Last night was Andersonville Chamber of Commerce's annual event, Taste of Andersonville. This year there were three route options. The Nibble route, which featured Penelope's Vegan Taqueria, Andale Market, and Tala House plus seven more stops. The Nosh route (which is the one I chose) had hits like m. henry, Parson's Chicken & Fish, and Lady Gregory's amongst the 11 venues where you could grab a drink, dessert, or small bite. The third option was to do both routes and truly get a taste up and down Clark Street. I came hungry, ate one route, and can't imagine doing both. Word on the street is that BYO to-go containers is the seasoned thing to do. This was my first Taste of Andersonville since usually I prefer dining sitting down and not out of buffet servers because I am one of the most obnoxious people to have a meal with. But I made an exception, mostly because it meant I got to eat m.henry at night. Here is everything I ate and my unsolicited thoughts.
I traveled north to south on Clark, following the path the passport had laid out with only minor jumping around at the end since I became too lazy to cross the street over and over again. Stop one was Parson's Chicken & Fish, which served a chicken nugget, ranch, and a negroni slushy that wasn't messing around. The chicken was fried perfectly and lacked nothing when submerged in the herby house ranch. Next was m. henry whose side salads alone make me so happy. They served what I consider the best bite of the night, a potato pancake with peach jam and candied jalapeños. Sweet, crunchy, spicy and seasonal flavors, I can’t imagine m. henry ever doing me dirty. Loaves & Witches did a pop-up at cool girl boutique Winifred Grace, serving the option of cheesecake bites or focaccia to go alongside their cold-brew. The focaccia had good flavor but may have been sitting out for too long. The cold brew made me question my hot, black only coffee choices. Filled with fall vibe spice and not over sweetened.
Uvae Kitchen & Wine Bar was next and had the cutest mini short rib wellingtons; the full version will be on their menu this fall just in time to get cozy. As someone who rarely eats meat, let alone beef, this was surprisingly my second favorite of the night. Like m. henry, Uvae gave tasters a true preview of what the full dining experience would be like but in a more portable size, not a single skimp on making sure that customers were satisfied. Fiya was next and had yet another focaccia, this one dipped in matbucha (a Moroccan tomato sauce). They also made their salted tahina chocolate chip cookies. Onward to Replay Andersonville that had all the thigh lights and crispy cauliflower with a curry dipping sauce. I will always appreciate a crispy cauliflower especially when it actually crunches and isn’t overly dredged.
Kopi Cafe and Forever Yogurt came through with the midway palate cleansers. Kopi had a refreshing gazpacho with just enough chunk and spice to make it interesting and of course Forever Yogurt was, you guessed it, the usual froyo. I went Euro Tart for flavor and only mildly regretted not choosing the artificial flavor of Toasted Marshmallow. I went to Lonesome Rose next for a creamy corn elote cup and then to Lady Gregory’s for the vegetarian mac and cheese, which began the heft of the end of the meal on foot. Svea served their Swedish pea soup with smoky sausage and shockingly it was my first time through this institution's doors. I ended at Andersonville Galleria, which hosted multiple dessert options including Krackish Snack Co. and Zachi Chocolates.
The restaurants that created more of a mini dish instead of oversimplifying it really offered a lure to return for a full evening out. Svea, Parson’s, Kopi (crowd source question: is the marg really world-famous-level good as the sign boasts?) are high on my never-been-but-now-I-want-to list. Andersonville is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Chicago and yet I have never been to so many of these restaurants. I return to the usual favorites, knowing what’s good already, what will never disappoint. Taste of Andersonville broadened my horizons and not just because I broke all my eating rules.
For future events, check out andersonville.org.
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