By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
November 27, 1996
535 N. Michigan (312) 644-3524
Hours: Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday till 11 p.m.; closed Sunday
Prices: entrees, $6.95-$17.25; side dishes, 95 cents-$5.75
Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express
To-go charge: 50 cents; no delivery
Boasting a concise menu of hearty treats ranging from tasty salads to spicy jambalaya to a thick, tender steak filet, Bandera hasn’t given my tastebuds a bad experience yet. It’s one thing to get a delicious meal in a restaurant, but Bandera’s food translates well when carrying out, too.
The Bandera Salad ($8.75), which is topped or sided with juicy, warm roasted chicken, is a favorite. (If you’re a vegan, you can ask the chef to 86 the poultry and add more vegetables.) This rich combination of romaine lettuce, arugula, avocado and tomatoes is sinfully delicious. Adding to the dish’s piquant flavor are generous sprinklings of goat cheese, dates and cornbread croutons, three ingredients I don’t ordinarily like. But tossed together, they create a tangy zest that is addictive.
If you need something more substantial to get you through the rest of the day, the roasted chicken ($9.95; $4.95 for a child’s portion) is excellent. Slow-roasted in a stone oven over a hardwood fire, the meat is tender enough to cut with a plastic fork. You also have a choice of three sides. The generous serving of mashed potatoes
is practically a meal in itself. If you want something lighter, opt for cole slaw or assorted fresh vegetables.
For those who like a little more spice in their lives, the New Orleans-style jambalaya ($12.75) is worth a try. The andouille sausage and chicken, simmered with flavorful basmati rice, leaves you begging for a breath mint afterward, but it tastes good going down.
The only dish to steer clear of is the Manilla clams ($11.25). The pan-roasted clams are served over a huge mound of grilled sourdough croutons, which sounds good in theory. But by the time I brought it back to the office a few blocks away, the croutons were a soggy mess and the clams proved to be puny and tasteless.
Regardless of which dish you try, I highly recommend ordering some cornbread with it. With each bite, you’ll get a few soft corn kernels that are a pleasant surprise. You can buy a slice for 95 cents, but if you bring home a skillet of it ($3.95), you probably won’t have to worry about what to do with the leftovers.
There won’t be any.
