OP_092916

More documents

Recommendations

Info

28 | September 29, 2016 | The orland park prairie Life & Arts opprairie.com The Dish Serving up seafood from international sources Frank’s Shrimp & Chicken offers fresh delicacies from other countries Rebecca Susmarski, Editor Two or three mornings every week, Frank Castro heads out the door before 6 a.m. to get a taste of international cuisine, but not for himself. He drives to a fish market in Lombard to pick up orange roughy from New Zealand, shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico, scallops from Maine and other fish from around the globe to bring back to his Mokena establishment, Frank’s Shrimp & Chicken. Castro serves the variety of fish grilled, fresh or fried to hungry customers, and his work only begins when he reaches home base on Wolf Road each day. Castro and his staff members fillet, de-bone, devein and fry the fish by hand, as well as check the gills and eyes. Castro also researches his business in his spare time, such as how many imports he can expect to come in and the number of shrimp that have been caught this year compared to last. “It’ll be 2 o’clock in the morning and I’m thinking, ‘I have to pick this up tomorrow,’ or ‘maybe we should run this special,’” Castro said. “I eat and sleep this business.” Castro’s dedication has been shaped by his many years spent working in restaurants. He knew he wanted to work in the business after he started working as a busboy at the age of 14, but his passion for serving up seafood specifically blossomed when he took a job at the Chicago Fish House, a fish-processing plant on Chicago’s North side, about 35 years ago. He owned and worked in a variety of restaurants until he saw a need for a fresh fish business in the south suburbs, and opened up Frank’s Shrimp & Chicken in 2006. He found that working with fish gives him a creative and technical challenge as a chef. “I used to work at a hot dog stand when I was in high school, and there’s nothing Frank’s Shrimp & Chicken 19109 Wolf Road, Mokena Hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday- Saturday 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday For more information ... Call (708) 479- 7775, or visit franksshrimpchicken. com to it,” Castro said. “Put your hot dog on a bun, thaw them out, flip a burger — simple stuff. This is a lot of work, but that’s what I like to do.” The variety in entrees keeps Castro’s career as fresh as the food he serves. Past specials at Frank’s Shrimp & Chicken have included ahi tuna from Hawaii, octopus and swordfish, and Castro always keeps a stocked supply of frogs’ legs that customers can request to be cooked on-site or order to take home. Just like in an old-fashioned fish market, many customers come in and order a few different pieces of fish to eat at the counter rather than a full meal. That inspired Castro to create the grilled salmon and shrimp dinner ($12.95 on special, $13.95 otherwise), or a piece of salmon caught in the Atlantic Ocean and three jumbo shrimp served on a bed of rice. Although the dinner comes with garlic bread, coleslaw and tartar and cocktail sauce — also handprepared by Castro and his crew — the perfectly seared salmon needs no supplement. Its crispy top and bottom protect a tender and succulent interior, and the fish The grilled salmon and shrimp dinner ($12.95 on special, $13.95 otherwise) at Frank’s Shrimp & Chicken incudes a piece of salmon and three jumbo shrimp served on a bed of rice, as well as garlic bread, coleslaw and the diner’s choice of sauces. Rebecca Susmarski/22nd Century Media bursts with so much flavor that a diner might think it has been seasoned, but Castro and his staff cook it with nothing more than a little oil. The jumbo shrimp also emanate freshness with every bite. Castro emphasized that the quality comes from the shrimp being caught straight from the Gulf of Mexico rather than raised on farms. “Somebody who knows shrimp, they can taste the difference,” Castro said. Judging by the loyalty of Castro’s numerous customers, that “somebody” comes in large numbers. Many of the customers followed Castro to Mokena from one of his prior businesses, J.R. Seafood in Oak Lawn, which Castro owned for about 14 years. Some of the most loyal customers include a Joliet family who orders fish and fried chicken every single Friday. Castro said the greatest pleasure he gets from his job is cooking for them and all the other customers who embrace his “unique” business. “They have the choice of going down the street and getting five hot dogs or fries for $5.95, but they elect to eat something a little bit healthier and fresher,” he said. “I couldn’t tell you how much I appreciate them as customers.” Other dishes not to miss: • Golden fried chicken four-piece dinner ($5.95) — Customers may wait about 12 minutes for this chicken leg, thigh, wing and breast to be cooked, but that’s because Castro and his staff bread and fry the chicken to order. The meal also comes with fries and coleslaw, and can be ordered with one of Frank’s Shrimp & Chicken’s five homemade sauces. • Cajun catfish poorboy ($8.95) — the most popular sandwich ordered by customers other than the shrimp poorboy, this tender catfish sandwich is served spicy and comes with free fries and a soda. 288410_5.5_x_5.indd 1 9/22/16 9:20 9:21 AM
opprairie.com Puzzles the orland park prairie | September 29, 2016 | 29 crosstown CROSSWORD & Sudoku The crosstowns: Frankfort, Homer Glen, Lockport, Mokena, New Lenox, Orland Park, Tinley Park Crossword by Myles Mellor and Cindy LaFleur Across 1. Tinley Park campaign to help fill people’s pantries, goes with 5 across 5. See 1 across 10. Number of museums within walking distance of Downtown Lockport 14. The Buckeye State 15. High spot 16. Pencil movement 17. Orangeroot, a perennial herb 19. Auto pioneer 20. It’s half the faun 21. Hip-hop ‘bro’ 22. Humped creature 25. Rose Bowl locale 28. Alluring woman, in the Middle East 29. Airs 30. Celtic rival 31. Worry 32. Brown shade 33. Pond beginning 34. Self starter? 36. Grp. concerned with defense 38. Flower pollen robber 41. “Go ahead!” 43. Antiseptic targets 45. This way, or that 48. Salad fruit 49. Outfit 50. Economic upturn 52. Like pecan pie 53. Amorphous creature 54. Went on 56. C.I.A. worry 57. Pastel hue 63. Love god 64. Distend 65. Baby kangaroos 66. Calendar item 67. Made of a cereal grass 68. Tentlike dwelling Down 1. Confusion 2. “So that’s your secret!” 3. <strong>OP</strong>EC commodity 4. White Sox opponents 5. Comic Carvey 6. Staff symbol 7. Temper 8. By way of 9. Moray, e.g. 10. Type of insurance 11. Ewing and Getty 12. Water nymph 13. Fix the chair 18. Stone artifact 21. Possesses 22. Blacken 23. First-class 24. Faces 25. Shot, for short 26. Freshen 27. Put down 29. Life’s tale 35. At leisure 37. To-do list 38. Man’s cologne 39. Give off, as light 40. Perceive 42. ___ League 44. An official charged with the care of the horses of princes or nobles 45. Set up 46. Shark hanger-on 47. Spotted animal 48. Gametes 51. Well beyond chubby 54. Red state 55. Foreboding 57. Blood drive letters 58. As being 59. Furthest or highest, abbr. 60. Debtor’s note 61. Negative conjunction 62. Guinness suffix How to play Sudoku Each Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9x9 grid that has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3x3 squares. To solve the puzzle, each row, column and box must contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. LEVEL: Hard Sudoku by Myles Mellor and Susan Flanagan answers ORLAND PARK The Brass Tap (14225 95th Ave. Suite 400, Orland Park; (708) 226-1827) ■8 ■ p.m. Tuesdays: Trivia. Prizes awarded ■9 ■ p.m. Fridays and Saturdays: Live music Fox’s Restaurant and Pub (9655 W. 143rd St., Orland Park; (708) 349- 2111) ■6 ■ p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays: Live entertainment ■7 ■ p.m. Fridays and Saturdays: Live entertainment and face painter Papa Joe’s (14459 S. LaGrange Road, Orland Park; (708) 403-9099) ■5-9 ■ p.m. Thursdays: Gene Infelise and Francesca ■6-10 ■ p.m. Fridays: The keyboard stylings of Roger Pampel Rokwelz Bar Meets Grill (11265 159th St., Orland Park; (708) 226-0042) ■7 ■ p.m. Tuesdays: Bingo. Free to play. Progressive jackpot. Minimum $500 ■8 ■ p.m. Thursdays: Bingo Square Celt Ale House & Grill (39 Orland Square Drive, Orland Park; (708) 226- 9600) ■8 ■ p.m. Tuesdays: Acoustic Night/Open Mic Night ■8 ■ p.m. Wednesdays: Free Trivia ■8 ■ p.m. Thursdays: Country Night ■10 ■ p.m. Fridays: Live DJ ■10 ■ p.m. Saturdays: Live Music/Band ■9 ■ p.m. Sundays: Karaoke Traverso’s Restaurant (15601 S. Harlem Ave., Orland Park; (708) 532- 2220) ■8 ■ p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays: Karaoke To place an event in The Scene, email t.carroll@22ndcenturymedia. com.
Page 1 and 2: orland park’s Award-Winning Homet
Page 3 and 4: opprairie.com news the orland park
Page 5 and 6: opprairie.com News the orland park
Page 7 and 8: opprairie.com Orland Park the orlan
Page 9 and 10: opprairie.com News the orland park
Page 11 and 12: opprairie.com School the orland par
Page 13 and 14: opprairie.com Community the orland
Page 17 and 18: opprairie.com Sound Off the orland
Page 19 and 20: A double serving From Enrico’s It
Page 21 and 22: opprairie.com Life & Arts the orlan
Page 23 and 24: opprairie.com Dining Out the orland
Page 27: opprairie.com Orland Park the orlan
Page 31 and 32: opprairie.com Classifieds the orlan
Page 45 and 46: opprairie.com Sports the orland par
Page 47 and 48: opprairie.com Sports the orland par

OP_092916

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?