Hamburger Mary's

Hamburger Mary's
5400 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Andersonville
Hamburger Mary's website

One word to describe the atmosphere at Hamburger Mary's: FUN! This burger and beer joint in Andersonville is kitschy, retro, and campy. Added bonus: they brew their own beer!


Well they have more than just burgers on the menu here, but we did not come to Hamburger Mary's to try their fish-n-chips. I got the suggestively raunchy sounding Guacamole B.J. burger. The B. and J. stand for Bacon and Jack cheese. Add a heaping dollop of guac and a side of sweet potato fries and you've got one tasty burger. The burgers price in at about $10 a piece, but each is a half pound of natural angus beef goodness. Jenn got the blackbean mushroom "burger": a vegan blackbean patty topped with a trio of sauteed mushrooms (shitake, portobella and button) and melted swiss cheese. The nice thing about this place is that for any of their unique burger styles you can choose either beef, turkey burger, blackbean burger, chicken breast and even lamb or buffalo. As for the beer: good but not great. I think our consumption of delicious microbrews throughout the years has spoiled us to the point where good homebrewed beer is always better than domestic macros on tap, but nothing to really write home about.

Guacamole B.J. Burger with Sweet Potato Fries

Mushroom Blackbean Burger with Seasoned Fries

Needless to say, both of our burgers were excellent. The atmosphere is great and the prices aren't too bad for the quality you are getting. Our one minor complaint was with the service. I think I asked for a bottle of ketchup at one point and didn't receive any for about ten minutes. But hey, it WAS a busy night. Despite this minor blunder, Hamburger Mary's is pretty amazing. We give Hamburger Mary's an 8.6 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 9.3
Value: 8.5
Atmosphere: 9.1
Customer Service: 7.4
Overall: 8.6

Al's Italian Beef

Al's Italian Beef
169 W. Ontario St.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: River North
Al's Italian Beef website

The third restaurant featured on the Chicago episode of Man vs. Food (Lucky's and Gino's the other two) is Al's Italian Beef, another historic Chicago staple that has received a bunch of accolades and recognition over the years.


If it's good enough for Man vs. Food, we figured we should give Al's a shot. I don't consider myself an expert on Italian beef, so I'm not one to say whether this is the best Italian beef around. I got my sandwich dipped and topped with both sweet and hot peppers. While the sandwich is delicious, it is sloppy and messy as hell, but I guess that is expected. Jenn got the veggie sub, which was possibly the only vegetarian option on the menu. We also got the cheese fries, which were tasty yet dangerously artery-clogging.

Italian Beef and Cheese Fries

Veggie Sandwich

Al's Italian Beef is good fast food, but not great. Al's is greasy, messy, fattening food, but hey, isn't all fast food? Despite this, it is still a Chicago staple and worth a visit or two. We give Al's Italian Beef a 7.6 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 7.7
Value: 8.2
Atmosphere: 7.0
Customer Service: 7.4
Overall: 7.6

Wishbone

Wishbone
3300 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Wishbone's website

We haven't really been out for breakfast that much in Chicago yet. Well, our search for our new favorite breakfast place did not take long.


Our good friends Brad and Lindsey told us we NEED to go to Wishbone for breakfast. So we did. And we were not disappointed. Our first indication that we would not be disappointed was the fact that it was crowded on a cold, snowy, sub-zero morning. I figured I would have a hard time choosing what I wanted for breakfast, but as soon as I saw the words "Crunchy French Toast", I knew I had to get it. Crunchy French Toast is french toast dipped in corn flakes and they were excellent. The crunch of the corn flakes and the soft chewy texture of the french toast worked well together. Jenn got the corn cakes: pancakes made from corn meal, fresh corn and scallions and served with a sweet red pepper sauce. Jenn liked the fact that this unique take on the pancake was not a typical breakfast food. She especially liked the red pepper sauce, which was sweet yet zesty. She also got a side of cheese grits which she loved.

Crunchy French Toast

Corn Cakes and Cheese Grits
Wishbone is a great place for breakfast or brunch and as we noticed when we were there, is very family friendly. The portions are huge and the prices are very reasonable. We are definitely coming back for more! We give Wishbone an 8.9 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 9.3
Value: 9.0
Atmosphere: 8.6
Customer Service: 8.7
Overall: 8.9

Sayat Nova Armenian Restaurant

Sayat Nova
157 East Ohio St.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Streeterville
Sayat Nova's website

We always try to experience new food and culture here in Chicago, and recently we gave Armenian food a try. We decided to go to Sayat Nova, an Armenian restaurant in the Streeterville neighborhood. Armenian food is similar to Greek, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine. A sampling of Sayat Nova's menu includes kebabs, cous cous and lots of lamb.


Seeing as I've never had Armenian food before, I decided to try a little of everything with the Armenian Combo, which consists of cheese boereg (baked phyllo bread stuffed with creamy melted cheese), sarma (grape leaves stuffed with minced lamb and vegetables), eggplant and kufta (Armenian-style meatballs made of minced lamb and topped with a yogurt sauce). It may not sound very appetizing, but the kufta was actually pretty amazing. The sarma was also delicious and the boereg was flaky and gooey, a perfect combination. The one thing I didn't care for was the eggplant which was soggy and bland.

Armenian Combo

Jenn got the Vegetarian combo: cheese boereg, Armenian spinach, taboule, rice pilaf and hot plaki (a sort of pureed tomato soup with beans). Each dish was flavored with the right amount of spices and all the vegetables were fresh. Each of our meals also came with a house salad of fresh greens topped with a unique mint vinaigrette dressing.

Vegetarian Combo

We also had to try the Armenian beer known as Kotayk, and while it was a pretty ordinary tasting lager, we can at least say we've tried Armenian beer. We finished off our meal with some pretty amazing paklava.

Paklava (aka baklava)

Our only complaint was in the value department. The dishes were each $16, which wasn't too bad because it was quite a bit of food and very filling, but we had ordered the cheese boereg appetizer, thinking it could adequately be shared by two people. The $5 appetizer consisted of a single measly boereg, and needless to say, we were a little disappointed. While it may not be the best value out there, Sayat Nova offers an authentic and delicious array of Armenian cuisine that is definitely worth checking out. We give Sayat Nova an 8.3 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.4
Value: 7.7
Atmosphere: 8.4
Customer Service: 8.6
Overall: 8.3

Best Chicago Restaurants of 2010

Although our blog has only been in existence for about 8 months, we'd like to take a moment to give further praise to some of our favorite Chicago restaurants we visited in 2010.

Best Burger
The Bad Apple: Great tasting, innovative burgers at a reasonable price.

Best Thai
Opart Thai: Hip Thai restaurant with excellent curry.

Best Pizza
Pequod's: Deep dish that's not too deep, plus great sauce and carmelized-cheese crust.

Best Mexican
Garcia's: Generous portions for a great price. Massive burritos and great guacamole.

Best Bakery
Bleeding Heart: Organic bakery with creative line of cupcakes.

Best Breakfast/Brunch
Coobah: Creative Cuban take on brunch that's not too pricey.

Best Lunch Special
Pequod's: Personal one topping pizza plus drink for $5.00!

Our top 5 favorite restaurants of the year:
1. Opart Thai
2. Pequod's
3. The Bad Apple
4. Margie's Candies
5. Garcia's

Portillo's

Portillo's
100 West Ontario St.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: River North
Portillo's website
Every once in awhile we get a craving for fast food burgers and fries, and instead of settling for low quality garbage like McDonalds and Burger King, we go to places like Portillo's. Portillo's is a fast food joint with multiple locations throughout the Chicagoland area, and specialize in hot dogs, hamburgers and Italian beef. While we normally don't review chain restaurants, we thought Portillo's would be an exception.


I got the bacon cheeseburger and crinkle fries. The burgers are pretty good for fast food. Nothing great, but certainly a step up from typical fast food burgers. All ingredients tasted fresh, which is often uncommon for fast food. They also had a number of vegetarian options on the menu including veggie sandwiches, tuna sandwiches and a number of soups and salads. Jenn got the grilled veggie sandwich: veggies, including grilled portabella mushrooms along with fresh mozzarella piled on grilled focaccia bread. The bread was fresh and chewy and the cheese was warm and gooey (sandwich not pictured).

Bacon Cheeseburger with Crinkle Fries

So next time you have a craving for fast food in Chicago, choose Portillo's instead of the usual junk. While you may have to pay a few dollars more than for something similar from McDonalds or Burger King, Portillo's is well worth it. We give Portillo's an 8.4 out of 10
Quality of Food: 8.4
Value: 8.6
Atmosphere: 8.4
Customer Service: 8.2
Overall: 8.4

Noodles in the Pot

Noodles in the Pot
2453 North Halsted St.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Lincoln Park
Noodles in the Pot website
We've discovered that there are several decent Thai restaurants here in Chicago, but because they are so abundant, even the pretty good ones become average while the REALLY good ones are few and far between. One example of the good but not great Thai places is Noodles in the Pot, located near Depaul University in the Lincoln Park area.


Noodles had a pretty decent crowd on the Friday night that we went. The interior is simple but a little more hip than traditional Thai restaurant decor. I got the Chicken Coconut Curry and some Crab Rangoon. The curry is prepared with golden noodles (instead of traditional rice) and is topped with crispy chow mein noodles. I wasn't a huge fan of the golden noodles but liked how the chow mein added a welcome texture of crunchiness. The chicken was a little fatty but the curry sauce was very flavorful. The crab rangoon was decent but awfully small. Jenn got the green curry with tofu and a side of spring rolls. The spring rolls were filled with fresh and crunchy vegetables while the curry was pretty good but nothing too special. The portions are fairly large and most of the dishes are around $8 a piece. One thing we really liked about this place is that every table has its own variety of peppers and hot sauces so that customers can control the spiciness of their dishes.

Chicken Coconut Curry

Green Curry with Tofu

Noodles in the Pot offers decent but fairly typical Thai cuisine. Not to say that the food or experience were subpar, but we would certainly not rank Noodles among the Oparts and Spoon Thais in this Thai-abundant city. Still, pretty decent food and great service at a very reasonable price. We give Noodles in the Pot an 8.5 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.6
Value: 8.5
Atmosphere: 8.4
Customer Service: 8.6
Overall: 8.5

Spacca Napoli

Spacca Napoli
1769 W. Sunnyside Ave.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Ravenswood
Spacca Napoli's website

As much as we love Chicago-style pizza, it's good to know that there are a plethora of thin-crusted pizza options in this city. One of those options is Spacca Napoli, a Neapolitan-style pizzaria in Ravenswood.


While Chicago-style pizza is thick, heavy and ultra-caloric, Neapolitan-style is perhaps the exact opposite: a light, extremely thin and often simplistic pie. We went to Spacca on a Sunday evening with my parents, and the large crowd (both inside and outside) told us that the pizza here must be pretty good. We got some Italian sodas and ordered two Margherita pizzas. As previously stated, the Neapolitan-style pizza is thin, light and simple. The pizzas are made in a large, custom-built wood-burning fire oven, creating a light char on the outer edge of the crust, while keeping the inside soft and chewy. We really loved the mixed texture of crunchy and chewy. The cheese was light and did not overpower, while the sauce was a unique blend of Italian herbs and spices.


Keep in mind that the pizzas come in one size (we think 12"), and while you may think (as we did) that one pizza can be adequately shared by two people, think again. We got two to split between four people, and were slightly unsatisfied. Perhaps an appetizer or two would have done the trick. We must admit though that the customer service was very good. Upon leaving the restaurant, we were each given a free pistachio canoli by the owner himself. Although the experience lacked in the value department, the free canolis were a nice added touch. If the pizzas would have been a little bigger or cheaper ($12.50 each) this place would really impress. Nonetheless, Spacca Napoli makes some tasty, traditional Neapolitan pizzas that are a far cry from Chicago's usual deep dish offerings. We give Spacca Napoli an 8.4 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.4
Value: 7.8
Atmosphere: 8.6
Customer Service: 8.8
Overall: 8.4

The Bad Apple

The Bad Apple
4300 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: North Center
Bad Apple's website

Craving burgers and beers last Saturday night, we ventured to The Bad Apple, a fairly new bar on Lincoln Avenue in North Center. The Bad Apple is known for their creatively topped burgers and an immense and impressive beer menu. There are 15 burgers (2 are veggie) to choose from such as Elvis's Last Supper (bacon & peanut butter) and The Edmund Fig-Gerald (Edmund Fitzgerald porter, fig and bacon relish, goat cheese and smoked onion).


I had a hard time choosing from the many creative burger choices, but ended up picking the El Dorado, a burger topped with spicy corn and black bean salsa and freshly sliced avocado. The burgers are crafted with hormone-free all-natural beef, and despite the wide array of toppings, the the flavor of the beef was not overwhelmed. The burger was juicy and flavorful and the toppings worked excellently with the beef. This was one excellent burger.

El Dorado Burger

Jenn got the Strange Famous, a house-made wild mushroom, seitan, chick pea and corn burger topped with spinach, goat cheese, carmelized onion and Sage marmalade. The "burger" tasted freshly homemade and not frozen or pre-packaged. All burgers are served with house-cut fries, which can be upgraded with seasonings such as curry, creole and sweet & spicy chipotle. We somehow overlooked this on the menu, so we only got the regular non-seasoned fries, which were ok.

Strange Famous veggie burger

In addition to the great burgers, the customer service was also excellent and the beer menu was immense and reasonably priced for a hip, up-and-coming bar (several micro-brew bottles were around $4). The burgers are reasonably priced as well, with most around $8 or $9. Hopefully they will stay reasonably priced as this place will undoubtedly become more and more popular if they continue doing things right. We will certainly be back for more. We give The Bad Apple an 8.6 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.9
Value: 8.3
Atmosphere: 8.5
Customer Service: 8.8
Overall: 8.6

Lucky's Sandwich Company

Lucky's Sandwich Company
3472 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Lakeview (Wrigleyville)
Lucky's website

Lucky's Sandwich Company in Wrigleyville is home of the overstuffed sandwich (common in Pittsburgh and Cleveland): a sandwich stacked high with meat (or veggies), coleslaw and french fries. Yes, fries come ON the sandwich. We first heard of Lucky's after seeing the Chicago episode of Man vs. Food (Watch the segment here). While Adam attempted (and succeeded) to eat 3 sandwiches, we each made a valiant attempt to finsh just one.


I got the turkey sandwich and Jenn got the veggie. The sandwiches consist of either fried deli meat or fried veggies, and are topped with tangy coleslaw and a heap of french fries. It is a memorable sandwich, but more so for the gimmick and less for the actual taste. Not to say that it is a bad sandwich, but we did have a few complaints. It is a bread-heavy sandwich, which makes it very dry. We suggest asking for a side of mayonnaise or mustard (which we should have done) to alleviate the parchedness. I wasn't too fond of the tangy coleslaw although Jenn gave it a thumbs up. One thing we both really liked were the french fries, which were fresh cut and reminded me of Norm's Famous French Fries (for those familiar with the Upper Peninsula french fry staple).

Turkey Sandwich

All in all, it was a pretty fun experience. The sandwiches were pretty decent, but again, Lucky's is more about gimmick than anything. Still, Lucky's Sandwiches offers a great value (only $7 per ginormous sandwich) and a fun, laidback environment. We give Lucky's an 8.4 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.4
Value: 8.9
Atmosphere: 8.5
Customer Service: 7.7
Overall: 8.4