Welcome to City Provisions!

City Provisions Deli opened on Friday, just in time for Labor Day Weekend. Which is good news for folks in the Lincoln Square/Ravenswood neighborhoods who now have a convenient place to get specialty food items from local producers like pastas from Pasta Puttana or jams from Rare Bird Preserves. If you’ve been to Chicago’s Downtown Farmstand, then the list of available items will look very familiar. What sets the deli apart from the Farmstand are Chef Cleetus Friedman’s corned beef, pastrami, house-made salsa, salads and sandwiches. There’s also an excellent selection of local craft beers and wines on the shelves, and if you need them chilled they have all their selections in a cooler.

Chef/Owner Cleetus Friedman stands next to his deli counter.

The deli will be a great stop if you’re on the way to a party, getting something unusual and tasty for lunch, or picking up all the fixings for a romantic dinner (including flowers). Make a plan to drop by Tuesday-Friday 6am-9pm, Saturday 8am-9pm, Sunday 9am-7pm.

Cleetus Heatus Salsa

City Provisions Deli
1820 West Wilson Avenue
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 293-2489

Triple F

After the 3 Floyds Brewery tour, the first thing anyone wants to do is sit down and try the beer, right? The brewpub next door is the best place to do it. Not only do they have familiar beers like Robert the Bruce and Alpha King, but they also feature guest beers from other craft brewers and limited run beers from their own brewery.

Elote cut off the cob.

If you decide you need a little food with your beer, then you’re definitely in the right place. 3 Floyds has both small and large plate dish options depending on how hungry you are. On this visit, we tried the elote — spicy lime chili corn on the cob topped with cotija cheese, mayonnaise and butter. It was tasty, but we had to snap it in half with a steak knife in order to share.

Hamburger and fries ala 3 Floyds.

The hamburger was highly recommended because the beef comes from cattle that has been fed on the used mash from the brewery. It’s like a double-dose of beer. While the beer flavor wasn’t obvious, it’s a great story and we like the circle-of-life aspect. The fries at 3 Floyds were hand-cut and seriously good. We also tried the grilled cheese which was little heavy on the mustard and smoked apples, but a nice tangy counterpoint to the beer.

Belly up to the bar!

It’s definitely worth it to head out to Indiana, take the tour and stop off for a great meal afterwards. For $20, you’ll walk away full of good food, beer and a little knowledge about how to make both great.

3 Floyds
9750 Indiana Parkway
Munster, IN 46321-4004
(219) 922-4425

Kegs of delicious beer ready for shipment.

Don’t touch anything and ask lots of questions. Those were the two rules we had to follow on our tour of the 3 Floyds Brewery in Munster, Indiana. In case we forgot, general manager Dan Tompkins repeated it every time a straggler joined the tour. The brewery is a working factory and while Dan wanted us to learn, he also didn’t want us to get hurt and sue.

Dan covers the ingredients — grain, water, yeast and hops, where 3 Floyds gets each and how they’re handled at the brewery and what happens after they’re done. Notably, the used grains are sold to the beef producers that supply their brewpub with hamburger.

Fementors allow the yeast to grow and feast on the sugars in the grain.

The entire brew process was discussed in great detail, along with packaging, shipping and distribution of their products. What’s most interesting about the brewery is the piecemeal way they’ve acquired equipment and how it’s limited and shaped the growth of 3 Floyds. Almost everything — from the fermentation tanks to the bottling assembly — has been purchased second hand from other breweries. It’s shockingly expensive to run a world-class brewery.

The other interesting part of the tour was the culture of 3 Floyds and how it’s reflected in everything from the offices (shipping containers decorated with a Death to False Prophets mural) to the labels on the bottles. These folks are about living their lifestyle, not about becoming the next Anheuser-Busch. As long as they continue making great beer and distributing it within reach of their fans, I say more power to them.

Oak barrels are used for experimental beers.

Tours are typically held at 2pm on Saturdays. Call in advance to confirm that a tour will be held. Tours are $1 per person and each tour lasts about 1 hour and 15 minutes, and you should be prepared to stand on the hard concrete and to deal with the heat. A visit to the next door brewpub after the tour would be an excellent way to recover.

3 Floyds
9750 Indiana Parkway
Munster, IN 46321-4004
(219) 922-3565

A diner is a diner, right?

Can a greasy spoon have class?  Elly’s Pancake House on Clark and North Avenue comes close. That’s because the dining space has been remodeled to be light, airy, and comfortable.  Low hanging smoke-stained tiles have been knocked out to expose high ceilings covered in silver duct work, the old carpeting is gone and replaced by a hard, clean, floor and new furniture complements this fresh look. Elly’s is a step up in comparison to its predecessors.

Inside Elly's.

The building has been a 24-hour diner for more than a decade, and during that time has changed hands three times. First it was Mitchell’s (a place I will always hold near and dear), then Micheal’s (which I loathed because no matter what I ordered there the food always ended up making me sick), and now Elly’s.

The food at Elly’s is average at best — typical diner food — and honestly you can find higher quality pancakes at the Original Pancake House.  I’ve been there for both breakfast and lunch, have sampled a variety of things on the menu from omelets to salads, and the food is sustaining but quite literally nothing to write home about. Still, Elly’s is a nice 24-hour dining option with free wi-fi (the restaurant phone number is the current pass code) that lends itself to settling in for awhile.  The service is good and friendly, and my coffee cup was never neglected. That’s a big score in my book.

Chicken salad lunch.

Elly’s Pancake House
101 West North Avenue
Chicago, IL 60610-1302
(312) 643-2300
Get directions

*Note: Elly’s also has two suburban locations. See their Web site for details.

Ravioli topped with a melody of summer veggies.

Even though I eat mostly vegetarian, it’s good to be reminded from time to time how excellent vegetarian cuisine can be. Fortunately, Green Zebra is on the scene to provide that reminder. For $55, they provide a Chef’s Tasting Menu that won’t leave anyone wondering at the end where the meat was. There are a few fish items on the menu for those craving protein, but mostly the menu is a delight of vegetarian and vegan options. It’s still the best vegetarian fine dining option in Chicago.

Chocolate Ice Cream Bar topped with nuts and caramel.

Find our previous review of Green Zebra here.

Green Zebra
1460 W Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(312) 243-7100

Feast Chicken Club.

I’d been to Feast on Delaware for dinner three times out of convenience — it’s close to Michigan Avenue shopping and often easy to find a seat because it’s off the main drag. I enjoyed the wine flights and thought the service was a tad slow, but those were really my only lasting impressions. So when I found myself there for lunch on Saturday, my expectations were low.  But It turns out that lunchtime is the right time to go to Feast.

My chicken club sanadwich served with bacon, guac, and sweet potato fries was excellent, and the other salads and sandwiches the kitchen was turning out looked just as good.  The outdoor seating space is a pleasant and shady place to spend the afternoon with just the right amount of street and foot traffic to make for good people watching without being overwhelming. The frozen vodka “Feast” lemonade is also worth a sip or two.

I recommend paying an afternoon visit to Feast before the leaves fall.

Feast Restaurant + Bar
25 E Delaware Place
Chicago, IL 60622
(312) 337-4001
Get directions

The corn flake fried chicken at Hearty's.

I love it when food ends up tasting even better than I think it will be, and recently I stumbled upon some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever tried. It’s at Hearty’s. Made with a cornflake crust that’s light and crunchy, it’s a refreshing take on the traditional recipe.

I’ve made a haphazard study of sampling fried chicken when I see it on a menu and have enjoyed it at both The Southern and Chalkboard. It’s interesting to compare and contrast each restaurant’s idea of a chicken dinner.  The Southern puts together the best meal as a whole, striking a chord with all the fixings prepared just right, and Chalkboard’s fried chicken and champagne pairing is a thing of beauty. But when it comes down to the chicken itself, Hardy’s is the winner hands down. That’s because the chicken is moist and flavorful and the breading complements it rather than drying out or dominating the dish.

Shrimp and grits.

Unfortunately, the side of turkey collared greens falls hopelessly short of the chicken it’s served with. There’s just no way that turkey can be what it needs to be to flavor a collared green. But the Dijon potato salad side also served was good.

My friend Jane and I liked the fried green tomato caprese starter we had, served with mozzarella and balsamic dressing.  It too was a nice and successful twist on tradition, and I’ve found myself craving it since.  The shrimp and grits, crab cake special, and mac and cheese were solid dishes as well, but nothing spectacular like the fried chicken.  Still, it was all good enough to make me want to go back and try more.

If anything was a disappointment, it was the root beer float cupcake we had for dessert.  The root beer flavored cake, filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with whipped cream and a cheery, was dry and over done. Creative? Yes. But it did nothing to impress this cupcake connoisseur.

Fried green tomatoes.

It’s worth mentioning that the dining space at Hearty’s is teeny tiny, so you’ll likely strike up a conversation with neighboring tables. And there is no wheelchair accessible restroom, so I had to excuse myself from the table and journey to the Starbucks on the corner between courses.  But upon my return, the food waiting for me was so tasty and fun to eat that the extra maneuvering was worth it.

Hearty
3819 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 868-9866 | Make Reservations
Get directions

Surf & Turf Burger

Mac and Cheese Bites

Through the end of the month, Hamburger Mary’s is offering a “Surf & Turf” burger special. $1 from each shrimp-covered, lobster-sauced burger will go to help the folks in the gulf with the cleaning efforts. Mary’s can sub a black-bean patty for each of their combinations so there’s no need to feel left out from most of their selections.

You can upgrade to sweet potato fries with your burgers, but if you want something more hearty start with the mac and cheese fritters. You won’t go away hungry.

$20 gets you a home brew, appetizer and a tasty burger.

Hamburger Mary’s
5400 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60640-1210

Black Bean Burger

The amish chicken is prepared two ways and served with green beans.

At Crofton on Wells I get the impression that there are a lot of regulars who dine there, and the staff really does know their names and is glad they came.  With a $35 prix fixe menu available from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday — along with an option to include two glasses of wine for a total of $55 per person — you can see what keeps people coming back. Especially when you taste the food.

Crofton on Wells turns in a solid performance food-wise and is as good, if not better, than I remembered since our last review, which was ages ago.  This time around my friend Chris and I enjoyed both our starters — potato green garlic soup and werp farms baby greens — and our main dishes — amish chicken with spicy herb and chipotle, yukon gold mashed potatoes and smoky molasses jus; and the spring risotto with asparagus, mushrooms, fava beans, ramps, sweet peas, sugar snap peas and chaubier.

The garlic soup is light and perfect for summer.

Our only disappointment was the ice cream didn’t come with cookies as advertised. Still, for $35 this three-course is a deal, and I don’t think I’d mind if the servers got to know my name.

Crofton on Wells
535 N Wells St.
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 755-1790 | Make Reservations

Torchon of foie gras.

Henri, the elegant sister restaurant to The Gage officially opened Saturday, but we sampled the menu in advance last week, as owner Billy Lawless and Chef Dirk Flanigan took their new restaurant concept out for a test drive.

Owner Billy Lawless pulls out a chair for you.

Henri is located  across the street from Millennium Park on Michigan Avenue right next door to The Gage, one of our favorite gastro pubs. I’ve been excited to see what Henri will bring to the Chicago dining scene to complement and expand upon the menu I already enjoy at The Gage, and I must admit that I wasn’t above curiously pressing my nose to the glass during construction to peek behind the sheers hanging in the window.

Dover sole meuniere.

Peel them back now, and you’ll find a chic dining space decorated in comfortable sage tones and over-sized upholstered chairs pulled up to tastefully set tables — ultimately creating a place that is fancy yet approachable and a menu that is reasonably priced for what you get (entrees range from $15 to $38).

The menu has Flanigan’s distinctive stamp and features a variety of meats that run the gamut — from duck and rabbit to chicken and steak — and all are prepared with French American influences.  The Thursday special, rabbit from the oven served with house bacon, English peas, baby carrots and a natural reduction as well as the dover sole meuniere both deserve a shout out.  It’s dishes like that that make us look forward to watching Flanigan continue to flex his culinary muscle.

Garlic soup with braised short rib.

We will find our way back to Henri for a complete review once they’ve settled in, and until then we raise a glass in honor of a successful opening. Now, get over there, check it out, and let us know what you think.

Henri
18 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60603
312-578-0763

We dined at Henri free-of-charge during a private tasting.

Also check out our review of The Gage.

Neopolitan dessert.