Oak Park’s new palace of protein

Walking into Wild Fork, which opened at the cor ner of Lake Street and Harlem on Dec. 24, I felt like Robin Williams in Moscow on the Hudson Playing a newly arrived Russian émig ré, Williams walks shyly down the coffee aisle of an American grocery store before dropping to his knees and wee ping with disbelief at the incredible range of buying options

My first experience of Wild Fork was not quite so dramatic, but I must admit to a small sense of awe at their remarkable range of meat, fish and seafood.

We usually pick up ribeye steaks from Carnivore on New Year’s Eve; this year, I thought it’d be interesting to try a few from this new palace of protein. I was somewhat overwhelmed; there were about a do zen dif ferent “kinds” of ribeyes to choose from, from USDA Choice Black Angus through A5 Wagyu. There were also exotic meats — ostrich, elk, yak, etc — and a lot of fish and seafood. Overall, an impressive ar ray of protein.

At Wild Fork, everything is frozen. There are cer tainly some benefits to flash-freezing meat and other proteins at the peak of freshness, though I couldn’t suppress an involuntary side-eye at signage proclaiming, “Fro zen is Fresher” — a touch too Orwellian for me.

For all the good things that Wild Fork brings to the table, there’s a cer tain sterility to the walls and aisles lined with refrigerated bins. The perfect local contrast to Wild Fork is, of course, Carnivore, perhaps one-fifth the size of this new meat mega-mar t.

In the same way, visiting a small family-owned store like Candycopia provides an opportunity to chat with people who are passionate about sweets, who know their stuff and seem genuinely interested in educating customers about their wares. Though one can usually get a better price on Amazon, I much prefer the small-store shopping experience, though like many of us, I frequently default to Amazon because it’s so darn convenient.

Wild Fork is a valuable addition to Oak Park, and I will retur n, particularly for hard-to-get foods like goat meat and bison, all at decent prices But for truly fresh, rarely frozen, land and sea protein, sourced and butchered by people I can talk to about products and preparations, Carnivore remains my go-to.

Frozen is fresher according to Wild Fork.

Unlike Wild Fork, which brings in huge quantities of frozen food, Carnivore selects only the best meat and fish, mostly from local sources The butchers and fishmongers at Carnivore know their proteins, and they’ re eager to share their knowledge. Every time I visit Carnivore, it seems I lear n something. Going to Car nivore is a rich experience.

We’re all just getting to know Wild Fork, however, and I’m very open to exploring what they have to offer.

Wild Fork offers online ordering and delivery for a reasonable fee; convenience and good prices are key attributes of any successful commodity retailer, and as we all know, Downtown Oak Park needs all the successful retailers it can get.

David Hammond, a corporate communications consultant and food journalist li ving in Oak Park, is a founder and moderator of LTHForum.com, the 8,500 member Chica go-based culinary chat site.

An Elmwood Park resident has been charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and driving with a suspended license after Oak Park police pulled the 30-year-old man over shortly after midnight, Jan. 21.

The man, from the 2300 block of North 77th Court in Elmwood Park, was out driving when he was stopped at 12:31 a.m. in the 100 block of South Harlem Avenue in Forest Park by Oak Park police officers for a traffic violation. A subsequent name check found that the man had been driving with a suspended license while a search of his vehicle uncovered a loaded handgun underneath the driver’s seat.

Robbery

An Oak Park resident was robbed of his wallet by two men outside of West Suburban Medical Center, 3 Erie Ct., at 4:30 p.m., Jan. 19. The two men approached the victim and told him, “Ho, ho, ho, break yourself,” before grabbing the victim and pushing him to the ground. After taking the victim’s wallet, the two men fled the scene in a burgundy sedan. The victim’s wallet contained his Illinois state identification, his U.S. Bank card, his bus pass and medical insurance card – an estimated loss of $30.

Arson

Someone ignited a small fire using exhilarant on a hallway carpet in a building in the first block of Washington Boulevard at 1:06 a.m., Jan. 16.

Public indecency

An Oak Park resident witnessed an unknown man masturbating in the driver’s seat of a gray 2012 Volkswagen van between 10:46 a.m. and 10:50 a.m., Jan. 19, in the 300 block of Garfield Street.

Burglary

■ Someone broke a kitchen window lock then entered into an Oak Park resident’s home through the window and removed an Xbox 1, a pair of black Timberland boots and a pair of blue Nike Air Jordan shoes from inside the residence between 10 a.m., Jan. 15, and 12:21 a.m., Jan. 17, in the 400 block of South Maple Avenue.

■ Someone broke into a 2020 Kia

Spor tage, peeled the vehicle’s steering column and took a silver Apple MacBook Pro laptop from the vehicle between 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Jan. 18, in the first block of Forest Avenue.

Motor vehicle theft

■ A 2019 Kia Optima parked in the 100 block of North Humphrey Avenue was taken between 11:59 p.m., Jan. 21, and 7:30 a.m., Jan. 22.

■ Someone removed a gray 2019 Kia Forte parked in the 300 block of South Harvey Avenue between 6:30 p.m., Jan. 18, and 7 a.m., Jan. 19.

■ A 2016 Kia Sorento was taken from the 1100 block of Holley Court between 1:04 p.m. and 4 p.m., Jan. 15. The vehicle was recovered by North Riverside police in the 500 block of North Albany Avenue in Chicago at 7:41 p.m., Jan. 19.

■ A 2018 Hyundai Tucson parked in the first block of Randolph Street was taken between 5:30 p.m., Jan. 20, and 12:06 p.m., Jan. 21.

Attempted motor vehicle theft

Someone broke the rear passenger’s side door of a 2014 Hyundai Accent then damaged the vehicle’s steering column between 5 p.m., Jan. 21, and 8:30 a.m., Jan. 23.

Theft

■ The catalytic converter belonging to a Toyota Prius of an unknown year was cut between 10 a.m., Jan. 17, and 3:10 p.m., Jan. 21.

■ Someone cut the catalytic converter from a 2022 Toyota Tacoma between 9:10 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., Jan. 20, in the 100 block of South Elmwood Avenue.

■ Someone cut the catalytic converter from a 2009 Ford E-450 belonging to OakLeyden Developmental Services between noon, Jan. 18, and 7:11 a.m., Jan. 19, in the

300 block of Chicago Avenue.

■ The catalytic converter was removed from a 2011 Toyota Prius parked in the 200 block of South Oak Park Avenue between 8 a.m., Jan. 17, and 7:49 p.m., Jan. 18.

■ The catalytic converter was cut from a 2015 Toyota Prius at 2:30 a.m., Jan. 18, in the 200 block of South Grove Avenue.

Criminal proper ty damage

Someone removed five wooden planks from the deck on the east side of William Beye Elementary School, 230 N. Cuyler Ave., between noon, Jan. 19, and 6:27 a.m., Jan. 20.

These items were obtained from Oak Park Police Department re ports, Jan. 16-23, and re present a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these re ports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We re port the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

Compiled by Stacey Sheridan