Penguin

As I have the good fortune of living close the the Penguin, I mosied on over there with my housemate, Nora, and we got some great stuff from the benevolent owner.
Just wanted to let everyone know that if you're fatigued and uncomfortably hot, the grape fruit sorbet is great--just tart enough to really wake you up.
that was the point of this--try the grape fruit.

Hi,

I just came home from a function in Chicago. I don't live near Penguin but I know many ways to 'just happen' to pass by.

My sister had a straight strawberry. I had almond cream and dulce de leche with walnuts. We did the taste test first to make sure it was fresh made and absent of crystals.

A nice finish to an evening of wine and snacks ... I stuck to Lake Michigan on Ice.

Regards.
Cathy2

The Penguin
2723 W Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL 60625
773-271-4924

I must get back to the Penguin. The product is not always perfect but some of the flavors are tremendous. The sambayon w/ or w/o nuts is great. My wife and I travelled in Uruguay and Buenos Aires this past winter and ate a lot of ice cream -- I can confidently report that the Penguin's stuff holds its own against that of its home region.

I know I may not be in the majority but I really like their pizza. Flatter, less heavily topped than what you usually get around here. All in all,I think, a better topping to crust ratio than most places.

I've only had their pizza once, and I agree--the topping to crust ratio is much, much better than any other pizza joint in chicago. i wish i could speak spanish well enough to ascertain from the owner--who is perhaps the nicest man in the world--what the BYOB policy is. (i'm sure it's fine, but i guess i'm just reticent to waltz in there with a six-pack and order a pizza and some ice cream).
i also agree about the sambayon--awesome.
the pistachio is great too.
the vanilla is unlike anything vanilla ice cream i've ever had--a creamy wisp of vanilla essence--it's remarkable.

Hi,

I walked in one evening as the official hours were coming to a close. The place was in the midst of launching a birthday party. There was plenty of wine and beer on the table to indicate BYOB is welcome. Though I am not sure they have glassware or any equipment to uncork bottles. I would come prepared and welcome whatever they have to offer.

Worst case, you leave your bottle in the car.

Regards,
CAthy2

The Penguin owner/delivery guy (i.e. the portly older man) is the nicest man in the world near as I can tell. We speak no spanish but stopped in before our South American trip to see if we could get some restaurant/ice cream recs for Buenos Aires. Only the older man and the young assistant -- the only non-family employee, I think -- were there. We were hoping to catch the son or the daughter in law but no luck. We had the assistant translate for us. When the owner (who is not actually the owner, we learned but the father of the owner) found out where we were going he smiled brightly and said, "Ahhh, mucho mucho carne!" He then explained that the daughter in law's family owns the best ice cream store in all of Argentina. He hustled off to the phone and made 2 or 3 quick calls (to Argentina? I don't know. He then came back and thrusted a piece of paper into our hands explaining that we must go to this ice cream store and that we would not have to pay. Sadly the shop was about 50 miles from B.A. and b/c we our time there was limited we never made it. Nevertheless, I am forever loyal to the Penguin.

I had some gelato for the first time in a long time from Penguin this weekend and thought, "Damn, that's good. I wish this place was just a bit closer to me." And this morning while getting my cup of coffee at the Grind coffee shop on Lincoln Ave., I noticed a sign that said that they are now carrying Penguin Gelato. I'm looking forward to it this summer.

in a panic over what kosher dessert to bring to the Passover Seder at the in-laws, we swung by the Penguin and picked up one container of the lemon sorbet and one of the strawberry sorbet. They were both incredible, the lemon was probably the best post-brisket palate cleanser I've encountered and the strawberry was so rich and creamy I pondered whether it in fact contained some kind of dairy even though the sweet young lady said it had no crema or leche . . . so I just slurped away in the don't ask don't tell mode.

has anyone ever had their empanadas?

bjt

Is this the same Penguin everyone says is terrible Of course, I'm a long time proponent, but I'm a sucker for Argentine.

The empanadas and pizza are fine, and very much in the Italo-Argentine style. The best such empanadas in Chicago are those sold at El Mercado on Southport. The viejo at Penguin uses a kind of stewed beef in his meat empanadas that I think must be more expensive than a traditional picadillo, but is abit too Alpo-ish. Though I admit I haven't had Alpo in a while. Spinach are a better call.

By the way, I grabbed some morcillas and mollejas for the grill yesterday at Mercado. The house-made morcillas are probably the best black pudding in Chicago. Those guys really know their craft. If you think you don't like blood sausage, you should at least try these once.

bjt wrote:picked up one container of the lemon sorbet and one of the strawberry sorbet.

That's probably my standard choice as well. They're incredibly refreshing. I usually get one medium of half lemon, half strawberry.

Is this the same Penguin everyone says is terrible

Well, I suppose it wouldn't be a Penguin thread without the standard disclaimer. The Penguin can be inconsistent and some flavors in the bin can be over the hill, you are advised to ask to sample until you find something that meets your standards of wonderfulness. When the Penguin is good, it's mucho mucho good.

Again with the jokes You mean "muy, muy" good, che.

Don't correlate my entomology, I utilate exactly what I intend to procrastinate.

I love the penguin too when they're on, especially the sorbets and anything with the candied nuts (which they sometimes add on by hand in the back)

Like JeffB, I prefer the empanadas at el mercado - They don't often have the spinach ones around, but when they do I always scoop up whatever they have left, and grab some alfajores, those dulce de leche shortbread cookies to finish off the meal.

I have been a huge fan of the empanadas at El Mercado for many years, but the last time I went I had one of the beef and it was teeming with bits of rubbery gristle. I actually felt like I was having some kind of bad "Candid Camera" in the car food experience, because every time I took a bite, I hit a rubbery little nib of fat. Over and over. Some people like to chew the fat but I am not one of them. I have written it off as a bad batch (in fact, I should have high tailed it over to the Penguin for some lemon sorbet to just sort get the mouth refreshed and revived)and I'll be back but I hope it doesn't happen again.

bjt