People say the best way to pick an ethnic restaurant is to scan the crowd. If you want good Ethiopian food, look for Ethiopians. In Bucktown, a good way to pick a neighborhood restaurant is to check for beat cops–actually, two cops in particular.
A few nights ago, officers David Uting and Pedro Medina were wearing bulletproof vests and eating freshly shucked oysters at the five-month-old Nola’s 32nd Ward Seafood House (1856 W. North Ave.; 773-395-4300), a place that earlier in the month had been–to be perhaps a bit too personal–absolutely restorative for me after the trauma of watching Richard Gere sing and tap-dance in the movie “Chicago.”
It wasn’t just the speedy delivery of a stiff drink that earned my affection and brought me back for seconds, but the friendly casual atmosphere (including, surprisingly, a family of flannel-shirted Bayou types straight from central casting) and the catfish special, which convinced me that chef Jim Chapman was on the right track. (It turns out that he spent six months living with one of the owners’ parents in New Orleans, going to restaurants and studying the local cuisine.)
The catfish comes fried in a light cornmeal crust atop parmesan grits, with collards that are appropriately cooked to death and a sort of onion and jalapeno marmalade that gives it plenty of kick. The crab cake is sweet and barely crisp on the outside, with corn and tomato relish (or maque-choux) and a drizzle of remoulade, and the hushpuppies are light rather than leaden, with some scallions and kernels of corn. I also like the way they do their spicy shrimp, crab, and lobster boils, with the usual broth-cooked corn and new potatoes, but also a whole head of garlic that has been rendered soft, mild and wonderful, and lots of citrus peel.
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Anyway, back to Uting and Medina. They had just arrived from a yearly pistol-shooting qualifying test of some sort (apparently you have to maintain good aim or you get a desk job) and were taking their meal break.
“What are some good restaurants in the neighborhood?” my friend Gay asked the pair. Once she got them started, it was hard to get them to stop.
“People joke with me. They tell me, `You’re missing your calling,'” said Uting, who also repairs elevators and on his last vacation took an eating tour of Italy. “They say I should be a food critic. There’s no one who eats better than I do.”
They liked Nola’s just fine, especially the three-for-a-dollar oyster deal, but they were still on duty so the champagne special was out; they both had glasses of ice water. “It was a little touch and go when the place first opened,” said Uting, “but now they have things under control.”
Which is true for the most part: My bourbon-glazed shrimp was delicious, and all the fish I tasted had nice flavor, but I wanted the gumbos and the red beans and rice to be thicker, served on a big pile of hot rice instead of a wimpy little layer, and they could use more heat, both temperature and tastewise.
A second dozen oysters arrived for the pair, even though they were well into their entrees (rare marinated steak and lobster for Medina; the gulf red snapper, with golden beets and shitaki mushrooms for Uting). “We did it backwards because they were so busy,” said Medina.
Uting told me that at their regular “beat meeting” with merchants and other neighborhood denizens, people ask him and Medina for local restaurant recommendations. Here are a few: Mirai Sushi; Blue Fin (Medina, an army reservist, especially likes the garlic-seared tuna); Irazu, a Costa Rican place; and another sushi place Heat, which struck me as humorous considering they were both packing it. Gay bemoaned the dearth of decent vegetarian restaurants, so they recommended she try Jane’s, which offers vegetarian selections.
“But my sleeper favorite,” said Uting, “is Fat Willy’s Rib Shack.” Noted.
As Gay and I were debating whether or not to have the bread pudding with whiskey sauce, which I’d tried earlier and finished in three bites, the duo got a call. Medina jumped up while Uting paid the bill, and was out on the sidewalk in a flash. Uting said goodbye and was almost out the door, when he turned around and said, “I have one more recommendation, an Italian place,” but I didn’t hear what it was.
A la carte
– Last month, I also dropped in on Glory (1952 N. Damen Ave.; 773-235-7400), a new restaurant serving such foods of New England as chowders, jonnycakes, lobster rolls. I’m willing to give the place a second chance, once they’ve gotten their rhythm, but on the night I visited, major substitutions were made without notice (mussels for shrimp in one dish), a side salad never arrived, food was lukewarm, and a busboy cruised around the dining room with a broom and long-handled dustpan. Otherwise, all I’ll say for now is that I didn’t see a single New Englander in the crowd.
– Youngsters may dine on peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, ham-and-cheese fingers, mini-hamburgers, jelly Jell-O and hot chocolate at a children’s tea at the Peninsula Chicago (108 E. Superior St.) at 3 p.m. Jan. 20 (and again on Feb. 17) as part of the hotel’s afternoon tea series. Appropriately small fashions from Ralph Lauren will be modeled. $16 per child; $22 per accompanying adult, or $29 with a glass of champagne. 312-573-6760.
– Bin 36 Lincolnshire (275 Parkway Drive, Lincolnshire; 847-808-9463) is offering more family diversions with their first Family Film Festival, at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 19. Children ages 6 and up can dine and watch the movie “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” in the Cellar’s private dining room, while parents have their meal in the restaurant’s relative calm. $10 per child, exclusive of parents’ bill.
– John Blandino, who opened Chicago’s original Palm in 1980, is officially the new owner of Sorriso (321 N. Clark St.; 312-644-0283), which he has renamed Blandino’s Sorriso Ristorante. Such traditional dishes as Chicken Scarpetta will remain on the menu, in addition to Blandino’s own pasta recipes.