back in Chicago: Uptown edition
Birria, Thai-style tilapia, and a Jordanian patty melt.
Man, when I was 27 years old, I had a really good fling in Chicago.
At the time, I was fresh off a wild breakup and playing lots of Super Mario Galaxy 2 to numb the pain. I was also in travel mode—hitting cities like Philly, Denver, and Portland to do stand-up comedy. I knew I had a friend and crush from high school who lived in Chicago, so I decided to make my next trip there.
What started as me cordially sleeping on her couch quickly moved into snuggling in the same bed. We went to the aquarium, took long walks, went to tiki bars, wine bars, regular bars; she came to some comedy shows, and we even hooked up while watching Fantastic Mr. Fox. Just an insanely good time for a 27 year-old white guy to be having.
I also had an insane meal at L20, a two Michelin starred seafood restaurant where my pal Bob Broskey was chef de cuisine. He tried to kill us with 20 courses of food paired with wine. A feeble attempt to take down a giant, but perhaps the most memorable meal of my life. A couple years back, I wrote about that dinner as a way to say “in defense of fine dining.”
The woman? I never saw her again, but that Chicago magic stayed with me. Chicago is fling town USA; a place to quickly visit, have a hot, giggly good time, and then go back to wherever home is. After almost 12 years, I just got back to the city recently—this time with no fling—but I did get to enjoy some awesome, eye opening meals. Places that I think you should know about, friend.
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Over the years I have formed a really nice correspondence with a couple food writers in Chicago: Dennis Lee and Marnie Shure, both former colleagues of mine at The Takeout, an internet publication where I cut my teeth as a writer! I love Dennis and Marnie both so much. Dennis has really taken off as a writer and food dude, and Marnie is the best editor I’ve ever had. I asked them both where I should eat in Chicago (of course, I visited The Weiner’s Circle), but I started to notice that a lot of the recommendations I was getting were in Uptown.
Uptown Chicago is a diverse, walkable neighborhood with a lot of parks and restaurants and cafes and cocktail bars. There’s so much in Chicago to explore, but if you want to eat well, you’ll want to visit Uptown eventually. So, as a way to pay some recommendations forward, here’s what you should eat there:
the birria and quesadilla at Birrieria Zaragoza
You probably wouldn’t think Chicago to be known for their amazing goat birria, but the city has plenty of awesome options. Food writer and pal Dennis Lee took me to Birreria Zaragoza on Broadway, just a short walk from the red line station. Wow, a city with half decent public transportation! Something my previous homes (Detroit and Los Angeles) sorely need.
The birria at Zaragoza is amazing—featuring slow roasted goat meat and a big bowl of tomato-y consommé perfect for dipping and sloshing and slurping. Birria is always good, but also often too greasy for my taste. Zaragoza’s, however, was clean. The flavors here were rich, pure, and deep. Plenty of aromatics, and a wonderful, homemade corn tortilla that’s fluffy and flavorful. I believe to some degree that they cook the goat separately from the consommé, which might sound nuts, but it results in less of a gut bomb.
What truly blew me at Zaragoza, however, was their quesadilla (only $4!), which was excellent, and one of the best quesadillas I’ve ever had. The house made corn tortillas are just wonderful. Super pillowy, soft, and warm. Be sure to get it with salsa de molcajete ($7), which is rich, smoky, complex, and spiked with fresh chiles. I know this place is known for their birria (the cabeza taco is also super special), but I’m leaving here thinking about this top tier quesadilla and salsa. I know it’s like saying the name of the movie while you’re watching the movie but GOD DAMN this is The Move.
Birrieria Zaragoza
4800 N Broadway
Chicago, IL 60640
The crispy fish with jungle salad at In-On Thai!!(!!!!!)
I used seven exclamation marks in the heading because this is one of the best Thai dishes I’ve ever had the pleasure of shoveling into my mouth. Tangy and piquant beyond belief, spicy, assertive, earthy, fresh, and memorable in every single way. The crispy fish with jungle salad ($18) at In-On is decidedly Southern Thai, where the powerful combo of tangy/spicy assaults palates lovingly.
I honestly couldn’t believe the fish used here is tilapia, which is often viewed as a garbage bottom feeder. Tilapia is too often thought as a lesser fish, but i’ll tell you this, it’s used in my favorite fish taco of all-time (the now closed Taco-Mex in Austin), and what I now believe to be my favorite Thai-based fish dish. The chunks of tilapia are so damn crispy and crunchy here. As such, they can handle the barrage of acid, heat, and vegetables. I get the sense that you could dunk this fried fish in water, and it’d still remain crispy as ever.
Though the fish is fried to perfection, the salad is what really makes this dish sing. It’s light and bold and features a pile of freshness—cilantro, basil, mango, red onion, peanuts, sectioned chunks of skin-on limes, and chiles. Eating lime skin might seem gnarly—it certainly threw me for a loop—but the limes were sliced thin and added a lovely bit of earthy, zesty texture. This dish is jacked on citrus and heat, and very much reminds me of some of the offerings you’d find in Jitlada in Los Angeles. I’ve been craving it ever since I left Chicago, and along with that aforementioned quesadilla, it’s one of the best dishes I’ve had all year.
In-On Thai
4641 N Broadway
Chicago, IL 60640
the Middle Eastern patty melt and crispy-craggy falafel at Ragadan
After eating birria and a quesedilla, Dennis took me to Ragadan, a falafel shop in Uptown Chicago “bringing flavors & aromas of Amman, Jordan” to diner culture. I love that the website specifically advertises ingredients and flavors, noting you can expect lots of parsley, lemon, garlic, coriander, and sumac. So, what exactly do you get when you apply these flavors to….diner food??? Well, I’ll tell you:
Oklahoma onion burgers with Za’atar mayo and American cheese, kefta burgs with a cucumber-tomato tahini salad, patty melts on a Ka’ak-inspired sesame loaf, baklava milkshakes, and impossibly crispy falafel served in a little appetizer boat with dipping sauces. Hell yes.
Firstly, it needs to be said that Ragadan’s patty melt is phenomenal. The sesame loaf is crispy and nutty, but soft and reads almost like a bolillo roll. It’s not traditionally what I think of when I think patty melt (it’s not griddled Texas Toast flattened with cheese and meat), but whatever this thing is—torta, patty melt, diner sandwich—it’s incredible.
The patty melt features two beef patties, American cheese, Za’atar mayo, smoked bacon, griddled onions and bell peppers, pickled jalapeños, shoor (sour) pickles, and yellow mustard. It’s a lot of different things, but they all melt into each other and create a wonderful, sloppy-but-nuanced sandwich experience. For $14.50, it’s a damn good deal.
Also, I don’t know exactly why Ragadan’s falafel is so good, but the owner tells me we came in to the restaurant at the right time (noon). Falafel needs to be made fresh, and he gets there bright and early everyday to make it happen.
This side of falafel was maybe the craggiest falafel I’ve ever encountered. It’s got a rugged texture that would make a cowboy blush. They’re also just so GREEN due to a proper amount of fresh parsley and coriander, and the interior is soft and rippable with your hands. Hard to beat.
I would also highly recommend the baklava milkshake ($8.95), featuring bits of sticky, crunchy baklava mixed in simply with vanilla ice cream. What about this doesn’t sound good to you? Are you impossible? Go enjoy a dang baklava milkshake!
I love the mixing of cultures here. Come to Ragadan for the falafel, and stay for the American diner offerings.
Ragadan
4409 N Broadway
Chicago, IL 60640
It needs to be said that all THREE of these restaurants were on Broadway, a few blocks away from each other. I get the sense that Uptown is stacked with great places to eat. I doubt that I ever live in Chicago properly, but it’s hard to imagine a better city to have a (food) fling.
I’ll be seein’ ya soon, Chi-town!
That’s it! Thanks for reading The Move. Man, I gotta get back to Chicago more often. I’ll be in Detroit for the next 6 weeks or so, and then off to Los Angeles for a big 9 day stint.
Is there anything you want me to eat? Try? Places to visit? Let me know in the comments!
All three of these places are fantastic but Birreria Zaragoza is a real gem. A fantastic addition to the neighborhood.
our next Chicago run is in mid July. Turns out our Elmer, a wire fox terrier may be the fastest in America so we are going around the country racing him. There is a race in Wheaton in mid July that we are targeting so these recommendations will come in handy. Thanks in advance.