Chicago – Page 2 – The Unvegan

8/4/2011 Reviews Chicago

Rocks Your Socks

When striving to live the high life, there is nothing better than a good, honest unvegan meal at a tasty price. In Chicago, and I imagine in all other major metropolitan areas, knowledge of the specials around town allows us to fulfill our unvegan needs without crippling the budget, especially on weeknights.

On Wednesdays, Rocks, a bar with very good burgers and locations in Lincoln Park and Lakeview, has a special of $5.00 burgers and $5.00 24 oz. beers. The latter is a distinction in which I differ a little bit from some other unvegans. When I am eating, my first choice for accompanying beverage is cola and my second choice is water. As I tend to eat really fast, I really don’t like consuming alcohol with my food.

Bar Food Bars Burgers Chicago Hamburgers Illinois Lakeview Lincoln Park Rocks

7/27/2011 Reviews Chicago

OK Burger at Oak Street Beach Cafe

Veggies on the side means some sad fish tacos.

Once again, here’s a guest blog courtesy of @RGSpiegel.

This week, one of my good friends is on a week-long staycation as she transitions in between jobs. Knowing that I set my own hours, she asked me if I wanted to go to the beach. Given that it was 85 and sunny with a slight breeze, she didn’t have to twist my arm too hard to take some time off from blogging late on a Monday morning.

Burgers Chicago Gold Coast Hamburgers Illinois Oak Street Beach Oak Street Beach Cafe Restaurants

7/19/2011 Reviews Chicago

It’s Not Digiorno, It’s Sarpino’s Food delivery

This guest blog comes courtesy of @RGSpiegel. He blogs sports too.

Perhaps one of the most uniquely puzzling marketing campaigns of the last year has been that of Domino’s Pizza. In extolling the virtues of their “new recipe” pizza and remarking on how much it has improved, Domino’s is tacitly admitting that their old pizza was not, for lack of better words, particularly good. Given that we were marketed to relentlessly by Domino’s back when their pizza was “not particularly good,” why should we give our valuable pizza dollars to them now? Even with their new recipe, Domino’s is only marginally better than upper tier oven pizzas. The answer, though, lies in their prices. Their special of three medium pizzas for $5.99 each is unmatched, right? Not so fast.

Chicago Delivery Illinois Italian Pepperoni Pizza Sarpino's Pizzeria Sausages

10/5/2010 Reviews Chicago

Brunching at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba

For my second meal in the Windy City, we went to a tapas place called Cafe Ba Ba Reeba. It’s a part of the Lettuce Entertain You group, which despite having a suspect name, runs some pretty swanky restaurants. Although this was a tapas place, it also had a special brunch menu that started at 11 when the place actually opened up. Arriving at opening time, we took our seats in the back, since the outdoor area couldn’t seat such a big group, then took a look at the menu.

Bacon Brunch Cafe Ba Ba Reeba Chicago Illinois Lettuce Entertain You Lincoln Park Mac and Cheese Meat Restaurants Travel

9/27/2010 Reviews Chicago

Splitting Crepes at La Creperie

After a couple of days in Michigan, it was off to Chicago for a wedding, but I wasn’t going to let the wedding get in the way of my feeding. My sister, a Chicagoan for the past few years, recommended we head to La Creperie, so to La Creperie we went. Having been to La Creperie a few times in the past, I was pretty excited to grab some lunch there. The place has a great outdoor courtyard that is perfect for those Chicago summers. If only they could last for more than 3 months.

Brunch Chicago Crepes French Illinois Indian Lincoln Park Restaurants Travel

5/24/2010 Reviews Chicago

A Bacon Donut Brunch at Nightwood (CLOSED)

Another great unvegan guest blog from @RGSpiegel.

A few weeks ago, I was watching a Cubs game on WGN and, being too lazy and preoccupied with whatever the internet had to offer to change the channel after the game (presumably, the Cubs lost), a special about the best places to eat brunch in Chicago came on. Featured first on this special was Nightwood, a restaurant in the Pilsen neighborhood on the South side of Chicago that served up brunch on Sundays. Although I am not one to typically seek out special places to eat breakfast or brunch (which is really just breakfast eaten later in the day because of being too hungover to move any earlier), I knew I had to try Nightwood when I saw that they served up a special unvegan treat: the bacon butterscotch doughnut. When I saw that this creation even existed, I immediately channeled my inner Homer Simpson.

Bacon Brunch Chicago Donuts Doughnuts Illinois Restaurants

5/10/2010 Reviews Chicago

Following the Rules at Kuma’s Corner

The following guest blog is courtesy of Ryan Glasspiegel. Check him out on Twitter: @RGSpiegel

After living the unvegan lifestyle in Chicago for the better part of a year, I am extremely ashamed to admit that I had never eaten at Kuma’s Corner until just recently. Located off the beaten path on Belmont Avenue near the corner of Belmont, California, and Elston, Kuma’s Corner is not easily accessible to me by either walking or public transportation. Further, there is a perpetual wait time of over two hours so in addition to knowing someone who has a car, you have to be willing to stake out the significant portion of a day in order to indulge in their renowned hamburgers.

Burgers Chicago Hamburgers Illinois Kuma's Corner Restaurants

1/6/2010 Reviews Culver City

A Brunch Burger at Rush Street

A little birdie named my girlfriend told me Rush Street in Culver City had a swanky brunch, so we went on a grand Sunday morning to experience this middle meal with a friend of hers. Now you might think that Rush Street is named for the street it is on, but you would be wrong, since it lies on Washington Boulevard. Being a smart Midwesterner, though, I quickly realized that this restaurant must be named for Rush Street in Chicago, one of their big roads. I was right, as the owners are from Chicago. The place is supposed to give off a Chicago sort of vibe (but don’t tell my girlfriend that, since she loves Rush Street and somehow hates Chicago). Anyway, back to brunch.

Breakfast Brunch Burgers Chicago Culver City Hamburgers Los Angeles Meat Restaurants Rush Street

11/24/2008 Reviews Evanston

Giordano’s

On my last day in Chicago, I was craving Chicago-style deep dish pizza, but I didn’t have enough time before my flight to wait for an entire pizza to cook. Luckily, I was told that Giordano’s can “half-bake” a pizza for you so you can finish it off later without losing the texture and flavor typically lost in a reheated pizza. With this knowledge, I called Giordano’s up to order a half-baked medium with pepperoni. Giordano’s has locations throughout the Chicago area, with my pizza coming from the Evanston branch.

I brought the 10-pound monster of a pizza on my flight back to Los Angeles and threw it in my fridge for the next day.

Chicago Delivery Evanston Food Franchises Italian Meat Pizza Restaurants

11/22/2008 Reviews Chicago

Cousin’s (CLOSED)

A pretty-looking doner of meat and the veggies that would remain untouched.

I was craving shwarma. It was late and it was freezing, so my options were limited to food within walking distance. Once again, I found myself in Lincoln Park, Chicago, and needed to find food fast. As luck would have it, I was directed to Cousin’s, a Turkish restaurant.

Cousin’s has the general ambiance of a typical Turkish or Middle-Eastern restaurant, with pictures of Turkey, arts, urns and hookahs on the wall. As a bonus, it also has some floor seating, which I can only assume is the traditional way to eat in Turkey.

Chicago Food Illinois Lincoln Park Meat Mediterranean Middle-Eastern Restaurants Turkish

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