Chicago Street Food Gourmet: a good idea?

[chet everett]

[quote=marothisu;34538431]Yeah - the food I had in SE Asia was by far the best out of anywhere in the world I've been. Some of the street food there I had was legitimately better than some fine dining places I've had in the US. You can of course get sick from it - depends on your body really and how used to things it is. Actually when I was in NE Malaysia last year, I had to take a cab ride through the country for an hour. Our driver stopped in some village and picked up a brown paper bag of clams. He offered me some and without thinking I took them. They were the hardest clams to get open but some of the best clams I've ever had. I then found out they were swamp clams LOL! Real good - oddly enough the next day I felt really sick but in my head and on an island with literally 0 permanent inhabitants and no medical anything except a little hut that sold knock off IbuProfen that didn't work.



Anyway back to the original thing. Here's my beef. Everybody and their mom has done pizza in Chicago. Everybody and their mom has done hot dogs in Chicago. Everybody and their mom has done sports bars in Chicago. Find something more unique to do that people would eat or go to. Many people in Chicago like many types of food and many are adventurous too. The last thing Chicago needs is another pizza and/or hot dog joint unless the food you're making is just out of this world good (i.e. Hot Doug's - which is still unique in what they do). Honestly, if your place opened up down the street from me (I live downtown) I would never go unless the food was known to be extremely good. Perhaps tourists would, but I'd bet you many downtown residents would be in the same boat as me.[/quote]


Too many places do seem to follow the "if it worked for somebody else I can make it work" mindset. This is a recipe for mediocrity and seems tailor made to the bland people that seem to content to to let Chicago resemble the worst characteristics of some state college's "frat row" of lousy food instead of serving the more adventurous eaters. Even some of the places that had success as ethnic eateries have seen the owners get frustrated and just exploit their liquor license ...

[eating while walking]

Originally Posted by edsg25

I have to plead guilty here: I'm a sucker for themed restaurants, I mean the ones that are themed right…..from food to decor to ambience to the ability to do this individually, not as something stamped out, coast to coast in the same format....

As noted, this was just three dishes. one can dig deeper and find other Chicago street classics. The trick here isinnovation: can chefs come up with dishes that offer the basics of Chicago street food but bring it up to a gourmet level where the food delivers and proves worth the price for the delicacy it is.

But would the idea work. Is it good or bad (and arguably it could be a great success or an utter failure; i have no idea which). what do you think…….works or not works?

If you're looking for a Chicago-themed street food restaurant, we already have one. It's called Portillo's. And it's hard for me to imagine how their excellent beefs, dogs and polish sausages could be improved by some "chef".

As far as bringing street food up to a gourmet level, I guess you could reduce the portion, put it on a big white plate, squiggle sauce over it, and charge 5x the street price for ambiance and table service. Some suckers might even buy it. And in the end, I doubt your profit margins will be any higher than the guy fishing Vienna beef dogs of out a steam basket on a cart.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by marothisu

...
They were the hardest clams to get open but some of the best clams I've ever had.
...

Did you eat them raw? Because generally speaking if they are cooked and still closed it means they were dead before cooking, which is considered (very) risky health-wise.

Originally Posted by eating while walking

If you're looking for a Chicago-themed street food restaurant, we already have one. It's called Portillo's. And it's hard for me to imagine how their excellent beefs, dogs and polish sausages could be improved by some "chef".

As far as bringing street food up to a gourmet level, I guess you could reduce the portion, put it on a big white plate, squiggle sauce over it, and charge 5x the street price for ambiance and table service. Some suckers might even buy it. And in the end, I doubt your profit margins will be any higher than the guy fishing Vienna beef dogs of out a steam basket on a cart.

Yeah, I read the original post and thought, "That describes Portillo's River North location."

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by emathias

Did you eat them raw? Because generally speaking if they are cooked and still closed it means they were dead before cooking, which is considered (very) risky health-wise.

According to my girlfriend at the time, they were cooked over a fire - they had an awesome smokey flavor on the shell. You could put those things in your mouth and not even get to the meat and still be satisfied - delicious. I had a fever on the island but no stomach ache. No idea if it was from that or something else but on the return flight, I was so tired I could barely even open my eyes.

It takes me back though - the food in Malaysia was the best food I've had of any country I've visited. It's a shame it's not more well known in the US.

Yeah, I read the original post and thought, "That describes Portillo's River North location."

Yeah, never thought about it but it's true. Chicago needs more unique ideas - not more of the same stuff that's been here for 70+ years that everyone has done.

[chet everett]

There is "room" for both the traditional places and innovation. It really just comes down to basic things like execution and good supply chain management -- when you go to Portillos they are never "out" of anything and even when they are slammed at the peak of lunch rush no one with experience will leave because their "system" of calling out orders works remarkably well to service customers and keep the tables turning.

The snobby types that claim to "buy only enough to today" end up having a lot of angry people spend a lot of time waiting and then leaving hungry. Not a viable business model...

[marothisu]

I agree that you can have more traditional stuff, but you have to set yourself apart from the rest. It's a diverse city - unless your food is amazing, opening another hot dog/pizza place in an area where you can get it at other places is not a very good business choice unless your food is that much better than theirs or you hit the sweet spot of quality and affordability.