Disease Proof

I’m a city guy. I’ve always been fascinated by the culture, architecture, and general dynamic of big cities—growing up near NYC has that effect—and one of the places I’ve always wanted to visit is Chicago. Well, I kind of get to do that today. This week Eating to Live on the Outside examines Chicago’s Samba Room.

At first inspection Samba Room looks pretty middle of the road. Not outstanding, but not terrible. The dishes are relatively basic and have a fresh feeling. I’ve found from doing all these reviews that being basic and fresh usually up a dish’s chances of being Fuhrman-friendly. So, let’s see if it holds true. Time to rock and roll!

Alright, first up are the Plantain Chips. They’re an appetizer and served with a black bean and tomato salsa. Provided the chips aren’t fried, I’d order them. If they are—heck no! Not just for health reasons. Fried foods have always grossed me out. That yucky feeling greases your whole mouth and throat—gag!

Okay, next up are two salads—surprise-surprise—the Latin Chopped Salad and the Caesar Salad. The Latin salad needs a little work; it comes with grilled chicken, tomato, red onion, avocado and bacon-cabrales dressing. Cabrales is a type of cheese, so I’m ditching that. Also, the chicken has got to go. In the end you’re not left with much, but hey, it’s still an option!

The Caesar is a lot better—well maybe. According to the menu it comes with chipotle-lemon mojo and toasted pumpkin seeds. I’m not sure what mojo is in food terms, but I have a hunch it’s veggie-based. Clearly the pumpkin seeds are cool. Now here’s the catch. I can't tell if this is like a regular cheesy Caesar salad just mixed with all this stuff or not. So, before I’d order it, I’d ask the wait staff. Cheese, gross!

Next in line is the Marinated Heart of Palm and Jicama, served over sliced tomatoes and fresh citrus. Well, provided that palm and jicama aren’t marinated in bacon fat—which I doubt they are—this looks like a good one. Another option worth trying is the Brazilian Black Bean Soup. If it’s not made with animal broth—cool-cool!

Now, even though I’ve kicked all meat. I still eat fish. Not often, but I do enjoy it. My favorite fish is mahi-mahi—how lucky for me that it’s on Samba’s menu! The Plantain Crusted Mahi-Mahi is prepared on coconut rice, mango-mojo, and with maduro salsa. Well, the rice is a concession, but I can deal with it, especially since mahi-mahi is an Eco Best. Sweet! Also on the menu is Chilean sea bass and red snapper, two words—Eco Worst.

Another thing to try is the Grilled, Mashed & Crisp Vegetables—the title kind of says it all—it includes yuca, marinated onions, portabella mushrooms, and potatoes. I’m not sure you can go wrong with all this. Mushrooms are great. I know Dr. Fuhrman recommends them as a nice chewy substitute for meat. I grew up on mushrooms. I love them, even if they do grow on poop.

It might have been a short—imaginary—trip to Chi-Town, but certainly not uneventful. I’m pretty confident in saying that Samba Room has real potential. Outside of the dishes I mentioned the menu is rough, but if you keep it tight, you can have yourself a decent—healthy—meal. But tell me what you think. How do you handle Eating to Live on the Outside? Check out Samba Room's menu and make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. In the meantime, go eat some lettuce!