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

Opart Thai House

Opart Thai House
4658 North Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60625
Neighborhood: North Center
Opart Thai's website
We absolutely love thai food and since we probably won't be able to visit all the thai restaurants in Chicago, we sought some advice from the Chicago Reader. In their Best of Chicago 2010 issue, they rated Opart as the best thai restaurant in Chicago. There are three Opart locations in the Chicago area: one up in Wilmette, one on South State St. and the one we went to on Western Ave near Lincoln Square.


Upon walking into Opart, we were impressed with both the friendly service and the hip ambience. The interior was modern and stylish with lots of wood surfaces and large windows. It was also surprisingly spacious.


Coming in with high expectations, we were not disappointed. The food was excellent. We started with some appetizers of crab rangoon and fried tofu. The crab rangoon was some of the best I've had and they give you 8 large pieces for $4.95! We were also impressed with the dipping sauces. The sweet and sour and the peanut sauce were both spiced and prepared to perfection and clearly did not come straight from a jar.


We were in the mood for curry, as we usually are when we get thai food. I got the Gaeng Gari curry, which is like a red curry with sweet potatoes and chicken. Jenn got the Gaeng Keow Waan, which is a green curry with Thai eggplant, green beans and tofu. Both were incredibly delicious and the servings were well-sized. The prices were also pretty low for the quality of food we were getting (about $8 for curry).

Gaeng Gari curry

Gaeng Keow Waan (green) Curry

As mentioned above, the service was friendly and very fast, but not rushed. Our appetizers came out in about 5 minutes and our curry came shortly after that. It is also BYOB, which is good to know for the future. Overall, we were glad we took the Chicago Reader's advice as Opart Thai House has become one of our new favorite Thai places. The menu has a lot to offer, so we will definitely be coming back to sample some more of their wonderful dishes. We give Opart Thai House a 9.1 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 9.4
Value: 8.9
Atmosphere: 8.9
Customer Service: 9.0
Overall: 9.1

Gino's East

Gino's East
633 North Wells St
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: River North
Gino's website
One of our goals with this blog is to discover and critique interesting, unique and relatively lesser known restaurants in Chicago. But every once in awhile we have the desire to experience the popular, well-known Chicago restaurants that every tourist has on his or her "things to do in Chicago" list. Right up there with the Willis Tower and the Bean, perhaps one of the most popular destinations in Chicago is Gino's East.


Jenn and I ventured to Gino's on a late afternoon on a weekday, so it wasn't too busy. There were aspects of Gino's atmosphere that we both liked and disliked. Like: the fact that visitors can leave their autograph on walls, tables and basically any other available surface. Dislike: the dark ambiance was a little too dark for us, especially for a 2 o'clock lunch. We ordered our pie and had to wait a whopping 45 minutes, but our waiter at least warned us that it would take that long. Another complaint is how pricey their pies are. Seeing as its a well known Chicago pizza establishment, we understand that people come here for that experience and history (and hopefully for the pizza itself), and not for its value. Well aware of this, we decided to share a small 8" cheese pizza, no toppings, no appetizers, no drinks, and our bill still came out to over $20, tip included. Based on the value factor alone, we would probably not come back.


The pizza itself was decent. Good, but not great. We really liked the sauce, which was chunky and tangy. There was too much cheese and the crust was flaky and buttery, but nothing that great. It probably would have been better with some toppings to negate the volume of cheese. Like most deep dish pizza, it was very filling and the 8" small was enough to fill us up. We enjoyed the pizza for the most part, but there are definitely better places to get pizza in Chicago. Overall, Gino's is a pricey tourist attraction with decent but not great pizza. We give it a 7.6 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 8.0
Value: 6.8
Atmosphere: 7.3
Customer Service: 8.3
Overall: 7.6