I, Sizzlenuts, am approaching a crossroads in life. I am a proud resident of Andersonville, and I would argue that the ‘ville is the most prime real estate for comestible consumption in this city. The drag on Clark from a few blocks below Foster to a few blocks above Bryn Mawr has plenty of nice options, including the very reasonably priced fine dining spots Anteprima and Cere’s Table,[1] and the incomparable Pasticceria Natalina.[2] But, that is not what I am talking about.
I am talking about what’s in the immediate surroundings. While it is very easy walking distance to Little Vietnam, it is just a quick bike ride to so much more (including many that have been that favorites of this blog): the Korean of Albany Park, the Thai of Lincoln Square, the Indian & Pakistani of Devon; The Ethiopian of Edgewater. My love for Chicago between 4000 and 6400 North, from the Lake to about Kimball East to West is constantly reaching new heights. My newest love is of the West African food in Uptown. There are a number of places around Broadway between about Montrose and Lawrence. I recently tried two.
The first is BQ Afro Root cuisine, serving up Nigerian fare. The first time I went, I went alone,[3] having just stopped by neighboring Uptown Bikes. I got the yam porridge. This was a delicious, hearty and spicy. They call it “yam” but it is not the same root vegetable we gringos think of. I got a side of spinach that, while nicely spiced, tasted like it was made from frozen. Entrees come with a variety of meats. I got the chicken, goat and fish. All 3 were richly flavored, but tough. One would expect these to be more tender, given the appearance of slow cooking.
Excited about this find, I brought back Chittlins, Chlodnik and Toupee. They were less impressed. And it is true, the meat isn’t great. But, the pattern has been that I am the most critical one, and I was heartened to see that trend reversed.[4]
Of the dishes we got the second trip, there is really only one I’d recommend highly. The egusi with fufu is delicious. Fufu is this pounded yam thing that you tear apart and dip in soups/stews. Egusi is a soup/stew. I don’t really know what’s in it, but I like it. The other dishes were not great. The whole tilapia was pretty good, but not special. The spinach was not nearly as good as the version that I ordered as a side dish the trip before. Flavored very differently, and much more clearly from frozen or canned.
The next restaurant is Grace African, dishing out food from Ghana. Reggae Law Firm has lived in Ghana, knows a lot of the African community in Chicago through the Reggae side of his identify, and highly recommended Grace. RLF, San Antonio Brown and I went there for a very pleasant Sunday lunch. This place is much better than BQ, all around. I had goat meat in peanut butter soup. This was phenomenal. The meat fell apart in your hands, which, are used to eat it. This came with banku, which is very similar to fufu, but more fermented. San Antonio Brown got the “red red,” a platter of delicious fried plantains and bean stew. Reggae Law Firm got tilapia with kenkey. Kenkey is the driest and most fermented of the fufu, banku, and kenkey family. This dish comes with two chutney like sides, one spicy, one primarily fresh chopped tomatoes. Rave reviews all around. This dish is also hand-eaten. You tear a piece of kenkey, fish off the bone, and some of the two chutneys, and you get a mouth full of satisfied desires. I have since gone back with Gregalo; I wanted to get the kenkey for myself, and he got the red red.
Now back to the quandary at hand: my residence in the ‘ville. I love it here. But, as for my social life, this isn’t really where it’s at. Chlodnik, Mixed Signals, Lady Vol, Husband Crispin
Glover[5] and a slew of other friendly art enthusiasts live down in Logan Square. Toupee and I Am The Law live in neighboring Wicker Park. In addition to the source of the crucial-to-my-
sanity-friend-time,[6] Logies and WP is where I actually have, in theory, a chance of finding a mate. Let’s just say in the ‘ville, my Subaru Forrester, and Toucan Sam’s Outback wagon fit
right in. [7] Chlodnik is buying a house, most likely in Logies. I am quite honored to be invited
to be her resident. However, Logies food, outside of a couple of nice places, is all Mexican, and, lesser Mexican to my hometown of Austin, TX (as far as I can tell). So, what do I do: do I choose food or friends?
Luckilly, I’ll have plenty of time to ponder this because (sing along now):
I went downtown to see milady, she stood me up and I stood there waiting.
But it’ll be alright, When The Morning Comes. [8]
[1] Cere’s Table is 1 for 1 for taking a girl there and then bedding her. Which is more than I can say for The Bristol in Bucktown.
[2] I don’t want to say too much, but just that this place has also brought me some, even if temporary, success. I won’t say more because I actually want to see this girl again, and if I do, who knows? She might even read this. (who am I kidding? She's never going to read this).
[3] Have I mentioned that I’m a miserable lonely wretch recently? I’m really losing it. I track my mental health by what songs I find myself indentifying with. This week I can’t stop listening to side 1 of the 1973 Hall & Oates LP “Abandoned Luncheonette.” That I think “When the morning comes” is about me, is clearly a new low.
[4] Chittlins claims I only like it out of white guilt.
[5] I don’t think he looks like his namesake at all. Our guy is much better looking. I think he should have been named after James Franco.
[6] Have you ever lived alone in a city where you have very few friends older than 6 months? I’ve done much more exploring of my psyche in the 7 months of living here than with the three dozen or so mushroom and acid trips of my youth.
[7] A few things to note here: 1. I love living near older gay couples. Seeing gay couples on the street makes me happy for some reason. 2. Logies trim is fucking wells grade. Really disappointing. The top-shelf aesthetics of Lady Vol, Chlodnik and Mixed Signals really do not generalize to their local sisters. 3. Luckily, WP is a source of top-shelf trim, as discussed in my review of Big Star, which is still my favorite bar in Chi-town, in case anyone is keeping track.
[8] If you haven't been reading the footnotes, then this part doesn't make any sense. Also, you probably haven't laughed at all.
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