butter crepe, and that was very good and very very caramel-y. It was sitting in a puddle of caramel when it arrived. But it was a delicious puddle. I loved it. We spent kind of a long time having dinner here, and for some reason, toward the end, we sang a couple of rounds of Row Row Row Your Boat. At the end of our meal, a man came over to us and told us how nice it was listening to us singing. It was the kind of place and the kind of night that this seemed like the right thing to do, and it was a very fun night. I would rate this place 4 plates.

Ruben:
I am always up for a good Crepe, this was my first time at La Creperie. The atmosphere of the place feels very french with little golden LED'S all over, we got a table outside on their awesome patio which is basically a back yard cause it has a garage and everything but they made it look awesome. There menu has a very wide selection of Sweet and Savory Crepes. One thing that was not so great about La Creperie is that they have very slow service probably took 40 minuets for our food to come but on the bright side our server was very nice. I got the Boeuf bourguignon which is a beef crepe with a sauce and carrots and celery. I thought my crepe was a little too saucy and heavy the sauce was so thick almost the density of Gravy, personally if my crepe has a sauce i like it to be thin. The reason why i got this crepe is that they didn't have a lot crepes that were low on dairy except the plain crepe. For desert we got a Banana Nutella and the Salted caramel. Out of the two i preferred the salted caramel it was salty it was sweet the caramel was homemade and full of flavor one of the best sweet crepes i have had. On the other hand the banana Nutella was just average. Also here is some history about La Creperie it actually burned down once and closed once in the years it's been open. La Creperie is a nice place although it is not my favorite crepe place i would go there if i was in the neighborhood i give 3.5 plates.

Max:
La Creperie is a French restaurant that is well known for their delicious crepes. La Creperie has been around since 1972. And they burned down once. But then they reopened. And last year, the chef closed the restaurant and planned to retire, but then he decided to reopen it. We came here for dinner and we thought we should go here because me and my brother Otto went here a while ago and we liked it. Though I can barely remember it, because it was such a long time ago. But let's talk about the food. We started with some escargot. It was delicious, and went really well with the bread that came with it. After that, we ordered some crepes. I got the Poulet et fromage de chèvre. It comes with     chicken, roasted tomatoes and goat cheese. The chicken was a little too dry. The roasted tomatoes were pretty good. But the goat cheese was delicious. It went very well with the roasted tomatoes. I guess all of the crepe was good except for the chicken. Also, something funny happened. For some reason we started singing Row Row Row Your Boat, and after we stopped, this older guy came up to us and told us that he was delighted to hear us sing that. It was a pretty funny experience, so I give La Creperie 4 plates.

Escargot appetizer. 

Dessert crepe.

 

Essence of India

Today Otto is reviewing Essence of India in Lincoln Square.

Otto:
We have been wanting to go here for a long time, but they are usually not open for lunch. We finally made it for dinner, and I am so glad we did, because this was pretty good Indian (although I don't know that many Indian restaurants, even though I really like it, because we usually go to the same couple of places). Everyone there was extremely nice. We got the Murg Tikka Masala (skewered boneless marinated chicken cooked with Indian spices and herbs in a cream sauce). I absolutely loved this. (I always love chicken tikka masala, and this was some of the best I've had, but once again, I haven't had it from that many places.) We also got Achari Gosh (lamb with ground cumin, rye, fennel and fenugreek).  The lamb was too tough or chewy for me, so I didn't eat very much of it. For me, it wasn't nearly as good as the chicken tikka masala. Their naan was warm and buttery and amazing, and I loved it and dipped it in my chicken tikka masala sauce, which I think is the best way to eat naan. I give them 4 plates for the food, but 5 plates for their service (they were just so very nice, they even tried to figure out a dish we had liked from another place and wrote it down for us so we can get it next time we are on Devon Avenue).