Chicago Foodies

Cozy Noodles & Rice

Do you like robots? Want curry in a hurry? Ever wondered what it would be like to use Pez dispensers as wallpaper?

If the answer is yes, then you should make plans to schlep to Cozy Noodles & Rice. With a kitschy, vintage decor and a coterie of classic Thai dishes on the menu, this restaurant certainly puts the "D" in cognitive Dissonance.

Upon entering, you are greeted with a dining room that is busier than Obama's team of economic advisers. In an offbeat cross between a '70s diner and a five-and-dime store, the walls are jam-packed with retro signs and the shelves are lined with all manner of wind-up cars, plastic rockets and robots. A grinning, life-sized model of Elvis stands in the corner, crooning into a microphone and pointing directly at you. Be careful not to kick the jewel-studded tables, whose bases are made from sewing machines and have some moving parts.

Ruby of Siam Skokie

The only thing harder than collectively deciding on what movie to see at Old Orchard on a Saturday night was what restaurant to go to first for dinner.  The mall does provide a convenient yet extremely unappealing variety of chain restaurants to choose from like The Corner Bakery, Johnny Rockets and the Cheesecake Factory.  Although we were all willing to compromise on the movie we weren’t ready to compromise our food choices and decided there just has to be something worthwhile to eat close by that wasn’t a chain. 

Rama Thai Kitchen – The Edible Art of Sushi

I recently returned on a trip from La Jolla, California where I satisfied my craving for the freshest sushi I could get my chopsticks on. Rappungi Sushi Bar, centrally located in the heart of downtown La Jolla, was the place of choice.

 

Reminiscent of the days years ago that I spent working in the great food city of San Francisco and being spoiled by the delights of this new-to-me cuisine, my earthy Midwestern food roots were instantly replaced by tiny raw-fish I could shove into my mouth in one bite. Who would’ve thought?

 

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.  

Sabai Dee: Chicago's Laotian Restaurant

As far as I know the only Laotian restaurant in Chicago is the recently opened Sabai-Dee on Broadway. I enjoy Thai food a bit more than Vietnamese and find Laotian food to be a good mix of the two for my tastes. It seems a bit more Thai-leaning and the fish sauces are pretty light. the upside is that they still integrate tons of fresh herbs and use rice in terrific ways.

Pho at Quang Noodle

Now that it's cold it's time for soup. I was walking back from a haircut and went in thinking Tom Yum and ended up at Quang Noodle getting chicken Pho. $6.95 gets you a very large steaming bowl of noodles, chicken, chilies, cilantro, sprouts and wonderful clear broth that has just enough heat to last on your lips for an hour and keep your core warm for a 4 block walk. It didn't do anything for my gloveless fingertips.

Sura – Space-Age Thai Tapas

Just next door to the Bamee Noodle shop (where you can get bang-up udon noodles btw) is the new trendy face of Lakeview, just south of Boystown. They're serving food on the weekends until midnight? 2am? I'm not sure how late but late... The interior is all white and very modern circa 1977... so it's retro-modern? Saarinen-type stuff. There's a digital DJ turntable rig. The room was fairly cold (chilly) and the club music was playing. Waiters were plentiful (no waitresses).

I was really worried that this place was style over substance. I bet myself that the website surely played music... check and find out.

Everyday Thai

I love Thai food, and Chicago is a great city for it.  There are at least 4 Thai restaurants in a 3 block radius by my house in Edgewater and I frequent every one of them, they all do it a little differently so it's never the same dish twice.

So when Everyday Thai opened (2 months ago) up on Devon I was definitely eager to try it.  The restaurant was spacious and clean, serving lunch, dinner and delivery until 10pm. The menu had all of the Thai dishes you would expect, nothing new or out of the ordinary, which is OK since there are places down the street like Blue Elephant (also on Devon) that are a little more adventurous. 

Vong's Thai Kitchen

I’m a Thai food junkie and Chicago is just the place to fuel that addiction.  I’m sure you could go to a different Thai restaurant every day for at leas a year, that’s how many Thai restaurants there are in the city.  One place in particular that I have passed quite often but had never been in was Vong’s Thai Kitchen.  I think I’ve always stayed away because it is a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant and the prices are much higher compared to authentic Thai restaurants – entrees are around $15.00 versus noodle and rice dishes under $10.00 at most places.  That being said I decided to give it a try for lunch. 

Thai Pastry: Go-To Thai?

Thai Pastry has been for the past 5 years our go-to Thai restaurant. It's been the measuring stick we hold other places against. We even suck up delivery charges and extra charges for rice to get it at home. Most recently we weighed the pros and cons against Blue Elephant. We gave our order and $5 extra dollars to Thai Pastry. It was the first time we were actually disappointed by our order.