Hi,

You may want to begin by looking upthread. Your query was merged into an existing sweetbread topic.

Regards,

happyeater wrote:I'm looking for a good restaurant in Chicago (downtown or north side) with sweetbreads on the menu. I've been to La Sardine which had a great sweetbread entree but I want to branch out. I've checked a number of menus for French restaurants -- Bistro 110, La Tache, La Bouchon, Cote de Rhine, Mon Ami Gabi. I haven't found another thymus gland option yet.

Any ideas?

Blackbird easily has some of the best sweetbreads I've ever had.

Last night sweet breads and tripe were a special at the Old Town Brasserie at 1209 N. Wells. Roland Liccioni is in the kitchen and this dish was truly amazing. A very crispy sweetbread and a nice portion of perfectly braised tripe. The rest of the menu was also good. The place was pretty packed for a Monday so I would recommend a reservation.

happyeater wrote:I'm looking for a good restaurant in Chicago (downtown or north side) with sweetbreads on the menu. I've been to La Sardine which had a great sweetbread entree but I want to branch out. I've checked a number of menus for French restaurants -- Bistro 110, La Tache, La Bouchon, Cote de Rhine, Mon Ami Gabi. I haven't found another thymus gland option yet.

Any ideas?

Blackbird usually has them. (EDIT - Oops, I see that was already mentioned above; I thought I had read to the end of the topic, but I guess I didn't notice there was a page 2, sorry.)

Cafe Matou, in Wicker Park, has them on the menu on their website, but didn't have them when I had dinner there in April.

The best sweetbreads I've ever had were at Schwa. And we all know the tragedy in that fact.

That being said, though, what they did differently -- and what other restaurants may still do -- is seperate the nodules of the organ so that we didn't get a plate of a large organ cut into pieces, but lots of little bites. The chef (Blake, I think) told us that the membrane that holds it all together can take away from the flavour, and they preferred to remove it. If you can find a restaurant that does something similar, give it a try.

The sweetbreads preparation I had at Custom House was to die for. I don't remember all the details, since its been a while, but I certainly remember loving them. Here is how their menu described them now:

SWEETBREADS
GLAZED BACON/WHITE POLENTA/BUTTONMUSHROOMS

danimalarkey wrote:The best sweetbreads I've ever had were at Schwa. And we all know the tragedy in that fact.

That being said, though, what they did differently -- and what other restaurants may still do -- is seperate the nodules of the organ so that we didn't get a plate of a large organ cut into pieces, but lots of little bites. The chef (Blake, I think) told us that the membrane that holds it all together can take away from the flavour, and they preferred to remove it. If you can find a restaurant that does something similar, give it a try.

Yes! I loved those little crispy nuggets. One Schwa rendition included warm, pickled rhubarb, arugula sprouts and Humboldt Fog cheese. Wow! That was a showstopper!

I have it on very good authority that Alinea has recently added a sweetbread dish to their menu and I'm looking forward to trying it.

=R=

Tango Sur has them on the mixed grill, very simply prepared with an excellent sear. You can have them straight up or drizzle with chimichurri (as with everything else).

I really like the simple grilled sweetbreads which are a regular offering at el Nandu, a nice Argentinian restaurant at 2731 Fullerton.

Great everything and they have a sweetbread appetizer as well as main course. Very nice atmosphere and a lot of bang for your buck. By the way their fries are fantastic.

drshoebocks wrote:Great everything and they have a sweetbread appetizer as well as main course. Very nice atmosphere and a lot of bang for your buck. By the way their fries are fantastic.

Welcome to LTH forum!

I agree on all counts. I often get the appetizer sweetbreads and one of the steaks with fries as an entree. I'm not crazy about the Milanesa, and usually prefer the broiled dishes. Both the fries and mashed potatoes are excellent.Chimmichuri is outstanding. A nice touch is the house guitarist who features of all things, solo guitar renditions of sixties movie music which actually makes for very pleasant dinner music?!

Nandu hasn't had much attention here, and probably deserves a bit more recognition.

Last night I ate at one sixtyblue. As a hot appetizer, they are currently serving "crispy veal sweetbread with glazed chestnut / pancetta / vanilla bean / button mushroom / truffle vinaigrette". It was excellent. Heck, everything there was superb. I LOVED the sunchoke veloute with duck confit, and the banana-mascarpone canneloni for dessert was incredible. For casual fine dining, one sixtyblue is as good as any place in the entire Chicago area.

Okay, so am I the only person who loves sweetbreads so much that I often order a double portion as an entree?

I want to thank deesher for the Old Town Brasserie heads up. That's where I ended up going last night for my sweetbreads fix. It's only offered on Monday nights in a dish that also includes tripe and lamb en croquette -- or as the chef prepared them to indulge my sweetbread fetish, all sweetbreads with a little bit of tripe. They were great.

La Sardine, I'm sad to say, no longer serves sweetbreads. Unlike one reviewer, I enjoyed them the night I had them but sweetbreads have been replaced with veal kidneys. Cafe Matou is also sweetbread-free. I have had the sweetbreads at Blackbird and loved them too. Just sad that they were an appetizer portion. I plan on trying the sweetbreads at el Nandu soon.

Thanks for the suggestions. Now all I need is a good butcher suggestion to prepare my own thymus glands. Anyone have a favorite recipe or variety meats butcher?

happyeater wrote:La Sardine, I'm sad to say, no longer serves sweetbreads. Unlike one reviewer, I enjoyed them the night I had them but sweetbreads have been replaced with veal kidneys.

I had sweetbreads at La Sardine within the last month. It's possible it was a special, though.

They were excellent.

Had them at North Pond last fall, though not sure if they are regularly on the menu.

HB wrote:Had them at North Pond last fall, though not sure if they are regularly on the menu.

I ate at North Pond two weeks ago, and they were not on the menu.

Sweetbreads are becoming very popular. It seems like a lot of restaurants tend to add the same dish to their menu at the same time. Last year, the trendy places were all suddenly serving braised short ribs. This year, sweetbreads is one of two things I've noticed popping up everywhere. (Pork belly is the other.)

Just within the past couple of weeks, I've seen mentions of sweetbreads being served at all the following places (some of which are newly opened):

Quince
Custom House
Boka
Takashi
Aigre Doux

nsxtasy wrote:

SCUBAchef wrote:

Christopher Gordon wrote:L'Explorateur in Indianapolis

Another fine rendition in Indy
can be found at 14 West - Downtown
(probably the strongest dish on the menu)

Panned Veal Sweetbreads -
crimini mushrooms, fennel salad,
marsala sauce

Funny; just a few months ago, I had the sweetbreads at both these places, just a few nights apart (L'Ex on my way through Indy outbound, 14 West on my return). I preferred the sweetbreads at 14 West; they were simply awesome, one of the best sweetbread preparations I've ever had. And the rest of the menu (at least, the other dishes I tried) was equally impressive. The food at L'Explorateur may be a bit more creative, but I thought it was more delicious at 14 West.

14 West website
L'Explorateur website

According to an Indianapolis-based food website, sweetbreads recently came off the menu at 14 West, when the chef left and the sous-chef was promoted.

A couple of nights ago, I ate at Custom House, and had the sweetbreads appetizer ("veal sweetbreads with glazed bacon over white polenta with black trumpet mushrooms"). They were outstanding. (So was my main course, "bone in short rib with horseradish cream puffs" - I think the shell of the side "cream puffs" was made of potato, rather than the typical pate a choux pastry.)

Mhays wrote:Bargain grilled sweetbreads can also be had at Jesse's Mexican Grill.

Sweetbreads are no longer on the regular menu at Jesse's. They're on the menu version on grubhub, but we ate there this evening and they didn't have them, either on the menu or by request. (Everything we had was very good, though!)

nsxtasy wrote:Just within the past couple of weeks, I've seen mentions of sweetbreads being served at all the following places (some of which are newly opened):

Quince
Custom House
Boka
Takashi
Aigre Doux

Sweetbreads are no longer on the regular menu at Takashi, either, as we found out last night. They mentioned they had removed a few of the heartier dishes (also short ribs) from the menu as they changed to a spring/summer menu.

If the presence of sweetbreads on the menu affects your decision on whether or not to go to a particular restaurant, it's probably a good idea to call ahead and ask.

The best sweatbreads, I've tasted as of yet, were at Alinea. I really liked the contrast of textures, crisp on the outside and the creamy on the inside.

kuhdo wrote:I really like the simple grilled sweetbreads which are a regular offering at el Nandu, a nice Argentinian restaurant at 2731 Fullerton.

I'll go on the record as saying the sweetbreads at El Nandu are more than just nice, they are among the best I've had anywhere, and that includes on our recent trip to Argentina and Uruguay. These sweetbreads tend toward the mild end of the funkiness spectrum, which is the end of that spectrum I prefer. Perfectly grilled; I'd like to see what's going on in the kitchen (one of the more fun aspects of the real parrilla experience is watching them put the heat on your meat). I also liked the addition of lemon juice, which might sound insignificant but is a remarkable flavor enhancer for this dish.

el taco wrote:i had my first sweetbread experience at blackbird, where they were an appetizer. two friends and i shared some apps with a bottle of wine and the sweetbreads were a revelation. i was fortunate enough to have them again there as the beginning of a dinner; again, i loved the dish.

jim

I just had the sweetbread appetizer at Blackbird two weeks ago and they were a similar revelation. I never imagined organ meats to be as meaty, or delicate as what I had experienced. Although, this might pollute the experience, I mightily wish for sweetbreads in an easily accessible popcorn chicken-like container, so that I may enjoy them more often.

If anyone is interested in sourcing sweetbreads retail, call George at August grocery. I supply him as well as many of the restaurants mentioned above. Note- There are sweetbreads and sweetbread hearts. Two different glands, the hearts are more expensive but easier to trim and clean.

Dave

jdymeats wrote:If anyone is interested in sourcing sweetbreads retail, call George at August grocery. I supply him as well as many of the restaurants mentioned above. Note- There are sweetbreads and sweetbread hearts. Two different glands, the hearts are more expensive but easier to trim and clean.

Dave

I live less than two blocks away from August and I love that guy! George had been supplying me with ridiculous figs for weeks and now I find that he has sweetbreads too? Magical!

I have to second Blackbird and mention Les Nomades as well. Both were outstanding.

Tonight we ate at the consistently-excellent Chef's Station in Evanston, and I was delighted to find sweetbreads as a new appetizer on their regular menu. They are breaded and served over mushroom pierogis and they are just wonderful. (Those who are also fans of foie gras may have a tough time deciding between the two, though you can always do what I did, and order a double portion of the sweetbreads as a main course.)

They've on the appetizer menu at MK. Here's the entry:

sautéed veal sweetbreads, trumpet royale mushrooms, swiss chard, smoked bacon-green apple vinaigrette $15.00

They're a bud-buster.

Crispy, caramelized (with sugar) veal sweetbreads were part of the dessert last night at schwa, paired with parsnip custard, lavender foam, and a great passionfruit puree. Fantastic.

gleam wrote:Crispy, caramelized (with sugar) veal sweetbreads were part of the dessert last night at schwa, paired with parsnip custard, lavender foam, and a great passionfruit puree. Fantastic.

I think I remember these from Schwa before its hiatus -- I'm glad Carlson brought them back!

I still stand behind the sweetbreads at Lula's. I don't see them listed on the online menu, but they're worth seeking out when they make another appearance.