A week or so back I headed down to the Taste of Randolph really as an excuse to travel to the newly opened Morgan El Station on the orange line. This station has opened up the Randolph Street corridor to the El rider, as you descend from the platform,  if you walk South about 5 minutes along Morgan Street you hit Randolph St right in the centre.

On this particular trip I was taking advantage of the Taste of Randolph Street for inspiration (or at a $10 donation was it taking advantage of me?)

I was slightly perturbed by the lack of anything out of the ordinary, and even more perturbed thinking that I could have just walked along the sidewalk and popped into the various resturants and saved myself $10 for the right  to look at them from a distance and eat some of their food from a warmer in a fenced off strip down the middle of the road.

Despite the fact that I did get to hit a new El Stop, I was being grumpy, but come on now there must be something here, just look harder, and be less fussy.

I did find one Diamond in the rough, that was Belly Q, touted as Modern Asian Barbecue, and coming soon to the Randolph Street corridor. They had a stall at the festival and their sandwiches were looking pretty tasty as I saw them leave on other peoples hands. In particular the Beef Sandwich with Curry mayo looked good, so I snagged one and headed off into the shade to try it out.

It may not have looked too much but flavour wise it was a revelation. The thinly sliced beef had been marinated and was dripping both with juice and chin dribbling mess. Randomly sliced carrots got in the way a bit, but they did add crunch, on top was a really nice dollop of curried mayo, a bit like the sauce you make coronation chicken with. It worked as a sandwich, and it was enough to entice me to try out  the resturant when it opens  

Belly Q is headed up by Chef Bill Kim who also has Urban Belly and Bellyshack in their stable. Soon to be open at 1400 W Randolph

Website: http://www.bellyqchicago.com/