We've been reading My Last Supper, a book that asks 50 chefs what they would eat for their last meal. It made us wonder about what we'd choose for our last meal if our choices were limited to restaurants in Chicago. Here are some of our picks:
- Tankboy: Tecalitlán ...and either steak tacos or steak fajitas. Hell, if it's my last meal I'm eating both! And washing it down with a couple pitchers of their delicious Margaritas. (1814 W Chicago Ave.)
- Ali: I would go to Twist and get like 12 orders of the bacon wrapped dates. The sauce they serve with it is made from thick, tangy maple-y warm dewdrops from heaven. (3412 N. Sheffield.)
- Jacy: I would go to Schwa and I would eat their quail egg ravioli for nine hours straight. And then I'd go to that one fruit cart man and get his mangoes with lime juice, salt and chili powder. (Schwa: 1466 N. Ashland. Fruit Cart Man: We dunno.)
- L.Stolpman: I'm heading to San Soo Gap San for bulgogi, kalbi, rice, kimchee and bibimbop and everything else I can get my hands on and I'm going along with this guy. (5247 N. Western.)
- Lizz: I second Ali's bacon-wrapped dates from Twist, only I would add Twist's jalapeno gnocchi to my order. -OR- chiken tikka masala and saag paneer from Essence of India in Lincoln Square. (4601 N. Lincoln Ave.)
Let us know where you'd go!
Photo by Umm.
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If I knew it was going to be my very last meal, I think I'd have to have my mom and grandma make my childhood favorites. And definitely mashed potatoes would be involved.
You can go to good restaurants any time...but how many times does one get to eat mom's cooking?
I'm with you on Twist Lizz and Ali, same meal. . .
But to be honest, my favorite food in the world would have to be bell peppers, asparagus, and tomatos topped with a spicy non-garlic hollandaise sauce. . .so I'd have it in my own home :)
Ingrid - I know exactly what you mean. I wanted to say that I'd be going for mom's cooking. But if you *had* to eat someplace in Chicago...what would it be? What if it was your last meal before you left the Chicago city limits for good?
-L.
Schubas Mac n Cheese Anyone?
Smoque - St. Louis style full slab
L. Stolpman,
Well.....if you pin me to the wall....if I were leaving Chicago and going to a small town, I guess I'd have my last meal in Chinatown and there would be Peking Duck and a steamed whole fish involved, and I say Chinatown only if I'm going to a small town with no Chinatown. It's really nice having a Chinatown within driving distance.
When we lived in upstate NY, we would drive 5 hours ONE way to go to Toronto just for dim sum!!
Ok...so If I were moving to San Francisco or New York, where they HAVE Chinatowns...where would my last meal here be? It would have to be food that you couldn't get anywhere else...so probably something from Rick Bayless. I would absolutely have to have one (or four) of his margaritas.
Although, 'last meal' kind of implies Death Row, in which case Chuck you're going to be costing the state a whole lot of money!
Fugu, Chuck? Fugu. Where in the world do you find freaking fugu in Chicago?
wherever serves a deep fried truffle...
I'd have alpana singh serve me wine at everest. I'd start with the fois gras amuse bouche, have their filet of veal tenderloin fennel crust, kolrabi and chanterelles (even though I have no idea what kolrabi or chantrelles are), then i would finish with a cheese plate.
At the end I would make sweet love to alpana, smoke a cigarette, blind fold myself and wait for the firing squad to shoot me.
i think i would be pretty content at the end.
I have my sources, Editor at Large.
edkotch- sounds like fancy state fair food. What's the fanciest state in the union and how many tickets would it take to purchase a deep fried truffle on a stick?
My "last meal"?
The Never Ending Pasta Bowl!
Get it?!?
:-)
Uh, this one makes me a little sad for reasons I won't go into, but hmm. I guess I'd have my mother cook a bunch of homemade Korean food, but if I knew it was my last meal I probably wouldn't eat it.
But in the spirit of the question, I like Laura's answer -- that Chicago Gluttons article still cracks my shit up! And Jesus, Chuck, it's like your planning out your own demise already just so you can eat all that good stuff! And I have a mouth boner for anything from the ol' Dita on Ashland (furthest south, west side of the street).
If I was going for a restaurant, say, probably balls out at Alinea or L20 with a bunch of friends who haven't been treated to the finer things in life. Gotta do that kind of shit at least once, right?!
i'm a simple person. Pizano's pepperoni deep dish and a peanut butter chocolate shake from Stella's.
I am glad to see other fans of Twist. I just had their bacon wrap dates this weekend and they are excellent.
My last meal would be the pot roach nachos from Ditka's, a porterhouse steak from David Burke's Primehouse, and a slice of stuffed pizza from the Art of Pizza.
If the above is Sujal Patel. . .I haven't seen you in forever, so I think I will have to make a date with you for bacon wrapped dates. . .It's Laura Gray, if that's you, how the hell are you?
omg a chicagoist love connection!
You can get fugu at Ai Sushi and Tsuki when it's in season. Not fugu liver, though (the most poisonous part).
http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/food/2008/05/05/you-cant-you-can/
Yeah, its me! I am doing well. We should definitely get some bacon wrapped dates, and then walk over to Schubas for some mac and cheese, and some drinks!
@matty:
Wouldn't be the first. Or second. Or even possibly the third.
Man, I need to get into Twist for the bacon wrapped dates again. I was first introduced to them the week I moved back to Chicago in 2001... somebody in my group made a joke about the combination that the waitress overheard. She told us to try and order and if we didn't like them, she wouldn't charge us. We ended up ordering 4 orders for 6 people! I returned to Twist probably 6 or 8 more times in the next couple years, even using it as one of my regular "first date" places. But I haven't been there as long as my wife and I have been together (we were friends first... "first date") so it's been at least 4 years since my last visit. Way too long!
Sujal, hopefully you're free on friday for some of that Mac n Cheese, sending a note your way now.