My mom has been here for a week from Kansas, and as you will be absolutely surprised to learn, meals were a prominent part of her Chicago experience. Here are her comments on some well-known places:

Smoque: “Terrific! I thought that was great barbecue. Good fries with skins on.”

Art of Pizza: “Little too much dough to my liking. But tasty overall, a nice fresh taste.”

Lao Sze Chuan: “I’m glad we didn’t order intestines and frogs, because what you did order was very tasty.” (Chicken crack, stir-fried pea shoots, tea-smoked duck.)

Pasta alla Genovese (made at home): “Wouldn’t have thought of putting pasta and potatoes together, but it was wholly satisfying with the new potatoes from the farmer’s market.”

Muskie’s: “That was a hot dog and fries. Are we rating that too? Good hot dog and fries.”

Urban Belly: “I think some people must have a genetic disposition to Japanese and Asian flavors. And I’m not one of them.” (Editor/Favorite Son’s Note: I really liked the pozole-like pork belly and hominy, though.)

Hot Doug’s: “That was very interesting, all the different flavors. I liked all the many combinations.” What was your favorite? “The Thuringer, and the smoked fennel sausage with sage cheese.”

Mado: “No one expects the wild boar heart!” (Rob Levitt brought us that as a special treat to taste from his recent wild boar dinner.) “Lovely assortment of pates, I’m a big pate fan, and interesting twist with the pickled beets instead of cornichons.”

Smak Tak: “Great comfort food, close enough to what my grandmother used to make. I’m going to try to make the hunter stew, sauerkraut cooked in veal juices, and the pierogi are first cousins of vareniky, so it’s traditional comfort food for me. Really liked the sauerkraut and mushroom pierogi.”

Noon-O-Kebab: “Very good mideast food, but that’s something I’m very used to.” (Wichita has a substantial Lebanese population and a number of quite good restaurants.”

La Cebollita Grill: “I’m a spice wimp like I’m an Asian food wimp, I guess. But I really liked the Day of the Dead exhibit at the Mexican Fine Arts Museum.”

Oriana’s Asian pears at Green City: “I’m a huge new fan of Asian pears, especially since they’re good for wiping out your cholesterol. Nice subtle differences, with a little winey taste to some of them. Can’t wait to make a salad with little greens and gorgonzola cheese.”

Overall: “More meat than I’ve eaten in three weeks. Meat-O-Rama. So much good food that I hardly missed having tuna fish casserole or Jell-O with marshamallows.” (That last part was sarcastic. I think.)