Tomorrow's Post

Hello out there!

I regret to inform everyone that due to my feeling under the weather tonight I will not be able to post the latest review on Falafel Brothers. I will be taking tonight to rest up and unfortunately have work tomorrow that I have to attend to. I have apologized to Falafel Brothers and have stated that this lack of action does not have any relation to my feelings on their wonderful food. Check out their website Falafel Brothers. I will be posting their review this weekend and once again apologize for the inconvenience of the situation. I know many of you are excited for the latest post!

Also I will be posting a schedule for December for some great trucks that I plan on visiting! I hope you start doing the same and taking advantage of the wonderful food that this great city has to offer!

I hope you all have a wonderful evening and have a great Friday tomorrow!

Sincerely,

Windy City Food Review

Change in Schedule

Hello out there!

          I hope that you have been having a great weekend so far and are checking out food trucks and new restaurants all over this great city. If you need help finding food trucks make sure you check out
Food Truck Freak the site provides a list of just about every Food Truck in the city and it has a "Food Truck" tracker, due to the city laws that have changed a couple months ago ALL trucks are required to carry around a GPS with them. Just check out the map and you can see where Food Trucks are at and where they are going to be.

         So earlier in the month I released a schedule that announced the four food trucks that I would be reviewing this month. I have stayed on schedule this whole time, but the last Food Truck is going to change. I have reached out to Burgers That Go, but have heard nothing back from them. Their twitter site shows that their last post was from November 8th. Hopefully they are doing well and will be up and running again in the near future, but in the mean time I will be going to see the Falafel Brothers truck. I have not decided on the trucks for next month, December, but on the site we do have a poll (If you scroll down it will be on the right hand side of the page) you can take the poll and let me know what you are interested in hearing about.

         I am looking forward to your response! Make sure you tell all your friends about the site! I have seen some great results since the re-launch of Windy City Food Review. We broke our record the other day with over 55 views in one day! It maybe a small victory, but a victory none the less!

So keep on reading and I'll keep on eating

If you have any other comments please send an email to
windycityfoodreview@yahoo.com

Make sure you follow us on Twitter
@WindyCityFoodRe

Also there will be a Facebook fan page coming out soon!!!
It is currently being worked on

Any comments are welcomed on the site and questions pertaining to what Windy City Food Review is all about!

The Tamale Spaceship

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The Tamale Spaceship

The Tamale Spaceship 

Round 1…FIGHT!!

            Luchadores are Mexican masked wrestlers, which are the perfect mascot for The Tamale spaceship! This food truck packs a punch of rich culture and flavor that comes from Manny Hernandez and his hard working crew. I was able to meet up with Manny and the rest of the Tamale spaceship as I caught them after a hard days work wrestling with the latest ordinances and selling their notorious tamales all across Chicago.

            The Tamale spaceship specializes in “Mexican cuisine stuffed into a Tamale" states Chef Manny Hernandez. This is what separates The Tamale spaceship from other Tamale trucks. The truck has been up and running for the past few years traveling from the far north suburbs to all across the city. The tamale spaceship not only makes its way around the city for it’s weekly schedule, but they also cater events as well.

            Now I don’t want to brag or anything, but I did live in Arizona for a number of years and was introduced to some AMAZING Mexican food out there. Since living in Chicago I haven’t found much that compares to what I have had in the southwest, until now. The Tamale spaceship has a variety of tamales on their menu such as duck, pork, vegan, vegetarian, flank steak and more.

            Due to the Chicago ordinance and the permit that The Tamale Spaceship has they are only allowed to sell packaged pre-cooked food from their truck. Although the new ordinances have been passed, the city is taking their time with allowing trucks to get the latest permits. Although the permit doesn’t allow the truck to cook on it don’t let that stop you from getting food there, you would be missing out on some great stuff! The tamales come in a pack of two and are contained in a closed container accompanied by a sauce that comes with the tamale.

            I took mine home and was given the instructions to wet a paper napkin and place it on top of both tamales (keep wrapping on the tamale) and microwave for 3 minutes

Picturesque de Puerco

Tamale: Yucatan style roasted pork tamale

Sauce: Tomato-habanero

Roasted tomato, onion, garlic, habanero peppers, vegetable stock.

            This bundle of joy was one of the most flavorful tamales I have ever had, and I am willing to go even further and say that this was some of the best pork that I have ever had. The slow roasted rich rub that was on this cut of meat soaked right in leaving it with a smoky mild to medium heat flavoring. The meat was perfectly cooked and my fork cut through it like butter, yes my fork. The pork was engulfed by an amazing masa (the corn/ dough that makes up the whole tamale) The masa was a perfect balance and allowed for the sauce to soak right into it. The tomato-habanero sauce went great with the smokey flavoring of the pork. I enjoy some heat so this sauce gave me exactly what I was looking for, not too hot, but rich in flavor as well. The sauce would go great with anything eggs in the morning, potatoes, you name it I am sure it will be great. This was hands down one of the best Tamales I have ever had.

Seasonal de Pato

Tamale: Confit style Duck

Sauce: Mole de Xico

Dry plums, ancho & padilla dry chiles, hazelnuts, tomato, onion, garlic & chicken stock 

            The seasonal duck was another great treat that the Tamale Spaceship had. One of my favorite birds is duck. It is not something that I have a lot, nor is it something that you can get in every restaurant. So when I heard they had duck, I went for it. (Sorry to the vegan/vegetarians, I’ll do a veggie one next time) The duck was not the main star of the Seasonal de Pato show. The spotlight was shared with the butternut squash masa that confined it. The masa was great, soft, rich and had a nice flavoring and went great with the duck. The sauce; Mole de Xico was sweet and filled with a great flavoring. I guess I was not feeling very sweet that day because I returned back to the tomato-habanero sauce that I had used on the pork Tamale to cover this one as well. There was nothing wrong with the mole; I just really enjoyed the habanero. I know making mole is a difficult process and can involve a ton of ingredients, so my hats off to the spaceship for making some quality mole and really capturing the Mexican cuisine. Overall this was a great tamale and because its seasonal it won’t be around all year, so get yours soon!

I had a great time meeting with the Tamale Spaceship crew; I will be referring anyone who wants a quality Tamale or just real Mexican food in Chicago to the Tamale Spaceship.

The Tamale Spaceship also has an event coming up you should definitely check out….

A multi-course meal with live Mexican wrestling afterwards!!

On December 13^th, 2012 starting at 6 pm

For more information see website below:

Tamale Spaceship: Cena Libre!

*I did not take these pictures, I was hungry and ate the Tamales before taking pictures... I'm a real genius right, so the truck provided me with some pictures!

~Enjoy~

What did you have?

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. These are just a couple of things that we had at my house

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, Garlic, and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Turkey- Dark meat and White meat with mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes

What did you have?
What are some of your favorite Holiday dishes?

Sincerely,

Windy City Food Review

Thanksgiving

Happy Holidays!

             Lately I have been doing some research on how to make blogs more efficient. I have done some research and found that I am missing a key component. Rather than be a blog that sends out information, Windy City Food Review wants to have more of a 2-way communication. So with that being said what we want for the Holidays is to hear from YOU!!!!
              WCFR would love to see users getting more involved with the blog and being vocal about what they are doing and what you would like to see Windy City Food Review do. Don't be afraid to comment, all are welcome!
             So comment on our post! We would enjoy hearing about what you had for dinner and any pictures that you have from your epic Thanksgiving feast!

Sincerely,

Windy City Food Review
@WindyCityFoodRe

What can we do to improve?

I fixed the link

Hey everyone I have attached a survey below that would really help me out. Please leave your feedback and let me know what your thoughts are!



Windy City Food Review

Sincerely,

Windy City Food Review

The Meatloaf Bakery

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 Ma, The Meat Loaf!

The Meat Loaf Bakery

            I would like this to be a forewarning to all mother’s out there that make a heck of a meatloaf, watch out. There is a new player in the game, The Meatloaf Bakery.

            I was able to consume, what I think happens to be one of the most delicious and daring forms of food art that I have witnessed. The traditional meatloaf has always been a constant in my household ever since I was a child. What The Meatloaf Bakery had done is broken outside of the restraints of meatloaf being a loaf and has created, the meatloaf cupcake. The meatloaf cupcake is a solid “cake” of meat and other mouthwatering ingredients along with an icing of mash potatoes, pasta, or more mash potatoes.

            The Meatloaf Bakery sells their specialty traditional dishes in a number of sizes. The loaf is the largest serving size they offer serving 4-6 people, or 2 of my friends. Next is the cupcake, which is a larger cupcake, but not large enough to feed my appetite, I need 2-3. The smallest size is the loafie, which are bite-sized miniatures of the cupcakes themselves.

            Everything that is ordered has to be cooked, so you can hang out at the Clarke street storefront or grab a bite from their Food Truck after work.

            I was unable to get to the food truck, since they were loading up on meat treats preparing for the night, so I dropped by the store front where I was greeted by the employees and Cynthia Kallile the creator of the meatloaf cupcake and the author of “The Meatloaf Bakery Cook book comfort food with a twist” which came out November 18^th of this year.

            Taking the comfort food home was quick and easy. When I purchased my savory treats I was given a Heating Tips sheet that told me how to do everything either in a conventional over, microwave oven, grill, and how to cook if they are frozen. I popped those bad boys in the oven after preheating at 357 F and kept them in for 20-25 minutes. All I did was spray a cooking sheet with pam. I left my cupcake in for 20-25 minutes and half way through that time I put the bite-size loafies in to cook for 10-15 minutes.

And now I present you with…..No Buns About It Burger Loaf

This cupcake is everything you ever wanted in a burger without the extra bread. The no buns about it is filled with chunks of pickles, bacon and onions along with a mix of mustard, ketchup and cheddar cheese. It is also topped with cheesy taters and comes with special sauce.

Top Down

            The cheddar cheese and top of the mash potato got a nice golden brown crunch to it while the rest of the cheese and potato was rich and gooey. The cheese melted down perfectly across the top of the mash potato. The mash potatoes were rich and soft thanks to a proper cook time.

            The body of the cupcake was a juicy blend of moist and tasty meat. The seasoning and blend of mustard and ketchup was perfect for this burger cake. I enjoyed the chunk of pickle, bacon, and onions inside of it. The bacon was nice and crisp while the onions oozed it’s flavoring throughout the rest of the paddy.

            I am usually good at guessing ingredients and am sure that The Meatloaf Bakery is not going to announce what it is, but for the life of me I can’t put my finger on what is inside of it. The special sauce was a great extra to dip the cupcake into. It was a creamy blend of a tomato sauce and other ingredients, from what I can tell. If you want more information go in and try for yourself, I would love to hear your thoughts on what it could be... Please post below.

            I just want to say before I talk about the two loafies is that if you are like me ordering loafies are pointless. Once you get a taste of these bite-size works of art you just want more.

            I feel silly because I cant for the life of me recall the name of one of the loafies featured in the picture so I don’t want to insult The Meatloaf Bakery by reviewing the wrong product. I have no problem announcing my mistakes because to my defense a long week of finals and an empty stomach left me disoriented by the magnificent smells of meatloaf being cooked in the back of the store.

            MACnificient Pasta

Made of tiny pasta shells nestled in a creamy four-cheese sauce topped with crunchy panko breadcrumbs. This treat is everything that is sounds like a crunchy mac and cheese bite-size ball. The one thing that I will say is because of the size of the MACnificient is that there was a large panko exoskeleton that took over the tiny shells inside. Also I believe it may have been the length that I cooked the loafie, but it was not as creamy as I would have liked it to have been. The pasta was somewhat dry, but all said and done it is a great treat and a good way to get the kids to eat.

            I had a great experience at the Meatloaf Bakery and will be going back in the future, the last thing that I will comment about is the price for a cupcake runs between $8-10 so have your wallets ready for the comfort food with a twist!

Chicago Cupcake

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            Cupcakes, a familiar guilty pleasure that we can all relate to. I feel confident enough to say even if you have never had a cupcake you know what they are. I say this because not many people know what the difference is between a cupcake and a Chicago cupcake.

             Fear no more! Windy City Food Review is here to educate those who are missing out on this delicious treat!

The Mother Load and Banana Foster

Chicago Cupcake builds their cupcakes into three levels.

1.     The Frosting

2.     The Cake

3.     The Crust

Many cupcakes are just two parts the frosting and the cake. I have never personally experienced a crust before. Let me be the first to tell you, the crust makes a real big difference!

I was lucky enough to try two of Chicago Cupcake cupcakes;

The Mother Load

            This cupcake does nothing but live up to its name. To start the mother load is a magnificent mixture of chocolate, peanut butter, pretzel, and nuts.

            From the top down starts with a sprinkle of crushed pretzels over a caramel drizzle. The frosting melts in your mouth as soon as you take a bite. The caramel frosting is rich with cream cheese. The frosting does not have a alarming amount of caramel it is perfectly worked in with the cream cheese, brown sugar, and cream.

            The frosting lies eloquently on top of a creamy chocolate mousse cake hiding a peanut butter cup at its core. The peanut butter chocolate combination is one of my favorites, it reminds me of a Reese’s.

The Mother Load

            I am sure your mouth is watering at this point, but as I had said before what separates these spectacular works of art is crust at the end. The salty crunch that lies deep beneath the chocolate peanut butter mix is a bed of crushed pretzels and brown sugar. This is one cupcake you should not pass up!

Banana Foster

            I do not usually go for banana anything, let alone cupcakes, but this one won me over. The Banana Foster from the top down starts with dried banana sprinkled on top of a sweet blonde caramel with a brown sugar buttercream frosting. Once again I can’t stress the fact that I have never had a cupcake that has melted in my mouth as this one did with its frosting.

Banana Foster

Beneath the frosting was a moist body of rich banana cake. The cake is infused with brown sugar and rum leaving your taste buds tingling. The soft cake and sweet banana chunks leave you wanting more.

         What sets this cupcake apart from the others is the bed of crunchy sweet graham cracker at the bottom. The graham cracker’s crunch along with the granules of sugar provides a wonderful end to a glorious bite.

No one can say it better than the owner, baker, and food truck operator of Chicago Cupcake; “ We work cream cheese and cream into our cakes so that the cake is creamier with a fudge-like texture. Part cupcake, cheese cake, and mousse” expressed Brendan Bolger.

These cupcakes are not only delicious, but they are 100% natural. There are no additives, preservatives, artificial flavor, or coloring in them so there should be no reason stopping you from buying a few today!

Check out their website

http://www.chicagocupcake.com/

Follow them on Twitter

@Chicago_Cupcake