Everybody’s food vocabulary–however humble, however haute–contains a few guilty pleasures, those foods that play a culinary siren song to normally respectable appetites. Kind of like true love, without the heartbreak.
The selections we’re offering here come from some of our favorite Chicago-area haunts and their delicious temptations. These goodies share a few attributes: They’re inexpensive, they’re not mass-produced and their nutritional breakdown is not a major selling point (even when they are good for you).
And, of course, each of them tastes wonderful, especially to the person who has fallen under its spell.
SUBMARINE SURRENDER
The best testimonial I can give to the Italian submarine at Sarafina’s on Taylor Street is that it compels me to bypass the spinach lasagna.
I don’t consider myself a submarine groupie, but I become one as soon as I’m handed this sandwich ($3.15; $2.85 small). The large version is almost a foot long and delivers a delicious balance of layered flavors: Cappicola, ham, salami, provolone cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, mustard and the all-important (and secret) seasoned dressing share space between two slices of freshly baked Italian bread.
OK. I admit it. I get the lasagna, too, for later.
1062 W. Taylor St., Chicago; 773-243-7779
– Renee Enna
THE ROYAL TREATMENT
This is a confession. Sometimes I just have to eat gyros, and not just any gyros: I need the King that’s served at Gyros King.
It’s $4.49, but you get a massive amount of meat that the griddled pita bread can barely hold, a good portion of feta cheese, plenty of raw onions and a drizzle of cucumber sauce. You can get it wrapped to go, but keep the bag on the floor of the car because it’ll start leaking soon.
The King is not good for your figure and it’s murder on your love life unless you can get your partner to eat one too. But sometimes you just gotta.
1021 Ogden Ave., Downers Grove; 630-963-3730
– Phil Vettel
CHICKEN FOR THE VIRTUOUS
OK, so what I really want when I go to Zingelman’s in Hinsdale is an order of chili-cheese fries. With a chili dog (extra onions) on the side.
That being said, what I actually order, the grilled chicken sandwich ($5.95), doesn’t feel like a compromise because it’s so good. Two generous squares of grilled challah (crispy outside, Wonder Bread soft on the inside) hold lettuce, tomato and a grilled boneless, skinless breast liberally topped with a sweet-tangy barbecue sauce.
Bonus: The sauce oozes all over your fingers when you take a bite so it’s just as messy as those chili-cheese fries.
13 W. 1st St., Hinsdale; 630-323-5870
– Denise Joyce
DIPS SO DIVINE
Andersonville on the city’s North Side (Clark Street between Foster and Bryn Mawr Avenues) was once a Swedish stronghold and still is the neighborhood to visit if you are looking for a loaf of fresh limpa rye and sumptuously simple butter cookies.
But the star cuisine of this vibrant city strip has Mediterranean roots. Kan Zaman is the main attraction with its smooth, creamy hummus (soaked chickpeas with a liberal splash of olive oil and just enough garlic) and robust, must-try baba ghanouj (a puree of eggplant, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic; the eggplant is smoked just right and all seeds are removed). The dips ($2.95 each) complement each other, not to mention fresh, hot pita bread.
5204 N. Clark St., Chicago; 773-506-0191
– Bob Condor
OTHER-WORLDLY ICE CREAM
I was raised believing that ice cream is the dessert of the gods. After trying a scoop from Oberweis Dairy, you’ll have to agree.
The butter pecan is one of my favorites. The pecans are lightly toasted and plentiful ($1.55 for a single scoop). The ice cream is so smooth, and you can taste the fresh cream. The butterfat content ranges from 15 percent to 26 percent. (Grocery-store brands are 10 percent to 12 percent.)
Popular flavors include chocolate cookie dough, chocolate marshmallow and chocolate peanut butter. At Christmas they sell rum raisin, brandy and eggnog; in the summer they offer fresh fruit flavors, which change with the changing harvests. If you prefer a sundae, try the turtle candy sundae ($2.85) made with pecans, caramel and chocolate over vanilla ice cream … What a heavenly treat!
Oberweis Dairy has many locations and its ice cream is worth the drive to any one of them.
651 Roosevelt Rd., Glen Ellyn; 630-858-0234
– Alicia E. Tessling
ICING IT
On warm days, nothing spells relief better than a big dose of Italian ice, that frozen mixture of water, sugar and fruit.
But not just any ice. Many spots have their fervent fans, but for me, nothing beats the lemon ice at Johnnie’s Beef in Elmwood Park. Johnnie’s doesn’t fool around with flavors: Lemon’s what they make, lemon’s what you get.
It’s all you’ll want. Made fresh daily year-round, it’s filled with chunks of ripe lemon and a seed here and there for legitimacy. It also strikes a perfect balance between creamy and icy, sweet and tart.
One flavor, yes, but two sizes: 8-ounce cup, 85 cents; 18-ounce, $1.39.
7500 W. North Ave., Elmwood Park; 708-452-6000
– Renee Enna
WHAT’S YOUR BEEF?
I’m no expert on the genre, but the Mr. Beef version ($3.70 with chopped celery and homemade hot peppers) is a great Italian beef sandwich: The chewy, thinly sliced meat (a cheap cut trimmed of all fat after baking) fills an 8-inch section of French loaf whose semi-sogginess is an important part of the appeal. Soaked in the cooking juices, part of the bun disintegrates after the sandwich is assembled, creating a saucelike element.
“All your flavor is in the gravy,” manager Todd Kruczek said, because the restaurant doesn’t skim the fat from it. Jay Leno has said this is his favorite Chicago nosh, and it’s easy to see why. The cooking spices–black pepper, salt, garlic and oregano–add zip even without the optional peppers.
Yes, it’s messy. Frequent eaters develop a knack of unwrapping the protective wax paper bit by bit, Kruczek said, keeping the gravy off ties and blouses.
666 N. Orleans St., Chicago; 312-337-8500
– Andy Badeker
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MIDNIGHT RUN
It’s midnight and you have a taste for a hot dog–but not just any hot dog. Only a mouthwatering Wiener Circle char-dog will do.
This is by far my favorite dog in town. It’s charbroiled on the grill, and the dog is split first to get more complete browning.
Order this most popular of hot dogs with everything on it. And I mean everything: In addition to mustard, tomato and lettuce you get whole peppers, grilled onions and pickle spears ($2.25).
The Wiener Circle’s diverse clientele gives you more to see than the char-dog. Visit during the wee hours and you’ll see everything from punks to stretch limos.
2622 N. Clark St., Chicago; 773-477-7444
– Alicia E. Tessling
PURE PIEROGI PLEASURE
It’s hard to decide which flavor to order when the munch-ies strike and the only thing that will satisfy them is a hot, buttery pierogi from Caesar’s Polish Deli in the heart of Ukrainian Village.
Potato? Cheese? Sauerkraut? More often than not, I get the sauerkraut, with its pleasing tang that so nicely contrasts with the dumpling’s doughy wrapping. It’s the epitome of comfort food. But then, the potato filling has its merits too …
Sometimes the only solution to the quandary is to order a mix of all the flavors, including the sweet versions, plum, cherry and blueberry. Prices range from $3.19 to $3.99 a pound. Take them home, heat up a skillet and fry them until crispy in unsalted butter. Yum.
As long as you’re at Caesar’s, buy extra, stick them in the freezer so when the munchies arrive at odd times, you can reach in, pull one out (OK, probably more than one), heat it up and you’re set.
Pierogi require restraint, though. Eat more than half a dozen and comfort food quickly becomes uncomfortable burden. But hey, that’s a chance I’ll gladly take.
901 N. Damen Ave; 773-486-6190
– Carol Mighton Haddix
MAKE MINE MISHMOSH
The bagels, chewy and not too humongous, are the real star at New York Bagel & Bialy, but I usually pick up the mishmosh flat bread ($5.25 a pound) for a snack.
It comes in crunchy, inch-wide strips studded with salt; browned onion bits; and caraway, poppy and sesame seeds. Perfect for scooping up hummus, the strips also are delicious on their own.
The flat bread also is available in plain, garlic with sesame, onion with poppy, Italian (Parmesan with salt), rye with salt and, if you must, plain.
3556 1/2 Dempster St., Skokie; 847-673-9388
– Andy Badeker
SURE CURE FOR CURRY CRAVING
Some people find comfort in sugary doughnuts, others in the warm, buttery blandness of mashed potatoes. When I’m seeking solace and sustenance, nothing beats two soothing curry concoctions from Opart Thai House.
Unrivaled at the casual storefront eatery is gaeng musaman ($6.95), a lightly sweet, rich curry dish that combines chicken, potatoes, peanuts, coconut milk and peanut sauce.
Also wonderful is gaeng gari ($6.95), a similar but less sugary dish that eliminates the peanuts and substitutes sweet potatoes for the standard spuds.
Though both are available mild to very hot, lightly spiced seems to work best–there’s something oddly satisfying in the combination of crunchy peanuts, soft potatoes and smooth sauce with just a hint of fire.
4658 N. Western Ave., Chicago; 773-989-8517
– Marcia Borucki
PENNY FOR MY THOUGHTS
Can’t beat a mountain of pad thai from Penny’s Noodle Shop for quieting a grumbling appetite.
The sauced rice noodles, topped with egg, tofu, bean sprouts, green onions and peanuts capped with cilantro and a handful of shredded red cabbage ($5), are visually satisfying and texturally a winner.
Oh yeah, they taste good too–not overly seasoned, not oily. Makes you feel all virtuous inside–even if you order spring rolls as a chaser.
950 W. Diversey Ave., Chicago; 773-281-8448 (also 3400 N. Sheffield Ave.)
– Judy Hevrdejs
DOGGONE GOOD
Possessed by the lure of a nutritionally incorrect food I love, I am drawn to a red door just off lower Michigan Avenue. Once certain no one is looking, I pull it open, descend into Billy Goat Tavern and join the line of tourists waiting to order.
I am well aware that being spotted by a Tribune colleague would mean instant loss of my status as a connoisseur, but I don’t care. I’m steeling myself for the moment when the Greek grillmeister will glare at me, chirp “cheezborger?” and I’ll reply, “No, hot dog.”
Customers stare in disbelief, but still I don’t care. The Billy Goat hot dog, of medium size and free of the artificial coloring that turns some dogs red, is cooked on the same grill as the burgers, which probably explains that sheen of fragrant grease that sets a Goat dog apart. Don’t accept a precooked dog. It should cook on the grill 6 to 8 minutes, with the cook rolling it occasionally and pressing down with a flat spatula to ensure even browning.
The chef slaps the dog into a roll, the roll onto a paper napkin and, for a mere $1.48 including tax, it’s mine.
Now comes the fun part. Three small steps bring me to a table with squeeze bottles containing yellow mustard that has never been near Dijon; a bowl of that iridescent, mildly sweet green pickle relish found in no other nation on Earth, and a bowl of chopped onions.
First I deftly drizzle the mustard over the dog from end to end, then scatter onion over the mustard and finish with a foothill-high topping of relish.
Then I climb onto a stool at the bar with a mug of chilly Schlitz, and eat.
Every bit as exciting as the taste is the challenge of consuming the hot dog without allowing stray bits of relish or mustard to leap onto my shirt or pants.
430 N. Michigan Ave., lower level, Chicago; 312-222-1525
– William Rice
PERKY PICK-ME-UP
Inevitably, visions of periquitos and tamales start after about 15 minutes of traffic-jamming on the Kennedy Expressway.
Sustenance is needed with a minimum of hassle, no fast-food drive-through allowed.
Salvation is just off the Belmont exit on Elston Avenue at La Finca, a family-run eatery with a requisite black velvet painting and chili-zapped menu.
La Finca rolls corn tortillas tightly around a bit of seasoned, shredded chicken before deep-frying and serving the periquitos (sometimes known as flautas) with a scoop of guacamole (three rolls, $3.50).
The hot, not-too-greasy crunch-o-rama from Mexico is best when cool guacamole is slathered on each bite.
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Another munchie? The tamales (corn-husk-wrapped, chili-spiced beef filling and tender cornmeal) served with a bit of sour cream (three for $3.45).
3361 N. Elston Ave., Chicago; 773-478-4006.
– Judy Hevrdejs
THE SCOOP ON INDULGENCE
Several times each summer, in a sequence worthy of “The Twilight Zone,” I find myself driving along Green Bay Road toward Wilmette. Like the proverbial horse finding its barn, my car seems to know where it is going, so I keep a light hand on the wheel until I find myself in the parking lot outside a low building with the name “Homer’s” on the wall.
I’m in a trance because I’ve announced too often that I do not care for desserts and rarely eat them. Actually, that’s true, if ice cream could be exempted from the dessert category and put in something else, say mood-enhancing snacks.
The reason I’m drawn to Homer’s (as have been countless others since its opening in 1935), is that this premium ice cream ($1.44 to $1.61 per scoop) is not obscenely rich. Homer’s butterfat level is 14 percent. (The butterfat in heavyweight speciality ice creams may reach 18 percent.)
But Homer’s ice creams are elegantly flavorful, with a pure, creamy taste. They are, quite simply, what ice cream ought to be. (I don’t know all the flavors, though. I order only coffee, mocha and, in season, fresh peach, though I may combine any one of these with a scoop of vanilla.)
Don’t take my word for it, though. In addition to two stores in Wilmette and Glenview, you can find Homer’s ice cream in nearly 100 restaurants and retail groceries in the Chicago area.
1237 Green Bay Road, Wilmette; 847-251-0477
– William Rice