The phrase “permanent food installation” sounds like the result of an unpleasant medical procedure. But in Avondale at a new cocktail bar called Ludlow Liquors, it’s what’s used to describe the activity in the kitchen, its food, and its chefs—Nick Jirasek and his sous chef and collaborator Eric Valdivia, who go about their business under the rubric of Old Habits.
I haven’t heard many laments for the Orbit Room, but I sorely begrudged the loss of that creation. Until, that is, I sunk my face into the Beefy Boy, a voluptuous sandwich of pressure-cooked beef cheek and brisket served, on the occasions I ate it, on a pillowy poppy-seed bun (now it’s Texas toast), with salt-and-vinegar chips on the side. Its satiny fat-and-collagen finish cut by tangy giardiniera aioli and fried onion crisps (a la Durkee), it’s a tribute to the late Depot Diner‘s beef sandwich, and the only thing that can interrupt its rapid disappearance is the occasional quick slurp on a cocktail.
The fries themselves are the greatest triumph at Old Habits. Thick and long, they have creamy interiors and crispy exteriors that capably withstand that kind of treatment along with beef gravy or garlic butter, though they have a more difficult time when dipped into a small tub of malted vanilla ice cream. The combo already seems like a ghost of 80s-era MicroMagic frozen meals, so why not serve an actual milkshake? Jirasek promises an improvement when the patio opens and a shake machine goes into service.
2959 N. California 773-754-7492 ludlow-liquors.com
