Rubbing Shoulders with the Mayor

Recently, I was dining with some dear friends at our usual hang-out, the incomparable Lao Sze Chuan in Chicago’s Chinatown. We had brought our own bottle of wine to accompany the meal; an Australian malbec. 

It was a Sunday evening and the place was unusually crowded, probably due to the Chinese New Year celebrations. We had placed our orders and noticed that Chicago’s mayor, Rahm Emanuel, and his family appeared and had taken a large table near ours. 

Two of our entrees appeared and we gave our bottle of wine to the server to be uncorked. By that time, most of the servers and the owner of the place were all buzzing around the mayor’s table. 

Our entrees stopped coming. The wine hadn’t been returned. It was obvious that the staff were occupying themselves with the mayor and his entourage. 

I looked over at the mayor’s table and said to my friends: “Hey. I think that’s our bottle of wine on his table!”

I walked over to ask a waiter about our elusive bottle of wine. More buzzing ensued upon my query. It turned out that, yes, they had plopped our wine down in front of the mayor. The owner was frantically ‘shooshing’ me, placing his index finger over his lips. A substitute bottle of wine was promised.

I returned to our table where my friends were having a good laugh over the mix-up. By that time, the owner and a waiter appeared with an ersatz bottle of pinot noir and many apologies. We told him that all was well, for this would make a great story. The entertainment value of their mistake was far higher than our malbec. 

And here’s a photo I snapped of our mayor. 

Yes, it’s uncool to post this. But after all, he got our wine. 

Needless to say, the fact that the mayor chose our favorite restaurant for his evening out (and subjected himself to patrons snapping his photo) just goes to show you how great the food really is at Lao Sze Chuan.

Hot Pot

Last night, I had the pleasure of dining at our all-time favorite restaurant with my friends. Lao Sze Chuan in Chinatown continues to “wow” and surprise us at every visit.

This time, Liane, Miss Healthypants, and I decided to branch out from the usual menu selections and ordered their famous Hot Pot. For those unfamiliar with Hot Pot, it’s sort of the Chinese equivalent of fondue.

A boiling cauldron of broth is brought to the table set atop a heat source. In this case, we selected the two-sided cauldron featuring a mild broth and a fiery, chili-garlic infused broth. In this photo, we’ve already dumped in some veggies.

Then, they bring out your dunking items. Here’s a plate containing shrimp, mussels, squid, fresh fish, assorted vegetables, tofu, fish balls, pork balls, and squid balls. Bean-thread noodles are on the side.

And if that wasn’t enough, out comes a platter of thinly sliced beef and lamb.

A variety of dipping sauces accompanies the Hot Pot.

Each diner plunks an item in a little wire basket and dunks it in the simmering broth to cook it. Here is Miss Healthypants, preparing a fish ball with glee and mirth.

Needless to say, Hot Pot is a delightfully messy endeavor.

It’s a lot of food and we couldn’t finish it all. But what a great way to enjoy a meal – casually simmering tasty things at a leisurely pace.

Good food and great friends. We’re lucky people.

Dinner and Friends

Last Wednesday, my dear friends Miss Healthypants and Liane and I were finally able to go out to eat at our all-time favorite restaurant, Lao Sze Chuan.


We had intended to go during the previous week, but with the temperatures hovering well below zero, it would have been a bothersome and painful endeavor. The Blizzaster of 2011 and other cold temperatures had kept us from it before that.

We always have an incredibly great time together. Pure, unalloyed fun. We’re lucky people.

Also, there’s the astoundingly good food at Lao. I’ve said it before many times, but this Chinatown restaurant is amazing. It features Szechuan cuisine and it’s the real McCoy, too – nothing remotely related to Panda Express. If you like hot and spicy, Lao Sze Chuan is ground zero.

Here are photos of our meal:

Beef in Szechuan Sauce. It’s a huge serving and one of their signature items. (If you get the serving to go, it’s two quarts.)

Dry Chili Chicken: Lightly fried, salty chicken with lots of garlic, five spice powder, and an amazing amount of chili.

Kung Pao Scallops.

Spinich with garlic. (The things this place can do with vegetables is astounding.)


Now, here’s the fun part. Afterward, we were meandering among the shops in Chinatown and came upon this brightly-lit Asian candy store. Candy – neat!

The place had dozens of bins filled with little wrapped candies of all sorts. There were even little bowls of samples – I love that. I’ll eat anything weird. I tried one called “Dried Red Peach” and exclaimed that they should definitely try it.

Miss Healthypants asked, “Is it really good?” and I said, “No! You should try it just to see how horrible it is!” (Which it was. It was bitter, salty and mostly tasted like rotten, fermented cedar.) “But you should taste it, really!”

Then, we came upon the most interesting item of all. Like I said, all the candies were individually wrapped, but this one particular item caused a stir among us. I couldn’t help but to buy one. Here it is:

Now, what does it look like to you? We were wondering: Would an Asian candy store really carry one particular feminine product as well?

I can just see it now. “Hey! Asian candy! And I’m have a ‘heavy’ day, anyway. Let’s go there.”

Hilarity ensued on the ride home.

Afterward, I looked this item up on line. It’s a Japanese candy called a Caplico Stick and it’s described as a “frosting-tipped waffle biscuit.” I still haven’t opened it. I keep it in a little side-pocket of my shoulder bag, right were it belongs.

So, that was our evening.

Needless to say, we’re already looking forward to our next outing.

An Easter Reflection

Earlier this week, a co-worker of mine arrived at work and delivered some horrible news. She had heard on the morning news that there had been a major fire at our beloved restaurant, Lao Sze Chuan. My heart sank.

Of all the thousands of restaurants in Chicago, why did it have to be our favorite one?

I quickly sent out an email blast to my hoards of friends (six of them) who also love Lao. Soon, the reports came trickling in. The news didn’t look good. The fire had started in the kitchen at 5:30 that morning and even damaged the restaurant next door.

A couple of days ago, Jack and Steve and Karen went to eat at one of the sister restaurants, Lao Beijing. I’ve eaten there before and, while it’s also outstanding, it’s not our Lao Sze Chuan.

Jack told me that there was an elderly Chinese woman at the entrance of the boarded up Lao, directing everyone to Lao Beijing. It was as if she was an angel, keeping watch over the tomb until the rock was rolled away.

It turned out that Lao Sze Chuan’s menu is so loved by everyone, that Lao Beijing will be serving everything on it until the Resurrection occurs. Hopefully, it won’t be too long.

Tonight at church, we will observe the Easter Vigil which is a HUGE deal in the Catholic/Episcopalian church. After the forty days of Lent, after the altar being stripped on Thursday night, after the bleakness of Good Friday, we will light all the candles, the organ will peal once again, people will be confirmed and baptized and we’ll sing portions of Handel’s Messiah. The priest will get to consecrate bread and wine again and not just serve the “leftover Jesus” as they do on Good Friday. We’ll be gagging from the copious amounts of incense being used.

Do I believe that Christ really rose from the dead after three days? Frankly, I don’t know. (If I get to heaven, I’ll be sure to ask.)

For me, the fact that Christ-God suffered and died like the rest of us -- well, for me, that’s enough. The story could have ended right there and that would have gotten me hooked.

(Then again, Handel would never have written the Messiah and it’s a pretty thrilling thing to perform.)

Soon, Lao Sze Chuan will be open again. I also take comfort in that.

A risen Christ? I don‘t know. But I do know that the food at Lao Sze Chuan is here, it is incredible, it makes us exceedingly happy.
It is supernatural.

Caimitos, Cherimoyas and Squid Balls

‘Twas another night of wonderful food at Lao Sze Chuan last night.

This time, we tried something different and ordered the Hot Pot in which a cauldron of boiling, highly-flavored stock is placed on the table. Then lots and lots of raw food items are brought out along with various dipping sauces and you get to dip your selections into the stock and sort of design your own meal. Sort of like the Szechuan version of fondue.

It was a huge amount of food. Here is one plate of food consisting of:
Greens, shrimp, squid, tripe, tofu, tofu skins, fish filets, squid balls, fish balls, mussels and bok choy.

Here is the cauldron with two types of tasty stuff boiling away.

Not pictured is a platter of sliced beef and lamb. It arrived much later for some unknown reason.
Our friend, Ken, is a fan of tropical fruits and he had just received a shipment of caimitos and cherimoyas from California which he very graciously shared with us.

What is a caimito you ask?

What is a cherimoya? I hear you say.

Okay, I’ll show you.

Here is a photo of a caimito (the little fruit) and the cherimoya. Mark Twain once wrote that a cherimoya is “the most delicious fruit known to men.” I might have to agree with him.

It has a white, custard-like flesh that tastes like a combination of bananas, pineapples and strawberries with a very perfumey sensation. I loved it and will buy one whenever I see them.

The little caimito, on the other hand, had a very subtle taste sort of like rose water. However, once cut open, it looked pretty scary.

Afterward, we had our usual durian fruit smoothies. I even asked the server if I could taste a piece of pure durian fruit and I have to say that it was so unbelievably vile, it made me laugh uncontrollably.

Tripe, squid balls, caimitos, cherimoyas and durian.

What a wonderful evening.

Getting Lao'd

Some friends of mine and I had another feast at our favorite place, Lao Sze Chuan.

Honestly, in all my years of dining out, I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed any restaurant as much as this one. I would be devastated if it ever closed down, though there’s little chance of that. (We always go early, for there are always hoards of folks waiting for tables by the time we leave).

Here are some photos of our little feast:

We began with a jellyfish salad. We often order something from the “weird” part of the menu called “Very Chinese Special.”
Actually, the jellyfish salad is really very tasty if you can get past the mucuous, crunchy texture.

Their signature dish is “Boiled Beef in Szechuan Sauce”. Some of it was eaten by the time I got a photo of it.
I know, the term “boiled beef” sounds like bad British cuisine, but it’s actually a technique of Szechuan cooking. Instead of stir-frying, bits of meat (beef, fish, pork or even frog - your choice) are lowered into boiling stock to cook them.

In this dish, a hefty amount of spicy pickled cabbage is placed in a bowl (a first-cousin of Korean kim-chee). Then the cooked beef is placed over that and topped with lots of hot oil, Szechuan pepper, garlic, and hot chilis.

It is, hands down, my favorite menu item. I have yet to try it with frog and I doubt that I will.

Pea-pod leafs with garlic are another favorite. I’d often seen this bright green dish come out of the kitchen and finally found out what it was. We order it every time now.

We also always request “Shrimp in Mayonnaise Sauce” (again, some of it was quickly snarfed up).
It’s a weird name and one doesn’t normally associate mayonnaise with Szechuan cuisine. In this case, the shrimp are dipped in mayonnaise, fried, and served with a sweet sauce.

They are to die for.

Not pictured are Ma-Po Tofu and also Orange Beef.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If you’re EVER in Chicago, go to Chinatown and hit Lao Sze Chuan.

And hit it hard!

"No! Small Fish!"

A group eight of us went to the wonderful, incredible Lao Sze Chuan last night for an impromptu feast. Their menu is huge. Here is their delivery menu. Click here. The regular one is even bigger.

We have our favorites that we order every time like mayonnaise shrimp and pea pods with garlic. But since the menu is so vast and varied, I like to try something new ever so often.

Last night, the new item was “Small Fish with Dry Chili”. The “small fish” are actually smelts but they insist on calling them “small fish.”

Me: “OOOooo. Smelts.”

Server: “No! Small fish!”

Me: “I love smelts.”

Server: “No! Small fish!”

It had two peppers beside it on the menu which is the hottest they offer.

My tummy is rumbling this morning.

Getting Lao'd

Our little group hadn’t been to our favorite restaurant, Lao Sze Chuan, in quite some time. That situation was remedied last night. Of course, we had a great time. Lots of laughter and lots of good food should be had in abundance and frequently as possible.

Here’s the rundown on the food that the five of us ate: (I forgot to take pictures!)

Crab Rangoon (Photo not included)

Pot stickers (Photo not included)

Tea-Smoked Szechuan Duck (Photo not included)

Kung Pao Scallops (Photo not included)

Sole Fish Fillet with Black Bean Sauce (Photo not included)

Mayonnaise Shrimp (Photo not included)

Eggplant in Garlic Sauce (Photo not included)

Pea Pod Leafs with Garlic (Photo not included)

Trust me, it was a gorgeous feast.

During the day, I had been out in the suburbs in my Zip Car most of the day on work-related hoo-ha. I still had the Zip Car so I offered to drop the guests by their respective train stations, subway stations and home for Miss Healthypants.

I took two of our friends to the train station then proceeded to take Liane to her subway station.

I’ve entered this subway station hundreds of times, but this time I was in a car and absolutely couldn’t find it. Miss Healthypants and Liane were both hollering, “There it is! Stop! You passed it! Stop!”

And I was all, “Where? I don’t know where it is! I don’t see it! Where?”

Finally, I wedged the Zip Car behind an EL trestle, partially out of traffic. I’ve never heard MHP laugh so hard. You know that kind of laughter were you don’t make much sound because you can’t catch your breath? That’s what she was doing in the back seat.

Meanwhile, Liane needed to hop out of the passenger seat, but I was only partially out of the traffic. I saw that none was coming behind us and yelled at her, “Okay, NOW! You better get out NOW!” which made MHP only gasp and laugh harder.

Liane scurried into the subway station and I rounded the corner to MHP’s building, who by this time, was just a puddle of giggles.

And I might add that not a drop of alcohol was involved. We’re just that silly.

I want to go back really soon.

Like tonight.

Dinner at Lao Sze Chuan - - Again and Again

Last night was our outing to our favorite restaurant, Lao Sze Chuan, so of course I have to blog about it.

Liane proposed a brilliant idea: “Why don’t we order entrées we’ve never had before?”

Seeing that Lao Sze Chuan has the largest menu of any restaurant, ever, we thought that was a fantastic idea. (There’s even an entire new menu section that features frog dishes of every kind, such as “Boiled Frog in Spicy Szechuan Sauce.)

However, crab Rangoon for Miss Healthypants and pot-stickers for Liane are always a mainstay, so there’s that.

We couldn’t do without peapods in garlic. They are just too utterly fantastic and besides, we don’t consider it to be an entrée.

Isn’t it pretty? See why we have to have it every time?

We all agreed that the “Nine Story Pagoda Chicken with Basil Leaves” sounded too intriguing to pass up. (It’s in the upper left)
I don’t quite know what about it resembles a nine-story pagoda. Whatever it was, we liked it and will probably order it again sometime.

We also had spicy noodles with ground pork. It came in a lot of VERY spicy sauce. I ate most of it. We also ordered this fish-and-tofu dish. The fish was great. The tofu, not so much. This was a lot of food for three people. We managed to eat just about all of everything.

Oink. . .

Oink. . .

Of course, afterward I herded us down to the new smoothie place that features smoothies made from the infamous durian fruit.

Here’s a pic of a durian fruit cut in half.

It definitely looks like something from Alien

The moment we walked into the smoothie place, I could smell the musky scent of durian in the air. I ordered a durian-coconut smoothie for us all to try.

Liane and I both agreed that durian is very reminiscent of rotten onions. I don’t even want to think of what eating pure durian must be like. Eating durian that’s alloyed with coconut and smoothie’d is bad enough.
So, there was our evening. It was fantastic.

If any of you are ever in Chicago. . . .

Bizarre Foods

I’ve always enjoyed trying new and strange food items. Last night, I certainly got to fulfill that little proclivity of mine.

Six of us went to Lao Sze Chuan for dinner. Three of my dinner companions had lived in various parts of Asia for a number of years, so everyone was on board with trying the jellyfish as an appetizer. (See pic below. The jellyfish is on the left).

It was "interesting" but I don't know that I'd order it again.

During dinner, we also discussed the notorious fruit called "durian" that’s common in Indonesia and Thailand. I had heard about this strange food item but had never tried it. Three of my dinner companions had actually tried it while living in the far East.

If you don’t know about durian fruit, here’s the deal. It’s a large, green, spiky thing with a creamy inside. What makes durian so notorious is the smell. It has absolutely THE worst smell you can imagine. However, it does have a sweet, rich and appealing taste.

There are hotels in Thailand that won’t allow guests to bring durian into the rooms. The smell gets into the air conditioner system and is very difficult to get rid of. You can’t even bring it into the subway system in Bangkok. I've heard that it'll even set off the smoke alarms on airlines.

If you’ve ever seen the TV series called “Bizarre Foods” with Andrew Zimmern, you may have seen him try durian fruit. On that episode, he was served a beating heart from a frog and ate it, no problem. He was also served snake bile in a shot glass. Again, no problem. But one bite of durian, and he instantly spit it out. It was the one food item that “did him in.”

I was fascinated that three of my friends had actually tried it.

Anyway, after dinner we headed to a nearby Asian place that has smoothies made from just about every tropical fruit you can imagine.

My friend, Ken, who is fluent in Mandarin, asked if they had durian fruit smoothies.

They did!

Ken and Steve both ordered a durian-coconut smoothie. Of course, I had to try it.

Steve said to give the plastic cup a squeeze so that I could get a whiff of the stuff.

OH. . . MY. . . . . .GOD!!!!

It definitely lived up to its reputation. I was hit with a strong smell that instantly reminded me of very fresh cat-poo. It was also reminiscent of rotten onions combined with the odor of a sour, dirty-diaper pail.

Of course, I took a swig and it definitely had a sweet, creamy rich taste on my tongue. However, that putrid smell wafted from my tongue into my olfactory nerves. It was just so horribly unbelievable that I got the giggles. Here’s a pic:

Later, we were in the car and Steve was still drinking his durian smoothie. The entire car was permeated with the smell. It was hilarious.

I swear, this morning, I could still sense that funk in my sinuses.

Jellyfish for an appetizer and a durian fruit smoothie for dessert. Is this an amazing town, or what?

So, if any of you are ever with me when we go to Lao Sze Schuan, there’ll definitely be durian smoothies for dessert.

If anything, the entertainment value, alone, is off the chart.

Lao Sze Chuan. Again and Again

The Gang and I met at our favorite place, Lao Sze Chuan, last night for another sumptuous feast. See our discussion below regarding the Mystery of the Peek-a-Boo Showers.

It's funny.

Pictured here are Sole Fillets Chongqi Style (quite spicy) Eggplant in Garlic Sauce, pot stickers, and Garlic Pea Pods (definitely a new menu favorite)

We had also ordered our other favorite, Mayonnaise Shrimp, but it hadn't arrived yet. I had to get the picture taken because, as you can see, eager hands were poised and I wanted to get a pic before it was all gone.

Oink!

Just got back from yet another fantabulous meal at Lao Sze Chuan. This time there were only three of us: Miss Healthypants, our friend Liane, and I.

We've recently discovered the most incredible menu item:
Mayonnaise Shrimp.
Yes! It's huge shrimp, dipped in mayonnaise, deep fried and served with a slightly sweet sauce.
Really, you've never tasted shrimp this good. Ever!

But we didn't order Mayonnaise Shrimp this time. We got our usual appetizers of crab rangoon and an order of pot stickers. Then we ordered twice-cooked spicy pork with cilantro and eggplant with garlic sauce. Notice all the chilis in the pork.
See?
Like I said, we didn't place an order for Mayonnaise Shrimp this time for the three of us.
Instead . . .


. . . We placed TWO orders of Mayonnaise Shrimp.
Ha!!Are we pigs, or what??
Still, with a very generous tip, it came out to a little over twenty bucks a piece.
This place is incredible.
Absolutely incredible.

Dinner at Lao Sze Chuan

Another fantastic meal was had at Lao Sze Chuan last night. A friend of ours was with us who now lives in Thailand and has spent a lot of time in China. He said he had never had a meal this good anywhere in China.
See?

Here are a couple of pics:
1. La La Spicy Fish
2. Beef in Szechuan Sauce
Keep in mind, these are single servings!

Beef Maw Mystery Solved

A group of us went to our favorite restaurant in Chinatown last night for one of their glorious banquets. If any of you come to Chicago, you absolutely MUST eat at Lao Sze Chuan in Chinatown. If you like the hot and spicy Chinese cuisine, then this place is ground zero for it.

Anyway, they have a huge menu and there's a section on it called "Very Chinese Special" which features delectable items such as "pork stomach in sour pickle" and "spicy beef maw."

Maw?

What is this maw of which they speak?

It had been a burning question every time we went. So, last night I took the plunge and ordered it. It's an appetizer for only $4.50 so it wasn't like I was taking a huge risk.

When I requested it, the shocked look on the server's face was priceless and worth the $4.50 right there. She was so surprised and said, "Do you know what it is???"

"No, that's why I want it."

She motioned to her abdomen and said, "It is this part of the cow."

So, out it came. From what I could tell, it was either stomach, tripe, or intestine. Maybe it was the colon. Who knows?

It was sliced very thin. Having grown up in South Texas, I've had my share of menudo which is a vile soup made with hominy and hunks of tripe that are the consistency of discarded rubber tires. My grandfather, a rancher in Texas, used to make a stew from various cow innards that he called "mare-gut stew."

So, maw was not nearly as strange as I was prepared for. It was, indeed, very spicy, sort of pickled and served cold. The taste and texture actually reminded me of tofu skins. (When tofu is made, a skin forms on the top kind of like pudding skins. They're removed, dried and sold in packages as a meat substitute).

Three of us tried it right away and and all proclaimed, "Hey. It's not that bad!" while two of the servers were huddled in the corner, pointing at us to see our reaction. They were probably snickering in Mandarin, "Look! They're actually eating that stuff!"

Miss Healthypants held out for a while but finally succumbed, nibbling on a little piece.

Two of my friends absolutely wouldn't touch it.

So, there is the story of beef maw.

Oops. It was the first day of Lent. I don't think you can get anymore un-vegetarian than maw. I am, therefore, a naughty, wicked Catholic. I should go to confession and tell the priest, "And on Ash Wednesday, I consumed maw . . . ."

"Huh?"