Tevi’s Potato Knish from Eleven City Diner
Item Purchased: Tevi’s Potato Knish from Eleven City Diner
Location Purchased: Eleven City Diner / 1112 S. Wabash / Chicago, IL
Price: $5.50 + tax
Review: For those of you not in the know of Jewish cuisine, you can think of a knish as a medium-sized peirogi or samosa with an entire meal stuffed inside. For those of you who strictly cook your meals with a microwave, you can think of a knish as a gourmet Hot Pocket. For those of you who think of a Hot Pocket as gourmet food already, there is no hope for you.
Eleven City Diner makes a batch of fresh knishes daily in their deli. These delicious little things serve nicely as a small (but dense) lunch and compliment a bowl of matzoh ball soup perfectly, so if you want a knish, get to Eleven early. It is not uncommon for them to run out by the early afternoon. The race to beat the lunch crowd is worth every effort though.
What looks like an oversized dinner roll reveals itself to be a tightly packed meal of potato that sits directly on the line between baked and mashed. Across the plate from this buttery crusted ball-o-tuber sits a sizeable dish of clumpy gravy (just the way Mom used to make) to dip the knish in. I purchased this knish for Michaelia, who is a vegetarian, so I promptly whisked away the gravy and used it to dip my portion in. Michaelia used mustard, which turned out to be a fantastic way to enjoy this item. Though, at first site, this is not the best value Eleven has to offer, I will surely be ordering a knish many more times.
A lot of people have complained about Eleven not being a real Jewish deli (no kidding, it is a diner with a deli inside…read the sign!). I’ve heard some complain that it isn’t kosher at all. That’s okay by me. Eleven is the perfect amalgam of diner, deli and Chicago culinary culture all rolled into one, and I for one, cannot wait to try the meat knish.
Maybe I will even drink a glass of milk and wear a toothy smile while I eat it just to spite all of the naysayers.
Rating: 3.75 / 5
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