DDD hits the Windy City

In the spring months of 2012 my older brother Tom was informed that he would be awarded the Samuel Smith Award from the American Bar Association (ABA) during their annual meeting in August in Chicago.  As I looked at my schedule I saw that I was  off that weekend and decided that I was going to try to get there to be there for him.  I did some rearranging so I would be able to get there a few days early so I could get to some of the many DDD locations in the Chicagoland area. 

I arrived on a Wednesday two days prior to Tom's award reception.  I worked overnight and caught a 6am flight to Ohare arriving a little after 7am.  After getting the car rental I took off for what would be a full two days of visiting DDD locations and seeing some friends that live in the area. 

I headed towards Chicago's south side as the first day would be going to places more to south.  My first stop was a neighborhood place, "The Depot American Diner" is a small diner that has very reasonable prices and is decorated with photos of classic diners from all over.

The service was very efficient and friendly.  I decided to try the Grilled Cheese plate which included fries and Cole slaw.  It was probably the most unusual grilled cheese that I have ever had as it wasn't grilled at all, but the "club style" sandwich was toasted and was pretty good.

My Grilled Cheese at The Depot

Before departing I was able to meet the owner and get her to sign my book.  She told me that Guy was in town for the big rock fest that was happening on the weekend at Lincoln Park.  I didn't get to meet Guy on this trip hope hope that I sometime I will be able to.  I left and headed to the town of Willowbrook to try a place that I was totally expecting to be a small shack type of place but to my surprise I arrived at "Dell Rhea Chicken Basket" to a nice restaurant-lounge in the classic diner type of building.  I got there when it opened and opted for the Lunch Buffet as it seemed the most economical and I got to try all of the specialties of the house.

 I tried the signature Chicken and biscuit with some mashed potatoes and Italian Sausage.  All was delicious and very filling.  This place is popular, within 30 minutes of opening it was full! 

My Dell Rhea lunch

I was able to meet the owner and chef and he was so nice.  He told me about the filming and that now on Thursday's for lunch he has the DDD lunch Buffet that features all of the food that he cooked for Guy for their DDD segment.

Sometimes it's tough to go to so many places in short time and I just need a break and this was one of those times.  I was tired and full so I decided to head to my hotel and get some rest as I had been up for almost 24 hours.  I had to make sure to meet up with a friend for dinner and wanted to get some rest before that.  After some time to rest it was back on the road during Chicago's wonderful rush hour traffic back to the south side to meet my friend Nicolette at one of her favorite places, "Chuck's Southern Comfort Cafe".  This place which I was told had started out as a classic Barbecue shack as grown out if it's original location and taken over a Banquet hall and the place was jammed.  We started out sharing an order of Jalapeno Corn Bread baked in a skillet.  I am not one for spicy food and this was not that spicy but did have a bit of kick and was awesome.  I ordered the Pulled Pork plate that had sides of Barbecue Beans and Mac & Cheese.

Chuck's Pulled Pork Dinner

The Pork was great and beans were very good too, but the real star of the plate was the Mac & Cheese, which wasn't gooey but had a few types of cheese but I think that the kicker of it was the cream cheese, oh man it was awesome!  Chuck came over and talked with us for a few minutes while he signed the book.  Chuck runs a festival each summer called "Chuck Fest" at the small soccer stadium nearby that is home to the Major League Soccer Team called the Chicago Fire.  The fest is a celebration of Barbecue and Music, with all types of music featured.  It is a very popular festival.  I enjoyed both Chuck and spending time with my friend, it's great to be able to share a meal with great friends.

My second day in the "Second City" would be mostly in the northern side of the city.  I headed off to have breakfast at a very unusual place (at least for me) "Tre Kroner" is a Swedish Cafe.  It is in a very residential area and really blends into the neighborhood.

The place is decorated in Swedish paintings and photos.  One wall is decorated with Swedish children's characters and in the bathroom is a huge National Geographic style map of Sweden.  I chose the Swedish Pancakes, spelled Pankakes in the menu.

My Tre Kroner breakfast

The crepe thin pancakes were topped with powdered sugar and accompanied with Ligonberry compote which was very tasty and was a nice tart taste to go with the sweet sugar.  After finishing and getting the book signed I headed out.  On my way to the next stop I drove through Lincoln Square and looked up and saw another DDD place that had just been broadcast on the show just 3 nights before!  "Chicago Brauhaus" had yet to open for the day but I stopped to get a picture of the place and the square and fountain that has been dedicated to the owners.

Chicago Brauhaus Fountain in Lincoln Square

Dedicated to the Owners and Founders of the Chicago Brauhaus

I was bummed that it was not open but now I know one place that I have to return to when I am in Chicago.  I continued onto the next place.  "Glen's Diner" is under the Elevated Subway Train Station on Montrose Avenue.  The windows are decorated with blackboards of all the specials for the day and the awning over the windows has a number of clever sayings and phrases.  Now I need to digress a bit.  I can't eat full meals at all the places as now only would I get bigger than I already am but I really can't afford it financially.  I got to Glen's and looked at the  menu and not only did the regular meals look good but all of the appetizers did too! 

Glen's Diner (under the EL)

I chose the Rainbow Trout dip and it was great, a creamy dip with alot of trout meat mixed in and served with a side of Ritz crackers.  There a slight bite of Horseradish that really gave it a great taste.

Glen's Rainbow Trout Dip

Gen came out to sign my book and he also searched for the business card of Guy's company because he said that Guy needs to know about my passion, I totally agreed with him!  He could find the card but it was great to have some time talking with him, he a very nice man and it rubs off on his staff that all were friendly and accommodating.  One of the coolest things at Glen's is his Cereal Box wall.  Glen's is open on the weekend and this is one of the specialties of his weekend breakfast menu.  I found it totally cool!

Glen's Cereal Box Wall

I moved on to a place that when I saw it shown on DDD originally I KNEW that I had to go to.  After passing by Wrigley Field, home of Chicago's beloved Cubs (except to White Sox fans) I got to a place that might be named for the food that are served, but is actually named for the two Chefs-Owners of the place.  "Big and Little's" is a small place serving unusual and very tasty food.  the place was jammed and as soon as I walk in I recognized both of the owners, known as Big and Little.  Little is the main chef and he took time away form the open kitchen to sign my book, thanks so much, Little (also known as Gary).

I ordered the Soft Shell Crab taco and it was unreal, so tasty.  I knew they were putting out some great food here, but was floored on how great it was!

 
Big and Little's Soft Shell Crab Taco

After that I headed back to the hotel to meet with a friend that works at Ohare and decided to make a quick stop at a famous Chicago food stand that was featured on DDD in one of the first few episodes shortly after it debuted. "Paradise Pup" is a classic Chicago joint that is small and always busy

There was a pretty long line out the door, but it moved fast and it turned out to be well worth it.  I ordered they're classic Cheddar Char Burger.  This was an awesome burger!  I met the owner and he took time to sign my book during the busy rush and then I was asked by a number of the patrons about my travels and that is always fun for me.

Paradise Pup Cheddar Char Burger

After a nice visit with my buddy Dan I as pretty tired and wasn't sure where to go.  I had been planning to go to a famous barbecue joint in town called Smoque, but after looking at my GPS I saw that another place I had wanted to try was not only closer but not on the rush hour traffic routes so I headed to the northwest part of Chicago to "Hackney's on Harms".  It derives it's name from the family that runs it - the Hackney's and that it's on Harms Road in a residential area, and I'm not kidding, there are houses all around it.

I remembered this place from the show and there was only one thing for me to get.  The signature "Inside Out" Hackney Burger.  It is a 1/3 lb. burger that is stuffed with Cheddar and Bleu cheeses.

The "Inside Out"

Filled with Cheddar and Bleu Cheeses

The burger comes with endless fries and Cole slaw and a choice of roll, I chose the Pretzel Roll.  An awesome meal!  The son of the founder came over and signed my book and pointed on in the book that his parents at their first house is in it.  A nice guy as were all of the employees that I encountered there.  The parking lot was full but it didn't seem crowded because they have inside and outside seating.  I opted to eat inside but the outside seating is in a garden setting.

Now here is the crazy part of the trip.  i woke up about 3am and couldn't fall back sleep.  After about 25 minutes I decided to "screw it" and got up and headed to a DDD that is open 24/7 & 365!  The "White Palace Grill" is in the middle of the city and I remember it so well, because the owner of the place said that he doesn't have a key to the place because it is never closed and the only reason they have a lock on the door is because they have to by city ordinance!

I had the only drive during my entire trip that I didn't hit some kind of traffic, of course I was driving between 330a and 4a!  I arrived and there was a alot of business at the place.  I took a booth and ordered the Midnight Train, White Palace's version of Chicken and Waffles.  While waiting for my meal I was just amazed at the steady traffic into the place at that time of the morning.  The meal was very good, three large chicken tenders with a Belgian waffle. 

The Midnight Train at the White Palace Grill

I headed back to the hotel to get a little rest before going to pick up my niece, Rebekah at Ohare and take her downtown to my brother's hotel for the ABA reception.  Before she arrived I was contacted by one of my old bosses at United Headquarters and he invited me to come and visit so after getting a pass for both myself and Rebekah we headed to what had been called The Sears Tower (for a long time the tallest building in the world) but is now called Willis Tower.  After getting the tour of the offices and having a nice visit with Steve, we headed to Tom's hotel and then I wanted to get to one more DDD place.  We picked up Rebekah's mom (my sister-in-law) Elaine headed to a place north of the city.  "A Taste of Peru" is a small eatery that is total Peru!  Rebekah had done some missionary work in Peru a few summers back so I saved this one for her. 

Rebekah majored in Spanish but was reluctant to use it.  Our waiter coaxed it out of her by the time we left and she really loved the fact that she could get her favorite soda from Peru, Inca Kola.  We decided that amongst the 3 of us we would get two entrees and share them.  While we waited they brought out bread with a thick yellow sauce.  It was a slow burn sauce.  The heat grew in intensity as you ate it.  We ordered the Pollo en salsa de Mani, which is Chicken in Peanut Sauce, and Lomo Saltado, which is shredded beef with veggies and french fries over rice.  Lomo Saltado, according to the menu was Guy's favorite during the filming.  Both entrees were delicious, but the chicken in the peanut sauce was UNREAL, oh my goodness I could have eaten several plates of that.  I can highly recommend that!  

Pollo en salsa de Mani

Lomo Saltado

Elaine, Rebekah and I at "A Taste of Peru"

That was the end of my DDD visit to Chicago.  Later that night we went to the reception where Tom received his award and then went to a group dinner to a place called Francesca's on Chestnut, which specializes in Italian and it was great.  I flew home the next morning and now have visited 263 DDD locations with hope that I will get to 300 by the end of 2012.