Road Tips

Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company - Chicago, IL

About a year ago, I reviewed a number of the Chicago area pizza places I've eaten in over the years.  One of the three I named as my favorite was the Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company on N. Clark St. in the Lincoln Park area (see map). 

I've eaten there a couple times, getting one of their "upside down" pizza pot pies one time and getting one of their sausage grinder sandwiches the other.  Cindy and her sister went there earlier this summer.  They just loved it.  On our first night of our Christmas weekend in Chicago, we decided to go up to Chicago Pizza and have dinner.

The Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company has a pretty interesting history.  The building, itself, is situated right across the street from where the St. Valentine's Day Massacre occurred in 1929.  Local lore has it that the building Chicago Pizza is housed in was used as a lookout post for gangsters plotting the killing of rival gangsters across the street. 

In 1972, a local Chicago lawyer, Albert Beaver, bought the building after it had gone through a devastating fire the year before.  He sunk $150,000 into the building and opened up the restaurant that would feature unique deep dish pizzas - Pizza Pot Pies. 

Beaver had come up with an idea that took some of the concepts of the Chicago deep dish style of pizza and put a unusual spin on it.  Taking the ingredients of the pizza and putting them in a common bread pot, then putting the dough over top of the bowl, the pizza is then baked for about 30 minutes.  When it's served at the table, the waiter turns the pizza pot upside down and the bread dough top becomes the bottom crust of the pizza.  The bowl is removed and the toppings fit inside the dough.  It's pretty interesting, to say the least.

We got to the restaurant around 8:30 and there was about a 40 minute wait.  The bar area is pretty cramped, but we were able to find a little ledge opposite of the bar and had a couple beers while waiting. 

The restaurant itself is full of cozy booths and pine paneling. The lighting is not too bright and not too dim.  It's a very comfortable setting. 

The bartenders and waiters are mostly of Greek heritage.  In fact, some of the items on the menu feature Greek foods such as a Greek Salad and Mediterranean bread. 

But the draw is the pizza.  When we finally got a seat around 9:15, we immediately ordered two half-pounders - their Pizza Pot Pies with sausage, peppers, plum tomatoes, cheese and your choice of mushrooms or not.  I went with the mushrooms, Cindy didn't. 

Before the pizza came, we shared a small Chef's Salad (right).  I would have hated to see what the large one looked like as the small was good sized.  But it was enough for both of us.   

Our waiter brought the pizza pots out and ceremoniously turned them upside down on our plates.  The ingredients spilled out into the Sicilian bread dough crust.  It had been over six years since I'd had one of their pizzas, but it was just as good as I remember.  But the thing that made the taste of it so good is the dough.  It's light, buttery and garlic-y.  It was just great.

By the way - Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company does not accept credit cards or checks.  Our bill with a beer, a soft drink, the salad and two half-pound pot pies was $35.  Our waiter was a good guy and I gave him an $8 dollar tip (I have a tendency to over tip for good service).  We were both full, but not uncomfortable when we left. 

Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company is a unique experience - not only for their food, but with the atmosphere, as well.  Good food, good service, interesting place.  It's tough to beat. 

Garrett Popcorn

Damn you, Marcia Schroeder...

Achilles had his heel, Superman had Kryptonite, I have Garrett Popcorn.  Or I should say, Garrett CaramelCrisp.

Had it not been for Marcia Schroeder introducing me to Garrett CaramelCrisp, I would have never found my weakness in life. 

Garrett Popcorn is - as it says in their logo - a Chicago institution. Since 1949, Garrett Popcorn has been making their outstanding  popcorn, cheese popcorn and caramel corn for hundreds of thousands of people.  To show how popular they are, they have five locations within 1.5 square miles in downtown Chicago.  Their sixth location is in the heart of Manhattan near Madison Square Garden.

I was first exposed to Garrett Popcorn when we were in Chicago last year with Scott and Marcia Schroeder.  While Scott and I were watching Iowa basketball at the ESPN Zone, Cindy and Marcia were out wandering around.  They were walking past a Garrett Popcorn store and Marcia said they really needed to stop in.  Cindy got a bag of the CaramelCrisp and brought it back with her. 

After my first bite, my world stopped.  All relationship to time ended.  The taste of the CaramelCrisp popcorn was nothing like I had before.  I ate it in a frenzy.  I had absolutely no shame as I was gulping down handfuls as fast as I could get it out of the bag.  It was amazing stuff.

Damn you, Marcia Schroeder.

Cindy and I were out walking around downtown Chicago last Saturday and I thought, "Hey!  We need to stop at Garrett's and get some CaramelCrisp."  We found the Garrett Popcorn on E. Madison St. and went in.  Well, we tried to get in, but the place was so packed the line snaked around that you couldn't tell where it started and where it ended. 

We finally got in and had a chance to take a look at all the different types of popcorn they sell while waiting in line.  They also had a number of decorative tins to store the popcorn, such as the Chicago Bears tin on the right.  Cindy wanted to know if I was going to get a tin and I said, "I don't think I want THAT much popcorn."

One of the more popular items they have at Garrett's is the Chicago Mix - half of their cheese flavored popcorn and half CaramelCrisp.  In fact, Oprah Winfrey called Garrett's Chicago Mix (above) one of her favorite things in life on her show one time last year and she created an explosion in business for the family owned company during the Christmas season. 

Scott Schroeder, the executive vice-president and chief financial officer for Garrett Popcorn (and who, ironically, has the same name as the husband of the evil Marcia Schroeder) said that Winfrey's free testimonial was a double edged sword.  Business went up 100% in December of last year, but they had to adjust their production schedule from 8 hours a day to a 24 hour schedule. 

We ended up getting some CaramelCrisp and Cindy wanted a small bag of CaramelCrisp with Macadamia nuts.  We took it back to the room with us and throughout the later part of the afternoon I just sort of snacked on the CaramelCrisp.  But I ate so much of it that I think that was what upset my stomach before we had dinner that night.

It was all Marcia Schroeder's fault.  Damn you, Marcia Schroeder.

Had it not been for Marcia Schroeder, I would have peace in my life.  I'd never have a constant yearning for Garrett CaramelCrisp.  I would still have my dignity without the temptation of Garrett CaramelCrisp.  I curse her name with each handful of that powerful and mind-numbing concoction.

I knew I had to do something to get back at her for exposing my greatest weakness in life.  She had to be stopped.  No longer could she use her powers to coerce people into enjoying Garrett Popcorn.

So I bought a large bag of the CaramelCrisp to take home to her...    

Cafe Matou - Redux

Cindy's birthday is just before Christmas.  The only thing she asked for this year was a nice meal in a quaint French restaurant in Chicago.  She said, "Not that fancy one out in Wheeling. (Meaning Le Francais.) But some place nice and cozy."

Since I'd eaten there recently, and we were going to be staying downtown, Cafe Matou immediately jumped into my head.  (By the way, I found out that "matou" is French for "tomcat" - hence, the outline of a cat in the logo.)

From my earlier visit, I found Cafe Matou to be a culinary experience that may be tough to top at many restaurants in the Chicago area.  Chef Charlie Soucher utilizes fresh and unique ingredients within an ever changing menu to prepare meals that are similar to those served in villages and rural areas across France, only he adds contemporary American twists to the food along the way.

I had made reservations weeks in advance for the Saturday night before Christmas, thinking that we'd have a problem getting in.  Turns out that it wasn't all that busy, but it was still wise to plan ahead.

The menu was completely different from the last time I was there, which was expected and appreciated.  Cindy was going to try something new - she didn't know what, but she was dead set against going with something she was familiar with.

One of the items on the menu was a fish called monchong (right), something we definitely were not familiar with.  The waiter explained to us that monchong was a deep sea fish that was once considered to be a "throw-away" fish that was caught in nets with tuna.  But it's recently become a favorite of Pan-Asian cuisine across the United States.  You can read more about monchong here.

My stomach was in turmoil a little bit and I didn't think I should go for seafood.  So I went with a basic grilled strip steak, topped with a Cabernet reduction sauce with garlic butter button mushrooms with a side of garlic mashed potatoes.  It was sort of like the flank steak and risotto I had my previous visit, but not the same.   

Ordering wine at Cafe Matou is an adventure since all of their wines are French wines, and I don't have the knowledge of French wines like I do American or South American wines.  I think I'm getting better at it, but I'm still not as comfortable when ordering.  I remembered that we had a Gigondas wine from the Rhone Valley the last time I was in, but it turned out they now had TWO Gigondas wines listed and I couldn't tell you which one was which. 

I talked to the waiter, who was a young guy, and he was not much help on choosing the wine.  So, I decided to go with the more expensive of the two Gigondas. 

The waiter brought out the bottle, opened it up, I tasted it, it was good.  We were sitting there for a moment and suddenly a guy came up behind me and reached for the wine bottle.  He turned it around to look at the label and he said, "Oh, yeah.  You've got a good wine there." 

I didn't have a chance to see who it was, all I saw was a white jacket sleeve.  I said to Cindy, "Who was that?"

She said, "That was the chef!"

I said, "Really?"

She said, "Well, it said 'Chef Charlie' monogrammed on his jacket."  We were guessing the waiter went back to talk to Charlie Soucher about our wine pick and he wanted to double check that we got the right Gigondas. 

As we were waiting for our main courses, Cindy got to looking at some of the interesting art work on the walls.  The art is all original paintings done by local artists in the Bucktown area of Chicago.  Cindy used to do some still life paintings so she was intrigued.  Honestly, I never noticed the artwork during my first visit. 

Cindy's monchong came out with steamed rutabagas - something she's definitely not tried before.  She said it was a sweeter tasting fish than she'd expected and was happy that she order it up.  My strip steak was good, nothing fancy or exciting.  But the way my stomach was feeling, I didn't need exciting. 

I wasn't going to get dessert, but Cindy insisted on doing something.  She looked at either the creme brulee or a dessert that was baked bananas with figs and prunes.  I told her the baked bananas with figs and prunes sounds like something they'd serve for dinner at retirement homes.

She went with the baked bananas and fruit and I took the creme brulee.  I know I shouldn't have gotten it as my stomach was still a little upset, but I went with it anyhow.  What the hell - it's Christmas time. 

And I'm glad I got it.  You're talkin' to a guy who has eaten creme brulee across France and in some of the best restaurants in the United States and I'm not certain that I had creme brulee as good as what I had that evening.  Usually, the custard under the caramelized top is warm after they've taken the torch or broiler to the top.  But this custard was cool and refreshing.  I was only planning on having a couple bites, but I ended up finishing nearly the whole thing - much to the consternation of my stomach. 

Cindy's baked banana and fruit dessert came out as a piece of pie and she said it was delicious.  She offered me a bite and I refused.  I've never cared for the taste of bananas, but she told me that it didn't really taste like bananas. 

Cindy loved the food and the experience at Cafe Matou.  My food was good, but pretty basic.  I don't think my meal was as good as the last time I was there, but it was still good, nonetheless.  But as long as Cindy was happy with it, I was happy, too.  And she was ecstatic.

Cafe Matou may not get the press or the accolades of some of the more famous Chicago restaurants, but I'd put their food up against any one of those places.  It's a little out of the way, but this hidden gem is worth the journey.

(Update - I was informed in November of 2010 that Cafe Matou has closed.  Charlie Soucher is approaching 60 years of age and he wanted to slow down.  The Soucher's are planning on moving to Mineral Point, WI and possibly will open a restaurant there.)

Weber Grill - Lombard (Revisited)

As I promised myself long ago, I wanted to complete the trifecta that the Weber Grill restaurants serve.  I've tried their steaks and chops, had their barbecue earlier this year (see that entry here), and I had yet to try one of their charbroiled hamburgers.  I had that chance a few days ago.  

I stopped into the Lombard location for a late lunch recently and ordered up a Weber Classic burger topped with jalapeno-jack cheese.  Fries and a small container of cole slaw came with the burger.

Like nearly everything else the Weber Grill restaurants cook, the hamburgers are broiled on a huge 42" stainless steel Weber Grill over charcoal.  They also toast the buns on the grill, something I like to do when I make my burgers on my Weber Grill at home. 

The bartender brought out my burger and fries - it was a good sized burger.  It was a 1/2 pound patty pre-cooked and I could tell it was a good cut of meat that was used for the burger - there wasn't much that was cooked out of it. 

I'm still a big proponent that the bun can make or break the burger.  Too much of a bun can overwhelm the burger.  The bun the Weber Grill restaurant used bordered on overwhelming. 

The onion, tomato and romaine lettuce they put on it were all fresh and flavorful - something that was a large surprise in the middle of December. 

But the biggest problem I had with the Weber Grill burger was that it tasted almost TOO char-broiled.  I've talked on this site many times about how people tend to over-smoke their ribs giving them a very smoky taste that hides the true flavor of the meat.  That's how the Weber Grill burger was.  If there is such a thing as having too much of a charcoal taste, this burger had it. 

The Weber Grill burger wasn't cheap - $10.50 for a burger, fries that were half cold and a small 2 oz. container of cole slaw, which wasn't all that bad tasting.  I've had burgers for half the price that were much better, and I have to say that I've cooked burgers at home on my Weber Grills that were way better than what I had at the Weber Grill restaurant. 

By the way - a couple of developments in regard to the Weber Grill restaurants.  Earlier this year they closed the original location in Wheeling saying that they wanted to be able to expand the restaurant to the new lay-out they have employed at their Lombard location and at their new Schaumburg location next to Woodfield Mall.  They just didn't have the room to do so.  According to the web site, they're not abandoning the far north suburbs and are looking for a new site on which to put their new restaurant.

And Weber Grill restaurants have just announced they'll be expanding into downtown Indianapolis in the summer of 2007.  The restaurant will be huge - approximately 10,000 square feet - and will employ 150 people.  God, it would be great if they'd open one in the Quad Cities.

So, all in all, the Weber burger was good, but had too much of a charcoal taste - if there can be too much of a charcoal taste.  Given the other great things on their menu, their burger is not something that I'd go back to the Weber Grill restaurant for. 

J. Alexander's - Chicago

J. Alexander's is a chain of upscale American contemporary restaurants with nearly 30 locations across the eastern part of the United States.  I've eaten at the one in Kansas City (Overland Park - see map) before and was very impressed with the food.  I recently had lunch at the one in Chicago on Clybourn Ave. (see map). 

J. Alexander's started in 1991 in Nashville under the umbrella of the Volunteer Capital Corporation.  Volunteer Capital was headed by Jack C. Massey, a successful venture capitalist who took Kentucky Fried Chicken public in the 60's.  Volunteer Capital was, at one time, the largest Wendy's franchiser in the nation.  They've since sold off all of their Wendy's properties.    Massey died a year before J. Alexander's opened their doors.

J. Alexander's decor in the Kansas City location is similar to many of the upscale steakhouses that you find in the Midwest, lots of dark wood paneling and low lighting.  The decor in the Chicago location is more of a contemporary styling with metallic fixtures and pinpoint lighting interspersed with wood paneling.   

I took a couple of guys from one of my dealers in Chicago to lunch at J. Alexander's a while back.  They seated us in one of those half-moon booths that I detest, but being that it was lunchtime there weren't any tables available other than two-seaters.  Oh, well...

The menu at J. Alexander's is varied with steaks, seafood, sandwiches and pasta.  I did notice that the menu's are different between the one in Chicago and the one in Kansas City.  The entrees are sold singularly and you can order side dishes that vary from fries to rice to something called MBC Cole Slaw, which is cole slaw topped with crumbles of Maytag Bleu Chesse.  They also have a side called Not Your Ordinary Mac and Cheese. 

I had the lunch special that day - a grilled and blackened Mahi Mahi filet and since I grew up where Maytag Bleu Cheese is made, I had to go with the MBC Cole Slaw.  One of the other guys also got the Mahi Mahi special and the other went with the Tuna Burger - freshly ground Ahi tuna pattied up and fried in olive oil.  Both of them ordered up the Mac and Cheese as their side dish.

My fish was cooked perfectly.  I asked for it a little more spicy and it was just right.  I wasn't overly impressed with the MBC Cole Slaw, but it was pretty good, nonetheless.

The guys' Mac and Cheese was pretty interesting.  It's basically baked macaroni and cheese with a bread crust topping.  They gave me a bite and it was pretty flavorful. 

I've eaten at the J. Alexander's in Kansas City two or three times.  I had a steak there one time and it was as good as any steak at any good steakhouse that I've had.  The food I had at the one in Chicago was every bit as good as the one in Kansas City.

I normally don't like chains, but J. Alexander's is not like most of the other restaurant chains in America.  Each location has some autonomy with its own little signature and character.  It's definitely upscale with prices being a little higher than most chains, but it's worth it.   

(Update - This J. Alexander's location closed in February of 2013.  There are still two locations in the Chicago area - one in Oak Brook and another up in Northbrook.)

 

Portillo's

"I'll take an Italian beef, both kinds of peppers, mozzarella and dipped; and I'll take a hot dog, everything." 

That's my order, word for word each time I stop at Portillo's with tons of locations all over the Chicagoland region.  Each time I go into Chicago I have to make one stop at Portillo's.  There's a lot of great hot dog places and Italian beef restaurants, but - in my opinion - none of them do both as good as Portillo's.

Portillo's started in 1963 when 30 year old Dick Portillo (left) set up his "Dog House" - a trailer that didn't have heat, a bathroom or running water.  Portillo set up his trailer on a street corner in Villa Park and worked there part time while holding down a full time job. 

Four years later, the success of the Dog House (right) was so good that he abandoned the trailer (and his full time job) and opened a free standing restaurant at the same corner (see map) and renamed it "Portillo's".  There are now 31 Portillo's in the Chicago area, with two more coming in early 2007.  And there's one in the Los Angeles area in suburban Buena Park (see map).   

Portillo's are famous for their hot dogs first and their Italian beef sandwiches second.  But they also sell charbroiled burgers (of which I've yet to try, but want to at some point), grilled chicken sandwiches and sausage sandwiches.  Click here to see their full menu.

The Italian beef is sliced thin, then placed in the "gravy" - which is basically au jus sauce seasoned with Italian spices.  Keeping the beef in the warm au jus helps make it even more tender.  They place the Italian beef on a six inch cut piece of Italian bread and then you go from there. 

I have mine topped with a slice of mozzarella cheese; and both cooked sweet peppers and giardiniera - the concoction of hot peppers and vegetables that make Chicago style Italian sandwiches what they are.  And for good measure, I have the sandwich dipped in the au jus which makes it messy, but adds great flavor to the sandwich.

The hot dogs are all beef Vienna brand weiners.  They are typical Chicago style dogs - hot dogs on a poppy seed bun, topped with chopped onions, yellow mustard, sweet pickle relish, tomato wedges, sport peppers and a pickle spear.  I don't know if they're better than any other Chicago style hot dog I've ever had, but they certainly don't suck.

And combined - the Portillo's Italian beef sandwich and the Portillo's hot dog are a good way to sample two staples of the culinary history of Chicago.

The Portillo restaurants each have a theme that depicts the early to mid 20th century history of Chicago.  They have a 20's "Prohibition" theme, a 30's theme, a 50's theme (right) and a 60's theme.  The original location in Villa Park has a "nostalgia" theme to it.  There's authentic memorabilia from those time periods throughout the restaurants and each restaurant will play music of that specific period.  Some of the collections are actually pretty interesting.

Portillo's also offers party-packs of food.  Their "beef pack meal" consists of 2 1/2 pounds of Portillo's beef, along with cole slaw, potato salad, bread and both hot and sweet peppers.  It's actually a pretty good deal at a shade under $45 bucks. 

Within 9 of the Portillos locations is a separate restaurant - Barnelli's Pasta Bowl.  Barnelli's menu is wide ranging, serving pasta, salads, sandwiches and even ribs.   It's kind of a neat concept, actually.  If one person in the family wants pasta and the others want burgers or beef sandwiches, you can satisfy the tastes of everyone in the family. 

But I've never ventured over to the Barnelli's side of the place because it's really nothing more than fast food Italian style.  And I stay away from food like that like the plague.

Portillo's Restaurant Group also has two other restaurants - Key Wester, a seafood, Cuban/Caribbean, Italian themed restaurant in suburban Naperville (see map); and Luigi's House, an Italian restaurant down the road from the Key Wester in Aurora (see map).  I haven't tried either one.  Actually, they look like the kind of place that would bring in tourists.  And with a number of malls and shopping areas nearby, I'm sure tourists and shoppers are exactly what they cater to.   

I've been asked by a few people over the year the best place to try a Chicago style hot dog and Chicago style Italian beef.  I tell people to go to Portillo's and kill two birds with one stone.  It's one of my all-time guilty pleasures. 

(Note - The Urbanspoon link below is for the Downers Grove Portillo's location.  However, I've eaten at the majority of Chicagoland Portillo's locations and they are all consistently outstanding with both their Italian Beef sandwiches and their hot dogs.)

Tantra Asian Bistro (Formerly Crazy Wok) - Davenport

(Update - Crazy Wok went through a facelift in 2008, added space to double their capacity, changed the interior to more of a contemporary Asian bistro look and changed their name to Tantra Asian Bistro.  It's still just as good as it was when it was called Crazy Wok.  Maybe better.) 

I've had a few people say to me, "Why don't you talk about Quad City restaurants?  Don't you go out to eat when you're home?"

Well, yes, we do.  Almost too much, it seems, given that I would rather cook at home than eat in a restaurant most nights.  But with our schedules out of whack lately - and the fact that our kitchen has been going through an excruciatingly slow remodel process - we've found ourselves eating out more often than not over the past couple of months.

One of the places that we've found is a little Thai restaurant called Crazy Wok Tantra Asian Bistro on E. 53rd St. in Davenport (see map).  Now, over the years, I haven't been too hip on Thai restaurants.  The first Thai restaurant I ever ate at - the old Sri Lanka in Minneapolis - was "burn-your-face-off" hot.  Well, actually, that was over 20 years ago when I ate there and I've since garnered an appreciation for spicy foods.  I'd always said that I'd like to go back and try it again, but they've since closed up.

We have another Thai restaurant not far from our house - Exotic Thai - that Cindy really liked.  She took me there one night and I was not impressed with it.  I thought the portions were small for the price and I just didn't care for the taste sensations - or the lack of taste sensations - that I thought Thai food should have. 

Cindy continued to go to Exotic Thai, especially when I would be out of town.  Earlier this year, Crazy Wok Tantra opened up and Cindy gave it a try one evening when I was traveling.  She was instantly hooked. 

About a week later, she brought home some of their spicy basil and beef for me to try one Saturday last spring when we were working in the yard.  The taste sensation was out of this world.  I told her that, yes, I wanted to go try this place out.

We went there soon thereafter and I ordered the spicy basil with beef again.  It was even better than the stuff she brought home.  It wasn't all that spicy (then again - what's spicy to us is frigging red hot to others), and there was a great after taste in the sauce they used with the beef and basil.  It was outstanding.

We went there again a few weeks later and I had the ginger beef.  Although it was good, it was not as good or flavorful as the spicy basil and beef.  Each time we've gone back, I've gotten the spicy basil and beef.  And the last time I went, I asked them to spice it up even more and to add garlic.  The bottom line on the taste?  It was out of this world.

It turns out that one of the partners in Exotic Thai - I only know him as Kevin - is the guy who started Crazy Wok Tantra.  He's a very nice guy and is always appreciative when we come in. 

Cindy told me that she's since gone back to Exotic Thai and she said, "Oh, I can tell a BIG difference between the two.  Crazy Wok (Tantra) is so much better.  I won't go to Exotic Thai again."

Actually, you can order the spicy basil dish with either beef, chicken or pork.  But I always go with the beef.  I just want to lick the plate clean, it's so damn good.

The big thing about Crazy Wok Tantra is that it's elegant, but not pretentious.  The atmosphere is comfortable.  They don't allow smoking any where in the restaurant.  There's linen table cloths on each of the tables.  The service is always good.  They do have Thai beers and a nice little wine list.  And their bathrooms are the cleanest bathrooms I've ever been in at a restaurant. 

Crazy Wok Tantra is one of those great little Quad City secrets that I've just outed here in Road Tips. 

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers

I've seen Red Robin Gourmet Burger restaurants in my various travels, but I've never tried one.  This last summer, they opened a new Red Robin Gourmet Burgers restaurant here in Davenport and we recently went to check the place out.   

Red Robin's history is sort of interesting.  The original Red Robin was nothing more than a tavern that was opened in the early 1940's near the University of Washington campus in Seattle.  Originally called "Sam's Tavern", the name was eventually change to "Sam's Red Robin" as the owner, Sam, sang in a barbershop quartet and his favorite song to sing was "When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin' Along". 

In 1969, Sam was no longer the owner and the new owner changed the name to simply Red Robin.  By the early 70's, Red Robin began to serve the first of their signature "gourmet hamburgers", including the Royal Red Robin, basically a cheeseburger topped with a fried egg.

Two brothers, Mike and Steve Snyder, used to frequent the Red Robin during their years at the University of Washington and in 1979 they received permission to open a Red Robin in their hometown of Yakima, WA.  Over the years, the Snyder's became the largest Red Robin franchisees.   

in 2000, Red Robin's overall operations eventually merged with the Snyder Group with Mike Snyder as the CEO.  However, Snyder was forced out as CEO in August of 2005 for irregularities of travel expenditures.  Basically, he was using the company jet for personal travel without re-imbursing the company. 

There are now over 350 Red Robin locations in 39 states and two Canadian provinces.  Red Robins bill themselves as "America's Gourmet Burgers and Spirits" as they feature 22 different types of burgers and a number of specialty drinks.  The cater to more of a younger crowd - primarily those in their 20's and 30's - but they also market their image as being very family friendly.

Well after the prerequisite three months that Cindy and I wait to try out a new restaurant, we decided to have a burger at Red Robin one evening.  The decor at the Davenport location is colorful and art deco-ish, similar to other newer Red Robin's around the country.

We were seated in a booth and our waitress came by to fill us in on what Red Robin is all about.  She talked about their gourmet burgers, their "bottomless" steak fries, and their specialty drinks they serve.  She gave us a few minutes to go through the menu.

The burger variations were interesting.  They included the 5 Alarm Burger with jalapenos, pepper jack cheese and smoky chipotle mayo; the Banzai burger that is marinated in teriyaki and served with a pineapple on top; and a Pot Roast burger that really isn't a burger but more of a hot beef sandwich with gravy, onions and carrots served open faced. 

They also had a number of chicken sandwiches that they called "Chicken Burgers", but they were nothing more than grilled chicken breast sandwiches.

Our waitress came back and Cindy went with the Bleu Ribbon burger (left) - a burger topped with deep fried onions straws and a bleu cheese spread.  It looked yummy from the description.

Given that I learned my lesson from my first visit to Kopp's, I went with the very basic Gourmet cheeseburger (right) - a hamburger patty topped with your choice of five different cheeses and veggies.  I went with the pepper jack cheese. 

Of course, when they brought out the burgers, they didn't look anything close to the ones in the pictures. 

With the burger, they bring out a big basket of steak fries that they sprinkle with an in-house seasoning that is mainly salt and more salt.  Actually, they also throw some black pepper and chili powder in there, too.  And if you can't get enough of the taste of the seasoning on the fries, they have a big container of it on the table.

They also put the seasoning on the burgers, making them extremely salty.  And on Cindy's Bleu Ribbon burger, they not only seasoned the burger, they seasoned the fried onion rings they put on top.  Cindy took a couple of bites and declared it was too salty.  Now Cindy is the salt eater in the family (I rarely salt anything) and if she said it was too salty, it's WAY too salty.   I took a bite of hers and it was nearly inedible there was so much salt.  She ended up pushing the onions off the burger and tried to finish it that way.  She couldn't.

My burger was OK, nothing special.  The seasoning detracted from the taste of the meat, which, to me, is wrong.  Seasonings should enhance the flavor of the meat, not detract from it. 

The bill with a couple of sodas came to a little over $21.00.  I thought it was vastly expensive for what it was.  And the taste of their burgers and fries were way too salty for me.

As Cindy said as we left, "I won't have to come back here any time soon..."   

(Update March 2010 - And we haven't been back.  To ANY Red Robin...)

Kelly's Westport Inn - Kansas City, MO

Here's one of my all-time favorite places to have a beer - Kelly's Westport Inn in the heart of the Westport district in Kansas City (see map).

I think the first time I was in Kelly's was in the mid-70's and it's a treat to go back in and have a beer when I get a chance.  During our trip to Kansas City this past summer we were walking around the Westport area taking a look at some of the small shops in the area. 

It was getting to be late morning and we were walking near Kelly's and I mentioned to Cindy that the place was one of my favorite places to have a beer.  She - to my surprise - suggested we go in and have a beer.  Wow!  Sure, dear! 

Kelly's Westport Inn has been around for nearly 60 years.  It is truly an institution in Kansas City.  The building that houses Kelly's dates back to the mid-19th century.  I've heard it's the oldest building still standing in Kansas City.  And I understand it was once a grocery store that was owned and run by Albert Boone, the grandson of Daniel Boone. 

The grocery store eventually evolved into a high-end grocery store - Wiedenmann's (left) -by the turn of the 20th century.  With the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, the grocery store was turned into a tavern - The Wrestlers Inn.  After World War II, Art Brock and two partners bought the bar and renamed it The Westport Inn.  Brock eventually bought out his partners to become sole owner.

An Irish immigrant by the name of Randal Kelly came to Kansas City and became the head bartender at The Westport Inn (right).  Kelly eventually became partners with Brock and took over the operation as sole owner.  It soon became Kelly's Westport Inn.

Randal Kelly, who was ultimately associated with the establishment for over 40 years, turned over the reins to his son Randy.  Randy eventually moved to the Ozarks and opened up Kelly's Port, a popular marina on the Lake of the Ozarks.  Randy, in turn, handed over the operation to his two younger brothers, Pat and Kyle.  They continue to run the bar to this day.

The inside of Kelly's is typical of older restaurants - hard chairs, wooden floors, high ceilings.  The bar has a lot of history and the stories people have told about a night at Kelly's are numerous. 

Kelly's doesn't serve food, per se, but they do have a pizza place in the back - Joe's Pizza.  They serve full pizzas, pizza by the slice and sandwiches.  Since we were in there around noon time, we noticed a lot of people grabbing a couple slices of pizza and having a beer with them.   

Of course, I had to have a Boulevard Pale Ale on our visit there.  Cindy ordered up a Smithwick's.  Here's a picture of Cindy enjoying her cold beer on a warm day in Kansas City.

 

The daytime usually sees more of an older, eclectic crowd at Kelly's; while at night it gets younger and more crowded.  St. Patrick's Day at Kelly's can get a little crazy as evidenced by this picture (right).  In fact, at one point, Randall Kelly used to close Kelly's on St. Patrick's Day because he was worried the place would get TOO full.   

Kelly's is a great place to get a beer.  If you like history, beer and a good time - Kelly's Westport Inn is the place in Kansas City.   

ZaZa's Italian Steakhouse - Addison, IL

Over the past couple of years, a number of restaurants have sprung up along the Lake St. corridor in Addison, IL not far from the Hampton Inn and Suites that I like to stay at.  One of those opened about a year and a half ago and I've been intrigued by the name - ZaZa's Italian Steakhouse.

This is the third ZaZa's restaurant that has been opened by owner Dino Sisto.  Sisto's first restaurant - La Zaza Trattoria - has been in business since the mid-90's in suburban St. Charles, IL; and he opened ZaZa's Italian Steakhouse in far western suburban Sycamore not long after that.  Sisto closed the Sycamore location not long after he opened the Addison location.   

ZaZa's Italian Steakhouse in Addison is a fairly classy looking place.  It's very similar to a number of classic steakhouses, dim lights, lots of dark wood paneling, a very comfortable atmosphere.  As I was eating alone that evening I thought I'd do the bar thing again.  I was happy to see they had Bell's Pale Ale in one of the glass refrigerators behind the bar.

The bartender's name was Elena and she told me that she was originally from Lithuania.  She had a heavy accent, but she was very nice and very attentive.   

The menu at ZaZa's was wide and varied.  Steak and pasta were their specialties, Elena told me.  I'd had steak the night before so I was looking at the pasta. 

I did have Elena give me the wine list to look through.  It was impressive enough, especially with the long list of Italian wines they had available.  But I was more in the mood for some beer that evening, so I enjoyed my Bell's Pale Ale (which, by the way, will no longer be available in Illinois).

I ended up ordering the penne abruzzese - penne pasta with homemade Italian sausage in a spicy marinara sauce.  That just sounded great.  But I was also looking for a salad and they don't really have small dinner salads at ZaZa's. 

They did have a small Caesar's salad that you could order, but I wasn't up for a Caesar's salad.  I ordered one of the Insalata alla ZaZa - romaine lettuce with Kalamata olives in a homemade vinaigrette with bleu cheese chunks.  It was $7.95 and I was certain it would be too much to eat.

And it was.  Elena brought out a huge bowl of salad.  She sat it in front of me and I just sat there for a second before I finally said, "Wow!  That is going to be too much." 

I made a dent in it, but I was no where close to finishing it when she came out with an equally large bowl of the penne abruzzese.  There was DEFINITELY no way I could eat all that. 

But I made a great effort at doing so.  It was very good.  The pasta was cooked perfect, the marinara sauce had the right amount of spiciness to it and the homemade Italian sausage was some of the best I'd ever had.  And the amount of sausage they had in the dish was very ample. 

I had three Bell's Pale Ales, and with the salad, dinner and a nice tip for Elena, the total bill came to about $42.00.  It was too much food, but what there was of it, it was good.  I'll definitely be back sometime soon. 

Tiefenthaler No Mess Chili Dogs

A special shout out to my friend, Chuck Ellis, who is the meat department manager at one of the Hy-Vee Food Stores in Omaha. 

I saw Chuck just after the Iowa/Wisconsin football game recently in Iowa City and we were talking about this and that.  He had the grill fired up and was getting ready to throw some hot dogs on.  I asked if they were going to be the Tom Boy dogs that he turned me on to before.  He said, "No, these are No Mess Chili Dogs."

I said, "No mess chili dogs?  What?"

He showed me a package of the Tiefenthaler No Mess Chili Dogs - hot dogs that had the cheese and chili flavoring added to them during the manufacturing process.  He said, "They're from some small meat locker in western Iowa." 

Chuck said, "Here, I have an extra pack.  Take 'em with you and try 'em out.  I think you'll like 'em." 

So I did and a couple weeks ago I got them out of the fridge and made up a couple.  As a chili dog connoisseur, I was very skeptical.  My skepticism went away after the first couple of bites  They were unbelievably very good!  They really did taste like chili and cheese dogs, without the mess! 

I got to looking into the Tiefenthaler meat locker in Holstein, Iowa in NW Iowa, about 35 miles east of Sioux City (see map).  Actually, it's called the Holstein Food Locker Service.  It's owned by John and Shelley Tiefenthaler who bought the business in the early 90's after John had worked there since he got out of high school in the early 80's.  They sell their packaged meats under the name of Tiefenthaler Quality Meats.

The story has it that Shelley Tiefenthaler dreamt about the No Mess Chili Dog concept one night and then encouraged her husband to work on it the next morning.  It took about seven months for John Tiefenthaler to come up with the right mix of ground beef, seasonings, chili beans and cheddar cheese to make the first true No Mess Chili Dog.

The No Mess Chili Dog made it's debut at the Iowa State Fair in 2005 as a "No Mess Chili Dog on a Stick".  (There's more things you can eat on a stick at the Iowa State Fair than you can shake a stick at.)  Soon after, the awards began to come in for the Tiefenthaler's No Mess Chili Dog.  The Iowa Meat Processor's Association awarded No Mess Chili Dog the top honor for  the "New Innovative Beef Product" category.  And in a national competition of meat packers and processors, it was named the Reserve Grand Champion for new and innovative products.

I'm not kidding you, the No Mess Chili Dog is very good.  The only problem is that they're not available in Eastern Iowa.   Hy-Vee food stores in Western Iowa and in the Omaha area carry them, but Chuck told me he could get the order code for the No Mess Chili Dogs and the local Hy-Vee's in the Quad Cities order them up for me on a special order basis.

Now, I know the idea of eating a hot dog repulses some people, but if you get a chance to find the Tiefenthaler No Mess Chili Dogs, pick up a pack and see for yourself.  It's pretty remarkable. 

Leinenkugel Northwoods Lager

During my recent trips to many liquor stores and wine shops in Minnesota and Wisconsin, my main focus was to find some of the Leinenkugel Northwoods Lager.  It had been quite some time since I'd found any and I was sort of wondering what the deal was.  After all, it was - by far - my most favorite Leinenkugel beer.

Leinenkugel Northwoods Lager was first brewed in 1986 and it was initially known as Leinenkugel Limited.  It won the gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 1993 for the best American Lager category after having garnered a silver medal in 1991. 

Leinie's Northwoods Lager has a rich taste for a Lager with a hint of caramel and pale malts added to give it a great smooth finish.  There was nothing even close to the taste of it.  It was especially great on a hot summer afternoon. 

When I could find it, I used to buy cases of the stuff at a time.  But it began to become increasingly difficult to find late last year.  I know the guy who works in sales for the Miller distributor here locally and I asked him why I was having trouble finding it locally.  He said he didn't know, but would let me know.  Well, he never let me know.

I bought my last couple cases of the Northwoods Lager in Milwaukee in the springtime.  Little did I know at that time that Leinenkugel was on the verge of discontinuing the beer. 

I was at a liquor store in Madison recently and I asked a lady working there if they had any of the Northwoods Lager.  She said, "I believe they discontinued that beer in the summer time.  You may want to check their web site."

I went to the frequently asked questions section of the Leinenkugel web site to see if I could find out what the deal was. The very first question had to do with the brewery discontinuing the Northwoods Lager.

Basically, it came down to the fact that Leinenkugel doesn't have the barrel capacity to continue to brew their Northwoods Lager and Amber Light beers.  With the increased popularity of Leinie's Honey Weiss and Berry Weiss beers, they had to make a decision as to what to do as they don't have the room to expand their facility. 

They're leaving the door open for a possible return of the Northwoods Lager at a later time.  I absolutely hope so.  I've been nursing my last six pack of the beer over the past couple of months.  I have one left in the beer fridge that I'm saving for a special occasion. 

Such as tomorrow night at 5:30... 

Gino's/Gino's Italian Deli - Madison

I don't know why I haven't written about Gino's in downtown Madison, WI before now.  It's one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the Midwest. 

Located on famous State Street in downtown Madison (see map), Gino's has been in business since the early 60's.  Virginio "Gino" Gargano was a teen-aged Italian immigrant who came to the U.S. with his brothers on the advice of his uncle Carlo Caputo, a local store owner.  Gino opened his restaurant on State Street just down from his uncle's store when he was just 21. 

Gino's brothers, Peppino and Biagio,also opened restaurants - Peppino's on Capital Square in downtown Madison (see map), and Bellini's (formerly The Monastery) on East Washington Ave. (see map).  Their children run those respective restaurants today. 

According to the locals, Gino's is a local institution - long known as the restaurant where many married couples had dinner during their first date while going to the University of Wisconsin.  The ground floor area of the restaurant is pretty much the same way as it was 40 years ago. 

What is now the upstairs dining area was the living quarters of Gino when he first opened the restaurant.  Gino once said that he "slept with his work" and there were times he didn't leave the building for days. 

The last time we ate there was about a year ago after the Iowa/Wisconsin football game.  We went there with Scott and Marcia Schroeder, and Dave and Pat Heusmann during our annual road trip for Iowa football.  Given that Iowa won the game, we were in good spirits and decided to live it up for the evening.  Cindy came up with the Gino's recommendation and we went with it. 

Cindy and I had first eaten there a number of years ago during a weekend trip to Madison.  Actually, we sort of just fell into the place, not knowing the reputation or history of Gino's.  I had meatballs and pasta that first visit, and the meatballs were the best I'd ever had.  Dissecting the meatballs, I found spices and large chunks of garlic throughout.  The meatballs I make at home are based off the meatballs at Gino's. 

That evening a year ago, they sat us upstairs in the "newer" section of the restaurant.  (It was Gino's old apartment from years ago.)  I had their lasagna which was very, very good.  And very cheap - $9.95 for the the serving which was very generous.  Cindy had the broccoli chicken alfredo that she liked very well, too.

I don't quite remember what Scott and Marcia had - something with a red sauce, if I remember right - but Dave and Pat got a Gino's pizza.  I had always wondered about their pizza and I was glad they got it.  Dave said it was just "outstanding" and "awesome".  It looked great.  I'll have to get it sometime and let you know how it was.

I've been going to Madison for a number of years and just outside the Beltline Highway on Verona Rd. is a place called Gino's Italian Deli (see map).  I'd never stopped in and I decided to do that on my way out of town back to the Quad Cities. 

Gino's Italian Deli is a small market with a deli meat counter where they'll make sandwiches.  In the summertime, they put tables outside and people can sit and eat out there.  But they also have a big freezer area where they have ready-to-eat meals.  One of the things that caught my eye was the lasagna. 

It came in two sizes of pans - a six serving size for $16.50 and a 12 serving size for $31.00.  The instructions were to cook it at 350 degrees for an hour and 15 minutes.  I didn't have anything planned for dinner that night, so I grabbed one of the six serving sizes.  I thought that $16.50 was a little expensive, then I realized that we could eat on this for at least three meals. 

I went up to the counter and asked the check out lady if this Gino's Italian Deli was the same people as Gino's downtown.  She said, "It's the same family." 

I asked, "Is this the same lasagna as they sell at Gino's downtown?" 

She looked at me and said, rather coolly, "I said it's the same family."

Well, that didn't tell me anything other than there's some sort of relationship within the family with Gino's downtown and Gino's Italian Deli.  And she was kind of bitchy about it.  I sort of wondered about it after I bought it.

However, any fears I had went away after I cooked up the lasagna when I got home.  I don't know if it was exactly like the lasagna at Gino's, but it was still pretty good.  I'll definitely pick up another pan of lasagna from Gino's Italian Deli the next time I'm up in Madison.

But the original Gino's in downtown Madison is worth a visit.  The old time charm, the good food, the comfortable ambiance - it all makes Gino's one of those great little restaurants that you'll want to visit again and again. 

(Update - Gino Gargano decided to retire at the age of 73 and closed Gino's Restaurant in downtown Madison in 2013 after being in business for 50 years.  The Deli on the southwest side of Madison remains open and they still offer Gino's famous lasagna to go.)

 

Kopp's Frozen Custard - Milwaukee

No, don't let the title fool ya - I'm really going to talk about burgers and not frozen custard.

For the longest time, I've had a few people say to me, "You've really got to try a Kopp's cheeseburger.  They're the best!"  I'm told they're similer to the Culver's Butter Burgers, but better.  That's good because I'm not big on Culver's burgers at all.  I've driven by a Kopp's in the Milwaukee area a number of times, but never stopped in - mainly because I think Culver's butter burgers suck.  Even if they're compared to being a little better than Culver's, Kopp's burgers still have to suck - only not suck as much.  But I had to find out for myself.

Kopp's started out in 1950 selling their frozen custard in what I've been told was nothing more than a small "hole-in-the-wall" shack on West Appleton Ave. in NW Milwaukee (see map).  Elsa Kopp, a German immigrant, started the business to help out with the family income when her husband contracted Parkinson's disease.  The business began to grow steadily and by the mid-60's it was a thriving endeavor for Elsa. 

Her son, Karl, began to take over the day to day operations in the mid-60's, and Kopp's moved to a new location on West Layton Ave. in Greenfield (see map). 

In 1964, a young man by the name of Dick McGuire began to work for Kopp's.  A few years later, Elsie Kopp wanted to own her own Kopp's again.  She and Dick McGuire bought the original Kopp's location on W. Appleton and ran it together.  Elsie Kopp's health began to fail her in the late 80's and Dick McGuire took over sole ownership of the business.  He moved Kopp's out to Brookfield (see map) and continues to run the business today. 

Elsie Kopp, although addled by Alzheimer's, continued to work in the family business until 1998.  She died in 2003 at the age of 91.

Karl Kopp opened a second location in Glendale on Port Washington Road (see map).  He owns that location and the one in Greenfield.

I was in Milwaukee recently for a meeting with a prospective dealer and the meeting started before noon and lasted well through the afternoon.  I started out for home, but was looking for a place to eat along the way.  I was out in Greenfield and saw a sign for Kopp's.  Well, their burgers are supposed to be better than Culver's.  I thought now was the best time to give it a shot. 

Of course, I was in the wrong lane and had to do a U-turn to get back around to where I wanted to go, but I made it.  Well, I thought I'd made it.  I pulled into the parking lot and I looked around and didn't see what I would call a burger joint.  There was this large concrete box with some steel support beams all around it.  I noticed people walking out though an arch of battered concrete.  I thought it had to be over that way.  It was. 

I found the front door and went inside.  I found a shining stainless steel interior with a long counter and a bunch of people milling about.  It was like I had walked into a 1970's science fiction movie. 

One end of Kopp's is the frozen custard side.  The other side was the burger/sandwich side.  Even at 3:30 in the afternoon, the burger side was busy. 

Actually, what you do at Kopp's is you order your food at the counter, they give you a number and you stand and wait for the order to come up.  Everything is made to order.  There's no places to sit, just a handful of high tables that you can stand at and eat your food. 

I ordered a cheeseburger with everything.  Everything is ketchup, mustard, onions and pickle relish.  No real hamburger dill pickles I asked the girl who took my order?  "No, sir.  Just the sweet pickle relish."  I told her to hold the pickle relish.  I also ordered a Sprecher Root Beer, some of the best root beer I've ever had.  I got my number and waited like the other people who ordered before me.   

A little more about Elsie Kopp - one of the famous things about Kopp's is their "Flavor of the Day".  Legend has it that Elsie Kopp invented the phrase "Flavor of the Day."  Except the Kopp flavor's of the day are a little more interesting than the usual strawberry or lemon-lime you find at most ice cream or custard joints. 

The featured flavor that day was Pecan Toffee.  The next day was going to be Grasshopper Fudge.  Neither sounded good to me, but they also offer featured flavors such as Tiramisu, Butter Almond and Caramel Cashew.  Check out some of their "Flavor of the Day" items here.

And as I was standing around, not only was the interior of the Kopp's location rather interesting, the outside garden area was pretty neat, too.  It featured sort of a Japanese Garden theme, complete with concrete benched that had man-made large cracks down the middle of them.  It would have been a great place to eat custard on a hot summer night, but on a cool fall afternoon, there was no one out there. 

I got my cheeseburger and root beer and took it out to the car so I could get going on the road.  I soon found that I needed to be stationary in order to eat this burger. 

First of all - the real Wisconsin cheddar cheese they use on the burgers, well, it's too much cheese.  I completely lost the taste of the burger in the cheese.  I don't like that.  The cheese is supposed to be an enhancer, not a blocker.  And it was gooey.

Secondly, I asked for onions and she gave me a choice of fried onions or raw onions.  I went with the raw onions as fried onions and I don't get along too well.  Well, I got raw onions.  Rings and rings and rings of raw onions.  It was like they took a half of a medium-sized onion and chopped it into rings and threw it on my burger.  There was way too many onions on the burger. 

But an interesting thing, there was a lone dill pickle slice sitting next to the burger.  I thought that was sort of wierd.  Why don't they offer to put the pickles on the burger?    

All in all, thanks to a ton of napkins and my "smeg towel" that I carry for the potential of BIG messes in the car, I was able to get through the cheeseburger from Kopp's.  I will say that, yes, Kopp's butter burger is better - much better - than a Culver's butter burger.  There's more meat, it's thicker and tastes better (what I could taste of it through all that cheese, that is).  It's still not as good as Solly's cheeseburger. 

I'm going to try a Kopp's burger without cheese next time.  And without onions.  There was too much cheese and onions to really get an idea of how the burger tasted.

(Update - I did finally try a Kopp's burger without cheese.  You can see my entry here and learn whether or not I came away impressed with the taste of the burger.)

Harry's Chocolate Shop - West Lafayette, IN

One of the more unique bars I've ever been to in the Midwest is Harry's Chocolate Shop near the Purdue University campus in West Lafayette, IN (see map).

From the outside, Harry's isn't much to see.  Inside, it's even worse.  It sort of looks like a Jaycees haunted house that was turned into a bar after Halloween was over.  It's dark, dingy and cramped, and given the amount of beer that has probably been spilled on the floors over the years, it has the smell of a frat house after an all night party. 

But all that just adds to the charm of Harry's, a place that has been open since 1919.

Harry Marack opened Harry's Chocolate Shop as a soda fountain that also served burgers and sandwiches.  After Prohibition was repealed, they applied for one of the first beer and liquor licenses in West Lafayette.  While still selling ice cream sodas and malts, they would be selling beer at the other end of the bar.

Harry Marack, and subsequently, his son, Harry, Jr., ran Harry's through 1977.  Harry Marack, Jr. sold the establishment to Herschel Cook, who also owns (or owned) three other area bars - Wabash Yacht Club, The Pub and The Other Pub.  Cook and his family have run Harry's ever since.

I was in Harry's recently more for nostalgic reasons than anything.  Well, and to have a couple beers.  My first trip to Harry's was about five years ago when we met up with our friends, Scott and Marcia Schroeder, and Dave and Pat Heusmann in West Lafayette for the Iowa/Purdue football game that year.  Scott had read about Harry's and he said that was on his immediate agenda when he got to West Lafayette. 

Harry's has two floors, and upstairs they have an area called "The Fishbowl", which is the center of the universe to students at Purdue.  Getting a seat in the Fishbowl and holding it all night is usually a story of legacy proportions. 

Harry's unofficial motto is "Go Ugly Early" - a take off the old standard college student's rule of if you have to go home with an ugly girl it's better than going home alone.  They have Go Ugly Early shirts, mugs, and other knick-knacks for sale at Harry's.

Another interesting shirt or hat you can buy there is "Harry's - Home of the Great Indoorsman!"  I almost got one of those as many times over the years my wife has questioned my sanity as to why I would like to be inside in a bar on beautiful days.  Harry's is one of those kind of places that you'd like to hang out at even on sunny days.

Harry's gets pretty crowded on the weekends.  We were there both Friday and Saturday night when we were there for the football game.  But it was a fun crowd and we didn't feel out of place either in our Iowa shirts or because we were about 20 years older than most of the people in there.

However, the last time I was there, it was in the middle of he week.  It was early in the evening and pretty tranquil.  I was able to move freely around the place and take a look at the stuff they had on the walls and get an even better feel of how small the joint really is. 

Harry's is truly an institution in West Lafayette and one of the best college beer bars I've ever been to.  If you're ever in the West Lafayette area and looking for a beer, give Harry's a shot.

Steve's Wine Market - Madison, WI

I've said in a couple of recent posts that I've been on the hunt for good wine deals lately, and that means stopping at some of the better wine stores in the Midwest.  One of those happens to be Steve's Wine Market in Madison.

Actually, my stop at Steve's was two-fold - to look for wine, and to look for Leinenkugel beer to take to one of my dealers in Missouri.  He's a big Green Bay Packers fan and he loves every thing to do with Wisconsin.  And he certainly loves Leinie beer. 

There are two locations for Steve's in the Madison area - the original Steve's Wine Market in Madison near the University of Wisconsin campus (see map); and Steve's Liquor and More in the suburb of Middleton (see map).   

Steve's Wine Market is celebrating 50 years in the business this year.  Steve Varese opened his store in what was the house that he and his wife lived in on University Ave. in Madison.  He kept his main job working on the railroad while his wife ran the business 12 hours a day.  After five years, Steve Varese quit the railroad full-time to work at the store. 

In 1970, the Varese's opened up a second location in the town of Middleton on the west side of Madison.  Because of the growth of population in the area, Steve's opened a new and larger location in Middleton in 1995 at its present day site. 

In the mid-80's, his son, Joe Varese (left), returned to the business and now runs the day to day operations.  What was Joe's boyhood home when he left was a fully converted liquor store when he came back.  And in the early 90's, Joe built a bigger store on the property that houses the present day Steve's Wine Market.   

Joe has two partners in the business - Randy Wautlet, who manages the store in Madison; and Kathy Eigenberger, who manages the store in Middleton.  I like to go in and talk to Kathy and Jan at the Steve's in Middleton from time to time because they really do know their beers.

The beer selection is more extensive in Middleton than at the location in Madison.  Kathy told me one time that even though both stores are under the same umbrella, the Middleton store has a tendency to be more of a "beer and liquor" store than a wine store, hence the "Steve's Liquor and More" name. 

But both stores have an impressive wine selection.  The wines at the Madison location are a little more eclectic and varied.  I was told they have over 3000 different varieties of wines at the Madison store, with over 200 different types of burgundy wines. 

The one thing about Steve's is they're not cheap.  But they've got, by far, the best selection of wine in a town that has a number of good wine and liquor stores throughout the area.  The sales help is knowledgeable and willing to help with the selection of wines.  For that kind of service, I'm willing to pay a little extra to make sure I'm getting what I want. 

In addition to the vast selection of wine, liquor and beer at the Steve's location in Madison, they also have a gourmet deli area that features cheeses from Wisconsin and Europe, eclectic meat selections, and high-end chocolates from Europe.  It's quite new and it's something to see.

Steve's is one of those places that I can go into and just look around for an hour before I realize I've been in there that long.  Like I say, I go to the store in Madison for wine and go to the store in Middleton for beer.  Even though they're owned by the same people, they're two different identity's, that's for sure.

Haruno - Springfield

Recently, while in Springfield, MO doing a training session for my dealer down there, I wanted to take them out for dinner after the meeting.  Actually, there's a number of good places to go for dinner in Springfield - but we decided to go out and have some sushi at Haruno Sushi Bar and Grill.

Haruno is located in a small strip mall not far from my dealer's store (see map).  Now, I used to be death on restaurants located in a strip mall; and I also used to run away screaming from a sushi place that is more than 500 miles from an ocean.  I'm glad I don't have those standards in place any longer or I wouldn't have eaten at Haruno that evening.

Haruno, which opened in 1999, is owned and run by the stylish Young Jung (right).  Dressed in a leather mini-skirt, fishnet hose and boots, she looked like she would be more at home in Los Angeles or New York rather than Springfield, MO. 

Local residents took a while to warm up to the hip little Japanese restaurant that served what many in these parts refer to as "bait". However, Haruno garnered a reputation for being edgy, having good martini's and good live jazz, and the clientele began to grow.  A couple of years ago they expanded into a space next to the original restaurant and called it Haruno's Next Door.  There, you'll find an extension of the restaurant with a regular sushi bar that seats six. 

We had a small wait to get a table for five around 7:30 the night we were there.  They had a small two-piece jazz combo playing in the bar area (the old original space) and it was pretty packed in there with people of all ages.  But there did seem to be a larger presence of younger people who were definitely styling for the night. 

Ms. Jung seated us in the new section and we immediately ordered a round of Asahi beers.  One of the guys had never had sushi before and we were sort of wondering what kind of reaction he'd have.  He's a good ol' Missouri boy, one of those who joked about the "bait" he was getting ready to eat.  But he was up for the challenge.

Our waiter was certainly indicative of the style of Haruno - he had an edge, but was very hip and cool.  He suggested we start off with their house specialty which was sort of a Japanese carpaccio - thinly sliced rare beef which was marinated in a soy mixture.  It was very, very good.

We went hog wild with the sushi - ordering tons of sushi rolls and nigiri sushi.  One of the guys said, "We've got to order this roll they call 'Oh, My God!' "

I asked, "Is it spicy?"

He said, "Well, not really, but there are so many great taste sensations that after the first bite you're saying, 'Oh, my God!' "

We definitely went with one of those.  And I had to have a spicy tuna roll, as well as a couple others that sounded sort of funky.  The names for the sushi rolls they had - such as a Philly roll, a Miami roll, a TNT roll - were as interesting as the place itself. 

We began to get our sushi and I had to try the "Oh, My God!"  It was a piece of white fish wrapped in a number of things including a spicy mayonnaise.  I didn't exactly say, "Oh, My God!" when I took the first bite.  But it was good.  However, I wasn't too big on the mayo on the sushi.

But the spicy tuna roll - WOW!!  I have to say it was one of the best - if not THE best - spicy tuna roll I'd ever had.  The taste sensation was out of this world.  In fact, all the sushi choices we had were very good. 

I was bummed that they were out of the chutoro - the very flavorful fatty tuna sushi.  The guys had never had it before (it's sort of expensive - about $8.00 for two pieces), so I thought I'd give them a taste of it.  That's OK, though - we had more than enough of some very good sushi to eat.   

The guy in the group who had never had sushi before was equally impressed.  He said, "I've always wanted to try sushi, but I know my wife wouldn't like it; and there's no way I could bring her and the kids to a place like this."

Our bill came to just over $200 bucks - which I thought was pretty reasonable for the amount of sushi we ate and beer we drank.  One of the interesting things was that he put an 18% tip on the bill, a little under $37 bucks, but didn't add it into the total.  I sort of wondered about this and I had to flag him down to find out what that was all about.

I asked, "Is this a mandatory tip?"

He said, "No, this is just a suggestion.  We do that so people can figure out how much 18% is.  You can put down anything you want." 

He walked away and I said, "The guy is leaving money on the table doing that.  I was going to give him a 20% tip."  And I did. 

But as one of the guys explained to me, "This IS Springfield and people are used to having a big meal and leaving a couple bucks on the table for a tip.  It's the world's largest small town." 

Actually, since then, I've seen a couple other restaurants that have tip amount suggestions of 15, 18 or 20 percent printed on the credit card voucher.  I usually over tip, especially if the service is good; or when I'm eating alone and the person waiting on me has been overly attentive.  The guy definitely earned his 20% that evening.

The bottom line - Haruno was one of the very best sushi restaurants I've ever eaten at.  I was pleasantly surprised at how good the sushi was for as land-locked that Springfield is. The service was very good, and the atmosphere was as interesting and hip as any restaurant I've been to in places like L.A. or Chicago.   I'm hoping my dealer in Springfield does very well so I can keep going back to Haruno when I go to see them.   

Weber Grill - Lombard

I've talked about the Weber Grill restaurants on this blog before (see here), but I had never tried their barbecue items before until just recently.

I had been traveling around seeing a number of dealers in the Chicago area recently and it was getting late in the day, well past dinner time, when I saw my last dealer.  I was near the Weber Grill restaurant in Lombard (see map) and I decided to stop in for a bite to eat.

Since it was late in the day I was pretty hungry, but I knew that if I had a big meal, I wouldn't sleep well that evening.  I went into the bar area and sat at the bar so I could watch some football and read my Chicago Tribune. 

I looked over the menu and the prime rib just kept jumping out at me.  But something else kept catching my eye - their barbecue menu.  In all my visits to the Weber Grill restaurants I'd never had their barbecue.  But I thought I would go for something else that night.

I ended up ordering up the prime rib, medium-rare.  The bartender took the order and about two minutes later she came back and said, "I was afraid of this, we're out of medium-rare prime rib." 

Well, that solved that.  I took the menu back from her and I looked right at the barbecue.  I ordered up the beef brisket and meatloaf combination with garlic mashed potatoes.  I thought I'd give their barbecue a shot.

And I'm glad I did.  The meal came out and there were four or five large and thick slices of beef brisket on the plate along with a slab of meatloaf that they bake on the Weber Grills in the kitchen.  Then when someone orders up the meatloaf, they slather on their rib sauce (which is nothing more than the Jack Daniels barbecue sauce) on both sides, then put the meatloaf on the grill for about three to five minutes a side, crusting the sauce on the meat.  It's actually very good.

But the beef brisket was outstanding.  Thick and juicy, the brisket was some of the best I'd ever had.  Their secret is cooking it low and slow, I was told by one of the managers who stopped by to see if I was doing OK. 

Their garlic mashed potatoes are good, but not as good as my wife's.  Still they were a wonderful complement to the meal. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the barbecue at the Weber Grill.  The one thing I haven't tried at their restaurants are their burgers.  I'll have to give them a shot sometime soon and let you know how they are.