Big Star Chicago
June 27, 2013 § Leave a comment
After so many years of saying that I’d visit, I finally took a trip to the Windy City as a short break before bar review began. Much eating and touristy activities ensued, including an inaugural meal with Esther (who, together with her husband Bryan, graciously housed Jee and me during our stay) at Paul Kahan’s super chill restaurant Big Star in the hipster-ish Wicker Park neighborhood, where we indulged in Palomas, margaritas, and an assortment of tacos.
My favorite dishes were definitely the queso fundido, a molten mixture of queso Chihuahua with poblanos, and housemade chorizo generously smeared on warm corn tortillas, and the fish tacos with beer battered tilapia, chipotle mayonnaise, cabbage, lime, and cilantro.

Classic margarita and La Paloma

Tacos de panza with crispy braised pork belly, tomato guajillo sauce, queso fresco, onion, and cilantro

Tacos al pastor – marinated spit-roasted pork shoulder, grilled pineapple, grilled onion, cilantro

Queso fundido – my favorite

Tacos de pescado
Big Star
1531 N. Damen Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60622
773.235.4039
Stuff yer face and Clydz
January 11, 2011 § Leave a comment
I’ve been hanging out in the New Brunswick area a lot the past couple of days. First was a trip to Stuff Yer Face with Tonia, Cathy, Murphy (who got the fishbowl), and Jiawen, and even though I ended up not going one of their famous strombolis, I was perfectly happy with their chipotle pork sandwich which had a nice kick to it.
Then today, a group of us enjoyed happy hour at Clydz, a restaurant/bar hidden on a side just street off Route 27. The inside was very cozy, complete with an actual fireplace, and we all ordered “girly” drinks with names like “Girl Scout Cookie” and “Watermelon,” which tasted exactly like a Jolly Rancher. One of the major favorites was a concoction called “The Destroyer” and contrary to what its name might imply about its nature, it was one of the sweetest, smoothest drinks of the bunch, made with sweet tea vodka, elderflower, and lemonade.
We also ordered some appetizers: roasted garlic hummus, pierogies, and fried calamari, but I didn’t really think of any of our dishes as really impressive. I’m still in love with the pierogies at Veselka in New York, which have your choice of filling (including sweet potato, cheeses, etc) and then fried, compared to the Clydz’s boiled version. My fried calamari were all right, but the accompanying marinara sauce was watery and I would’ve preferred something with a little more heat.
All in all, I think Clydz is probably worth it only for happy hour. Drinks are half-off and come to around $5 or $6 each and select appetizers are $5 and most of them are decently-sized portions.
Stuff Yer Face
49 Easton Ave.
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
732.247.1727
http://www.stuffyerface.com/
Clydz
55 Paterson St.
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
732.846.6521
http://clydz.com/index.php