We recently had a ball eating a late-night dinner at the somewhat dingy but fun and cheap Triple Crown Restaurant (211 W. 22nd Pl.; 312-791-0788), where after 10 p.m. they break out a special menu with slightly smaller entrees for half price. But Triple Crown isn’t the only place that turns into a tapas party when the late news hits the airwaves. Happy Chef Dim Sum House (2164 S. Archer Ave.; 312-808-3689) has what they call the “midnight menu” served from 10 p.m. to midnight with dishes like pork and egg congee going for $4.50. At Golden Bull Restaurant (242 W. Cermak Rd.; 312-808-1668), the late cheap menu kicks in at 9 p.m. and features dishes such as steamed filet of pike for $5.95. And Dragon Court (2414 S. Wentworth Ave.; 312-791-1882) starts serving their late-night menu around 10 p.m. starring snacks like spicy Hong Kong style clams for $5.95. The Dragon menu is all in Chinese though, so you can either bring along a friend who reads Chinese, leave the ordering to your server or dine Thursday through Saturday when, we are told, someone speaking English will be available to help.
Plantain chill
As someone of Puerto Rican heritage, I guess I have to blame genetics for my recent unwise sandwich choice at Cosi (55 E. Grand Ave.; 312-321-1990, among several other locations). Pork and plantains are practically the island’s two basic food groups, so I couldn’t resist Cosi’s sandwich called island barbecue. But whoever heard of serving cold–and I mean really cold–barbecued pork and frigid plantains on bread. Yuck. This has to be the grossest sandwich I have eaten in ages–and those who read this column know my threshold for gross is pretty high. My server assured me that this was the way the sandwich was supposed to be prepared but added that next time I could ask them to put it in the oven. I certainly will.
Have a cow
In the wake of the mad cow madness, we recently listed places in the Chicago area that are using beef that comes from herds that have not been fed animal byproducts (and thus are theoretically not vulnerable to the disease). We have been reminded that this “clean” beef includes all Kobe, including American raised. So for those who are becoming more careful about their cow consumption, you can add Viand (155 E. Ontario St.; 312-255-8505) and its slightly dryish Kobe meatloaf ($7) with vegetable mash and gravy and its big and delish certified black angus hamburger with fries ($10).
There’s always room
For us, the word jello does not always conjure up images of a “hot snack.” But that is how the pig’s blood jello was described to us by our server at Seven Wives Restaurant (2230 W. Wentworth Ave.; 312-842-7888) recently. And, of course, we couldn’t resist. We expected something like black pudding but instead got wiggly, slightly chalky cubes of earthy pork blood cooked with plenty of green onions and ginger ($3.50). Not bad at all over a bowl of white rice.