Tasty Chicago

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Hecky’s. You’ve seen it. I’m talking about the one at 1234 N. Halsted. It’s integrated with a gas station on a very fluid stretch of Division Street. I’m sure it’s not as charming as the original Hecky’s in Evanston, but it’s all owned by the same legendary ribmaster, Hecky Powell.

What side do you get with your ribs? In somewhat of a deviation from my standard operating procedure, I went with the baked beans (the cole slaw was standard). As you know, I usually pair big chunks of bovine or swine flesh with either a grain or potato. But with ribs it’s just a little different; I don’t feel the need to get a starch in every bite.

So on this fine evening I made a great call, Hecky’s ribs and baked beans did not disappoint. It was good all around - tender ribs and smoky baked beans. There wasn’t any special zing in the sauce, but it was tangy. I’m not necessarily going crazy over these ribs, but I made some errors when ordering so I’m taking responsibility. I should have ordered some extra sauce to help me understand it better and I should have taken a different route on the style choice.

They give you two rib options. One is “classic” and the other is “Chicago style” (I think that’s what they termed them). As the woman behind the counter describes them, Chicago style are a little tougher and stay on the bone a little better. My wife and I opted for the classic because in general we feel that fall-off-the-bone is good. And they were good. But they went a little overboard with the fall-off-the-bone. These things fall off the bone more than any other rib I’ve had in Chicago. In fact, you can’t even pick them up by the bones because the gravitational pull of the earth is too strong for the meat/bone bond.

It really piqued my interest to try the Chicago style. I think I’d definitely like the “tougher“ texture, so I’ll be back soon. Plus, there’s even more reason to be back if you listen to the majority opinion over at the LTH Forum, the fried chicken is supposed to rock (mostly at the Evanston location). As always with the LTH Forum, they denigrate the supposed “fake” Hecky’s that I frequent on Halsted. New and non-traditional usually gets panned. Whatever.

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When I hear Shepherd’s Pie I think to myself, I don’t want some shepherd making my pie, I want the shepherd out in the field, making sure nobody steals my sheep; I want grandma making the pies.

Make sense?

So no, I didn’t order the traditional Irish dish and instead opted for the Kerryman salmon sandwich. I got a lot of heat for this decision. My buddy ordered the Shepherd’s Pie, three shots of Jameson (you can see two glasses in the background), and two Guinness pints. Now don’t you think that’s a little excessive? Don’t you think an Irish person would be offended by such blatant pandering to their culture?

As an American, if I were sitting in McDonalds over in Dublin and some Irish fellow ordered up two Big Macs, a super-sized fry, two Cokes, and and a chocolate shake, I would be insulted. Only a few people in America really do that. That’s a caricature of the excessive American fast-food diet that’s really only accurate for about 75% of this country. Many Americans, of course, would get the Diet Coke.

So yes, I got the salmon sandwich. I did so because it was actually called The Kerryman Salmon Sandwich, so I figured it had some Irish roots. It was a huge, grilled salmon filet with cheese and a dill cream sauce, on toasted bread. Wow, was it good. I haven’t had a thick and meaty non-fried fish sandwich like this since my grouper sandwich in Florida.

The bread it was served on was a toasted Italian-style white bread (but a little more dense), which was perfect because it fit the elongated nature of of the salmon like a glove. Also note the thickness of the salmon filet, which converts to about a one-to-one protein-to-bread ratio. That’s right in my wheelhouse baby, you know that. Finally, check out the flecks of dill in the sauce. I’m not a heavy user of dill-specific sauces and I don’t know much about them. I was just glad not to have a standard tartar sauce served with it.

The Kerryman was busy on a Thursday night. It’s at 661 N. Clark Street so it’s close enough for a little bit of a downtown crowd, but also attracts some of the Rush Street set. The outdoor patio was packed, but finding a seat upstairs was not a problem. My buddy loved the Shepherd’s Pie and the fries were good. Just another fine, Irish Pub-style experience in Chicago.