Slider Nirvana at Sammy Greens

This was my second visit to @SammyGreens, a locally owned slider restaurant near downtown in Savannah on Abercorn. I could swear that I posted about my initial visit where I ate the Chee Booger and the Danang. However, for whatever reason I can't find it on here...so we march forward with posting about the my second trip.

The process at Sammy Greens is very simple: Walk up to the counter, place your order, have a seat, and feast when your food is brought out to you. Everything is made fresh, but doesn't take long to prepare being that they are small in size. On this trip I ate the Windy City, a Hogzilla, and a Chee Booger (because it is that good).

The Windy City is a Chicago style slider that packs the best of the Chicago Dog into just a couple of bites. This split mini dog is topped with diced banana peppers, minced onion, diced tomato, pickled cucumbers, relish, lettuce, celery salt and mustard. This dog was messy, but oh so good. It was so good that I am tempted to just order a couple of these on the next trip and nothing else.

The Hogzilla is a slow roasted pork shoulder that has been pulled and then pressed together into a patty. Cole slaw, pickles, and their own BBQ sauce round out this pork slider. It was very good, but not one that will have me running back there to try again. I am much more of a fan of their brisket than the pork.

That leads me to the last slider, the Chee Booger. As I stated before, this slider is so good that it is almost a staple to have on your plate each and every visit. Slow roasted brisket, cooked to perfection, is the star of the show, but everything on this slider comes together perfectly. Topped with smothered onions, pickles, American cheese, mustard and Tschirky Sauce...every bit of this slider should be savored.

The menu at Sammy Greens features different sides each week, salads, and a host of other sliders on the pork, brisket, chicken, and hot dog scale. Size wise, 2-3 sliders will have you full and happy when you walk out the door. Also, at around $2.50 a slider...they won't kill your wallet.

Lou Malnati's Pizzeria

You can't go to Chicago without eating at Lou's! This place is an institution the originator of the Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza. As with every dinner we had in Chicago, we started off with the Calimari. This didn't disappoint at all. We then got a large Malnati Salad. This is Romaine lettuce, diced tomatoes, black olives, sliced mushrooms, crumbled Volpi salami (which was like crunchy bacon bits), gorgonzola cheese and tossed with Lou's famous dressing with a touch of romano cheese. This bowl was so big, I ate two plates of salad, and through 5 of us we hardly made a dent in this beast.

It was then time for the main event...the pizza. We got one medium cheese and one large of "The Lou". The Lou consists of fresh spinach, mushrooms and sliced tomatoes covered with a blend of mozzarella, romano and cheddar cheese. That alone sounds great, but we kicked it up by adding in sausage as well. This took a great pizza and made it outfreakinstanding. I somehow plowed through 3 slices of this and I think I am still suffering from pizza sweats.

We then finished off this meal by watching the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup and by eating the warm Chocolate Chip pie thing. It was a chocolate chip cookie baked to the point where it was still soft and gooey. It was then topped with homemade vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. We only got one, but could have very easily made out way through 2 of these.

Cafe Bionda in Chicago...

These pictures aren't great because of the lighting in the restaurant, but trust me when I say the food was beyond great. This is true Italian cooking on the south side of Chicago. This place was so good that we didn't just eat there once on this trip, but we ate there twice. Everything about this place screams Italian from the locals who frequent the place to decor and attitude. We were fortunate enough to be there last night during their 4th anniversary party. How well connected is this establishment? The original owner of Rosebud, a Chicago institution, was at the party.

Onto the food. The fresh baked bread comes out after you are seated and is served with a spicy marinara sauce. I could drink this sauce...it was that good. On the first trip there we got the Fried Calimari as an app. Quite possibly the best I have ever had. Last night we switched it up and got the Grilled Calimari. The grilled version was dressed in olive oil, crushed red pepper, and maybe some other spices. This was so good that I even used the oil mixture at the bottom of the plate with the bread. Outstanding.

For dinner on the first night I got the Chicken Saltimboca. This is 2 chicken breasts wrapped in Prosciutto, sage, parmesan, and mozzarella with a white wine tomato sauce. Words can't describe just how good this was.

Last night I got the Orecchiette Sausage. This is Spicy Italian sausage, rapini, garlic, chili flakes, and extra virgin olive oil tossed in with fresh made pasta from scratch. Like I said...everything about this place is true homemade Italian. I was torn between this dish, the Chicken Parm and the Veal Francese. This dish was very good and was a lot to eat. I kinda wish I had gotten one of the other dishes, but I still loved every second of this meal.

Drinks that went down with these meals? Dona Paula Malbec from Argentina, Crown & Ginger, and quite a few Sambuca's.

Top Chef Master Rick Bayless's Topolobampo Restaurant....

The initial plan for tonight was to eat dinner at Frontera Grill in Chicago. This afternoon I tried to call for reservations and was told that it was first come, first serve. So I then tried to make them for Topolobampo, the sister restaurant to Frontera Grill which is attached to the latter, and was told there were no reservations available. We figured to press our luck and try Frontera Grill anyway. We get there and are then told it is a 2 1/2 hour wait. I put our name on the list, but then ask about the other restaurant. Low and behold, the maitre d then tells me he can seat us right now in Topo and we decided to go that route instead. The difference? Frontera is the more rustic and causal fare, Topo is the high end high class four star meal. I now have no regrets about making the choice to go to Topo.

For starters...the Topolo Margarita's. These are the signature drinks that are mixed right that the table and then poured into the glasses. I went through 3 of these and I have to say, it was the best margarita I have ever had. The then brought out the very special guacamole with jicama & cucumbers. This guac had some kicked up peppers in it and was amazing with these vegetables as chips.

The apps then came out. At the last min I decided to order the Sopa Azteca and it was a great decision. This is basically chicken tortilla soup. They pour it into the bowl at the table and this soup had flavors that goes on for days. This is a must have and the soup is as follows: dark broth flavored with pasilla, with grilled chicken, avocado, Meadow Valley Farm hand-made Jack cheese, thick cream and crisp tortilla strips.

We also got the Trio, Trio, Trio. This is a sampling of Ceviche Fronterizo, Ceviche Yucateco and Coctel de Atun Tropical which is then served with fresh made tortilla chips.

It was time for the main course. I got the duck, two others got the pork, and one other got the scallops and lobster. You will see via the pics was is in the first two dishes. I got to taste the famous "mole" and I have to say...it lived up to the hype and then some.

Rick Bayless has earned the title of Top Chef Master for a reason and this mean proves it. I highly recommend you try either of his establishments when you are in Chicago. You won't regret it.