by Guy Fieri
OWNER’S NOTE: Uncle Lou’s Fried Chicken was established April 4, 2001. That September, Uncle Lou’s “Honey-Dipped” Chicken (now known as Sweet Spicy Love) won the best new food item at the Mid-South Fair in Memphis.
After it was featured on Triple D, things went bananas (bananas means VERY good). We put up a map of the United States the day before the show aired—August 3, 2008—and from then until May 18, 2009, we’ve had more than 450 out-of-state visitors. I had no idea Guy has such a loyal following. The first thing people say when they come in is, “You really did change the name to Sweet Spicy Love”—that was one of the best decisions I ever made. We now bottle and sell the Sweet Spicy Love and the Uncle Lou’s Corruption; we have a display in-store, and we also have an online store at www.unclelousfriedchicken.com. It’s become a chore to just keep enough Sweet Spicy Love and Uncle Lou’s Corruption bottled to serve our customers. Thanks, Guy—we went from averaging six to eight gallons a week to making eighteen to twenty gallons a week.—Uncle Lou
UNCLE LOU…HOLDIN’ POULTRY COURT.
Uncle Lou’s Fried Chicken
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF LOUIS MARTIN OF UNCLE LOU’S FRIED CHICKEN
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1 whole fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces
3 cups Uncle Lou’s Fried Chicken Seasoning (available online)
Uncle Lou’s Sweet Spicy Love dipping sauce (recipe follows; also available online)
1. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or heat 3 inches of oil in a heavy pot until a deep-fry thermometer reads 375°F. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
WHO STOLE DA FRIES?
2. Rinse the chicken and thoroughly pat dry with more paper towels. Put the seasoning mix in a plastic zip-top bag. Add the chicken 2 to 3 pieces at a time, close the bag, and shake until all of the pieces are well coated.
3. Remove the chicken from the bag and shake off excess seasoning mix. Slip the chicken into the hot oil and fry until the juices run clear, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on the lined baking sheet to remove excess oil. Serve as is, or dipped in the Sweet Spicy Love sauce.
Uncle Lou’s Sweet Spicy Love
Note from Uncle Lou: A little history about Uncle Lou’s Corruption. I started making it about fifteen years ago, as an all-purpose seasoning, and without Uncle Lou’s Corruption there would be no Sweet Spicy Love. Uncle Lou’s Corruption is the “Love” in Sweet Spicy Love. It is also great for grilling, baking, broiling, and boiling; it’s great on popcorn, vegetables, salads, and dips—the sky is the limit.
We also like to serve Sweet Spicy Love on what we call Tennessee round steak—but you probably know it as bologna: Just slice bologna about ¾ thick and cook it on a grill or flattop griddle, deep-fry it, char grill it, or microwave it. Dip the meat in Sweet Spicy Love. Make a sandwich with your favorite bread, bun, or Texas toast and add your favorite toppings. You can also do this with beef, chicken, or turkey!
MAKES 6 CUPS
2 cups red wine vinegar
1/3 cup Uncle Lou’s Corruption seasoning mix (available online)
2 cups hot sauce
12/3 cups honey
Bring the vinegar to a boil in a medium saucepan. As soon as the vinegar starts to boil, add the Uncle Lou’s Corruption and stir to dissolve completely. Remove from the heat and stir in the hot sauce and honey. Put into sealable containers and remember to shake well before using. Store for up to one month.
MIDWEST
CEMITAS PUEBLA
EST. 2002 DISCOVER A RARE MEXICAN SPECIALTY…IN CHICAGO
So check it out: here I am in Chicago, and I know you’re expecting that I’m going to be eating one of those killer Chicago dogs or some pizza or Italian beef, but nope, this was all about cemitas. Just when you think you know your Mexican food, Triple D rolls into town and finds this joint.
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TRACK IT DOWN
3619 W. North Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60647
773-772-8435
www.cemitaspuebla.com
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Cemitas are a kind of sandwich made with an avocado, chipotle pepper, Mexican cheese, and a kind of bitter herb called papalo, served with various types of meat—from carne asada to al pastor to a spiced pork called carne enchilada. Cemitas are unique; you can’t find them outside of Puebla, Mexico, where Tony Anteliz’s mom and dad grew up. Eighty percent of the menu at Cemitas comes from Puebla. For their cemita with breaded pork, Tony follows Mama’s rules for the recipe or he gets in trouble. He makes the breading mixture in a blender with chopped onion, cloves, black and white pepper, oregano, three peeled garlic cloves, ground garlic, a little bit of bread crumbs, milk, and some salt. The pork loin pieces soak in this mixture and then he breads them, lets them sit in the fridge for about an hour, and fries them up. Even the buns are a family recipe; Tony has a guy who bakes them just for him. He assembles the sandwich with the avocado spread on the bun, the chipotle, a whole lotta queso Oaxaca, and some papalo that his mother grows for him in the summertime. That stuff is pungent; it makes arugula taste like iceberg. Just a dash of olive oil on the top of the bun, and that’s all she wrote.
“WELL, GUY, I’LL TELL YA, YOU JUST ATE ABOUT
TEN JALAPENÕS—YOU’RE GONNA FEEL THAT!”
They’re bringing Mexico to Chicago, literally. Every month or six weeks Tony’s father heads down there to pick up their cinnamon, queso, oregano, and dried chipotles. He’s using his grandmother’s recipe for chipotles in adobo sauce, and he says that’s what gives his cemitas most of their flavor. He uses small dried chipotles, raw sugarcane, dried thyme, dried oregano, bay leaves, dried cloves, five or six garlic heads, three thingies (big pinches) of salt, giant Mexican cinnamon sticks, and a whole lot of onions (this is cooking with Tony). About a gallon and a half of plain white vinegar and a sweet and sour pineapple brine. Top the pot off with water and let it boil for seven or eight hours. It’s a classic flavor on every classic cemita.
The cemitas are just the start. He makes something that’s like the Mexican cousin of the shawarma: Taco Arabe. It’s the classic Middle Eastern meat on a spit. They blend serrano peppers, cloves, white pepper, parsley, salt, and white vinegar and marinate sliced pork shoulder for two or three hours. Then they stack the pork shoulder, alternating with onion, on a rotisserie. It’s a beautiful big spit of meat. He slices it up and down to start with, and the juices fall like tears from the flavor angel. Then he lets the slices cook on the flattop for a little bit to get charred on the outside, and he uses a type of flat pita to wrap the meat up with pureed chipotle and adobo sauce. Mmmmm. This is good stuff.
Tony’s been taught right.
Cemitas Puebla Steak Tacos
with Salsa Verde
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF TONY ANTELIZ OF CEMITAS PUEBLA
Note from Tony: If the steak is really thick, ask the butcher to butterfly it and remove some of the fat—but not all, because it adds flavor. The steak should be medium thick, not too thick or too thin—about ¾ to 1 inch thick.
FINGER GUN FIGHTS, BIG COMPETITION AT CEMITAS PUEBLA.
MAKES 4 TO 8 SERVINGS
For the salsa verde
6 tomatillos, husks removed
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 jalapeño chiles
1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, and coarsely chopped
½ cup water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ large bunch of cilantro, stems and leaves coarsely chopped
For the steak
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of ground cinnamon
8 limes, halved
2 pounds skirt steak, ¾ to 1 inch thick
For the tacos
16 corn tortillas, heated in the skillet or microwave
Diced white onion
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1. FOR THE SALSA VERDE: Heat a griddle, grill, or skillet over high heat and add the tomatillos, garlic, and jalapeños all at once. Eyeball them, but do about a minute or two on each side, turning with tongs, until everything is close to getting black but not black.
2. Put the charred vegetables in the blender with the avocado, water, and salt and blend until smooth. Add the cilantro and blend again.
3. FOR THE STEAK: Combine the seasonings in a small bowl. Squeeze the limes over the meat evenly, using all their juices. Then rub the lime halves over the meat to get the pulp over it. Sprinkle the seasoning mix over both sides.
4. Heat a grill to medium-high. Grill the steak to your liking; we like it medium-well. Remove, let rest 5 minutes, and then slice it across the grain in angled strips. Using 2 tortillas per taco, pile in some meat, onion, and cilantro and top with salsa verde.
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[GUY ASIDE]
I’ve been going to Mexico for years and I pride myself on my awareness of Mexican food, so for me doing DD&D, this is a culinary theme park, and today I’m going to “It’s a Cemitas World”—Cemitas Puebla is why I love doing the show. I was so pleasantly surprised at how great it was, and it had a really good following.
I dig this story because it reminds me a lot of my dad and myself. Antonio and Tony are a really interesting father and son, and the father really helps support the son in going after this restaurant. Tony got the shot to do the place, didn’t know how to cook, learned from his dad, and gets there every day—an enthusiastic, hard-working guy. His dad’s got a connection with a radio show, and it was the first time I’ve ever been on Mexican radio; he just put me on the phone on-air. You think Mexican TV is crazy, you should hear Mexican radio. I speak enough kitchen Spanish to get me in trouble: takes me twenty words to get out a three-word sentence.
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MIDWEST
PARADISE PUP
EST. 1983 CHICAGO CLASSICS, FRESH AND FAST
On the family-owned tour, I was right out of Chicago and found this first-generation place that was only 800 square feet. But don’t let the size fool you, because for the last twenty-five years they’ve been jamming out tons of off-the-hook Chicago favorites.
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TRACK IT DOWN
1724 S. River Road
Des Plaines, Illinois 60018
847-699-8590
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Knowing the menu by heart isn’t unusual at Paradise Pup, where brothers George and Tony Manos want you to feel like you’re at a backyard barbecue. These guys started the joint over twenty-five years ago after jumping into the food biz as teens. Their father was driving by one day and saw a small for-sale sign, and went home and said, “I got a great spot for you.” They still don’t want anyone else working the grill. What they’re doing here in an 800-square-foot joint is traditional Chicago fast food, the way it oughtta be. They’ve got Polish sausage, Chicago dogs, and homemade Italian beef—and their burgers slathered with Merkts Cheddar require about twenty napkins. It’s a third-of-a-pound patty, fresh, never frozen. The stovetop is about 750 degrees to give it a great char. They grill the buns, spread softened Wisconsin Cheddar, and put on molten hot onions, tomato, lettuce, and pickle. Oooooh, man, that’s juicy. I needed a bib—or a shower. Tony said they’d hose me down in the back. The Polish sausage is topped with grilled onions; the real Chicago dog is served with mustard, relish, fresh chopped onion, tomatoes, fresh sliced cucumber, a pickle. I felt like I’d been to a salad bar; that is something good.
OWNERS’ NOTE: When we first opened Paradise Pup in 1983, Tony was eighteen and George was nineteen. The building was a wreck when we bought it and it took a lot of hard work and several coats of paint to get it ready for opening day! We spent our last fifty dollars on paint—it was our tip money we saved from waiting tables. On September 17, 1983, at eleven A.M., Tony, George, and Fannie (Mom) took the order of the first customer. He was rung up and paid with a twenty-dollar bill. No money in the drawer! Mom ran in the back room and pulled a few fives, singles, and some coins from her purse and gave the man his change. Our mom has always been good luck, and since that day we’ve never had to ask Mom for money again!
Being on Food Network was such an honor and a great boost for our business. It’s been well over a year and we’re still generating new business. People are still coming in and saying they came from fifty miles away or more because they saw us on Guy’s show. One day a charter bus pulled in from Michigan—a group of Food Network junkies traveling to places Guy has been! We’re close to O’Hare, and so many people every day still come in from all over the country and mention our segment on Diners. It truly put us on the map!
Thank you, Food Network and Guy. We love ya.—George and Tony Manos
And the Italian beef is entirely made from scratch. They start with a top butt, douse it with lots of salt and pepper, oregano, and garlic juice, and slow-cook it for about four hours. They slice it so thin you can see right through it, then serve it in a bun dipped in the meat juices from the roasting pan. They dress it with peppers and pickled vegetables, and wow, that is so good. All those herbs and spices, and it’s the thin slicing, too, that really makes the difference.
You’d think there were no other restaurants in this town the way they line up and out the door. These brothers are committed to doing it right. As George says, it’s all in the quality of their food.
* * *
[GUY ASIDE]
These are the nicest guys, with a family kind of place you want to go back to. I come here every time I’m on the way to the airport in Chicago, and every time there are more people. I show up and they want me to cut the line, but I don’t do that. When we were there filming, we arrived forty minutes before they opened, and there were people sleeping in their cars to be first in line.
Things taste different when they come from a place like this, with cars flying by and a nearby auto body shop. I was like, “This place looks like a Fotomat drive-up, where you’d drop off your film in the old days—you could turn it into a museum and move the restaurant to the shop next door!”
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Paradise Pup Merkts Cheddar Burger
ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE COURTESY OF TONY AND GEORGE MANOS OF PARADISE PUP
MAKES 6 BURGERS
A block of Merkts Cheddar cheese or any cold-pack cheese food found in a grocery store
2 pounds ground chuck (80 percent lean)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 challah egg twist buns or soft bakery buns, toasted
Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise, Hunt’s ketchup, crinkle-cut sliced pickles, sliced red onion (grilled, if you like), sliced tomatoes, and lettuce leaves, for serving
1. Let the cheese sit out for about 2 hours to get soft enough to spread easily.
2. Preheat a grill or griddle to VERY HOT to get the right char.
3. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Mix and form 6 balls, then flatten each to a patty.
4. Grill the burgers for about 3 minutes each side. Do not press down on the patties while cooking or all the juices will squirt out and dry out the patties! Toast the buns on the grill. Spread the cheese on top of the patties; then place the top half of the bun on top to adhere with the cheese. Remove from the grill.
5. Garnish the bottom half of the bun with mayo, ketchup, pickle, red onion, tomato, and lettuce.
6. Have plenty of napkins on hand. Enjoy!
MIDWEST
THE ORIGINAL VITO & NICK’S PIZZERIA
EST. 1932 WORLD-CLASS THIN-CRUST IN A DEEP-DISH TOWN
When you think Chicago, you probably think of that thick-crust deep-dish pizza. So you’ve got to stop and take a look when you find a pizza joint in Chicago that’s doing the exact opposite. At Vito and Nick’s, people have been piling in for their thin-crust pizza for more than sixty years.
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TRACK IT DOWN<
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8433 S. Pulaski Road
Chicago, Illinois 60652
773-735-2050
www.vitoandnick.com
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“If I want to eat bread, I eat bread,” says owner Rosemary George; and if you want to eat pizza it’s going to be the way her family’s been serving it since 1949—thin! The dough is made from scratch using flour, water, milk, yeast, and salt; mix it and let it sit overnight. And when the dough starts to rise, it’s punched down every twenty minutes or so. After the dough is rolled out thin, Rosemary goes all the way to the edge with her sauce, ’cause she says the edges will burn otherwise. She throws on a little bit of cheese (mozzarella that’s been through the grinder, not shredded) and then just about anything—sausage, onion, green pepper, and, get this one, Italian beef.
They’re putting a Chicago specialty on the pizza, and the beef’s homemade Rose’s way. Not wasting a thing, she trims the beef, then grinds the fat, flattens it out on a roasting sheet, and seasons it with salt, black pepper, and granulated garlic. That’s her base, and she puts the meat on top. It’s covered with more salt, black pepper, some granulated onion, and then generously with granulated garlic, then basil, oregano, and olive oil. It’s an adventure. Rose tucks the trimmings in underneath and slow-roasts the beef for eight hours. You can’t get a better medium rare. She then slices it thin and tops the pizza, with a little extra cheese on top to hold it together—and I tell ya, that thing comes out of the oven looking like a manhole cover in Flavortown. And it’s killer. Anyone who would come to Chicago and not come here and try this should be arrested; I’m moving in.
