To think, Luzzat is less than a block away and I had never tried it until tonight. This hidden gem on Jarvis Avenue in Rogers Park came recommended by one of the other shop keepers in the neighborhood, and I had been meaning to try it, but it always slipped my mind. What a fool I’ve been to have waited so long.

Luzzat is a wonderfully quaint little Indian restaurant tucked away one block west of Sheridan Avenue on Jarvis and right off of the Jarvis Red Line El stop in the East Rogers Park area of Chicago.  There are only six or so tables as well as a carry out window. Nothing fancy, but the place was clean and well kept. The first thing that you encounter when you walk through the door is the delicious aroma of curry and exotic Indian spices. They have some posters of India on the wall and some other decorations as well as soft Indian music playing. Like I said, it’s not fancy. It’s a bit like being invited into someones home. You can feel the love and pride that is used to prepare the food.

Luzzat is BYOB, (bring your own bottle), and there is no corkage fee. Across the street is a great little wine shop called Taste just in case you happen to forget to bring a bottle.

Tonight’s special was Chicken Curry, which I happen to really like, so I ordered that along with a vegetarian samosa and hummus.  My wife Cat, had  a craving for spinach so she ordered the Palak Paneer which is spinach and home made cheese bits simmered in spices and gravy. She also ordered the Sag Chicken which is basically the same as the Palak Paneer, except it has Chicken in spinach instead.

The hummus came with naan, a delicious Indian flat bread which had just been grilled as well as a cilantro based dipping sauce and a sweet red sauce. The hummus was creamy and smooth with a hint of garlic and was topped with a light oil, (I presume olive oil), and some slightly hot peppers  slices and olives.  The vegetarian samosa was a piping hot and steamy crispy pastry with a filling of potatoes, peas and coriander leaf, (cilantro).

The entree’s were served next accompanied with  a good amount of deliciously aromatic basmati rice.  My Chicken Curry was cooked to perfection. It had just the right amount of spiciness to it and the curry sauce was creamy and delicious. Cat’s two spinach dishes were also delicious.  The only difference that I could notice between the two was that one had these large bits of the home made cheese, (the Palak Paneer), while the other, (the Sag Chicken), had bits of chicken instead. Both were flavorful and came in abundant portions.

I can honestly say, this is the best Indian food I have ever had! The cook took great pride and care in the preparation of her food. As mentioned above, it almost had the feeling like we had been invited to dine at someones home where the cooking is done for the love of it, not just to make money. The staff was small with the feel of a family business.

I highly recommend Luzzat Indian Resturant whether it be for a quick bite or a nice homey sit down type of meal. The prices are very good, (we spent a total of $32.00 between the two of us),  and ended up taking home quite a bit of left overs.  It’s not a fancy place, but the food is so good that even if I didn’t live right around the block, I would make it a point to travel up here to eat at this wonderful gem of a resturant.

Luzzat is located at 1505 W. Jarvis Ave in the East Rogers Park area of Chicago. Their hours are from 12 noon to 9 p.m Wednesday through Monday. They are closed on Tuesdays.  While at this point reservations are not needed, if you want to call to order take out, the number is 773-764-1065.  Map

If you enjoy Indian food, heck if you enjoy food in general, you have to try Luzzat.

Schlitz Beer, it's back!

Schlitz Beer, the beer your parents, or in some cases, your grandparents drank is back! With a retro taste from the original Schlitz Beer recipe last used in the sixties, Schlitz has a great new taste, or in this case old taste!

Schlitz began it’s life in 1849 when August Krug, a German immigrant opened a resturant in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Brewing beer on the side to serve to his patrons, Krug rapidly turned his fledgling enterprise into a brewery.

In 1850, Joeseph A Schlitz begins working for Krug as a book keeper. When Krug dies 6 years later leaving no off spring to take over the business, Joeseph Schlitz marries his widow and takes over the operation, thus Schlitz Beer is born!

Through the years, Schlitz became the number one selling beer in America and held that postion until Anheuser-Busch takes the throne in 1953.  Schlitz still managed to do very well until the 1970′s when Schlitz decided to change the fermentation process and add a seaweed extract to produce fermentation. This didn’t go over well as the seaweed hardened and settled on the bottom, not to mention dramatically changed the taste. Schlitz ceased to exist in 1981.

The Schlitz brand is now owned by Pabst Brewing which has decided to re-introduce this once famous brand back into the market by going retro and producing it with the recipe used in the early 1960′s.

I was very pleasantly surprised when I first tried the new, old Schlitz. For a light lager, it has a rather full bodied taste. Neither too sweet or bitter,  the taste of the grains came through without an overly hopped brew.

Schlitz had followed the trend in the late sixties to a lighter beer with very little taste and meant to be drunk in large quantities. Now they’ve come back to taste. I give this new Schlitz with an old world taste a solid thumbs up! Just in time for summer

The Chicago Online Marketing Summit, or Chicago OMS for short, was a great source of information and chance to see what everyone else was doing. The Chicago OMS is different from most in that the seminars are the main focus and not the commercial aspect . The Chicago OMS opened with a keynote motivational talk from Aaron Kahlow, whom if you’ve never heard Aaron Kahlow speak, you’re missing an outstanding speaker. Aaron is very inspirational and dedicated to education. Not wanting to commercialize the messages of the Chicago OMS, Aaron encouraged everyone to, “boo”, any speaker that starts to turn their seminar into a commercial by pushing their product. I believe the speakers got the message as they all stayed on track and shared some extremely valuable lessons.

Kevin Lee, SEO guru and founder of Didit, managed to pack 14 hours of information into his one hour seminar. I have writers cramp from taking so many notes of the great information that Kevin had to share. Chris Baggott, Co-Founder and CEO of Compendium Blogware also passed on some great info and techniques for successful business blogging which was geared for ranking with the search engines. There were a number of other speakers and events at the Chicago OMS as well which were all packed with great information. Definitely a worthwhile seminar! With lunch included that had the best darned cookies I’ve ever had, and free drinks after at a happy hour sponsored by the Chicago OMS, The Chicago Online Marketing Summit was a great value packed with information and networking opportunities!

In addition, the Chicago OMS was a good reason to spend some quality time with our east coast friends Adam and Beth from Baldy Dog and Pixel Head Online, who came in for the Chicago Online Marketing Summit. Not missing an opportunity to review some of Chicago’s finest culinary fare, Adam had a chance to review some Chicago Pizzas as well as the food at a Chicago Firehouse and many other great venues… including my cooking!

All in all, the Chicago OMS was a great time and a great chance to learn from some top level speakers.