Chicagoland Meet 'n Greet - The Prequel

It was about noon today, that I realized the magnitude of tomorrow's Chicagoland Meet 'n Greet. With as many as 14 potential stops, I realized my training wasn't what it should have been. It was time to rectify that...so I started a 3 hour nap.

The telephone call that woke me up was my brother calling to discuss tomorrow's menu choices. Starting to wake up...

Fifteen minutes later, this time it's The Traveling Man checking in for tomorrow's redezvous. He's in St. Louis and we discuss St. Louis favorites for about 20 minutes before confirming plans for the next day.

Okay...I gotta go out. After reveiwing the next day's menu choices, I select a local Mediteranean restaurant located about 20 minutes from my home. As we have a Seafood Shack, Chinese, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Vietnamese, a Diner and an Ice Cream and Chocolate stop on the schedule, Mediteranean poses no potentail conflicts.

I round up a small group of 6, including 4 of us that will venture out tomorrow and we soon are seated at The Grapevine.

We actually get the last table at this poular eatery located in the west Chicago suburb of LaGrange. It's a casual spot with seat yourself informality, center counter ordering and staff delivery.


The location is prominently displayed above the front door. Walking in, you're right across the street from the Metra Station.


The welcoming lighting and ambiance directs you to the central counter.


The menu is lengthy...



Appetizers and salads...


Hot and cold sandwiches...


Entrees, with an Italian slant as well as Greek entrees.


And a section devoted to Brick Oven Pizzas...

We began with drinks selected from the coolers behind our table...

There were some 20 wines offered by the glass or bottle, with most bottles under $20.00! A nice bottled beer selection rounded out the offerings.

We started with two appetizers...


The hummus was extra garlicky good and came with the freshest pita bread I have ever had. it was great!


The grilled jalapeno sausage with sauteed onions, peppers and cilanytro was served with a spicey mustard. Once again, we're off to a great start.

The wine was flowing, the appetizers kicked things off and now,soup and salad time. A few Greek/Mediterranean salads were fairly routine. The soup was another matter.


Couscous with chicken...excellent! We had already gone through two baskets of crusty, fresh, warm bread. It was a solid match for the hummus and sausage but was a perfect pairing with the soup.

Next up...dinner is served.


The Rustica...spicy cappicolla, salami, mortadella, smoked provolone, kalamata olives, red onions, sliced tomatoes, romaine on a baguette with herb and garlic dressing. The bread served as an anchor to a solid sandwich. The olives created a different taste from the standard Italian sub/hero.


The Pastitsio...ground beef mixed with imported macaroni and romano cheese topped with a bechamel sauce. As a Pastitio vetern, this was solid, not the best I've ever had but good enough to reorder again.


The Americana...beef, utrkey, provolne, cheddar, grilled red onions, tomatoes, lettuce and Ceasar dressing on foccacia. Another solid option.


Penne Carbonara...sauteed chicken with ham, roasted garlic, red onions, peas, diced tomato, fresh basil and a romano cream sauce over penne. This was a rich, flavorful dish and was a top choice.


The Trio Fest...pastitsio, spanakopita and dolmades. Dolmades are stuffed grape leaves and the spanakopita is a mixture of spinach, green onions, leeks and feta cheese wrapped in phyllo dough and then baked. I enjoyed all three of these and would recommend all three separately or alone.


A custom brick oven pizza...spinach, carmelized onios and extra, extra fresh garlic. Superb!


Here's the brick oven used for the pizzas and judging by the number of tables enjoying them, a popular option.


While not up to some Roadfood standards, the dessert case did have a few appealing options.

We choose three...and six forks...

The White Chocolate Rasberry Cake was my pick, and the weakest of the lot. It was dry and looked better than it tasted.


The banana cake enjoyed by everyone. Fresh, flavorful and one I'd order again.


The pumpkin cheesecake was everyone's favorite. We almost oredered a second piece!


Casual comfort, great selection of Mediteranean influenced dishes, reasonable and well selected wine and beer choices, self-order, staff served in a moderate price range. All in all, a good start to tomorrow's Roadfood day...
The Grapevine
9 West Hillgrove
LaGrange, IL 60525
Tel: 708-482-4774
www.grapevinelagrange.com

More Prequel to come...

Wow. Good lookig eats. If I had eaten that meal, i would have had to call off for the main event!
Good luck today, guys ad gals
britt

Thanks! It was a lot of food, but the wine, good company and general warmness of the place allowed for an easy evening of dining. Seems to be a lot of excitement for tomorrow. Our fearless leader - Buddy Roadhouse has got s nice day planned!

Wow! 14 potential stops in Chicago sounds very exciting.

Have a great time!! What a great way to prepare for the event!!

Thanks for a wonderful report!!

Enjoy tomorrow!!!

quote:

Originally posted by ChiTownDiner

Seems to be a lot of excitement for tomorrow. Our fearless leader - Buddy Roadhouse has got s nice day planned!

Jiminy Christmas, no pressure or nuthin'! Is this the way Kobayashi and Chestnut prep for the big event? Personally, I went light today, but that's just me.

Don't forget your cameras folks; I promise plenty of great shots of food, restaurants, and a glorious autumn cityscape that will be the envy of Roadfooders from around the country.

See you at 11:00am at Lawrence's Fisheries,

Buddy

If I had known that there would be a prequel thread, I wouldn't have left my camera's data cable in the car. I could have contributed my pre-game evening in St. Louis. I had stops tonight at Park Avenue Coffee (you will not be disappointed, CTD), where, in true buffetbusterian fashion, I ate dessert first. I followed up with dinner at Lou Boccardi's, where I enjoyed the best toasted ravioli I have ever had the pleasure to consume. And, in a final nod to my Roadfood brethren, I finished my evening with a second dessert - at Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. I had an Oreo concrete, which makes a good end to most any day.

Unfortunately, I slept in a bit today (late arriving from Indianapolis and all), which caused me to punt some of the stops on my STL agenda. I did not get to Crown Candy Kitchen or Gus' Pretzel Shop, and I will not be able to stop there in the morning, as I need a much earlier departure from here than I had originally intended.

Looking forward to seeing/meeting all of you in the morning.

My 5:30 wake-up call is going to come around quick.

Some photos of the previously described....it will likely take me a little time to get all of the photos downloaded, then edited and then uploaded again...and then posted here. But, I will do my best.

I read in ChiTownDiner's previous thread of his visit to Park Avenue Coffee for that only-in-Saint-Louis specialty, gooey butter cake. Mostly what I wanted to know was whether or not this stuff would travel well enough for me to bring some to sample at the meet-and-eat the following day in Chicago. Not only did CTD assure me that the cakes would travel, he asked me to pick him up a few extras for himself! For me, that is one of the grand Roadfood traditions in which I am grateful to be a part of - i have picked up Italian hoagies in Philadelphia for signman, Jewish deli food from Harold's for Lexi, shared cookies with Tony Bad, etc. I am happy to do it. He encouraged me to hit Park Avenue first, as they have a wide selection of cake flavors, but it is possible that they may run out as the evening wears on. So, it looks like the kind of night where I would be eating dessert first!

As dark as it was at night, I couldn't get a very good exterior shot of the store, so this seasonal photo will have to do instead.



The place was pretty empty, but had the coziness of a good coffeehouse. The lack of patrons allowed me to grab this good shot, which really should become CTD's motto for life.



This isn't the best photo in the world, but I wanted you to get an idea of the place. Those glass-domed cake trays house one or two of the more popular flavors of the gooey butter cake. They keep the rest in the back - I assume closely guarded by a mean looking watchdog.





Chocolate chip cookie dough gooey butter cake from Park Avenue Coffee. This one flavor was likely not in the box that the Chicago gang tried, because I think the guy gave me the last piece of the cookie dough! I will say this. To paraphrase an old Saturday Night Live sketch, I found the gooey butter cake to be neither gooey nor cake. It had the consistency of a brownie. I wondered what it would be like if they served it heated, and ChiTownDiner was quick to point out that it would likely get messy in a hurry with any level of heat, as it is made almost purely of butter!

I made my way to The Hill, St. Louis' Italian heritage neighborhood, which still holds true to historical means. I didn't see any fire hydrants painted in the colors of the Italian flag (like in NY's Little Italy), but I wouldn't be surprised if they exist.

Since all of my exterior shots came out lousy and out-of-focus, I decided to use some the features of Photoshop that I never use. My inspiration was the opening credits to the TV show "Becker."

The exterior of Lou Boccardi's:


The most important part of the exterior was this beacon in the window:


I think I mentioned above that I REALLY liked the toasted ravioli! The light dusting of parmesan cheese and the garlic/basil marinara sauce were the perfect toppings.


Needed the flash for the "upskirt" picture of the ravioli. The ground beef was a very fine grind, seasoned just right.


My entree choice was chicken parmigiana, my baseline meal by which all Italian red sauce joints are judged. The taste did not disappoint, but....


I know this is going to sound a little weird when you think of how much food I had consumed in the last hour, but I thought the portions were kind of skimpy. There was one chicken breast and a handful of rotini pasta, slathered in sauce. The bread was good, but I had to ask for it - and it came with one pat of butter and two "pats" of fake butter. I know some people eat it for the health factors, but, please. In a real Italian restaurant, with strong bread - don't serve me any of that fake "spread" when I ask for bread and butter - especially if you have real butter to serve. To their credit, I asked for more real butter and they brought it, but I shouldn't have had to ask for bread in the first place, and I shouldn't have had to ask for additional real butter.



Not a poorly priced meal, but not a bargain, either. Locally, I can get two chicken breasts in my chicken parm for about the same price. Other than needing to ask for bread, the service was excellent, and I would definitely recommend the place to anyone looking for a true, authentic Italian meal on The Hill in STL.

CTD-
Once again, nobody does it like you do! All the food looks terrific, especially the Trio fest and the grilled jalapeno sausage. I'm sure you enjoyed some excellent company, too. Great line about the three hour nap!

Eating all this food before a long day of eating? I'm interested to see if it helps you or hurts you.

Have a great time at the Meet 'n Greet! You have no idea how badly I wish I could be there.

TTM-
St. Louis one day, Chicago the next, your screenname is much deserved! I certainly hope you are bringing the big guy some gooey butter cake. BTW, I agree, about both Park Avenue Coffee and Lou Boccardi's. Have safe traveling today and enjoy Chicago!

quote:

Originally posted by buffetbuster

CTD-
Once again, nobody does it like you do! All the food looks terrific, especially the Trio fest and the grilled jalapeno sausage. I'm sure you enjoyed some excellent company, too. Great line about the three hour nap!

Eating all this food before a long day of eating? I'm interested to see if it helps you or hurts you.

Have a great time at the Meet 'n Greet! You have no idea how badly I wish I could be there.

BB - I did stop prepping by 9pm....

quote:

Originally posted by The Travelin Man

If I had known that there would be a prequel thread, I wouldn't have left my camera's data cable in the car. I could have contributed my pre-game evening in St. Louis. I had stops tonight at Park Avenue Coffee (you will not be disappointed, CTD), where, in true buffetbusterian fashion, I ate dessert first. I followed up with dinner at Lou Boccardi's, where I enjoyed the best toasted ravioli I have ever had the pleasure to consume. And, in a final nod to my Roadfood brethren, I finished my evening with a second dessert - at Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. I had an Oreo concrete, which makes a good end to most any day.

Unfortunately, I slept in a bit today (late arriving from Indianapolis and all), which caused me to punt some of the stops on my STL agenda. I did not get to Crown Candy Kitchen or Gus' Pretzel Shop, and I will not be able to stop there in the morning, as I need a much earlier departure from here than I had originally intended.

Looking forward to seeing/meeting all of you in the morning.

My 5:30 wake-up call is going to come around quick.

TTM - A beautiful Triple Play...safe travels...you've got fragile cargo!

The Prequel - continued...

Waking up early and ready to go, I decided on a drive for warm-up vittles to the Weber Bakery. In operation since 1930, this family run bakery really hums in the morning. It caters to an Eastern European crowd - especially Czech and Polish, although folks from all walks of life are welcome. Located 15 minutes from Midway Airport, many a returning Chicagoan has gotten off the plane and headed over for a hometown fix. As you'll soon see, their hours are pretty customer friendly.




These hours are as customer friendly as it gets. Special Note - beginning Janaury 1st, 2009, Weber Bakery will close on Mondays.


Every day features a special like these Eclairs!


And they plan on selling quite a few judging by the full cooler...


Here's a three pack of custard filled chocolate covered eclairs. They are really Jumbo and shoulds be enjoyed by my son.

But back to the visit...


Here's a look at the crowd on a Sunday morning at 7:30am. A "Please take a number" policy is strictly enforced keeping things pretty organized. It was impossible to get good shots of all the front display cases.


The back display caes were another thing...


Kolache and coffee cakes...




Breads of all types...and this is just a portion...




Coffee cakes and pies...


These fruit coffee cakes are quarted by a cheese filling deliniating the four flavors...I grew up on these...


Whip cream cakes and specialty items for Thanksgiving...




I've had many a birthday cake from Weber...


The ride home took forever! but here's the haul...


Almond coffee cake with a sliced, raisin Houska in the foreground.


The mutt's mix box with rasberry danish, apple slices, poppy seed kolache, apple cinnimum buns, etc...

The eclairs...


And a special box with a dozen mixed kolache...might be trade bait in case anyone just happens to have some gooey butter cakes!

About time for loading up the van...


If you're in the area, this is a great stop and should be added to Roadfood.

Weber's Bakery
7055 West Archer Avenue
Chicago, IL 60638
Tel: 773-586-1234

www.webersbakery.com

Now...on to the main event!

Nicely done CTD! Only you would buy that much goodies before heading out on an epic eating day. Glad you found a good kolache place near home. How do they compare to what you had around Austin?

BB - The early bird was out looking for the worm! No savory kolaches around here, so quite different from Austin.

ChiTownDiner, You can't just pick up and go to a 14 stop eating event. Training is everything. Great report.

The big day is here, you have trained hard, now go get'um.

Wow! You get an A+ for preparation!!

Hope you, and the rest of our RF friends have a great trip today!!

WOW!! I'll be thinking of all you all today.....
Fantastic job! Those bakery photos are just what I needed to see on a nice relaxing Sunday morning with a hot cup of coffee just waiting to see if central Ohio gets some snow today.

I received a call from ChiTownDiner from the front lines of the meet & greet and they had already been to seven places! Can't imagine we will be seeing photos and a report anytime soon, since I think he will need a few days to sleep it off!

Oh contrare...a Roadfooders day is never done...

Hello all ,

Fantastic !!!!! Great to see and read that it was a good day for all . A prequel , well of course , I know I cannot sleep the night before the Annual Jersey Hot Dog Tour hoping that all the planning and execution goes off perfectly .
I usually remedy it by having some chili from Coney Island Rest. in Middletown NY .

Benzee

Chicago Meet 'n greeters....feel free to add pictures, posts, comments and anything else to the Main Event thread.

quote:

Originally posted by ChiTownDiner

Oh contrare...a Roadfooders day is never done...

Glad to see Travelin Man didn't rub off on you. To post pictures tonight after everything you ate is a true Herculean Roadfood task!

And yes...The Travelin Man has a part to play in this drama yet!

The hummus looked great, so did that pizza!
And what a crowd at the bakery! I would have to bring an empty suitcase just to take all my purchases back on the airplane! Nice looking eclair, too

Oh that brick oven pizza looked like something special...and those breads at the bakery...what a great start!!!

CTD, you are the "eye of the tiger" man! Awesome report! Love the Rocky-like training. Can't go into these tours without working out the Roadfood muscles! What a great diversity of food at the Grapevine and those pasries are killin' me! Thanks so much!

quote:

Originally posted by Benzee

Hello all ,

Fantastic !!!!! Great to see and read that it was a good day for all . A prequel , well of course , I know I cannot sleep the night before the Annual Jersey Hot Dog Tour hoping that all the planning and execution goes off perfectly .
I usually remedy it by having some chili from Coney Island Rest. in Middletown NY .

Benzee

Benzee - Thanks for understanding my dilema...The mind works in mysterious ways! Hope all is going well with you!

ellen and leethebard - The pizza was awesome. I really enjoy those brick oven set-ups...reminds me of East coast pizza!

I really thought for a minute I could smell the bakery case--beautiful photos!

Always a pleasure to follow along on your reports-just wish I could have followed along in person...

billyboy - Those pastries are still on the counter as I write this along with Margies Candies and St. louis Gooey Butter Cakes! This will not be a good diet week...

Ann - We missed you...but you know they'll always be a next time and you'll be there. Gotta take care of the workplace first, or the other things won't be a happening. My best to Bob also!