Bandit Burrito

Thanks to my Chuck a Puck luck  skill at the DM Bucs game, I won a $10 gift certificate to Bandit Burrito. It is essentially a Pancheros/Qdoba style place. I always wanted to try it and if you give me free money to any place that serves food, I am there.

One disappointment I had was it appears they use the same Mission brand tortillas you can buy at the store. Due to that, and the fact I was shooting for a lighter dinner, I went with a custom made chicken salad.

http://www.banditburrito.com/

Chicken, Cheese, Black Olives, Corn Salsa, Pinto beans on lettuce & Spinach

I do like that it is locally owned and my food did taste good and decently fresh but it really wasn't anything special. If you live near there and really like this type of food, it might be worth trying but I don't live near here and I think Qdoba and Pancheros taste better. It pains me to not support a chain but just didn't seem worth it for me. Anyone else have a better experience?

Buddyz Pizza - McHenry Illinois

When in Chicago (or a 2 hour radius of Chicago), you have to make a stop for Chicago style pizza. A group of us trekked to McHenry, Illinois for just that at Buddyz Pizza.

http://www.buddyzpizza.com/menu.html

After another day of athletic activities and boating, we were famished. Being hungry doesn't always mix well with the long wait times associated with ordering Chicago Style pizzas (45 mins) so we got an order of their onion rings (not pictured) which were awesome. I also had to take the recommendation of their locally brewed root beer which is made with 10% alcohol--holy hell it was good. It tasted exactly like a good root beer and you don't taste a bit of alcohol in it; but it is definitely in there.

There was 8 of us so we ordered 3 different specialty pizzas (only 2 of them pictured before). Chicago Fire, Wrigley Field and the Lake Shore Drive.

Hidden in this root beer is 10% Alcohol - not sold in stores

Chicago Fire- (Buffalo Chicken on Regular Crust)

Wrigley Field - Chicago Style

The Chicago fire is a buffalo chicken pizza. The regular crust was good quality but very crust/dough heavy for me which I didn't think melded well with a slightly bland topping combinations. I didn't think they packed much chicken on the pizza and the buffalo sauce didn't seem too strong. I do hold Buffalo Chicken pizzas at a high standard as I make it all the time, but I probably wouldn't order this again.

The Wrigley Field on the other hand was pretty awesome. Their Chicago style sauce is chunky tomato style as you can see in the picture above. It tasted exactly how it looked, delicious. Their sauce has so much flavor and all the toppings taste pretty quality. My only regret on this visit is not having a bigger appetite to put down more Chicago style pizza--I would go there again today if it weren't 5 hours away.

I love Chicago style pizza and really like Felix and Oscar's in Des Moines. I would still like to check out Lou Malnati's in Chicago, which has been featured on a couple Food Network shows. What's your favorite pizza in your city?

Royal Mile - Guinness Stew Edition

I am way late in posting this but I finally took a friend's recommendation and got the Guinness stew. The Royal Mile is suddenly turning into one of my favorite places to eat. I have so many more things to try there but I finally knocked this one off the list.

http://royalmilebar.com/menu

Guinness Stew

sirloin tips, potatoes, peas, carrots and pearl onion simmered in a broth made with Guinness stout.

So I grew up loving soup. my favorite were Alphabet Soup and Vegetable Beef. This soup is basically a grown up version of Vegetable Beef with some really good meat and throw on some cheese. I also grew up eating chunks of roast beef and not really liking it but the way they do beef, is amazing. The broth isn't runny but it isn't too thick, it's perfect. I would definitely would order this again. This is as Winter comfort food as you get.

Hessen Haus - Hunter's Pizza

Many people don't think of the Hessen Haus for more than boots and beers but they have a decent menu. Even more strange is that they make pizza and it is amazing. This was the first time I tried their pizza and I went with..

http://www.hessenhaus.com/hessen+haus_6_13_12.pdf

Hunter’s Pizza

golden crust topped with a unique combination

of duck, wild boar sausage, roma tomatoes,onions and

mushrooms, arranged on a base of spicy alfredo sauce,

topped with muenster and asiago cheeses 12.99

Lots of unique ingredients but they go so well together. I don't have the most sophisticated palette so it is hard to identify the duck vs boar but I felt like you mostly taste the boar of the two; which is great because it tasted awesome. The pizza had great texture and the right thickness of crust. The tomatoes added the right amount of acidity with all the creamy flavors. I would definitely order this again. What do you order when you eat at The Haus?