Restaurant #20 - PitchFork

Restaurant #20 – PitchFork

Sunday, July 21, 2013
Heather, Wigs, Kevin & Julie

It was a beautiful day in Chicago, and we wanted to spend some time outside. Kev had to leave for Houston this afternoon, so we decided to find a lunch spot outside before he left. We thought about Cantina Pasadita, which is on Irving about 3000 west. Wigs called them to find out if they had outdoor tables, and the guy said Yes, they had 2. So Kev & I hopped on the bus, and Heather/Wigs walked over. When we got there, sign said open at 4. Hmmm. We texted Wigs to let them know. And I thought the address Wigs gave me was 2925 W. Irving, which is the little Pasadita takout place across the street. And Yes, they did have 2 outside tables. Haha. The Yelp listing Wigs was looking at had the wrong Address/Phone # associated with the restaurant name.

Ah well, next option – a few blocks east is PitchFork. We went here a long time ago when it first opened (with the former Cordis Brothers bartender and manager – they are now long gone). We were all trying to remember, but I think we weren’t that impressed at the time. But it was close to where we were and they had outdoor seating on the side street, not Irving Park, which offered a little bit of piece. (Except for the guy working on his front porch a few houses down.) We got there around 1:15 or so and they were still serving their Brunch menu.

We started with red Sangria’s for Kev, Heather & I, and Wigs ordered a Bourbonade - Maker’s Mark, lemonade, ice tea & sweet vermouth. We also ordered the Roasted Corn Salsa, which was fresh corn, black beans, onions, cilantro, tomato & avocado cream served with chips. This was really good – much thicker than normal salsa. The chips were super thick and crispy. Yummy. For entrées:

• Heather - Breakfast Polenta: Crispy cheddar polenta, chorizo sausage and sauteed peppers & onions. This looked good – she even took some home for leftovers. Wigs reheated them in the microwave and then to a hot frying pan to crisp it up. Said it was perfect.
• Wigs – Brisket & Gravy: 2 buttermilk biscuits topped w/ brisket, homemade gravy & 2 eggs any style. Wigs said it was good, but not great. The biscuits were nowhere near as good as those at Endgrain.
• Kevin – BBQ Beef Brisket sandwich. He gave it a thumbs down.
• Julie – Southwest Salad: Romaine lettuce tossed in cilantro lime vinaigrette w/black beans, corn, tomato & crispy tortilla strips topped w/marinated chicken breast. It also came w/avocado, but had them hold that. This was just OK, primarily due to the chicken. It tasted rubbery and fake. Blech. The dressing on the salad was really good (and not over-doused) – so the salad itself with the corn, tomatoes and black beans was good; it was just the chicken that made it icky. I didn’t even finish the chicken, but did the rest.

Overall, it seems like Heather had the best meal, and everyone else’s was so-so. Probably won’t go back for food. But I did like the salsa, so yet another place that’s good for drinks, apps and sitting outside. Although service was super slow.  I think there was only 1 waitress for both inside and out, and while there were only 2 tables outside, the inside seemed pretty full. 

After lunch, we walked back down Irving and checked out the swimming pool on California while Wigs ran the leftovers home. Kev caught the bus back home while Heather, Wigs & I went to Benfest (St. Ben’s school). As you can imagine, lots of families, kids and as Wigs put it “adults making fools of themselves for the kids”. Heather bought a couple cute little Cubs/Hawks barrettes for her nieces and we watched some Irish dancing (and lots of people, including maybe the guy who played Miranda’s boyfriend “Steve” on Sex and the City. If it wasn’t him, he was a dead ringer. We did see someone taking his picture.).

Made it home before the rain to pack for another lovely week in Pittsburgh.  Where a GIGANTIC bug in my hotel room walked under my work desk.  Looked like a Palmetto - which is basically a cockroach, right???  Yea, there was no sleep Monday night...