I just got back from Africa, so for dinner, I was looking for something a bit extraordinary. Well, I met my maker at Crisp in East Lakeview.
Time Out Chicago gave Crisp some hearts a few weeks ago, but I was still trying to hate…thinking that there just wasn’t enough room for two chicken places located a few blocks away from each other on Broadway Avenue. I was wrong. This shit is off the lanks. Koreans making chicken wangs?…What kind of joke is was this? I guess Ratatouille had it correct: any fool can cook.
We called a order in and I arrived at the restaurant 15 minutes later to find our food packed up and ready to go.
While I walked towards the kitchen, Doug (the owner) was busy chatting up the good news with the clientele, but quickly rushed over to the register to ring me up. He shovelled pleasantries over the counter while I paid; happily calling me out for picking up a order that was placed by a girl named ‘Mari.’ Thus indicating that I was some sort male Sherpa or food donkey for my better half. Call a spade a spade.
I thanked him and was overjoyed to see what kind of goodies would pop out of the carry-out bag.
We started off with the ‘Original Bad Buddha Bowl’ which was a conglomeration of shredded beef, marinated bean sprouts, spinach, shredded carrots, mushrooms and cucumber. Really effin tasty with the brown rice. A proper dish regardless of the fact that they forgot to add one of their signature sauces. Oh, the bowl is also topped off with a sunny side up egg…cuz that’s how the Koreans do shit.
Step the fuck off, Cadbury.
The wings. Simple concept: deep fried then seasoned. True, anyone might be able to cook, but on the same coin, most people can jack up a wing sauce something proper.
We got orders of the Crisp BBQ and Bud’s Buffalo Wings. My god. The BBQ wings were sweet and tangy, not like anything I’d had before. The wings were also topped off with sesame seeds which lent additional flavor and crunch to the bird. As for Bud Buffalo, I’m a fiend for spiciness, and damn, these buffalo wings represented. Stevie Wonder could have seen the chilies on this shit. I was sucking the flavor coating off the meat like a chickenhead on crackpipe.
Concerned about not getting enough food, we also ordered small bag of ‘Magic Mushrooms.’ These were the biggest letdown as a dipping sauce was also forgotten. I threw some soy sauce on the cuties and made do. Unless these sauces are a orgasm in a ramekin, I’d be hesitant to purchase shrooms again.
Overall, Crisp has a good thang going. Trustafarians and wankstas should continue to bolster Doug’s bird business for years to come. Clearly, he has made a solid move in catering to this sqad rather than the hard guys who roll thru Chicken Hut. Regardless, if war is raged, I’d still bet on the ‘Vatos de Hut’ to hold down the North-Chi cluck cluck biz.
- Name: Crisp
- Where: 2940 N Broadway Ave
(between Oakdale Ave & Wellington Ave)
Chicago, IL 60657
- Phone Number: (877) 693-8653
Black Folks are like Mexicans, only we steeped American culture eons ago. That’s why you can travel to Chicago’s Little Italy and find a breakfast/lunch joint which caters primarily to folks of color and makes everyone else wonder why they can’t cook like this. Sweet Maple Cafe; consider yourself warned.
Yea, the gentlemangs rock coogie sweaters and the gentlefems are fresh outta The Color Purple.
“My’s chirrens lives in AFRIKKA!”
Don’t get me wrong, the dynamic in the dining room is extremely mixed: UIC students, southwest siders, prominent Afro-Americans who just can’t put down the swine, and yea, Bamas.
What is Bama? This is:
I was born in North Cakalak, so I’m used to this type of behavior. But for some of yall, this might be a frightening first. Rest assured, Bamas know how to cook. Primary ingredients usually include a tub-o-lard and fatbacks. Moreover, the Bama gets that culinary shine on during breakfast by supplanting typical lunch and dinner foodstuffs (such as fried pork chop and fried chicken) to fortify an normally lackluster meal.
We got to the spot around 11am and the host told us that the wait was going to be around 55 minutes. Usually restaurants in the city buff wait times to scare away patrons who aint serious, so we thought that we’d be sat in 30-40. Well, we waited for over an hour. In the vien of ‘that countray shit,’ Sweet Maple does not rush its customers and pisses on “turning tables” like that dood Calvin. This, coupled with the fact that the dining room is basically 10 tables, makes a wait as painful as being sold on the auction block to Massa Tom.
Don’t take my word for it. Digital photos NEVER lie.
Famished by the time we were sat, we ignored Bama dining rules and ordered hastily.
We went with ‘A Couple of Eggs’ breakfast, which features two eggs any style, a choice of biscuit or toast (please don’t be stupid and order toast), country bacon or sausage and an order of homefries. Everything on the plate was exceptional; the eggs where scrambled to perfection and the biscuits were warm and hearty. Homefries were a standard fare; onion, green pepper, oregano and, of course, a Bama must have-paprika. The country sausage was the head cornerstone, and if mass marketed, would have Jimmy Dean and Bob Evans calling they local social service agency for public assistance programs.
Then we scooped up one of the ‘Daybreak Sandwiches’ and some cheese grits. The former can be loaded with country sausage, bacon, or fried chicken. Having missed out on the fried chicken sandwich on previous visits, I was salivating when the biscuit medley arrived at the table. Unfortunately, the chicken just wasn’t as flavorful as the country sausage or bacon and just left me craving a Chick-Fil-a’s Chicken Biscut all damn day.
The latter, or DEM GRITS, were a proper consistency…not smooth like Mississippi Mud and not hard like South Cakalak cow pies. Not like Grandma used to make, but unfortunately she wasn’t back in the kitchen slapping cooks around with a broom stick, so I guess you get what you pay for.
To sum it all up, we live in Chicago, so expectations for a southern restaurant can ride a few notches lower than usual. Nevertheless, Sweet Maple makes a valiant effort at cooking up some of that Bama Shit. Kudos.
- Name: Sweet Maple Cafe
- Where: 1339 W Taylor St
Chicago, IL 60607
- Phone Number: (312) 243-8908