Harold’s Chicken — Hyde Park, Chicago

So I already mentioned our afternoon spent in the Hyde Park neighborhood, but I would be really remiss in not covering the awesome lunch we had.

As some of you may know, The Kid also has a chicken wing review blog, which, while it’s not updated currently, has been a big pastime for her and her dad, and she usually won’t turn down a chance to eat some new chicken wings. When we asked my Chicago-dwelling sister, Jen, where we should get some stand-out wings, she led us straight to Harold’s Chicken. (Also called Harold’s Chicken Shack, I gather.)

I didn't take any pictures at Harold's, so here is a sign that may or may not be at the one we visited.

Another bonus to this trip was that when Shaylyn got a chance to cover President Obama’s visit to Marquette earlier this year, she really wanted to ask him where his favorite chicken wings are. We still don’t know the answer to that for sure, but Harold’s is pretty close by to the Obamas’ residence in Hyde Park, and rumor has it that the President had been known to stop in there when he lived in town. (Blame Jen if that’s not true, that’s just what she said.)

So, our visit served to fulfill, at least partly, Shaylyn’s need to answer that question. And if not, she still liked the chicken!

We ordered a good selection among the group, with boneless chicken, wings, white and dark meals all putting in an appearance at the table. Pair that with cold pops, fries and some hot and mild sauces, and all the walking we’d just done, and it was an about perfect lunch. Harold’s fries their chicken simply, with flour and salt and pepper, and simple is good in this case. I’d eat more of that any day. For those who like chicken livers and gizzards, you’re in luck, because unlike a lot of fried chicken places, Harold’s serves those up too.

Mm yum. All that for $3? No complaints here.

The only offputting thing about Harold’s was that the cashier left out several things we ordered, and it was difficult to communicate through the thick glass windows that wall off the kitchen. Typical in urban areas but that doesn’t make it any easier.

There’s nothing fancy about the food, and there’s nothing fancy about the restaurant, but there’s a reason there was a continuous line of take-out customers as we ate. Harold’s Chicken is really good, and really cheap (for us it was right around $3 each) and you can’t ask for a lot more than that.

Afterward, we walked down to see the Obamas’ house, which was quite well posted and patrolled by black SUVs (Secret Service, I suppose), and worked off some of the grease with a stint at a little playground around the corner. (Why are playgrounds away from home always so much better than the ones at home?)

I’m sure there are other great chicken places to eat in Chicagoland — Got any recommendations for us for next time?

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Al’s Italian Beef, Chicago, Illinois

So this is Sam’s guest post on Al’s Italian Beef. He’s been wanting to find a good Italian beef on each of our trips to Chicago, and from this, it sounds like he did 🙂 Enjoy!

I didn’t know much about Italian beef other than what I had witnessed while watching television—but I did know this: I wanted it spicy and I wanted it dripping with au jus.

Thankfully for me, in just my second time ever having a true Chicago Italian beef sandwich, the company I ordered from knew exactly what I meant.

This is Al's, but we ordered delivery 🙂

Big Al’s is as big of an institution in the world of Italian beef as you’re likely to find. They’re known across the country as the place to stop when you’re in Chicago and you’re looking for some traditional fare. Of course, it helps that they’ve had several magazines say that their namesake sandwich is one of the best in the United States. Don’t believe me? Well, check out this article in Travel & Leisure magazine.

Frankly, I’m not so easily swayed. I’ve been a journalist for over a decade and I know the business fairly well. I’ve seen some of these travel writers swoon just because someone is sliding a free plate of eats across the table to them. So, I always think it’s best if I make a judgment for myself. The reason I decided to try Al’s? Well, it’s simple, actually: They delivered to the location I was at when I decided I wanted one.

So Al’s delivered—and in more ways than one. It was almost immediately after the delivery had been placed in my hand that the first whiff of the Italian beef hit my nose. Talk about a heart-warming experience. At that moment, all of my troubles faded from view. I forgot my name even, or the fact that I don’t like cats. I actually shared my beef with my host’s cat, which had promptly awakened at the smell of Al’s and jumped up on the radiator to get a better view of my chomping. I guess she knows a good meal when she sees one, too.

So the cat and I dined. And we enjoyed. And one of us purred, though I can’t be sure which one it was.

Al (or the people who bought the company back in the 70s) sure knows their beef. It was sloppy and runny and so full of juice you might as well been eating a bowl of soup with meat stacked in it and some bread for sopping up the mess. It’s all good though. The cat and I agreed that it was supposed to be that way. Al would have, too. There’s even an official stance when eating one of these bad boys, which you can see here, on the right-hand side of the page.

I had ordered the Big Al, which is a gigantic 8 inches of stacked, thinly sliced beef. You can get them with sweet peppers or hot (I went with the latter) and they come wrapped to protect you if you ordered it wet. You can, of course, order them dry, too, but I don’t understand why you would.

The famous "wet" Italian beef sandwich,

So the sandwich is pretty much everything you could hope for. Super tasty. Super juicy. Super good. The Big Al is just $7, and it’s well worth it, too. Next time I’m in Chicago, I’ll likely find myself another Al’s to chomp down at, maybe this time with some cheddar fries.

In addition to the Big Al, I did also order the Chargrilled Double Italian Sausage sandwich, which comes with two massive Italian sausage links cooked to absolute perfection. I had sweet peppers put on that bad boy.

To be open and honest, I didn’t eat it until hours later when I got back to my hotel room. It was cold and it had been stashed in my parked car for hours. So, when I say that it was the single best Italian sausage I have ever eaten in my life (and I’m a cudighi fanatic, folks), it’s definitely saying great things. I cannot, at all, wait to try one of these piping hot right off the grill. That may be the moment I experience absolute, utter bliss. This thing was filling, too—there was absolutely no need for a midnight snack after that.

Of course, not all things were perfectly pleasant with Al’s. The soda I ordered was super watery and so full of ice I was surprised they actually fit any soda in there. Thankfully I had ordered two, because I wouldn’t have made it through a single Big Al’s without them.

And, another painful moment, was the price tag with the delivery charge tacked on. Yeah, I know, it’s Chicago and things tend to be pricier, but I ordered $18 worth of food and ended up paying $26—without a tip. So, lesson learned here: I’ll be eating in at Al’s for now on.

In the end, I cannot break my own rule of trying new foods and new places when I’m on the road, but that doesn’t mean I can’t go back to Al’s in between fresh, new stops. And, believe me, the taste alone is worth trying to squeeze them into my schedule.

What’s your favorite place for Italian beef? Is it even in Chicago? Tell us more so we can eat more! 🙂

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