Tip Top Inn - Permanently Closed

Soups

• Chicken Noodle or Matzo Ball5,00 $

  A hearty chicken broth with carrots, onions, celery, flavored with white pepper, with your choice of Luchen egg noodles or a light fluffy matzo ball. When the Ancient Israelites fled Egypt, they had unleavened flatbreads, but they didn't have matzah balls. Jews had to wait about 2,500 years through a long odyssey from Egypt to the shores of the Rhine River to discover matzah balls. Matzah balls were first concocted in Medieval Germany. Knaidl, the Yiddish name for matzah ball, comes from the German word Knödel, or dumpling

• Soup of the Day5,00 $

  Ask your server for Chef Cesar's daily selection

Salads

• Chef Cesar's Caesar Salad9,00 $

  The recipe of old is still here, with a couple of Chef Cesar's twists, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, a splash of Worcestershire sauce, chopped egg, crumbled queso fresco, ground black pepper toasted croutons and even the anchovy and of course "be careful not to bruise the tender greens" of iceberg, romaine and endive. The popularity of this salad around the world is most likely due to a man that bears the salad's name, Caesar Cardini, it is said that on July 4th 1924 the salad was created on a busy weekend at Caesar's Restaurant in Tijuana Mexico. Caesar was short of supplies and didn't want to disappoint the customers so he concocted this salad with what was on hand. But according to the 3rd edition of Webster's New World Dictionary Caesar salad was invented in 1903 by Giacomo Junia, an Italian cook in Chicago, Illinois. Giacomo called the salad Caesar Salad after Julius Caesar, "the greatest Italian of all time"

• Spinach with Warm Bacon Dressing10,00 $

  Baby spinach leaves, organic petit button mushrooms (Monterey Mushrooms Princeton Il) diced heirloom tomatoes (Amish paste, Cherokee Purple, Red currant) and caramelized pearl onions with a warm vinegar and crisped bacon dressing

• Organic Garden Salad5,00 $

  Organic red and green leaf lettuce tomato and sweet onion with Chef Cesars, creamy chipotle ranch dressing

• Organic Fresh Fruit Salad9,00 $

  Slices of fresh Mango and pineapple, wedges of Mandarin and Kiwi with red and green seedless grapes and topped with strawberry's (Seasonal- starting June 1, Illinois Strawberries) Plow Creek Farms Tiskilwa, Illinois)

• Taco Salad Maria8,00 $

  Julienned iceberg and romaine lettuce with a pico de gio of petit diced tomato, onion and cilantro, salt and lime, topped with fire roasted corn and shredded Monterey jack cheddar all inside a flowering an organic Tomato basil tortilla shell

Sandwiches

• Classic Turkey Club13,00 $

  Slices of house roasted 100% natural lifestyle grown, organic turkey breast, double decked on toasted hearth baked white bread toast with strips of crispy nitrate free, "fresh air pork", uncured organic bacon, with layers of lettuce, tomato and house made mayo served with you guessed it house made original Saratoga potato chips. The sandwich first appeared in 1894 at the famous Saratoga Club-House (an exclusive gentlemen only gambling house in upstate Saratoga Springs, New York) where the potato chip was born

• Jucy Lucy11,00 $

  We take good old Kraft natural American cheese and sandwich it into our hand pressed patty mixture of grass feed organic and USDA prime chuck, charbroiled it to your specifications on our special 120,000 BTU lava rock char broiler, to give it a real charcoal flavor, serve it on a toasted bun with your choice of condiments, and "Nook fries", hand cut fresh fry potatoes, soaked overnight in vinegar and ice water to gain extra crispness, than flash fried. A Jucy Lucy [sic] or Juicy Lucy is a cheeseburger that has the cheese inside the meat patty instead of on top, resulting in a melted core of cheese within the patty. Two bars in Minneapolis claim to be the inventor of the burger, Matt's in the early 1950's and the 5-8 Club a 1920's Speakeasy, but for our money the Top J.L. is at St. Paul's the Nook, this 1930's bowling alley 's Jucy Nooky was voted as one of Americas 5 best burgers

• Pastrami Sandwich19,00 $

  Hand Sliced Katz's Deli Pastrami piled on Skokie's own, Kaufman's Bakery seeded rye bread. With your choice of potato salad or original Saratoga potato chips and of course a dill pickle. Pastrami was introduced to the United States in a wave of Jewish immigration from Bessarabia and Romania in the second half of the 19th century. New York's Sussman Volk is generally credited with producing the first pastrami sandwich in the US in 1887. Volk, a kosher butcher and New York immigrant from Lithuania, claimed he got the recipe from a Romanian friend in exchange for storing the friend's luggage while the friend returned to Romania. Making pastrami in the original slow cured method was something we couldn't do so we decided to bring it from the venerable "Temple of Pastrami" Katz's Deli in New York City. Founded in 1888 Katz's has been making its product, the same way, in the traditional slow cure manner, without injecting chemicals, water, or other additives to speed the process, taking up to a full 30 days to cure

• Chicken Sandwich12,00 $

  A sandwich of Amish boneless organic chicken breast, done as you like, either grilled or fried with lettuce, tomato and house made mayo, on a toasted bun accompanied by our truffle scented pommes frites or original Saratoga potato chips. They are not too innovative on the subject of gender equality, but on the subject of sandwiches, in 1946, Atlanta restaurant owner Truett Cathy created an alternative to the hamburger when he placed a piece of boneless grilled chicken inside a bun and dubbed it the "Chick-fil-A.", Chick-fil-A's slogan is, "We didn't invent the chicken. Just the chicken sandwich"

• The Hamburger10,00 $

  Wherever it started, we start with a quarter pound hand pressed patty of grass feed organic and USDA prime chuck ground burger, charbroiled to your specifications on our special 120,000 BTU lava rock char broiler, on a toasted bun, with lettuce, tomato, pickle and your choice of condiments, accompanied by our truffle scented pommes frites. The Library of Congress credits New Haven, Connecticut for its invention in 1900, but we think the Hamburger was really a Chicago creation. On July 5, 1896, the Chicago Daily Tribune in an article about a local eatery, the Sandwich Car wrote "A distinguished favorite, only $0.50 is the Hamburger steak sandwich, the meat for which is kept ready in small patties and 'cooked while you wait' on the gasoline range"

• Florida Keys Fried Grouper Sliders17,00 $

  Three center cut pieces of fresh Florida Grouper dipped in buttermilk batter, then fried golden and crisp served on a toasted mini burger rolls with shredded lettuce and Chefs own tartar sauce. The grouper sandwich is to Southwest Florida what cheese steak is to Philly its origins are somewhat murky, with no one place being credited with its invention and a whole latta places making it popular

• Tenderloin Sliders15,00 $

  Three medallions of all natural USDA Black Angus filet mignon cook to your specification and served on mini pretzel rolls with your choice of house mayo or spicy horseradish sauce and choice of condiments

Entrees

• Herb Roasted Amish Farm Chicken23,00 $

  A half Amish grown chicken, antibiotic and hormone free range chicken, roasted with slivered shallots, branch tarragon, and sprigs of fresh parsley and thyme with new fingerling potatoes and herb scented natural jus

• Tip Top Sirloin31,00 $

  A 10 oz. all natural USDA prime sirloin steak served with your choice of creamy mashed potato or crispy truffle scented pommes frites and traditional English steak sauce

• Traditional English Fish and Chips21,00 $

  Fresh Atlantic Haddock filet, drenched in Chef's "prince of batters" made with Fullers London Pride English Pale Ale, a splash of lemon juice and a dash of malt vinegar, accompanied by organic Idaho potato hand cut, once blanched, twice fried, "chips"

• Spaghetti Primavera17,00 $

  A combination of lightly cooked broccoli, unpeeled zucchini, asparagus green beans, pea pods, and thinly sliced mushrooms with imported Italian spaghetti, tossed in a light butter cream tomato sauce seasoned with minced garlic, fresh basil leaves, black and red pepper and pines nuts, topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese

• Heritage Bowl18,00 $

  Braised lentils and Illinois forest grown sustainable morel mushrooms (seasonal), with baby spinach and sweet corn broth, (Atol no dairy) served on bed of hearty long grain brown rice. Topped with a spicy pumpkin roulade

• Tenderloin Filet34,00 $

  Local grown Illinois, USDA organic grass fed 8 oz. tenderloin filet, served with your choice of creamy mashed potato or crispy truffle scented pommes frites with a red wine and shallot reduction Merchand di Vin Sauce

• Petit Filet Mignon28,00 $

  A 6 oz. all natural Black Angus USDA choice filet mignon with your choice of creamy mashed potato or crispy truffle scented pommes frites and sauce béarnaise

• Honey Glazed Alaskan Salmon25,00 $

  Wild caught grilled Alaska Salmon filet, topped with a sweet honey glaze, made with chemical free raw honey from Chicago Honey cooperative's green rooftop hives, just South of Columbus Park, served with baby peas and spring onions in butter sauce

• Fettuccini Alfredo17,00 $

  Fresh house made Fettuccini noodle tossed in a delicate butter, cream and parmesan cheese sauce, seasoned with fresh ground black pepper with a touch of garlic and nutmeg

• Tamal14,00 $

  Stone ground heirloom masa, steamed in the husk, filled with butternut squash and a red tomato and roasted Padron pepper salsa. Served with black beans and escabeche

Desserts

• Cheesecake

• Freddys Chicago's South Side Ice Cream

• Crème Brule

• Flavor of the day

Nightly Specials

Monday

• King Crab Legs49,00 $

  "All you can eat" steamed Alaskan king crab legs served with drawn butter (plain or garlic) Corn on the Cobb and truffle scented pommes frites

Tuesday

your choice of three, from any one group below

• Taco Flight11,00 $

  Crab, Fish, or Shrimp in handmade style organic flour or non- gmo corn Tortillas with yellow rice topped with cilantro, lettuce and tomato and frijoles negro and nightly salsas

• Taco Flight8,00 $

  Grilled Zucchini with cilantro pesto, white button and brown cremini mushroom with mole or cauliflower with nacho cheese (dairy substitute from cashews or non nut zucchini based) in non- gmo Tortillas of yellow corn or organic white flour, topped with cilantro, lettuce and tomato served with yellow rice and frijoles negro and nightly salsas

Wednesday

• Southern Fried Chicken Dinner17,00 $

  Our half Amish grown, antibiotic and hormone free range chicken, drenched in Chef Cesar's Dixie beer batter then fried golden and crisp, with your choice of home style mashed potatoes or crispy pomme frite, creamy cole slaw and buttermilk biscuit, all at a very special price

Thursday

• Roast Turkey Dinner18,00 $

  Slices of House roasted organic turkey breast with traditional thanksgiving sage stuffing, home style mashed potatoes and giblet gravy with whipped sweet potatoes and warm honey biscuits Our turkeys are 100% natural lifestyle grown, receive no antibiotic or growth hormones and are fed on non-GMO corn

Appetizers

• Colossal Shrimp Cocktail16,00 $

  Chilled Jumbo, wild caught Shrimp, lemon poached, with our own Bloody Mary cocktail sauce. A dish of cooked seafood with a piquant sauce of some kind is of ancient origin, some of the earliest reports from pre Columbian Mayan Indians along the Caribbean coast. However, the modern shrimp cocktail may have been a creation of the Tip Top's own A. Hieronymus, when during Prohibition, unable to fill his martini glasses with vodka, he took to using them to hold his chilled shrimp appetizer

• Smoke Salmon12,00 $

  Wild caught Alaskan salmon, cured and smoked on premises with apple and cherry woods, thinly hand sliced and accompanied by grilled baguette and traditional garnishes of egg, capers, diced onion and sauce crème fraiche. Smoked salmon was a respected dish of early Native Americans. They performed elaborate smoking rituals as they believed the Great Spirits would drive the salmon away if it was handled improperly. The first smoking factory was in Poland in the 7th century A.D. and in the 19th century, Jewish immigrants brought fish smoking from Eastern Europe to England and America

• Steakhouse Beer Battered Onion Rings7,00 $

  Giant organic red onion rings, drenched in sweet craft beer batter, fried golden brown, served with our own house made ranch dressing or (V), with zucchini based vegan ranch. The exact origins of the onion ring are unknown. One claimant to the invention is the Kirby's Pig Stand restaurant chain, founded in Oak Cliff, Texas, in the early 1920s. The once-thriving chain, whose heyday in the 1940s saw over 100 locations across the United States, also claims to be the originator of Texas toast

• Vegan Vegetable Variety8,00 $

  A selection of fresh chilled organic vegetables, celery sticks, baby carrots, Golden Sweet yellow grape tomatoes and Matt's Wild Cherry currant tomatoes, sweet red and yellow sweet pepper sticks and pickled ramps with a zucchini based ranch dip

• Jumbo Buffalo Chicken Wings9,00 $

  Buffalo style jumbo (Amish raised) chicken wings, with your choice of Ranch dressing or Roquefort cheese cream with chilled celery and carrot sticks. A true American original, the first plate of wings was served on March 4, 1964 at a family-owned establishment in Buffalo, N.Y. called the Anchor Bar. It is said that the bar had accidentally received a shipment of wings (instead of their usual order) and didn't know what to do with them, so the owners wife, Teressa Bellissimo, covered them in her own special sauce and served them with a side of blue cheese and celery, because that's what she had available

• Jalapeno Poppers8,00 $

  Cored jalapeno peppers, stuffed with non- nut based vegetarian cheddar and cream cheese and spices, dipped in soy milk and rolled in flour then drenched again and rolled in spiced bread crumbs and deep fried. The Popper most likely originated as a tex - mex version of the traditional Mexican chile relleno, in Texas around 1972 and was then sometimes referred to as, an Armadillos egg or depending on filing, as an Atomic Buffalo Turd. Fortunately for us, corporate America stepped in, (The Popper Supply Company now Heinz Foods) trademark the word "poppers", when used for "coated and breaded vegetable pieces"

• Fried Vegetable Tempura10,00 $

  Fresh organic slices of zucchini, carrot, onion, green beans and sweet potato in traditional tempura batter, lightly flash fried, served with tempura dipping sauce and konomono (pickled seasonal vegetables). On December 4th 2013, Washoku was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Washoku is written in kanji characters as. The first character, (wa), means Japan and also represents harmony, the second character (shoku) means food and also to eat. Literally translated Japan Food or Harmony to Eat

• Clam Steamers14,00 $

  Tiny sweet east coast Manila clams steamed in a butter garlic white wine sauce served with slices of toasted French baguette for dipping

Late night Bar Menu

10:30 till close

• Little Nooky9,00 $

  Three mini Jucy Lucys of our hand pressed patty mixture of grass feed organic and USDA prime chuck burger, charbroiled it to your specifications served on toasted min buns with your choice of condiments

• Jumbo Buffalo Chicken Wings9,00 $

  Buffalo style jumbo (Amish raised) chicken wings, with your choice of Ranch dressing or Roquefort cheese cream with chilled celery and carrot sticks

• Florida Keys Fried Grouper Sliders17,00 $

  Three center cut pieces of fresh Florida Grouper dipped in buttermilk batter, then fried golden and crisp served on a toasted mini burger rolls with shredded lettuce and Chefs own tartar sauce