The Five Spot: Your Daily Take Out and Delivery Recs
I’ve been getting lots of questions on where to get take out and delivery during the pandemic. As a result, I will be putting out five new recs daily. I’m happy to go beyond Chicago too. I eat out all over the country for my day job and can hook you up with some good ideas no matter where you are. Today’s recs are all in Chicago. Email me: mike@michaelnagrant.com and tell me what neighborhoods you want me to cover for future versions of this feature. Remember, all proceeds for this newsletter go to Chicago hospitality folks in need. Consider converting your free subscription to a paid one if you like this feature, because these recs will start going to paid subscribers only in the next few weeks.
Greater Grand Crossing, Chatham, Auburn Gresham
Haire’s Gulf Shrimp
This is the best fried shrimp in Chicago. And yes, I have eaten almost every fried shrimp offered in Chicago. Open until 9 PM.
Lincoln Square & Irving Park
Isla Pilipina - I already wrote about these guys earlier this week, but what you should know is that this is the last weekend before they close on March 30th to move to a new downtown location. You want the lumpia Shanghai, tocino, loganisa, garlic rice, fried eggs, crispy pata and pancit noodles.
Logan Square, Ukrainian Village, Humboldt Park, Wicker Park, Bucktown, Avondale
Paulie Gee’s Logan Square
If you don’t know, I’m from Detroit, which means I love Detroit-style square pizza - Paulie Gee’s makes the best in Chicago. Their Neapolitan wood-fired pizza is also top notch. Owner Derrick Tung is a great dude, and I’m featuring an interview and a profile on him next week in this newsletter.
https://pauliegee.com/logan-square/Wrigleyville & Wicker Park
Lola’s Coney Island
Speaking of Detroit, if you’ve never had one of their coney dogs, aka the best chili dog in existence, you need that, plus Better Made BBQ chips, a Vernor’s ginger ale, and a slice of Sander’s fudgy, creamy, chocolate bumpy cake.
https://www.lolasconeyisland.com/delivery
Dimo’s Pizza
Dimo’s is a favorite in the Nagrant household. People freaked out that Bonci came here from Italy last year, but Dimo’s has been in the neighborhood for years and they have a similar cracklin’ crust. The only difference is Dimo’s cuts their pies in triangles and doesn’t sell by the pound. The mac and cheese pie should not work, but it is a carbtastic way to drown your pandemic sorrows. They continue to offer take out and delivery. If you want to do DYI, they’re doing BYO Pizza Kits with everything you need to make their 10 most popular pizzas including the mac as well as another favorite, chicken and waffles.
Dimo's is also rolling out Take N’ Bake combos which serve 8 people for $35. Options include:
Lasagna with ricotta, homemade pork sausage, marinara, fresh mozzarella, and a healthy dose of parmesan
Vegan lasagna with vegan ricotta, mushroom sausage, marinara, vegan mozz, and a splash of nutritional yeast
Mexican lasagna with smoked chicken, ancho tomato sauce, pinto beans, topped with a ricotta crema, and cotija cheese
Vegan Mexican lasagna with vegan crema, pulled vegetables, ancho tomato sauce, pinto beans, and vegan mozz
A portion of the profit from sales of BYO Pizza Kits and Take N' Bake Combos will be donated to local hospitals and food pantries to help those being hardest hit by the pandemic.