Our Long Weekend with the In-Laws

We took in our Florida dwelling in-laws this long holiday weekend. Our initial plan as exemplified in this desperate post was to occupy them with long, evolved activities. This mostly went for naught, and we came close to having to play a few rounds of the dreaded: "I don't know where do you wanna go/I don't know where do you wanna go" game. We still managed to eat well.

Oak Park Ale House
This is exactly the kinda place you want nearby but would rarely visit if not. OPAH's burgers did not make the Tribune's best burger list, but when cooked on the red side they are not bad at all*. So are the potato skins and the house-made chips. The kidz love the chicken fingers. Salads and waffle cut fries rate below grade.

Berghoff Cafe
Remember, historically, I have been a strong supporter of the Berghoff in the face of critical assault. That said, I continue to have mediocre food in the basement cafe, and I cannot tell if it is this operation or a decline in the overall catering. I had a bratwurst that tasted fatty with an excessive spongy texture, both the result, I surmise, from sitting too long in a water bath. On the other hand, the Condiment Queen loves the made to order fish dishes, Friday's special featuring a strong helping of fresh okra. Who would expect the healthier eater in the family to be happier at the Berghoff. Still, fressers will always enjoy the incomparable German fried poatoes.

Australian Home Made Ice Cream
My Brother-in-Law scoffed at getting a choice of four flavors--hey that other place had 31!--but this nearly soft ice cream is quite fine with its limited selection. I did not appreciate how long it took for a staffer to arrive.

Lawry's
It is always difficult to figger out what to eat around the ol' Mag Mile, and as we had burgers the night before, Boston Blackie's seemed redundant. Of course, red meat was still in, and I thought they'd appreciate the olde charm of Lawry's. I appreciate it. And I really appreciate how one of my daughters appreciated the "regular dinner (like Arthur!) of roast beef, mashed potatoes and buttered peas." The only downside to dinner at Lawry's is that the salad course has been drasticly abridged. It's "look", spin, spin, eat. I wanted the long explanation. Lawry's is a bit on the pricey side, although not that much given the quality. It is one of the best regular dinners around.

Johnnie's Italian Beef
Another version of roast beef (no?). Oddly, the bread was quite rubbery.

Paprikash
My sister-in-law is Hungarian and her mother ("Mama") does a lot of watching of her kidz. Which meant that not only was the food at Paprikash totally familiar to them, it was not as good as Mama's. But she devoured everything in front of her, so it could not have been that bad. And any meal that starts with garlic donuts (langosh) is pretty OK in my book. I also highly recommend the spicy Hungarian sausage. I did find the many-layered Dobosh torte a bit dry and the service under-staffed.

Maxwell Street Market
The bad news: Rico Coctels/Rico Huarche took the day off. I hope this is a 4th of July thing, not that they went the way of another favorite, El Colonial. That is. Gone. The world's greatest taco's (a/k/a Rubi's/Manolo's) were great as usual. I branched out to the pork with green sauce, something I had never tried. It left me, of course, wondering why I had not tried it earlier. And their steak and cheese quesadilla remains great. Just great, no other wordsmithing needed. On the other hand, the seafood seeking CQ was rather glum. I did manage to perk her up with a flor de calabaza quesadilla at a stand that remains under the radar--it's about 1/2 way between Rubi/Manolo's and 14th place. The specialize in fresh masa, made into all sortsa things: sopes, huraches, gordintas, tacos and quesadillas, and they fillings, as noted include zuchnini flowers. They also make a good pork in mole. Sweets for the day included my favorite, flour empanadas (in apple and sweet poato) buried in within the cowboy clothes and fresh made churros.

Mario's Italian Lemonade
No peach yet. I've converted my wife to tutti fruiti.

Klas
Paprikash worked so well, we decided to stick with a theme. And I learned that this chicken paprikash was not as good as Mama's either. I also learned that Klas serves some really tough beef under an ocean of gravy. Those gravies, a red "svichkova" and a white "koprova" did not help things much. A meal at Klas hardly rests with one failed entree. It is about the cold pilsners on draft, the soup and salad (on the salad bar go straight to the home made offerings: potato, cole slaw, red cabbage, ham salad); the dumplings and top of everything, dessert. It remains one of the coolest restaurants in the area.

Todai Seafood Buffet
As usual, the sushi, dumplings, giant curry fried squid and such was good enough, but the desserts stood out. Best were tiny powdery balls of Mexican wedding cookies.

*My original burger arrived horribly over-cooked.

Oak Pak Ale House
825 S Oak Park Ave
Oak Park, IL 60304
(708) 848-2801

Berghoff
17 West Adams
Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 427-3170


Austrian Home Made Ice Cream - In Marshall Field's
111 N. State
Chicago, IL

Lawry's the Prime Rib
(312) 787-5000
100 E Ontario St
Chicago, IL 60611

Johnnie's Beef
7500 W North Ave
Elmwood Park, IL 60707-4140
(708) 452-6000

Paprikash
5210 W. Diversey (at Laramie)
Chicago, IL 60639
(773)736-4949

Mario's Italian Lemonade
1068 West Taylor Street
Chicago IL

Klas
Klas Restaurant
5734 W. Cermak Rd.
Cicero, IL 60804-2130
708-652-0795

Todai Seafood Buffet
E-109 Woodfield Shopping Center
Schaumburg, IL 60173
(847) 619-1088

I was at the Maxwell Street Market the prior weekend and noticed that Rico Coctels/Rico Huarche was absent then as well. I hope to see them back soon.