Bob Chinn's Crab House

Location: 393 S. Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling, IL 60090

A Quick Word:
When it comes to seafood, people are torn between Chinatown, huge seafood establishments, and crab houses.  One of the most famous ones is Bob Chinn's Crab House.  This restaurant, located in the suburb of Wheeling, has been featured as one of the most popular seafood restaurants in the Nation.  When you arrive, it seems like any ordinary restaurant from the outside, but you find an amusement park feel on the inside.  There are huge signs that say parties of 2, 3, or more and different lines for each group.  The walls are filled with pictures of celebrities or other restaurant propaganda, including various T-shirts for sale.  After getting over the strange ambiance, the hawaiian-shirt wearing waiter arrives at your table with amazing garlic rolls.  When the food arrives, you see a trend of delicious seafood recipes cooked to perfection.  Unfortunately, the side dishes appear to not be held to the same standards.  Most are subpar.  All in all, I thought the seafood was incredibly fresh and tasty.  The prices are pretty expensive, easily around $50 per person.  The location is not the greatest for Chicagoans, but if you make the trek out to the burbs, you won't be disappointed with the flavor.  I decided on a 4-mile rating because I loved the food, but thought a similar meal could be eaten in Chicago's Chinatown.

What We Ate:

Garlic Rolls

To start off,  all tables get homemade garlic rolls.  These traditional rolls are swimming in a garlic- parsley butter and come to your table piping hot.  The garlic is raw, so be aware... it has that nice sharp garlic flavor that is sure to make your breath unpleasant, but these rolls are totally worth it.  Ask for however many you want, but I will say, we were pretty full after eating just a couple so save room for the amazing seafood meals you ordered.

Oysters

The oysters at Bob Chinn's were the typical larger-style oysters that many oyster houses feature.  Unfortunately, you cannot choose the location or type of oyster you want.  These are served by the dozen and come with cocktail sauce, horseradish, saltine crackers, and lemons.  The oysters were as fresh as they come.  Nothing special, but still great tasting.

Alaskan Dungeness Crab (Large; Ginger Onion)

For our meal, my girlfriend and I decided to split a couple entrees.  Our first was the large Alaskan dungeness crab cooked with ginger and onions.  The crab was served hot and smothered in that sweeter Asian style sauce.  A side of red potatoes also accompanied the meal.  The crab itself was about 2 pounds in weight.  They break off the top shell for you but leave all the legs and clusters intact.  The shell is tough to break, but nothing teeth can't handle.  Huge chunks of crab can be gained from the legs and clusters.  Dip them into that ginger sauce and enjoy.  The sweet crab works well with the ginger and onion sauce.  The red potatoes were just an OK side and I honestly wouldn't order those again... but that crab was amazing and I recommend it to everyone.

Lobster Roll

Rather than ordering lobster and having even more shell to pick through, we decided on the lobster roll as our second entree.  The lobster salad is made with huge chunks of lobster and a little mayo.  It is served in the traditional New England style  buttered roll and with a side of green beans.  The sandwich itself is huge.  There is plenty of claw meat to go around, but unfortunately, it is served on the room temperature-to-cold side rather than being a warm lobster roll.  The mayo makes it a little on the richer side which is amplified by the buttered roll.  I thought the roll was a little too dense and too much for me.  We ended up eating the lobster salad separately rather than as a sandwich.  It was a great sandwich at a reasonable price.

New England Clam Chowder

The final menu item we decided to share was a cup of their clam chowder.  Being the New England version, we expected a more creamy, white soup with plenty of clams and potatoes.  And, we weren't disappointed.  First of all, the cup of soup was a huge bowl, plenty for two people to share.  The soup was very creamy... sometimes a couple bites seemed too creamy.  There was plenty of clams and potatoes.  The soup is served hot and with oyster crackers.  Another great option at Bob Chinn's.

Mai Thai Cocktail

Prior to eating at Bob Chinn's, I had heard great reviews about their Mai Thai cocktails.  They were served in these plastic, vacation-resort-like cups and had a skewer of assorted tropical fruit in it.  The drink was great and I would definitely come back to get another cup or two.

The DOs/DON'Ts:
DO:
- Come on the weekdays.  This place gets extremely packed during the weekends and the wait can be on the upwards of two hours at some point.
- Share everything!  The dishes are huge.
- Plenty of parking surrounding the restaurant on both sides.

DON'T:
- Don't expect a 5-star ambiance.  Instead, picture great food in a vacation-like, amusement park feel.

How far would I walk for this food?

Joe's Lo Mai Gai

Dim sum meals have been on my schedule for the past several weeks.  Every time we go, one of my first choices is the Lo Mai Gai, which some know as lotus leaf wraps or sticky rice chicken.  Whatever you call them, these dim sum specialities arrive fresh from a bamboo steamer.

This was my first time trying to make this amazing dish.  I found several recipes online, but one complaint I always have is the flavorless chicken some restaurants use.  Rather than trusting recipes online, I decided to tweak just about everything on several different recipes and add a little Filipino touch by using an adobo chicken recipe.  Enjoy!

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Joe's Lo Mai Gai (aka Lotus Leaf Wraps)

This Recipe is for ~10-12 Lo Mai Gai

Ingredients:

4 cups sweet rice (thai sweet rice or glutinous rice)

4 chicken breasts - diced and marinated

1.5 to 2 cups dried shitake mushrooms - rehydrated and diced

4 links of Chinese sausage - cut into 1/2 inch thick diagonals 

4 boiled eggs - each sliced into 4 pieces

Dried Lotus leafs - stems removed, unfolded to show full circular leaf, and cut into 1/4 pieces

~5 tbsp of oyster sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Chicken Marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp rice wine

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp minced garlic

Instructions:

Prep work:

Start by washing the sticky rice until water runs clear.  Then place into bowl and immerse entirely in water for minimum of 2 hours.  Longer is definitely better since no additional water will be added to the rice when cooking.

For the chicken, after being diced, pour the chicken marinade and allow to rest for minimum 1 hour or until you begin cooking the sticky rice.

The mushrooms should be submerged in water and allowed to rehydrated for a minimum of 30 minutes or until soft.  After rehydrated, they are easier to slice.

The lotus leaves now need to be rehydrated.  To prepare, first remove the hard stem portion using scissors.  Unfold the leaf to reveal the entire circular leaf and then cut into 4 pieces.  Submerge the quartered leaves and ties in water until pliable.  (usually takes 1-2 hours)

Cooking:

Start by lining some kind of steamer (bamboo, elevated rice cooker, etc.) with cabbage.  Place the rice into steamer and add above the boiling water for about 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, stir the rice and recover for another 10 minutes or until soft.  The rice will get sticker as it sits.

The chicken can be cooked at the same time.  In a large pan, stir fry the chicken until almost fully cooked.  Add the diced mushrooms, sliced Chinese sausage, and oyster sauce.  Add additional oyster sauce if you want additional flavor.  Salt and pepper to your liking.

Once chicken, sausage, and mushroom mixture is cooked, add the sticky rice and stir.  Remove from heat and allow to cool just enough to be handled.

Wrapping:

When it is time to wrap the mixture in the lotus leaf, start by getting the steamer ready.  Have it pouring off steam with a new cabbage leaf bed.  

Prepare each wrap by placing the rehydrated lotus leaf ribbed side down (smooth side up).  Place a layer of the rice mixture, add a couple slices of egg, a couple pieces of Chinese sausage, and then top with another layer of the rice.  I tend to make each lo mai gai about the size of my palm.  Fold the lotus leaf around the rice mixture you just created and finish by tying the lotus leaf closed.

Steam for approximately 30 minutes until the lotus leaf turns from a lighter green to a dark, wet-looking green color.  It took me closer to 40 minutes, but that may depend on your steamer.  Allow to cool a little and serve.  The longer it has to cool, the stickier the rice is inside the lotus wrap.  

Tips:

- These are good for Freezing!  Just steam first and then allow to cool.  Place into zip lock bag and freeze.  I wouldn't use eggs though if you are planning on freezing the lo mai gai.

- The dried lotus leafs are easily found in Chinatown.  They are pretty cheap, costing $1.79 in Chicago's Chinatown.

- Addition of a little sriracha or chili oil would give it a nice spice.

Joe's Slow-Smoked Rib Tips

If I had to choose my newest "specialty" or a dish my friends are craving more and more, I would without hesitation choose my rib tips.  While in college and medical school, I discovered the rib tip at several of Chicago's well-established BBQ restaurants.  I instantly fell in love with them and have ordered them all over the city.

For those who don't know, rib tips are literally the ends of ribs that are cut off in order to make the classic racks of ribs look more uniform.  So basically, you are getting amazing, high quality rib meat at "scraps" price.  As a student, it is real easy to see why I ordered them every time.  Cheap, tons of food, and high quality meat.  If you have never had a rib tip, I highly suggest them.  Just be aware, you may never order a rack of ribs again.

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Joe's Slow-Smoked Rib Tips

Ingredients:

5-6 strips of Rib Tips (7-10 lbs.)

Dry Rub - My "now secret" blend (salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, paprika, etc.)

Brown Sugar

Honey

Mixture of Apple and Hickory Wood Chips

Apple Juice (2- 12 oz bottles)

Lots of aluminum foil

Instructions:

First, always get that smoker up to temperature.  I like to have mine run around 225-235 degreesF throughout the entire smoking process.  While warming up, soak the wood chips in water for a minimum of 30 minutes.  I usually soak the wood chips overnight.  Prepare your own signature rub or you can purchase one at a store.  About an hour before smoking, I would go ahead and dry rub the meat and allow it to get warmer than the fridge.  Don't season too early or the salt will start drawing liquid out of the meat.

Once temperature hits the desired range, go ahead and place the rib tips in the smoker and cover.  I like to use apple wood chips first to give the rib tips a little extra sweetness, which is complemented by the apple juice spray you will be using.  Allow a heavy smoke to form.  Spray with apple juice every time you add additional wood chips to the smoker.  

I use a 4-2 rule... a minor variation of the traditional 4-2-1 rib rule.  The 4-2 refers to amount of time exposed to smoke and amount of time wrapped.  What I do is I smoke the ribs with apple for about 2 hours and then switch to hickory for the last 2 hours... meaning 4 hours total of smoking.  Then, I wrap the rib tips in aluminum foil with a mixture of brown sugar, honey, and apple juice and allow them to tenderize for 2 hours.  

After the 2 hours of tenderizing, the rib tips are cooked (no need to read internal temperature).  If you want a charred look, go ahead and place the rib tips back in the smoker for a quick 10 minutes.  Allow to rest for 15 minutes before cutting into small slices.  Enjoy!

Tips:

- If you can't keep your smoker up to temperature (excessive winter weather, running out of wood chips, etc.), you can do the tenderizing in an oven.  Just set the oven temperature to 225-240 degreesF and allow to cook for the 2 hours.  

- I found trying to tenderize the rib tips for even 2 hours and 30 minutes was too much.  They lost any remaining chew and actually fell off the cartilage/bone, which is over cooked for rib tips.

- Pray for an amazing Smoke Ring to result!

- Quickly make your own BBQ sauce.  I prefer mustard base sauces, but any type is pretty easy to do.

Joe's Louisana-inspired Crawfish Boil

Having the opportunity to spend more than a month in New Orleans, I became hooked on southern inspired cuisine.  One of my favorite is their boiled seafood.  From shrimp to crawfish to crabs, boiled seafood has amazing seasoning and all the fixings!  And, the best part of all... EVERYTHING IS COOKED IN ONE POT! (if your pot is big enough)

Being back in Chicago, I have craved more southern meals.  One day, we were walking through Chinatown and I saw fresh crawfish for the first time.  I knew I had to take advantage of this opportunity and host my own crawfish boil.  Armed with several smaller pasta pots, I attempted to recreate a southern style crawfish boil in my apartment.  Here is a recipe I tweaked to my liking and the result.

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Joe's Louisiana-inspired Crawfish Boil

Recipe for 7 lbs. of Crawfish (~1.5 lbs. per person)

Ingredients:

7 lbs. of fresh LIVE crawfish

1 large can Old Bay Seasoning

8 ears of corn - cut into 1/3 pieces

3 lbs. red potatoes - cut into 1/2 pieces

2 packages andouille sausage - cut into 1 inch thick pieces

2 whole garlic cloves - cut into 1/2 pieces

2 sweet onions - cut into 1/2 pieces

2 lemons - cut into 1/2 pieces
4-5 tablespoons sea salt
4-5 tablespoons fresh ground pepper
     (Adjust salt and pepper to taste)

Instructions:

Boil water so that each pot you are using is about 1/2 full.  Add the old bay seasoning, salt, and pepper to the liquid and taste.  It should be overly salted and overly spicy.

Once boiling, add the potatoes, onions, and garlic.  Boil for 10-15 minutes until potatoes start becoming a little softer.  Then add the corn and boil for another 10 minutes.  Finally, add the lemons and sausage.

Before adding the crawfish, be sure to check that each one is alive.  Cooking dead crawfish can spoil the entire pot.  Once checked, bring the pot up to boil and add all of the crawfish.  Stir and boil for 5-10 minutes (I tended to cook a little longer).  

Turn off the burner after the ~10 minutes and allow the crawfish and all the other ingredients to steep in the liquid for a MINIMUM of 30 minutes.

After the minimum 30 minutes, strain the food from the cooking liquid and dump on top of newspaper on a picnic style table.  This way everyone can enjoy and makes the cleanup much easier.  Serve with toasted garlic baguette and a great IPA or amber ale beer!

Tips:

- Make sure the liquid is boiling prior to dropping in the crawfish.  It allows the crawfish to be killed in a more humane way and makes the meat much better.

- Average 1.5 to 2 lbs of crawfish per person

- For a little extra flavor, add a little Old Bay Seasoning and pepper prior to eating.

Optional:
French Baguette
Freshly minced garlic

Olive oil

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Havana

Location: 412 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60654

A Quick Word:
With the name Havana, I always thought this restaurant featured solely Cuban cuisine.  Once I saw the menu, I was intrigued by the variety of Latin American options they offered.  Located in River North area, you can expect the restaurant to be busy, but you will be happy to find non-River North prices.  The cost is somehow kept on the low side, while still offering above average food.  My favorite is their jibarito... a Puerto Rican specialty sandwich that utilizes plantains rather than bread.  Other options are hit or miss and the consistency between dishes follows the same trend.  One constant favorite though is their mojito.  They offer several flavors including tropical fruits like mango and guava.  I highly suggest ordering a pitcher for the table... it is enough for five glasses and is a bargain.  After high consideration, the slow service and lack of consistency between dishes forced me into giving Havana a 3.5-mile rating.  At one point, the mojito itself was worth a 5-mile rating... but the rating went slowly down hill after the meal was begun.

What We Ate:

Calamari

The first decision we all made was to share the calamari appetizer.  I mean, who doesn't love fried calamari?  Here, they lightly bread the squid and include a mixture of Latin spices.  It is served with a combination chipotle-guajillo dipping sauce.  The calamari itself was tender, and the crust was nice and crispy.  It wasn't too thick and had enough spice for the calamari to stand alone.  My favorite pieces were the tentacles because of how crispy they turned out.  In terms of the sauce, I enjoyed them but thought the red portion was a little too acidic.  The creamy portion was much better, but when mixed in the same container, it was difficult to separate.  I think using a chimichurri sauce would be a great choice to serve alongside the creamy dip.  Good, not great, but great for sharing.

Guacamole & Chips (Large)

Another easy sharing appetizer was the chips and guacamole.  We ordered the large and it came with a lot more than guacamole.  The appetizer came with tri-colored tortilla chips, a large cup of guacamole, a fresh pico, and, what they call, a salse de arbol.  The chips were nothing special except different colors.  What stood out were those three dips.  The guacamole was creamy and rich... probably helped out by the addition of a little sour cream.  The pico was as fresh as can be.  And, that salsa de arbol had some heat behind it.  I enjoyed mixing the guac with the salsa de arbol to make a spicier guac.  Easy for sharing and plenty of chips for all.

Tostones (Large)

I am a huge fan of fried plantains (as you will soon see below).  So, our family decided to order the tostones appetizer.  This dish is simple... green plantains fried twice and served with both a garlic dip and a house-made mojo sauce.  Each plantain was pounded to a thick patty before being fried to a crisp.  They remained unseasoned, which I thought was unfortunate... they needed a little salt.  However, both the garlic dip and that green mojo added enough flavor to the dish.  The mojo was my favorite... it was made with a lemon and cilantro and had a little vinegar flavor to me.  Mediocre dish by itself, but that mojo elevated it to better than average.

Steak Jibarito

As previously mentioned, fried plantains are my weakness.  So, the steak jibarito was a no-brainer.  This sandwich has always been one of my favorites, and Havana does a pretty good job making it.  The sandwich starts with two twice-fried green plantains rather than bread.  Stuffed inside are slices of marinated steak, melted American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and of course a little mayo.  The dish comes with seasoned fries and a chimichurri dipping sauce.  I absolutely loved the sandwich.  The plantains were thick enough to hold up against all the juices and sauces in the sandwich.  As before, they were under seasoned, but once again, the dish was saved by the amazing chimichurri sauce.  My steak was tender, but my mom also ordered the same sandwich and was greeted by an unfortunately tough piece of meat.  I guess consistency isn't their forte.  The fries were great, especially when you dip them in the chimichurri.  It added the needed oil, cilantro, and garlic to the dish.  Delicious... if you get the tender steak!

Ensalada con Camarones

The other dish my girlfriend and I decided to split was their version of a shrimp salad.  It was a great compliment to the more greasy jibarito.  The salad is simple... mixed greens, grilled pineapple, sliced jicama, and of course grilled tiger shrimp.  It was all topped with a citrus-guava dressing.    I really enjoyed the sweetness of the salad.  Not only was the dressing sweet, the pineapple and even jicama had some sugar component.  It came with half a dozen shrimp that were of good size and cooked well.  I was also pleasantly surprised to how large the salad was.  Easily split between two people.

Carne con Tequila

My older brother chose the carne con tequila.  This was one of the other options that sounded great so I was glad to give it a try.  The dish was a chargrilled skirt steak smothered in a tequila-infused sauce and served with chimichurri topped fries.  Once again, the dish was of great portions.  The steak was much more tender than the one served in the jibarito.  The sauce was amazing... reminded me of a gravy with a little hint of alcohol.  I think the dish would have benefited from something that could soak up that gravy or even a vegetable dish to make it a little more fresh and less oily.  And, finally, those chimichurri fries were still once again great.

Key Lime Pie & Guava Cheese Flan

For the dessert, my family decided to split two slices.  The first was key lime pie.  Classic key lime flavor with house made whipped cream and a graham cracker crust.  The majority of the key lime flavor was in that light green syrup drizzled on top with the rest of the dessert one-noted, and it wasn't a good note.  The second dessert was a guava cheese flan.  It sounded tasty, especially after the amazing guava mojito we all enjoyed... however, it was subpar just like the key lime pie.  First of all, the constancy of the flan was more of a rubbery jello than a creamy flan.  The cream cheese made it feel like a cheesecake, but also not creamy enough.  Guava flavor was also minimal, unlike that mojito.  I suggest avoiding dessert and getting another pitcher of that mojito.

The DOs/DON'Ts:
DO:
- Do order a pitcher of their Mojitos.  I highly suggest the guava one.  Sorry for no picture, but it was gone before I remembered.  Delicious!

DON'T:
- I wouldn't waste time on their dessert.  It isn't that great and the wait staff took nearly 30 minutes to bring it out.  Don't expect the fastest service.  In fact, at one point, we went nearly 45 minutes without seeing our waiter.  Service is just mediocre.

How far would I walk for this food?