Moving to our house was wonderful. It was a definite upgrade: a Viking kitchen, beautiful woodwork, a fireplace, a garage and so on. It's beautiful and perfect for us and we absolutely love it. However, the location was a certain downgrade. Cudahy. Coo-dah-haaay. Where every bar is a smoky dive and the imaginary needle drops when a brown person walks through their doors.
Be that as it may, Cudahy seems to have a decent selection of good restaurants and one of them is Ilija's Place.
A family-run establishment, Ilija manages, his wife cooks, one of his sons serves and bartends.
The atmosphere may be a bit kitschy, but it is a nice escape from the nearby mullet-festooned watering holes.
Upon being seated at our table, soft bread, cream cheese and a red pepper tapenade-like spread called ajvar were ready for consumption. On our first visit, we ordered the veal sweetbreads appetizer. It was absolutely delicious! It was our first time having sweetbreads and I was surprised with how savory it is. A little lemon juice before eating and the flavors just burst in my mouth. It reminded me of seared foie gras.
Ben ordered the lamb shank and I, the raznici, which are grilled cubes of marinated veal. Each dish had potatoes and vegetables. The lamb shank was so wonderfully savory. The potatoes accompanying it were so flavorful. The raznici was bold and juicy. I don't know what the constituents of the marinade were, but I have never had grilled veal with that much flavor. Suffice it to say, we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We found ourselves talking to the couple seated next to our table, a Polish woman and German man. I should say that the atmosphere at Ilija's Place is genial.
On our second visit, we ordered the sweetbreads yet again. It was even better this time around. Ben had the venison goulash. It was very good. Tender chunks of venison piled high atop noodles. A definite must during those cold Wisconsin evenings. I ordered the chevapcici. They're logs of grilled ground meat (lamb, pork and beef). It's the eastern European Kifta. Yet again, it was full of savory flavor.
Ilija told us to come back this Saturday - he's making a special tripe soup with me in mind. They are also roasting a pig on a spit. I can't wait!
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