We're Just Ordinary People: Part 3, Papa's Tapas

Restaurant names make things pop into my noggin. Names like Alinea, Moto, Tru, Naha, Schwa and the like bring to mind sleek surroundings, experimental preparations and pricey prix fixe menus. Names like Chalkboard, Hearty, and The Publican make me think of comfort food dressed up and served with craft beer/artisanal wines. The name Cafe Ba Ba Reeba makes me think of that one song from The Jungle Book.

Despite its ridiculous name, Cafe Ba Ba Reeba (or Babs as I'll be referring to it from here on out) is Chicago's populist King of Tapas. On the first beautiful Sunday of the year I gathered up four of my favorite food comrades and took 'em to the ghetto university! Ahem, I mean, we ordered tapas.

Comida

––goat cheese baked in tomato sauce––

A 4 note song of creamy and tangy melted goat cheese and zesty, sweet and tart tomato sauce. It's nothing to write home about but we devoured it anyways.

––roast dates with bacon and apple vinaigrette––

Why wouldn't you order this? The bacon was crisp and salty, the dates were sweet and succulent and the apples and apple vinaigrette added a snappy texture and clean taste to the mix.

––citrus cured salmon––

This one did a disappearing act. The salmon was cold smoked, peppered with capers and paired with pureed cucumbers and crema (think sour cream but without the sour). The mix worked well together but, as Yogi Bear famously said, I could use more salmon.

––octopus and potato a la plancha––

We took a dive into the murky depths with this one and almost didn't make it back up. The potatoes were well seasoned and fork tender but the octopus was overcooked, or maybe undercooked (I don't actually know how to cook octopus nor do I intend to find out any time soon), either way it was tough and almost flavorless.

––seared scallops, raisins and pine nut couscous––

While everyone liked the pan seared scallops, the chimichurri-like raisin and pine nut couscous was the thing we couldn't keep our forks (and bread and faces) out of. This was my favorite tapa of the afternoon.

––shrimp with garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes––

A classic tapa. Think shrimp scampi but replace the velvety heft of garlic butter sauce with the spicy lightness of olive oil and dried red pepper flakes. It was simple stuff, but I salute it for that very reason.

––beef tenderloin and blue cheese––

Don't order this. Just don't. Beef tenderloin is the most mildly flavored cut of steak there is and blue cheese is the most pungent thing in, I don't know, existence. The result here was a unevenly cooked piece of meat that basically served as a spoon by which you shoveled mouthfuls of stinky cheese in your face.

––meatballs with with sherry tomato sauce––

These are not your mom's meatballs. Or maybe they are. Sorry, I didn't mean any offense. Moving on, the sauce is paprika smoky, lightly alcoholic and wonderfully acidic. The meatballs were perfectly round and had a nice firm texture (make your own anatomical joke here).

––serrano ham, salchichon, chorizo and manchego––

This is basically a charcuterie board with a bruschetta-like toast concoction thrown in for shits and giggles. Every one loved it. The cured meats were great (especially the prociutto-ish Serrano ham) but the olives were the best part. We ordered it at the beginning and it lasted approximately 19 seconds.


Postres

We got all of them.
The standouts:
-tres leches: milky, sweet and light, this classic Mexican dessert stole the show from its Spanish counterparts
-coconut flan: comfortingly tropical, this dessert was the last to be finished but was quite possibly the most delicious one we ate
-butterscotch custard cream: I really like butterscotch, and pudding. That's what this is.




Bebidas
There was sangria in the beginning, wine in the middle and tequila at the end.

The sangria was good, but I've seen how this stuff is made (cheap red wine, a mixture of flavored syrups and some cut up fruit) and I think there are other things I'd rather kill my brain cells with.

Tony Valkov, my most trusted advisor in the wide world of wines, picked three Spanish whites that came out over the course of the meal. My favorite was a simple northern Spanish white called Ipsum. It was the first one we had (that might have something to do with it) and it had lovely limestone minerality as well as a nice citrus character that made it the perfect wine for the afternoon.
As an encore we headed to a local watering hole to get 5 shots of Centenario Reposado. If you haven't tried it or are a scardy-cat when it comes to tequila then do yourself a favor and tipple this smoky, smooth, and lightly fruited liquor at your nearest Mexican establishment.

Brass Tacks
Cafe Ba Ba Reeba is a staple of the Chicago dining scene (not to mention one of Lettuce Entertain You's prized gems) much in the way that Two and a Half Men is a staple of weeknight television entertainment. With that in mind I had serious skepticism going in but, after eating there, I have to say I'm a fan (not quite a convert). The food was not inventive but was, on the whole, tasty (some of it really good, some of it not good, none of it groundbreaking). The drinks were refreshing and the atmosphere was downright pleasant. But that name, we gotta do something about that name.

Cafe Ba Ba Reeba

Street (Food) Fight: Part 5, Pork Sweats

Fact: Barbecue is a religion.

Its church: the backyard and the neighborhood restaurant. Its holy spirit: smoke. Its mantra: "low and slow." Its sacrificial lamb: the pig and, to a smaller degree, the cow and chicken. Its god? Well barbecue's god is a spicy, sweet, vinegary, tangy and saucy Sauce.

Its Mecca? Barbecue has many and none of them are Chicago. You must go to Kansas City, the Carolinas, Memphis, St. Louis or Austin if you want to pay homage to the holiest/smokiest sites in the Union. But there is hope for the Second City in the form of small, intrepid little restaurants that take their Q seriously. On Sunday I pitted one of Chicago's brightest BBQ stars, Smoque, against a cheeky upstart; Pork Shoppe. Let the bloodsport begin!

The Criteria
Each restaurant was judged on three BBQ staples and the combined strength of three sides.
-Staples:
1. Pulled Pork- Classic barbecue fare. At its most basic this is pork shoulder smoked or pressure cooked to a tenderness that requires a minimal amount of chewing while still having the hutzpah to hold sauce and, possibly, cole slaw (if that's your fancy). It's hard to dry out pork shoulder, so moisture isn't usually a problem. The sauce should be light in body with enough acidity to cut through the fats (insert personal trainer/mean girl joke here).
2. Brisket- A wily bronco to lasso. Brisket is tough bitch of a meat naturally and can easily dry out during the cooking process and must therefore be monitored closely. A sauce with medium body and a decent amount of spice usually works best.
3. St. Louis Style Ribs- Baby back's bigger, meatier and more wallet-friendly counterpart. These bone-in bombs are a great place to show off the beautiful yet dangerous combination of dry-rub and sauce (preferably thick, sweet, and dark).
-Sides:
1. Baked Beans- Like barbecue, but in bean form. Don't overcook the beans, keep the sauce smoky (not too sweet), add a touch of pork (could be bacon, could be pork shoulder, I'm not picky) and you're pretty much golden.
2. Cole Slaw- I'm not the biggest slaw fan on the planet, it's true. When it comes to barbecue, it serves the all important dual purpose of palate cleanser and flavor/texture contraster. If it does these jobs, I'm more than happy to order it (just don't expect me to finish it).
3. Macaroni and Cheese- Like many of you, I could die a happy death as long as it involved macaroni and cheese in some way, shape, or form. In terms of working with BBQ, I'm not sure it does. I just like it. Don't think too much about it.


Staple Showdown

Pulled Pork

Smoque

Pork Shoppe

Both joints served up very respectable renderings of this BBQ standard. Pork Shoppe's pork was moist, mild and springy. There was little smoke to the meat, and the cut was a bit on the short end. Smoque's version can only be summed up in one word: flawless. The meat was incredibly tender, juicy and was paired with a sweet, twangy sauce that kept this fatty meat from feeling heavy.

Edge: Smoque

Brisket

Smoque

Pork Shoppe

This meat shines a revealing light on the skill of the cook and the quality of ingredients used. Unfortunately for Pork Shoppe, what we saw wasn't gorgeous. The meat (though it possessed a nice smoky character) was dry, chewy and needed some serious sauce dumpage to save it from itself. Smoque's brisket was damn good. It was spicy, had good moisture content and was expertly paired with a sauce that had enough acidity and body to compliment the meat's many hidden qualities.

Edge: Smoque

Ribs

Smoque

Pork Shoppe

Pork Shoppe's ribs were marked by mild pork flavor, a good firm body, and a well seasoned dry rub. However, they were cooked unevenly resulting in some bites being scrumdiddlyumtious and others being tough and flavorless. Smoque's ribs were succulent, evenly cooked (maybe a bit too tender) and showed off an ideal balance of spicy dry rub and sticky-sweet-thick sauce. I loved them.

Edge: Smoque

War of Sides

the Smoque trio

Smoque: Smoque's sides just rolled up their sleeves and went to work. The macaroni was paired with a cheese that was sharp and piquant, a bold choice. The beans had a distinct onion character that I don't usually care for but didn't mind in this case. They were also smokey-sweet and were cooked to just the right firmness. The slaw was a vinegar bomb. This made it great for cutting through the thick layer of sauce that coated my mouth, but I don't think I'd eat this on its own.

Pork Shoppe mac up front,
beans singing backup

Pork Shoppe: I have to give big props to these guys for their sides. The beans were so porky I thought I heard them squeal and had an interesting curry note at the end that I didn't expect. The macaroni was salty (in a good way), mild and had a delightful balance of soft and crunchy texture. The slaw was crisp, creamy and had a ton of fruit character (pineapple and raisin) that made it a joy to eat. It didn't work as a palate cleanser but I didn't mind.

Edge: Pork Shoppe



Dranks

that's a thumbs up

We boozed it up at Pork Shoppe in the form of a Durango, CO brewed blonde ale that was fruit forward and pleasantly malty. I also had a Makers on the rocks because it felt right. Both were really good with the barbecue. Smoque is BYOB and we didn't so instead we washed down our grub with Barq's (it has bite) and iced tea.

The Verdict
I'm no math savant but I'm pretty sure that winning 3 of the 4 categories means you win. Smoque was the favorite coming in and a winner coming out. They are very serious about their meats, very serious about their sauces (each dish is paired with its ideal sauce) and very serious about Guy Fieri (who is very serious about inventing new ways to be exclamatory). Simply put, they have their shit together when it comes to smoking, saucing and spicing meat. If I had a car I'd be there every weekend, but I don't so I'll have to save it for special occasions like full moons and shark week.

Consolation
The Pork Shoppe is elemental. That's a great thing for a specialty restaurant to be. It serves barbecue, it serves beer and it serves Bourbon*. And it just so happens I love all three. I appreciate their gusto and their style but they lack the polish and focus of Smoque when it comes to their Q. It should also be mentioned that, unlike Smoque, they don't sauce their meat. Instead, they have three house made sauces (spicy, tangy and sweet) for your dipping, dumping or slurping pleasure (the favorite amongst our group was the tangy). This puts the control in your hands but also takes some of the cooking artistry out of their final presentation. 


*they also sell a concoction called a "bloody larry" which consists of Jack Daniels, coke and a spare rib

Pork Shoppe

Smoque