A (little over a) week of going out for lunch.

At work we were asked to plan out all our vacation time for the entire year by March.  We were in desperate need of an additional employee and this was a way to show how this person would be used and justify the hiring.  I chose to take the week of July 26th off mainly because my birthday is this week and there are a lot of places I'd been meaning to visit for lunch but never had the time.  Each day this week I've been trying to visit a place I've never been to or haven't been to for a long time.

The first place I went to actually was before my vacation.  Old Town Social is a bar that opened up ten months ago less than two blocks from where I live.  It's on a section of North Avenue that I rarely walk by, and when driving by I figured it was just some kind of hook-up bar so I never took the time to go in.  I began hearing things on the local boards about the house made sausages and cured meats, so last week I decided to walk over and try it out.  The interior is nice, high ceilings, huge windows, wooden tables, high chairs and a huge bar.  I took a seat at the bar and started looking over the fairly extensive list of draft and bottled beers.  The first beer I tried was a New Belgium Ranger IPA.  Very nice!  I ordered some food to go, the special of the day was a duck andouille hoagie with a spicy aioli so I ordered one of those and an order of vidalia onion rings.  I then had a Lagunitas IPA while I was waiting.  Again a very nice hoppy beer!  The food arrived and I quickly walked home.

The duck andouille hoagie was excellent.  The sausage had a great smokey flavor with all the spiciness you expect from an andouille sausage.  The roll was buttered and nicely toasted, which made for a great contrast with the other softer ingredients.  At a price of $9 it was worth every penny. 

One thing about Old Town Social is that everything is a la carte.  The prices look cheap until you realize that a side of fries or onion rings will set you back another $5.  The onion rings were good, but seemed a bit oily by the time I got to them.  I blame this on the way they were packed, the box was sealed tightly in plastic wrap so the rings were basically steaming all the way home.  The dipping sauce is the same aioli that was on the hoagie.



Betty and I went back a few days later for dinner.  I ordered the hamburger "their way", which includes cheddar, pickle, lettuce, tomato, house made bacon, aioli and a fried egg on a sesame seed roll.  Betty had the B.L.T. and we ordered a boudin sausage and an order of fries on the side.  The burger was good, flavors were all there, but it was cooked well over the medium I had ordered.  I also wasn't a big fan of the bun, which I think was house made.  It didn't have enough "give" so when I took a bite things started getting squeezed out the back.  If they had a softer bun and could have cooked it to the right temperature it would have been superb.  Betty liked the B.L.T.  The fries were very good, crispy with a soft interior, but a little on the greasy side.  I don't know about the boudin, Betty thought there was too much liver flavor in it and I wasn't a fan of the texture.  The only reason we ordered it was because they were out the the duck andouille.  There is still a lot on the menu I'd like to try, so I'll be back.  In a few weeks when we have the Air and Water show and the Ginza Festival happening on the same weekend I'll be stuck in the neighborhood, so I'll go again.

OK, now on to the actual vacation...  On Saturday I went to Goose Island, as I often do.  Love their beers and the food at the Clyborne location is somewhat more upscale than their other location on Clark in Wrigleyville.  I wasn't very hungry so I tried the rabbit rolls, which were very tasty.  I pretty much go to Goose every Saturday to try out their new beer of the week and have lunch.

On Monday Betty and I went to 90 Miles Cuban Cafe.  We had seen the location on Clybourn last year when we went to a play at the Viaduct Theater, but it was closed by the time the play let out.  For this outing we went to the location at 2540 W. Armitage.  I ordered the cubano sandwich and Betty ordered an special that the waiter recommended.  It was chunks of pork which had been marinated in white wine and citrus, then deep fried and topped with a garlic sauce.  It was very good and came with sweet plantains and a mix of black beans and rice.  My cubano sandwich was forgettable.  The bread was what you would expect for a cubano, but the interior was soggy as if it had been made earlier and reheated.  The ham and the roast pork were used sparingly, and the sandwich was pretty bland.  The version at Goose Island is much better.  I wouldn't order one of their cubano sandwiches again, but I would try their dinners.

Tuesday I went to Piece.  It's a brewery and pizzaria that specializes in New Haven style pizza.  They have a lunch special which is an individual pizza with three toppings for $7.95.  I chose pepperoni, suasage and black olives and it was excellent as usual.  Each year around my birthday I try to have a lunch at Piece.

Today (Wednesday) I went to Revolution Brewery on Milwaukee Blvd.  This is a newish brewpub which I have visited before, and always ordered their pizza (which is good!).  Today I wanted to try their burger.

The Workingman burger I ordered comes with aged cheddar, beer onions, bacon, lettuce and tomato on a house made poppy seed bun.  I asked for the burger to be cooked medium, and it came just as requested.  This bun is MUCH better than the one at Old Town Social, when you squeeze down on the burger to take a bite the bun gives enough so that the toppings don't spill out the back.  Yet it was sturdy enough to stand up to the drippings so it didn't fall apart.  I have to say that the burger and toppings at Old Town Social were tastier, if you were to mix the bun at Revolution with the burger and fixings at OTS you would have an outstanding burger.  Fries were good, not particularly crispy but not greasy either.  It would have been nice to have some dipping sauce instead of ketchup, but that is excusable.  I like mayonnaise or blue cheese dressing personally, but I guess I'm just a freak that way.



That's all for now, I'll add more mini-reviews of places as I visit them.  Th main event will be a dinner at Tru on Thursday.  Can't wait!