La Ciudad: Mexican Food without the Sombrero

Recently, someone asked us how we would choose the one restaurant to visit for each of the popular cuisines, like Italian or Chinese or Mexican, and we didn't have a good response (some of our friends have mistakenly assumed we've put lots of thought into this project, and that's adorable!).  This past weekend we came up with the answer: we opted for La Ciudad for Mexican cuisine because it was a nice afternoon and the restaurant was an easy walk from our place.  We weren't that familiar with the restaurant, but we were aware that the place had been featured on Check, Please!, so we strode off confidently, knowing that the liberal media wouldn't steer us wrong.

Manny's Deli: A Chicago Tradition, or Rumination on the Culinary Heritage of the Jewish Diaspora

When we sat down to write out a list of international cuisines, we weren't sure about how to address Jewish cuisine, and in particular where the quintessential Jewish deli fit in.  But since we had been wanting to visit Manny's Cafeteria and Delicatessen for a while, we decided it wasn't too much of a stretch to include them in our project.  Plus, yet another unsuccessful trip to the DMV (don't ask) left us with a rented I-GO car and some time to kill.  We already knew all about bagel and lox, matzo ball soup, and a good deli sandwich from excellent sources--Woody Allen and Larry David--but we wanted to learn more and learn it first hand.  With its cafeteria line and ample seating, pictures of visiting presidents on the walls, and tables full of old men shooting the breeze, Manny's feels like what you want an old school deli to feel like, so let's take in the wonders of Jewish delicatessen cuisine!