Ask any
Chicago transplant to list the five things they miss most about the
Windy City and it's a good bet the list will include Italian beef
sandwiches, a sandwich Chicago residents have deified--and for good
reason. With all the Chicago transplants in the Duke City, you'd
think anyone serving a good Italian Beef Sandwich would corner the
market and you're right.
Tiny
Sweet Peppers, a humble establishment lovingly tended for 12 years by
affable proprietor Frank Bellino, was until 2005, the only Duke City
restaurant proffering authentic Italian beef sandwiches as well as other
Chicago style sandwiches and pasta favorites. Expatriated Windy
City residents made frequent pilgrimages to Sweet Peppers to appease
their cravings for incomparable Chicago style Italian cuisine.
In
2005, Bellino sold his restaurant to to longtime customers and friends
Tia and Bill Howley. While the Howleys are upholding some Bellino
traditions by keeping the sacrosanct Italian beef sandwich and a few
Sweet Pepper standards, they're capturing the hearts and appetites of
Albuquerque diners with their own innovative stamp of culinary
creations. They're also winning loyal patrons with their genuine,
homespun friendliness. They treat guests like family members and
are as engaging, warm and witty as the most seasoned gasthaus keepers.
The bistro ambience
includes welcoming earth tones and multihued frescoes by Corrales artist
Stephen Bennett, quite a departure from the Italian themed restaurant of
yore. One remnant from the Sweet Peppers days is a pair of shoes
encased in cement, perhaps in observance of Chicago's celebrated Al
Capone days. The menu speaks volumes about America's culinary
diversity with an intriguing selection of salads, sandwiches, pasta and
three "old favorites" from the Sweet Peppers menu.
One gastronomic
departure of which even Bellino might approve is in the preparation of
the aforementioned Italian beef sandwiches. While the time-honored
Chicago tradition calls for the use of rump roast, Bill Howley slow
cooks prime rib for as long as five hours and emphasizes au jus and
cheese on his version. To date, his version doesn't include
giardiniera, although since about 30 people have asked for it, he's
considering adding it. Despite being a traditionalist who likes
his Italian beef sandwich "wet" (dipped into the vat of gravy
and spices in which it is prepared), I must confess to having enjoyed
the Howley's version almost as much. Sure, it wasn't dripping in
gravy, but the beef was tender, piled high and delicious.
New favorites include
the Howley Burger, a big, fat half-pound burger grilled to your
specifications. The Howley Burger starts with a hand-formed
buffalo meat patty gently deposited on six-inch sesame seed buns and
topped with piquant, melted habanero-jack cheese and Bill's signature
Scotch Bonnet ketchup. Scotch Bonnet is of the same species as the
habanero and is found mostly in the Caribbean islands where the Howleys
lived for three years. With a heat rating of 150,000 to 325,000 Scoville
Units, it is one of the most incendiary peppers in the world,
a pepper that will literally blister your hands as Tia found out years
ago in Jamaica.
New Mexicans who pride
themselves in their tolerance of piquant foods will love the Howley
Burger, probably without realizing that the buffalo meat is very high in
essential fatty acids that can aid in the reduction of cholesterol
levels. They will only realize that they're tasting a wonderful
burger whose ingredients educe complementary flavors your taste buds
will love. The Scotch Bonnet ketchup is as flavorful a condiment
as any served in Albuquerque--piquant enough to elicit an endorphin rush
without singing your mouth. An order of shoestring fries with a
Howley Burger is a marriage made in culinary heaven.
A predilection for
incendiary cuisine (and buffalo) is also evident in Bill's 3 pepper
buffalo chili, a concoction of ground buffalo meat, Santa Fe pale ale,
red onions, tomatoes and the pepper triumvirate of Jalapeno, Habanero
and Serrano chilis. A bucket size bowl includes generous portions
of buffalo and packs enough heat to draw beads of perspiration.
If your inclination is
more toward Italian but you still want a tongue tingling burn, Howley's
sausage and penne Arrabiata will do more than satisfy. Howley's
Arrabiata, a spicy marinara sauce is thicker than most tomato sauce, not
runny and messy. The sausage, while not homemade, is redolent with
the garlic, Italian basil and just enough fennel to provide a sweet
contrast.
Rutt's Hut, a
celebrated hot dog stand in Clifton, New Jersey popularized a hot dog
called the "Ripper," essentially a hot dog that's deep-fried
in vegetable oil until the outside turns crispy and the skin bursts
open. In recent years specialty hot dogs such as the Ripper which
are served or prepared in exotic, unconventional manners have gleaned
fanatic followings. One bite of Howley's version of the Ripper and
you'll understand why. Loaded "the Jersey Way," the
Ripper includes relish, kraut, mustard and Bill's special onion sauce.
Not only won't your breath incur permanent damage, your taste buds might
rhapsodize variations of "Wow!" Despite a wrinkled
exterior, the Ripper is surprisingly crisp on the inside with the
"snap" hot dog aficionados crave.
