Notes from Chicago: Healthy Food Lithuanian

As our weekend in Chicago drew near, I figured that we would have just enough time to hit each of the three archetypal Chicago foods: Italian Beef, Chicago-style hot dogs, and deep dish pizza. While we’re normally all about experiencing obscure ethnic delights, I was determined not to deviate from our tour of Chicago’s great contributions to culinary Americana. But then I happened upon a reference to Healthy Food, a Lithuanian restaurant that was decidedly not very healthy at all.

At first, I thought it was skippable. After all, I had lived for many years near Veselka in NYC, had certainly had my fill of starchy Eastern European grub, and figured that Lithuanian food would only be marginally different, and, therefore, hardly worth the extra schlep (this joint would end up requiring us to endure a lengthy combination of Elevated and bus).

After poking around Google for some extral intel on this place, I happened upon their exceedingly charming (if barebones) website. True, I found their menu intriguing, particularly the references to kugelis, but if you ever need a portal into my personal insanity, then note that the following paragraph from their website turned out to be the decisive factor for me:

Be sure to see Gina's collection of Amber, displayed in the showcase by the cashier. She will be glad to show you her favorite pieces. All pieces displayed are for sale. We have miscellaneous small antiques available too. Be sure to look around when you are dining, because you never know what you may find! Your Host--Gina

That’s right. I was ultimately swayed by the amber collection next to the cash register. If you don’t make time to check out the website, it’s important to note that the text is accompanied by a photo of Gina marveling over the glories of her favorite pieces.

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Healthy Food is situated in a dusty blue collar neighborhood sprinkled with repair shops, diners, and dive bars. There’s a taqueria and panaderia (Mexican bakery) across the street, so if you aren’t disgusted by the mere thought of food after your Lithuanian feast, then the panaderia may be worth checking out.

The restaurant itself is very much the wood-paneled time capsule (“authentic ‘50s style”) that it proclaims itself on the website. They have some capital wall hangings, showcasing their Lithuanian heritage. And yes, this icon of the Virgin Mary has been rendered with tiny bits of amber.

We started off with a cup of their Lithuanian yoghurt, homemade, rather tart, but refreshing. They offer their yoghurt in a smoothie, as well, but I figured (perhaps wrongly) that this was some sort of well-meaning concession to recent food trends. This was accompanied by a tall glass of fresh and frothy carrot juice. They also offer fresh vegetable juice, but I was imagining the horrors of a cabbage juice induced coma and overruled it.

Their borscht was easily the highlight of the meal. It was a vivid shade of pinkish purple, undoubtedly the result of blending sour cream and beets, and flecked with green bits of dill. In fact, the borscht was more a showcase for the dill than it was for the sweet and starchy beets. Healthy Food had a true stroke of genius when it came to its tweaking of the traditional borscht format: a side plate of boiled potatoes accompanied the soup so that we could determine the proper ratio of soup to potato.

Thus ends the comparatively healthy portion of our meal.

The entrees were enormous.

We had their blynai, which were mildly sweet, crepe-like, blanket-sized pancakes, ladled with a blueberry compote, and folded over dried cottage cheese curds. I figured that the fruit and cheese option was the way to go with their blynai even though it turns out that they would have been better on their own, accompanied by just a dusting of powdered sugar. I had been expecting a sweet farmer’s cheese, but the dried curds were truly a surprise. They were basically little ball bearings of cheese, dry in the sense that they weren’t melted at all, and mild in flavor. I’m not sure that they really add anything beyond texture and nutrition.

Of course, we had to try kugelis, which is supposedly the national food of Lithuania. Typically, we opted for a gutbusting platter featuring a slab of kugelis, accompanied by an enormous homemade Lithuanian sausage, and a side of sauerkraut. The sausage had a nice snappy casing, but was a bit mild for my taste, almost like a slightly heavier version of weisswurst. And the kugelis is the sort of comfort food that you probably have to have grown up on to appreciate. It’s a dense and creamy slice of potato casserole studded with smoky bits of bacon. Even when paired with sour cream and apple sauce, it’s a bit too intense for me.

We inquired about their “bacon buns”, but were told that they had already run through their supply for the weekend. It turns out that “bacon buns” are basically dinner rolls stuffed with bits of bacon. Sounds enticing, but after all that kugelis and sausage our guts were considerably busted, so it was just as well that bacon buns weren’t on offer.

Though Gina tempted us with an apple pie that was fresh from the oven, we were at capacity.

And in case you were wondering, I did, of course, take a moment to check out the amber collection before we rolled on out of there.

Check out Healthy Food Lithuanian Restaurant:
3236 S. Halsted St.
Chicago, IL
(312) 326-2724

-AC