The 8 Best Hangover Foods In Chicago
By Staff in Food on Jan 1, 2014 4:00PM
By now many of you are waking up from your New Years Eve revelry draining the remaining drops from your bottles of Cook's champagne with a rumbling stomach and a tongue that feels like it was dragged through a bathtub of bootstrap molasses and a feather down pillow. You need something for what ails you.
Last year we kicked off a year long "Best of Chicagoist" series by listing our staff picks for the best hangover foods in Chicago.
It would have been simple to either rehash that post or republish it verbatim and it was considered. (It is New Years Day, after all. We deserve to use our pajamas for something other than blogging.) Instead, we reached out to our readers via our Facebook and Twitter feeds. From there we culled the wheat from a lot of chaff and present you eight choices for fighting that major drunk you tied on last night. Here we go.
Cemitas Puebla
Jeremy Frazier recommended the popular Humboldt Park shop in general and said going there to fight a hangover "works everytime." He didn't recommend anything specific so we'll suggest you punish yourself further with an order of the atomica cemita (teeming with milanesa, ham and carne enchilada) or the pata (cow foot) if you have a cast iron stomach.
Cemitas Puebla is located at 3619 W. North Ave.
Chilaquiles at Danny's Egghead Diner
Reader Ryan Crinnigan recommended this because "it's in the name" and he has a point. We miss the old Alps East diner this replaced but the menu under chef Danny Coronel added a prominent Mexican influence including some of the heartiest chilaquiles you'll find in Chicago. Steak, chicken or chorizo are extra but the spice in this dish will have you sweating out the previous night's bad decisions.
Danny's Egghead Diner is located at 2012 W. Irving Park Road
Don Pedro Carnitas
Jenny Garcia recommended this Pilsen institution and we have to agree with her since we included it in our list of the best tacos in the city. Buy some by the pound, order extra tortillas, top it with the hottest salsa you can find and wash it down with a sixer of Victoria and you'll be back to your 2 a.m. self in no time.
Carnitas Don Pedro is located at 1113 W. 18th St.
Camarones a la Diabla at Mariscos El Veneno
Leo Pelon Reyes went all the way down to Marquette Park for his pick with a dish teeming with so much spice the shrimp may be reanimated as you eat them.
Mariscos El Veneno is located at 6835 S. Pulaski Rd.
Photo credit: Chuck Sudo/Chicagoist
El Solazo's "Paradilla El Solazo"
This West Lawn taqueria has a dish loaded with practically everything it orders for its kitchen. The question to ask is what isn't on this grill because it comes to you overflowing with steak, chicken, chorizo, pork and shrimp. Under all that are cebollitas, tomatoes, peppers, onions and other vegetables marinating in a Lazarus Pit of juices. You should give yourself bonus points if you eat this while some terrible music is blasting through the Touch Tunes jukebox because that is a penance we wouldn't wish on anyone.
El Solazo is located at 5600 S. Pulaski Rd.
Chicken and Waffles from Rocking Horse
There have been many things that have saved lives over the years: epi pens; changes in flight times; DJs. Reader Emily Bouchard said this dish from the Logan Square watering hole did it for her.
Rocking Horse is located at 2535 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Au Cheval's burger
Reader Tabitha Rae Green suggested the popular dish from Brandon Sodikioff's stylized take on the corner diner. There's certainly enough grease and salt to soak up what alcohol is remaining in your system and that's before you add the bacon and other add-ons.
Au Cheval is located at 800 W. Randolph St.
Spicy Udon Noodles From Polygon Café
Reader Mark Winkelman suggested this Andersonville Thai restaurant for its spicy mélange of udon noodles with egg and vegetables in a spicy broth. For those of us who would consider a trek to Amitabul for the cure-all hangover soup too far on this day, this may be a better option plus you get an egg.
Polygon Café is located at 5204 N. Clark St.