--Tailgatin' and how to make mofos start playa hatin' (Recipes)
It's time to sit back, relax and catch a contact as we throw some meat in the smoker on low and enjoy the beautiful fall weather with some real deal bbq. As an avid smoker I have gone thru many trials and tribulations in trying to reach the top and get to to that point where the making of bomb ass bbq is as routine as making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then I was enlightened with all the knowledge one needs to perfect the art of bbq along with top notch tips and dispelling of the myths. In come's Low & Slow. Written by the Godfather of Chicago bbq it is a book any and every bbq cook and connoisseur needs in his/her collection. GWiv is a friend of mine and his wealth of knowledge when it comes to smokin' is second to none in these parts.
Click HERE to order this must own manual from Amazon
I've been lucky enough to have done some smokin' first hand with Gary and it's always a blast capped off with some unbelievable bbq. His book will teach you everything you need to know to get perfectly smoked meat each and every time. It's broken down into five lessons and has instructions for smokin' with a offset smoker, a kettle grill and his toy of choice a Weber Smokey Mountain. In fact he likes the Smokey Mountain and knows how to use it down to a science that he wrote the manual for them. He's come to find that this product is the most reliable and easiest to use and once you get it down pat, it creates the best smoked meats. But it doesn't matter what you use as long as you follow the instructions exactly as he says too. This book is so helpful it will even tell you how to set a fire for your pit in the middle of a Chicago winter along with over 130 recipes and step by step instructions.
Smoke meat everyday...
Gary has spent years mastering his meats and has everything a pro at this game would have including his own rub. After years of playing around with different formula's he settled on his self named rub which is a wonderfully spicy mixture of seasonings that truly is some of the best rub I have ever used. You can find a similar recipe for this crazy good concoction in his book or if you can also get it from The Spice House where they make it fresh and a re sworn to secrecy with the recipe for fear of death. I always grab a few bottles whenever I stop in over there for spices. You can click HERE to go straight to their page for it. I highly recommend you put this in your spice cupboard. The stuff works great on all meats and in chili and anything else it sounds good with.
The bbq life coaches own bottle of his ridiculous rub
Now I'm not going to sit here and type out the entire book with how to make say the moistest most finger licking smoked chicken you will ever have. If you want to get yourself a life lesson in bbq for less than what it costs to have a meal of it at restaurant/stand your going to have to grab it and have it for whenever the craving for it comes along. Gary is a master of all meats and that's evident in the lesson for brines which includes a buttermilk version that when used with chicken thighs produces the best bbq chicken I have ever had from anywhere.
Buttermilk brined bbq chicken thighs
Gary has made 1000's and 1000's of different batches of ribs and so he knows what needs to be done whether were talking baby back, spare, St. Louis style. If you get the book and follow the leader and take it step by step to the exact instructions you can be a ribmaster in no time and the star of Sunday football bbq's. I prefer spare ribs and recently made a batch of St. Louis style following the coaches words. They turned out flawless with the perfect balance of smoke flavor and just the right amount of resistance of the meat from coming off the bone. I want some right now and just might make some for tonight.
St. Louis spare rib's done low & slow
Low & Slow Lamb Ribs
I do however have a recipe to share with everyone from GWiv. This is one I got to try when we were chilling over at Toons one night and he brought by some of his lamb ribs that he made earlier that day. Well they were so good I had to make them for myself a week or so later and did just that and am going to show y'all what the godfather showed me.
Ingredients
-Lamb Breast (1 breast serves 1-2 people) -BBQ rub -Mustard -apple of cherry wood chunks (combo works too)
Note: Fresh farms in Niles sells lamb breast which is essentially the ribs and part of the breast.
Instructions
1) Start off by removing the tips from the lamb breast so that you have a rack of ribs like those seen in the pic below. Save the tips for an appetizer.
2) Take your rub (I used GWiv's) and rub it into the ribs and follow that up by squirting a line of yellow mustard down the middle and then spreading it around. Doing this vice versa is fine too.
Lamb ribs cut and ready for smoker
3) Set your smoker for low and slow cooking so that its around a constant temp of 250 degrees which is what we want the temp to be when the ribs are going in. Take your lamb tips and season them up with whatever you want and put them in a aluminum foil cooking pan and put those on the bottom rack and the ribs on top (we want the fat from the ribs to drip onto the tips).
Prepare your mop using the ingredients below under the picture of it.
Mop made of olive oil, lemon juice, pressed garlic, salt and fresh pepper
4) After about 2 hours on the smoker at a steady temp of 250 the tips should be done. Mop them up a few minutes before taking them off and enjoy while waiting for the ribs to be done or save them for part of the full meal when the rest of it is ready. Make sure your sides are taken care of.
Lamb rib tips
I made baked 'tatos with a tzatziki cole slaw and fresh sliced tomatoes
5) After three hours in the smoker at 250 the ribs should be ready. remove them and let sit for a few minutes while you dress up plates with the sides and proceed to put a rack on each plate for each guest.
So far this month we've been back and forth, along with up and down and in and out of the state. I said it would be travel packed and so for the next two spots we visit we'll head to places along the Lake Michigan Circle Tour route that you may pass on the way to Wisconsin or Michigan if you choose to take that route to those states. Today we head North along the Lake up along Sheridan road to a place past the Northshore located in North Chicago. When you hot Martin Luther King Jr Drive the only way you can turn is left if coming from Chicago and your going to want to do that because it'll bring ya to Big Ed's.
North Chicago, IL
Big Ed's has been around for a few years now and anyone who's driven by has surely smelled the smoke. Ed's is an all in the family type spot and its run by none other than Ed who is helped out by his wife and kids. A former service veteran, Ed was discharged after an injury and began work in corporate America and then began to start a small catering company after attending Kendall Culinary College. As time went by Ed started to cater full time and had a wide range of regular clients including many of Da Bears who live up North close to the team facility's. As his legend grew so did the need for his 'que and eventually Ed opened up Big Ed's where it stays today and is the home to "great BBQ and then some" which is a true story. Ed uses hickory wood in his Chicago style aquarium smoker and is always on duty making sure there's great BBQ to be had in Lake County. But so the saying goes, there's alot more here too. I like messing around with the tips and link combo like I do at all BBQ spots I love.
Rib Tips & Hot Link Combo
Ed and his wife are some of the best hosts you can have at any restaurant from fast food to fine dining. You can know that your going to be taken care of and anything you need within reason will not be a problem. Ed is devoted to his craft and puts TLC into each and every piece of meat that goes into his smoker. Having grown up on the southside Ed learned to smoke using an Aquarium at an early age and that you can tell when you get that first bite of bark from a rib tip. Almost everything on the menu here is made from scratch and this includes the hot links which go great with his bbq sauce. Its not just BBQ on the menu, this place has something for everyone and this includes burgers, sandwiches and fried fish and chicken. I'm still making my way thru other items but I cant wait to get back, everything I've had on my visits has been stellar.
Chicken Wings
On one visit in which I was coming back from the outlet malls I had a craving for chicken wings, specifically fried and I stopped at Ed's to help kill the want and it worked wonders. The wings came out perfectly fried and the selection of hot and bbq sauce was wonderful. It's been a couple months since I've had the pleasure of stopping on in for some of Ed and his family's fantastic food paired with wonderful hospitality but the time is coming since this post reminded me I have some things I have yet to try. I didn't snap any pictures of the sides but the mac and cheese and collard greens are must gets for me on every visit. I very much look forward to my next one.
Perfect bark on the rib tips
Big Ed's BBQ 2501 MLK Jr Drive North Chicago, IL 60064 (847) 578-1901 Website
Mark today's stop as one of my favorite spots in the city. When it comes to BBQ, Uncle John's over on Calumet and 69th and its pitmaster Mack are the holy grail of smoked meats in the Windy City. Its a spot I was first put onto by my man G Wiv thru one of his posts about it over at LTHforum. In case you didn't know G Wiv is also the godfather of Chicago 'que and has written a book on making real deal BBQ the real deal way, low and slow. If there was one book you needed to own in your BBQ collection, this would be it. Uncle John's is where the boss of BBQ in this city eats his smoked meats and it's damn easy to see why. It is one of the best barbecue joints in not just the city but the country. It's been around for about four years now since Mack opened it up after working at another famous Chicago 'que joint. It has been getting lots of press of late since it is G Wiv's spot for good Chicago BBQ. Recently its been in the Tribune, on WGN news and discussed on all sorts of food forums and boards and featured in other articles. Just a couple weeks ago Gary aka G Wiv took Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods there for the Chicago taping. So its already getting loads of people from all over with plenty more coming after the episode airs and I'm about to send more.
Andrew Zimmern with G Wiv outside Uncle John's (pic by PhilW)
Let me start off by letting everyone know that if you have any hesitation about going to the neighborhood because you've never been south of 18th street to have that fear no more. It was a safe place when the spot was relatively unknown by northsiders and now that there's people coming from all over its still just as safe. The people that work with Mack, family and friends, are as nice and helpful as you can get. What's funny is, its the places like Uncle John's where I experience the best and most warm receptions from its employees. Its when I go to some trendy ass bar or hipster restaurant where I get snobby ass looks and actions from employees that are mad that I'm ordering alot of food and drinks and asking questions. Mack would love to share his knowledge of BBQ with you and is happy to answer questions about his specialty and what they do with it. As G Wiv put it "It's great to have Mack back and cooking BBQ, there are only a few real Pitmasters left in Chicago."
To the right as you walk in
The aquarium style smoker used at Uncle John's to smoke the meats
As you can see from the picture above, the meats are smoked at UJ's using an aquarium style smoker which is a custom piece of equipment very popular to the Chicagoland area. If you go over HERE you check out a thread from LTH about the history of the aquarium style smoker. Once again I will quote the Godfather of Chicago Barbecue on them in which he said "The Aquarium cooker seems to be Chicago specific, and they can be found all over Chicago, unfortunately few places still use them for anything but show or holding meat. Turning out good BBQ on an Aquarium style smoker is a dying art." Which is why UJ's is such a treasure to have and it's all about the 'que. As you do or don't know, I always order my BBQ with the sauce on the side. Its a way of being able to taste the smokiness and not drown the meat in sauce and changing the texture. The sauce is however phenomenal. It comes in a hot or mild variety and the hot is HOT. I always go with that.
Mack's HOT sauce
So what about the BBQ? what is it at Uncle John's that makes them one of the best yet? Well its all about the tips and links and everyone will tell you this. Don't discount the full slabs of ribs either because those too are great but in Chicago we love our rib tips. We also LOVE Mack's housemade hot links which are some of the best links you will ever come across. When you the pair the two of those together in a combo, you got a little taste of heaven.
XL Tips and Links Combo
Rib tips are Chicago's BBQ specialty. Memphis has the ribs, KC the sauce, Texas the brisket, Carolina's got pulled pork and Chicago's got its rib tips. I've basically grown up on the meaty end part of a spare rib slab that is cut off and smoked and then chopped, bones and all before serving. Tips when done right are full of flavor and provide a perfect balance of succulent smokey meat and crisp charred edges or bark as the pitmasters call it. While we still have 100's of places in Chicago that do up rib tips there arent as many that do a perfect job with them each and every time, which is the case over at Uncle John's. I just cant get enough rib tips from Mack and his staff. They got the perfect amount of smoke, fat and gristle in each and every bite and manage to make the outside nice and chewy in a good way while the meat inside is tender and melts on your tongue.
Nice piece of bark from a batch of Rib Tips
But you cant go there and just get the tips, you need to get the combo. The housemade hot links are simply outstanding. Quite easily some of the best sausage anywhere on the earth and as addictive as crack and facebook. Mack takes a very well coarse link that's perfect in texture and is seasoned with fresh spices and peppers and then smokes it to precision and once you dip it in some hot BBQ sauce it's called sheer perfection. In fact if you call ahead, which I always suggest you do, to make sure they're open, you can order Mack's hot links by the case and half case. Give them a day or two's notice but these are a must have for any tailgate or backyard BBQ party your planning on having this summer. It's hard to come up with anything better, all you need is the links, some wood and a little bit of time along with an ice cold beer.
So if you were planning on taking a trip to Chicago this summer or taking a trip somewhere in your city for some good bbq, you now have your spot. The 'que even travels real well (make sure you get sauce on the side) so you can can make a call ahead order and take it over to Calumet Park and eat it along the lake or back home or at US Cell field for some tailgating eating or whatever the hell you want to do. Its all up to you, just know that all of us who have been, have done so a countless amount of times. Its one of those places that will be in your regular rotation, the rest of your life. Please note to call before your visit if you plan on making a trek to UJ's (which is well worth it) the hours can sometimes change and they, like the rest of us, like a vacation now and then too. Although every time I go by there, I feel like I'm on vacation eating the best bbq in the Midwest. If your planning on taking a food journey this summer, Uncle John's is your spot.
Inside of a hot link, a beautiful piece of art it is...
Uncle Johns 337 East 69th Street Chicago, IL 60637-4638 (773) 892-1233
-Grubbing in Chicago Where the locals eat and drink.
Get your drinking faces on and while your at it work up some major munchies because were headed to a classic Chicago neighborhood bar that takes both its drinking and eating very seriously. In fact its the last of that type on the stretch of Southport that goes from Addison down to Irving and is filled with commercialized, corrupted scenes of spots where there are more Blue Moon's and Martinis drunken than Guinness' and shots of Jameson consumed. Where you'll find more sushi and salads than chicken wings and burgers. Like the rest of the city, the business district of Southport has a whole bunch of trendy bars, boutiques and hair salons. Not much going on in these parts for the All American male, unless you like to go to see play's, but then I guess your not really an All American male who loves good regional food like Po' Boy's and BBQ and prefers to eat them with classic American microbrews while watching some football or taking in the scene on Southport on a hot summers day. I keed, I keed. Which brings us to the last of a dying breed and one of my favorite Chicago neighborhood bars.
The best bar in Lakeview
Toon's has been around since 1989 but the corner of Southport and Byron has been home to a bar since the neighborhood was heavily populated with Germans back in the day. I guess from the story's I've been told was that Doninger's Tavern was a low key place with quite a few local "drinkers" that had only one bartender who was quite a character himself. So then when Doninger's was no more, it was bought by a longtime friend of mines dad who turned it into Toon's. The name came from the cartoons that were once painted on the outside wall of different bar paraphernalia like beer mugs and cocktail glasses and I always loved driving by it as a kid. As time went on the bar was eventually sold by my friends dad to one of his longtime employees who worked at his other bars and he pretty much kept it the same. Which was the way to go. The current staff here is super freindly and ready to make sure your first visit makes you a regular.
Toon's has two rooms and has always had a real shuffle board
Danny Beck is from Kansas City and along with his partner Dene Lencioni they are the current owners of Toon's Bar & Grill. When you hear his story or at least when I did, I thought damn dudes done it up bigger and badder than Bourdain. Over the years he has lived a life most people would only day dream of while sitting inside your cubicle. Danny went to college at KU in Lawrence so the fun started in his early 20's attending a great university in a really live college town. What was that? You bet it is-Toon's is a KU bar and you can catch all Kansas Jayhawk basketball games there and there's not a better spot to do so. Toon's will be rocking come March when the conference tournaments start and then after them when people start dancing to the madness. Do I think KU will win it all? no comment.
Watch all KU games at Toon's while you eat and drink like champs
It was after his days at KU that Danny decided to live up life the right way. Screw getting a real job and working 9-5 and never being able to rise up from where you started. Danny took his ass to the Caribbean where he lived and worked in St. Thomas for a couple years before relocating to Florida. He spent his time in both spots working in the restaurant/bar game and then after a few years decided to make his way to Chicago. Danny then settled in working at both Toon's and Nick's Beer Garden, which is also where his partner worked. Danny also attended classes at Kendall college learning the tricks and trades of the culinary world. After making a name for himself he was then given a job to be in charge of Planet Hollywood Chicago and then moved to Las Vegas to run the PH there. After Vegas it was a stop in Nashville and then back to Chicago to run the House of Blues and eventually he would buy Toon's with his partner Dene and settle down with his family here in the Windy City. It was his goal to have a neighborhood place with a nice selection of good beer on tap and also a place where to go with that good brew, you can get some great grub. Toon's has 15 beer's on tap.
Great Lakes Xmas Ale on Tap during the Holiday Season
But what about the food? It's amazing how much good eats come out of that small ass kitchen. The kitchen over there is smaller than most little brats from the Northshore's closet space. I'm talking maybe 10 by 10 feet at most so they got some grill space and a fryer and some room to prep what needs to be done and it leaves very little room to move. Danny is a student of food and loves it like me. During his time at HoB and while in the south he developed a love for New Orleans style food and all things Cajun. So part of the menu is influenced by this cuisine like the fact that since late January up thru Fat Tuesday the specials board has featured different gumbos in celebration of the upcoming Mardi Gras season. You would never expect it by just looking at the bar from outside but inside they serve one of if not the best bowls of gumbo in the city.
Toon's usually has Gumbo on the specials board
"No shorts cuts" should be the motto over there and the Gumbo is an example of why. It's not easy to make a real deal batch of goodness and it takes time and passion. Its also one of those foods much like BBQ and chili that can cause a war of whats real, whats not and how its supposed to be or or how its not. Well your going to get a gumbo with a broth deep in flavor along with whatever is in it on the day you visit. I've enjoyed a chicken version and a shrimp, sausage and crawfish one as well. You cant ask for anything better on a cold winters day watching the snow fall away with an Abita at your side. Its smokey, rich and full of flavor.
The Insides
Its not just a NOLA themed menu there's also all the classics of good American bar food. One of the more interesting things to try is their chili. I usually don't like it from most spots in Chicago and wouldn't expect a bar on the northside to do anything close to good but Toon's once again proves why you don't judge a book by its cover. I never would of thought of it but they use crumbled Italian sausage as their base meat in the chili and its served with the must haves of cheese, sour cream and chopped onions and with a side of tortilla chips. The onion rings are about the only thing they don't do from scratch and its easy to understand why when you see the space they would have to toss and coat onion rings all day. Nonetheless they still have an excellent beer battered brand that you must eat with the housemade BBQ sauce.
Beer Battered Onion Rings go great with the house BBQ sauce
I'm always having trouble deciding what to order when I'm over at Toon's but one thing I usually just cant pass up are the real deal New Orleans style cheese fries. Just like the ones you'll find at the bars in New Orleans being chowed down by hammered patrons in them. In New Orleans cheese fries are done by loading a blend of shredded cheeses on top of a mound of fries, they are then placed under a broiler and melted down into one of the best drunken eats of our great states. I've been to NOLA and I don't remember the cheese fries at F&M being nearly as good as the ones at Toon's. One way to tell if a places takes its food seriously is the use of fresh cut fries. I wouldn't hesitate to call Toon's spuds the best bar fries in Chicagoland and their cheese fries the best in Chicago. If you like chili cheese fries, you gotta get them at Toon's. Other apps I have to have are the pulled pork quesadillas and the fried shrimp on a bed of those fries. Hell even the pickles that come on the side of every dish ordered are some of the best I have ever had, made in house. Next time you stop by, tell them you want them fried!
Toon's New Orleans Style Cheese Fries
Pulled Pork Quesadilla's hit the spot, Monday's all apps are 1/2 price
Popcorn Shrimp with dipping sauces and their perfect pickles
-KingT's Wing Fling
When I told you Toon's had the barfood down pat the wings are where we start. I've been on my wing fling for years now and have sampled Buffalo wings from 100's of spots around town. If your a Winger like me and also love your sports then you might of heard the recent "best Buffalo Wings in Chicagoland" contest over on Sportsradio 670 the Score. Well when you include places like BW-3 and Wingstop in the discussion, you've already got me questioning your knowledge and have people questioning the nomination process. Guess where I go when I have to get my wing on? I have always loved the Birds Nest and their most excellent wings but over the past year they had their title taken by Toon's. Where I go to calm my wing fiends. In fact one of my friends who is as knowledgeable as it gets when it comes to regional eats and is from Buffalo originally said this "No doubt about it, Toons is this Buffalonian's current choice for wings."
Real Deal Buffalo Wings from Toon's and the best in city
Word spreads fast when around Chicagoland because Toon's wings have been featured in the Tribune and named best in city by 100's of food lovers like myself in a very short period of time. Your going to get textbook Buffalo Wings when you eat them here. The wings are big and meaty so its important they are fried perfectly, well they are. The next step is the sauce which needs to have the perfect balance of hot and sour and made with the basics, butter and vinegar laced hot sauce. Everything about Toon's Buffalo wings are the best in city. Even the blue cheese dressing is the real thing with chunks of blue cheese and by far the best of its type I have had. Danny also makes an in house KC style BBQ sauce that can be had on the wings. His BBQ sauce is some of my favorite out there and if you mention chibbqking they'll make you up a batch of KC-BBQ wings that they finish on the grill. They aren't on the menu due to limited grill space. I'm getting really hungry. Not surprisingly The Score's Wing contest didn't even include Toon's or Bird's Nest as contenders. Pfffft!!!
KC BBQ Wings, Thursday is Wing Night ($2.50/basket)
-Got beef? The burgers of Chi
Just like any other joint that is considered to have good bar food they do up a fine burger at Toon's. Nothing frozen or pre-formed here. If you decide to go the route of a burger you'll get a fresh hand patted, half pound beauty available in a variety of ways and served with the fresh cut fries and plenty of them perfect pickles all on a wonderful bakery baked bun. If you go on a Wednesday they'll be just $4 along with $3 drafts, cant beat that. Especially when those $3 drafts include some real nice beers.
Surf & Turf: Toon's burger paired with fried catfish
KC Burger Special comes with bacon, cheddar and plenty of BBQ sauce
Wednesday is burger day at Toon's ($4) pictured is a black and bleu burger
-The Sammy's of Chi
Continuing with the theme of NOLA and other southern delights on the menu are the Po' Boy's and other sandwiches which are all outstanding. You will also find a wonderful ever changing selection of sammy's on the specials board along with the everyday goodies. One of my favorite sandwiches is the fried oyster Po' boy which is on special thru Fat Tuesday and always ordered with extra pickles by me. When it comes to the sandwich selection you pick which one sounds good and it will be. There's a fried buffalo chicken Po' Boy that is excellent as well as a grilled Cajun dusted Po' Boy that is as good as any grilled chicken I've had. Not pictured is the catfish Po' Boy and that's great too. I haven't tried the grilled portabella shroom sandwich but I bet I'd like it if I was a veg-head.
Fried Oyster Po' Boy on special thru Fat Tuesday
Buffalo Chicken Po' Boy
Grilled Cajun Chicken Po' Boy
Its not over folks, Toon's takes all of its space and puts it to good use. This is why out back behind the bar in the little two car parking lot you'll find a smoker where they do up real smoked BBQ items such as ribs, pulled pork and turkey breasts smoked with wood and those are just the everyday items-food specials come from the smoker too. Screw the fact there isn't but room for a 10 by 10 foot kitchen, they just smoke some BBQ out back. Once again you would never know it (unless you got a whiff of the smoke from out back) but the longtime corner bar at Southport and Byron also has some of the best BBQ in the city and certainly the best of any bar. Danny is from KC and is a true student of BBQ. He's been all around the country in search of it and seeking out tips and advice from some of the best like Mike Mills on how to perfect it. So there isn't a day that goes by where you wont find Danny and his top notch staff smokin' out back.
Along with those many fine sammy's mentioned above there's another one to be had. The staff will smoke turkey breasts and uses the meat for an amazing turkey sandwich that is sure to have even someone like me who's not big on turkey, loving it. When I had my 1st fried turkey about 6 years back I knew I was done with the baked stuff. Great stuff it was moist and full of flavor from the homemade rub with the perfect touch of smoke, which goes really well with turkey. You can try it the Jive way and the pulled turkey comes topped with BBQ sauce, provolone cheese, bacon and fried onion straws or get it with just the BBQ sauce on top.
Turkey Breasts Smokin' away
Pulled Turkey Sandwich made with smoked turkey breast
I've had the ribs quite a few times from Toon's and never had a bad batch. Sure like any other real deal BBQ place the goodness can vary depending on when your getting them since you don't make real BBQ in 15 minutes. I've had them fresh off the smoker and when ordered from the lovely female servers and they always make my mouth drool. I think the best batches have perfect smoke flavor and were just in between from being too chewy and too loose making them just right. When you consider this is a neighborhood corner bar (in Lakeview) putting out ribs like that, its damn impressive. Look I love Twin Anchors and its history and old school charm and will even eat their tasty Baked (not BBQ) ribs (if your paying) but there's no way they have the best ribs in Chicago and there's no way they have the best ribs at the bars. That honor belongs to Toon's. Danny being as he is from KC has even spent the past years perfecting a KC style BBQ sauce that is one of my favorites out there.
Toon's Ribs are real smoked BBQ, nothing baked or boiled here
Friday is rib Night ($10 for 1/2 slab)
Smoked Ribs ala Toon's
But even after all the great grub previously pictured we haven't even gotten to Toon's signature move in the food game. Going on for over ten years now has been the Toon's all you can eat crawfish boil done up just like they would down in Louisiana. In fact its gotten so popular that its not just a one time thing anymore they have quite a few during the crawfish season. With it being the very early start of mud bug season there was a small boil of 250 pounds there on Super Bowl Sunday and it was da bomb. Who Dat?
a cooler full of mud bugs, sausage, corn and potato's
In just another fine example of taking everything seriously Toon's will order their crawfish from Louisiana and have them delivered live the day of the boil where they are picked up at O'Hare that morning. When they get back to the bar with the mud bugs Danny and his team of super cooks get to work by throwing the crawdaddy's into pots of spiced water along with halved heads of garlic, corn, potatoes and three types of sausage. The tubed meat's thrown in were andouille, kielbasa and Child's Play hot dogs (the cheap turkey/chicken/pork kind) of which the Oscar Meyer like hot dogs actually came to very good use. One of Danny's buddy's Mark introduced me to this little trick to make cheap hot dogs actually edible. The dogs absorbed a high percentage of the spicy crawfish infused cooking liquid thus packing them full of flavor with everything in the pot making its mark in them.
Video from Super Sunday
The boils work like this. You pay your $25 and you grab a seat at any of the tables layered in newspaper and take a bucket and throw what you in it from the cooler and bring it back to your table and dump it out and start chowing down. Also included in this wonderful must do eating deal are all the red beans and rice you care to eat. Its all in the family with the Beck's as Danny's lovely wife Annie takes care of a few of things fro the Bar including the creamy red beans and rice packed with the perfect amount of smoke flavor from a whole lot of sausage. I would pay $20 to eat the beans and rice alone all day while I drink $3 High Lifes and watch sports.
Mrs. Toon's magnificent Red Beans & Rice
If your looking at these crawfish boil pics and starting to get an itch for them well you need to mark off Saturday March 20th on your calendars. That is the date of the next crawdaddy extravaganza over at Toon's and it also happens to be the Saturday of the opening weekend of the NCAA Men's basketball tournament. I can hardly wait. Come catch me and lets throw a few back and kill some crawfish and watch our tourney sheets closely. I also have a special offer to all my readers from the peopel at Toon's. I met Danny thru the neighborhood and being known by the same people and he's a big follower of S'C&C and would like to offer all of its readers a 20% discount on all food bills thru next Friday. So in case you were wondering where you were gonna spend your Fat Tuesday...you now know. Holladay.
Toon's annual crawfish boil is a blowout each March
Toon's Bar & Grill 3857 North Southport Avenue Chicago, IL 60613-2823 (773) 935-1919 Website
