Brian Erst

Haire’s Gulf Shrimp in the South Loop(next to @mannysdeli )

A Twitter interaction with @chibbqking got me off my ass and my IG hiatus to go to Haire’s which to my mind is the best shrimp in Chicago. (Titus is a Heinie’s partisan but everyone is allowed to be wrong occasionally).

I was ready to head down to 75th and Vincennes when I learned that Haire’s had a second location in the South Loop. A lot easier to get to!

And while you can take the shrimp away from Vincennes, you can’t take Vincennes away from the restaurant- same bulletproof and robbery proof glass setup here too. Manny’s is right next door! This is not an area lacking in police presence, 🤣

The bonus of this spot is he entire kitchen area can be viewed behind the glass, so I got a front row view of the process. Fresh shrimp, properly butterflies and deveined, tossed lightly in dry breading and then deep fried to order. As the coating is light and dry, the shrimp cook quickly, leaving them plump and juicy but with plenty of crisp.

Chicago style shrimp sucks - uncleaned shrimp are entombed in a thick batter and then fried until they are rubbery. The batter is usually poorly seasoned and thicker than the shrimp, so it all comes across as bland if crunchy slightly gross seafood. It always tastes off to me - likely from sodium tripolyphosphate, a full digestive tract and less than stellar food handling.

Haire’s on the other hand is fresh, sweet perfection. The Loop location is less salty than at Vincennes - hitting somewhere in between would make it perfection.

But really, this is the best shrimp in Chicago. Go and get you some!