Tonight I would like to share with you the miracle that is Chicago Diner food. The Chicago Diner is a veritable (almost-)vegan institution: it came into existence the year before I was born (1983) and serves some of the best food I’ve ever eaten, period. (Marvellously, this figure *includes* the food I cook for myself.) No joke, folks–it’s just that good.
Proof? Allow me to take you on a little foodie photo-journey.
Because buffalo wings are one of Nate’s most-missed foods, we began with that appetizer: 5-6 hearty strips of beefy seitan thoroughly soaked in a spicy, vinegary Buffalo sauce with the cooling mock-Bleu dip. As fun as dipping can be, I advise cutting the strips with your fork and knife and drenching a piece in the dip.
My app of choice was the potstickers–I can’t resist em. These were filled with fairly-typical fare: shredded cabbage, tofu, carrots, etc, and was served with an oustanding dipping sauce.
Choosing an entree was difficult. I really wanted the country fried “steak”, but something urged me towards the mushroom ravioli. (Described on the menu: Porcini & button mushroom filled pasta, over baby greens, with herbed almond alfredo sauce.) It was tasty but I’m very glad Nate chose the country fried steak because we ended up swapping entrees–we each liked the other’s better!
The gloriously crispy, gravy-covered County fried “steak”: Breaded seitan filet topped with country gravy and served with rustic mashed potatoes and sauteed vegetables. It was so tasty, so greasy, and so authentic that it would fool my Grandpa.
Seeing as how cheesecake is one of Nate’s other most favorite non-vegan things and we were in the business of fulfilling our cruelty-free foodie dreams tonight, we had to end the meal with some of the famous Chicago Diner cheesecake. It was everything a pecan cheesecake could hope to be. Nevertheless, I’m glad that it wasn’t too different from one that my vegan ex Brian once made, as it demonstrates that even we mere mortals can do vegan cheesecake well. (The key, it seems, is a willingness to spend the cash on the Tofutti, or else make your own vegan creme cheeze a la Bryanna Clark Grogan.)
The vegan peanut butter chocolate chip cookie milkshake: honestly? There are no words to describe it. Only this command: GET THEE TO THE CHICAGO DINER POST HASTE. I am not kidding. Iffest thou findest thyself in the Chicagolandarea and thou obstainest from such as this, thou art…effing missing out, you hear? And unless you’re allergic to peanuts, don’t even consider the other shake flavors–this one’s where it’s at (even the servers say so, a little adorably conspiratorially).
Caveat: it was expensive. As this was our first vacation together in almost a year of dating, Nate & I were willing to splurge. So please note that unless you make bundles of money, the full-on Chicago Diner experience described above is best left for a special occasion: our meal + a generous tip for our amazing server ran right around $75 (for a couple that usually hems and haws over sharing a $5 burrito, this is the furthest thing from pocket-change.)
So go, go, go to the Chicago Diner. Whatever you do, don’t believe the disaffected hipster on your friend’s couch who claims it’s overrated: go see, taste, enjoy for yourself.
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