110896 Mon Jun 17 10:15:14 -0700 2002 16 7 Chicago Area 0 599406 well its penguin season again. As always the ice cream is great. Saturday night my focus strayed from dulce de leche and navarro and I tried the empanadas for the first time. Usually we've picked up these treats from the mercado next to tango sur and for the most part, especially on the "meat" and chicken varieties, I still prefer those. My wife who is partial to spinach empanadas, however thought that the version at the penguin were better than that at the mercado, and as a bonus, they're always available (they are often out of them on southport). The "meat" ones were not soo good (little bits of stuff that were hard to chew in there). The chicken was fairly tastyand included chopped egg boiled egg white as well. I didn't try the ham and cheese variety. They run 99 cents a pastry. Mon Jun 17 10:15:14 -0700 2002 0 zim 1 599417 I like their ham and cheese empanadas the best (though the spinach is nice with the little chunks of hard boiled egg). There's nothing particularly fancy about the ham and cheese: just melted creamy fresh mozzarella with decent non-prosciutto ham in the same exterior as the others. It's simple and delicious. Speaking of the penguin, I did a fair amount of eating within two blocks of our argentine friends over the weekend. I attempted to get an espresso from Caffe Mimoza around the corner, which seems to be a croatian coffee bar. There were two gys chainsmoking at the bar and no counterman -- "He's out shopping." It had the feeling of a place where a bona fide espresso could be slurped at the counter. HAs anyone been inside/successful in getting any food or drink from this place? I also had a mixed bag meal at King Falafil: the falafil was terrific. It was fresh and hot, with no shortage of grease (there's a weird non-grease crumbly falafel phenomenon in Hyde park's and other felaferias I've been to in chicago), bright green on the inside served with a plate of jerusalem salad, hummous and babaghanoush. The foule was also a winner: heated fava beans in yoghurt, oil, lemon juice and garlic. Everything else was merely OK -- kibbe was reheated in a microwave and a little dry with unspectacular ground lamb filling. We had some "real" baba ganoush damascus style, which apparently is a non yoghurt based eggplant/date dip -- too sweet for my tastes, and not what I expected (but I can't really fault them for that). Grape leaves were surprisingly microwaved, but tasty: very skinny cigarette sized rice stuffed leaves. The spinach pie left little impression. I would go back for the falafel, and a cup of the strong cardamom tea. I also checked out great sea for the hot and saucy wings on sunday. They were terrific as advertised. I'm glad I finally got my act together to try em as I now feel sure that my future penguin trips will be preceded by the korean harold's of albany park. FInally, I decided to stop in at the lebanese supermarket on Kedzie just south of lawrence: i had been tempted by the lebanese pita on the awning. I maybe got the wrong stuff -- the pita I bought was squishy and unsalted, no where near the standard of the middle eastern bakery on foster. There were other kinds there: some more tortilla looking white and wheat pitas, which I didn't try. I did get some tasty pickled turnips from the back counter and they had a wide selection of jars of ajvar and other hot red pepper spreads. Some one here was touting ajvar, I think ... the stuff I got is OK but not great. Do people have a favorite supplier? Mon Jun 17 17:00:25 -0700 2002 599406 0 Seth Zurer 2 599419 Zim, for Lebanese pita (read thin) you can't beat AlKhayam (sp.?). If you like the palestinian variety (the thicker ones), then MB is the way to go. Next time when you're at the Lebanese supermarket, check out the back where they have Zaatar bread and meat bread (lahm bi ajin). It's a traditional breakfast thing like foul. When you order one, ask them not to cut it for you. When you get it, roll it up and eat is as a burrito. (I like the zaatar break with some labna -yogurt cheese, olives and tomatoes). So if you order the zaatar bread, order a labna plate. Mon Jun 17 17:07:58 -0700 2002 599417 0 Nazerac 3 599421 Great suggestions, thanks! I didn't realize than lebanese style pita was the thin stuff. I'll get that next time. Mon Jun 17 17:14:41 -0700 2002 599419 0 Seth Zurer 4 599424 Well, don't expect much "flavor" in the bread itself, but it is fun to eat and has its own distinct light taste. Besides, you'd know if a place is Lebanese or Palestinian if they roll their sandwiches instead of stuffing them. Mon Jun 17 18:26:41 -0700 2002 599421 0 Nazerac 3 599436 "Lebanese pita (read thin)" is this the stuff known as lavassa? also larger than your usual pita? I used to enjoy this stuff as a kid for breakfast - toasted, with butter and apple chutney rolled for breakfast. Tue Jun 18 09:31:50 -0700 2002 599419 0 zim 4 599443 Or with Hungarian feta (available at Chicago Fruit Market at Montrose/Whipple) tomato, onion, a sprinkling of sumac and fresh herbs as at Noon-o-Kebab. Tue Jun 18 12:46:39 -0700 2002 599436 0 annieb 4 599471 I haven't had the empanadas at the Penguin as of yet, but I enjoyed their pizza the one time that I ordered a pie. We stopped to pick up gelato and realized that not only were we hungry, but the pizza smelled pretty darn good, so we ordered a large thin crust pie with sausage, onion and mushroom. When we opened the pizza box my first thought was, uh-oh, the crust was a bit on the pale white side and the mushroom and onions were only half cooked, but darn if the pizza didn't taste pretty good. Yes, the veggies were a bit undercooked, but the crust had a nice flavor and the provolone cheese in combination with the sausage was quite good. IIRC, and this was a few weeks ago, the sausage seemed homemade, or at least not mass produced, and had a nice undercurrent of fennel seed. We really lucked out on our visit that night, we ordered two $4 containers to go and split one half and half with Ferrero Rocher, my wife's favorite and Dulce with nuts, my favorite and one container of Grapefruit Sorbet, which is outstanding. We had also been thinking of the Sambayon, but decided against ordering another container. The very nice young lady at the register filled up a container with Sambayon and gave it to us as we were leaving. In fact, I just had a scoop of Sambayon on half of a cantaloupe, the Marsala goes nicely with fruit. Unfortunately the cantaloupe was purchased at Jewel and no amount of lemon, or Marsala infused gelato could make it taste good, unless you like slightly crunchy cardboard. Regards, Gary The Penguin 2723 W Lawrence Ave. Chicago, IL 60625 773-271-4924 Slightly odd hours, call ahead. Tue Jun 18 18:56:56 -0700 2002 599436 0 G Wiv 5 599494 the few times i've seen folks eating pizza there (though i must say on my last visit the place was far more packed than i have ever seen it before) every pizza i have seen being consumed had the same toppings - roasted red peppers and ham. Is this the prototypical argentine pizza? Wed Jun 19 09:53:37 -0700 2002 599471 0 zim 6 599495 Zim, I'm looking at their menu as I type and you hit it right on the head, yet again. On page two of the Penguin menu they list the Argentinean, which consists of ham, red pepper, olive oil and cheese. I know what I'm ordering, pizza wise, next time I'm at the Penguin. Enjoy, Gary The Penguin 2723 W Lawrence Ave Chicago, IL 60625 773-271-4924 Unusual hours, call first Wed Jun 19 10:39:19 -0700 2002 599494 0 G Wiv 7 599725 I finally tried the pizza at the Penguin this weekend. Loathe though I am to put down the proprietors of the best gelateria in Chicago, (and to disagree so vehemently with G Wiv) the pizza was terrible, the sort that makes me want to arrange a chow road trip to new haven. To soothe those whose feelings are bruised by categorical dismissals of styles of pizza, I'll put it like this: the argentine style of gourmet pizza served up at the Penguin doesn't suit my tastes. We had a gourment spinach. It has a thick oily bisquicky crust, undercooked and doughy, topped with an ok tomato sauce, the same spinach/hard boiled egg concoction as can be found inside the empanadas, and a half inch thick layer of half melted, half sweated provolone on the top. Yick. As with other pizzas I have hated, (sounds like a good title for an autobiography : "Pizzas I have Hated: One Man's Tale") my girlfriend thought it was fine, and that I was being insufferable. It harkened back to the pizza of her youth in Oklahoma and Kansas, thus produced pleasant fuzzy childhood pizza memories. Tue Jun 25 11:31:35 -0700 2002 599495 0 Seth Zurer 8 599728 Maybe, if instead of New Haven, you'd drive west to Omaha, you and your girlfriend would be happy. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/midwest/boards/chicago/messages/11011.html Tue Jun 25 12:00:39 -0700 2002 599725 0 Vital Information 9 599730 Thanks, VI. LOL :) Tue Jun 25 12:50:44 -0700 2002 599728 0 Aaron D 8 599739 Try the thin crust; at at $4 a pop it is chewy and close to what you might be served out of a window in NY or Philly. The thick crust isn't for everyone, but it is authentic in its own right. I agree the spinach could do without boiled egg, and I'd cut back on the nutmeg. The margherita is much better. Maybe I'm just a sucker for a cook who closes up shop to deliver his own pizzas. (Loth?) Tue Jun 25 14:33:25 -0700 2002 599725 0 JeffB 9 599741 Now hang on a sec -- I like the hardboiled egg in the spinach! I will check out the thin crust next time I'm there. Tue Jun 25 14:37:57 -0700 2002 599739 0 Seth Zurer 9 599742 Now hang on a sec -- I like the hardboiled egg in the spinach! I will check out the thin crust next time I'm there. Tue Jun 25 14:38:09 -0700 2002 599739 0 Seth Zurer 8 599765 Seth, Don't hold back, tell us what you really think. [smile] Actually, I said the pizza was 'pretty good' and I had the thin crust not the thick, though after your ever so vivid description I don't think I will be eating the thick pizza at the Penguin any time soon. The Penguin is not quite a one menu item place, they have a number of excellent gelato and sorbet flavors, but the thin crust pizza, while 'pretty good', is still not a reason to drive out of your way to visit the Penguin. Speaking of pizza, though I have not had the pizza at Marie's on Lawrence for 4 or 5 years, it occurred to me that there is a similarity between their pie and Vito and Nick's. Now I am not saying that Marie's is in the same league as Nick and Vito's, what I am saying is that there is a slight flavor similarity, mainly in the cheese. Both cook the cheese to a much darker stage than most other pizza places giving it a slightly toasted flavor that is quite pleasing. I'm not sure why this just occurred to me, maybe because Marie's is on Lawrence and, now, whenever I think of good pizza I think of Vito and Nick's. Enjoy, Gary Tue Jun 25 21:35:12 -0700 2002 599725 0 G Wiv