Date Night Cuban Food

Siboney
2165 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60647

In a neighborhood that is gentrifying and certainly on its way to becoming a Chicago destination-neighborhood, it might appear as if Logan Square has an abundance of mom and pop's Mexican joints and neighborhood hang outs, but no date places. That's not to say that these places can't be good for dates. Truth be told, a truly good date restaurant is scarce currently, but they can be found and they are on the rise. Now, what you need for a good date restaurant is great food, inviting and comfortable atmosphere and, of course, a good drink selection. In 2009, Siboney opened on Western Ave offering Cuban food that meets this criterion.

Now, I know I have been hitting Cuban food a little heavy lately here at The Logan Square Foodie, but I have mainly focused on the Cuban sandwich and I should do this Caribbean cuisine some justice and look at some other dishes of theirs. And, in the meantime, you will now know of a new place to take your date to next weekend. After all, foodies make the best date planners.

Siboney is a restaurant-bar that has a chic, yet relaxed feel to it, which manages to attract local, Latino residents and other residents from around the city. By and large, though, this is one place in Logan Square where you can enjoy an evening and avoid running into someone who prides themselves on knowing an obscurer band than you. On weekends, you can find a live band in the bar, which only adds to the amenities. Find yourself a good spot in the bar and I think you’ll be set for the rest of the evening.


They have many delicious options for a starter. Many of which we have already touched on in other Cuban places in the neighborhood like Tostones and empanadas and papas rellenas. Siboney does a good job with these dishes. Try the empanada filled with ropa de vieja, which is a pulled beef that was simmered in a Cajun sauce. Also try their papas rellenas, which is a potato stuffed with beef. Both of these dishes come with their own ail oli that you can dip them into.


For a main course, I recommend going for sea food. If you’re into shrimp, get the Camarones Enchilados, which is shrimp cooked in a tomato, onion and pepper sauce and served with rice. The shrimps were cooked perfectly and the tomato sauce was excellent.


If you want fish, go straight for the Filete Dorado a la Plancha. This is a grilled Mahi Mahi filet served with rice and black beans. As someone who is not the biggest fish eater, I have to say this was excellent. If you’re a little squeamish on fish, let me walk you through it. The flavor is not fishy at all and the texture is firm (not rubbery firm). Without a doubt, this dish is highly recommended.


For drinks, on weekends if you come with a party of three or more, you get a complimentary pitcher of sangria. Not a bad deal. If it’s just you and your date, they have a lengthy drink menu with plenty of cocktails including margaritas, daiquiris, pina coladas, and mai tai—everything you associate with boat drinks. While boat drinks sometimes get a bad, suburban housewife rap, there is still one you can drink and be well respected by all and that is the mojito. Siboney has made an excellent mojito here. What sets this one apart from other mojiots is that they have not over-sugared the drink like many mojitos or years past. Additionally, there is a strong lime flavor that comes through, which I really liked.

Siboney is an excellent little date restaurant with a very good menu. I look forward to some day soon enjoying the bar and live music. Cuban Sandwiches are all fine and good, but Cuban cuisine has some very tasty dishes up its sleeve.


Getting down to Brass Tax:

Date place? Yes.
Friend Hang out? Yes, in the bar.
Recommended dish: Mahi Mahi
Recommended drink: Mojito
Price Range (2 People): +/- $45

Lula Cafe: The Alternative Brunch

Lula Café
2537 N Kedzie Ave
Chicago, IL 60647

With Memorial Day about a week away, you may be asking yourself, “Hey… Why do people say ‘Happy Memorial Day!’ when it’s a day of remembrance?” That’s a very good question and I don’t have an answer for that. But, you may also ask, “What’s a good place for brunch in Logan Square for this day of remembrance?” Now, I could easily send you to one of the many brunch spots in the area. While they are all fine and good, they can be a little heavy. What is the alternative?


Lula Café is your alternative to what many think of as a traditional brunch. Sitting right off the square, this restaurant offers an alternative and eclectic atmosphere to match the slightly alternative feel to this menu. Lots of the knick nacks hanging on the wall and windows could very well have been garbage picked. Some many find it to be charming while some of us see it as clutter. For the size of the space, they really try to pack lots of people in. In such cumbersome seating, smaller groups are recommended given that you will already be crammed closely to a girl with an asymmetrical hair cut and a Belle & Sebastian t-shirt and her aspiring DJ boyfriend.

While they do provide many of your standard brunch dishes, they usually add a twist to it. For example, this meat-scarce menu has a dish made up of eggs with smoked salmon scrambled in and some dill and cream cheese on the side or pancakes served with butterscotch syrup. Staying vegetarian friendly, there are plenty of different tofu dishes on their brunch menu. On the lighter side, their brunch menu offers oatmeals, granolas and french toasts. All of which come with many different types of berries and change seasonally. If you want to take your brunch away from breakfast and more towards lunch, I recommend their shiitaki mushroom and spinach quesadilla with fontina cheese. Very tasty, even meat eaters would agree.

For a drink, they offer a Bloody Mary that feels a little over priced for such a small glass. Their mix has a strong wasabi burn to it and a very thin texture. If you don’t like your Bloody Mary to be chunky, then you may be a fan of this one. Otherwise, they are one of the few brunch places in Logan Square that offer a Bellini on their menu. For those who don’t know, a Bellini is champagne and peach puree and peach juice.

While I am always a champion of traditional brunches with a heavier menu, but every so often it is nice to dabble in the lighter, alternative brunch side.


Getting down to Brass Tax:

Date place? Yes.
Friend Hang out? No.
Recommended dish: shiitaki mushroom and spinach quesadilla
Recommended drink: Bellini
Price Range (2 People): +/- $30

Cuban Sandwiches—Part 2 “Authentic” Cuban Food

Cafeteria de Pancho
2200 N California Ave
Chicago, IL 60647

Recently, I had a discussion with someone on Cuban sandwiches when I mentioned this series of entries I was working on. “You need to go to Pancho’s! Their sandwiches are awesome! Authentic!” I cringe at the over use of “authentic”. “What do you mean, ‘Authentic’?” I asked. “Ya know… it’s like the traditional Cuban recipe. The place isn’t dressed up. It’s REAL.” We all know when we hear this sort of dialogue being tossed around, we are being fed a bunch of hipster nonsense.

Needless to say, there’s so much wrong with this statement. It is, of course, a fallacy to view anything cultural (especially food) as being ‘authentic’ or ‘real’. First of all, it’s hard to claim something as ‘authentic’ given that culture and traditions, by definition, are in a constant state of evolution. What we think of as “authentic” Cuban food is simply a snap shot in time of that cuisine at a specific time and place. The very nature of the culinary arts is to constantly recreate dishes with other influences. Authentic? I’m not buying it. Don’t even get me started on something being ‘real’! (How is one cafeteria more grounded in reality than another?) But I digress.




Whether or not Pancho’s fits some fallacious definition of “authenticity” or proper existence in reality, they certainly are a foodie destination of Logan Square. Now, being a foodie does not require that you simply have to dine at the most trendy or experimental of restaurants, in fact, I would argue that a foodie enjoys both the gastropub and the dirt-cheap mom and pop's. Luckily, as we all know, Logan Square has both. Pancho’s is one such family-owned establishment.



With a very simple floor plan, you have a choice between small tables in front, bigger tables in the back and the counter. I love the counter, personally. While they certainly do make a tasty el Cubano here as well as 90 Miles, we’ve already covered that, so let’s venture out to something a little more interesting. If you’re looking for something hearty and flavorful, try the Ropa de Vieja. Now, this sandwich does deviate from Cuban sandwiches a little because the bread leads us into torta territory. Keep with me though! This sandwich includes shredded beef that has been simmered in a Cajun sauce, which has a number of spices (coriander comes through strong) and tomatoes. It’s a little runny, but that’s ok. Throw on lettuce, tomato and a little mayo and the sandwich is complete. I’ve had this sandwich at a few other places, but I think Pancho’s may do it the best.


For a starter or a side, they have an excellent stuffed potato. The potato is stuffed with ham and then deep-fried. It stays moist, warm and is a great side dish. I recommend this over their empanadas and plantain meat pies. Both of which, are still good as well.

This place has all your regular beers. If you want a full bar, just walk one store front up to Pancho’s Bar. Otherwise, they have a large selection of fruit smoothies that they offer. Note: They only serve them in the summer.

Pancho’s certainly ranks up at the top of my list for Cuban sandwiches in Logan Square. It’s not the fanciest of places, but it certainly can satisfy the snobbiest of foodies. You don’t need to be drawn in here by how ‘authentic’ it is. It stands on its own without that label. Whether or not Pancho’s is the “real’ existence and everywhere else that serves Cuban sandwiches is elsewhere in the space/time continuum, they do make a great sandwich.

Getting down to Brass Tax:

Date place? No.
Friend Hang out? Yes.
Recommended dish: Ropa de Vieja
Recommended drink: Fruit smoothies (In the summer only)
Price Range (2 People): +/- $15

Stopping Off For Dessert--Ciao Napoli

Ciao Napoli Pizzeria
2607 N. Milwaukee
Chicago, IL 60647

Photos by Megg at Pop Artichoke!


Some days you are just in the mood to make a real evening of your dining experience; the sort of night where you “stop off” for something. Even if that is kind of old fashioned, there are plenty of reasons to have a scene change from dinner to dessert. Thankfully, Logan Square has a great little spot that works as a great dessert place.

Sitting right off of the square, Ciao Napoli Pizzeria is another brick oven pizza restaurant in the neighborhood. You could say that this restaurant is the pizza alternative to The Boiler Room, given that there is a notable absence of the type of man-child that wears his sister’s jeans and a flannel shirt. Having said that, pizza is not the objective of this review. While I would recommend having one of their pizzas one day, I contend that this place does an excellent dessert and that should not be overlooked. Either on a date or catching up with an old friend (Pop Artichoke!), there are many reasons for foodies to fit desserts into an evening.

Ciao offers a large list of gelatos and sorbets—always a crowd pleaser. From your standard pistachio and chocolate gelatos to lemon and melon sorbets, there is a large, tasty selection to choose from. I am usually partial to a light sorbet after dinner, but given that we are doing Desserts with a capital “D”, let’s dive right in.

One special that they do offer on occasion is a Cannoli Martini. No, it’s not a cocktail, it is four to five cannoli shells sticking out of a martini glass filled with the cannoli filling of sweetened ricotta cheese and chocolate chips. The riccota was tasty, but had they added pistachios to it, I think it would have added another dimension to this—a missed opportunity in my eyes.



The recommended dish is the Zeppole, which are effectively “Italian doughnuts”. These were so good and reminded me of beignets from New Orleans. Freshly fried dough that is still warm, rolled in powdered sugar and a drizzle of Nutella on top of it. These were fantastic for dessert. Plus, they give you enough for two or three people.



Now, what drink shall accompany your doughnuts? While we could just have a glass of some sweet Moscato wine with our dessert, I think we should venture into the digestivo territory. Yes, the scary cordials that sit on the back of dessert menus that no one ever orders. I say, with a little careful guidance, you can be drinking these like a pro.

Understand that the point of a digestivo in Italian meals is to conclude the meal and aid in digestion. Many of the digestivos have a upwards of forty spices and herbs in them. Some of these spices and herbs actually compliment some flavors in your dessert and I don’t really see any reason why we cannot break rules a little bit and have a digestivo with dessert.

I found the Nonino Amaro to be sweet and have orange flavors in it. It paired very well with the Zeppole. The Strega had a strong alcohol burn to it and almost tasted like Sambuca. It did complement the Cannoli Martini. For dessert I would avoid the Fernet Branca because of it’s savory and bitter flavor. If you’re going to drink savory digestivos, it’s best that you observe the “concluding of the meal” rule. Always ask the wait staff for their recommendations and if you’re ever in doubt, you can always play it safe with Limoncello.

Dessert doesn’t have to just be the tail end of the main event, it can be THE main event. As foodies, we should, on occasion, make more out of dessert as a meal in its own. Ciao in Logan Square gives you this option with an excellent dessert menu.


Getting down to Brass Tax:

Date place? Yes.
Friend Hang out? Yes, with a FEW friends.
Recommended dish: Zeppole
Recommended drink: Nonino Amaro
Price Range (2 People): +/- $25