Chicago Foodies

Turkish Cuisine and Bakery in Andersonville

I walked in to this place at 6:30 on a Thursday night, and the first thing I noticed is that the large BYO restaurant was empty.  The second thing is that I looked around for the bakery and didn't see one, so I assumed the bread given to our table was the product of the "bakery".   Not being extremely hungry, I only ordered one main course, something called the Hunkar Begendi, also known as the Sultan's Delight.

Apart Pizza

    After a night of holiday drinking we came home to find nothing in the fridge and a hankering for pizza.  Knowing that our favorite deep dish from Guillivers in Rogers Park would take much longer than our hunger could stand we decided to go in the opposite direction (both in location and pizza style) and order traditional Italian style pizza from Apart Pizza in Andersonville.  Since we had never ordered from there the guy on the phone was very helpful in making recommendations as they have 24 different varieties on the menu to choose from. 

en•Thai•ce – Ya get it?

I've driven past en•Thai•ce several times and shaken my head. It always reminded me of a hair salon's attempt to be funny. In any case months later I ended up getting delivery and it was terrific.  

The Little India Restaurant

I first heard of The Little India Restaurant on Bryn Mawr at the Edgewater Dinner Crawl.  After sampling their samosas at the event I decided to head back to the restaurant to try more but unfortunately, was not as impressed the second time around.

Big Jones

Big Jones on Clark St. in Andersonville has only been open for a couple of months but it has been getting write-ups and rave reviews everywhere you look.  My interest was definitely piqued so we decided to skip the crowded dinner rush and check out brunch instead. 

For a Saturday afternoon at 1PM the restaurant was not over-crowded and we were seated immediately.  This scored big points with me as one of my pet peeves of the weekend brunch is the hour-long wait.  The restaurant has a very pleasant, relaxing décor reminiscent of New Orleans but not overbearing.  The waiter brought us menus and right away we noticed the ample variety of southern style egg dishes with savory meats and gravies.  Hot beignets were brought to the table right after ordering and satisfied my sweet tooth, especially with coffee. 

Edgewater Dinner Crawl – This Thursday Night

Sorry I didn't get this up sooner. Tomorrow night Thursday the 26th is the Edgewater Dinner Crawl.
Tickets are $25 each and if you order online you get a free subscription to Timeout Chicago.  A portion of proceeds also goes to a charity that you specify online as well. In addition to food local theatre companies will be entertaining as well as historic home tours and hand/chair massages. Not to mention free Red Bull.

Participating restaurants:

Apart Pizza // Anna Held // Ben's Noodle & Rice //Bryn Mawr Deli // Cotes du Rhone
Flourish Bakery Cafe // Francesca's Bryn Mawr // Pepitone's // Sabai-Dee // Shinobu Japanese
Starbucks // Sweet Occasions & more // That Little Mexican Cafe // The Little India Restaurant

Order by phone: :  773-856-5191 or 773-506-4016 Or HERE on line

The event is put on by the local Edgewater Development Council

Furama's Dim Sum Menu

Here's the Dim Sum menu from Furama. Click here to see full size.

Furama – Dim Sum on the Northside

Just across from Thai Pastry on Broadway in a part of town that's known for Vietnamese and Thai is a nice Chinese spot to get Dim Sum. Lots of the enormity and pomp you expect from Chinatown is right there. From the huge dining room to the linoleum and throwaway plastic tablecloths to the validated parking, it's an experience that I'd expect from Chinatown. Granted the decor, if you even call it that, would be subsistence-non-porous... cheap-o but the food was pretty good and in a pinch it's Dim Sum without the drive and it's legit.

Alice and Friends

Alice and Friends is a vegetarian restaurant on the north side in Edgewater. I've been there several times and have never had a bad meal. I'll go as far as saying that it's not only my go-to veggie spot, it may be my favorite restaurant in Edgewater. It's also almost entirely vegan.

The un-meat selection consists of beef, duck, chicken alternatives and my dinner companion questioned how it was possible for someone who doesn't eat meat to make food that tastes like meat. How can the chefs be vegetarians? Who knows but the bottom line is that the different pseudo-meats are disturbingly close to the genuine article.

East Africa Restaurant: My Somali Breakfast

It's nice being off on President's Day. So what to do for breakfast? With M. Henry just down the street on Clark what should I do? Get my car washed and have some Somali food. As my car filled up with gas at the Marathon station I noticed, as I've noticed for a long time, East Africa Restaurant and decided on a quick bite.

They make no effort to hide the nature of the spot. It's a cabbie place and to be honest they seemed surprised to see me stay to eat. It's not a pretty restaurant. But the food is pretty cheap, the menu is sparse and the decor consists of a pool table that is covered with plaster and a computer for internet access.