Hey, Mom! I Got My Lunch From a Couple Guys in a Truck Today!

I wouldn't generally condone just accepting food from someone off the street.  Unless of course the food in question comes out of a giant truck with a cast iron skillet painted on the side.

That, my friends, is the Southern Mac.

They cruise around town, bringing happiness and carbs to the people of Chicago.  I, for one, love carbs, so these guys are awesome in my book.

I'm on board with the mac-in-a-truck idea for a few reasons (not least of all that it's not cafeteria food).  It's convenient.  It's fast.  It's pretty darn economical (six bucks for regular mac, but hey, it's big enough for two meals...and it's not cafeteria food).  And it's delish.

Ah, yes...the Classic.

The guys have a couple options to choose from on the truck, and I almost got a mushroom-truffle concoction.  I plan on getting fancy-dancy macaroni next time, but to truly measure a food truck's worth, I say go for the most bare-bones, simple item available.  Go for the classic mac 'n' cheese.

Classic macaroni and cheese to some is merely a plate of macaroni pasta drenched in fluorescent orange "cheese" sauce.  (No.  No, it's not.  And shame on you for believing that.)  The Southern Mac's classic is made with aged cheddar (thank you!) and topped with buttery bread crumbs.

It was rich.  Nothing wrong with that, really.  It's what you need on a cold day.  But I'd like to make one small, teeny-tiny, itty-bitty suggestion: May I please have a dill pickle with my macaroni?

I know it's weird!  Okay?  I get it!  But I needed something to cut through all the butter and cream and cheddary goodness!  It doesn't even need to be a dill pickle, really.  It can be a pickled tomato.  Or some other sort of pickled vegetation.  It's just that it's a Southern macaroni truck.  I think a pickled accoutrement would not be too much to ask.  But it's really just a humble suggestion.

A lack of acidic side dish will not keep me from the truck though.  I'm eagerly watching the Twitterverse for the next time they stop off in my 'hood.  The Foodie wants some pasta, please.

Hungrily Yours,

-AF

Installment 2: Sometimes the Best Foods in Life...

...come from Lettuce Entertain You.

Okay, okay...I know.  I have a problem.  I cannot go more than a month without a Lettuce Entertain You meal.  What's that you say?  A twelve-step program?!?  You can't make me!  I can quit anytime I want!!  But why on earth would I want to?

There's this great place I know of where you can get Lettuce Entertain You food...and spend less than $10.

You read that correctly.

And there's five different locations throughout the city of Chicago.

I'll let that sink in.

Two words, lovies.  Wow Bao.  Steamed Asian buns filled with savory meats (and sweet stuff if you want it...my friend said the coconut is delicious).  I usually get the BBQ pork (sweet and savory), the Mongolian beef (a wee bit spicier than I remembered it, but delish), or the chicken teriyaki (how could you possibly go wrong with that?).  I wish I had a photo for you, but it had been a while since breakfast...as soon as I sat down I did my best makeshift Cookie Monster impression.  Bao instead of cookies.  I know, it's a powerful visual...

They cost less than two dollars apiece, and I know I can never eat more than two.  So we're coming in at just under five dollars.  You with me so far?  Now throw in the homemade ginger ale, $2.49, and you've got lunch.  Excellent.

There's one in Water Tower Place, and there's one underneath the Renaissance Hotel at the corner of State and Lake.  Beyond that, you can check their site.

After eating only campus food for way, way, way too long, the highlight of my week thus far has been sitting at the counter at Wow Bao with a friend, enjoying a good meal that was entirely worth what I paid for it.

~AF

Installment 1: Sometimes the Best Foods in Life...

...are worth wending your way through a jam-packed restaurant at 2:30 on a Friday afternoon to enjoy.

Here's my feeble attempt at starting a series.  I say 'feeble' because, as we all know, the Foodie doesn't get out much lately.  But I did last Friday.

For this installment, we're talking real-deal comida mexicana (that's Mexican food, for all you angloparlantes out there).  Now, if the closest you've ever gotten to auténtico has been the drive-thru window at your local Taco Bell, we've gotta have a little chat.  Especially since there's so much more to Mexican food than Nachos Supreme (which, by the way, I'm sure isn't actually Mexican at all).

And this time we're not headed to Bayless Row on Clark Street.  For this installment, we're off to Pilsen.

Now I know what you're thinking: 'Pilsen?!? I've never been there before...is it safe? I'm not so sure about going to new neighborhoods...And how do I get there anyway?'  Calm down, queridos.  We'll work through this together.

Going to Pilsen during the daytime feels far from intimidating.  When I went there, no one was really around because it was pouring rain, but that's neither here nor there.  It helped that I was with someone who was familiar with the area.  If you're in doubt, bring a friend along.  You won't have to venture far from the 'L' station, anyway.  And as always, just be sensible!  Don't look like you're petrified and you have no clue where you're going.  If that's too difficult for you, hop back on the train and head home.

Our destination is about two blocks from the train.  Nuevo León is hard to miss, as long as you don't confuse it with the panadería of the same name just down the street.  When you get off the 18th Street stop on the Pink Line, head past Ashland about a block.  The storefront is colorfully painted, as you can see in the photo.  It'll be on your right.

It almost has a diner-like atmosphere inside during lunchtime.  It is so crowded and noisy, filled with all manner of people, Latino and not.  And the whole restaurant just smells like delicious food.

When you sit down, you get chips and salsa, along with some sort of small appetizer, free of charge.  To drink, they have Jarritos, a delicious soft drink from Mexico (I'd recommend the pineapple or fruit punch...tamarind is also popular, though I've never tried it).  But I'm on an horchata kick, so that's what I had to go for.  It was delicious, not quite as chunky as the stuff from Xoco but still super-refreshing and apparently made authentically, and it only cost a dollar.  One.  Dollar.

I got tacos, because I wasn't feeling too adventurous.  Simple, no-fuss tacos de asada.  They were made with corn tortillas (I'm guessing they were purchased from the tortillería next door) and filled with super-flavorful marinated skirt steak.  Accoutrements came on the side (iceberg lettuce, tomato, white onion).  My only complaint could be that they were a little greasy.  But it isn't a big complaint.  Not when they taste that good.

I brought back leftovers, and the food tasted just as good the second time around.  I'll admit, I did put some Frontera salsa on my tacos when I reheated them later.  But that was only to make sure they didn't dry out in the microwave (I hate microwaving really good food.  I'm always paranoid about ruining it).  Something amazing happens when you put amazing salsa on an amazing taco, and one can hardly fault me for it.

Total bill for the meal (which was more like 2 meals): $7, not including tax.

That's not bad, now is it?

I'd recommend going there at an odd time (like, not during the lunch rush).  Everybody already knows this place is awesome, and according to my Pilsen-familiar acquaintance, there's often a line out the door waiting for tables.  Grab a friend, hop on the train...maybe make a day of it and visit the National Museum of Mexican Art (which, by the way, is free).

I'm gonna find somebody to drag along to Nuevo León one of these days...I'm sort of in the mood for tacos...

~AF

AF Hits a New Neighborhood! Chinatown, Here We Come!

Readers, this is a bona fide Amateur Foodie Bargain Spot.  I had a ton of delicious food, I have leftovers in the fridge, and I spent less than ten dollars.

I'll give you a minute to pick yourself up off the floor and dust yourself off.  Shocking, I know.  It's cheap.  Like, really cheap.

The restaurant I went to is called Saint's Alp.  Apparently it started off as a chain in Asia, but all I'm concerned with is the fact that it's in Chicago.  Because that means I can go there without needing airfare.

Saint's Alp is on Archer Avenue, just a short walk from the Cermak Brown Line stop.

I was lucky enough to be eating with someone who had been there before, and she told us what to order.

I ended up with the Yakitori Chicken Stick Rice Set.  This may take some 'splaining:

For $8.95, you get 3 skewers of yakitori chicken. 

And you get a bowl of rice topped with a savory mincemeat mixture...looks yucky, tastes delicious. 

And you get three big cubes of tofu drizzled with soy (which you will never, ever, ever, ever be able to eat with chopsticks. Don't try, it'll end up in your lap). 

And you get some broccoli (your excuse to say you ate your vegetables).  And something called a tea egg, which I wasn't quite brave enough to try (apparently it was tasty). 

And you get a drink (I ordered a ruby red grapefruit nectar, cold.  It was like a grapefruit slushie, with little cubes of fruit gelatin floating in the bottom. Weird but delish).

Whew.  Are you feeling full yet?  Because I am.

I wish I would have tried the tea, since Saint's Alp is, in all reality, a tea house.  But I'll get the chance at some point.  Because with their decent prices, there's no real excuse not to go back.

~AF