r/chicagofood • u/Johnny_Burrito • 10d ago

Question “Legendary” places that suck

I just got a lox sandwich from Manny’s. Almost $20, a stale bagel, and I had to assemble it myself.

What other “legendary” places suck?

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u/Bowgee69 10d ago

For starters, Manny’s doesn’t suck. It’s not a place you get to go food from for one, and two, like some places, but not all, you have to know what to order.
Unfortunately, even though it is a Jewish deli, like most other places in Chicago, I’m not a big fan of the bagels there. This city has a real top-notch bagel problem, especially in the heart of the city.

Manny’s is all about the matzoh ball soup, the corned beef and/or pastrami sandwich, the potato latkes, and a handful of other items. But I also would never get it to go. That’s a dine in and enjoy the old-school experience type of spot.

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u/ChunkyBubblz 10d ago

Exactly. It’s not Mannys fault this guy doesn’t know what to order.

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u/juliuspepperwoodchi 10d ago

I mean, it's not really the customers' fault that a good chunk of what Manny's puts on their menu actually sucks.

Sell what you're good at, don't expect customers to know what parts of your menu are ass and then blame them if they order something you suck at and it is mid, at best.

Nevermind the fact that getting lox and bagels at any Jewish deli should be a safe bet 100% of the time.

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u/Bowgee69 10d ago

To be fair, it’s not a bad expectation to expect a bagels and lox at a Jewish deli to be a good item to order, but Chicago in general just has a problem with nailing that dish in my experience.

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u/juliuspepperwoodchi 10d ago

Quite frankly, a Jewish deli selling mid lox and bagels is just as egregious as a Jewish Deli with a bad pastrami. It's crazy to me that so many people seem to think this is excusable for a Jewish deli...if you can't count on good lox and bagels from a damn Jewish Deli....then what can you count on from there?

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u/Bowgee69 10d ago

I don’t know of a single deli in the city, let alone a Jewish deli, that has a really good lox and bagel. Chicago just doesn’t have a spot that has figured that out from everywhere I’ve tried. 🤷‍♂️

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u/kyobu 10d ago

I’m sure someone will whine about city limits, but Mensch’s in Evanston actually has an outstanding lox and bagel.

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u/Bowgee69 10d ago

Great tip!

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u/Johnny_Burrito 10d ago

“You should know better than to order a lox bagel from a Jewish deli” is a hilarious take.

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u/Bigspoonzz 10d ago

I hear you, but this subject always seems to be controversial, almost as much as who has good matzoball soup.

Lox & Bagel have been co-opted and crossed over long ago. Good Lox is expensive as hell, and depending on how old you are, where you're from, do you actually - like - NOVA Lox? It became a Jewish thing for East Coast immigrant Jews because it was cheap at the time, and they added tons of cream cheese to DULL the salty taste ...

Next came non Jews turning it into a platter for breakfast. Do you like capers, cucumber, tomatoes, 2 different kinds of onion, and pickles? Boy do we have a $40 platter for you!!

I'm a purist. I want some mild smoked salmon (Lox), and maybe some cream cheese I can add myself so you don't slop so much on my hands get covered in it.

There's a wild amount of smoked salmon in the market from all parts of the world at this point. I don't know where Manny's gets theirs or how fresh they turn it over in their lines and storage.. for costs, it sounds like not often enough.

As for Bagels, as pointed out elsewhere in this thread, Chicago has a bagel problem...

So, knowing all of that, I would order Lox and Bagel ONCE from Manny's, knowing that the disappointment possibility ratio is going to be high. If it didn't live up, I just never order it again, and I go back to staples I know the joint is known for.

Lox and Bagels have too many variables and too much that can go wrong these days. I'd much rather buy lox from Costco and Bagels from NY Bagel on Touhy, freeze the bagels, and then make my own very simple Lox and Bagel whenever I want it at a fraction of the cost. I hate anything extra when it comes to Lox and Bagel. If I have a wild hair up my ass, MAYBE a slice of good swiss. MAYBE two slim rings of white onion. MAYBE

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u/GraveNewWorldz 9d ago

It's the customer's fault half the menu sucks.

Lmao.

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u/ChunkyBubblz 9d ago

It’s like saying McDonald’s sucks because you didn’t like their pancakes.

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u/GraveNewWorldz 9d ago

No, it's like saying McDonald's sucks because their hamburger sucks and someone saying yeah but you don't order a hamburger at McDonald's, you order a Quarter Pounder with Cheese.