Most of the time we use "off the beaten path" to describe a hole-in-the-wall place that's not well trafficked, but still worth the trip. But occasionally OTBP isn't exactly accurate. Sometimes the path is so well worn by people going from point A to point B that they have forgotten to check the local places in between. Especially when there's the comfortable light of the golden arches, or the red roof of the pizza chain down the block. It's not good food, some would say it's not even food, but it's familiar and predictable and safe. It provides "un-hunger", but not much else. How much better off would we be if we pushed outside the predictable and the safe?
Tonight that's exactly what I did. I had a craving for shrimp and sure, I could have taken a relatively short drive to a Red Lobster, or in the other direction Joe's Crab Shack, and had safe and predictable if not great food; but I'd rather take a chance on unknown and potentially awesome. Plus, I prefer to support local businesses whenever possible. So I popped open Google Maps and found The Fishwife on Lombard. Total hole in the wall, but everything is prepared fresh and on-site. Including the desert. I had a slice of pumpkin cheesecake that was insanely good and it came with a dollop of real whipped cream. Not from a can, not even from one of those co2 charged things, REAL whipped cream. The kind that requires heavy cream, a bit of sugar, and a good mixer.
Take a chance tonight. I bet there's a little place like The Fishwife in your neighborhood, you should try it out.
