Let me start out with a little background. I went to med school in Springfield, IL and lived there for 3 years. Anyone who's ever lived in Central Illinois knows the one thing you can find on just about every menu is the Horseshoe. If you've never visited Central Illinois (especially Springfield)... you may have no clue what I'm talking about right now. Let me explain. The horseshoe was created back in the 1920s. The original horseshoe was said to as started as 2 pieces of toast, open-faced and topped with ham then covered in Welsh rarebit cheese sauce and finished with potatoes. The horseshoe (or as some of us like to call it... a heart attack on a plate) has changed a bit over the years and the standard horseshoe now consists of a slice of Texas toast with your choice of meat on top (can be hamburger, ham, bacon, veggie, etc etc etc, and my personal favorite: buffalo chicken breast), then topped with fries and cheese sauce. A-MAZING!!! Each restaurant that serves these changes things up a little... the types of meats and the cheese sauce recipe vary from place to place.
When I moved to Chicago from Springfield about 2 and a half years ago, I craved horseshoes. I searched and searched and couldn't find any Chicago restaurants that served these horseshoes. I periodically searched the internet over the next 2 years and one day I happened upon this place.... and I'm so glad I did.
6 Degrees (http://www.6degreesbucktown.com)
Location: 1935 N Damen (Bucktown).
Food: HORSESHOES!! And ladies and gentlemen... these horseshoes are great! Let's just say, if this place were in Springfield, it would have been my go-to place. I ordered the buffalo chicken ponyshoe (which is just the smaller version of the horseshoe) with extra hot sauce and ranch on the side. I also asked for my cheese on top of the horseshoe... which is how they do it in Springfield. 6 Degrees puts the cheese sauce under the fries. They have a bunch of great reasons why... the fries stay crispy, the sauce stays warm, etc. I like it the old way really just because that's what I'm used to. Horseshoes are often judged by the cheese sauce. I tell you what... this cheese sauce is superb! It's creamy and has great flavor. The ponyshoe option comes with choice of one meat/veggie and the horseshoe comes with choice of 2 meats or veggie. Two of my close friends were along and they are vegetarian. The vegetarian shoe is awesome. I had a bite of it and the veggies are cooked perfectly and actually blend well with the cheese sauce.
Service: Amazing! The owner waited on our table.... which also felt very Springfield to me. She was great. We went to celebrate my birthday and my friends brought me a box of Molly's cupcakes (whoa.... so good. Favorite cupcakes in Chicago by the way.). Ann (our waitress/owner) took the box and put a candle in the cupcakes for me. Ann was very friendly and (as the name of the restaurant implies) we actually knew a lot of the same people from Springfield. I have to say this is one of the first places I've been in Chicago that makes me feel like I'm at home.
Atmosphere: The atmosphere is nice. It's a chill bar with sports on the TVs. The walls are covered with pictures of the owners and their friends. It's a very welcoming bar. The owners seem to try to get to know the people that come in. When we were leaving, Ann took a picture of our party, which was a fun touch.
Price: Great prices. If you go on a Wednesday night... ponyshoes are $6 and horseshoes are $10... any other night, ponyshoes are $8 and horseshoes are $12. I promise you that this meal will FILL YOU UP. It's so much good food. Wednesday also has Sam Adams on special for central Illinois prices!
Another similar spot: THIS IS IT!! Unless you're willing to drive 3 hours south...
I know there is a lack of pictures here, but I got so excited by the meal, I forgot to take the pictures! Here is a pic from last time I ate at 6 Degrees.
Okay - so now I'm hungry!
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