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#75 – Crawfish Boil at Toon’s

2012
04.22
Toon's Crawfish Banner

Toon's Crawfish Banner

We’re talking crawfish boil here.  Just two months ago I had my first crawfish ever in Las Vegas and have been craving crawfish ever since.  In Vegas, they fly in their crawfish daily from the south.  When I visited California in March, lo and behold they had several crawfish restaurants serving boiled crawfish and boiled shrimp all day every day.  The search for Chicago crawfish boil revealed that only a few places have crawfish boils and you certainly can’t find any places serving up crawfish daily!

After hearing that Toon’s had regular crawfish boils, I made sure to find them on Facebook and find out when the next crawfish boil was.  Discovering the next crawfish boil would feature 700 pounds of crawfish, it was a no brainer to pop an event invite and round up some good company to go eat crawfish!

How to Have a Successful Crawfish Boil at Toons

1. Get there early – Arriving early to a crawfish boil make sure you get a nice seat at the best TVs and that you will be in striking distance of the crawfish right when they come out of giant vats boiling in the back.  Getting to the boil early also means that you will have a prime opportunity to drink more and secure seating for you and your closest friends.  Don’t be surprised if a stranger decides to sit by you – seating gets tight (and that’s not a bad thing)!

2. It’s all about the plastic tray – While there are paper baskets to carry your crawfish, arriving early also means first crack at the giants trays used for crawfish. You might be able to double down with two paper baskets to drag back your crawfish, but I think it’s more fun to load up a giant tray with steaming hot crawfish.

3. Bring $25 cash. For the price of $25 cash you will get a bracelet along with a drink ticket for your included serving of selected beer.  The bracelet entitles you to ALL YOU CAN EAT crawfish from when they start serving until they flat run out of crawfish.  You will definitely get your money’s worth if you obey rules 1, 2, & 3.

Toon's Crawfish Tray

Toon's Crawfish Tray

The crawfish came out at 1:30PM and the line was not too daunting as Toon’s kept serving up tray after tray of crawfish and every serving was more than generous.  To be honest, one tray would have made my money’s worth and I really enjoyed the corn and mushroom that came along with the delicious crawfish. My old roommate was annihilating his crawfish and @GourmetRambler made fun of me for eating slow also.

@GettinHanked and @atick7 arrived next but sat elsewhere in the bar to enjoy their crawfish. @leyla_a missed out on the mud bugs since she compares crawfish to cockroaches and ordered pulled turkey instead. @TheAW1 and his friend Norman arrived much later and @girlinacity got there by crawfish o’clock.  Whilst waiting for a batch of crawfish, I got a chance to check out the back operations to see where the crawfish were all coming from.

Danny Beck - Mastermind of Toon's Crawfish Boil

Danny Beck - Mastermind of Toon's Crawfish Boil

With 700 pounds of crawfish and a bush of blue crab cooking up it was great to be able to take a look at the hard work going in the back while everyone was inside drinking and waiting for the next batch.  There were three or four giant vats to cook up crawfish, jambalaya, and crab, and kids were playing with live crawfish in a shallow plastic pool.  Two people were eating on top of a dumpster, and Danny let me know there were 150 pounds of crawfish left and that all of the crawfish were flown in fresh from the bayou.

Are you ready for a bushel of blue crab?

Are you ready for a bushel of blue crab?

B.S. Brass Brand: some serious brass Dixieland

B.S. Brass Brand: some serious brass Dixieland

Danny also let me know that the band was about to play in an hour. When B.S. Brass Band took stage, I think this is where Toon’s elevated this from a feeding frenzy to an all out party.  The music was some straight up Dixieland jazz blasting out some ripe music. Given that I had been sitting by the juke all day, the new music was loud and I was loving every minute of it.  You can always tell it’s a great party when you run into people you just don’t expect, I ran into a kid from my high school who I hadn’t seen in ages and ran into @cpbelser outside.  @cpbelser let me know that Toon’s crawfish boil is the closest you’ll find to a real southern crawfish boil out in the city and I was happy that my first crawfish boil was in the right spot.

If you’ve got a hankering for crawfish boil, find out when the next crawfish boil is at Toon’s and head on over!


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Butcher and the Burger

2012
04.09
Butcher & The Burger

Butcher & The Burger

I stopped into Butcher & The Burger as my friends had tried the place for lunch and absolutely loved it! Pre-gaming before Whirlyball, Butcher & Burger was filled with Friday night hungry diners enjoying some BYOB while waiting for their food. In line I got a good view of the menu which made me hungrier with each passing second!

What did I try?

The thing about Butcher & The Burger is that you’ll have an array of options at your disposal and they’ll never get it wrong since the burger clerk punches your order into a neat machine.

Patty:  Natural & Local House Blend Beef

Spices: Chicago Steakhouse

Bun: Split Top Egg Butter

Extras: Goat Cheese, Wasabi Mayo, Bacon

Add fries and root beer and you’ve got yourself a classic Chicago meal. The dizzying array of choices gives you maximum control on what you get on your burger as opposed to some other places where you’ll get a whole bunch of stuff and pick stuff off one by one.

How was it?

Firstly, the fries come out super crisp and weren’t dried out. I don’t know what they do, but every place in Chicago should take a lesson from Butcher & Burger and cook fries with this texture. Some garlic and lemon juice would have been welcome, but the fries were awesome!

The burger was a test in discipline, could you go your entire meal resisting the urge to shove the whole burger in your mouth and consume in three bites?  While it was difficult, the civilized side of me refrained.  I had a seat by the cooking area and was very happy to eat quality ingredients put together to seduce your taste buds all made to order and served on a cute wooden chopping board.

Butcher & Burger will give most places a run for their money with latitude to customize your boiga and crisp crisp fries as their best qualities. Had I been hungrier I would have tried the chorizo chili but I will save that for next time!

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#36 Eat at Smoque, Fat Willy’s Rib Shack, Smoke Daddy

2012
03.04
Welcome to Smoke Daddy

Welcome to Smoke Daddy

Smoke Daddy serves up Wicked BBQ in Wicker Park and after seeing countless friends check in on foursquare, it was time for an investigation. On a Thursday night there was live Blues, a crowded but not stuffed dining area, and the opportunity to try some of Chicago’s best BBQ. I quickly ordered an Allagash White and counted my lucky stars that Smoke Daddy also serves up libations.

Inside, the red window neon light casts a reflection over the whole venue and you’ll find people chowing down on ribs, nachos, sandwiches, and all kinds of smoked goodness coming right out the kitchen. We decided to dive into the nachos with brisket.

Smoke Daddy Brisket Nachos

Smoke Daddy Brisket Nachos

As you can see, these nachos had nearly all real estate occupied by cheese, brisket, and BBQ sauce. There was a sweetness and smokiness to the meat and don’t dare bring these nachos to any party – they’ll be gone quicker than the time it takes to recite the alphabet backwards.

Smoke Daddy Platter

Smoke Daddy Platter

Food magically rained down on the table and I found myself staring at pulled pork, brisket served on white bread, corn bread, fries, and a side of cole slaw. Surprisingly I found the pulled pork better than the brisket but the platter was just too much to finish. The BBQ sauce tasted great and didn’t overwhelm and I had enough leftover for another day. With refreshing Allagash White, live music, and a tasty dosage of smoked BBQ, Smoke Daddy will be your new go to BBQ joint.


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#74 – Ribs at Gale Street Inn

2012
03.03
Gale Street Inn

Gale Street Inn (Source: city-data.com)

Welcome to Gale Street Inn located across the street from the Jefferson Park bus terminal/CTA Blue Line/Metra stop. You’ll find this northwest side gem a convenient location whether you drive or take public transit. Gale Street has a parking lot in the back and we found it relatively packed for an idle Sunday post-Monster Truck JAM!

After walking in, we saw some Mardi Gras decorations and plastic beads being passed around and the Bulls game playing in the background. After checking out the menu we all decided on some ribs and the server came back several times to refill watch and made sure our glasses were never empty. Classic northwest side with no artifice, I felt right at home at Gale Street Inn

French Onion Soup at Gale Street Inn

French Onion Soup at Gale Street Inn

The soup was just the doctor ordered and I had been craving some oniony deliciousness. Savory with soaked bread and cheese I love French onion soup. We also destroyed a giant plate of calamari before I could snap a photo but it came with a giant hunk of lemon and some sauce to dip. Soon enough we were waiting on the ribs all delighting in the tastiness of our meal. At last the ribs came but first I needed a bite of the mash potatoes.

Gale Street Inn Mashed Potato

Gale Street Inn Mashed Potato

Garlicky, buttery, this rich mashed potato was whipped to perfection. You could probably live off a giant pot of these mashed potatoes for days if it came down to it and it was simple, down to earth yet otherworldly. YUM!

Gale Street Inn Ribs

Gale Street Inn Ribs

And there we have it at last: Gale Street Inn ribs!!! Just how tender were Gale Street Inn ribs?  When people say meat falls off the bone, sometimes you’ve got to just check for yourself. I did not use my knife at all and didn’t need to use my hands because your fork can take off all the meat off of the bones and clean your whole plate. If you ever find yourself by Jefferson Park Blue Line CTA, head on over to Gale Street Inn for the best ribs around town.

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#35 – Visit the Chicago Data Center, Hub of the Internet.

2012
02.12
Chicago Data Center

Chicago Data Center

If you’ve ever gone by McCormick Place by 350 E. Cerkmak, chances are that you’ve probably never noticed a six story brick building with relief art decorating its thick walls. Welcome to the Chicago Data Center, the veritable Fort Knox of IT in the Midwest, and the largest data center in the world.

What is the Chicago Data Center? Think of all of the fiber optic cables that connect the Internet all over the country and the Chicago Data Center is where everything intersects all in one building for all of the Internet in the Midwest. There are smaller data centers in the outlying suburbs but they play Palwaukee or DuPage to Chicago’s O’Hare.

350 E. Cermak

350 E. Cermak

Due to the value of the data stored here and the actual hardware, you can’t just walk into the Chicago Data Center. Nearly every major company with data going through the Midwest likely has servers transmitting data all over the country here. High frequency traders move their servers to be that much closer to downtown to reduce latency by a couple of milliseconds that makes a big difference. As such, armed guards will be at the front door ready to sign you in. Nearly every inch of the Chicago Data Center has cameras and there are dozens of security monitors watching your every move.

Hand Scanner

Biometric Hand Scanner

Once in the Data Center, I left my camera in the car and we passed through two security checkpoints and had to sign in at each one. We then had to go through a man trap which basically once you scan you punch in the pass code and scan your hand, you are moved to another room and have to wait for one door to close before you can scan your hand and punch in your code again.

Mantrap

Mantrap

After this we entered an area that looked like the front desk of any office and we shuffled off onto a stairwell and into a hallway. In the hallway the only light was blue track lights above and no other light save that coming from the servers locked in cages all over the place. If you didn’t have a map and never had been there you’d probably end up running in circles without ever finding what you were looking for. Servers the size of refrigerators blinked in the background in the darkness and the path was lit with blue lights making it kind of looking like a scene out of Star Trek.

Chicago Data Center Hallway

Chicago Data Center Hallway

Eventually we reached the proper cage and scanned through again to reach the servers my friend had to work on. Each cage can cost $100,000 a year to rent depending on size and comes loaded with fiber optic cables, telephone lines, and power lines tied up in neat bundles. The noise coming from the Data Center can be a bit overwhelming but after awhile you get used to it.

Random Data Center Cage (found on Internet)

Random Data Center Cage (found on Internet)

Inside the cage there were giant servers blasting heat or cold air depending on what you were standing next to. Giant racks holding e-mail servers, voicemail servers, web traffic, simulated web attacks, firewalls, and any other servers you might need. My friend’s coworker was installing some piece of equipment and wires were sticking out all over the place. The racks were neat pieces of equipment, able to fit large and small servers and each piece had power and network cables running in and out. I got a quick tutorial on the various servers, where their backups were, rundown of various manufacturers, and how things move in and out of the data center.

The amount of power needed to keep the data center running has got to be astronomical. Power cables flow into every cage and we really were in the middle of the biggest internet hub out in the Midwest. If you’ve ever seen Fight Club you’ll recall that they blow up all of the buildings to destroy bank records and reset everyone to zero. Even though we were in the middle of it all, even if terrorists did blow up the data center there are backups all over the country. Part Star Trek, part myth, the Chicago Data Center was 100% techgeek and I am glad my oldest friend that I’ve known since kindergarten gave me a chance to check it out!

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