Report: 2008 Heartland Gathering in Chicago

[nsxtasy]

thanks for the lovely pictures Nancy.

Tony's chicken and Ma Po Tofu with 2$ pork were my two favorites.

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Mine, too, by far. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by a surprising number of dishes.

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My two favorites were the Tony's chicken ("crack chicken") and the crispy shrimp in mayonnaise. I too was disappointed by a surprising number of dishes - almost everything else. One of the reasons I was disappointed was that the selections seemed to consist of one EXTREMELY spicy dish after another after another. I like spicy food as much as anyone, but I also enjoy some variety in a meal. And why no soup, and no dessert (not even a fortune cookie)? I've eaten at LSC on several previous occasions, and I know they are capable of wonderful food (including those two favorites). This time it just didn't seem like the type of progression from one course to another to another that you would normally see in a Chinese restaurant.

[hsm]

Iirc, we started out with soup bowls and ceramic spoons in the middle of the table. But they eventually were removed, never to be seen again.

Tony's chicken, crispy mayo shrimp, those greens & Ma Po tofu all hit the spot. And fwiw, I've had that tofu there before and found it much, much spicier, as in, tofu floating in redish broth spicy.

[NancyH]

Once Gary said we weren't having soup, it became obvious (to me) that the bowls and spoons were for the Szechuan dumplings.

[hsm]

I'm afraid we missed that announcement. Some people missed the dumplings, too, unfortunately, as there weren't enough of each to go around and while we were told we could order more of anything, that didn't mean it was delivered. But then, it's not like there wasn't enough to eat!

[NancyH]

There wasn't an announcement - I asked Gary when the soup was coming (he was at my table) and he said there wasn't any soup. That's when I remembered that these kind of dumplings are often served with bowl and spoon because they are slippery critters, and are best enjoyed with a big dollop of the sauce to continue refreshing them.

I got the impression that the restaurant (upstairs and down) was understaffed that night, and just trying to get through. These things happen- overall, I was pleased with the food, though I'd have liked to try a soup (which is traditional in a Chinese meal), and perhaps one or two dishes that emphasized the numbing Szhechuan Peppercorn over the chili pepper. It is a huge menu; even choosing the large number of dishes we enjoyed had to be hard.

[tino27]

I, too, was surprised that there were no mouth-numbing dishes (though lots of nice spicy ones). Our table also had to ask for a second plate of the dumplings as well as only half of us got fed with the first plate (and that was with everyone only taking 1 dumpling).

[prasantrin]

I thought the bowls were for people who wanted to eat "Chinese-style" as opposed to Western-style.

Yesterday's Tom-tidbit:

Oh, this bread is very fine. I think it would meet Tom's standards!

[NancyH]

I just want to post an update for those of you who were so kind as to be concerned about my Sunday morning mishap at the Maxwell Street Market. I had arthroscopic surgery on my shoulder Sept. 12, and I am recovering nicely and in Physical Therapy. I understand that my accident so shook up the City of Chicago that they moved the Maxwell Street Market to a new location! Seriously - thank you to everyone who PM'd or otherwise sent me good wishes; they all helped to make the process so much easier!

I was finally able to cook for the first time last weekend - I made a Green Tomato Cake that came out simply wonderful! I am looking forward to our next Heartland Gathering in August 2009!