cristinb

I’ve visited the Grand Lux Cafe a few times, and every time I leave, you might as well roll me out of the place. The portions here are HUGE! The food is okay, the prices are on the high side, but I guess that’s to be expected in this area. The cookies for dessert should not be missed. They are served warm, gooey, and extra tasty!!!

Lula Cafe is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. The food here is well prepared, and is usually full of in-season goodies. I’d probably be willing to eat almost every item on their menu. It’s pretty busy for dinner on the weekends, so be prepared to wait. I love to come here in the summertime to take advantage of desserts chocked full of fresh peaches! I’ve always wanted to try the Monday Night Farm dinner, I’m sure it’s spectacular, just like everything else here!

I LOVE Portillo’s. In my opinion, they have the best hot dogs in the city, served in the true Chicago style. There’s something about the way that they boil these babies, but they are really full of flavor and the skin has a perfect snap when you bite into it. Great fries too! The chocolate cake is good, as is the chocolate cake shake. They have a joint operation with Barnelli’s Pasta Bowl, if you’re not in the mood for “fast food”, with a menu that includes pasta, pizza, salads, and sandwiches. Everything I’ve eaten there has been really good, and not too pricey.

Cho Sun OK was the first Korean BBQ I visited in the Chicago area. I have tried a few others, but Cho Sun OK is still at the top of my list. There’s something about their bulgogi that brings them a notch above the rest. The bi bim bop is also pretty tasty. The service isn’t always the friendliest, with waitresses basically taking over the cooking apparatus for you without saying a word, but at least it’s a learning experience. Once, I had one of the cooks watching me eat my bi bim bop and warning me about how how the sauce was that I was using. When I kept on adding it and saying that I liked it, he just laughed and laughed. I’m sure that novices like myself are pretty entertaining to them! The only downfall is that it’s pretty small (I’ve seen a line going out the door waiting for a table) and your clothes really reek of meat when you leave. None of those things will stop me from going back!