Taste of Georgetown

What is it about pumpkin that drives people crazy? Last Saturday, I attended The Taste of Georgetown hoping to sample a variety of foods provided by 30 of Georgetown’s most popular restaurants. Instead, I found myself trapped in a sea of manic tasters who would stop at nothing to get a slice of Filomena’s Pumpkin Cheesecake.
It was total chaos. I’m pretty sure that the line went past the Maryland border. I have to admit; I really did want a piece of that cheesecake. It looked light, yet creamy, and with fall approaching pumpkin seemed all too appropriate. But after standing in line for approximately 20 seconds, I realized that I could make better use of my time by branching out to the other restaurants.
The marinated beef shawarma slider from Neyla’s was shockingly delicious. Although the slider slightly resembled a piece of dung left out in the sun to dry, the meat was moist and the spices weren’t over-powering.
Unfortunately, Neyla’s slider was the only memorable thing I ate that day. Maybe I should have just waited in line for a slice of pumpkin cheesecake.

Mt. Everest

Going to the restaurant Mt. Everest is fun because you can say, “I ate at Mt. Everest tonight” and all of your friends will think you’re hilarious. But in all seriousness, I love this place. I cannot vouch for the authenticity of Mt. Everest because I have never been to India or Nepal and the restaurant tends to serve Northwestern students and native Evanstonians (None of whom appear to be of Indian and/or Nepalese descent). However, if you aren’t an Indian/Nepalese food elitist, I can almost guarantee you will have a good meal. My go-to dinner is the non-vegetarian value meal for two. If I didn’t love meat or had just watched a PETA commercial, my go-to dinner would probably be the vegetarian value meal for two. The non-vegetarian meal includes tandoori chicken, chicken tikka, boti kabab, lamb curry, peas, and naan(think Pita bread without a pocket). The tandoori chicken, kabab, and other meat creations come out on a sizzling platter, so it’s pretty exciting (and tasty). I could eat the lamb curry for breakfast, because it is so good. The peas come with cottage cheese, and it’s mild and delicious. It is best to go to Mt. Everest in a group so that everyone can sample each dish. Mt. Everest isn’t cheap, but there are always leftovers for at least two meals afterwards. The service is never rushed or too slow. The décor isn’t particularly noteworthy, but it has a somewhat elegant feel even though the atmosphere is casual and relaxed. Most importantly, Thursday night is LADIES NIGHT which means free drinks for the ladies! Rock on ladies, rock on.
Mt. Everest
630 Church Street
Evanston, IL 60201
847-491-1069

The Taste Of Chicago

According to Men’s Health Magazine, Chicago is the 13th most obese city in the nation. After pondering this fact, I came to the conclusion that we can blame our obesity entirely on the annual Taste of Chicago festival. The Taste of Chicago is basically an excuse for people to eat large quantities of food and not feel bad about themselves because everyone else is doing it too. Every year I ask myself, “Why am I here?” It’s hot, crowded, and the food is average at best. Yet when the summer comes around, I am always the first to suggest a trip to the Taste. I think I like people gathering for a common cause, even though this common cause probably results in coronary disease. I do, however, have a few questions/concerns regarding the Taste.
1. What happened to the chocolate covered strawberries? Those are essentially the only reason I go to the Taste, and they disappeared this year. What a joke.
2. Why are there so many varieties of toasted cheese ravioli? Anyone who went to the Taste this year probably noticed that every other stand had toasted ravioli. They weren’t even that good. Sorry.
3. Why does anyone buy a hamburger/pizza/hotdog? To me, the Taste is about trying out new things. Most people eat hamburgers/pizza/hotdogs all the time, so why would they pay a ridiculous amount of money for something so boring? The only exception to this rule is if you’re not from Chicago. Go ahead – try the deep dish and hot dog.
4. Why would anyone buy beer at the Taste? Did you know that you just spent $7.00 on your Miller Lite?
5. Why do people order 2 huge meals when they could just get smaller portions of 4 or 5 different foods? It is called the Taste of Chicago for a reason… Ordering the taste portions just makes more sense.
But enough hating. There were some breakout restaurants this year at the Taste. Way to go Star of Siam! Your pot stickers and Pad Thai were tasty and a very good deal. Nice work Kasia’s Deli! Your pierogies were delicious. And of course, Eli’s cheesecake never fails to deliver. Other than that, everything I ate was average. I was expecting a lot out of Sabor Latino’s Jabarito sandwich, but it wasn’t anything special. Their pork filled banana dumpling tasted like a fried wad of under ripened bananas. Vee Vee’s jerk chicken has a nice kick to it, but it was really hard to eat because of all of the small bone fragments. In addition, the red beans and rice were just o.k. The tandoori turkey at Vermillion’s was an interesting thought that didn’t work in reality. The restaurant was trying to be really edgy by pouring a salsa verde over tandoori turkey and then placing it on a tortilla chip. The flavors were good separately, but they weren’t really working together.
Even though I have a lot of criticisms about the Taste, chances are I will be back next year. It is always fun to do something with your friends or family, and the Taste has a way of bringing people together. However, if there is a popular band playing, you literally might be trampled to death which is what almost happened to me when I saw Stevie Wonder a few years ago. On that note, just give the Taste of Chicago a try because it is something everyone should do at least once.



Photos contributed by Ellen Bland Walsh

Icosium Kafe

Icosium Kafe: Just another reason why I am obsessed with Andersonville. The important thing to know about Icosium Kafe is that they specialize in crepes. I’m not sure how you could go wrong at Icosium Kafe, because everyone like crepes (unless you have no soul). During our two hour dining extravaganza, I sampled 6 different crepes, apricot iced tea, Algerian mint tea with honey, Algerian Kafe, vegetable soup, and lamb stew. After this gorging session, I came to the conclusion that everything on the menu at Icosium Kafe is delicious. I ordered the Roma, which was the most savory of all the crepes we ordered. It had tomatoes, mozzarella, capers, portobello, basil, and baby spinach and everything was very fresh and tasty. My favorite of the night was the Paris, which was made up of escargots, roasted garlic and brie. I wish people weren’t thrown off so much by the idea of eating a snail. Anyone who likes mushrooms will like escargots, so just try it. The Icosium crepe was loaded with roasted peppers, basil, garlic, tomatoes, pine nuts and spinach. Most importantly, however, there was goat cheese. I believe that if everyone ate more goat cheese, we would be one step closer to world peace. The last of the savory crepes I tried was the Marrakech, and I really enjoyed the sweet Northern African flavors. For desert, we ordered the D’Amor and Yussuf. Normally, chocolate doesn’t do a lot for me, but the combination of the Belgian chocolate and raspberries in the D’Amor crepe was unreal. The Yussuf Crepe had a ridiculous amount of crunchy brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins in it, but I was more than o.k with that.


The restaurant itself has a really nice Northern African vibe. Everyone will feel welcome at Icosium Kafe because there is no pretention in the food or in the atmosphere. Icosium Kafe advertises itself as being Algerian, but aside from the drinks, the décor, and a few crepes, most of the food is European. The wait staff didn’t rush us and were friendly, but not in an overbearing way. Also, vegetarians and other granola types should be happy because the restaurant claims the food is organic, and there is barely any meat on the menu. They meat they do use, however, is halal, meaning that it is slaughtered in accordance with Quranic law. Unless you’re a really picky jerk, everyone can find something they like at Icosium Kafe.

Icosium Kafe
5200 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 271-5233
Photos contributed by Ellen Bland Walsh

Thai Sookdee

Sometimes, I am scared to go to Thai restaurants because of the whole “I can’t eat peanuts” issue. However, I have never had a problem at the restaurant Thai Sookdee, and I think everyone needs to go eat there immediately. Although the service is occasionally slow, the waitresses are generally friendly. For an appetizer, I would strongly recommend any of the soups, but my personal favorite is the Tom Kha. Tom Kha is like Tom Yum soup, but instead of a clear broth, the broth is white and made from coconut milk. However, I have not been impressed with their other appetizers such as the Thai style potstickers. I found them to be over-fried, and generally not good. Their fruit smoothies (mango, pineapple, banana, strawberry, watermelon and leeche) are delicious, but I suggest splitting one among two or three people. Usually, I end up with a Thai iced coffee which is iced coffee and sweetened condensed milk. For my entrées, I tend to rotate between the yellow curry (slightly spicy), garlic chicken, ginger chicken, pad see eiw, pad woon sen, or BBQ pork bamee. For dessert, you need to order the rice and mango. It completes me. You may have noticed that I eat here a lot… I really don’t think you can go wrong at this place. I couldn’t say whether the food is authentic or not because I have never been to or lived in Thailand. Also, the customers are mostly Northwestern students, so this makes me think it might not be entirely traditional Thai food. Nonetheless, it’s good enough for me. The location is also perfect because it is about 1 block away from the Century Movie Theatre in Evanston. Warning – Do not go to Carmen’s Pizzeria next store. The pizza is disgusting and the service is horrible. Our waiter ignored us and read a book in the corner of the restaurant. I was considering doing an entire post about it, but I didn’t want to be a bigger jerk than I had to be. Sorry.
Thai Sookdee
1016 Church Street
Evanston, IL 60201-3623
(847) 866-8012

Periyali Greek Taverna

With school wrapping up, I haven’t had much time to try out new places. Although this might seem like tragic news for this blog, don’t worry. Instead of reviewing new places, I want to highlight some of my favorite restaurants that I have grown up with. Number 1 on the list is Periyali Greek Taverna in Glenview. It is always a good sign when you go to a Greek restaurant and a fair number of customers are actually Greek. One of the things I like about Periyali is that they aren’t trying to be modern or innovative with their food. They serve simple Greek classics. My absolute favorite appetizer is called melitzanosalta which is an intensely garlicky eggplant spread. I could consume their avgolemeno soup by the gallon, and who wouldn’t want a piece of flaming cheese or saganaki? When I go, I normally order the combination plate. It is basically Heaven. The combo plate includes gyros, mousaka, pastitsio, dolmades and potatoes. My other favorite entrée is kota spanaki. Kota spanaki is a grilled chicken breast stuffed with feta cheese and spinach, and it comes with potatoes and rice with a delicious tomato based sauce. The waiters are generally friendly and the restaurant has pretty murals of, you guessed it, Greece! If you don’t feel like going all the way to Greek Town, Glenview is your best bet. Opa! (sorry, I had to).

Periyali Greek Taverna
847-296-2232
9860 Milwuakee Avenue
Glenview, Illinois 60016

The Devil Pancakes

Breaking News – I have just found out that one of my all time favorite restaurants is now using peanut oil in their pancake recipes. If you have read this blog or know me, you would know that I am allergic to peanuts (and all nuts). Walker Brother's Pancake House – What are you doing? All I want to do is order the Swedish Pancakes, but now I can’t. This must be a joke. I know I am not the only one in this position, so I suggest a rebellion against Walker Brothers. Don’t they understand that 1.3 % of the population can’t eat peanuts? That’s 400 people in Wilmette alone who can no longer order the chocolate chippies. Please contact Walker Brother’s Original Pancake House at this address http://www.walkerbros.net/ so that I can eat more pancakes in the future. Thanks. -Rachel
UPDATE! I have ordered both the Swedish Pancakes and the Chocolate Chippies since finding out the horrible news. I survived! Apparently, the peanut oil is so processed that it doesn't affect people with allergies. Thank.You.Jesus.

Springbreak: Vancouver

You have probably been wondering when the next installment of Rachel’s Restaurant Review was coming out. Don’t worry – I’m back, and I have a lot to talk about. For spring break, my parents and I went to the exotic land of Vancouver. You may remember Vancouver because they hosted this little gathering called the Olympics. I strongly recommend that anyone who enjoys food, freakishly nice people, and cleanliness move to Vancouver immediately. There is no way I could talk about every meal I had, so I will just review the highlights.

Rangoli
1488 West 11th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6H 1L1
phone (604) 736-5711
fax (604) 736-3701
I was dying to go to this restaurant because Anthony Bourdain went there on his show No Reservations, and I trust his judgment. To me, Rangoli was good because it made Indian food more accessible for people who don’t know a lot about it and are willing to try it. I ordered a lamb dish, and it was extremely tender and had a nice kick to it. Every previous Indian restaurant I have gone to usually emphasizes a more communal dinner, but this was more individualized. I wasn’t crazy about this idea, but I had more to myself, so that was a plus. I would have appreciated more naan and rice to sop up the juices, but it was nice to not be overwhelmed by the amount of food. It was very crowded at both Rangoli, and its sister restaurant Vij’s (more upscale) with a 45 minute wait. If I lived in Vancouver, I would definitely go back for the lamb and the chai.

Jules
216 abbott street vancouver bc V6B 2K8
tel: 604-669-0033
Our first dinner in Vancouver was at a cute French bistro called Jules. Located in Vancouver’s historic Gastown, Jules sits right in-between the richest and poorest neighborhoods in the area. The main highlight of the evening was the flamboyant Maitre D who made us feel like old friends, and the not so sober waitresses who talked to us about the glory of British Colombia wines. For my main course, I had the steak frites. I have to say that compared to Chicago beef, Vancouver doesn’t really make the cut, but it was decent. My cheesy, bacony, oniony appetizer, however, was delicious. I would recommend Jules more so for the atmosphere and people, but the food was above average. Try and befriend the Maitre D – he’s great.

Imperial Chinese Restaurant
Main Floor, Marine Building
355 Burrard Street
Vancouver, B.C.
V6C 2G8
Telephone: (604) 688-8191
Facsimile: (604) 688-8466
Located across the street from our hotel, the Imperial Chinese Restaurant was an all around classy establishment. The white table cloths and loose leaf lavender tea were a nice touch to our humungous meal. We started off with a tasty hot and sour soup. I ordered the Peking Duck, and it was very impressive. The chef made two creations out of the duck. The first course was the crispy skin with a dollop of hoisin sauce and green onions placed in a “Chinese tortilla” to make a “Chinese taco”. The second course was the duck meat combined with what appeared to be water chestnuts and possibly mushrooms that we then wrapped in leaves of lettuce. It was so good, but I couldn’t physically eat all of it. We went on a Sunday, which may have explained why there were only two other tables the entire night, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

International Buddhist Temple
9160 Steveston Highway (between No. 3 and No. 4 Roads)
Richmond, B.C., Canada
V7A 1M5 Tel: (604) 274-2822
Fax: (604) 271-2338
This temple was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It was amazing to see people actively worshipping among the various replicas of Buddhas. We also had our most intimidating meal here. There we were: three hungry, pasty tourists looking for a quick meal and eureka- a temple cafeteria! There were explicit instructions on the table to only order what we could eat, that we couldn’t talk and that we needed to finish everything on our plates. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem for my parents and me, but we were defeated. The women in charge took a strange disliking to my mom, and she laughed an evil laugh when she brought our food out. Little did we know, one plate of food was actually a huge casserole full of noodles and vegetables. Good thing we ordered three. My mom and I were feeling extremely guilty that there were explicit instructions to finish the food, so we made a noble effort to finish our chop suey like concoction. Under normal conditions, the food would have been delicious, but nothing really tastes good after consuming half of our body weight in it. The women packed our 20 pounds of leftovers in baggies, and it was really embarrassing. A warning from the woman would have been nice, but this meal ended up being our most memorable.

There are about 15 more restaurants I could talk about, but the moral of this story is that Vancouver is an amazing town to eat in. My only complaint is that they seem to be unaware of this little thing called unsweetened iced tea. I am a huge tea snob, and I was deeply disturbed to find that all of my iced teas were already sweetened. This cultural difference would be the biggest obstacle for me if I decided to move there. Also, never order a hamburger. Although the Canadians are nearly perfect, the decision to make all hamburgers well done was really tragic. I ordered a hamburger, and it looked like a hockey puck. I understand that Canadians like hockey, but they don’t need to reflect this though their burgers. It tasted like a huge chunk of sausage one might find on a Chicago Deep Dish pizza, and it was really distressing. Other than these two things, we didn’t have one bad meal in Vancouver, and I can’t wait to go back in the future.

Lucky Platter

Lucky Platter describes their food as “funkalicious post-Hippy eclectic world cuisine”. I would add the words schizophrenic and consistently delicious. Between the colander lamps, life sized robot sculpture and folksy art, just walking into Lucky Platter is an experience in itself. Sometimes, restaurants use excessive decoration to cover up mediocre food. Lucky Platter, however, has nothing to hide. I have never had a meal I didn’t thoroughly enjoy and there are so many diverse options that it would be foolish not to try something new every time. I don’t want go into detail about everything that I have ever eaten at Lucky Platter, so instead I have several recommendations. For breakfast you must order an Apricot Cheese Flakery, Cinnamon Glazed Bacon, Montana Hash, and you can’t go wrong with any of their omelets. For lunch and dinner, some of my favorite items have been the Tandoori Chicken Sandwich, the Greek Burger, and the Beef Stroganoff. Also, try the homemade cream soda or spiced chai and for a side you can’t go wrong with sweet potato fries. My only complaint about Lucky Platter is that the service can be a hit or miss. On one occasion, my friend waited 20 minutes for a bottle of ketchup. However, our waiter was dealing with cranky, old people, so his neglect was semi-understandable. Parking can be an issue, so get someone who can parallel park to drive or get off at the Evanston Main Street Metra or L stops. Don’t let the limited parking or occasionally slow service stop you from going for a meal that will be memorable and delicious.
Lucky Platter
514 Main St.
Evanston, IL 60202
847 869-4064

Usmania

If you find yourself on Devon Ave. in Chicago, and don't find a good Indian/ Pakistani restaurant, something is wrong with you. It can be overwhelming to pick a good one, so my suggestion is to try Usmania. Its red, neon lights scream “Come in and eat!”. Just minutes after we sat down, our waiter asked us if we were ready to order, and he came back about 5 times in 3 minutes. Nonetheless, he was helpful and made good suggestions that weren’t on the menu. He suggested that our group order a pitcher of mango lassi, a yogurt based mango smoothie, and it was rich and delicious. Our group shared three entrees: aloo gobi- cauliflower and potatoes with spices, chicken biryani – basmati rice with chicken, and cholay – chickpeas with spices. The vegetables were slightly saturated in oil, but this is characteristic of Pakistani cuisine and the taste was great. The cholay had a nice kick to it, and the aloo gobi managed to make cauliflower appetizing. The chicken biryani was huge and the chicken was tender and well marinated in mint, onion, cilantro, green pepper and tomato. The naan bread (pita, except way better and pocket-less) was served warm and there was plenty for five people to eat with two orders. Also, the food served as Usmania is 100% Zabiha Halal which is basically Islam’s equivalent to Kosher. With many choices for both meat eaters and vegetarians, Usmania is an excellent choice for anyone who wants to try Indian/ Pakistani cuisine.
Usmania
2244 W. Devon Ave.
Chicago, IL 60659
773-262-1900

Taste of Peru

Sitting in-between a Laundromat and a nail salon, Taste of Peru is easy to miss. Don’t let the grungy strip mall fool you- Taste of Peru is awesome. I can’t say that I have had a lot (or any) Peruvian food in my life, but going to Taste of Peru made me want to raise llamas. The restaurant itself is very small and slightly kitsch, but also warm and welcoming. The staff was friendly and helpful, but never overbearing. Because of Spanish, Basque, African, Japanese, Arabic, Italian, French and British immigration to Peru, Peruvian cuisine is among the most diverse in the world. To start, my friend and I ordered beef empanadas and anticuchos. My rough translation of an anticucho is “beef heart on a stick”. I thoroughly enjoyed my heart shish-kabobs because they were tender and well marinated. Unfortunately, I have a nut allergy, so I couldn’t try the empanadas (contains walnuts), but my friend said they were good and I trust her judgment. For our main courses, we ordered Lomo Saltado and Cau-Cau (tripe stew). Lomo Saltado is a traditional Peruvian meal with thin strips of beef, tomatoes, onions and French fries thrown together and sautéed in a pan. Often times, thin slices of beef can get stringy and tough, but this was tender and flavorful. The combination of the onions, tomatoes and French fries was random, but it worked. Cau-Cau, on the other hand, is not for the faint of heart. Some may call it tripe, some may call it cow stomach, I call it surprisingly good. Although I wouldn’t order Cau- Cau again, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment for trying something different. If you haven’t had tripe before, I would describe it as a porous, rubber eraser. The chewy texture is slightly overwhelming at first, but with some rice, it eventually grows on you. Although I ate an abnormal amount of internal organs that night, there are many other options as well for a less adventurous eater. As if we didn’t already eat enough, my friend and I also ordered sides of maduros (plantains) and thinly sliced sweet potatoes. The maduros were ridiculously delicious and the sweet potatoes were great with a large scoop of the spicy jalapeño and garlic condiment that is given to every table. As we were leaving, I struck up a conversation with the owner, Cesar Izquierdo (pictured), and it was apparent he loved his work and his native country of Peru. He was a good combination of friendly and quirky, and he made an effort to talk to all of his customers as if they were old friends. Basically, Taste of Peru has something for everyone, and I strongly recommend it.
Taste of Peru
6545 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60626-4001
(773) 381-4540

RRR

Hi everyone! My name is Rachel and this is my blog: Rachel's Restaurant Review. I wanted to write about something that I am passionate about (no, not Bakers Square), and I ended up with this blog. The idea is simple: I will review restaurants that I have recently eaten at, restaurants that I love and restaurants to avoid. If you have a restaurant that you would like to be reviewed, just leave a comment, and I will attempt to dine there.
Thanks!