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

"bacon-wrapped Feta rolls at Hemanata"
 
Why didn't these make it to our end of the table?

Hahahaha! Only our group, because there were a lot fewer of them than the salami I passed around. 
 

Thanks so much to fearless leader for organizing a very fun, and well-paced day.
Apparently the only only thing we missed were the bacon-wrapped feta rolls.
Oh well a reason to return!
 
Shop n Save was also a great find!
Came home w 2 kinds of sausage, 2 kinds of bacon, and 2 kinds of pate!
plus a ginormous pork shoulder for $9.
Not to mention more GS cookies....

Iris, the girls were lucky enough to split the last two bacon-wrapped Feta rolls in half and share them amongst the four of them! 

Just got home.  Getting a hotel was definitely the way to go for me, I'm feeling all happy, relaxed and still full .  Thanks, Buddy for putting this together.  Also thank you to everyone for being so fun to be around :)  An awesome variety of places to explore, very nice paced day. 
 
I gotta side with X1 on the bacon wrapped feta, need to try making those at home.  I really loved the Vreteno at Mehanata also; chicken stuffed with cheese, pickles, peppers, mushrooms.
 
Any Bulgarian restaurants around Milwaukee area that compares to Mehanata?
 
Edited to add: The cabbage slaw at Rinconcito in the jars on every table was also memorable to me.  I LOVED that stuff.

cjucoder, there is a wonderful Bulgarian restaurant located in the Greater Milwaukee suburb of Des Plaines, IL.... I doubt you'll find anything closer. :(
 
On the good side of things, tonight's dinner included pieces of Shop-and-Save roasted bacon sauteed in butter with Shop-and-Save cheese-potato pierogies. :)

irisarbor


Shop n Save was also a great find!
Came home w 2 kinds of sausage, 2 kinds of bacon, and 2 kinds of pate!
plus a ginormous pork shoulder for $9.
Not to mention more GS cookies....

I could've maxed out a credit card in Shop & Save's meat department alone...the selection was outstanding!  I was able to keep my money in my wallet in the store but the Scouts nicked me for a couple of boxes...
 
The first stop was Paradise Pup on River Road for burgers.

 
Everyone was on time and in line before 11am.  Here we see Carolina Bob, JRPfeff, some smartphone-toting citizen, Chicagostyledog, Buddy Roadhouse, Mrs. CSD (Nina), Cjucoder, and Quijote.

 
There's not a lot of room inside.  In fact, AlyceinRoadfoodland had to shrink herself down and sit on Irisarbor's hat!

 
Please pardon the bite marks but I was unable to cut my burger because I left my machete and chainsaw at home.  I ordered the char burger with Merkt's cheddar spread and while it tasted pretty good the texture was different and I think I probably would've preferred a slice of cheese instead.

 
After Paradise Pup we headed down Oakton Street to Rinconcito Hispana for pupusas and other Salvadoran goodies.  Each table was given a container of the aforementioned slaw.

 
Fried plantains and beans.  The beans were good but the real favorite seemed to be the ground beef-filled crust thingies, which do have a real name but it escapes me at the moment.

 
Unfortunately at this point my camera stopped working from what would eventually turn out to be operator error so our enjoyable visits to Shop & Save, Rand Red Hots (the Maxwell Street Polish sausage was very good and the house-cut fries were outstanding), and Dad's Slot Cars (a great way to take a break from eating) will have to be documented by someone else.  And just down the street from Dad's is Alpine Camera, a great store full of classic equipment.  Here's my summary of those visits:

 
After spending an hour zipping around and occasionally flying off of the slot car track we headed to Los Tamales Oaxaquenos farther west on Oakton Street.  It's a small strip mall storefront but that shouldn't deter anyone from entering and placing an order, and at this point I had switched to my backup camera.

 
Eat-ins get some tasty homemade salsa and chips, which were puffy and not like the flat, single-layer chips that a lot of places serve.


 
How about a mole quesadilla?

 
Or one made with chorizo instead?

 
Of course, when "tamales" is in the restaurant's name one would be remiss to not order 1 green and 1 red.


 
The food here is very good.  The mole has a earthy, slightly sweet flavor and the chorizo (mildly spicy) and green tamale (taste bud wakeup call!) both had a nice amount of heat.
 
This was my last stop of the day as I had to make the 2-hour drive home in time to be there before Mrs. Chicken left for work, and it sounds like I missed a good finale at Mehanata.  Kudos to Buddy for putting together a great Saturday!

This was my very favorite eat & greet! We have learned to pace ourselves and not get over full. Loved the shopping! We just don't have those kind of places up here. And I didn't think I was going to enjoy the slot cars as much as I did. It was as much fun trying to keep the cars on the track as it was racing. Thanks Buddy! Loved it!

So glad you all had a wonderful time! Food sounds fabulous, and the friendship even better!

For all the accolades, I still wish we could have hit a few more places I've deemed Roadfood-worthy.
 
I just found out abut this place:
http://lthforum.com/bb/vi...c.php?f=14&t=37017
 
Actually, I knew about them from a prior incarnation when they were strictly a retail outlet in another location.  That they are now serving prepared food, comes as a complete surprise.  A fried Walleye Sandwich would have been a nice addition/change of pace to the places we hit.
 
Guess we'll need to do another Des Plaines tour.  Shall I book the time at Dad's Slot Cars?
 
Buddy

Yes, the slot car racing was a fantastic way to break up the eating!
Many thanks to Buddy for the inspired pacing and choices. 
First of all, the cheeseburgers at Paradise Pup were fantastic!  The meat, the bun, the cheese, the distribution of the condiments, just about perfect.  There was some commentary about whether these were better than Pucci's (if that's how it's spelled, I've never been there).  Is Pucci's close enough to do the side by side taste test?
And the shakes!  I didn't finish my vanilla shake and left it in the car overnight.  When I drank it the next day it was almost better.  Not quite frozen and the vanilla flavor was intense.
All my trips to the Chicago area will now have to be built around PP's hours....which stink! 
The fried meat pies at Riconcito Hispana unbelievable.  The crust was crisp, not at all doughy and the filling meaty and not greasy.  I'm regretting not buying a dozen to freeze.
The fries and Maxwell Style Polish at Rand's were excellent.  Better than other places in the area?  I leave that to the locals to argue.
At Los Tamales Oaxaquenos, we failed to notice the 'corn funghus' on the menu.  So check that out for us Buddy.
Buddy recommended the Danish Bacon at Shop N Save which is very good but different from regular pork bacon.  It's very beefy probably very good for bacon burgers.
Mehanata!  I was really looking forward to this because they have Lamb Sweetbreads on the menu.  Fellow Roadfoooder's insisted that, "you're on your own with that".  However, when the meat hit the table a couple of scoffers (I won't mention any names, you know who you are) wanted to sample.  Crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside...sounds like a candy bar, I know.  Very good!  They also have other "variety meats" on the menu.  While I would go back for that alone, the atmosphere is also worthwhile.
Across the room sat a table of either mid-level members of the Bulgarian Mafia, or the remnants of the 2000 Olympic Wrestling team.  I lean toward the latter just because one of them was wearing a florescent lime green 'For Members Only' type jacket.
The only thing I wouldn't recommend is the Bulgarian Cabernet Sauvignon.  It was very light...probably aged about 12 seconds.
And there was probably a Contingent first, but hopefully not last, a stop at the "Hello Kitty" boutique (actually called Fancy Pencil?) in the Super H Mart.
Good food, good company, reasonably good weather!
 

AlyceinRoadfoodland
First of all, the cheeseburgers at Paradise Pup were fantastic!  The meat, the bun, the cheese, the distribution of the condiments, just about perfect.  There was some commentary about whether these were better than Pucci's (if that's how it's spelled, I've never been there).  Is Pucci's close enough to do the side by side taste test?

Alyce, we ain't that fancy round these parts.  it's spelled "Poochie's", as in the nickname for a (Hot) Dog: "Here Poochie Poochie Poochie, here boy..."
 
Glad you enjoyed yourself.  Thank you for visiting Chicago and giving us a reason to put together a tour in the dead of winter.  Hope you're passing through again, sometime soon.
 
Buddy

We had the sweetbreads, too and thought they were the best thing we ate at Mehanata.
and we loved Fancy Pencil!
The girls spent their "allowance " there.. LOL
DId you get any of the Migahoda (Walnut cakes) at SUper H Mart?
Those are a must for me there-
Warm, with a walnut and sweet bean paste inside, and just small enough to pop in your mouth!