Hughie's Tavern: Hot Shaking Beef

My friend would be so proud of that title. And, ok, the word "hot" is actually not a part of the dish's name, but I added that part because of a penchant for immature humor, and that friend I mentioned likes to yell, "who wants hot beef?!" at the end of the night when we've all been drinking. Kinda sad, I know, but I laugh a little every time. 

The Vibe: 

Dining alone that night, which is something I tend to do, I wanted something close to home, that was low key, casual and easy. I had tacos on the brain, and I had it in my head I was going to go to Torchy's and get a margarita, queso, and a couple of tacos, but I was reminded of Hughie's when I got into my car. My roommate and his boyfriend had raved about how good they thought the food was, and it's about 5 blocks away from the house, so it was an easy sell, and as it turns out it got some conflicting press not too long ago. The building seems a little older and more rustic, which I'm a fan of. I like things with character and stories, buildings included. The architecture is a little different, for lack of a better descriptor, but the feel on the inside is something like a dive bar, which I love. Unassuming. Quiet. Dark. 

When I got in there I realized I was the only girl in the bar, only one of about three in the entire restaurant, not including female staff. It was mildly awkward, but that's ok, because I'm mildly (a lot) awkward. 

The Food & Beverage: 

I just drank a few Fireman Fours, even though I wanted to try the Gose on the menu after I'd tried a lemony one at 8 Row Flint (but that one was $8 so I went for the sour red ale instead, which was delicious), and even though the one here at Hughie's was reasonably priced, for whatever reason, maybe all the testosterone floating around me, I wasn't really in the mood to venture out of my comfort zone any more than I already was. 

The menu is Vietnamese. I told a friend I'd enjoyed it. She told me she and her husband used to go, but then stopped going because it had been shut down for rats and/or health code violations. I can't decide how I feel about that. On the one hand eeeeeew, just no, gross--- rats. But then on the other hand I had also just had a problem with rats in the Heights in my own, and it wasn't for lack of cleanliness. The place was just old and not secured well from the outdoors, and it was easy for them to get in. Fckn gross. Rats are fckn gross. I'll never forget the night when I had a stare down with Ratatouille when I was watching TV on the couch and I saw him from across the room in the kitchen. He had gone straight to the dog's bowl. Where the do was, and why he didn't try to get to the damn thing still baffles me. Although even if he would have, I wouldn't have wanted to deal with that situation either. 

The Shaking Beef was what had caught my attention on first pass of the menu, but I make it a habit to ask servers for their opinions before making a final selection. If they reinforce my original choice, it's an easy sell. If their opinion is way off from my, I'll completely dismiss the conversation... So really I'm looking for validation most of the time. I kept thinking the name should be "Shaken Beef," and not "Shaking Beef," but what do I know about Vietnamese food and whether or not it should be shaken or shaking. (ASIDE" Googled it. Shaking beef called "shaking" as a reference to how you move the skillet while cooking. Inquiring minds need to know.)

The Shaking Beef was quite good. The quality of the meat was better than I had anticipated for it being a dive, and the flavors were all there. Of course I also put an egg on my dish, because why not? Typically fried eggs make everything at least 162% better with their runny, yellow goodness spinning all over everything. 

The kale salad was a bit limp and left something to be desired, but the confusing sauce stuff they serve on the side with it is quite delicious. I couldn’t figure out what it was at first, or what it was for, if I was supposed to use it as salad dressing, or if I was supposed to just dump it all over the plate, so I asked the waitress. She said it was an accompaniment for the beef, but some people just like to dip in in there. It was almost vinegary. Whatever it was was acidic, she said it was just lemon juice, but I’m not convinced there wasn’t more to it. 

The Verdict: 

I'd probably go back again with company. Rats be damned. If I ate in my own kitchen again knowing those rat bastards had been all over my cork trivets (that I threw away) and in my peanuts (which I most definitely threw away--- again, gross), I can eat in someone else's kitchen who doesn't have rats anymore... hopefully.