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

C-c-c-culture, C-c-c-usisine and C-c-c-cold! Last Weekend's Adventures in Food and Art

Brrr, lovies!  It's awfully chilly out there!

I'm posting about what I did on Sunday the 20th.  Why wait so long?  Well, my fingers have only just thawed out...

I met up with my auntie and the sis downtown to check out the Art Institute's new Gods and Glamor exhibit, but first we needed some snackies...lunch actually.  We were pretty much starving.

We ran across the same problem we always have when we meet up along Michigan Ave.  My sister's a bit of a picky eater (not that there's anything wrong with that, love ya, L!) so we didn't really have the option to try out places like the Gage or Purple Pig (which I am a little bit obsessed with...gotta go there and try it...).  We eventually settled on trying out the Park Grill at Millennium Park.

Since it was a Sunday morning, the Park Grill was serving up brunch.  I settled into our booth table and ordered a cup of coffee, a beverage I would recommend if you're not part of the Bloody Mary- and Mimosa-drinking set.  After grasping the mug for about ten minutes, I'd finally regained some of the feeling in my hands.

We all went savory-brunchy with our entrees.  My aunt got Short Rib Benedict, which I unfortunately did not taste.  My sister got chicken and waffles, which I did try, and I got (get ready for it...) chilaquiles!

Elegant Chicken and Waffles at the Park Grill

Let's start with the chicken and waffles.  I am in love with the concept.  Crispy, crunchy, fluffy, salty, sweet...just about the perfect meal, no?  This was the first time I'd ever had C & W, and I'm sorry to say I found this plate a wee bit wanting.

Individually, the items were tasty.  The chicken was juicy and delicious, enveloped in a golden breadcrumb crust.  The waffle was fluffy and just slightly sweet, but it lacked the crisp coating I was hoping for.  They'd drizzled the whole shebang simply with honey.  To create a harmonious and really out-of-this-world dish, I would prefer chicken that is seasoned far more aggressively, maybe even with a kick, and I'd like my waffles to be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, with a little more sweetness to counterbalance the chicken.

Overall, I liked the concept, I just wanted more from the execution.

Warm, Comforting Chilaquiles at the Park Grill

My chilaquiles were quite the different story.  While not traditional, they packed a whole lot of flavorful punch into one messy-looking bowl.  I've had chilaquiles verdes from Nuevo Leon and enjoyed them immensely.  The chilaquiles from Park Grill aren't trying to replicate the authenticity of Nuevo Leon...and they shouldn't.

PG's chilaquiles featured a red sauce that gave off notes of complex, smoky chiles.  The salsa-braised nacho chips, an integral part of any good plate of chilaquiles, were not uniformly soggy, but I'll be honest, I didn't really mind.  The dish also featured chunks of fall-apart tender carnitas-style pork, along with two over-easy eggs with perfectly runny yolks, guacamole, sour cream, and little cubes of a salty white cheese.

The subtle heat from the sauce built over time, but the runny yolk, guac, and sour cream balanced the meal nicely.

I only regret that I couldn't take my leftovers with me; at the AIC, there's no food allowed...

As for the exhibit, it was fascinating.  I always enjoy Roman, Greek and Byzantine art.  But the showstopper for me was an exhibit on modern fashion from Japanese designers.  Be sure to check it out if you get a chance.

~AF

A New Philosophy on Food, for the New Year

Hello, my darlings.  The Foodie's been on break for far too long now.  I've been contemplating switching to a new blog...still including lots of food, of course!  (I could never deprive you of that...how cruel would that be?)

Now, for your reading enjoyment, a slightly more philosophical piece.  Bon lecture.

I am a disciple of this thing called "good food."

What a subjective thing, right?  Everyone has different tastes...for some people, TGIFriday's is about as gourmet as it gets, and for others nothing short of Alinea is worth consuming.  I like to think I fall into the group in between.

I still eat stuff from places like Friday's, and I've been known to patronize the Olive Garden.  But I also adore trying food created by "celebrity chefs" like Rick Bayless.  I'm dying to go to Grahamwich, and if Girl and the Goat is someday within my price range, I'm going there too.

I follow mainly chefs and restaurants on Twitter, and I get giddy when handles like Lettuce Entertain You and Antico Posto follow me back.

I recently watched an ah-mazing documentary on Netflix called "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" (at the recommendation of Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli...she tweeted about it).  It tells the story of a legendary Japanese sushi chef, but it also delves into what makes good food, well, good.

Jiro talks of people training their tastes to appreciate delicious food.  He and his sons also tout the importance of quality ingredients and tasting food as you go along to make sure it is up to snuff.

The film made me rethink food and why I like it.  There are certainly dishes that I eat that I'm not wild about.  I can't really afford to be too picky as a college student (it's not like I can eat at Antico every day...I wish...)  I don't think I could ever be like food critic Anton Ego from Disney's "Ratatouille" ("I don't 'like' food. I love it. If I don't love it, I don't swallow").  But I'm considering being a bit more selective about what I eat, and I want to be more aware of my eating.  If I don't love the food I'm eating, I'm going to eat less of it.  Because I want to train myself to appreciate delicious food.

Who ever thought I'd be taking advice on my food philosophy from an elderly sushi chef and an animated food critic?

I guess, like good food, good advice can come from anywhere.  It's just about how you utilize it.

-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

Snacking With the Foodie: Finals Edition

It's finals season, kiddies!  And that means the Foodie has to sequester herself, studying like a maniac.  As such, she needs some handy-dandy snack food that makes staying in worth it. 

If there's one food I cannot live without right now, it's probably wasabi almonds.  Or popcorn.  Or wasabi almonds and popcorn, just not together.

It was just what happened to be in the room.  I still have Rick Bayless's limited-edition Key Lime-Avocado salsa in the minifridge, but I have no chips (Oh, the humanity!).  We bought the almonds by accident.  Who knew wasabi seasoning could look like cinnamon-sugar seasoning when no one's wearing their glasses and you're in a hurry?

I'm trying (trying!) to eat healthy here in the dorm.  It's tough because of the tastiness level of cafeteria cheese sticks and waffle fries.  In my humble opinion, these spicy almonds could be considered a healthy snack.  Firstly, they're almonds.  And the spicy coating?  Well, here's my logic: it makes me want to chug water like it's going out of style.  Better hydration is a good thing.  Thanks, blazing-hot snackies!

Sometimes I just substitute popcorn for dinner.  If I'm really not that hungry or I'm too lazy to go to the cafeteria, I can pop in a bag of lightly-salted popcorn and not have to worry too much about the meal (don't skewer me for this, guys! But really, who hasn't been there? Too hungry not to eat, not hungry enough for a real meal...).

Popcorn is technically a whole grain anyway, so...

Happy Snackin'

~AF

Palatable Cafeteria Food? Say It Ain't So!

Well, lovies, the Foodie is having trouble getting to sleep.  Might have something to do with the caffeinated Coca-Cola she had not all that long ago.  But instead of just sitting here listening to Queen on Fire: Live at the Bowl and looking at lame articles, I'm going to sit here listening to Queen on Fire: Live at the Bowl and write you a little post.

(A side note, if you've never listened to any of the Live at the Bowl performances, you are missing out.  Freddie Mercury sounds amazing live.  Plus, Queen is just awesome.  I digress)

I tried something new in the cafeteria!  And I didn't hate it either.  Go figure.

It was barbecued salmon (by barbecued they mean baked far beyond doneness and slathered with barbecue sauce), steamed rice (really more like a pilaf) and roasted veggies.  The salmon was a wee bit on the dry side, and the barbecue sauce was piquant, but it had flavor, by golly!  The pilaf was tasty, not soggy like cafeteria rice can sometimes be, and the veggies were quite nice if they were cooked right, although they ranged in doneness from too al dente to 'is this zucchini or charcoal?'

Over winter break, I will be making my own variation.  I'm thinking a nice baked salmon with herbed butter sauce, a nice creamy risotto (perhaps mushroom, though I haven't decided yet), and some roasted root vegetables.  My faves are carrot, zucchini, and sweet potato tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika along with baby red pearl onions and roasted until soft and oh-so-good.

I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

~AF

A Foodie Aghast: Tales from the Cafeteria

The Foodie's on a weekend-long research binge (hip-hip-hooray!), and as such must stock up on sustenance early in the day in order to lock herself in her room and work.  Maybe I should have just hit the salad bar...

Today, I decided I would get one of the enormous egg scrambles from the cafeteria...I can never finish it in one sitting anyway, and it's cafeteria food, so it can't taste much worse re-microwaved than "fresh."  It's pretty basic, scrambled eggs (thoroughly cooked. Thoroughly.), hash browns, cheese.  I added sausage to it today because, well, why not?  I was starving.

My appetite was diminished slightly as I stood waiting to collect my food and go.  I had a clear view of the kitchen with it's flat-top griddle.  A mound of hash browns was sizzling merrily away, along with a little pile of chopped sausage patty.  All that was left was the eggs.  The line cook took out a tub and ladled (ladled!) one scoop, two scoops of oil onto the griddle!  He ladled oil!  I could feel my circulatory system crying out, 'Don't do it!!'  And then came the eggs.  A generous scoop and a half.  Nearly the same volume quantity as the oil.  Gulp.

I'm not quite sure what I was really expecting.  It's the cafeteria.  It's hash browns and eggs, not exactly health food as it is.  But golly, readers...

I don't think I can ever bring myself to order it again, although it is full of flavor (likely due to copious amounts of salt and cheeses).  I just did away with (read: ate) the leftovers a moment ago.  And now I'm going to go drink 2 gallons of water and eat some fruit.

Just to make myself feel better.

~AF