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Amitabul
Category:
Korean & Vietnamese Restaurants
6207 N Milwaukee Ave Fl 1
Chicago,
Illinois 60646
Amitabul was a pleasant surprise, I'm a vegetarian and try to support any local veg restaurants...
More 2 years ago
Amitabul was a pleasant surprise, I'm a vegetarian and try to support any local veg restaurants when I can. The food here contains nothing artificial, they stir fry with water not oil, use organic produce, don't use sugar, and they have some amazing tasting curries. They have a variety of teas and juices. I had the ginger tea which will wake up your senses right away. My fiance had the date tea and couldn't get enough. For our entree I had the Tibetan High Noon which was a noodle stir fry with special tibetan curry with an assortment of stir fried veggies, you can pick whether you want it mild, medium, or spicy, I went with the spicy and it wasn't too harsh to eat. It clears your sinuses though. The taste of the curry is nothing like I've ever had. One thing I will say: I'm Chicago's pickiest eater in the world. I'm a vegetarian that HATES vegetables, never ate a whole salad in my life. But I tried eating the veggies with the curry and they were amazing. I was stunned. I even ate the cauliflower, and I will make any excuse known to man to not eat the stuff normally.
To those that want to stuff their faces with dead animal for every meal this is not the place to do it. Though my very carnivorous fiance loved his Chop Chae Bop(steamed sweet potato noodles, 3 kinds of mushroom, with veggies)
It's a small low key place, and the owners play traditional Buddhist music which is calming.
I'm going to go to Amitabul any chance I can get. It beats the usual blandness of vegan dishes you usually get at restaurants(chicago diner, *cough*) in the city.
Pros: awesome healthy food, personal service, calming
Cons: a bit out of the way, street parking
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B Bop
Category:
Local Favorite
3952 N Sheridan Rd
Chicago,
Illinois 60613
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Ba Le Bakery
Category:
Korean & Vietnamese Restaurants
5018 N Broadway St
Chicago,
Illinois 60640
This place has the best banh mi I know of. For $3 you can get a sandwich that's pure heaven--my...
More 2 years ago
This place has the best banh mi I know of. For $3 you can get a sandwich that's pure heaven--my favorites are the tofu and BBQ pork. Both come with fresh cilantro and hot peppers on toasty French bread (as well as another crunchy, delicious vegetable whose taste I don't recognize--you will love it when you try it!). One sandwich usually fills me up, but sometimes it's hard to resist buying two.
Ba Le is a storefront bakery--there's a table in the corner you can eat at, and it's been free all of the times I've been. But you shouldn't count on being able to eat in when you go...
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Large portions, cheap food- although not the best in Vietnamese cuisine, it will do nicely...
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Large portions, cheap food- although not the best in Vietnamese cuisine, it will do nicely especially when you consider the price points and the ambience. The place is decorated well and appears to be relatively clean compared to most other restaurants in the Vietnamese Chinese neighborhood. With a larger group, it helps to call ahead for reservations and if its not booked already, the karaoke stage (complete with large screens and a small monitor) is open for you and your friends' performances.
Pros: ambience, portion sizes, karaoke
Cons: food is ok
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Ben Tre Cafe
Category:
Local Favorite
3146 W Touhy Ave
Chicago,
Illinois 60645
A very refreshing and friendly place. With a big PHO picture at the front window. Best Pho (beef...
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A very refreshing and friendly place. With a big PHO picture at the front window. Best Pho (beef noodle soup) place ever, better than the uptown area. Excellent broth with little MSG and sugar like other places. I am sensitive to MSG, and hate it. This place is a winner. I eat Pho there at least 3 times a week. Must Try.
Pros: MUST TRY PHO...
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Cafe Lao
Category:
Late Night Dining
1007 W Argyle St
Chicago,
Illinois 60640
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Cafe Nhu-Hoa
Category:
Restaurants
1020 W Argyle St
Chicago,
Illinois 60640
The one million choices on the menu is overwhelming and I have had a couple of things that I...
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The one million choices on the menu is overwhelming and I have had a couple of things that I wouldnt eat again, but overall, the food here is the best.
I cannot order red curry in another restaurant because it can never live up to this place.
The stir-fried lemon grass chicken is so good, and the spring rolls, wide noodles, god its good.
If you closed youur eyes you would think you were in Vietnam.
But....
the service is spotty. They mainly don't speak good English. Sometimes they have gotten my order wrong. If you order by numbers and dont substitute you should be okay.
If you have any food allergies dont count on them to practice good food segregation. My mom is allergic to peanuts and they ended up on top of the spring roll sauce (thank god they were visible) .
I also love the fact that its very quirky inside and they have karaoke in the back.
They also have bubble drinks.
Pros: So good-super tastebud people will love it.
Cons: Service spotty.
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Chicago Kalbi
Category:
Local Favorite
3752 W Lawrence Ave
Chicago,
Illinois 60625
I've been to this place several times now. I stumbled on to it trying to find a different Korean...
More 11 months ago
I've been to this place several times now. I stumbled on to it trying to find a different Korean BBQ place that was in a strip mall a few blocks away......
Anyways, this place is actually run by a Korean Family that moved to japan and owned a restaurant there. So it's a Japanese version of Korean BBQ, which I thought was a good combination.
The food is a little expensive, but absolutely delicious. Their chicken wings are the best I've ever had. And the actual bbq'd meat is to die for.
The only complaints I have is that I usually end up with Meat sickness when I get home, because I absolutely gorge myself. But I can't blame Kalbi for serving up such delicious food.
It's an absolute blast to go with a group of friends, sit around drinking and eating delicious appetizers and cook meat over an open charcoal fire at your table. Great way to spend an evening.
The staff is very friendly and courteous....Once you get your table. It can be frustrating when you are waiting for your table though, because you kind of get ignored until you get seated.
It's a lot cleaner than the strip mall Korean bbq place, so my wife will go here with me. Why go to a steak house when you can get some Korean BBQ at Chicago Kalbi.
Going there tonight with 8 friends. Can't wait.
Pros: Absolutely delicious with a fun atmosphere
Cons: Smokey, Expensive
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this place has been around for over 20 years and the reason is the food. very authentic,...
More 2 years ago
this place has been around for over 20 years and the reason is the food. very authentic, especially the kimchees, with no "americanized" dishes. i went here as a child, moved away for 10 yrs, and returned, but food hasn't changed thank god. favorites are chadolbaegi, yookgaejang, moolnaengmyun, sollungtang. some dishes that are popular with my american friends include japchae, manduguk, ojinguh bokum, and of course galbi. place has no ambience whatsoever, wait svc is always rushed (even if you're korean, which i am) during peak hours 6:00-9:00. tip for the newbies: if you want to cook at the table, order the non-marinated meats, or order at least 3 portions of the marinated meats. otherwise they will cook it for you. they only do the tableside post-meat rice saute if you order a non-marinated meat. also if you like your roasted fish, but prefer not to have it staring at you while you eat, ask them to cut the head off for you before serving.
Pros: REAL Korean food like mom makes, fresh side dishes, great kimchees, tableside kimchee fried rice
Cons: service can be rushed, wait staff not fluent in English although getting better about this in the last few years
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