Every single one, from the intersection on W 24th PL and S Wentworth Ave to the big strip near the square. Why? I figured since I eat out a lot I may as well jot down what I liked, and maybe help others who want a second opinion before they visit. Plus Chinatown’s filled with a ton of places and I’ve always wanted to go on a crawl and try everything. So yeah, consider this part eight.

Okay, I made a mistake. I initially wanted to go to Happy Cafe but mistook this place for that one and assumed they changed the name or sign. Tasty Place is a separate restaurant from Happy Cafe. Tomorrow is when I’ll go there.

Anyways, Tasty Place Cafe is a smaller joint that’s both a bakery and counter service. There are a few tables and seats to dine in with though.

Walking inside I was immediately met with a bunch of Chinese uncles and aunties having discussions and just in general hanging out. I came around 2:00PM on a Tuesday so a bit of a weird time, but the inside was packed with locals. I was lucky enough to grab the last available table they had.

The decor is pretty standard like Huafeng, just plain walls, although the wallpaper and floor they use looks a bit nicer. Unfortunately a little dirty though with napkins on the floor, and it was a bit cluttered with boxes stacked in the back, but the mess wasn’t so much that a quick sweep couldn’t fix. The tables were fine and no flies or bugs crawling around.

You mainly order from the counter which had a display of some baked goods to the side along with screens overhead showing their specialties. It’s AI, again. Not as egregious as the ones at Central East Asia but still noticeable.

The lady at the counter could probably tell I was confused because she made an extra effort to walk through the ordering process and handed me a physical menu. I appreciated that. Though I love the local vibe it does make me feel like I stand out lol.

I was surprised by how cheap the prices were. Most entrees were just $10 for the ‘small’ (we’ll get into that later) and $17-18 for large. I thought, man, that’s a killer deal, but the portions aren’t probably too big so I decided to ask for two recommendations.

The lady was very nice and told me the curry beef and the salt hot pepper fish over rice were her favorites, so I went with that. Very pleasant service. She was fun and looked like she actually wanted to be there.

It took only about 6-7 minutes for my food to come out. Good lord. I don’t know if the photos can do them justice, but the plates were massive. I thought she gave me the large but she just laughed and said, yeah, that’s the small. I could feed a small family with just the curry alone. And that’s $10???

They also came with a soup, too. Two soups since I ordered two dishes. By this point I was starting to realize the folly of my ignorance, but pushed on regardless and did my best to finish everything.

Man. Man. That curry was delicious. It was savory, hardy, wasn’t too thick and not too thin. It wasn’t gloopy or left a bad film in your mouth. It was genuinely perfect. Flavorful with a bit of spice (maybe some onion/garlic powder?) with equally tender meat and vegetables to go along with it. It felt like a Chinese mother’s homemade meal meant for her child. That dish was made with genuine love and tender care. It may be the best curry I’ve ever eaten, granted I haven’t had many.

And it’s not like the flavors are super complex or anything like you’d see in Michelin restaurants. It’s just, I don’t know, the kind of meal you’d crave. It’s the meal 10 year old me would be waiting all day for to have after school, or what working adult me would demolish after a long hard day at the job. It’s a comfort meal and does exactly what it sets out to do.

The salt hot pepper fish was amazing too. Crunchy outside but soft and tender inside, cooked hot, with sprinkles of a really addicting powder on top which I’m assuming is a mix of msg, salt and pepper, and likely a chili spice and some onion/garlic. The green onion and peppers it came with were great too, really elevated it to the next level.

The only thing, the only negative I have to say about the meal, is the soup. It’s not bad by any means, but it came out cold and the vegetables inside were cooked perhaps too much because they practically disintegrated in my mouth. Other than that? Wow.

I didn’t even have the stomach room to get any of the baked goods for takeout. I left there wobbling with a goofy grin on my face, and a thoroughly stuffed stomach.

I would absolutely, most definitely come back. I’m excited to try their other dishes and see how they compare to what I had. The pork chop and black bean dishes look particularly good.

Total was $22.40 including tax and before tip. For two massive dishes, and a total cost like that? I just can’t see anywhere else beating that value.

My score out of 10.

Food: 9.5

Service: 8.5

Atmosphere: 5.5 (needs a quick sweep, and better pictures)

Value: 10

Averaged total: 8.5

Next up, for real this time, is Happy Cafe.

Link to the spreadsheet with my current rankings: Slacker’s Leaderboard

Got the Wiseguy largely based on recs from this subreddit. This is the most aggressively mediocre sandwich I've ever had, especially because it's like 75% stale, chewy, flavorless bread.

Is this what passes for good in this town or what's going on?

I know it's not haute cuisine but I love this thing and make it a weekly part of my food intake when it's around.

I love Caribella and personally I think their food is always consistent.

We got

- Coquito Latte
- Coquito Iced Coffee
- Caribella Skillet
- Steak and Egg Sandwich
- Side of Guava French Toast for a Sweet Treat

Never had a bad meal here!

Have $200 credit to spend! Where do you recommend for one person to go to treat themselves or maybe two places to split it up?

I recently went to Medici on 57th for two meals.

One during breakfast and one for dinner.

I'm from out of town and read praise for this restaurant.

We don't really have places like this in the twin cities outside of maybe Cossetas Italian shop bakery and cafeteria. Maybe caffeto coffee house near lyndale Ave in Minneapolis. The vibe in Medici is rebel Catholic esoteric spiritualist.

I adore it.

Breakfast was pretty solid. Eggs were scrambled. Decent nothing special.

Toast cinnamon apple was fantastic. Sausage was good. Potatoes were scallion styled. Not a fan without hot sauce. But we'll made

The coffee was absolutely fantastic. Best coffee I've had in the city.

Now come dinner my partner and I ordered the chili fries and a pan dish pizza. "Garbage pizza" Their supreme. A medium

The chili fries were solid but not much spice very normal and well put together. Not mind blowing but better then I expected.

the pizza arrived surprisingly quick. This should have been a concern as I've heard "deep dish" should take up to 45 or so.

Once I bit into it it seemed ok. But soon I realized. The dough on the bottom was very undercooked. The crust tasted like nothing.

The sauce was incredibly bland/plain. There was far too much cheese on this pizza. It felt like the cheese was compensating for the lack of sauce.

I worked as a pizza cook for two pizza shops for about 6 years. I know when pizza is bad and when it's good.

I made thin, tavern and regular styles of pizza.

The sauce desperately needed seasoning. It tasted straight out of a can. The dough while maybe home made just needed more time to cook.

Maybe their pizza just isn't what they're known for let me know but I am sadly disappointed with Medici on 57ths pizza.

Their breakfast and coffee is recommended if you want something better then standard dinner fare that won't break the bank. Best drip coffee I've had in ages.

Please reccomend me a better pizza place if I want to try deep dish. I consider ricobenes as I loved their sauce and it's seasoning on their famous sandwhich.

.

Can you recommend takeout (ideally family-style) within 10 minutes of walking from Ogilvie? I need to order ahead, pick it up, then travel with it on the Metra.

Naf Naf has been a staple but I’m looking for variety.

Thanks! If there’s a non-family style takeout place that is not to be missed please give them a shoutout!

As a kid in the 90s, my immigrant parents rarely ordered in or got takeout. The one cuisine they would get was American Chinese. There were local spots in West Ridge/West Rogers Park that would have this dish called pressed duck. I’ve had a craving for it all week. But those restaurants don’t exist anymore. I can’t find it. Does anyone know what I’m talking about? Someone tell me there’s a restaurant somewhere that still serves it.

Most posts I’ve seen are from about a year ago. A friend is taking me there for dinner in a few weeks. Are there any things on the menu that you thought were must try items or anything you thought was a disappointment?

This is the new pizza in the neighborhood I think. Almost $9 for a "slice."

It tastes just like a frozen target pizza with the cheap shelf stable parmesan sprinkled on it to the extent that I'm asking: is it a frozen pizza with the cheap shelf stable parmesan on it??

Not planning to go back.

Every single one, from the intersection on W 24th PL and S Wentworth Ave to the big strip near the square. Why? I figured since I eat out a lot I may as well jot down what I liked, and maybe help others who want a second opinion before they visit. Plus Chinatown’s filled with a ton of places and I’ve always wanted to go on a crawl and try everything. So yeah, consider this part seven.

Central East Asian Cuisine is a restaurant that specializes in its namesake, specifically from the Xinjiang region of China.

Walking up, the storefront was absolutely littered with these ai photos of food. It kind of set off my Trypophobia lol. I counted six in total, but yeah you get a sense that they’re really trying to appeal/attract to the tourist market.

I visited around 12:30PM on a Monday, so a late lunch. I was the only customer in the restaurant. The inside contrary to the ai signs is actually quite cute. There’s a softer palette of these light blues and golds, which kind of gave off a Mediterranean sort of feel if that makes sense. Not what I expected from a Chinese restaurant but I didn’t mind it. Their lighting is also so good that my phone didn’t even blur this time!

The server sat me immediately and was polite enough. Water was already available in these large pitchers and there was a big, round disk covering what I assume to be an opening for hotpot. The menu is very large and offers everything from skewers to fish to meats and dumplings. The prices are very high, but they’re meant for large groups. The restaurant in general seems to cater to big parties of people instead of individual diners.

Although there was a bit of a language difference, ordering wasn’t too bad, and I got her recommendation which ended up being the Xinjiang Big Plate Chicken. They didn’t have a smaller option so I went for the one that could feed two and did my best to finish it.

Food came out quickly, about 5 minutes, and had visible steam from the heat. It comes accompanied with chicken stewed on the bone, potatoes, split green chilis, onions, and wide chewy noodles hidden underneath.

In terms of preparation, it was cooked well. The chicken was very tender from being stewed and the chewy noodles had a nice and fun bite to them that I liked to slurp up. Taste wise, though, I felt it was lacking something. There wasn’t any noticeable flavor profiles, no boldness or cumin or distinguishable spices/herbs. It had an overall subdued profile which is a bit of a shame. I think they toned down the flavors to appeal to the western palette.

I got the standard spicy level, the third level, and their max is four at extra spicy. Maybe they up the toned and flavors there. For my meal however, I was left a bit wanting.

The total was $32.40 including tax and before tip. The dish was easily big enough for two people though so keep that in mind. About $16 per person isn’t too bad. Not Evergreen level when it comes to portion value, but decent enough for the area. Wish it came with some rice though to suck up the sauce/broth.

Would I go back again? Sure, I’d be willing to give it a second try, since they have some other items that might be more what they’re strong in. If the experience was more or less the same I’d probably not return.

My score out of 10:

Food: 6

Service: 6

Atmosphere: 7.5 (Would’ve been 8 but the ai photos were ehhh)

Value: 7

Averaged score: 6.6

Next up is Happy Cafe.

Link to my spreadsheet with current rankings: Slacker’s Leaderboard

I finally tried Taipei Cafe a Taiwanese Restaurant in Chinatown across from Palmisano Park on 26th and Halsted Street. The bento box is such a good value! You can pick your protein (braised or fried chicken, beef or pork) and it comes with the braised cabbage, stewed greens, rice and meat sauce with a boiled egg for about $21 with tax plus tip. I also ordered side dishes of wood ear mushrooms with goji berries, kimchi and pickled cucumber. Everything was flavorful and served hot! I preferred the braised chicken over the fried though the breading was interesting and light kinda like cornflake batter. The “kimchi” was the same as the cabbage in the bento box with a few more carrots and nothing else that would qualify it as real kimchi. I also enjoyed the winter melon tea which came iced and sweetened. I would definitely come back when I’m in the area for this meal!

I’m a huge breakfast guy and have been trying to track down unique homemade breakfast food in the Edison Park Park Ridge area. Any recommendations?

Just curious if anyone knows the specific date they're opening. The paper covering the windows is down and it looks mostly setup inside, so I'm assuming it'll be very soon.

Where can i get an authentic one!

My friends and I went to Lia Tavern in River North. We had the thin crust carbonara pizza and it was good. The ceasar salad, whipped ricotta and garlic bread was good too.

The only thing that was disappointed (and it’s our fault for not checking the menu) was ordering a $45 Lobster Ravioli 😰 we were too busy yapping and when the server came we just start pointing stuff on the menu and it was dark.

When the ravioli came, I looked at it and asked the others, “Why does it cost $45 for 6 pieces?” 😂

Secured the bag 💅🏻 good luck everybody else!!

Hey everyone, it's been almost 3 years since we introduced AMAs to the subreddit and wanted to have a living document that could be a resource for anyone that wanted to see all of the AMAs we have hosted on the sub. If you have any requests for people you'd like us to host here for future AMAs, please let me know here or even if you'd like to have someone back for another AMA that did one a while ago. I know that some groups are underrepresented in this list, more people say no to being asked to do an AMA on here than not, so please keep that in mind as many of your favorite characters in our food scene may have already declined to do so, however, I do not mind kick tires on some of those again as well.

Below are all of the AMAs we have hosted in reverse-chronological order:

• Chef Donald Young of Duck Sel

• Chef Devin Denzer of Atsumeru

• Cecily Federighi of Pizz'amici

• Danny Shapiro and Tim Tierney of the Joiners Podcast

• Chef Norman Fenton of Carino

• Chef Wilson Bauer of Flour Power

• Amy Cavanaugh, dining editor of Chicago Magazine

• Patrick Bertoletti, former Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Champion and former owner of Taco in a Bag

• David Manilow, creator of Check, Please!

• Chef Otto Phan of Kyoten

• Jeff Mauro of Mauro Provisions and celebrity chef known as the Sandwich King

• Michael Muser, formerly of Ever and now runs the Jean Banchet Awards

• Michael Nagrant of The Hunger and former Chicago Sun-Times food critic

• Nick Kindelsperger, former Chicago Tribune food critic

• Monica Casillas-Rios, former award-winning beverage director of Elske

• Chef Mike Satinover of Akahoshi Ramen

• Dennis Lee, food writer for The Takout, The Party Cut, and Food is Stupid

I did grad school at Illinois down in Champaign, and to be honest, there ain't much I miss about that town. Chicago is obviously superior in just about every way one can imagine.

However, one thing I do miss and hope to find up here is something like Golden Harbor, which I'm sure most everyone who went to Illinois has heard of and hopefully eaten at. Huge menu, a lot of super authentic dishes (as far as I could tell anyway, plus a couple of my students from China vouched for it), barest of decor, some of the best Chinese food I'd ever had. Their crispy tofu is so damn good I would actually order it over a meat dish, which I wouldn't do in any other situation in the world, with my apologies to tofu. I probably ate there every other month for eight years and every single thing I consumed was delicious.

Is there any place like that Chicago?

Fun interview with Richard Mott, owner of North Pond.

Some good tidbits on working with the city/Park District, the impact of people drinking less and a restaurant's margins if you're going to operate within employment/immigration law.

It’s my boyfriend’s 30th birthday and he’s been wanting to go to Bavette’s, but they are temporarily closed. I still want to take him to a really good steakhouse. Which is the next best option to take him to, out of the list below? 

• Hawkmoor
• Sophia Steak (downtown location)
• Adalina Prime
• Butcher and the Bear
• Chicago Chop House
• Fioretta
• Maple & Ash

He recently-ish went to Boeufhaus and Joe’s Seafood and we’ve been to Gibsons, so that’s why those aren’t on the list! Please also let me know if I’m missing somewhere even better! I did look at Asador Bastian but that one is a lil out of price range… maybe for his 40th haha

edit: I should mention that the reservation would be just for the two of us, not a group! we are celebrating with friends the night before! so, ideally looking for an intimate/celebratory/unique experience. i want to take him somewhere that will make him feel as special and taken care of as he makes me feel every day!!

Checked out Black Briar Tavern this past Friday and really enjoyed it. The place has a cozy tavern vibe without feeling too fancy or stuffy, and the food was great.

Pictured are the pork short ribs, NY strip, onion rings, pistachio cheesecake, and sugar pie. I didn’t get a pic of the venison tartare, but it was one of my favorite things of the night. The meat was pretty mild and not too gamey, and the horseradish added a nice kick that balanced out the richness.

Black Briar is a little pricey, but I thought the food was worth it. Definitely a spot I’d go back to

Just back from a beautiful weekend in Chicago and wanted to give props to three restaurants - Burl (Evanston), Mahari (Hyde Park), and Fiya (Andersonville) - Yes, we covered a lot of ground!

One of the members of our party of three is a vegetarian and all three restaurants, especially Mahari and Fiya, had plenty of vegetarian options that didn’t feel like we were missing out on flavor, fun, or protein.

Burl‘s farm-to-table food was excellent, healthy, and flavorful but we were surprised that they did not have as much in the way of vegetarian entrees. The restaurant’s decor makes it a beautifully warm and modern space for an autumn meal. Definitely order the bread. One thing to be aware of, when the restaurant fills up it gets LOUD. Maybe not the best place to bring older folks or someone with hearing issues.

Mahari (photo above) was the stand-out among stand-outs. Folks were recommending the James Beard-recognized restaurant in the neighborhood, and I’m sure it’s great, but as Southerners we were looking for something that we couldn’t get back home. Mahari’s African diaspora menu was inventive. The dishes were all wonderfully flavorful. They also made a delicious NA cocktail. The staff were warm and welcoming (and entertaining).

Fiya‘s Middle Eastern fare reminded me that I really want to learn to make khachapuri. The khachapuri and the cauliflower were the stand out dishes for us. We were a little disappointed to see the same red sauce served with several of our dishes but it was delicious. They also made a nice NA cocktail. The restaurant itself is nicely decorated with a good amount of space between tables so that we didn’t feel cramped or rushed.

Sadly (not sadly), the proportions at all three restaurants were so substantial that we didn’t get a chance to sample their desserts. Note to self: Ask for the dessert menu first, and plan accordingly.