Eggplant Craving!

My significant other is nearing a milestone birthday (40), and I was hoping to take her to a Chicago restaurant which treats eggplant with reverence. Her current favorite eggplant dish can be found at Ed's Potsticker House, which is my default choice. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Laoch wrote:Her current favorite eggplant dish can be found at Ed's Potsticker House, which is my default choice. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Laoch,

Ed's Fish Fragrant Eggplant, aka Garlic Eggplant, immediately sprang to mind, though I see we are already on the same page.


I'm sure you'll get recommendations for eggplant parmesan, eggplant lasagna, baba ganoush, Greek style with tomato sauce and cheese, etc, but Ed's is hard to beat.

Barbara Tropp, in her China Moon Cookbook, has a killer eggplant dip, Strange Flavored Eggplant. The eggplant is roasted, mixed with garlic, ginger, sesame oil, other spices and aromatics and served with garlic croutons. If your significant other likes Ed's Fish Fragrant Eggplant, she will love Tropp's Strange Flavored Eggplant.

Feel free to email me for the recipe or, better yet, buy China Moon Cookbook from New Books Cheap for 40-50% less than retail.

Enjoy,
Gary
gwiv@lthforum.com

Thank you for the suggestion Gary. I have ordered the cookbook and look forward to getting my hands dirty trying to make my own.

I am always drawn to eggplant dishes. There's something about the delicate flavor of a fresh eggplant that manages to hold on while it absorbs the other flavors of the dish.

I have a couple suggestions that have been on my mind recently.

Any of the Chinese eggplant dishes are Lao Sze Chuan are magnificent There are about 8-10, so you could have a diverse eggplant feast. They come spicy, mild, stewed, fried, with dried shrimp, with minced pork. I particularly like the simple preparations like Eggplant in Garlic Sauce or Eggplant Peking Style.

Lao Sze Chuan Restaurant
2172 S. Archer Ave., Chicago
(312) 326-5040.

Also, I recently posted about Cafe Suron here: http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=1714

They have an eggplant-heavy menu, and the Kashke-Bademjan is a wonderful alternative to a standard Baba Ganouj.

Best,
EC

HI,

I once inquired at Ed's about how they got the eggplant to be the wonderfully contrasting crunchy exterior and soft interior. They roll the eggplant in corn starch, then fry it. Just in case you want to try something similar at home.

For years, I have made Szechuan Eggplant at home. The first time I ever made it, it called for 1-4 tablespoons of chili-garlic paste. I put in the full 4 tablespoons rendering it inedible as far as I was concerned. Yet I have a friend whose children cheerfully apply thick quantities of chili-garlic sauce on their bread as a snack.

So far the focus seems to be Chinese restaurants, though Italian, Greek and Middle Eastern restaurants have a tradition of eggplant dishes as well. No place jumps to mind at the moment, but maybe someone else will chime in.

here are a couple other eggplant choices. i really like the version of bhartha they do at sonargaon the bangladeshi place on devon, very nice smoke flavor closer to baba ganoush then more traditional tomatoey versions of bhartha. I also like a number of eggplant dishes at turkish cuisine.

btw, there's also a strange flavor eggplant recipe in dunlop's book.

regarding Cafe Suron: as I mentioned on Chowhound a while back, the room is a little nicer than youd expect, the food a little less expensive than you'd expect and pretty tasty, though for my money Noon-O kabab (the last time I went, which was a while ago) was little tastier.

I liked the idea of the fessenjan and the suce quite a bit, but found the breast strips dissapointingly devoid of much flavor. I wonder if boneless chicken breast is really tradtional in the dish, which seems almost like a persian mole.

Believe it or not, I think Buca di Beppo does a really tasty eggplant parmigiana. I like crispier eggplant slices and fresher tasting "whole canned tomatoes" sauces (as opposed to the pureed stuff), and their's fits the bill. They slice the eggplants really thin, and I think bread them w/ something closer to panko than regular bread crumbs.

Huge portions too.


Buca di Beppo
521 North Rush Street
Chicago IL 60611
312.396.0001
(and other locations)
http://www.bucadibeppo.com

Thanks to all who replied. I will post an eggplant extra detailing our meal in all its' grandeur once my superior other chooses among the places.

The #19V (Pad Eggplant) at Luc Thang on Ashland just south of North Ave. is one of my all-time favorite eggplant dishes. Garlic, tofu, fermented black beans, basil....

Luc Thang is not a fancy place, but solid value for the thai dishes. I like the shrimp tod mun, and the stick cucumber salad has got to be one of the best bargains in town.

I have heard that Bhabi's Kitchen does a fabulous eggplant dish. Not quite sure what it is, but I'm sure that one of the regulars here can provide details. Also heard that Club Lago does a mean eggplant parmigiana.


Bhabi's Kitchen
6352 N. Oakley
773-764-7007

Club Lago
331 W. Superior
312-951-2849

Bhabi's special eggplant is unbelievable, however it is the gravy that is spectacular. There are 3-4 baby eggplant floating in it. The owner said chefs (notably from Bistro Zinc) come in twice a week and order it, trying to find out what is in it. Apparently he always tells them that there is some onion in it. chuckle, chuckle.

Abraus wrote:The owner said chefs (notably from Bistro Zinc) come in twice a week and order it, trying to find out what is in it. Apparently he always tells them that there is some onion in it.

I get this dish quite often at Bhabi's, and yes, it's more about the sauce than it is about the eggplants. The first time I ordered it Mr. Syed listed the ingredients for me. There must have been about a dozen ingredients which he said cook together for hours. I remember cashews being a major contributor. It's a thick, rich, nutty sauce with one of the most powerful flavors I've ever experienced. The first time, I think I described it to my more timid tablemates as "blow the back of your head off"-sauce.

Eggplant doesn't have to be garlicked or red sauced to death to be tasty. I grew up with excellent, lightly fried eggplant at home and at the cafeteria while at Indiana University in Bloomington. Strips (steak fry size) or not-too-thick thick round slices of fresh eggplant were dipped in beaten egg, then coated lightly (dipped in) with bread crumbs, quickly fried in a skillet of hot oil (olive is good), seasoned with salt and pepper, and et.

Hi,

I have had the eggplant dish at Bhabi's also. However, we did not order it for "blow the back of your head off" level of heat. It was more medium level, which by Indian standards was just a bit above sweet I would guess. Totally agree it is a very succulent dish.

We went mid-Summer with reviews printed from the board. When the owner realized we were seriously interested in diving into the menu. He help choose all our food, which initially seemed like lots of leftovers would be in our future. We liked it so much, we just gobbled up everything. The people at the next table came earlier, ordered their meal on their own and came out with a completely different mix. They were openly checking out the treasures being dropped on our table wishing they had used the owner's advice.

The owner said the 'Check Please' people want to review his restaurant. He is absolutely not interested because his space is small. His only cooks are his wife and another woman, whom he doesn't want to kill with over work.

If and when you dine there, the best thing to do is eat, enjoy your meal, then find someplace else to linger. He really has a small space and lingering guests just cut into his income. Remember, we want places like this to survive and thrive.

Hear are my 3 cents

1) The Madhur Jaffrey books, eastern vegetarian or World vegetarian, have wonderful collections of recipes from around the world for using Aubergine.

2) I second the Lao Szechuan in Chinatown. I especially liked one dish which was sliced in crisscross pattern and grilled. I think the dish was called Chonquing style eggplant. AWESOME. I too asked how they get the eggplant so crispy for the Szechuan Eggplant, and was told to deep fry the eggplant pieces before wok braising them.

3) For me, the best eggplant dish is one from Hyderabad called Baghara baingan. You can find a recipe in The Madhur Jaffrey Eastern vegetarian cookbook. It is made with a combination of Sesame seeds, tamarind and unrefined Indian Sugar, that I think is an Indian variation on the Spicy, Sour, Salty and Sweet of SE Asia. Serve this with Pooris and your SO will do what the Imam did in Persia; Faint.

Hyderabad called Baghara baingan. You can find a recipe in The Madhur Jaffrey Eastern vegetarian cookbook. It is made with a combination of Sesame seeds, tamarind and unrefined Indian Sugar, that I think is an Indian variation on the Spicy, Sour, Salty and Sweet of SE Asia. Serve this with Pooris and your SO will do what the Imam did in Persia; Faint.

Now, that is an enthusiastic recommendation. I was at Hyderabad recently for the first time with Gary, their menu that day was:



I don't see the Baghara baingan, do you know how frequently it is available? What you describe sounds absolutely divine. I couldn't wait for the answer, so I phoned. IT is a special order dish, not one on the menu. They said if they have an order for 5-7 plates, then then will make it. They also make a variation of this dish with banana peppers, but it is the eggplant which excites me.

If indeed they insist on this special order, us eggplant lovers could all meet up?

Hyderabad House
2225 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
773-381-1230

Hi,

It has been pointed out to me I may have misread your post. When you referred to this dish and Hyberbad, it was referring to the city and not the restaurant. Well, at least when I goof it is on the positive side: I found a place willing to make the dish who comes from Hyberbad!

I guess I want to faint at the taste, too!

G Wiv wrote:Barbara Tropp, in her China Moon Cookbook, has a killer eggplant dip, Strange Flavored Eggplant.

Made a batch of Tropp's Strange Flavored Eggplant yesterday, first time in 7-8 months. Just as good, if not better, than I remember. Highly recommended for lovers of eggplant.

Note to Zim, which Dunlop book is the Strange Flavored Eggplant dish? I have Land of Plenty, there's a Fish-Fragrant Eggplants, but no Strange Flavored.

Enjoy,
Gary

Turks do some good things with eggplant. Cafe Demir has a nice eggplant salad with some chopped up walnuts in it - very tasty with bread. It is the patlican salatasi on the meze list. I haven't tried their imam bayildi (literally, the imam fainted, presumably because the eggplant was so good or the use of olive oil was so luxurious) at Demir, but I would bet it would be good (if it is on the menu - can't remember). Also, Topkapi has a pretty good dish of meatballs in an eggplant puree (called hunkar begendi). It is very rich b/c there is cream and cheese in the puree. Sounds strange, but it is actually very tasty.

Cafe Demir
2964 N. Lincoln Ave.
773-755-6721

Topkapi
2544 W. Peterson Ave.
773-274-9970

I agree with Reffy that Turks are good with egplant, and I like Topkapi a lot. But I think even better is Turkish Cuisine at Clark and Bryn Mawr.

You can find their menu and other info here:

http://www.turkishcuisine.net/

Although, be forewarned, the site plays Turkish music constantly, which I find pretty annoying.

I second NR - Turkish Cuisine & Bakery is good. It is a wee cramped inside. But, my overall favorite for Turkish is Demir. That said, Turkish cuisine is supposed to be famous for 1,000 different ways to prepare eggplant. So, any good Turkish place will likely have several good eggplant dishes. Another good dish to try (excellent at Demir) is guvec. This is a mixed vegetable (and meat if you like) baked casserole type dish which may also have eggplant in it. Very good with cold weather, hot out of the oven.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

It has been pointed out to me I may have misread your post. When you referred to this dish and Hyberbad, it was referring to the city and not the restaurant. Well, at least when I goof it is on the positive side: I found a place willing to make the dish who comes from Hyberbad!

I guess I want to faint at the taste, too!

Sorry about being late on this post - had sort of skipped this thread (not being
a major eggplant guy). Found it entirely by chance (the motto for LTH this
week was interesting, did a search, and it led me to this thread - strange how
things work

Anyway. Couple points - not sure theyve been made in this regard yet.
Cathy - I havent eaten at Bhabi's yet (and wouldnt have tried this dish
if I had anyway, probably)... but I do have their menu. And it says
"Bhabi's Special Bhagaray Baingan" (for 6.99 BTW, "eggplant cooked with
secret spices"). Thus, it is likely that the "special eggplant dish at Bhabi's" that
you had *is* the very same dish mentioned above that youre looking for?

Secondly - the original "Imam fainting" is the Imam Balyadi. That is actually
available at the new "La Baraka" in Skokie (Dempster and Skokie Blvd,
where the old Skokie Club used to be, we had a thread on it a short while
ago). Ive never been, but thats another menu I have on me, and had
mentioned this on here once before

Thirdly - "Bhagara" food in general. With eggplant (ie Bhagara Baingan)
it might be a little different, I dont know much about that stuff, cooked with
lots of varied spices and stuffed etc I suppose. But there is a sort of
category of food, "Bhagara" food - ie you can have Bhagara daal (the
lentil stuff you can find everywhere on Devon, ie in Daal Fry etc), you
can have Bhagara Mirchi (ie peppers), Bhagare chawal (ie rice) and
so on. I have been told (but dont have first-hand experience) that
Daata Durbar does a good Bhagara food buffet on Friday afternoons
(with a heavy Hyderabadi cabbie crowd, congregating there after
Friday community prayers at about 1:30pm or so). I will check the next time Iam
there if they do Bhagare Baingan as well as part of that buffet - if they
do, even if going for the actual buffet might not be great/possible, they
might well have some that could be picked up later. Again, will try and
check to see if they do make it as part of that buffet.

BTW, other than for eggplant (of which Iam uncertain), the other Bhagara
food is rich, oily, savoury stuff. Basically, I think what they do (again,
not sure, but I think this is what happens)... like a Daal. You cook a good
daal, and then you want to make it better, add to it, you "bagar" it. That
is, separately you heat up oil, and in hot oil sort of fry spices, chillis,
mustard-seeds, maybe onions and all sorts of stuff. Really hot oil - so
that the mustard-seeds apparently start to "pop". And then you add that
stuff into the Daal - and its now Bagara Daal, with a bunch of additional
flavours and new and improved (and, of course, obviously very oily).
I think they may well do similar stuff for the other bagara food as well -
the rice, the meat etc.

Anyway. Late on this thread, so not sure its much use - but will try and
look into the possibility of this dish at Daata Durbar (if they make it, you
wouldnt have to get Hyderabad House to make it specially for you guys
in a large order, maybe).


c8w

c8w wrote:Anyway. Couple points - not sure theyve been made in this regard yet.
Cathy - I havent eaten at Bhabi's yet (and wouldnt have tried this dish
if I had anyway, probably)... but I do have their menu. And it says
"Bhabi's Special Bhagaray Baingan" (for 6.99 BTW, "eggplant cooked with
secret spices"). Thus, it is likely that the "special eggplant dish at Bhabi's" that you had *is* the very same dish mentioned above that youre looking for?

I had the feeling what we had at Bhabi's was this very dish. Thank you for confirming it. I also posted a recipe I found on the shopping and cooking board for this dish. Missing from the original posters description is the raw sugar. I never did find any variant of the recipe with raw sugar, so maybe he is aware of version not commonly executed.

Whatever you do learn about this dish will interest me.

Regards,

bet eggplant sandwich is Bombacigno's J&C restaurant right behind lou mitchells about 550 west van buren in loop.

Claudia soaks the eggplant overnight and it is baked, carmelized and served with wonderful J&C "red gravy"

Also, pardon a kwik rant. i really hate it when someone says "i heard."
if you do that at least describe the source.
was it a stoopid lls "review of anohter restaurant she'd obviously never been to, or was it a cabbie on a cold night steering you to one of his favorite indopac places.

thanks, sorry
btw, club lago used to be one of my favorite's but is now horrible.

Re Bhagara Baingan at Bhabi's: This is one of the fews dishes I've eaten from Bhabi's (they always seem to be out of the sarsoon ki saag/rapini folks rave about) Like pretty much everything I have had there it's ok, not great, not bad. I much prefer the bhagara baingan at Sizzle when it's on there menu, there's is slightly different (no tomatoes) I also like the bhagara baingan at C8w's goan spot Chutney Janet, though you do not normally associate that dish with goans, rather hyderabad and andhra.

Re: Imam Beyaldi - C8w, you mentioned la baraka- other than the imam beyaldio how was the other stuff? I think my favorite imam beyaldi is served as topkapi on peterson, which I like slightly better than the version at turkish cuisine.

Gary, re the strange flavor eggplant, the strange flavor sauce is given for chicken (as it is only spooned on top of chicken, it is very adaptable to other main ingredients) on page 145. I generally quick saute my eggplants till just tender and then add the sauce.

I had a business meeting in the area, this noon, so I decided to make a quick visit to La Baraka, on Skokie Blvd. While I was greatly underwhelmed by the torshi plate, the shorbat adas, and the shish tavouk sandwich, the baba ghanoush was--by far--the best version that I have had, hereabouts. The texture, the taste, the oil, the presentation--it was brilliant.

I will be sure to return, soon, to give the menu greater consideration.


baba ghanoush


shorbat adas


torshi plate (background), and the shish tavouk sandwich.


d-i-s-c-o are the first five letters of "discombobulate"


La Baraka
"Restaurant Libanais"
8820 Skokie Blvd.
Skokie, IL 60076

Regards,
Erik M.

The blue cast in the photo of the baba ganoush made it look rather unappetizing; here's it cleaned up a bit.

ebohlman wrote:The blue cast in the photo of the baba ganoush made it look rather unappetizing; here's it cleaned up a bit.

I dissagree. This one looks too washed out IMO. I like Erik's shot.

Personally, I am no more enamoured with your "cleaned up" image. It looks rinsed out. I would appreciate some guidance, though. I use an HP 5.1, model #R707. I have noticed that the camera goes into a sort of "default" setting whereby a bluish cast is lent to the images. It is generally the first shots in a series that look natural, and not blue.

These pictures were taken seconds apart, in the order shown, with no adjustment to the settings. Can you explain it?


The yogurt salad at Kabul House

aushak, or scallion-filled dumplings, at Kabul House

Regards,
Erik M.

I brought down the gamma on my "cleaned-up" photo and reuploaded. It should look less washed-out now.

It looks to me like your camera is trying to do its own color balancing, but the algorithm is probably calibrated for pictures of people, not of things people eat. It's probably trying to optimize "flesh tones" just like 1960s color TVs did.

Basically the problem with the dumpling picture is that there's no red in the highlights. I suspect your camera was reacting to the orangish oil and "decided" that it was looking at a (white) person in poor lighting and tried to keep "him" from looking jaundiced by turning down the red and bringing up the blue.

Is this more realistic?

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