Posts filed under 'Casual'
Victory’s Banner
Location – 2100 W. Roscoe (Roscoe and Hoyne)
In One Word – Y(om)ummmm
Food –VB’s menu is entirely vegetarian and promises that “you won’t miss the meat!” They offer many dishes that may make you believe, including their Famous Meatloaf. Whether or not you’re a fan of fake bacon with your eggs, VB’s food is incredible and worth the trip to Roscoe Village.
My Trusty Sidekick and I met a friend for brunch at Victory’s Banner this Saturday. After a twenty minute wait, we were seated and I was starved. I ordered The Steverino ($9.25), a hefty yet downy omelet with slices of sweet caramelized onions, crunchy red bell peppers, and tangy, creamy goat cheese all folded into it. Heaven! Harmony! I highly recommend this combination of sugar+salt meets fluffy+smooth. Dear Steve of The Steverino: whoever you are, you are a scholar and a gentleman. A side of grilled potatoes with the omelete were good, but nothing spectacular.
Trusty had VB’s award-winning French Toast ($5.95) with a side of Grilled Potatoes ($1.75). Recognized by the Chicago Tribune as the best French Toast in town, the thick pieces of brioche bread had a delicious crust and were skillfully cooked—they were soft, but not soggy in the middle. They were served with peach butter and real maple syrup. Our friend ordered the Oat Bran Raspberry Pancakes ($6.75) which were substantial but fluffy, and had dense pockets of delicious, real unsweetened raspberries in them.
Drink – I enjoyed a cup of peppermint Mighty Leaf tea ($2.25). My Trusty Sidekick had a cup of coffee ($1.85), and our friend, who always makes the best brunch beverage choices, indulged in a mango lassie ($2.95), which is a must-try. It was the thickest, richest mango lassi I’ve ever encountered (even if you flicked the straw, it stood straight up, lodged in the middle of the glass) and one sip took you all the way from the subtle sweet honeyed flavor from the mango to a little bit of sharp tang from the yogurt.
Service – It is unusual for a restaurant to be devoted to offering its guests not only great food but a sense of spirituality, which is what VB’s staff aims to do. Victory’s Banner, named for the phrase “God’s eternal Banner of Victory,” is inspired by the philosophy of Indian spiritual master Sri Chinmoy, who was the restaurant owner’s spiritual teacher for over 35 years. Members of the staff are also followers of Sri Chinmoy, and wear saris and practice meditation before their shifts. While this may sound somewhat cult-esque, that is not the feeling you get at all. The staff are friendly, polite, and work efficiently as a team; their unique dress simply comes off as eclectic and sincere.
Scene – VB is small but cozy. Light-hearted scribbles of birds and colorful abstract paintings decorate the sunny room with yellow booths. Pamphlets on meditation classes at the front of the restaurant may make you feel like you’re in a yoga studio, but the crowd is hardly made up of yogis. There was a wide range of ages and backgrounds in the guests when we dined at VB. Prepare yourself for a wait; when we arrived, twenty or so people were waiting for a table to open up and our group waited 20-30 minutes to be seated.
Dress – Jeans and a sweater work fine.
Cost – With tax and tip our bill for three people was around $40, or about $13 per person. A little bit on the expensive side for brunch, but we felt like it was a fair price for the quantity and the quality of the food we enjoyed.
If you like, try… Kitsch’n on Roscoe, Orange, The Chicago Diner
Written by hungry yuppie
Add comment May 22, 2009
Café De Luca
Location – 1721 N. Damen Avenue (Damen and St. Paul)
In One Word – Solid
Food – While selecting somewhere to eat that would be within walking distance of the Map Room I’ve happily found myself at Café De Luca twice in the past two weeks. The restaurant is easy to recommend because it serves casual Italian fare with broad appeal, the menu is inexpensive, and the food is solid.
On my first visit, I enjoyed the Gnocchi with a tomato cream sauce, garnished with fresh basil and wide pieces of nutty shaved parmesan ($14), which I highly recommend. The gnocchi was tender and the sauce was creamy but not heavy. It was very satisfying; the perfect portion for a richer dish. My Trusty Sidekick built his own pizza with onions, mushrooms and fresh mozzarella ($14–$11 base price + $1/each ingredient) and our dining partner had Farfalle in pesto cream sauce with grilled chicken ($14). They could only get through about half of their portions and each raved about their selections—I can vouch that the pizza was delicious with a thin, blistered crust, and that the Farfalle pasta had a very flavorful sauce that let you taste the fresh ingredients. We enjoyed the food so much that we recommended heading over to CDL while with a larger group of friends this past weekend. On my second visit, our group started out with an order of Grilled Calamari ($9), which was served on a bed of arugula with tomato slices and a bright lemon vinaigrette. This is not your typical calamari with breaded rings and tentacles that can be very heavy and rubbery; instead, the calamari was grilled in one piece and then cut into thicker slices, which gave it a very tender texture that was more like eating a well-prepared scallop than a slice of calamari. The jury was out on this one—if you’re a breaded-calamari lover, this probably won’t scratch your itch. But, if you enjoy scallops, or if you’ve been too shy to try calamari because of the tentacles or have been turned off by a rubbery texture, consider ordering this—you’ll run into neither of these problems. For my main course I tried the Pear and Gorgonzola spinach salad and I added grilled shrimp ($15)—if you add grilled shrimp or chicken to the salad, it is definitely big enough to be an meal, especially if you’re looking for a lighter but satisfying entrée. It was served with five very large shrimp, generous chunks of salty gorgonzola cheese, slices of juicy pears, candied walnuts, and a deliciously thick balsamic-reduction dressing. All those flavors and textures together=a party in my mouth. Trusty and two friends split the Verona pizza ($12) and two salads between them—the Pear and Gorgonzola and the Caprese ($9), and another friend dominated the Venezia pizza ($12) all on his own. This was a brave man, given how large these pizzas are. The Verona and the Venezia were big hits at the table—the Verona featured goat cheese, roasted red peppers, arugula and pine nuts dressed with a touch of olive oil, and the Venezia was a basil pesto base with fresh mozzarella, chicken, and veggies. Again, the delicious thin crust was what really wowed everyone. For so little dough, CDL’s pizzas are a great deal (Groan! Oh puns.)—especially if you’re looking for a satisfying meal to share with a larger group.
Drink – CDL has a basic wine menu with inexpensive, but again solid wines. On my first visit I had a glass of pinot noir, and Trusty and our dining partner had a glass of Chianti. On my second visit, our group split a bottle of the wine special, which was a juicy Syrah Malbec. Two thumbs up for the wine special—it was a delicious wine and helped to save some cash for a glass of beer at the Map Room. (Wine before Beer and you’re in the clear.)
Service – The service is good—attentive and friendly, but very relaxed.
Scene – The décor is a little too “theme-y”; a fake ruin-wall runs through the main room and a clothes line—complete with dresses supposedly set out to dry—is strung across the ceiling. Ignore the cheesy Epcot-esque touches and focus on the more tasteful colored glass lanterns hung over the bar at various heights, as well as the hand painted designs on some of the larger wooden tables. You’ll see groups of friends enjoying conversation, and we saw what looked to be like a first date also. Unlike other restaurants in the heart of the Wicker Park/Bucktown divide, it wasn’t too crowded and we didn’t have to wait for a table either time.
Dress – I wore jeans and a casual sweater both times. The scene is very low-key, so let your after-dinner plans dictate your dress, but keep in mind that if you walk in super hot-to-trot you may stand out.
Cost – On my first visit, we split the bill three ways and paid $23 each. On my second visit with a group of five, splitting the bottle of wine brought down the cost to about $20 per person. Both times I thought that for the quality of food and wine, the price was very fair.
If you like, try … Mia Francesca, Enoteca Roma
Written by hungry yuppie
Add comment May 22, 2009
Meli Cafe and Juicebar – Remix
Location -301 S. Halsted
In one word – Brunch
Food – Despite all the buzz I’d heard about this Greektown brunch spot, Meli—which is Greek for honey—wasn’t as sweet as I was expecting. The prices are good, the portions are ginormous, and the food is solid, but not spectacular. If you’re looking for something “foodie” or off the beaten path, go elsewhere for your lobster and potato gratin; Meli sticks pretty closely to your typical diner fare. However, with a huge selection of different omelets, frittatas, skillets, scrambles, pancakes, French toasts, crepes, wraps, paninis, sandwiches, salads, and more, there’s something for everyone on Meli’s menu. I chose the Vegetable Frittata with egg whites ($9.25), my Trusty Sidekick ordered French Toast ($7.95), fruit ($3.00), and coffee ($2.50), and our friend ordered Scrambled Eggs and Red Potatoes ($6.65) as well as the Banana Maple Crunch smoothie ($5.25). Our food came out quickly after we ordered and there was a lot of food on each plate. My frittata was huge, and while there was no “wow” flavor factor it offered a good texture schmorgusboard—the egg whites were pretty fluffy, the pieces of asparagus were slightly soft, the broccoli florets were crunchy, the slices of avocado were creamy, and on top of the entire frittata were two deli-sandwich slices of provolone: melty goodness. Unfortunately, the texture gods were not in my Trusty Sidekick’s corner; he didn’t care for his French Toast which was too soggy. Our friend enjoyed her Scrambled Eggs and roasted Red Potatoes, but the highlight of the meal was her Banana Maple Crunch smoothie, which I was initially against, thinking that Bananas and Maple Syrup would not taste good together. I was very wrong about this—the smoothie was thick and refreshing and had a great, toasty Banana flavor that wasn’t overly sweet or syrupy.
Drink – Lavazza coffee is available, along with freshly-squeezed juice and smoothies. Try the Banana Maple Smoothie, which tastes like a drinkable version of homemade banana bread. It blends together bananas, pecans, frozen non-fat yogurt, maple syrup, and whipped cream, but feel free to ask for yours without the whipped cream—it’s thick and rich enough without it.
Service – The hostess was fairly rude, and our waitress was still learning the ropes, but once we were seated and placed our order, our food was brought out quickly.
Scene – The restaurant is on the small side, so expect a crowded room with lots of tables crammed close to one another. You’ll see lots of couples, groups of friends, and families. Our biggest complaint was the music—it was too loud, and wasn’t very appropriate given that it was re-mixed dance music that made brunch feel like a spin class. The last thing you want when you’re carbo-loading is to feel like you’re supposed to be working out.
Dress – No need to dress up; you’ll fit right in with jeans and a sweater.
Cost – For food, drink, tax and tip, it was $15 per person. For all that food, it was a decent deal.
If you like, try… Tempo
written by hungry yuppie
Add comment March 9, 2009
Toast Two
Location – 2046 N. Damen (Dickens and Damen)
In one word – Filling
Food – This is the sister to the original Toast (in Lincoln Park). Come here to fill up on brunch or lunch. I was starving, so I went big for the veggie eggs Benedict. Despite being so hungry, I barely could finish half of it. The eggs Benedict are served with cooked spinach and then are doused in hollandaise sauce. The dish is served with house potatoes. So overall, delicious. But I reached a point when it was just too much for me. Too much food, too much sauce. I think the key is to stop when you’re ahead here. My eating partners took on the chicken chutney salad. It looked very healthy…My other eating partner enjoyed the seared ahi tuna sandwich.
Drink – The coffee and tea at Toast is from Julius Meinl. I had the apple tea, which possibly was the most aromatic beverage I’ve ever ingested. Totally recommend it!
Service – So one eating partner wanted to substitute his choice of potato salad or hash as the side included with his dish with fruit. The server said no problem. With his meal came the best looking fruit cup I had ever seen. The server neglected to tell us that he would be charged a pretty penny for the fruit cup and it would NOT be included as a side as we assumed.
Scene – The place is super casual, very relaxed. You’ll see families, friends, couples, babies. It’s really quite beautiful. As long as the baby is not crying.
Dress – This is a lunch and brunch place, so no need for fancy dress. I fit right in with jeans, Uggs (it was cold!) and a long sleeved T.
Cost – For food, drink, tax and tip, I paid $15. I thought for all that food, it was a decent deal.
Add comment December 30, 2008
Tempo
Location – 6 E Chestnut St, on the corner of Chestnut and State
In one word – Bustle
Food – Having moved huge masses of people in and out of its doors over the years, Tempo is a Gold Coast/Chicago institution and a well-oiled brunch machine. It’s a good place to take big groups and out-of-town visitors, and while my high school girlfriends were visiting me this weekend Tempo did not disappoint.
Here’s how the production line works. First, you wait for a table. Reservations aren’t accepted for Saturday or Sunday, so unfortunately this prerequisite is part of the Tempo weekend brunch experience. Get there early (before 9:30) or late (after 12) and depending on the size of your party you’re more likely to be looking at a wait that’s 15-20 minutes or less.
Once you’re seated you’ll be faced with a more pleasant challenge: choosing what to order. Their menu is huge and has something for everyone. Try one of their legendary 3 egg omelets served with a thick slice of white or wheat toast, home-made marmalade and crispy, country-fried potatoes ($8-$14). A Tempo omelet is truly a thing of beauty. It is basically an open-faced frittata the size of a Frisbee (I dare you to finish an entire one on your own). Whether you order it with egg-whites-only or not, it is as light and fluffy as a Sarah Palin interview answer, and there’s a huge variety of ingredients to choose from. Between the eight of us, our group sampled the Artemis (artichoke, tomatoes and Swiss), the Veggie (spinach, zucchini, and broccoli), and the State Street (broccoli, ham, mushroom, tomato). If you ever try either the Jamaican omelet (banana, walnut, honey) or the Michigan omelet (apple, cheddar), let me know how it is–I’ve always wanted to try them but can never stray from my usual orders. Our group also tried the Banana-nut Buckwheat Waffle ($12), topped with a heap of banana slices, walnut confetti, and thick maple syrup, and the Eggs Benedict ($12), which had a smooth, tangy hollandaise that had it’s way with everyone (cholesterol schmolesterol). No matter what you order there’s a good chance that even after you stuff yourself, there will still be so much food left over that you’ll leave feeling slightly inadequate.
Drink – Order a smoothie ($4)—we tried the Casablanca, a combo of cantaloupe, strawberry, and fresh orange juice—or you can get just a freshly squeezed glass of juice ($4)—I recommend carrot-apple. Pop, coffee, and specialty coffee drinks are available, but coffee hounds be forewarned—there are no free refills.
Service – The staff here are seasoned pros and they do not mess around. The service is usually impersonal, but very efficient. You’re expected to order quickly, but you can expect your food to arrive just as quickly. Plan ahead, because if you’re going during Sat/Sun brunch rush-hour you will not be seated until your entire party has arrived. They only accept cash, so leave your credit or debit cards at home.
Scene – There’s not much to the decor; Tempo is basically a clean, bright, busy diner. If it’s nice out, try to stick out the wait so you can sit in their great outdoor patio area—you’ll be rewarded with some top-notch people watching. Their clientele runs the gamut—you’ll see tourists, locals, students, families, big groups, couples, Chicago’s finest and more.
Dress – There is no dress code. Tempo is open 24/7 so depending on what time you go, you could wear PJs to sweats to yoga-wear to jeans.
Cost – About $13-$15 per person before tip.
If you like, try… Ann Sathers, Yolk
Written by hungry yuppie
Add comment December 20, 2008
Kitsch’n River North
GB Note: Getting a second opinion on KRN from hungry yuppie.
Location- 600 West Chicago at intersection of Chicago and Larrabee
In one word – Average
Food – For weekend brunch, there’s a lot going on at Kitsch’n. They now have two locations; we tried the one in River North. Their three-page menu offers both breakfast and lunch options that add a little artistic license to all the old favs. For example, Coconut Crusted French Toast or Bayou Crab Cake Benedict were two choices that offered you a creative interpretation of a brunch classic. You can also choose between their Wings Three Ways—Buffalo, Thai, and BBQ style—or Mac ‘N Cheese puffs with marinara dipping sauce as fun alternatives to your average bar wings or mozzarella stick appetizers. This twist on comfort food is Kitsch’n’s claim to fame, perhaps best exemplified by their As-Seen-On-TV Green Eggs and Ham—eggs scrambled with fresh basil pesto and served with smoked ham—which Rachael Ray raved about on her “$40 Dollars a Day” show.
Unfortunately, despite the Food Network fanfare and a menu full of creative options, when I went to Kitsch’n last weekend with my Trusty Sidekick and our friend, we were disappointed by our food and found Kitsch’n to be average, at best.
Here’s the breakdown. My Trusty Sidekick got a BBQ Hamburger ($9.50) and our friend ordered a Grilled Chicken Sandwich ($8.99). Both chose a side of Spicy Curly Fries. Unfortunately, they both found that their meat was dry and tough and their curly fries were cold and bland.
I tried the The Kitsch’n Sink Salad ($10.99), which comes with your choice of any four ingredients on top of organic mixed greens. For an $11 salad, the portions were okay—I got a pile of greens with a decent portion of avocados, cucumbers, roasted red peppers, and tomatoes (my four ingredients). My complaint is that it was served completely without ceremony in a stainless steel mixing bowl (were they out of plates?), and, I was disappointed by the lack of creativity. Dear Kitsch’n Chef, given your restaurant’s creative theme and a name like “The Kitsch’n Sink Salad,” it would be nice if the options for this salad were more exotic so that we salad-lovers could enjoy some of your creativity too. For example, I was hoping for something like blue cheese stuffed olives, candied sunflower seeds, grilled portabella slices, even artichoke hearts—but, no dice. If it was only $8 or even $9, instead of $11, it would have been adequate for what it was. But I ended up walking away thinking that I could have made this salad on my own and for a lot less money.
My salad quibbles aside, there was a definitely deal-breaker during our meal—our friend asked for milk for her tea, and when it arrived we were surprised to find that there were either spoiled milk boogers or scrambled egg boogers floating at the top of her pitcher. As you can imagine, it was not appetizing. My Trusty Sidekick and our friend had been fighting the good fight against dry meat until then, but after that we all had to surrender. All in all, if I try Kitsch’n again I would definitely go with one of their breakfast items and leave the lunch menu alone.
Drink – Typical brunch cocktails, or affordable wine choices if you prefer.
Service – Even though we went at prime brunch time (high noon), we were seated immediately. Our waitress was pleasant and prompt. Other than the milk fiasco, the service was satisfactory.
Scene – We sat in Kitsch’n’s outdoor beer garden, which was very relaxing. The tables are well-organized, so you don’t feel like you’re competing with a stranger’s conversation or claim to space. Many of the tables have large patio umbrellas, so it’s nice and shaded. The atmosphere is very casual and low-key. It would a great place to meet friends for brunch, and its very family friendly—take kids if you have them—or—parents when they’re in town.
Dress – Unlike some brunch places in Chicago, the River North Kitsch’n isn’t a hot spot where Friday or Saturday night dress seems to continue on into brunch-wear the next morning, and suddenly everywhere you look you see lots of boobies looking to get their late morning/early afternoon buzz on.
In other words, jeans and a t-shirt are fine.
Cost – Without drinks, it was about $13 per person with tax and tip.
If you like, try- Orange, Yolk, Tempo, Demitasse
Written by hungry yuppie
Add comment December 20, 2008
Starfruit
Location – 1745 W. Division (Division and Hermitage)
In one word – Kefir
Food – Lifeway Foods, producers of kefir drinks, have franchised their product as part of a “kefir boutique” cafe. Kefir is a probiotic dairy drink. Starfruit serves frozen kefir, which resembles frozen yogurt. It’s nice to enjoy a dessert that’s good for you – kefir helps both your digestion and your immune systems. Starfruit serves two flavors, original (vanilla-esque) and their flavor of the week (this week is pomegranate). You can get standard frozen kefir, parfaits or smoothies. Like its cousins, Red Mango and Pinkberry, Starfruit offers a variety of toppings for your kefir dish. I went with a swirl of the vanilla and pomegranate flavors topped with mango. The perks of Starfruit is that the small cup is still really large. AND you don’t feel sick after eating the whole thing.
Drink – I guess I could have gotten a smoothie instead of the standard soft-serve.
Service – The staff will let you try each flavor before you purchase it. I have to say that those samples were quite generous.
Scene – The place is next to yoga studio; you can tell that the customers of Starfruit are the type to really believe that their body is their temple.
Cost – I paid a $4.41 for my small sundae (soft serve with one topping). I guess if you’re not indulging too often, it is worth it.
If you like, try…Berry Chill, Red Mango (in Naperville)
1 comment August 4, 2008
Veggie Bite
Location – 1300 N. Milwaukee (Milwaukee and Paulina) and 3031 W. 111th Street (111th and Whipple)
In one word – Idealistic
Food – The premise of Veggie Bite is fast-service organic vegan food. It’s a tall order for a restaurant. My overall reaction was that the place was nice in theory, struggles in practice. The menu is filled with your usual fast food options – burger, chili dogs, Philly cheese steak, but there’s no meat or dairy in the food. My eating partner and I both went for the Supreme Wrap on the cashier’s recommendation. It was a wrap filled with seitan “chix-free nuggets,” tomatoes, cucumbers and a cucumber dressing (which tasted more like a light ranch dressing). It was filling but not fulfilling. The “chix-free nuggets” didn’t taste all that fresh to me, and there was too much sauce in the wrap.
Drink – You can get smoothies here as well as juices. I picked up some mango nectar juice, which I enjoyed.
Service – Order at the counter and then the food will be brought to your table. I appreciated that the cashier was forthright about his opinion when I asked what was the best item on the menu. Given that vegan fast food is pretty new in Chicago, it was nice to have someone give guidance on what to order.
Scene – Expect the last few hipsters remaining in Wicker Park to frequent this place. I was a little alarmed by the establishment’s decor. I was staring at posters of helpless animals with captions like “Mercy.” It was sort of like eating at an anti-animal cruelty booth while in my college student union.
Dress – You can put on the urban hipster garb or just wear what you’re already wearing. It really doesn’t matter.
Cost – For my wrap and mango drink, I spent $8.28. I guess it’s pretty reasonable given that the wrap was just a little smaller than a Chipotle burrito in size.
If you like, try…Soul Vegetarian, Karyn’s Cooked
2 comments August 4, 2008
Fresh Choice
Location – 1534 N. Wells (North and Wells) or 233 N. Michigan (Illinois Center)
In one word – Smoothie
Food – I had a craving for a sandwich and smoothie, so my eating partner and I headed to Fresh Choice in Old Town. The meal totally satisfied my craving. I had the Avocado Sandwich – Avocado, Provolone, lettuce, roasted peppers, tomatoes and mayo. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the bread. They used submarine bread instead of regular loaf bread.
Drink – Fresh Choice is really known for their smoothies. They are made with skim milk, so they feel lighter than your average smoothie. I chose the raspberry smoothie and was not disappointed. My eating partner was raving about his strawberry and pineapple smoothie.
Service – There’s not too much to say about the service. You order at the counter and then they bring you your food. No negative things to say about the staff here.
Scene – It’s your average lunch spot. We came on the weekend and ran into Old Towners, people headed to a movie at Piper’s Alley and a few cops. They have an outdoor seating area in the front of the restaurant, which is nice for a quick lunch.
Dress – Um, just have a shirt on and you’ll get service. There’s no dress code here.
Cost – For my smoothie and sandwich, I paid $11. It was sort of expensive in my opinion, but the meal definitely was filling.
If you like, try…Potbelly’s
Add comment August 3, 2008
