THE OL' STOMPIN' GROUNDS // Weekly Food Blog #16
Another late dump due to deadlines and travel, but I've got some good stuff to show for it!
Hey there, reader! Sorry for the late post… Again! Mondays have become the new Sunday in my new schedule and I’ve been doing a little bit of travel the last few weeks. I’ve made the executive decision to consolidate this and last week’s dump into one post to preserve my own sanity. Plus, I’ve been on deadline for my first review of the year!
I reviewed Rift of the Necrodancer for IGN! All credit to Tom Marks for the edits, Mitch Salzman for covering the VO for me (I was in Chicago when I would’ve needed to record and suffering from an asthma flareup), and Patrick Coughlin for cutting the video. And Brace Yourself Games for providing the review copy, of course. You can read it here or give it a watch down below!
All this travel has been scratching my itch a bit, but it was particularly nice to be back in the neighborhood, bars, and restaurants I called home for the last two years.
Anyways, here’s this week’s Insta post:
#1: leftover plate // dad
Last week, my dad made schnitzel! And pizza. This is kind of a leftover hodge-podge—a tasty one! I turned the schnitzel into a sandwich that kinda reminded me of a smaller version of the infamous pork tenderloin sandwich from Indiana. Never had it, but this is what it looks like:
#2: lentil stew // dad
This smelled so good as it simmered away on the stove. This lentil-based stew tasted a lot like daal—and smelled like it too. Sadly I only got to have a little bit of it before it was gone.
#3: bloody // Wolski's
I closed Wolski's! Not just for the bumper sticker either. Stay tuned next week (or maybe the week after… today’s deadline day and I haven’t heard from my editor yet) for a cool article on the experience. This scratch bloody hit the spot.
#4: gumbo ramen // me
This was much better in theory than in practice… My dad's had this really tasty, funky gumbo stock in the freezer for ages. I was a worse for wear from my 10-hour Wolski's adventure and wanted noodles and broth to save me from the brink.
So I threw a few noodle packets in the boiling broth, not thinking about how the noodles absorbing some of the broth’s water content would affect the broth. Water displacement’s a bitch, turns out. The broth thickened (duh!) and its flavor got way too concentrated as a result. What was briny and mildly shrimpy became overwhelmingly salty and mouth-coatingly thick. It wasn’t inedible; the broth was still good, just too much. I put some Old Bay on the egg, which was definitely worth repeating.
#5: Korean BBQ // Stone Bowl
I crave Korean food probably once a week. And now that the irresponsible eating of the holiday season is well in the rearview, I’m beginning to miss Japanese and Korean foods more than normal. Especially barbecue. I convinced my dad to come here as we ran through the Rolodex of spots we were interested in and landed on this one.
Even though the barbecue was a tad disappointing (just lacking in the flavor department), this was a great meal: the wings were perfectly sauced and crispy and the kimchi pancake was pillowy and thick. Loaded with green onions and kimchi, it was an ideal balance to the meat-and-fat-heavy meat plates.
#6: cocktail // Bryant's
After our dinner, dad and I stopped into Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge, which has to be one of my absolute favorite bars on the planet. It's also (apparently) the oldest free-standing cocktail bar in the US—pretty sick, no? Unpretentious but classy; premium but not exclusive, and overrun by talented, knowledgeable folks, it’s the platonic ideal of a cocktail bar. Bonus points for the music: I heard three Howlin’ Wolf songs back-to-back.
#7: leftover sampler // misc
A hodge-podge of ideas on display here. I enjoyed my parents’ leftovers from a Mexican spot: Chile relleno and some kind of sauteed dish with beef, bacon, and veggies. I also polished off that kimchi pancake and dipped it in my dad’s tzatziki sauce. This probiotic-rich crossover wasn't as good as I’d hoped, but I’m sure glad I tried it!
#8: spicy beef pho // Phodega
Broth. Noodles. Spice.
It’s all I need in life. This beautifully spicy bowl came with a handful of toppings; sliced cabbage, bean sprouts, jalapeno, and a few other things I’m probably blanking on. I enjoyed this meal with my buddy, Isaiah, a fellow games and entertainment writer. Great food and great company is a great way to kick off my first weekend in Chicago since July!
If you’re one of my Chicago pals who didn’t hear I was back in town, sorry! I was already booked tight for this trip, so I didn’t really publicize my travels ahead of time. I’ll be back for longer soon!
#9: pierogi // Pierogi Papi
I’m a person of few needs. Good food, good drink, good company, and access to everything I need to write and play games. Otherwise, I’m pretty easy to please—I’ll sleep on floors and even listen to stadium country music (no matter how much it makes me crawl in my skin) if I have everything I need. But places that feel like home? That’s a short list.
The triangle on the northwest side of Chicago formed by Pulaski, Fullerton, and Milwaukee Avenue is always in a close struggle for the top one. It’s where lots of my people are—and I don’t just mean Polish. I mean the passionate weirdos who sweat dumb details and obsess over their shit with passion that I call friends.
One of them is Max Glassman, aka Pierogi Papi, whose delicious pierogis have earned him some decent acclaim on the Northwest Side. I didn’t actually plan to run into him, but I was walking out of the Logan Square Blue Line and chanced upon a sign outside of Hopewell Brewing on Milwaukee Ave. that advertised a pierogi pop-up—only one guy in the area’s doing that kinda thing, and it’s Max.
Polish dumplings, made from his grandma’s recipe, premade and stuffed with all sorts of filling—both classic potato and cheese and more inventive stuff like the chicken-bacon-ranch ones he’s selling as I’m writing this—lightly fried in ghee, salted, and served with sour cream and applesauce. He does tons of pop-ups at my old bar/hangout, Consignment Lounge, alongside Hopewell and other spots I’m sure. He’s a delight and a damn good chef. One of the few that I know personally whom I’d trust with my final meal in Chicago when I left in July.
These potato and cheese pierogi were perfect: rich and slightly salty butter and salt coat the terrifically toothsome outer layer of mildly crisped dough, encasing fluffy potatoes seasoned with cheese. If you’re ever passing through the Northwest side, show Max some love. Here’s his Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/pierogipapichi/?hl=en
#10: mop water martini // Consignment Lounge
I practically lived at Consignment Lounge my last few months in Chicago. Sipping delicious cocktails made by my friends, making new ones, working—either behind the bar or in the basement—and eating Max’s delicious pierogis. I miss it dearly; not only was it the best job I’ve ever had, but I love my coworkers and bosses, the space and drinks are amazing, the pay was great, and the clientele is largely awesome. I don’t hate my new job, but it’s not quite as illustrious.
I quickly learned that my craving for a dirty martini isn’t exactly the same as your average person’s—that is to say, double the olive brine and only wash the glass in vermouth and you’ll be somewhere in my jurisdiction. Provided it’s not busy, I put my brain to work ordering my dirty martinis as dirty as possible with creative descriptions. Snowmelt-in-a-pothole-dirty, mop-water-murky, spit-in-my-mouth-filthy are some of my favorites. I can only use that last one if I know the bartender.
#11: pep n sausage pie // Dimo’s
Dimo’s was one of those pizza joints I’d heard about for years during my time in the city. I never tried it until that evening and it was well worth the wait. Stretchy-chewy crust, sweet-but-peppery sauce, crisp-cupped pepperoni, spicy sausage, all complemented with some zesty red onion makes for a good pie. It was a perfect size too; about a foot long and ever so slightly floppy. I could yap about pizza for pages but I’ll spare you.
#12: pickle // a friend!
I was, embarassingly, still quite hungry after we finished the pie. Eight slices divided for four people is not enough after god knows how many drinks. So the friend who so graciously hosted us gave me a pickle! Longtime readers know what I think about pickles.
#13: duck dinner+ // Sun Wah
I’ve been hearing about Sun Wah from Mark and Katie, the owners of Consignment Lounge, for years. Practically since I started working for them, in fact! While I used to be a bit of a little shit about Chinese food, I’ve come around significantly, as with plenty of other cuisines. And honestly, thank goodness. Being picky just because you don’t know anything about what you’re eating is embarassing.
We started with these egg rolls, served with hot, punchy mustard and some sweet sauce.
Next, the main course. Something about a good session of small plates of any kind begs for a sense of chaos. A menagerie of plates all sitting in a communal center, sauces from different dishes mixing on serving plates, all supplementing the star of the show: barbecue duck with buns and veggies to make custom-made tasty bites.
I burned the hell out of my mouth with their chili oil, and I loved every hellish moment of it.
#14: H Mart haul // H Mart
From the subway to the streetcar to the inter-city rail to the mighty bullet train or TGV, I love taking the train. Few monuments to the locomotive match my excitement for hopping on a passenger car as Chicago’s Union Station: a gorgeous landmark that’s a must-see in a city full of great buildings. One of the best things about Union Station—and trains in general—is that they drop you right downtown, not somewhere out in the boonies like airplanes.
And for me, no trip to Union Station is complete without a stop at H Mart, only two blocks away. I noted this to my friend Gabe (of Yin Waster fame), but I picked up a pretty close approximation of my average convenience store run in Japan: two rice balls, an egg salad sandwich, and a curry bun. Maybe not the exact average—not enough fried chicken, beer, instant ramen, SPAM musubi, or chips—but pretty damn close. Stung a bit to look at the bill (somewhere in the neighborhood of $15-20) and think for a moment about how much it would’ve cost. Probably about half.
#15: chicken dinner // dad
It’s always a good day for mashed potatoes. This is exactly that: honest, flavorful mashed potatoes and gravy. Nothing much to say about that! We did discover that the dog likes edamame, which was pretty funnny to watch.
#16: chips and ranch dip // me
I picked up a cool tip from my girlfriend: you can mix Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning with Greek Yogurt to get a much more nutritionally dense version of ranch dressing. I dipped some celery, carrots, and tortilla chips in there for a nice midnight snack.
#17: beer + pork shank hoagie // Kegel’s
Stopped in Kegel’s with about a third of my dad’s side of my extended family for a lunch after my great aunt’s funeral. I’ve never been to a quiet funeral with the Wacholz clan. Lunch after’s even louder!
This old-school German spot serves up massive beers, (the mug in the picture is a liter) alongside German and Milwaukee classics: pork shanks, bratwurst, Friday Fish Fry, Hasenpfeffer (literally rabbits-pepper), pretzels, and the like. I had a pork shank sandwich to supplement my beer.
#18: pizza // BB’s Pizza
I hate to say it, but BB’s continues to disappoint me. I had the tavern-style: the sauce was too sweet and the crust was too gummy. This is my third or fourth time trying the North Ave pizza joint, and I’ve just not had a great time. Their pie isn’t bad by any means, but it’s just nothing special compared to the wealth of tavern-style options in the area.
#19: the usual // Oakland Gyros
Oakland Gyros at midnight on a Friday night is kinda like the Mos Eisley Cantina from Star Wars: a wretched hive of scum and villainy where you’re probably gonna witness something to remember as an inside joke with your buddies for years. A couple very visibly underage (or maybe just childish) drunk girls were the entertainment of the evening, peeking up over the kitchen window gawking at the food they “couldn’t afford” (read: didn’t want to pay for). It was annoying, but also pretty damn funny.
I came here with some friends after a frought trip to the city’s premiere party district: Brady Street. Hitting Brady without a plan during the school year is not for the faint of heart. Or for a bunch of guys who’ve aged past collegiate antics. But broaching Oakland after a few was one of the best feelings in the world. It felt like we were almost getting away with something we really weren’t supposed to do—depriving ourselves of, even—but all wishing we could. And so we did. Last time I was here, I was too stoned to speak, and I’m sure it won’t be the last, but it was nice to have a conversation with friends I hadn’t seen in a few months.
I mentioned it a few dumps ago, but Oakland Gyros hasn’t lost a step: they were already a treasured institution on Milwaukee’s East Side since my parents’ college days. What you see is what you get here. I ordered my usual: a gyro platter with fries and extra tzatziki with cheese sauce. I think they forgot one of my pitas, which was disappointing.
Between a sudsy lunch, a few beers with the pizza, and a few once I made it downtown to meet up with some friends, I must’ve had three or four liters of beer that day.
#20: brunch // Blue’s Egg
My partner was stopping in town for a day or two and I was lucky enough to pluck them from their much busier schedule for a quick brunch at one of Milwaukee’s stalwart best brunch spots. I grabbed a bloody (duh) which was maybe a tad ketchupy and not briny enough, but still great. We split their lemon french toast, which was topped with a luxuriously thick whipped cream and a lemon galze as well as their stuffed hashbrowns with aged provolone, roasted tomato sauce, and pesto on top.
Both were great, but those hashbrowns were definitely my favorite, which makes sense since that’s what Blue’s is most famous for. I cannot recommend their hashbrowns enough—if you can get a table.
#21: carnitas quesadilla // dad
Carnitas are probably the best thing you can possibly make with pork shoulder. Crispy, juicy, flavorful shreds of pork make a great companion for just about anything you put it with, especially cheese, hot sauce, and onions. Dad made it before the Bucks’ latest blunder—this time against the Grizzlies. I’ve been doing tons of writing during basketball games these days. It’s great background noise and just interesting enough to keep me from getting super distracted.
Song of the Week: Lola by the Kinks
This song reminds me of Suzie Q vinyl bar in Hongdae in Seoul. I was there with a group of new friends I made at my hostel—including someone named Lola! I think someone in our group requested this song for her. Probably as a joke, since I’m sure she gets that all the time.
Stay tuned next week for a fun, quick little vacation! Excited for my first passport stamp of 2025.