Calypso Cafe

5211 S Harper Ave
Chicago, IL 60615
(773) 955-0229

Obama made me do it! I mean, how can you come to Hyde Park and NOT eat at the Dixie Kitchen? It's tasty good Sout...er, what's that? It is? Really? Oops! Um...cue the steel drums!! Wehlcom tue Calypso Cafe, mon!! Me lovin' de island flavors!

Actually, I was a little bored by them. By the time we got to CC, we had traipsed all over Hyde Park on the monthly neighborhood tour. I wasn't as hungry as I should have been due to an ill-timed (but sooo yummy) Istria Cafe super-sized chocolate/raisin/nut cookie. So, maybe I should try the Cafe on an empty stomach. Nothing was bad and a few things were really really good. Too bad for me, the majority of it was nothing I ordered.

The bland: I ordered the pulled pork sandwich. Figuring that CC had absorbed Dixie Kitchen's southern gems, I thought I'd hit a home run with my order. The sandwich was a good size but the sauce was a little too vingegar-y for my tastes. Add to that, the pork was more dry & stringy than wet & pulled. I tried to salvage it by topping it with my cole slaw but that didn't help too much. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't memorable. The red beans that came with my sandwich were pretty disappointing. They were mushy and devoid of great taste. I'd had the black eyed peas at Dixie. I should have ordered them again.

The good: peach colada. Like Dave Foley before me, I am not ashamed to admit I am a girl drink drunk. The colada was frosty, refreshing, blended and I drank it with a straw. Also good: everything Ralph ordered. As Rhonda detailed, Ralph had the magical plate. Johnny Cakes: delicious. Fried green tomatoes: didn't try them because they came without remoulade but Rhonda liked 'em (I don't know that Ralph got to eat any). PLANTAIN NACHOS: holla if you hear me!! You know how that crazy woman with the super botoxed face on So You Think You Can Dance just screams because she hasn't mastered the art of speaking in full sentences? These nachos will make you do that. Hot.Damn those are good! And they're loaded. Every chip is full of bean and cheese and pico. Aw man, I could have made a meal of Ralph's lunch. Rhonda did.

Moral of the story: if you come to Calypso Cafe, bring Ralph and eat his food. And make him pay for it. It _is_, after all, his food.

P.S. Thanks to our waiter for great service. Due to the size of our group, we were stuck with automatic gratuity. Because of this, our waiter could have disappeared and given us attitude. He did not. He was attentive and helpful...and appreciated. Thanks!