Posts in the ‘Roger’s Park’ Category

Indie Cafe, Edgewater

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

she said:

Indie Cafe is one of my favorite restaurants on the North side of Chicago, if not my hands-down numero uno.  It’s certainly my favorite Thai place.

While sitting in Indie Cafe, whether it’s with Guy or a group of girlfriends, I often notice a certain bustling energy.  There is, for lack of a better word, a scene.  It’s clear that everyone in the room loves being there.

Although Indie is low key, the decor is quite stylish, with cool artwork and romantic lighting.  The food is so artfully presented and delicious, it’s hard to believe it’s so affordable.  Everything about being there says high-end dining.  Everything except the prices.

Generally, I order from the Thai menu, though their sushi menu is equally large and impressive.   My friends who order the sushi are addicted, but I find the Thai curries to be totally irresistible.   The Panang and the Indie Signature Curries are at the top of my list.  Both are nutty and intensely flavorful; the Panang is a bit spicier.  Guy doesn’t like curries very much.  More for me, sucka!

The crab rangoon is also top notch – and this from a girl who doesn’t eat much seafood – as is the Tom Ka Kai, a sweet and sour coconut broth soup.  I substitute the chicken with tofu.

For dessert, try a mochi ice cream ball.  My favorite is the green tea.

And, if you still need convincing, Indie is BYOB so you can stop in the nearby Dominick’s or the liquor store around the corner and grab a bottle or two.

I don’t have a single complaint about this gem of a restaurant.  I love it so much; maybe I’ll marry it.

he said:

I like when we get Indie as take-out. They serve good Thai food, but when I’m in there I feel like they’re trying to play dress up.

Let me explain, because I don’t want to suggest that they’re food isn’t good. It’s excellent. I almost always get pad thai or chicken fried rice. And my preference for those two colors my experience.

Pad thai and chicken fried rice are comfort food. They’re great as take out. When I eat them in a restaurant, I like it when the setting is as low key as the meal. While the ambience is nice at Indie, it’s unnecessary in my mind.

Of all the Thai take out I’ve had in Andersonville and Edgewater, Indie has the best. Last time we ordered it through GrubHub (which is a great website that lets you order food online; but you already knew that right?) and it came quickly and was delicious as usual. And when I eat it in the comfort of my home, the ambience is just right.


Hophaus, Rogers Park

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

he said:

As you may know,  I’m fairly new to Chicago. That means I’m not a Bears fan.

(audible gasp)

I know, I know. But really, with the way they’ve played this year, can you blame me? No, I’m a Bengals fan. And I’m trying to convince my beautiful girlfriend to bleed Bengal black and orange. This year, it hasn’t been hard. The Bengals are clearly superior, as evidenced by their 45-10 drubbing of the Bears. No, the hardest part has been finding the Bengals game on TV.

Which brings us to Hophaus. We’d heard a rumor that you could watch any NFL game on Sundays, but that’s the only thing we’d heard. So when we went to the game one Sunday recently, we were simply hoping to watch the game and maybe have a beer or seven. (Well, maybe just me. She’s always looking for a fine culinary experience.) So we were surprised when we loved the menu and, well, pretty much everything about Hophaus.

Great, Patient Service

We walk into this huge pub, and I knew we were in a great place when I see a huge mural of sports figures. Not just Chicago sports figures, though I do believe I remember seeing Ditka in there.  I think Pete Rose was in it as well, so I liked my chances for a Bengal victory. Or at least seeing the game.

We told the hostess that we wanted to watch the Bengals game, and she put us in a spot that didn’t have a great view of the game. So we asked our waiter if we could move to another table. Oh, and could they put it on another TV? Great, thanks.

Oh wait, this table of softball players is leaving and we just heard we have more friends coming? You don’t mind if we move, right?

We may have been the most annoying table on that particular Sunday, but our waiter, David, was really cool about it. He even put the game on a couple more TVs for us.

Book Length Menu

I always worry when we go into this sort of situation, for my girlfriends sake, that everything on the menu will have some sort of meat in it. Like every dip is made with a chicken broth, or they put bacon fat on toast instead of butter, and beef chili on top of their portobello mushroom sandwich. But as we looked through the menu, we realized everything looked good, and it seemed like 1/3 of the menu was vegetarian.

I started things off with bloody mary, which was good. We then shared a spinach and artichoke dip, also good. Then things got interesting.

I ordered a breakfast pizza, from their extensive selection of breakfast pizzas. I was amazed, I’ve never seen an extensive collections of breakfast pizzas. That’s like the marriage of two of my favorite things. I had a spicy chipotle pizza, with spicy chorizo and covered in a thin layer of scrambled eggs and topped with a chipotle sauce. It was delicious. It was also a lot of food, but so worth it.

Oh, and the Bengals won.

she said:

I admit, I was shocked at how much I enjoyed Hop Haus.  I mean, it’s a sports bar that touts a selection of 24 burgers, many of which are made with creatures like ostrich and wild boar.  Not my cup of tea.  Or so I thought.  They actually have an incredibly impressive selection of vegetarian and vegan options.  Now, don’t get me wrong, you’re not gonna get a plate of steamed rice and raw veggies.  Almost everything on the menu is decadent.  For example, the macaroni and cheese I ordered, pictured to the right, was ridiculous, even by my standards.  Already a cheesy mess, it was topped with a slab of Velveeta-like cheese that I definitely could have done without.  Overall, though, this place rocks.  There is absolutely something for everybody.  In summary, go Bengals.