Best Dishes: Stuffed Turkey Sandwich at Silver Cloud

In case you hadn't noticed, Fall has arrived. Since today was cool and cloudy, Jeff and I decided it'd be a great day to head to Silver Cloud for one of our favorite cool-weather meals. Silver Cloud is a bar/restaurant in Bucktown that specializes in comfort food. The atmosphere is nice and cozy, the service is friendly and competent, the bar stocks great seasonal beers (most of them craft) and features an out of this world seasonal cocktail list. (Their winter drinks are my absolute favorite.) To top it all off, they do comfort food really, REALLY well. We have two favorite items on the menu: 1) the chicken pot pie (perfect for a winter dinner) and 2) the stuffed turkey sandwich, which is what we ordered and what we'll be chatting about today.

The stuffed turkey sandwich is comprised of white meat roasted turkey (for real roasted; I believe they cook a turkey daily at Silver Cloud), cranberry sauce and stuffing in between two pieces of toasted white bread. Normally, the sandwich comes with mayo. Naturally, I ask for it without any. Fortunately, I feel that the stuffing and the cranberry sauce do enough on their own to prevent the sandwich from being too dry. This thing is like Thanksgiving in a sandwich, but better -- because you can get it any day of the year! Given that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, it's not surprising that I like to experience the glory that is that meal multiple times a year (or month if I'm really feeling extreme).

The toasted white bread isn't something I'd normally choose for a sandwich, but it really works here. The toastiness adds to the flavor and provides an important crisp textural component. The turkey is cooked perfectly and layered in thick slices just like real Thanksgiving leftovers. The stuffing is savory, served warm and never too dry. It's the perfect complement to the natural sweetness that is the cranberry sauce, which is an ideal final touch to a great sandwich.

I also like to start my meal with a Bloody Mary, which they do very well at Silver Cloud. Every Saturday and Sunday, they have $4 Bloody Marys -- and for an additional $0.75, you can get one of their "Snazzy Skewers," which consist of a blue cheese-stuffed olive, a shrimp, an artichoke heart, green pepper, red pepper, celery and a pepperoncini pepper. I highly recommend splurging and spending that extra 75 cents -- it's a delicious addition to an already well-made drink.

I can't wait to go back for my first chicken pot pie of Fall 2010. It is the best chicken pot pie in the city. Yes, I have tried quite a few chicken pot pies around town and yes, that does officially make me Cartman. I'm okay with that. Trust me when I say that this thing is the real deal. More about the chicken pot pie and the winter cocktails to come... In the meantime, spend a blustery day nice and warm inside a booth at Silver Cloud -- enjoying an early Thanksgiving.