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Apr 09

Big Fish: Calumet Fisheries keeps the smokehouse tradition alive on the Far Southeast Side

Arts and Culture, Calumet Heights, Eats No Comments »
The menu at Calumet Fisheries; Veronica Gonzalez

The menu at Calumet Fisheries; Veronica Gonzalez

Calumet Fisheries is the pride of local foodies. This shack, excuse me, smokehouse, is touted by the owners as one of the only authentic smokehouses left in Illinois. This disappearing art involves marinating the fish in brine overnight and then stoking fires with special oak logs in the smoking process. Take-out and cash-only, the place is known for its smoked and fried fish, and no matter your taste, it’s all good. Recently “Coastal Living” named it one of the magazine’s “25 favorite seafood dives across the country,” and, as quoted in Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” trip to Calumet, “It’s destination: smoked fish.” Read the rest of this entry »

May 15

Her Soulful Highness

Calumet Heights, Eats, Page Three No Comments »

“Thank you for sixty years of support,” reads a white placard heading each table at Soul Queen, an all-you-can-eat soul food restaurant located at the intersection of 90th Street and Stony Island Ave. in the neighborhood of Calumet Heights. Soul Queen moved to its current location in 1975 and it seems that little has changed since then. The paint on Soul Queen’s hand-painted sign is chipped and faded. It reads “Soul food for all souls” and depicts the Soul Queen’s majestic profile, overlain with a calligraphic “S. Q.” Many of the light bulbs trimming parts of the sign are burned out or missing. Read the rest of this entry »