Atwood Restaurant

Yay! Jackie's back! Another great review by Jack D'Mestiere

Me and Dolly-girl tied on our travelin’ shoes and headed off to what we here in the land south of the Great North call The Windy City. Dolly-girl fancied seeing’ some sort of musical show about when KG III, whoever that is, was getting’ the boot from what was to become the Third Nation while the First Nations watched thinking, “Damn, we should have locked the door…”

We took the Clipper from Stumptown, the train from the aerodrome, and Shank’s Mare from the depot to our lodging. While we were doing’ the paperwork, the clerk thumbed in the direction of the hotel restaurant and said, “Pretty good spot to tie on the feedbag in the A. M.” That was soundin’ like sound advice for a couple weary travelers.

Turns out, it was. Come morning, we didn’t have to drag ourselves more than a few feet and what to my wondering eyes should appear…oops, wrong season…when I looked at the What-We-Got, I spied…

bacon & eggs poutine! How could I possibly pass that up? “I could pass that up!” Dolly-girl rolled her peepers and looked skyward with the usual unsaid, “How did I end up with this guy?”

I ordered a feed-bag full and before long, what to my wondering eyes…I mean, a gorgeous platter appeared

I dug in. Let’s do this by the numbers: 

First, the fries were fresh, made in the house, and fried like fries should be fried. Or is that frited like frites…

B. The curds were generous, real curds, and even though melted, they squeaked! 

iii. The gravy was a taste-treat made from a clucker, rich, just the right thickness, and just the right amount of salt for me (Dolly-girl: “You know, Jack, Dr. Rachel S. Graves, MD would not enjoy your working at cross-purposes to that handful of pills you take…”)

d. The hen fruit on top were cooked perfectly—aesthetically pleasing and done enough that when the yolks ran they didn’t really increase the fry-saturation factor (I believe that’s called Ψ something) significantly. Whoa, where’d that talk come from Jack?

and 5. The farm-style bacon came in thick cubes and what doesn’t improve with bacon? Even Dolly-girl said, “Hey, Jack, if you happen across a cube or two of cured porker, you could flip a couple my way…"

Five out of five! I don’t believe I’ve ever awarded 5 curds to a poutine. But 5 it is.

If you’re in the Big Windy and hungry for poutine, check out Atwood, Southwest corner of Washington & State, Chicago, Illinois, USA atwoodrestaurant.com