Read Our Minds

La Humita Restaurant Review

La Humita
Neighborhood: Old Irving Park
3466 N Pulaski Rd.
(between Cornelia Ave & Newport Ave)
Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 794-9672
www.lahumita.com

 

What a find! La Humita is one of those out-of-the-way places with good service, great food and personality.  If you're feeling adventurous and willing to travel west of I-94, La Humita is well worth the journey.  This cozy and quaint Ecuadorian restaurant reflects the pride of its owner, Nestor Correa. 

The food is fresh and tasty, and they have a full bar. Entrees, which include soup and sides are reasonably priced between $10 and $15. To our pleasant surprise, we learned that all meals are $9.95 on Sundays. Of small but important note: the bathrooms are very clean and nicely decorated.

We took our kids on the trek back to the ‘burbs after a recent visit to the Shedd Aquarium (skip the Fantasea show – fodder for another blog.) 

Among the four of us, we tried “Arroz con Menestra”, a flavorful grilled steak served with lentils and fried plantains; “Lomito saltado”, sauteed steak strips diced onions with peppers (a little spicy!) and tomatoes, served with rice and French Fries; and “Arroz con camarones,” jumbo shrimp with garlic and olive oil, served with rice, peppers, onions and coconut milk topped with naranjilla (a rare Ecuadorian fruit with an orange-like taste) butter sauce. 

If we hadn’t been in such carnivorous moods, we would have tried the tempting vegetarian dishes, such as the house specialty, humitas. It’s a mixture of freshly ground corn and cheese, steamed in a corn husk. There’s plenty to choose from, including pork, chicken and fish dishes. We were too full to bother with dessert – and that was the one part of the menu that didn’t thrill us.

If you’re looking for an authentic taste of Latin America, you don’t have to update your passport for this one!

--Reviewed by Donna Gaidamak

The Big Night (Co-Directed by Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci)

Forget Julie & Julia. The Big Night, released in 1996, is the best food movie ever, and one of the great unsung American movie-making treasures.

Tony Shalhoub (of TV’s Monk) and Stanley Tucci, who also directed, play two Italian immigrant brothers struggling to start a restaurant. Shalhoub, as Primo, is the chef who will not compromise his art. Tucci, as Secondo, is the maitre’d/business mind who is conflicted between supporting his brother’s considerable culinary skills or changing the restaurant’s menu to meet the vanilla tastes of the American public.

While food is the physical (guttural?) focal point of this story, the emotionally fulcrum is the love and frustration of family as Tucci explores ways to keep the business from going into foreclosure. Pascal, in a brilliant performance by Ian Holm, runs the competing successful restaurant down the road. Pascal offers to have Louis Prima’s band eat at Primo and Secondo’s restaurant in an attempt to create buzz in the neighborhood about Primo’s cooking. Seeing this as their last chance, the brothers plan a big feast and invite a wild cast of characters, including The West Wing’s Allison Janney as Primo’s love interest, and Minnie Driver as Tucci’s girlfriend. What unfolds is not what was planned, and reveals how strong familial ties can be even in the worst of times.

Spoil (your appetite) alert: As course after course is presented to the visitors during The Big Night, you will notice your appetite growing tremendously, especially when the Timpano is served. I guarantee that by the time you finish watching this movie, you will be very hungry. So watch it early and then go out to a fine Italian restaurant like Vittorio De Roma in Palatine, Ill. The specials – especially the Prosciutto in melon with melted asiago cheese – are fantastic! 

--Reviewed by Tim Boivin

Asian Spot is like Pennies from Heaven

If you have a yearning for Asian cuisine, but not much yen to spend, head to Penny’s Noodle Shop in the city, Northfield or Oak Park.  The original Penny’s is a tiny, triangular-shaped place under the el tracks in Wrigleyville. It’s the best of the bunch, seconded by the location on Diversey. There’s a Penny’s in Wicker Park at Damen and Pierce, but I haven’t tried it or the one in Oak Park. The restaurant in Northfield isn’t as good as its sisters in the city, but it takes care of my noodle craving any day!

My husband and I have been regulars for about 16 years and have always found the food to be consistently fresh, well prepared and incredibly reasonable in price. Our kids are big fans now too and we go often enough to get our fix of great Thai cuisine.

For appetizers, we start with delicious Thai spring rolls or satay with a slightly spicy peanut sauce. Penny’s also makes a flavorful crab Rangoon and offers Vietnamese spring rolls, potstickers and other starters.

On to main courses, my favorite is the Lad Nar. The noodles are wide and served with just the right combination of carrots, ginger and broccoli in a slightly sweet sauce. You can order it or any dish at Penny’s with chicken, beef, shrimp or tofu. If you like spice, try the Hot Pepper Noodles or Spicy Basil Leaves with chicken. Soup fans are also in luck. A bowl of it is plenty for two or to pack up as leftovers for lunch the next day.

Penny’s also serves great egg noodles in a bowl. It’s similar to the soup, minus the broth of course. We’re fans of the barbecued pork noodle bowl. It comes with fresh sprouts, green onions, more noodles than you can eat and of course, the BBQ pork slices. They offer several other varieties as well.

Their restaurants are clean, fresh and inviting. So if you’re looking for a great Thai restaurant – don’t strain your “noodle” thinking about. Head to Penny’s!

--Reviewed by Donna Gaidamak

Chillin' with Julia and Jacque

On Saturdays, while folding laundry and doing other mundane stuff around the house, I turn on PBS (

Channel 11) throughout the house to watch the cooking shows. Thanks to Julie and Julia, Julia Child is back on the air with Jacque Pepin. I love watching Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home. I loved the show ten years ago and I love it today, just as I loved as a child watching her mastery of the meat pounder with my Dad.

 

Inspired, I decided to make Julia’s French Onion Soup. Here’s the video: http://www.thedailybeast.com/video/item/julia-child-french-onion-soup-1/.

 

Here’s how I interpreted the recipe based on what’s in my pantry:

 

In a Dutch oven or stockpot,

 

• Four really large Spanish onions
• Three tablespoons of butter (Julia used olive oil but I wanted the richness of butter for this recipe)

Cook the heck out of the onions, letting them sit still for five or six minutes at a time then scrape up the brown bits and the onions. Repeat this until the onions are well caramelized – probably five or six times if the onions are thinly sliced. You will need a few more times if they’re thicker.  

 

• Sherry

I probably used about a half cup. I have a bottle on hand from some other recipe and didn’t feel like opening a bottle of red since I can’t drink right now and Kevin prefers beer. Besides, I had no idea whether to open the merlot, cabernet or shiraz.  Julia used white with the chicken stock. I think the sherry does wonders with caramelized onions.

 

Over medium heat, let the onions soak up the sherry and the liquid evaporate. This shouldn’t take five minutes.

 

• 32 oz carton beef broth (Julia used chicken stock but my plan was to make that on Sunday. I don’t make my own beef broth.)

Empty the carton; stir it up making sure the last of the brown bits are loosened up.

 

• Salt and Pepper to taste.

While this is all heating up together, I sliced about eight pieces of bread and stuck it under the broiler (top rack) for about two minutes each side. Yes, I have a Thermador oven. Unfortunately it is mid-century and it’s not calibrated. The bread burned quickly. Lesson learned: watch closely to guard against charred crust.

 

Throw what are now croutons into the bottom of large soup bowls. Fill the soup bowls with the soup and lay a few pieces of Swiss cheese on top. Lower the rack a bit to accommodate the bowls, place the bowls on a cookie tray and put back into the oven on broil. In about a minute, your cheese is melted and ready to savor!

 

In all this takes about 45 minutes. Forty of them are for the onions. It’s time consuming but well worth the effort!

 

-- Reviewed by Tracy Shryer

 

Who Says the Food Category Means Going Out to Eat?

If you have read any of my posts here on Read Our Minds, you know that the days since April 29, 2009 have been difficult. That’s the day I went to my doc to see about a lump.
 
One of the side-effects of all this chemo and stress is an abbreviated attention span. I find it hard to concentrate on the printed word. That would be true even if J.K. Rowling chose to write an eighth Harry Potter book.  So I sleep … a lot.

But I was feeling great over the Labor Day weekend. MyKevin (as he’s known around the office since one of my office mates called dibs on the name before I joined) has been so good to me around the house through my 2009 ordeal that I decided to burn all my energy on preparing a meal that he could sit back and enjoy.
 
So after a long nap or two I headed out to the grocery store to figure out what to make for my honey. Kevin's become a good cook but it’s been a lot of burgers (he makes the best), chicken and spaghetti, sometimes with beef, sometimes not.  

I decided on Jambalaya. Below is the recipe I found on Recipezaar. I don’t follow directions well so I am also including my substitutions.

I boiled the chicken breasts in the two cups of water to make a stock (I threw in onion, carrots and celery to flavor the chicken and the stock). After peeling and deveining the humongous shrimp I bought at the fish monger around the corner, I threw the remains into the chicken stock to further flavor. I was even able to find Andouille sausage for the pop! Instead of the spices below, I tossed a bay leaf, some fresh oregano, the thyme and a teaspoon of Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning into the pot.
 
I made a mess and was exhausted from boiling and removing the skins from our little backyard green bell peppers, and cherry and grape tomatoes. (Why won't my heirloom or beefsteaks grow?) But the important thing is that Kevin loved it last night and again for lunch the next day. He didn't even need to add any hot sauce.

Bon Appetit!  Let me know what you think of the recipe and share your ideas on what to make next time I feel up to it.
 

Jambalaya Recipe

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 lb andouille sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
1 (14 ounce) can tomatoes, chopped,with juice
2 cups chicken broth or stock
8 ounces medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 green onions, finely chopped
Directions:
· Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

· In a large pan or Dutch oven, brown chicken in hot oil on both sides; remove and drain.

· Add andouille, onion, celery, bell pepper, thyme, oregano, paprika, salt, and cayenne pepper to the pan, cooking and stirring for about 5 minutes until onions are tender.

· Add rice, tomatoes with juice, and broth; bring to a boil.

· Place rice mixture in a baking dish or oven-proof casserole; top with chicken; cover (can use foil) and bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until rice and chicken are done and tender.

· Stir in shrimp, parsley, and green onions; cover and cook 5-8 minutes longer or until shrimp curl and turn bright pink and serve.

-- Reviewed by Tracy Shryer

Mitchell’s Fish Market-Glenview, Ill.

Mitchell’s Fish Market is perched in “The Glen,” a vibrant 1,000-acre business/residential/entertainment development formerly occupied by the Glenview Naval Air Station. The seafood restaurant and bar possess a charming atmosphere at reasonable prices for an upscale restaurant. The appetizers, main courses and dessert provided a wonderful dining experience for my wife and me, as well as for her parents, who were celebrating their 36th wedding anniversary during our visit. 

We started our evening with drinks and an appetizer of Pan Roasted Wild Blue Mussels, smothered with a white wine, garlic and tomato sauce. The portion size was ideal for four people, and the mussels bellowed with a meaty, flavorful texture. The mussels were a nice start in meeting our hearty appetites head-on.

Onto the next course: While the salads were priced individually, my wife and I split a house salad, and my in-laws a Caesar’s salad, at the suggestion of our waiter. Let’s just say that there wasn’t much salad to speak of. If you really like salads, you’ll want to order them individually to be satisfied during this part of your meal. Don’t get me wrong. Our house salad was very tasty. It featured a mixture of carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, dates, and pine nuts in poppy seed vinaigrette. The Caesar’s salad was equally delicious.

For dinner, my wife ordered steamed Shang Hai Sea Scallops – Mitchell’s signature Asian-style dish – with ginger and scallions, served with sticky rice and spinach, and a rice wine soy sauce. I, too, ordered scallops, but enjoyed succulent grilled crustaceans instead – with sticky rice in lieu of the scallion mashed potatoes (you may be asking yourself, “Why would he turn down the mashed potatoes?,” but keep reading.) and a potpourri of vegetables. My in-laws ordered the Alaskan Halibut and Shrimp and Scallop Americana, respectively. The latter meal featured George’s Bank sea scallops, jumbo shrimp, spinach and mushrooms layered with a shellfish butter sauce over sea salt potatoes. The meals were quite satisfying, and we took portions home with us, feeling quite full at this point.

While I failed to inform the maitre d’ and waiter about our celebration at the outset, they, nonetheless, came to my rescue later in our meal. After a brief interval, our waiter delivered a “piece,” and I use that term loosely, of something called Sharkfin Pie, which measured up to its namesake. This was no piece of pie, but what appeared to be the pie itself, although in a wedge shape – almost an equilateral triangle of four inches, I reckoned. It proceeded to persuade everyone at the table that they weren’t full after all. This concoction of butter fudge ice cream, honey roasted peanuts, fudge and peanut butter in an Oreo cookie crust made us forget about our diets – at least for the evening. The complimentary dessert was a fitting conclusion to our dining experience and the anniversary.

Mitchell’s Fish Market, located on Navy Boulevard in Glenview, comes highly recommended. It accepts major credit cards, and reservations are recommended. Another special feature is the market within the restaurant. Fresh fish and shell fish are available daily for purchase.

--Reviewed by Philip Anast

The Melting Pot is an enjoyable experience

First of all, I have to make a confession. The only reason my wife and I even thought about going to The Melting Pot was because our kids had given us a gift certificate for our anniversary. There is a reason. 

The last time I remember doing the 'due (as in fondue) was back in the mid-70s at my then-girlfriend's house. Hers was a family of shorter and slightly built people, whereas I was a strapping young man of about 16 who could pound down two beef sandwiches and a large order of fries and not gain a pound. (Ah, those were the days.) What I remembered was sitting there forever waiting for my little piece of meat to cook, all the while wishing I would've brought a couple of Quarter Pounders with Cheese with me to take up the slack.

But, it was a nice gesture on the part of the kids, so we went. And I was very pleasantly surprised. The food was excellent as was the service. And despite now being a large man in his 50s, I walked out of there stuffed.

Since the kids had gone nuts with a $100 certificate, we decided to go crazy and get the Big Night Out, a four-course meal. It started with a choice of cheese fondue; we selected the featured one, whose name I can't remember. Our server brought us small hunks of bread, vegetables, and a green apple to dip. The thought of apples and melted cheese didn't appeal at first, but it was actually quite tasty. We both agreed, though, that if/when we go back, we would get the Wisconsin cheese fondue instead. Whatever we had was a bit much.

Next came a salad. It was crisp and cool, and the only "normal" (i.e. non-fondue) part of the meal.

Then came the main course -- a selection of filet mignon, salmon, chicken, lobster, shrimp and pork, all in bite-size hunks. Ah, here's what I remembered about fondue. In looking at it at first I was afraid we'd leave hungry, but all together it turned out to be a pretty substantial meal. Each piece only takes a minute or two to cook, not the 10 minutes I remembered, so that was good. We each had three forks going, so once you got started it was easy to eat at a leisurely but not painfully so pace.

Here again you get a choice of what to cook the meat in, so we selected Cocque au vin, a phrase I've heard all my life but never actually tried (or have even seen spelled out). It was all very good, and a nice variety. It cost a little extra to get the lobster, but what the heck. That was my wife's call.

We finished the meal with a chocolate fondue. It was very good, but we agreed we probably could do without it next time. After everything else, it was a bit much.

So I have now changed my mind on fondue, at least there. It seems like the kind of thing that would be really fun with two or more couples. Be warned though: it's a commitment. We arrived at 6:00 with the thought we would catch an 8:15 movie. It wasn't to be. Going through all those courses definitely takes some time.

But if you're looking for a nice, romantic dining experience where time is not a factor, check out The Melting Pot. As Arnold would say, I'll be back.

Reviewed by Ken Krause