First Look at Soul Surfing Pizza

First Look at Soul Surfing Pizza

First Look at Soul Surfing Pizza

I went into Soul Surfing Pizza this past Saturday night with my wife.  They are in the old Malibu Pizza location, and stuck with the same decor, although it does seem to be a new owner. They are still in soft open mode, although they are open to the public.  

Two weeks prior I had taken a couple of pizzas out from there and what happy with the pizza, but was hoping they would be a little more organized by this week. It took over ten minutes before a waitress came to take our order.  Generally wait times were long, which I will chalk up to the fact that they are still working out the kinks.  At that point they did not yet have menus, so you had to try and remember the types of pizzas they have as the waitress rattled them off.  It appears as if their specialty is using all sorts of fake meats on their pizzas and in their soups. The waitress mentioned that they finally got fries but their fryer was broken. 

My wife and I both started with soups, she got the cream of potato with "bacon" and I got the Italian wedding "meatball" soup.   My wife's soup came without the bacon, which was brought later but was cold, rubbery, and was way too salty.  The potato soup itself was decent.  The wedding soup on the other hand was thin and bland and had two tiny meatballs. 

The star of this place is their pizza.  We ordered 12" 1/2 five cheese, 1/2 Hawaiian barbeque chicken, which was delicious.  The crust is wonderfully thin and crunchy, the sauces where flavorful, and the topping combinations are well thought out.  I only have a few small complaints about the pizza. When I asked what the five cheeses were on the five cheese pizza I was told by the waitress it was secret, which I think was just a cover up for the fact that she did not know.  They don't have anything smaller than 12" which is in my opinion a little large for one person, but perfect for two. Finally pizza by the slice would be nice, especially if they hope to attract families with children.  

My early assessment of Soul Surfing Pizza is that it has potential once they get their act together.  Once they have menus and work out their service issues, this could be a great new Saturday night spot.  My suggestion is give them until after the New Year to work out the kinks, bring a friend, and skip the soup, because here it is all about the pizza.  Look for a full review of this place sometime after it is no longer in a soft open mode.

Thank You!!! We have hit 12,000 hits lifetime.

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Disappointing Pizza and Service at EJs

I was at EJ's Pizzeria in Skokie tonight.  I ordered a mushroom, pepper, and onion slice.  They took an existing mushroom slice, warmed it up and then added the peppers and onions on it afterwards.  The peppers and onions were still completely raw and not integrated with the cheese at all.  When I showed it to the girl who was helping me behind the counter, the response I got was "I'm not the one who made it."  
Seriously, take pride in your product and learn how to speak to your customers!!!

Kosher Restaurant Update: Milt's Barbeque for the Perplexed in Lakeview

I hear from an inside source that the new kosher resaurant in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago Milt's will likely be opening in early December.  They will be doing authentic kosher barbeque.  By that I mean they are actually planning on smoking their meat.  Their plan is to make everything from scratch in house, including their homemade pickles.
Their website is http://www.miltsbbq.com/ although there is not much on it yet.
Their facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Milts-Barbeque-for-the-Perplexed/119924381409229
Their address according to their Facebook page is:
3411 N. Broadway
Chicago, Illinois 60657

Hamachi Sushi Bar's Menu

Hamachi Sushi Bar's Menu

Analysis coming soon.

Secret Off Menu Item at Kotel Kosher

I present to you the grilled pastrami dog....

This is a great item at Kotel Kosher, that is not on the menu.  The only thing that would make this better is if they had sauerkraut. 

First Look at The Main Grill

First Look at The Main Grill

 

 

 

I picked up some take-out from The Main Grill yesterday.  I ordered a two piece fried chicken, my wife had the baykon burger, and my kids each had hot dogs.  The burger and chicken came with fries and the hot dogs were supposed to come with chips which I was told were "round fries."  I also ordered a side order of sweet potato fries.

I had a taste of the burger and it wasn't bad, but nothing to write home about.  There was one  notable feature to the burger, it came with chipotle mayo, which is a condiment that I am generally fond of.

I also had a bite of my kids hot dogs which was decent.

The fried chicken was breaded as opposed to a traditional batter or flour dredge.  The guy behind the counter did not know what type pieces came in the order.  I asked for one dark and one white, and they gave me a leg and a breast.  The breast was semi-boneless, and by that I mean it looks like the tried to pass off a piece of shnitzel as fried chicken, but did a poor job boning it.  It was also a little over done.

Both the regular fries and the sweet potato fries were under done and under seasoned.  The hot dogs just came with regular fries, which makes me sad, as I really like round fries, as they remind me of old school fries from Kosher City.

As for the look of the restaurant, they have a semi open kitchen, which is not a great thing, unless you like watching your dinner being tossed in the fryer.  They have a decent looking salad bar.  Based on the decor you can tell this was a different restaurant at one point.  There were 2 different types of tables and 2 different types of chairs. Also for some reason they have a "Subsational" sign.

Things are Changing at Kotel Kosher

Things are changing for the better at Kotel Kosher in downtown Chicago.  They had some significant flaws when they first opened. (See my original review of Kotel Kosher)  They have started making some of their own salads and wraps instead of bringing them in from outside.  Although the most exciting news in my opinion is the fact that they are now serving hot dogs.  Not just any hot dogs, regular and garlic hot dogs from Romanian Kosher Sausage Company, with ketchup, mustard, mayo, and relish available to accessorize. 
There are also plans to serve hot corned beef or pastrami some time soon and possibly soups when the weather cools down.  This is definitely a step in the right direction.

Finally Real Food Trucks

Finally Chicago is getting
on the band wagon.  
Hopefully we can get someone
to do a kosher one.

Chicago food trucks OK
to cook onboard,
City Council says

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8748819

July 25, 2012 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Chefs will soon start dishing out what they cook up -- inside their Chicago food trucks.

On Wednesday the Chicago City Council approved an ordinance that allows food truck operators to cook onboard.

Under the ordinance, food trucks can't park closer than 200 feet from a restaurant entrance unless they're in designated food-truck parking spots. Food trucks also will be required to have GPS to track their movements.

Chicago is known for high-end restaurants but has lagged behind other cities when it comes to the food truck craze.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the city's aldermen say the ordinance approved Wednesday is a good first step to expand the industry.

The trucks have been able to operate in Chicago, but chefs couldn't cook and prepare food in their vehicles.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved.

Stop the presses!!!

It looks as if Slice of Life/ Hy Life Bistro will now be taking credit cards starting after the 9 days.  They made this announcement about 20 minutes ago about 3:35 central time on Facebook.

Maybe this is the year for the Cubs too!!


And now we have confirmation from the Manager Geoff Winner!!!

Another one bites the dust...Goodbye Devon Fish and Pizza

Again Chicago struggles to support another kosher restaurant. Devon Fish and Pizza has officially closed their doors according their Facebook page. This place just never seemed to gain traction, maybe it was the awkward sounding name? I was there only a few times and i found their food decent, although I have heard from other that it was inconstant. I never did taste their sushi although at least their original sushi menu seemed very "mock Krab" heavy.

While it is sad we lost another restaurant I can't say I am surprised. These days I assume a kosher restaurant will fail in Chicago and then am pleasantly surprised if it survives.

Why I hate buying Kosher fish in Chicago

OK so the way I see it there are only 3 choices in where to get fish under hashgacha in Chicago currently, and each has its own issues.
1.  Jewel: The issue at Jewel is that the if you come in the afternoon or evening, they never have a fish monger manning the kosher fish counter.  Usually someone will come over from the non-kosher meat counter to help you, but the usually they have no clue what they are doing and end up making a complete mess of the butchering, leaving both scales and bones on the fish.  Now I do have to say the guy there in the morning named Forest is the man.  He always gets me the freshest stuff and does a good job butchering it.

2.Hungarian: A few years ago Hungarian closed their full service fish counter and now has limited amount of fresh pre-cut fish.  It is usually cut OK but the selection is limited and you are stuck with it in the weights they cut it.

3.Roberts: This place is on Devon.  I went in there for the first time in years.  The place seemed smelly and dirty to me.  Everything was literally buried in ice so you could not see it.  The selection seemed small for a place dedicated to fish.  They only had farmed salmon, and they only have  tuna by special order.

My suggestion is get to Jewel at about 8 AM or talk to local competent halachic authority about the correct way to buy kosher fish from a place that does not only sell kosher.

New Kosher Chicago Subway Review

Stoped in there for a quick lunch as I am off for Veterans Day today. I ordered the Spicy Italian $5 value meal. I consisted of a 6" sandwich of "pepperoni" and salami(I think although the guy behind the counter was not sure either) plus all the fixings, a medium sized soft drink and a bag of chips. I ordered it on a white sub bread, the options were white or wheat sub bread, toasted with green bell peppers, jalapenos, banana peppers, pickles, lettuce, sweet onion dressing. Ronit (my wife) ordered the meatball marinara of white. I also ordered the ministrone soup. The portions size was small but then again what do you expect for only $5 in the kosher world. The bread, meat, and vegtables were tasty. The soup was a bit thin and bland in my opinion and I go a whole bay leaf which is never pleasant. The place seemed clean although it is new. The service was OK, quick enough although they seemed a bit unorginized but we can chalk that up to it being the first day. There was a steady stream of people most taking to go but there was pleanty of room. They also have a party room in back which I think is a plus.