One of the thing that delights me about living in a larger city is having a wide variety of ethnic grocers, and Chicago has some great ones. We have Asian grocers, Indian, Eastern European, Greek, Polish, Italian, and I love them all. Chicago is big on Polish restaurants and markets as the population of Poles… Continue reading Schmeissers Sausage Review, Niles, IL
Dodges Southern Style Chicken Review
I’ve written a lot about what I (and apparently others) call “gas station chicken.” Across the deep south, you’ll run into these fairly often. Some call them “fry delis,” and the independent ones often have a melange of offerings, fried chicken, tenders, egg rolls, corn dogs, catfish nuggets, potatoes. There are franchised operations, like Chesters,… Continue reading Dodges Southern Style Chicken Review
Village Inn Review, Huntley, IL
What’s better than getting a restaurant meal with quality ingredients, cooked precisely to your order, at a great value? Not much I can think of. I have found my new “home away from home” for breakfast out, the Village Inn Family Restaurant, in Huntley, IL, a distant Chicago exurb. “Chicago area diners” lean towards large… Continue reading Village Inn Review, Huntley, IL
Hardees Breakfast Biscuit Review – Nationwide
I admit I’ve become fussy about fast food (and C-store) breakfasts. Think I’ve covered them all, and some are pretty good, some are absolutely dreadful. Some could be made better with very little effort or expense. I stopped in a Hardees/Carl’s Jr on a recent road trip, in search of a menu item I’ve had… Continue reading Hardees Breakfast Biscuit Review – Nationwide
Middendorfs Review, New Orleans
I love this place. Been in regular attendance for the past two decades. They’ve had their share of troubles, flooded twice cause of storms, but they keep coming back, stronger and better than ever. Caveat one: this is a New Orleans AREA restaurant, not in the city, it’s about a 30 minute drive north on… Continue reading Middendorfs Review, New Orleans
Magasin Review, New Orleans, LA
Vietnamese cuisine is all the rage, isn’t it? Where else can you spend $25- $40 for a bowl of soup? Spoiler alert, if you want authentic Vietnamese in New Orleans, ask for directions out to the cluster of Vietnamese shops and restaurants in New Orleans east. Vietnamese settled along the Gulf Coast and are busy… Continue reading Magasin Review, New Orleans, LA
Miss Dots Chicken Review, Tuscaloosa, AL
I’ll wander off the beaten path to try a place I’ve heard about it. It’s a crap shoot. But for a couple years I’ve been infatuated with “sourthern style” fried chicken, and did a fast food comparison tour across the south for chicken tenders, and I’ve written a number of pieces on gas station chicken.… Continue reading Miss Dots Chicken Review, Tuscaloosa, AL
Beef-A-Roo Review, Rockford, IL
There’s the undisputed champion of fast food “roast beef” places, Arbys, which has more than 3300 units. There have been some ‘also rans’along the way, the Roy Rogers chain (once over 300 units) tried to be a national contender. Hardees, with over 3000 units, has always featured a similar product on their menu systemwide after acquiring both the Roy… Continue reading Beef-A-Roo Review, Rockford, IL
Sals Pizza Review, Huntley, IL
I’ve previously opined about the original Sal’s Pizza location, an unassuming walk-in/delivery (only) storefront on the backside of a strip mall in Algonquin, IL. If you read that piece, you’ll remember I found no fault with their pizza, in fact, for my personal tastes, I found it to be superb. This review is about Sal’s… Continue reading Sals Pizza Review, Huntley, IL
Papa Johns Deep Dish Pizza Review – Nationwide
Papa John’s Pizza is an American restaurant company. It runs the third largest take-out and pizza delivery restaurant chain in the world, with headquarters in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, a suburb of Louisville. The Papa John’s restaurant franchise was founded in 1983 by “Papa” John Schnattertaking a small corner of space of his father’s tavern, in Jeffersonville, Indiana.… Continue reading Papa Johns Deep Dish Pizza Review – Nationwide