The Contingent Invades The NW Suburbs Of Chicago, February, '13

Me too!  I have my flight and rental car...if you don't see me I'm dead or in a coma!

Every once in a while it pays to have a spouse who’s smarter than you.
 
Last week I was doing more “research”, looking for additional tasty stops for the Des Plaines tour.  I had five solid picks, but I felt like we needed to have one more place, and it needed to be someplace that would clearly stand in contrast to the other joints we were visiting.  I was thinking either Asian or Middle Eastern.
 
A few problems:
 
1. There aren’t any Middle Eastern places in Des Plaines.
 
2. The Chinese places in town are fairly ordinary and not worth including on the tour.
 
3. There is a very good Vietnamese restaurant, but the portions are rather precious; not the kind of size that would suit a large group of foodies passing plates around and sharing.
 
I was resigned to skipping Asian cuisine and holding at five stops.  Then Mrs. Roadhouse asked the question,. “Are you going to include an Asian market on the tour?”
 
“Well, yes there are at least three huge Asian markets we can choose from.”
 
“And they all have food courts don’t they?”
 
And just like that; Problem Solved.  There’s Mitsuwa, a Japanese market with a Nipponese focused food court.  There’s Assi with a mostly Korean-centric food court.  And there’s Super H Mart with more of a pan-Asian food court.  Depending on time and appetites, we can visit one or all three.
 
With that frustration eliminated, the food itinerary (loosely) looks like this:
 
1. Paradise Pup for incredible Cheeseburgers and custom Shakes
 
2. Rinconcito Hispano for Pupusas and a wide range of other Salvadoran delights
 
3. Rand Red Hots for Gene & Jude’s style Chicago Hot Dogs and Maxwell Street Polish with top-shelf fresh cut Fries.
 
4. Los Tamales Oaxaquenos for banana leaf wrapped Tamales and a menu full of other regional Mexican cuisine not normally seen at other Taquerias.
 
5. Mitsuwa, Assi, or Super H Mart (TBD) for international shopping and noshing (Pan fried Dumpling Fans, get ready to be in Heaven!)
 
6. Mehanata, our grand finale dinner of Bulgarian specialties.
 
Because everything is in relatively close proximity, except for starting the day at Paradise Pup and wrapping up at Mehanata, we can juggle and adjust where we go and when based on the whims of the group.
 
Interspersed in the eating stops will be shopping options at New York Bagel & Bialy and Shop N Save (an Eastern European grocery with an extensive deli and a mind boggling selection of very reasonably priced items from all over Europe).
 
I’m also working on a couple of other stops that are totally unrelated to food eating and/or shopping.  There will be some cost involved in one of those stops, so I’ll create a separate post to raise that issue.
 
I hope that answers the “itinerary” questions for now, and piques your curiosity and interest.
 
Buddy

stricken_detective


Outlook not so good. I expect pictures!!!

Buddy posted that Assi might be a possible stop.  You don't want to pass up a t-shirt opportunity like that, do you?
 
Right now weather.com says 31, partly sunny, west wind at 9mph, 10% chance of precip.  Considering the time of year that's a pretty favorable forecast; hopefully it only gets better.

Got my hotel booked right in Des Plaines and most of the locations programmed into my GPS (need to look-up the shopping stops yet).  I'm heading down on Friday and coming home on Sunday, that way I can maximize the energy to burn on the tour
 
The only thing that could keep me from the trip at this point is weather, so I hope the long-term forecast holds up.
 
Thanks, Buddy, for putting this together.  My soul needs this bad!  I so love exploring new locations and I have never been around these neighborhoods before.

Wow, Buddy, looks like a great line-up. It'll be hard to prioritize eats, as it all looks marvellous. I think it's kind of funny, though, that Des Plaines has a pupusería and a Bulgarian restaurant, but no Middle Eastern place. There's a business opportunity for someone!

cjucoder,
There's a strong possibility we'll be available Friday evening if you're interested in hitting a couple of pre-tour stops.  I suspect AlyceinRoadfoodland might also be free that night.
 
Buddy

quijote
Wow, Buddy, looks like a great line-up. It'll be hard to prioritize eats, as it all looks marvellous.

I think it will be a matter of moderation and skipping unnecessary items.  For example, don't bother with the fries at Paradise Pup.  They're fairly ordinary institutional Sysco spuds, and we'll be getting far better ones at Rand Red Hots.
 
Likewise, at Riconcito Hispano, focus on the Salvadoran choices and avoid the more standard Mexican offerings that can be had anywhere.
 
And yes, it is an annoyance that I have to travel a whole six miles in order to get a decent plate of Chicken Shawarma.  I've lived in Des Plaines more than 25 years and I still can't believe no one has yet figured out to open up a Falafel House somewhere in town.
 
Buddy

Let's bump the guest list up to the current page:

chicagostyledog - 2 (Joining the group late)
JRPfeff/PieDiva - 6 (Could there...Possibly...be...more)
X1 - 1
quijote - 1
cjucoder - 1
irisarbor - 1 (Possibly 2)
ScreamingChicken - 1 (Possibly 2)
ann peeples - 1 (Pending a ride)
AlyceinRoadfoodland - 1
carolina bob - 1
abe_froeman & Mr. Maki - 2
BuddyRoadhouse - 1
 
Total Contingencies - 18

BR - We are now at 6.

One of the “problems” we have on these tours is a lack of non-eating activities to break up the day.  We hit restaurant after restaurant, and even when we practice great restraint and moderation, we end up bloated and queasy at the end of the day.  I’m hoping to toss in a few breaks in the foodie action on this tour in an effort to make us all a little more comfortable and, frankly, so we can spend more time with our friends.
 
I mentioned the grocery stops in previous posts.  New York Bagel & Bialy and Shop N Save are two solid choices, but they’re still related to food, even if we don’t eat there.  I’ve got two other potential stops in mind.  I want to focus on one of them here because there would be an additional cost involved.
 
Dad’s Slot Cars ( http://www.dadsslotcars.com/ ) has been a Des Plaines institution for at least a couple of decades, although I’ve never visited.  They have a private party rate of $125 per hour.  I know that sounds like a lot, but here’s the breakdown:
 
We get to choose one of their two tracks to have for ourselves for an hour.  Each track has an eight car capacity.  Dad’s provides the cars and controllers.  If 16 of our members are interested in racing, it would only amount to about $8 a head.  Each person would get a half hour of race time.  If all 20 of us want to race, the price drops to $6.25 each.  Of course, that will also cut each person’s race time to about 20-25 minutes.
I haven’t made any commitments yet because I wanted to open this up for discussion and see how many of you are interested.  If enough people want to do this, I’ll go ahead and make a reservation and pay the $125, then you can pay me back.
 
I think this could be a fun distraction in the middle of chowing down.  And, FWIW, they have premium Ice Cream available, if anyone gets hungry.
 
Buddy

That looks interesting although bumper cars would be more fun.  Not that I have any pent-up anger at Chicago drivers or anything.
 
Plus I see from Google Maps that Alpine Camera is just a few steps away from Dad's and it looks like my kind of store.

I am dying to go to the Chicago Cubs World Series Museum.  It that much out of the way?

JRPfeff


I am dying to go to the Chicago Cubs World Series Museum.  It that much out of the way?

 
Dream on!

Yeah, about 108 years "out of the way".
 
Buddy

I would race slot cars-
Frank might come w me- I put him at 50-50
Laura is likely coming and bringing a friend-Sarah
I will not bring the evil twins no matter what
This brings the irisarbor group to 3, maybe 4
What time do we meet at paradise Pup?
 
E

I'd be in for slot car racing.  28 years living in Des Plaines and I've never been there (you never took us anywhere! .)  I think Mr. Maki has, though. 

Count me in!

Slot cars could be fun and something new to do.  Never even heard of it before.  For me though, I think I'll sit it out.  I'll likely take that hour and rest for a bit at the hotel.

I was thinking the same thing.  Are there hotels in the area that rent rooms by the hour?
 
{I get pretty brave when the Pie Diva is 900 miles away}

Sounds like we've got enough interest to make the reservation.  The more people who want to actually participate, the lower the per head fee.
 
cjucoder, you're welcome to nap at the hotel if you'd like, but there are places to sit and relax at Dad's if you're not planning to race.
 
Buddy

Buddy,
Need a working cell number to contact you on Saturday afternoon.
CSD

It sounds as if you folks have lots of fun. Wish we could be there.

We do okay.  Lots of out of towners have become Honorary Contingent Members over the years, either by joining in on tours or by association with members on smaller, private excursions.
 
buffetbuster, Travelin Man, and wanderingjew have all broken bread with us here on our home turf.  Carolina Bob has hung out with so many other Roadfooders, both here and on the road; I've lost track of all the names.  Heck, this whole tour was arranged because AlyceinRoadfoodland is coming into town from Los Angeles to see the Heat lose to the Bulls Thursday night.  She's sticking around for the weekend so we made a tour for her.
 
All are welcome on Contingent Tours, so come on up to Chicago (or Milwaukee).
 
Buddy

Wont make this one, my friends.........just got back from Mobile, and have to work...cant wait fot the report!

BuddyRoadhouse


We do okay.  Lots of out of towners have become Honorary Contingent Members over the years, either by joining in on tours or by association with members on smaller, private excursions.

buffetbuster, Travelin Man, and wanderingjew have all broken bread with us here on our home turf.  Carolina Bob has hung out with so many other Roadfooders, both here and on the road; I've lost track of all the names.  Heck, this whole tour was arranged because AlyceinRoadfoodland is coming into town from Los Angeles to see the Heat lose to the Bulls Thursday night.  She's sticking around for the weekend so we made a tour for her.

All are welcome on Contingent Tours, so come on up to Chicago (or Milwaukee). If you can find us.

Buddy

 
What's a working cell number that will allow us to meet up with the tour?

Are we getting maps?

Do we have a start time?

Do we have a start time?

I thought I read that Buddy said we needed to be waiting outside Paradise Pup by 10:45

It's late Friday, I've worked all evening at Burt's slinging pizza.  No motivation tonight.  Full info coming on Friday.
 
BTW, congrats to AlyceinRoadfoodland and her accursed Miami Heat for their win over the Bulls tonight.  Let's see 'em do that when Derrick Rose is healthy.
 
Buddy
 
P.S. I know Alyce and cjucoder are in town Friday, before the tour.  If either of you, or anyone else in the area for that matter, wants to get together at some point on Friday, I'm open.
 
B.