The mussels from Brussels??

Since we are serious about our mussels, we could not skip Chicago's Belgian beer haven, Hopleaf in Andersonville. They had two kinds of mussels on the menu so we of course had to try both. These mussels were a little on the small side, certainly not Jean Claude Van Damme sized, the original "muscles from Brussels." The first broth was a traditional Belgian-style served in a white ale with shallots and bay leaf. To be honest, Genevieve and I both agreed that these were just "okay." Nothing to write home about (unless you have a blog on mussels). The second type, though, was a Thai curry style. The curry broth was delicious! Spicy, but not too spicy with a little jalapeno, cilantro and lime. And Hopleaf certainly did the frites right, as they were included with the mussels and a side of aioli.

If you're looking for good mussels with more traditional style broth, the consensus between Genevieve and I was that Le Bouchon in Bucktown does a better job. Les moules et ses frites...tres bien! And when you couple that with a Monday night special of half-price bottles of wine and a charming, cozy French atmosphere, I see this as Charlie Sheen-style bi-winning.

Paris in Chicago

In our quest to find the best mussels in Chicago, Kristine and I headed to Maude’s Liquor Bar, located in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. Maude’s has a chic, rustic Parisian atmosphere; it’s very inviting. But, on to the main event - the food. In addition to the mussels and frites (which were served with garlic aioli), we ordered the blackened brussel sprouts and the sausage of the day, which happened to be pork loin blood sausage with horseradish potatoes. The mussels were amazing. They were so far, the best mussels I’ve had in Chicago. They were meaty and flavorful. The sauce was equally as enjoyably. Maude’s serves its mussels with a crispy, French baguette – perfect for sopping up the sauce. The only drawback of the mussels is the price considering the small quantity of mussels. But, on the upside, none of the mussels were closed, so all were good to eat. On par with the mussels were the horseradish potatoes. They were creamy and tart. I also thoroughly enjoyed the blood sausage. It was perfection.

Maude’s, in addition to having great mussels, is a great restaurant.

The beginning....

This quest commenced unknowingly while having lunch at Ivans Oyster Bar and Grill in Howth, Ireland last November. Unexpectedly snowy and cold, after viewing the rolling white (rather than green) hills of Ireland, we tried to thaw out in a warm restaurant and ended up at Ivans. My first impression was that it looked a little more upscale than most of the places we'd been in Ireland, but I could have cared less since I couldn't feel my feet and just wanted to get some food and blood flowing to my extremities again. For whatever reason, mussels sounds good to us, so we ordered some up. And at our table arrived the best mussels I may have had to date... The pot was virtually bottomless, and the mussels were delicious and meaty. We ate them until we were stuffed, (and there were still some left), while watching some teens throwing snowballs at each other outside for what seemed like an hour. We wondered when they would actually get bored of it, but it was likely the first time they had ever seen snow. Leave it to us to go to Ireland the first time they see snow in about 20 years.

Now all we wonder is... will we find such delicious mussels ever again? Well, we're certainly going to try. Ivan... you are a recurring visitor in my food day dreams, you and your big mussels. We heart you.