Roadfood_ Revised Edition - Jane Stern [140]
Gene and Georgetti
500 N. Franklin St.
312–527–3718
Chicago, IL
LD | $$$
Gene and Georgetti’s sirloin, filet mignon, and T-bone are all benchmarks by which other steaks should be measured. Perfectly cooked as ordered (medium rare, please), with a glistening charred crust and velvet pink-tored insides dense with full-flavored juice, these are the hunks of meat we dream about anytime we are on the way to Chicago.
It is all too tempting to precede a steak with garbage salad, a piled-high plate that is a mishmash antipasto of cured meats, cheeses, olives, peppers, one big shrimp, and lettuce all in a garlicky marinade. Too tempting we say because a whole garbage salad is a big meal. Even a half is mighty filling if you’ve got steak and potatoes on the way.
On the side of G&G’s steaks, the top starch is cottage fries, big round disks with crisp edges and soft centers. There is a large menu beyond beef: lamb chops are excellent; shrimp de Jonghe (or lobster de Jonghe) is surely the most buttery version of the dish anywhere in the city. We also love G&G’s chicken Vesuvio, a mountainous plate of winey, garlickly roasted chicken wallowing in pan juices along with chunks of potato.
Impeccable meals are delivered by a staff of professional waiters who are all business. No fawning service here, no annoying “is everything okay?” will interrupt your dinner conversation. Gene and Georgetti is no nonsense, all quality.
Gene and Jude’s
2720 N. River Rd.
708–452–7634
River Grove, IL
LD | $
We owe a debt of gratitude to Glen Stepanovic, who wrote imploring us to visit Gene and Jude’s. Somehow, this estimable hot dog stand just a few minutes the other side of O’Hare had eluded our radar. It is hugely popular—Glen said it’s the largest purveyor of Vienna hot dogs on Earth—but it’s a relatively small place. There are no tables or chairs at all; as is Chicago custom, the eatery offers a counter to which you may bring your meal, unwrap it, and eat standing up. When you’re finished, use the wax paper in which the food was served to gather up any scraps and heave them into one of the large garbage cans provided in the corners of the room. We find this arrangement comfortable and eminently practical for eating extremely messy food; however, many customers choose to dine in their cars in the parking lot.
You get a hot dog or a double dog. The natural-casing, all-beef Vienna-brand tube steaks are slim and snappy; they are inserted into soft buns and dressed with mustard, onions, piccalilli, or little hot “sport peppers” as you request. Glen told us that some hot dog historians consider this the “original” Chicago-style dog, before the more baroque garnishes of pickle spear, tomato slice, and celery salt.
A fine, fine hot dog…but wait, there’s more! Whatever toppings are included, each dog gets heaped with a large fistful of some of the best French fries in Chicago. Fresh? Forget about it! As you wait for your hot dog to be prepared, you can watch the counter folks peel and cut whole potatoes, then fry them, drain them, and pile them onto waiting dogs. They spend a good long time in the bubbling oil, emerging a dark brown with some pieces crunchy through-and-through, others thick and potato-creamy inside.
Harry Caray’s
33 W. Kinzie St.
312–828–0966
Chicago, IL
LD | $$$
We tend not to frequent sports bars because the food is usually less important than what’s on TV. Harry Caray’s is one huge exception. It is the sports bar to end all sports bars—especially heavenly for Chicago team fans—and it is loaded with memorabilia not only from the Cubs, but from the life of legendary announcer Harry Caray.
Beyond his antics in the broadcast booth, Caray was known as a man who loved to eat. And the place he opened is testimony to that passion, too. This is one truly great Chicago restaurant. For example, there is not a better prime steak in Chicago. We like the sirloin best, grilled in a coat of cracked peppercorns. Other