Can you spot me in this only-in-Chicago photo?A quick three day trip over the Christmas break to Chicago allowed me to add to my TNT count but despite this last minute valiant effort, I am definitely not going to reach my goal of 52 new things in a year. Never mind, this remains a goal for 2010. Hopefully this trip to Chicago will lead to several 2010 TNTs as grocery purchases lead to more new recipes and ingredients.
Lebekase on the last day of the 2009 Christkindlmarkt was less Spam-like and salty than expected. Bread roll was overly soft and nothing like real German brotchen. Next up was a plain Beard Papa cream puff with original vanilla filling. The choux pastry was extremely light fluffy, the cream filling runnier than expected, leading to chin-drippage. Excellent and the lightness of the choux makes them very moreish. I was so lucky to be here the week the Chicago branch opened.
A Christmas day visit to Devon Ave for some grocery shopping led to a quick samosa chaat at Sukhadia's. Super hot and a surprising (to me) mix of hot samosa, cold yoghurt and lots of crunchy toppings, this was a delicious snack.
Other meals:
Braised chicken and mushroom in bamboo and dan dan noodles from Spring World. Very herbal chicken and seven kinds of mushrooms promised multiple health benefits but was a bit too much after a while. Bamboo cane presentation and rustic dinnerware was pretty cool. Loved the dan dan noodles which became another night's dinner.
Various dim sum dishes from "Little" Three Happiness. The fried shrimp paste and taro dish was the most unusual and best offering. Cheap and satisfied a dim sum craving without the crowds on Christmas day.
Pork stew in red chile at Nuevo Leon. My first trip to Pilsen will not be my last. Great tortillas and salsas. Huge platters of food at this packed restaurant. Super tender pork and great pickled carrot.
Finally a visit to the French Market to stock up for the train ride back home. A sandwich campagne from Pastoral was a bit salty but delicious. Chocolate croissant from Vanille Patisserie was appropriately flaky but could have been more buttery. Lots of very tempting stores but at this point I was trying to conserve calories and money.
All in all a very fruitful trip although no fruit was actually consumed.
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