Mary's Food Rule

From the age of 1, I loved real food. As an infant, I didn't eat baby food- I ate mashed up vegetables and fruits instead of some wild concoction that people thought babies would like. And that's impacted my eating habits today. Now, I enjoy real and exotic food that might not seem as appealing to others. For example, an octopus. At age 4, I had my first bite and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. In Language Stars, though, we were having a snack. I took one look at a slice of American cheese and decided that, no I was not eating this, and from then on American cheese has been called "Plastic cheese" and in our household, that will forever be it's name. That doesn't mean that I won't eat a grilled cheese - that is one of the food options on the top of my list. At the grocery store, my mom always says that if I can identify the majority of the ingredients on the ingredient list , I can buy it. If not, we'll have some discussion. Basically, if it's not real, I'm out.

-Mary 

Nice to Meet You

The Taste Buds are two well seasoned epicureans, age eight and under; two children who choose sushi over nuggets, gnocchi over buttered noodles and brie over American slices. Follow them around Chicago as they bypass the children's menu, try new foods, and share their findings here. Reviews from all over the city, and not from restaurants generally tagged as kid friendly, voiced (but not penned) by the Taste Buds.

Kate
When she was two she was offered a piece of cheese. Kate stared at the just unwrapped slice of American cheese, turned it over, took a nibble and said, “No thank you”. She deemed this plastic cheese and swore it off forever. At seven she remains true to her word,” plastic cheese” is on her very short list of dislikes. She will try anything once but after several attempts has yet to find a favorite Indian dish. Kate, like Noah, puts Asian food at the top of her list, specifically sushi and Thai. She loves sitting at the sushi bar at Green Tea, and similarly, at the counter at the Pasta Bowl, because she likes to watch them cook. She loves Vietnamese Pho in the winter and turkey sandwiches, on a picnic, in the summer. The best turkey sandwich around? Chicago Bagel Authority.

Mary
Mary does not hesitate, her favorite food is gnocchi and she is quickly becoming an authority on best options in the city. Bachanalia  is very good, as are Mario’s, Fornello and the Pasta Bowl, which makes the list because the people that make the food talk to her. And they know never to put mushrooms on her gnocchi, she doesn’t like them. Thankfully she rarely finds mushrooms in her sushi, number two on her list, which she prefers at Oh Fusion, just down the street from Wrigley (also on her favorite places list, but hopefully not for the food). She loves spanikopita but, as she is seven, will order a grilled cheese sandwich when offered the opportunity, “with cheddar and tomato please”. Tops for that, Frances.

First Course, Taste Buds

The arrival of twins seven years ago did nothing to slow our restaurant habit, as we feared it might. Rather, we took them along, finding two sleeping infants to be rather good dinner companions. For several months they slumbered away in their seats as we enjoyed evenings out, albeit at a much earlier time and more rapid pace than before their arrival.

As things happen, eventually those sleeping children woke up, sat up and, as quickly as their tiny fingers could sign, they asked for more. At six months they were trying out restaurant high chairs, eating avocados at El Barco, pancakes at Uncommon Ground and green beans at Bistro Margot. We became experts at menu reading, piecing together kid-friendly meals from ingredients offered in other dishes. Any restaurant that has a Cobb salad on the menu can offer a diced egg, avocado and small pieces of cheese. Mrs. Murphy and Sons fed them mashed potatoes, carrots and bits of roasted chicken; at steak houses we opted for for diced asparagus and baked potatoes; and in Asian restaurants we relied on tofu, edamame and broccoli. Sourcing the menu became a game, a challenge for us to see who could assemble the best non kid’s menu meal in the shortest time. The truth is, despite my being the family cook, it was their father who really mastered the art of reading between the lines and creating masterpieces for our budding gourmands.

Their restaurant skills developed along with their taste buds. Once they started talking, they started ordering. They developed favorite dishes, favorite restaurants, and favorite types of food. When they were unable to agree on something to share, we asked for half portions, and found most places agreeable to that request. More often than not restaurants seemed pleased to see young children interested in trying new food; that we try to eat early helps keep our hosts happy. The girls have eaten everywhere from Topolabampo to the burrito place at the end of the street. They eat close to home, downtown, in Chicago’s diverse ethnic neighborhoods, and occasionally in their own apartment.

Listening to us complain and compliment for seven years has worn off; Mary and Kate freely offer their own opinions on everything from service to food to atmosphere. Their reviews are both hilarious and often dead on, and now here. We're skipping the kids menu and talking real food for real people, just in a smaller size.

Sun Wah BBQ

For seven years the image of ducks has been of those trolling Belmont Harbor looking for sandwich scraps, or the infamous Mr. and Mrs. Mallard of Robert McCloskey’s classic “Make Way for Ducklings”. That is no longer the case.

Included now, ducks, heads still attached, hanging in the window of Sun Wah BBQ on Broadway, followed by the duck brought to our table and carved masterfully into slices. Kate, having no qualms about animal consumption, immediately helped herself, piling the thick slices onto the bao, small buns for sandwiches. Kate loved the sauce, described as “a little bit sweet and a little bit not, but not at all spicy”. Both she and her father found the duck “phenomenal”, a bit crispy and with really great flavor. The duck remains were quickly removed to the kitchen and then rushed back to the table in the form of duck fried rice and duck soup, which Kate thought was “fantastic”.

Beyond the large duck, we ordered shrimp dumpling soup, mixed vegetables with tofu and pan fried noodles, and Mongolian beef. Mary, who is the soup lover, devoured her bowl of shrimp dumpling soup, and always is thrilled to find the “fancy” Chinese spoons which do, in fact, make soup eating so much more fun. She ate two helpings of the tofu and vegetables, sharing a morsel or two with me.

The “spinner” or lazy susan, was fun for the Taste Buds, who enjoyed spinning for their food. This family style presentation made it very easy for children to make their own choices, and help themselves to more when they found something especially tasty. The novelty of a duck being carved tableside was engaging for curious minds, even if some of the excitement was given to a crowded and busy Saturday night dining room.  Mary liked the waiter, and commented that he was patient, liked to smile, and didn’t talk too much. Agreed, dining with children on a busy Saturday night is made much easier with the help of a friendly, and smiley, patient waiter.

Call ahead if you would like the duck; orders can be placed when making reservations and the price, for the duck and all accoutrements, is $37.00. The duck, plus two entrees and one very large soup, was more than enough for the Taste Buds parents and their parents.

The large restaurant, just north of Argyle on Broadway, was a bustling place on Saturday night, even though our reservations were for 6:00. We were seated immediately which is very helpful when dining with children.  Kate’s final note, “dinner was awesome!”, sums up quite well the consensus of the group. Sun Wah is a great choice for families, even those with children not quite ready to explore tableside duck carving. The entire meal was excellent, well presented, and easy to sell to young epicureans.

Sun Wah BBQ
5039 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL 60640
www.sunwahbbq.com

Nha Hang Vietnam

Perhaps if was the spring like weather that drove the request, a light and refreshing dinner of Bun Kho and fruit smoothies, an almost perfect choice when the weather is warm. Or possibly two children, worn and dehydrated from a day of field trip'ing, knew that nothing refuels a depleted sodium supply like Vietnamese fish sauce; the request was for a trip to Argyle Street. Parents happily agreed, and we agreed to try a new place, Nha Hang Viet Nam, on the east end of Argyle, recently reviewed  Tasting Table.

Nha Hong sits in a tiny space on the corner of Argyle at Kenmore. The girls immediately took note of the bright and thoroughly decorated interior: Mary thought "the ambiance is fantastic, colorful and small" and Kate concurred, "very colorful". 

While the restaurant may be small, the menu is huge, a bit overwhelming for young children (and occasionally their mother). While our standard order in Vietnamese restaurants is Pho Noodle Soup, the warm weather, and a quest to try something new, necessitated a full review of the menu. We started with Goi Cuon Tom, a shrimp spring roll (#17), Cha Gio Chay,  a vegetarian egg roll (#21),  and Banh Hoi Ho Nuong Tom, a woven rice cake (#27).  Everything was good but the standout, for the Taste Buds, was the woven rice cake, which was really a "make your own spring roll" spread of deliciousness. Three components: one very large platter piled high with grilled shrimp, beef, lettuce, mint, rice vermicelli; one plate of the hard and very thin spring roll wrappers; and two tubs of warm water (non aesthetically pleasing to go containers used for water happily overlooked by a mother enthusiastically dipping wrappers for children), all combined to create a very interactive and tasty treat for the Taste Buds. The beauty is this, they can put whatever they want inside their spring roll; Mary opted for noodles, mint and shrimp  as Kate filled hers with everything available. A picky eater could dive in with noodles only and still get the experience of trying something new.

We shared three entrees: Co'm Chien Bo, beef fried rice (#129), Mi Xao Tom, crispy egg noodles with shrimp and vegetables (#136), and Hu Tieu Xao Chay, large pan fried rice noodles with tofu and vegetables (#153).  All three choices are very easy introductions to Vietnamese food: nothing spicy (although easily doctored by sharing parents prone to splashing Nuac Chom, spicy fish sauce, over their personal plate), nothing terribly scary looking and all available interchangeably with beef, chicken, tofu and shrimp, for individual preferences. The girls really enjoyed the crispy noodles although Kate felt that the broccoli was "overcooked" which I will amend to being slightly overcooked and fully doused in a very tasty and light sauce.  The only real miss here was the Co'm Vit Mam Gung, a steamed rice dish with duck and a ginger fish sauce (#116), ordered by the dad who wished he had stuck with his regular Pho, finding this bland, tough and boring.

Two strawberry smoothies, quite large, were slurped away with vigor. Mary found them "creamy, fresh and good" and can't wait to go back and try watermelon.  Adults please note Nha Hang is BYOB and there is a liquor store in the block to the west.

Hoping to end our Argyle evening with a stop at an Asian bakery, we walked west towards Broadway, finding that at 8:00 pm all bakeries had closed. Thankfully finding ice cream at Thai Pastry, just south of Argyle on Broadway, appeases even the most disappointed bakery hunter: red bean, mango, cotton candy, lychee; all given a thumbs up by the most discerning ice cream eaters, or, more accurately, children who really love all kinds of ice cream, even without Vietnamese fish sauce.