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.

Short Boston area DDD Trip in the middle of a cruise

This might turn out to be the most unusual DDD trips that I will ever make manly due to the fact that it really isn't a DDD at all.  I have a group of friends that each year we take at least one cruise during the year.  We had been hoping to take a cruise into Alaska this year but the cruise fares and airfares made it financially impossible so we looked elsewhere and decided upon going to Bermuda.  As it turned out the best cruise was out of Baltimore and would make port calls 3 different ports.  The aforementioned Bermuda but also Boston and Newport, Rhode Island.

We cruised out of Baltimore in almost perfect weather for late June.  Warm but not humid and it was so nice not having to fly to get to the ship.  Two of my friends did fly into BWI, one from Milwaukee and the other from Los Angeles but they mentioned that it seemed easier than going to a Florida port.  My buddy Barry and I showed them around the Baltimore area before we sailed.  It was really cool to  cruise under the Key Bridge, Chesapeake Bay Bridge and over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel before getting into the Atlantic.  Little did we know that less than 24 hours after we sailed that the area would be hit by the worst thunderstorms in history with power outages all over and also oppressive heat, I guess that I was lucky to have missed it but was worried about everyone affected by both the power outages and the heat.

After an overnight stop in Bermuda we sailed into Boston and since I have been to Boston on several occasions I decided to part ways with my friends for a day and get a rental car and head off to 3 new DDD places in the area to get my count over 250.

Approaching Boston by Sea

The ship arrived about 8am and I had about 5 hours to get the car and drive to the 3 places I wanted to get to and get back before sailing out of the city to Newport, Rhode Island.  I usually mock the other passengers who crowd the exit at all of the ports trying to be the first off the ship in each port.  I was now becoming one of them and I always joked that the first one off doesn't get an award, well now I know for certainty that they don't as I was the very first one off!

I got the car and headed off about 30 miles south to the small town of Atteboro and a 100 year old diner called "Morin's Diner".  I arrived still during the breakfast hours and noticed that Morin's has grown into a Diner-Restaurant-Night Club complex.  I found a small booth in the diner area and was greeted but the very friendly employees of Morins.  Very friendly and with very strong New England accents.  I chose a Portuguese Breakfast Skillet which consisted of Eggs, Cheese, Onions, Green Peppers, and Portuguese Linguese sausage.  It was very tasty.  The staff was very interested in my journeys and told me all about both the filming and the party they held when their episode was aired.

My Skillet meal at Morin's

Just before I was about the finish up the owner, Bill Morin came to my table to sign my book.  Mr. Morin is a fourth generation owner of what has become an institution in Atteboro.  He spent about 5 minutes with me telling me all about the history of of the diner and the town and it's surrounding areas.  After he signed my book I was given a Morin's Diner T-shirt which all of the staff wears, I can tell you that I will be wearing it proudly and can highly recommend Morin's to anyone visiting the area.

From Morin's I headed back north into the fun pre-4th of July traffic of Boston!  After about a hours drive I got to my second stop in Brookline, just down the street from the birthplace of President John F. Kennedy.  Along a busy street is a small shop called "Cuttys Foods".

Cuttys in Brrokline, MA

Cuttys is a sandwich shop.  they use mostly organic foods and tasty breads.  I decided upon the small specialty sandwich and a fresh squeezed limeade.  The service was friendly and fast, which was nice because the place was very busy.  The sandwich was really tasty with fresh ham and salsa, but what really made the sandwich was he Cibatta Bread, delicious.  I got my book signed between the busy customer service and I now had been to 250 places!

I headed across town to East Boston near the Maverick 'T' Subway stop just across the bay from Logan Airport to an area that is very Italian. 

Italian Express Pizzeria specializes in all things Italian, but I decided to get a slice of Sausage Pizza.  The slice here is at least 2 slices and most other places!  It was very good pizza and there was a steady stream of customers during my visit.  I noticed on the walls photos of Guy and his 67 Corvette parked in front of the restaurant and also on the wall was the new DDD poster. 

Slice? of Pizza

To be ones the pizza was good but there are so many places that have good pizza that it is alot like a number of places that I have visited.

From there it was back to the ship and the cruise, a brief respite from the cruise to get o some new and fun DDD places.  Now that I have 251 I hope to get to 300 soon!

My cruise gang!

DDD Returns to the Metorplex

After returning from my trip to San Antonio I started thinking about where to next.  I have for the past year wanted to go up to Buffalo as there are 7 places that were on the show and I had planned to go up there last June but due to some work issues I was unable to go.  I started to plan the trip to Buffalo.  As many of you know, when I travel I fly on standby so if there are seats then I can go and if the flights are full, it's no go for me.  I had the days in mind and then looked at the flight loads.  Now I figured midweek in mid-May would be a good time to go to Buffalo, well I was wrong.  The flights were full in both directions so I just started looking at different cities to maybe try and plan.  The city that looked promising was Dallas!  I have a good friend named Steve who lives in the Dallas suburb of Lewisville and wondered if he might want to join me on my DDD adventure to 5 places in the Dallas area which is known to many as the Metroplex.  I planned a quick overnight trip and Steve decided to join in and that helped me out as he would do the driving and that save on a rental car and having to drive in an unknown city.  Steve also works as a Beer Vendor at the Texas Rangers Ball Park in Arlington so we would also go there, me to watch the Rangers vs Kansas City Royals game and Steve to sell beers.

The day came to depart and I got a seat on the morning flight to DFW and it was the most uncomfortable seat on a flight I have ever had, it felt like sitting on a wood bleacher for almost 3 hours!  Oh well, it was a seat and I got to Dallas on time so you can't beat that.  Steve met me on arrival and we took off for our 2 day adventure. 

We drove to our first stop which is in an area of Dallas in the northern section of the city.  An older section at the intersection of Maple and Motor Streets.  The place we went to is called (surprise surprise) "Maple and Motor"

My lunch at Maple and Motor - Cheeseburger with a side of Rings and Tots

This place does a huge lunch business.  There was a line about 6 deep and it was slow due to a problem wit their credit card modem.  As soon as they told people that it was cash only the line started to move and we quickly got up to order.  Maple and Motor's specialty is burgers and sandwiches.  Both Steve and I got burgers and then we shared sides of Onion Rings and Tater Tots.  The service was really fast and the burgers were great!  The place is pretty cool with old commercial signs all over along with old photos.  I was able to talk to some of the staff and the General Manager of the place signed my book, They are very friendly and t is worth a visit if you are in the area.

Later in the afternoon we headed over the Arlington, a pretty big city in between Dallas and Fort Worth.  Arlington is home to the Six Flags Over Texas amusement park, the Dallas Cowboys Stadium and the Texas Rangers Ball Park.  Arlington is also the home of our second DDD location "Chop House Burgers".

The Signature Chop House Burger

The Chop House Burger is a mixture of Ground Beef and Beef Brisket

Chop House Burgers lives up to it's name and serves all types of burgers many of which are stuffed with or mixed with all types of ingredients.  Their signature burger and the one that both Steve and I got and the burger that Guy made on the DDD episode is the Chop House Burger.  It is a burger that is a mix of ground beef and beef brisket.  The burger was very tasty and had a very unique taste with the both types of beef giving the sandwich a good flavor.  The bun was excellent and really made the flavor of the burger standout.  I was lucky enough to catch the owner and chef that cooked with Guy sign my book just as he was getting ready to leave. 

From there we left for the Texas Rangers Ballpark at Arlington.  Steve is a beer vendor there and he got me a ticket to the game.  The Rangers were playing the Kansas City Royals.  I was able to walk all around the park before the game and I will tell you that is one of the nicest parks in the Major Leagues.  The area around the park is also home to the Six Flags park and Jerry's Pleasure Dome aka Cowboys Stadium.



Texas Rangers Ballpark in Arlington

Jerry's Pleasure Dome aka Cowboys Stadium as seen from the Ballpark

The Boomstick, a 2-foot long hot dog which costs $26.00

Baseball Night in Texas

There are alot of neat tings at the park.  In rhe outfield area they have two merchandise stores where you can get all the Rangers souvenirs that you might have a need for .  A open to the public full service restaurant and an outdoor bar with seat that overlook the field.  Then as I was headed to my seat in the upper deck I saw it!  The ultimate ballpark food item, an item that might even have Guy Fieri visit for DDD.  It is called "The Boomstick" a 2 foot long hot dog that includes all the fixin's you might want.  This 2 foot dog of joy will put you back 26 bucks!  No, I didn't get one nor would I ever, I like hot dogs but not THAT much!  I found my way to my seat and it was an enjoyable game.  The Rangers lost to the Royals 7-4 and I was seated near some pretty interesting people.  In front of me were two women who when the game started and the Rangers looked bad one said to the other "They're playing like the Keytone Kops tonight" and then proceed to read a book instead of watching  the game.  the tow young girls next to me who came to a night game with eye black on, I guess they had their game faces on, that's the only reason why anyone would wear eye black to a night game.
After an restful night we headed out to try a few more places before my late afternoon flight back to Dulles.  The places we were going to visit were in an area of Dallas known as Deep Ellum.  This is an old industrial area that is now an entertainment and art district. Our firsts stop was a brick oven pizza joint called "Il Cane Rosso".  The Red Dog.  It is right across the street from another DDD place called The Twisted Root Burger Company, a place I visited in 2010. 

The Lunch Special - Caesar Salad and

Pizza for 2

We ordered the Lunch Special which included drinks, salad and a pizza to share.  We decided on the Caesar Salad and a Pizza with Soapresetta, which is a spicy peperoni type sausage.  Both were fantastic.  The Soapresetta is very spicy and tasty.  the crust of th3e brick oven pizza was awesome, maybe one of the tastiest pizza crusts I have ever had.

From there we proceeded to our last stop which was right around the corner.  It's called "Pepe and Mito's Mexican Cafe".  The owner chef says his cuisine is not Tex-Mex but MEX-TEX!

Albondigno Soup

Pork Tamale Lunch

This place was ding a booming lunch business.  We were seated and immediately a tray of hot chips and salsa was presented at the table.  On the DDD episode they made with Guy the Albondigno Soup which is a meat vegetable patty in a broth topped with fresh cilantro.  Although I am not a real huge fa of soup I had to try it since Guy enjoyed it so much.  The patty looks almost omelet like and it is very tasty and the sharpness of the cilantro really stood out.  I also got the pork tamale lunch and it was also tasty.  I had the Green Chile sauce put on the side because I am not a fan of spicy stuff and that sauce has a real kick!  The co-owner came over t sign the book and when I told her that this was my #248 on the DDD tour she smiled and said, "I'm 248! I need to put that on a t-shirt!".  She thanked me for coming in and told Steve she wants to see him in more often since he is a local.  The place has a rustic feel to it and really cool old Mexican photos on the walls. 

I got on the full flight back to Dulles with the count now at 248!