It’s Sunday. And that means it’s time for Chinese food.
That photo was the old Hoe Kow. Now gone, but in its heyday, the famous restaurant of Sunday choice for many Chicagoans. It seems like everyone I know ate here with their grandparents at one time or another. (The best fried rice.)
And who could forget Pekin House on Devon Avenue? Their egg rolls tasted like peanut butter- and I was crazy about them.
Closer to my suburban home there was- and is- House of Chan in Wilmette. Strictly for the carry-out trade, but my kids were wild about their beef and peapods and sweet on their sweet and sour chicken.
And speaking of kids, when we were kids, didn’t we once take a field trip to Chinatown? I have NO idea why we did this, but I do remember where we ate- Chiam on Wentworth Avenue.
It’s been closed for a long time, but take a look at it and see if you went there too.
In 1975 Peking Duckling House on Howard Street shanghaied me away from Cantonese and brought the joys of Mandarin cuisine into my life. Their steamed “pearls” and pork buns were out of this world. First time I ever tasted hot sour soup or moo shoo pork, either.
And ducklings were known to fly all the way to Evanston to be roasted and stuck between pancakes painted in delish plum sauce by the chef’s feathery scallion brushes.
Sadly, Peking Duckling House is kaput. A big loss as far my dim sum life went.
Black Pearl, Far East, Abacus (huge egg roll) – all gone and all great.
Arigatou Gozaimasu Sidebar: Although Japanese, Nokanoya in Lincoln Park was a favorite of mine. It too is “Sayonara,” but because I loved their “twice-baked” little lobster appetizer, I had to give them a shout out.
On Sundays, we used to take Nick and Natasha to the original House of Hunan on Michigan Avenue. But later we switched to Pine Yard in Evanston. The kids and I continued to love their apps and chicken soong until just last year. Then a grease fire in the kitchen wiped it out.
Chicagoland does not have the corner on great Chinese food. (Although it does win “Best Sweet Sauce Category” anywhere in the world. Except for Blaine, Missouri.)
Out of town Natasha turned me on to dim sum at Boston’s fabulous China Pearl.
New York had some legendary places like Oh Ho So and Oriental Pearl’s on Mott Street. (Both now shuttered.) Shun Lee Palace on 55th Street is pretty fabulous. They’re pricey but still selling their wares like hot onion pancakes.
Even my old amico italiano, Paolo, introduced me to the Eastern culinary delights of Fior di Loto in Florence. No way could it stand up to Pekin House. (The only “Fail” in gastronomy during my whole viaggio there. It was just così così.)
But i fiorentini feel exactly the same as we do about their Chinese food. They are wild about it- and think it makes a great change from their day to day cucina.)
Now let’s talk about some Chinese food that you can order tonight.
These days for me it’s all about Ping Pong on Broadway for Mandarin fusion. Terrific hot sour soup, yummy onion cake, spicy Bang Bang noodles and fabulous shrimp egg foo yung.
And a clever chocolate-dipped fortune cookie for dessert.
If that’s not enough for your sweet tooth, you can always stroll next store to Windy City Sweets. Wonderful, old-time sweet shop and candy store. They have everything from hot fudge sundaes to Pez.
And now whenever I crave old school peanut buttery egg rolls, I wing it to Wing Hoe.
Really close to Pekin House’s efforts. And their won ton soup is good, their portions enormous, their prices dead cheap and they give you a scoop of chocolate chip ice cream for dessert. (Weird, I know. But somehow, it works.)
And the service?
RAPID.
Whether you eat there or order in, you’ll be done in a flash.
I finished this post an hour ago and you know what?
I’m hungry again. Now where’s that delivery menu….?
In the meantime, look at what I opened just for you.
Zài jiàn, everyone.
Good morning and Happy New Year, Ellen. How you managed to write your post without including this clip, which I dredged up forty years after seeing it on the big screen, is beyond me. Interestingly enough, I researched this very topic just a month or two ago for a crossword that is currently sitting on the desk of New York Times Puzzlemaster Will Shortz, so you will have to remain in suspense that much longer. In the meantime, you will just have to settle for the old joke about the visitor to a delicatessen who is amazed that the waiter, who is clearly of Oriental ancestry, speaks perfect Yiddish. Remarking about this to the deli’s proprietor, the visitor is reprimanded … “Shhhh, he thinks he’s learning English.”
I had many clips to choose from. I really wanted to include Buddy Hackett’s classic Chinese Waiter routine (“She built like Great Wall of China!”) but I had to make the tough call.
I hope the fortune cookie proves accurate re WS. But I’m a little disappointed. What? No Chinese food in Minneapolis to write about?
Ellen, you forget that I grew up in New York City, which has a great Chinatown with lots of fabulous cuisine. The Twin Cities Chinese restaurants range from adequate to rather good, and we even have dim sum. On average, I eat Chinese maybe once a week, which works out fine since I’m no epicure. I can’t think of any restaurant here that would justify, all by itself, coming up all the way from Chicago in order to eat there. To paraphrase Yogi Berra, we do have one restaurant that nobody eats at anymore because it’s always too crowded.
I never forget for one moment that you are a New Yawker. That’s why I knew you would be a good food critic. Oh, well. And when you see a fork in the road…
Yeah, I’ve been going to a lot of funerals lately, for reasons best explained by Mr. Berra.
My all-time favorite, though: In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. However, in practice, there is.
Very nice Yogi-isms this morning, Doc. Fondly, Suzie Wong
So occasionally when a patient is waking up from anesthesia they may demonstrate some twitching that is commonly described as looking like “a fish out of water.” Once working with a few Chinese residents I asked how to say that in Chinese. The only word I thought I remembered was the word for fish -“wu.” Taking this new found knowledge I asked the waiter at our next family Chinese food outing if he had any “wu. He looked at me with anger in his eyes and said “how dare you” Because I mispronounced it and with the wrong inflection in my voice he thought I was asking him if he had any woman for me. I quickly resorted back to my standard verbiage ” I’ll have #10.
Wu hu! Very funny. Next time I order, I’ll just stick to two from Column A. Thanks, Doctor.
Ellen… I have no crossword contribution, just a neighborly tip.
Wakamono is across the street from Ping Pong and is the best neighborhood sushi restaurant we have found. They make fabulous cold wasabi soba noodles and their spicy tuna maki is very good. The atmosphere is pleasant and the staff is very friendly. Good service too.
Arigatou, Neighbor-San. Very important to know. Natasha LOVES sushi and I didn’t know where to take her in my new hood. Next time she come in, we’re there.
As a child, my biggest treat was to go to Kontiki Ports. As an adult, there was Hi Howe on Cicero and Peterson
Hi Howe! We went there.
Growing up in Lincolnwood, Sunday nights were either Pekin House or Miller’s (for ribs). Pekin House still gets my vote for all time best Chinese food.
Here are two true stories in the “go figure” department…
In the 1970s I lived in Camarillo California, A small town near Los Angeles, and the rabbi of the local synagogue told a story about a person who wanted to open a Chinese restaurant in the area. The man asked the rabbi if there was a large Jewish population in the community.The rabbi quizzically asked why do you want to know? And the man said that in order to open a Chinese restaurant having a large Jewish population within its proximity was a major plus. Go figure!
In the same town there was a man named Chester Wong who owned a Chinese restaurant. He named the restaurant Chester’s. Go figure! The food was good but I don’t think he ever went to a marketing class.
Lastly, how much does a Chinese elephant weigh?
Won Ton, of course!!
I’m with you about Pekin House. The best. Thanks for sharing this morning, Steve. (But why is sweet sauce in Cali red?) Gong Hey Fat Choy!
When my wife and I were first married in 1980, we were spoiled . The House of Hunan was on the ground floor of our apartment building and it was the perfect end to a long work day. But, on Sunday’s, we could actually drive from our garage to Hoe Kow via lower Michigan Avenue (Grand to Lake) in exactly 30 seconds for pick up. Lastly , for the last 14 years, Wing Hoe has been on speed dial . It’s our “go to”, since our previous favorites are long gone. The things we have in common are constantly growing .
Happy first Sunday of Letter from Elba, my friend .
Your sister used to order in a feast from Far East whenever I would come in from Aspen. The skiing there is great, but the Chinese food – no offense- lousy. Now that I’m back here, it’s a real luxury to be one phone call away from greatness.
Thanks, Fred. Same to you, my friend.
Oh Ellen, you rattled my cage when you mentioned House of Chan in Wilmette. When we first moved to Wilmette, my folks would get carry-out once a week from there. After about a year of this, I really burned out on Chinese food. Once I left for college, it was years before I ever ate Chinese food again. After I moved to Tucson back in the 70’s, I found a restaurant called Joe Wongs across from my office which had been there for years and had excellent Chinese food. Wongs closed up after over 50 years, like a lot of small family owned restaurants, but I will always remember it as a place where I was re-introduced to really top notch Chinese food.
That’s me- a genuine cage-rattler. I haven’t eaten carry out from HOC in years, but I bet their fried rice and shrimp with lobster sauce is still good. Come in and we’ll try it.
Even as a South Sider, I’ll admit that Pekin House was the best.
As a matter of fact, it was after a date and dinner at Pekin House that I proposed to Iris. Now, my wife of 44 years! What was in those egg rolls????
P.S. Also, who could forget Shangri- La on State across from Fritzel’s?
Whatever was in them, I need some! And you’re right, BK. The great Shangri-La? Polynesian splendor!
http://tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/53569/jewish-christmas
I saw this article. A great addition to today’s post. Thanks, Mitch. You really helped me out today.
HNY Ellen! It was Hoe Kow for us as I think came up in a prior LFE. That said I remember the Typhoon from Hi Howe as being possibly the best single dish anywhere. And, I must have had 500 egg rolls from Chins in Glencoe in my pre-college years and another 500 from Far East in my Lincoln Park days through the 70’s. It may be a new year but it’s the same fond memory jarring blog from everyone’s favorite blogger! Thanks and looking forward to all of the 2015 entreys. I’m already hungry for another!
Thanks, Gary. Same to you, and I really like your portmanteau wird- “entreys.” A cross between “entrees” and “entries.” Nice one.
So many loved, so many gone. Hoe Kow of my youth, Far East and Mongolian House (best Mongolian beef ever) in the young adult days. Back in the days that Sox night games started at 8, we dined before the game at Won Kow in Chinatown. The one dish I remember was the Cantonese spareribs, where the ribs were chopped into small pieces and cooked in a probably oversalted sauce. It’s still open but I don’t have the heart to climb the stairs and recapture those bygone days. https://www.flickr.com/photos/brulelaker/13954138713/in/photolist-65wytz-65AQZf-ng5Bhv
Glad you approved. Thanks for this great photo link. Just terrific. You’ve got to love that signage. Happy 2015, Fred. And many more.
Ooops, need to proofread better. It’s “Cantonese” and “ribs” not “rights”; damn autocorrect.
Fixed. All good. I hate that autocorrect. Thanks, Fred.