(First published Jan. 8, 2010) Ron Kaplan, food guru lead us up the coast of the North Shore in search of ethnic food. Today we Go West and ironically find food from the east.
Spicy Pollak Roe Soup. A good way to keep warm!
Cho Jung, 952 N Harlem Ave, Glenview (847) 724-1111
Korean BBQ has gone from exotic to mainstream in a relatively short period of time and as the Korean population continues to grow in the suburbs, the breadth of their cuisine will reflect it.
Sure, BBQ’s a great choice for a larger group. It’s communal, interactive and almost always cooked by the diners themselves at the table, which is fun. But there are other worthy facets of Korean cuisine and many of them can be found at Cho Jung in Glenview. Here, while BBQ-style dishes are offered, they’re definitely not the highlight.
Panchan, The seoul (sic) of a Korean restaurant. (blame Ron for that pun!)
Before the meal, as is the custom at many Korean restaurants, a wide variety of pickles, vegetables and salads are brought to the table. These are collectively known as panchan and they are stellar at Cho Jung. House-made kimchi (fermented, pickled cabbage), fish cake and pickled daikon are just a few that are normally in the rotation.
Soups and stews are among Cho Jung’s specialties and they are also truly delectable. The spicy codfish soup is a perfectly delicious warm-up on a cold winter’s night. Spicy tofu stew (soon dubu jigae) is rich and deeply flavorful; one of the best in all of Chicagoland. The spicy pollack fish roe stew is fiery, and soul-warming.
Another great offering at Cho Jung is the dolsot bibimbop, which is a rice-based dish topped with cooked vegetables and a sunnyside-up fried egg. The dish, which is served in an oven-hot stoneware bowl, continues to cook at the table after it’s served. Savvy diners know to let it sit for a while before mixing it all together because after a few minutes, a delectable golden brown crust forms at the bottom of the bowl. I’ve actually seen diners fight over this crust.
Don't let the sign fool you! Cho Jung is real deal Korean.
Cho Jung offers a terrific seafood pancake, know as pajeon, which is one of the lightest, crispiest incarnations I’ve ever had. They also serve terrific dumplings, both fried and steamed, known as mandu. Cho Jung is located in the back corner of strip mall and its sign says ‘Oriental Cuisine’ but don’t worry about lousy pan-Asian cuisine, this is pure Korean food at its finest.
Chaihanna, 19 E Dundee Rd, Buffalo Grove (847) 215-5044
Arguably the best Uzbeki restaurant in Chicagoland and also the only one, as far as I know. Here, while the cuisine is similar to Russian, it definitely
Pickled watermelon, "almost fizzy on the palate."
has an identity of its own. Meals typically start with warm bread and pickles, but not just any pickles – pickled watermelon is a specialty here and it’s a fermented pickle that’s almost fizzy on the palate. More traditional pickled vegetables – cabbage, tomatoes, carrots, garlic and cucumbers – are also served and they’re mighty fine, too.
Other appetizers include a cold, smoky salmon and cream cheese roll, a spicy salad of shredded carrots, and garlic-eggplant, a dish which features thinly-sliced planks of cooked eggplant topped with sweet, pungent garlic. Achichuk, a salad of cucumbers, tomatoes and onions, is offered in 2 forms: one dressed with oil, the other with sour cream. Another notable starter is the tender and delicious manti (dumplings), which typically come filled with either beef or squash.
Entrée-wise, the offerings are a bit more limited but no less substantial. My favorite is the
Chicken Tabaka
chicken tabaka, which is a bone-in half chicken, that’s pressed while it cooks to promote even doneness and maximize the skin’s crispiness. Loads of aromatic garlic top this terrific dish.
Grilled lamb chops are juicy and cooked to perfection. Fall-off-the-bone braised rabbit with toothsome bulgur wheat is also a real treat. A variety of grilled kebabs are also offered but they can sometimes lean toward the dry side. Don’t skip the beef pilaf, an excellent rice, meat and vegetable side dish that goes well with all the entrées.
Desserts are also well-made and delicious. My favorite is the chak chak, crispy fried noodles that are drizzled with honey. Tea bread (think rugelah) and hazelnut balls, spherical cookies filled with hazelnut paste, represent the pastry side quite well.
India House, 228 McHenry Road, Buffalo Grove (847) 520-5569
Just as I believed that Chicago’s best Greek food could only be found in Greektown, I have long felt that Devon Avenue was the only place to get Chicago’s worthwhile Indian food. 
However, India House in Buffalo Grove is changing my mind. At lunch, as is often the case at Indian restaurants, a expansive buffet of diverse dishes is offered. At around $15 per person, this is a great value. The dishes are delicious and well-prepared, and the buffet is maintained diligently. The vegetarian dishes, which are substantial in their own right, generally outnumber the meat dishes by about two to one. Offerings normally include juicy tandoori chicken, herbaceous and hearty lentil soup, slow-cooked spinach with chunks of mild cheese (saag paneer) and a stewed dal (lentil) dish.
Rich vegetarian dishes incorporating green peas, lentils, cauliflower and chickpeas are often part of the buffet, as well. A couple of intensely-flavored stewed meat dishes, like lamb korma and chicken makhani are also typically part of the buffet. The spice level on the buffet isn’t dialed back too much but in most instances, it is suitable for those with a lower tolerance.
Another nice touch at lunch is that freshly baked, piping hot naan, a flatbread baked in the tandoor oven, is served at each table. Gilding the lily just a little bit, it’s drizzled with clarified butter (ghee). A couple of desserts like gulab jamun (warm donut balls in sweet, rose-water syrup) and mango ice cream (kulfi) are normally available.
Dinner at India House isn’t quite the bargain that lunch is, even though it’s still a very good buy, 
with most entrees ranging between $11 and $16. Of course, one has to be a bit more selective at dinner (unlike at lunch, trying 20 items at dinner could set you back a bit) but the portions are generous and the kitchen seems more than happy to amp up or dial down the spice level. Some of India House’s most tempting items – spicy vindaloo preparations, a variety of excellent tandoori breads and some fish and seafood dishes, to name just a few – aren’t typically found on the lunch buffet, so dinner is a great time to try them.
Ron Kaplan is a moderator and Director of Media Relations at LTHForum.com, Chicagoland’s culinary-based chat site, where he posts under the handle of ronnie_suburban. When he’s not writing about food at LTHForum or cooking, he works in the food industry, selling specialty ingredients.
