Steve, exactly. The steno pool girl eats at the Ohio House when the boss isn't treating.

JeffB wrote:Steve, exactly. The steno pool girl eats at the Ohio House when the boss isn't treating.

Yes. There or the soda fountain counter at Walgreen's.

I’d intended to have lunch today at The Shamrock Club, but when I got there I saw the special of the day was a prime rib sandwich ($7.50, including the sandwich and a pint or bottle of beer) – but I don’t like prime rib – and I walked a bit further, to the Ohio House Restaurant.

Studying the menu, I was indecisive. The principal special of the day was beef tips, egg noodles and some brown gravy – a meal I had several weeks ago and though I enjoyed it I didn’t want to have it today. When the restaurant’s owner stopped by the booth to take my order and I asked her for a recommendation the first words out of her mouth were, “Don’t order the corned beef – I’m all out.” She makes the corned beef at home and brings it into the restaurant (no corned beef dinners are offered – except at St. Patrick’s Day - just sandwiches) – and I've learned it's a popular selection and when she runs-out customers just have to wait until she cooks some more. So, my selection is pictured below:

Chicken Soup, with Pasta



This was a particularly flavorful soup today, with lots of white meat chicken, carrots and just enough salt and other spices.

Tuna Melt on Wheat, with Corn and Slaw



A tuna melt sandwich is a fall-back order for me when I’m someplace and can’t make up mind. I don’t think I’ve had Ohio House Restaurant’s version of this sandwich before today. I asked the cook to use wheat instead of rye and for a serving of a vegetable instead of French fries. A thumbnail-sized container of coleslaw accompanies all sandwiches. This “deluxe” selection of soup, freshly-made tuna salad sandwich, vegetable and slaw was priced at $6.30. My “bottomless” glass of iced tea was extra.

Egg Salad Sandwich



Another of the menu items at Ohio House Restaurant: Egg Salad Sandwich. The renditon pictured above was accompanied by green beens, cole slaw and a starter of home-made beef barley soup. The egg salad was a bit more liquid than I prefer, but fresh-tasting nonetheless. The beef barley soup was the stand-out of the meal - and soups here at the restaurant are oftentimes excellent.

Bust out your scissors and tape and build your own Ohio House, part of the esteemed Build Your Own Chicago series

Shoot! NOW what am I getting Bill for the holidays?!

Vegetable Soup



Short Ribs



I stopped for lunch at Ohio House Restaurant today. Wednesday’s are special days at the restaurant as the principal “special” alternates weekly between baked pork chops and short ribs.

The last time I tried the short ribs was 6 months ago and I was pleased (afterwards) that I tried them again today. The meat had that home-baked oven-roasted flavor to it, and a minimum of excess fat (and a taste just shy of "melt in your mouth" texture). Cathy, the owner of the restaurant, was absent (attending a funeral) but she dropped-off the short ribs and when I asked the waitress replacement how the short ribs looked today one of the other persons in the restaurant, hearing my question (it’s a small room) called out, “They’re great!” That’s all I needed to hear before ordering.

Of the two soups of the day I chose the vegetable and today’s rendition was the best of the lot I’ve sampled at the restaurant – rich beef broth, some seemingly fresh vegetables mixed-in with the canned varieties . . . I would have been happy having a meal of a huge bowl of the soup with nothing else.

Price of the lunch, including a “bottomless” glass of fresh-brewed iced tea: $6.30+ tax.

germuska wrote:Bust out your scissors and tape and build your own Ohio House, part of the esteemed Build Your Own Chicago series

Coolio. I think I'm ready to try Ohio House now.

Working my way through the menu - a selection from a visit to Ohio House Restaurant last week:

Smokey Link and Egg Sandwich



Had my primary care physician observed me at lunch this day I'm certain he would have driven me to the hospital to have my stomach pumped - to prevent against further cholesterol buildup. I love smokey links, and eggs - but haven't had both on a sandwich at the same time and place and I haven't had smokey links in ages. I added some lettuce, tomato and grilled onions, and asked for it all to be served on a slightly griddled hamburger bun - because it was lunch. I was told it's a somewhat popular breakfast choice at the restaurant.

A couple of photos of meals I enjoyed at Ohio House Restaurant during the course of the past couple of weeks:

Baked Chicken



The baked chicken dinner was a good one, seasoned with garlic and lemon pepper - "home made." The specials are best eaten earlier than later in the day - as are any of the chicken soups that have pasta in them. The chicken meat almost fell from the bone as I looked at it.

Ham and Cheese Club Sandwich



The club sandwiches at the restaurant are on a par with most other places I've had them. Nothing spectacular, and nothing to complain about. They do nicely for lunch, and with the soup and drink this and the other specials will cost you less than $9, tax included.

As I’ve mentioned previously, every-other-Wednesday is baked breaded pork chop day at OHR and today’s rendition was particularly good: lightly-seasoned (and thinly applied) breading, and meaty chops. The pork chops were accompanied by (canned) green beans and surprisingly light-weight potato pancakes. Cream of Cauliflower was one of the two soups of the day, one I haven’t tried before now – and it was bursting with flavor and lots of cauliflower and I'll keep my eyes open for its reappearance on the menu in the future.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup



Baked Breaded Pork Chop, Potato Pancakes and Green Beans



Cost of the lunch: baked pork chop, potato pancakes and vegetable; cup of soup; and bottomless glass of iced tea: $10, including tax but not the gratuity. For $1.50 additional I could have had a second pork chop.

Corned Beef & Cabbage



The gal who owns and waits tables at OHR (Cathy, or Kathy - I'm not certain how she spells her name) often talks about her corned beef. Maybe once each month she features corned beef and cabbage, and her home-cooked corned beef is used when making the restaurant's sandwiches (while it lasts). I'm beyond picky when it comes to brisket or corned beef and, therefore, reluctant to order it. I've been this way my entire life, as far back as I can remember. The meat isn't supplied by a commercial packing house but, rather, it comes from her local butcher in the S or SW suburbs where she lives. She's too small of an operation to buy in bulk from the provision houses - a challenge she faces when buying most of her supplies.

When I was in the restaurant for lunch Monday, enjoying a tuna melt sandwich, she mentioned today's special was going to be corned beef and cabbage - a switch from her typical every other Wednesday offering of either baked breaded pork chops and roast short ribs. Her comments constituted a dare - a dare for me to try what I've yet to sample from the OHR menu. So I took her up on the dare.

Such meals at OHR are reminiscent of going to Sunday dinner at your elderly Aunt or Grandmother's home. That's one of the principal attractions of the restaurant for me. Lots of comfort food served-up by a woman full of love for her customers, and employees (four of whom she has sponsored for U.S. citizenship).

The meat was a little dry, but I enjoyed the texture and flavor. Not too fatty, but the lattice-work of fat was ever-present (but not overwhelming like some corned beef can be). The cabbage was overcooked - a problem with some of the "special" fresh vegetables at the restaurant. In this environment, give me the canned vegetables (such as my "double order" of vegetables today - the corn). The carrots were on the verge of "mashed," as well - but sturdier than the cabbage. And I've had better-tasting horseradish. My Grandmother would often tell me - in similar situations - that I shouldn't worry, because "it all gets mixed-up in the stomach" anyway.

Today's soup of the day was chicken rosmarina, full of rich broth, some vegetables and a good portion of pulled (or shreaded) chicken breast. This is one of the better soups on OHRs rotation.

The price of the Lunch, including entrée, beverage, tax and tip: $10. I did my "good deed" for the day - and enjoyed it.

While all of the dishes here look very tasty, the presence of canned veggies in every one of the photos is off-putting to me. I despise canned vegetables. They simply don't taste right. If Ohio House started serving fresh veggies, I'd be much more inclined to give them a try. I should probably give them a try regardless and ask them to skip or substitute the veggies.

One observation of Bill's photo essay of the various dishes available at Ohio House: This is a veritable display of mid-20th-century American cooking, from the "Baked Chicken" (we "roast" these days), to the bluish-gray canned green beans down to the "fresh" carrots, which were overcooked to the point of mushiness. (Most of our Moms of a certain era preferred canned and frozen veggies, as they can be overcooked with less negative textural effect; most Moms were not too adept in the handling and cooking of fresh veggies.)

Seamus wrote:While all of the dishes here look very tasty, the presence of canned veggies in every one of the photos is off-putting to me. I despise canned vegetables. They simply don't taste right. If Ohio House started serving fresh veggies, I'd be much more inclined to give them a try. I should probably give them a try regardless and ask them to skip or substitute the veggies.

I was raised mostly eating canned vegetables (through the 50s and 60s), so though I enjoy the fresher varieties more now than back then they (the canned) don't bother me in the OHR setting. I understand your point of view, though. Two of the three vegetables served yesterday were fresh, not canned. Had I accepted the potatoes that typically come with OHRs corned beef dinner then all three would have been fresh. Such an occurrence is unusual, though. Steve's Deli, in the same general River North vicinity, has some excellent fresh vegetables it serves with its meals.

I'll close with this earlier comment about OHR, because it pretty much sums up the cuisine-style of the place:

JeffB wrote:The Ohio House clearly follows the logic of similar places in small-town Iowa, Indiana and Ohio: soup has to be made from scratch, vegetables come from a can.

Thanks for the feedback, Seamus.

Just another reason I miss working downtown.

I've often wondered how the Ohio House survives but after your reviews of the restaurant, one day I'll kick myself for not visiting this throwback.

Keep 'em coming. How about some pictures of the restaurant itself?

Seamus wrote:While all of the dishes here look very tasty, the presence of canned veggies in every one of the photos is off-putting to me. I despise canned vegetables. They simply don't taste right. If Ohio House started serving fresh veggies, I'd be much more inclined to give them a try. I should probably give them a try regardless and ask them to skip or substitute the veggies.

I've been noticing that more and more chefs are using canned veggies because, and I know this sounds strange, they are fresher. The consensus seems to be that the time lapse between picking and canning is so short that the canned variety actually retains more flavor. This might also be another reason why OHR is able to keep costs under control.

Of course this doesn't mean that the canned taste right as you noted.

Gibby wrote:The consensus seems to be that the time lapse between picking and canning is so short that the canned variety actually retains more flavor.

I wonder what chefs you're talking about that form this supposed consensus. I eat out a lot and know a few chefs, and have not noticed even the slightest trend toward canned vegetables.

Kennyz wrote:

Gibby wrote:The consensus seems to be that the time lapse between picking and canning is so short that the canned variety actually retains more flavor.

I wonder what chefs you're talking about that form this supposed consensus. I eat out a lot and know a few chefs, and have not noticed even the slightest trend toward canned vegetables.

Agreed - I think Ohio House is holding down the fort on the canned vegetables. If anything, with the local/seasonal eating trend, chefs are going in the opposite direction.

As for the freshness comment, and this also goes to my comment above, I think that the treatment of vegetables in the canning and freezing processs (especially the salt in the canning process) hardens the outer walls of the vegetables, makes them firmer (and less susceptible to overcooking), and makes them seem like they're fresher -- but in reality, it distorts the texture of the vegetables -- badly. Think of the best corn you've ever had, it's slightly crisp, but then yields to tenderness and has none of the persistent chewiness of canned corn.

It sounds like the Ohio House is attracting some groupies.

I'm sure I'm not alone in missing the frequent updates on the World's Largest Little Restaurant.

Vegetable Soup





Meatloaf



Liver and Onions



The wonder of Ohio House is not the food at its coffee shop but the mere fact that it still exists.







Ohio House Coffee Shop
600 N LaSalle St
Chicago
312-943-6000 (motel office)

I LOVE the Ohio House!
I used to BEG my wife to eat there with my but she insisted it looked like a dump.
I'd hit it gor lunch but it's just a bit too far from work

On the plus side I think I can squeeze in time for some takeout from Singha one of these days now that it's back on my radar!

Rene G wrote:I'm sure I'm not alone in missing the frequent updates on the World's Largest Little Restaurant.
...
Ohio House Coffee Shop
600 N LaSalle St
Chicago
312-943-6000 (motel office)

Rene G-

You are not alone. I liked riding in the time machine with the updates.

-Mary

Rene G wrote:I'm sure I'm not alone in missing the frequent updates on the World's Largest Little Restaurant.

You read my mind!

I drove past Ohio House yesterday and thought I really should go, eat, take a few pictures and post to the thread. Safe to say, I miss the updates as well.

CrazyC wrote:Their breakfast is pretty good too. Deuces Wild used to be $3, but I'm sure it has gone up by now.

Deuces Wild, featured at Ohio House since 1974, now costs $5.25.

G Wiv wrote:I drove past Ohio House yesterday and thought I really should go, eat, take a few pictures and post to the thread.

You really should go (don't forget, parking is free). Don't let this thread die!

Rene G wrote:I'm sure I'm not alone in missing the frequent updates on the World's Largest Little Restaurant.

Not alone at all, THANK YOU FOR RESURRECTING THIS THREAD RENE G !!!

I was starting to worry about the fate of this thread and the Ohio House, and wondering if it was simply a matter of waiting for corn to be in season before this thread was revived.

Keep it alive and Bill please come back !

Nab

Looks like corn appears in pics from April through November, so you just might be in luck.

How are the liver & onions there? I'm tempted to get them when I see them on the specials board but I'm usually won over by something else. And that corn looks mighty fresh!

I'm thinking I may have to wander over there for lunch today...for the sake of this thread!

Rene G wrote:
I'm sure I'm not alone in missing the frequent updates on the World's Largest Little Restaurant.
...
Ohio House Coffee Shop
600 N LaSalle St
Chicago
312-943-6000 (motel office)

Rene G-

You are not alone. I liked riding in the time machine with the updates.

-Mary

Careful! Grant Achatz might be reading this!

With all this recent Ohio House talk, I had to stop by for lunch. I had the liver & onions. It was enjoyable even if it was a little well-done for my taste. And corn is definitely in season at the Ohio House!