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A gigantic purple-flamed muscle car zoomed past us as we followed the scent of cooking fat to Frank’s Chicago Shrimp House. The restaurant—if a room with six deep fryers and a few fridges can be called a restaurant—has been unofficially named the best fried shrimp house in Chicago. Although Frank’s is located in Brighton Park, its famed Chicago-style shrimp (not the New Orleans variety) attracts business from across the South Side. The lone employee on duty last Saturday night assured us “if you’ve never been here before, you’ll be back.”

Even with their lights on, Frank’s looked closed until we pushed the door open. No one was visible in the white and stainless steel room, but the door set off a buzzer that summoned the aforementioned employee, clad in a white apron over her sweatshirt. She looked at us expectantly—customers here usually know exactly what they want. Instead, we scanned the menu scrawled on the wall in dry-erase marker, gaping at our options, which included frog legs, multiple types of shrimp, and scallops. She answered our questions about the macaroni salad, potato salad, and cole slaw with good humor and then weighed and fried our food before our eyes.

While we waited for the deep fryers to do their work, I checked out the place. Frank’s is decorated with big black and white prints of Chicago streets, an illustrated sign that says “The Seafood Restaurant” and another that spells out “Shrimp” in simple black letters. Other than that, the walls are stark white, and the RC cola refrigerator has been marred by the word RATS spelled on its side.  A surveillance camera watched us watch the cooking oil (pure vegetable, proclaims the menu).

Frank’s provides diners with an intimate restaurant experience: there’s no distinction between the kitchen and the serving area. During our visit, we stood on one side of the counter while our food fried a few feet away. Unfortunately, this also means that Frank’s has no designated dining area. We were handed our hot brown bags of fried fish, oil already darkly studding the sides, and then realized we had no car to hop back into or picnic table to settle down at.

We stole a table at the Dunkin’ Donuts next door, and dipped crispy yet tender shrimp and scallops into a perfectly spicy sauce. Frank’s cocktail sauce is nothing like that stuff poured from a bottle into the center of those irritating glass plates full of frosty shrimp at cocktail parties. This is the real deal, stacked in small plastic to-go tubs. I found a packet of ketchup in my brown bag, but wasn’t sure why anyone would use it. The fries were salted to perfection, requiring no additional condiments, and putting ketchup on these legendary little crustaceans would have been an outrage. Only that cocktail sauce could stand up to the combination of crunchy batter and perfectly cooked meat.

All that praise showered, Frank’s offerings are limited. Vegetarians will find few options there, and the same goes for calorie-counters. The place makes no bones about its business.  Grub hub it may be, but Frank’s dishes it out fresh.

Frank’s Chicago Shrimp House, 4459 S Archer Ave. Monday-Thursday, Saturday, 11am-10 pm; Friday, 11am-11pm; Sunday, 12pm-9 pm. (773)523-4624

(Rebecca Kilberg)

The ReBuilding Exchange offers a unique service to the people of Chicago by selling pieces of old buildings on the cheap. The Exchange engages in something like large-scale home recycling. They send their workers and volunteers to deconstruct properties that would otherwise be demolished, taking the houses apart by hand, piece by piece. It is the brainchild of Elise Zelechowski, a Chicago native, who first saw the idea in action at the ReBuilding Center in Portland, Oregon. With hopes to create a similar project in Chicago, Zelechowski signed on to work with the Delta Institute, an organization that works to create a far-reaching environmentally-friendly attitude. In its first eight months, the ReBuilding Exchange was responsible for saving seven hundred tons of reusable material, according to business manager Meegan Czop. The Exchange is approaching its one-year anniversary on February 12 with considerable success; though not always flooded by would-be renovators clamoring for assistance, the Exchange has a stable influx of customers from all over Chicago. Czop even says that they hope one day to work as a distribution center, filling orders for contractors.

The location of the ReBuilding Exchange—the middle of Brighton Park—is crucial to its mission. The Delta Institute did most of the heavy lifting when it came to finding a good location to introduce Zelechowski’s idea. Delta was looking specifically for a community that could benefit from having low-cost building materials nearby, and found that Brighton Park was an excellent match. Since it opened its door last year, the ReBuilding Exchange has found volunteers from Brighton Park’s schools, community groups, and a fair number of walk-ins from the neighborhood. They also collaborate with the ReUse People, a nonprofit organization that trains people with criminal records to work in deconstruction efforts.

The ReBuilding Exchange offers more than just materials, however. Customers often come looking for information, inspiration, and sometimes a bit of help. The Exchange offers advice about renovation, and will recommend various specialists who can help with particularly difficult projects. Czop says that the best part of her job is seeing what people do with the materials on hand—she cites turning old timber framing into a dining room table as an example. She says that customers can often discover real finds, such as 150-year-old Douglas fir wood known as “old-growth lumber,”which would otherwise be extremely expensive. “I use the materials in my own home,” Czop admits proudly.

Two women from Orland Park walk in looking for some information about refurbishing. They had heard about the ReBuilding Exchange on the news, and wanted to check it out for themselves. Although they said it was really a hit-or-miss situation with the Exchange (Czop had just regretfully informed them that there were currently no air conditioners available), they found the idea of the Exchange very intriguing. Certainly, they were impressed by the recycling effort, and found the various oddball pieces hanging around the warehouse amusing. After all, the ReBuilding Exchange encourages people to experiment with turning a few odds and ends into something extraordinary.
ReBuilding Exchange, 3335 W. 47th St. Tuesday-Wednesday, 10am-6pm; Thursday, noon-8pm; Friday-Saturday, 10am-6pm. delta-institute.org/rebuildingexchange

The warehouse, just off 47th Street, sits among auto repair workshops, hardware stores, and food manufacturers in the Brighton Park neighborhood. Visitors walked through the loading dock door into a refrigerated room with a long table covered in wheels and wedges of cheese. The Myrtlewood, a soft, natural rind cheese from Sweetgrass Dairy in Georgia and inspired by those in the French Pyrenees, has a “complex” flavor, which is really another way of saying “extremely pungent.” The Fontina from Park Cheese in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin was quite dense and different from any I’ve ever tasted. Schnierle explained that it’s temporarily covered in a yeast rind, giving it a flavor he calls “tacky.” It should make an incredible mac and cheese. The Pepato, also from Park Cheese, is a romano cheese with whole peppercorns. I found that the peppercorns’ bursts of sharp, acerbic flavor overwhelmed any taste of the cheese itself. I expected the Olive Tapenade Gouda from Eichtens Hidden Acres in Minnesota to have the same intense pockets of flavor, but was pleasantly surprised to find its flavor homogenous, an excellent balance of olive and gouda. The woman serving us mentioned that another customer suggested thin slices of the Olive Tapenade Gouda melted on a ham sandwich. “This cheese is soon to be famous,” she said.
Great American Cheese Collection, 4727 S. Talman Ave. Every Saturday, 10am-1pm. (773)779-5055. greatamericancheese.com

best mexican brunch
La Haciendita
With as brisk a business on Saturday mornings as any trendy North Side brunch spot, minus the long wait and high prices, La Haciendita is a favorite of Gage Park locals. Pretend you’re one of them and seat yourself; order in Spanish if you can. The menu is a litany of well-executed Mexican standards, with standouts like spicy gorditas, al pastor and carnitas tacos, and several preparations of huevos (accompanied by the usual rice and beans, plus potatoes). Thirsty? Order an horchata or other agua and you’ll get 64 ounces for less than $3. 5151 S. Kedzie Ave. Monday-Saturday, 10am-midnight. (773)434-3864 (Robin Peterson)

best exotic ice cream
Paletería Flamingo
Ever wanted to try tuna-flavored ice cream? Probably not—but maybe you’ll want to try cactus pear-flavored, which is what this ice with the startling label means in Spanish. If that doesn’t interest you either, one of the several dozen other flavors of house-made ice, ice cream, and yogurt probably will—tamarind, horchata, flan, Parmesan, chile, and fruits from the familiar (lime, cherry) to the foreign (guanábana). Can’t decide? Try a sample, which the servers are quick to offer, or order a scoop each of two different flavors for about $2. Portions are relatively small, but the flavors are intense. Paletería Flamingo also serves ice cream shop staples like sundaes and shakes, plus Mexican favorites like paletas—all of them made with fresh fruit. Cash only. 2635 W. 51st St. 2pm-10pm, daily but subject to weather. Closed during winter. (773)434-3917 (Robin Peterson)

best thrift store
Village Discount Outlet
With its laissez-faire attitude toward organization, the Brighton Park Village Discount Outlet emphasizes the treasure-hunt aspect of thrift store shopping. Be prepared to dodge piles of discarded clothing and small children in the cramped aisles, and don’t count on privacy when trying on clothes—the closest thing to a fitting room here is the few mirrors scattered throughout the store, which serve well enough for judging whether that “Mahoney Family Reunion” T-shirt is tight enough. If you manage to navigate the store’s controlled chaos, you can leave with several outfits for less than $10. The housewares are also a potential site for steals among the clutter. Visit this weekend, September 26 and 27, for a fall clearance sale where everything in the store is half price. 2514 W. 47th St. Monday-Friday, 9am-9pm; Saturday, 9am-8pm; Sunday, 10am-6pm. (708)388-4772. vdoil.com/05.php (Robin Peterson)

best street food
La Veintiseis
The commercial heart of Little Village, La Veintiseis refers to the stretch of 26th Street between Kostner and Western Avenues. It’s a booming area—next to Michigan Avenue, it generates the highest sales tax revenue in the city of Chicago. Head west under the “Bienvenidos”-proclaiming pink arch at Albany Avenue, and the colorful storefronts and abundant street vendors evoke a city south of the border—not so far from the truth, as the neighborhood is home to the highest concentration of Mexicans in the Midwest. Vendors share the sidewalks outside businesses, as is the tradition in Mexico, selling street food like tamales, chicharrones (pork rinds), paletas, and—sometimes, if you’re lucky—$1 tacos. Vendors sell from 5am-10pm daily. (Robin Peterson)

best caribbean
Garifuna Flava
The menu at Garifuna Flava reflects the cooking of the Garifuna people in Belize and elsewhere in Central America, a fusion derived from African, Latin American, and indigenous cuisines. Fish, rice, corn, and bananas play prominent roles, and offerings range from familiar Latin standards with a Caribbean twist (guacamole served with plantain chips) to homey, comforting dishes offered few places else (cow foot soup, cassava cake.) The panades, finger-long corn patties filled with a mixture of fish and refried beans, are a standout, each crisp patty bursting with fresh corn flavor. The restaurant turns one year old in May, and they hope to bring in more live bands and Belizean entertainment in the well-appointed banquet hall next door. Lively Caribbean music, yellow-checked tablecloths, and sepia photographs of Belizean villages make the fluorescent-lit storefront a pleasant enough place to take advantage of their Wi-Fi and full bar, but the engaging staff, and endless amounts of fresh, hot plates coming from the kitchen make it extraordinary. 2516-18 W. 63rd St. Tuesday-Thursday, 11am-8pm; Friday-Saturday, 11am-2am; Sunday, 11am-8pm. (773)776-7440 (Helenmary Sheridan)

best mango sorbet
Los Mangos Express
Plastic mango trees and optical illusion art fill the bright orange space of the promising Archer Heights taquería Los Mangos Express. The restaurant proudly serves specialties from the Mexican state of Guerrero like picaditas—red or green salsa, smoky meat, queso fresco, and a dollop of sour cream constructed on a fried masa base, a bit like sopes. These masa cakes are much thinner, however, which gives them a superb texture, exactly halfway between chewy and crunchy. The standard taquería fare, prepared on a griddle nearly as wide as the restaurant, is outstanding as well. Good luck finding anything on the menu more than $5—Los Mangos is ridiculously cheap. Leaving room for dessert is mandatory, otherwise you’d miss out on the nieve de mango, the chili-spiked mango sorbet. Gooey and just a bit piquant, it seemed to consist of more mango than ice. The nieve de mango could really be their ticket to city-wide recognition. Word seems to be spreading—a couple seated nearby skipped dinner and made straight for the sorbet. 4888 S. Archer Ave. Monday, Thursday, Sunday, 8am-10pm; Tuesday-Wednesday, 8am-9pm; Friday-Saturday, 8am-12am. (773)247-6070 (Ellis Calvin)

Though not unimportant, beauty was secondary to celebrating Zacatecano culture at this cultural pageant. “We want to remember our origins,” explained 20-year-old contestant Alejandra Díaz. “Regardless of where we grew up, we’re still Zacatecanos and we want to represent that with dignity and honor.” Preparations for the pageant began in April, when coordinator Rocio Perez began coaching the girls in skills like modeling and speaking (Spanish, not Spanglish), as well as offering classes on Zacatecano history and culture. Sunday’s event was only the first of the girls’ public appearances, which will culminate with the crowning of a winner at a banquet on July 18. At the end of July, she will join 60 to 80 other young Zacatecano women from U.S. immigrant communities in traveling throughout Zacatecas, visiting cultural and historical landmarks as well as orphanages and nursing homes.

The winner’s long selection process is all the better for celebrating, which the approximately 140 audience members did with much gusto once they arrived. About an hour and a half after the scheduled start of 7pm, the sharply dressed nine-piece Tamborazo Zacatecano (Zacatecas big drum band) began to perform, and the pageant participants quickly converged on the dance floor. More and more people kept arriving, so that when the girls took the stage, there was a proper crowd of supporters to loudly cheer each of them on. Even after the pageant itself ended at 10, Zacatecanos continued to show up for the party.