Chicago is known for its diverse ethnic neighborhoods. But we`ve got a problem: Being the big, spread-out flatland that we are, one ethnic group often doesn`t know what the ethnic group two neighborhoods over is eating. This is unfortunate; there are many incredibly good cross-cultural food delicacies available all over the city. We`re not talking about what`s served in restaurants so much as what`s available in bakeries, delicatessens and takeout places.
What we`ve done is assemble a list of some particularly unusual, little-known food specialties. Some are one-of-a kind foodstuffs like the loaf of bread called cracklin` bread, others hard-to-make ethnic specialties that seem to be disappearing. (The tree cake, for example, was made by six bakeries last year; now it`s down to three.) Our suggestion: Clip this article, and the next time you find yourself venturing out of your neighborhood into the wilds of Chicago (this may be the South, North or West Sides, depending on where you live) and its nearby suburbs, make it a point to stop off and sample some of these easy-to-eat foodstuffs. We tried to choose edibles that would be instantly appealing–both in looks and flavor–to just about everybody. Nothing on the following list demands that you acquire any unusual tastes.
South
Chinese barbecued pork (the Chinese call it char siew) is made fresh daily at a few Chinese takeout shops around town. The trimmed young pork shoulder is first defatted and boned, then cut into large strips, marinated and barbecued. At Golden Country, 2422 S. Wentworth Ave., it sits for three hours absorbing a mixture of hoisin and light soy sauces, sugar, salt, five-spice powder, monosodium glutamate, garlic powder and a little red food coloring. It is grilled and dipped in honey, which glazes it and makes it sweet. Char siew costs $3.80 a pound and will be sliced at your request. Also available: Chinese roast chicken ($2.20 a pound), Chinese barbecued whole duck ($7.75 for a 3 1/2-lb. duck) and whole (15- to 60-lb. cooked weight)
barbecued pigs. (Order the pigs a week in advance.)
European tree cake, an esoteric and unusual European delicacy, resembles a tree trunk in cross section; each slice is distinguished by numerous rings, each the thickness of thin cardboard. The rings are made by a revolving roller that picks up a layer of batter from a pan at its base; as the roller revolves, it passes before a heating element that bakes the layer; then the roller picks up another layer of batter, and so on until the baker judges the cake thick enough. Available at only three Chicago bakeries, tree cake tastes like a rich, delicious, dry-textured pound cake and is delicious with tea or coffee. Lithuanian tree cake (ask for ragvolis) is available for $3.25 a pound at the two Baltic Bakery Shops, 4627 S. Hermitage Ave. and 2616 W. Lithuanian Plaza Ct. German tree cake (ask for baumkuchen) is available at Lutz`s Continental Pastry Shop, 2458 W. Montrose Ave., for $11.75 a pound, with or without a dark-chocolate icing.
Bacon buns, those delectable 4-ounce yeast buns stuffed with cooked smoked bacon (plus a little onion and pepper), are made fresh daily, cost only 30 cents each and freeze well. Heat them for company or devour them at room temperature. They`re available at Ramune`s Restaurant and Delicatessen, 2547 W. 69th St. Or buy them by the half-dozen (also baked fresh daily) for $1.20 at Baltic Bakery, 4627 S. Hermitage Ave., or individually (35 cents each) at Baltic Bakery, 2616 W. 69th St.
Cracklin` bread is a spicy and, we think, one-of-a-kind bread. This 1-pound semi-round loaf of yeast bread, in which pork pieces and pork cracklings (the crisp, fried bits of skin and meat that remain when pork fat is rendered) are kneaded into the dough, is made in rural areas of Italy and called frita bread there. Available for $2 a loaf at Carnovale Granata Bakery, 3520 S. Halsted St.
North
Near Turtles is combination of raw baby pecans, caramel and chocolate, which the De Met Co. named and trademarked Turtles when it invented this delectable candy 68 years ago at the corner of State Street and Wacker Drive. The candy has been copied all over the place but nowhere with such classy results as at Martha`s Candies, 3257 N. Broadway. Martha`s sells them hand dipped in dark chocolate (the originals were made with milk chocolate) as well as light, but calls them Charms. In this dark-chocolate version, they`re taken as far along the path to glory as this type of candy can go without becoming something else. They`re $10 a pound (about 32 Charms).
East Indian barfi is equivalent to American fudge, only it`s usually made with coconut or nuts. Annapurna Fast Food (Annapurna means goddess of food in Sanskrit), 2544 W. Devon Ave., makes and sells four kinds of barfi out of a takeout-dessert case: almond, pistachio, coconut and a mixed chocolate-coconut-and-almond barfi. Made by boiling milk until thick, adding sugar, butter, rosewater and nuts, then flattening it into a mass and cutting it into squares, barfi costs $4.95 a pound (about 70 cents for a 2- by 2-inch square). Other homemade Indian sweets are also available.
Strange tropical fruits–lots of different kinds–are available at Shop & Save, 521 Diversey Pkwy. Be sure to ask the fruit seller if what you`re taking home is ripe.
— Passion fruit, a small, round purple-colored fruit, is so named because its flower resembles a thorny cross that evokes the Passion of Christ. The gelatinous, juicy texture inside looks unpleaseant–it`s green and ugly/
gooey–but it tastes very good with its fragrant aroma and simultaneously faintly-sweet-and-slightly-tart flavor. An average passion fruit weighs 1 1/2 to 2 ounces and costs 99 cents; it also sells for $9.99 a pound.
— Feijoya, a 1- to 3-inch-long fruit, has a thin green skin touched with a whitish bloom. The semi-firm pulp cuts like an apple and has four soft, jelly-like little sections containing minute seeds. The aroma is similar to that of bubble gum and the pulp has a fruity banana/strawberry flavor. Each feijoya weighs about 4 ounces and costs 99 cents; a pound costs $4.
— Cherimoya (also known as Peruvian custard apple) is regarded by many produce specialists as the aristocrat of fruits. Inside the thin greenish skin the fruit is sweet and juicy with a custard-like texture and a unique flavor, like a blend of papaya, pineapple and banana. Eat it chilled, either sliced in sections by itself or as an accompaniment to white wine and cheese. Some folks cut a lid out of the top and serve the fruit with a spoon like a dish of custard. Cherimoya, which must be pollinated by hand, is expensive; ranging in size from 4 ounces to 3 pounds, it costs about $7.49 a pound.
— Kiwano (horned melon) is a beautiful orange-gold melon. The outside is horned and resembes the metal ball with pointed spikes that warriors swung at each other in the Middle Ages. Inside, the kiwano looks like a cucumber whose flesh has been colored green. To eat, cut it in half lengthwise, then cut it into sections and squeeze a little lime on it. An average-size kiwano weighs 1 pound and costs $5.99.
Shop & Save also carries many other exotic fruits, depending on the season. Some of these include tamarillos, gooseberries and loquats.
Princess bars sell fast, so go early or order in advance. Consisting of a rich bottom dough layer, a raspberry filling and a coconut crumb topping, the bars cost 50 cents each for a 2- by 1-inch regular size, 35 cents for a 1- by 1-inch miniature. Made fresh daily and available at all five Country Maid Bakeries: 1143 Church St., Northbrook; 491 Central Ave., Highland Park; 303 Happ Rd., Northfield; 1476 Waukegan Rd. (Carillon Square), Glenview; 314 Rand Rd. (Northpoint Center), Arlington Heights.
Chocolate truffles, those round balls of deliciousness that melt in your mouth, are available all over, but those made by Belgian Chocolatier Piron, 1500 Shermer Rd., Northbrook, have received extra-special accolades. Piron makes light chocolate-cream centers, then dips these in semisweet chocolate before rolling them in processed unsweetened Dutch cocoa. Each truffle weighs half an ounce and costs 65 cents. A pound (30 truffles) costs $18. Other handmade candies are available.
Smoked beef is made of well-trimmed beef round or flank that is salt-brined for 48 hours, then cold-smoked for 24 hours. It`s available at Wikstrom`s Scandinavian-American Gourmet Foods, 5247 N. Clark St. Sliced paper-thin, this reddish-brown delicacy ($6.20 a pound) should be eaten in a sandwich or salad. Or you can wolf it down as you drive home in the car.
Sea`nd pollack fish looks like a slivered vegetable salad, but it`s made with dried pollack, sesame oil and seeds, hot sauce, soy sauce, sugar and garlic. Unless told, you`d never know it was dried fish. It`s habit-forming for folks who want a slightly peppery kick and a chewy texture (like what you get chomping on the dry, highly seasoned ends of a beef roast). Koreans serve this delicacy as a hot and spicy rice accompaniment, but it`s good by itself as well. It`s made fresh a couple of times a week (almost always on Friday). Available for $4.95 a pound at Dong A Food, 3934 W. Touhy Ave., Lincolnwood.
West
Homemade tamales, steamy hot, delicious and stuffed with seasoned pork, are hard for gringos to find, even in Chicago. But they`re made fresh daily and available at La Guadalupana, 3215 W. 26th St., in two intensities, hot and mild. The dough of a third type–sweet, dessert tamales–is colored pink and filled with raisins, coconut, pineapple and even chocolate chips, depending on the whim of the tamale maker. Sold in half-dozen or larger amounts; six tamales cost $1.85.
Salty Dutch licorice is available at Holland Dutch Store, 6917 W. Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn, which imports it from the Netherlands. The Dutch salt their licorice heavily so the flavor is simultaneously sweet and salty. Licorice, one of the most popular candies in Holland, is available salty or double salty. Both kinds cost 69 cents for 3 1/2 ounces. And don`t miss the imported-from-Holland clove cheese, which is heavily infused with whole cloves ($3.60 a pound).
Babi bread (pronounced BUB-hi), a fragrant, chewy and marvelous 3-lb. loaf of intensely rye bread, is made and sold at two Fingerhut Bakeries located at 5537 W. Cermak Rd., Cicero, and 9110 Broadway, Brookfield. Made fresh daily, this bread goes fast, so call and reserve a loaf. Almost a cult bread, it costs $3.21 with tax. Babi is Czech for grandma, but it`s doubtful that anybody`s grandmother baked one this good. If you show up at the Cicero shop (where the breads are baked) at 6 a.m., your loaf will still be warm.
For another tour of Chicago`s fine food shops watch for a new guide,
”Cook`s Marketplace Chicago” ($9.95, 101 Productions) by Tribune Food Guide editor Carol Haddix and WBBM restaurant critic Sherman Kaplan. The book should be in local book stores within three weeks.
