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

Jury's

Jury's Food & Drink
4337 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: North Center
Jury's website
We ventured to Jury's last week with our friends Brad and Lindsey in search of a delicious burger. Jury's has been awarded with several "Chicago Best of.." awards and lists, so we knew we were in for a treat. It was even listed as one of the top 10 hamburgers in the world according to National Geographic.


We sat in a cozy enclosed patio area in back of the restaurant. Jenn ordered the veggie burger and I got "The Judge", a 1/2 pound burger topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, sliced avocado and the usual trimmings of raw onion, roma tomatoes and romaine lettuce. I honestly thought I might have trouble downing a half pounder, but when a burger is this good, it's easier than expected. The burgers are cooked to order and all toppings were fresh. I don't think I've ever had an avocado on a burger before, but it has quickly become one of my new favorite toppings. Jenn's veggie burger was very good, but not great. She's had better she said. In addition to the burgers, we recommend Jury's onion rings, which are HUGE and fried to perfection.

The Judge

Veggie Burger (half eaten)

In all, our meal was about $20 total (sans drinks). Not bad for some above average burgers and some pretty amazing onion rings. While our burgers were delicious, I'm not sure we would agree with National Geographic that they are one of the 10 best in the world. But still worth checking out! We give Jury's an 8.5 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.5
Value: 8.0
Atmosphere: 8.8
Customer Service: 8.7
Overall: 8.5

Coobah

Coobah
3423 N. Southport Ave.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Coobah's website

We walked past this lively Latino restaurant on Saturday afternoon and noticed that they served brunch til 2:00 p.m., so we decided to stop by. Coobah is known for its "Latino fusion" take on brunch and dinner and serves everything from breakfast burritos to fried calamari.


We stepped inside and it was a bit too loud and dark for us, so we decided to sit outside and enjoy the perfect late summer weather. The brunch menu contains traditional breakfast dishes with a unique twist. I got the french toast, which was topped with powdered sugar, strawberry compote and whipped cream and was served with delicious cinnamon butter. The french toast was good but what made it great was the cinnamon butter. Jenn got something called the strata grande: a layered egg dish similar to a frittata or quiche and consisting of layers of eggs, roasted potatoes, vegetables, french bread and chiuahua cheese. The dish is then topped with a tomato sauce and served with pita bread. The dish was excellent but probably would have been better without the tomato sauce.

French Toast

Strata Grande

Coobah also offers many exotic alcoholic fruity drinks and is also known for their mojitos and sangria. The service was friendly and fast and the bill was only about $20 (sans drinks) total. We were more than pleased with our brunch and will probably come back again. We give Coobah an 8.5 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.9
Value: 8.0
Atmosphere: 8.6
Customer Service: 8.6
Overall: 8.5

Spoon Thai

Spoon Thai
4608 N. Western Ave.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: North Center
Spoon Thai's website
Spoon Thai is one of the 5 or 6 Thai restaurants along a 2-3 block stretch on Western Avenue and along with Opart Thai, it may be one of the best.


The interior is similar to Opart, with an emphasis on wooden surfaces, although it is less spacious. I ordered the necessary crab rangoon, and although very tasty, they were much smaller than typical crab rangoon. For entrees, I ordered the ginger chicken. The vegetables were large and fresh and the chicken was tender. It was pretty good, but the ginger flavor was a little weak. Jenn got the pad thai. Again, all ingredients were fresh and the portions were large for the price of about $7 per dish. They also have a weekday lunch special with $4.95 dishes.

Ginger Chicken

Pad Thai

Spoon Thai offers delicious Thai cuisine at a very reasonable price. We liked Opart Thai slightly better than this place, but it was still very tasty, authentic Thai food. We give Spoon Thai an 8.6 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.7
Value: 8.9
Atmosphere: 8.3
Customer Service: 8.5
Overall: 8.6

Bleeding Heart Bakery

Bleeding Heart Bakery
1955 W. Belmont Ave.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Roscoe Village
Bleeding Heart website
We were craving cupcakes the other day, so we decided to check out Bleeding Heart Bakery, a bakery in Roscoe Village known for its organic and sometimes vegan creations.


This place gets points not only for being organic, but also for being unique. Among their unique cupcake creations are the Elvis (banana cake with candied bacon and chocolate frosting), a caramel apple cupcake consisting of butter poached apple flavored cake with caramel frosting and a spiced pear cupcake with ginger frosting. We wanted to try all of these, but unfortunately organic does not mean fat free, and we each ended up getting a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting.


These were quite good. The frosting was amazing. It was creamy and sweet, but not overwhelmingly heavy. Our only complaint was that the cake was a little dry. Perhaps the cupcakes we had were a day or two old. Despite this, the cupcakes were still delicious and we will certainly be coming back to try some of the more unique flavors. They also change their menu from month to month, which is further incentive to come back. We give Bleeding Heart Bakery an 8.3 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.3
Value: 7.9
Atmosphere: 8.5
Customer Service: 8.8
Overall: 8.3

Celtic Crown

Celtic Crown
4301 North Western Ave.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: North Center
Celtic Crown's website
Celtic Crown is an Irish Pub/Sports Bar located on Western Avenue. If you are in the mood for a decent burger on a Monday, this is the place to be.


Monday is $2 burger day (or $3 deluxe burger with cheese and fries) and we couldn't pass up the deal. The burgers are large (1/2 lb I believe) and cooked to preference. Add a slice of cheese and crinkle fries (or tater tots!) for only a dollar more, and it's still a pretty fantastic deal.

The burger was satisfying, but not great. The crinkle fries (or tots) are hard to pass up. Jenn got the Veggie Flatbread Sandwich and tater tots. The veggies were large and fresh, and it was an overall decent sandwich. The beer selection isn't that great (standard Bud/Miller/Corona/Sam Adams, etc), but it seems that everyday they have a different drink and/or dinner special.

Cheeseburger and Crinkle Fries

Veggie Flatbread Sandwich and Tots

Again, nothing incredibly spectacular about this place, but the Monday $2 burger deal is hard to pass up. We give the Celtic Crown an 8.2 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.1
Value: 8.5
Atmosphere: 8.2
Customer Service: 8.1
Overall: 8.2

Drew's Eatery

Drew's Eatery
2207 West Montrose Ave.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: North Center
Drew's Eatery website

Drew's is a health-conscious eatery that specializes in vegan and vegetarian hot dogs, soups and sandwiches. The menu isn't entirely vegetarian. They do have a few meat options for the carnivores out there, but the idea is to offer a completely organic and mostly healthy menu. I say mostly healthy because they are also known for their ice cream. And even though their ice cream may contain the obligatory dose of fat and calories, they have a variety of vegan ice cream flavors and their entire menu is free of artificial preservatives, trans-fats, nitrates, artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup.


The interior of Drew's is pretty small, but it was very clean, and unfortunately rather empty. We were tempted by the ice-cream, but we came for dinner so dinner we had. I got the Sloppy Drew, a sloppy joe-esque sandwich made with organic beef and white cheddar cheese, served on a wheat hot dog bun. Jenn got the Vegan Polish Kielbasa, a tofu sausage with garlic spices. We also shared a bowl of vegan southwestern chili. Everything was delicious, and all ingredients fresh and natural as promised. They even have their very own all-organic juice bar!

Sloppy Drew

Vegan Polish Kielbasa and Vegan Southwestern Chili

In a day and age of preservatives and additives, it's often unknown exactly what is added to our food at restaurants, but at Drew's Eatery, you can count on an all-natural, organic array of ingredients. And not only is it an organic, healthy dining option, but tasty, unique and a good value too. We give Drew's Eatery an 8.6 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.7
Value: 8.6
Atmosphere: 8.3
Customer Service: 8.6
Overall: 8.6

Essence of India

Essence of India
4601 North Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Lincoln Square
Essence of India website
We have yet to check out the 3,000 or so Indian restaurants on Devon Avenue. Craving Indian food the other night, we decided on this closer-to-home restaurant in Lincoln Square.


We visited on a Friday night and the restaurant was pretty busy. It's a pretty small interior and the tables are literally inches from each other. We're not fans of unintentionally eavesdropping on our dining neighbors' conversations, but we didn't allow this to ruin our dining experience.

I think our favorite thing about this place is the appetizers. We started with the complimentary papadum (thin wafer-like chips) served with a trio of Indian chutneys. The green mint/cilantro-based chutney was absolutely amazing! We followed that with two vegetable samosas and some buttered naan. I haven't tried a whole lot of Indian food, but Jenn has and said that the samosas were some of the best she's ever had.

Indian Appetizers

Vegetable Samosas

We could have been satisfied with the appetizers alone and nearly forgot about our entrees. Jenn got the Vegetable Korma, a variety of vegetables and cheese in a curry sauce and topped with shaved almonds. I got a ckicken curry consisting of tomatoes, carrots, garlic, yogurt, cardamom, cumin and curry leaves. Jenn loved her dish. Mine was good, but not great. I would probably try something different on a return trip.

Vegetable Korma

Indian Chicken Curry

Overall, prices are reasonable (about $10 a dish), service is quick and friendly, and the servings are generous and filling. We give Essence of India an 8.4 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.8
Value: 8.0
Atmosphere: 8.2
Customer Service: 8.4
Overall: 8.4

Ian's Pizza

Ian's Pizza
3463 North Clark St.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Ian's Pizza website

Ian's Pizza is a pizza place in Wrigleyville that offers thin-crust pizza by the slice, as well as whole pies. They also offer a decent selection of signature salads. We stopped by on a Friday night and as expected, several semi-intoxicated college kids were present. Ian's is cheap, fast and easy (like most college kids), so there's no doubt that it's a popular stop between bar hopping in Wrigleyville.


Although they offer whole pizzas and salads, Ian's is best known for its pizza by the slice, which is offered in a variety of unique topping combinations. They also rotate signature slices out on a regular basis. Some examples of the unique topping combinations include Chicken Burrito, Chili Cheese Fries, BBQ Pulled Pork and a pizza called the King Crab Rangoon (crab meat, cream cheese, wonton strips, green onions and sweet and sour sauce). They also offer many vegetarian slices, including guacamole burrito, kalamata mozzarella, and potato and broccoli cheddar. They even have dessert pizza like apple pie pizza and s'more pizza. I chose the BBQ Chicken slice and Jenn got the veggie slice of Portabella mushroom, spinach and tomatoes. Each specialty slice is $3.75 and for traditionalists, cheese or pepperoni slices are only $2.75.

BBQ Chicken

Portabella, spinach, tomato

The slices are pretty big and because of the numerous toppings, they're pretty filling as well. We were both satisfied with our slices and would definitely come back to try some more of the interesting topping combinations. The crab rangoon pizza has my name written all over it. Overall, Ian's pizza is the perfect place to stop for a quick, cheap slice of unordinary pizza in Wrigleyville. We give it an 8.3 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.7
Value: 8.4
Atmosphere: 7.8
Customer Service: 8.3
Overall: 8.3