Chicago Restaurant Tips by rmdw

Restaurant Name: Tatra Inn

Unfortunately this restaurant closed in 2006. :-(

I grew up on perogies and cabbage rolls. Next to fondue, this is my favourite kind of food.

Discovering the Tatra Inn, on Chicago's southside, was the find of the century! It is undoubtedly my favourite restaurant in Chicago!

Dinners are less than $15 and lunches less than $10. The smorgasbord lets you stuff yourself silly. Don't eat much in the 24 hours prior, trust me!

Favorite Dish: Everything here is absolutely delicious! But my favourites include the cabbage rolls, perogies (several varieties), and the sausages.

For dessert try a fruit filled Blintz.

Yummy, yummy, yummy!

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Theme: Other
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 773.582.8313
Address: 6040 S Pulaski Road Chicago, IL 60629
Directions: For you Northsiders, take LakeShore or Hwy 94 down to the Stevenson (Hwy 55). Head SW and take the Pulaski turnoff. It's about 30 blocks down but this is the most straightforward way to get there.

Restaurant Name: Pizza Metro II

This restaurant offers good food to the residents of the Ukrainian Village area just NW of downtown.

Owned and operated by the two Eduardos (father & son) and their wife/mom. They even imported their chef directly from Venice, Italy.

Don't get fooled by the simple ambience. If you're looking for tasty pasta or pizza, or even just a cappuccino then this is the place to go. Highly recommended!

Favorite Dish: The first time I was here I had penne pasta with mushroom sauce and my friend had pesto tortellini. Another time I picked up a sausage pizza. All were very tasty.

They also offer free WiFi Internet but you have to obtain the password from them.

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Theme: Italian
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 773-772-3267
Address: 925 N Ashland
Directions: On the East side of the street, a few blocks North of Chicago Avenue; on the SE corner of Ashland & Walton

Restaurant Name: Bella Notte

If you're looking for a classy place to take a date or just want an amazing meal then this is the place to go! And it's not expensive!!!

The meal I had at Bella Notte is one of the best Italian dinners I've ever had.

Highly recommended.

Favorite Dish: To start we all shared an Italian Salad. It was very cold (a good thing!), had fresh vegetables, and a delicious light dressing.

For the main couse I had the Home-Made Baked Cavatelli with spicy Arrabiata sauce. It consisted of gnocchi like piece of pasta immersed in a lovely cheese and sauce mixture. The full portion was HUGE and would have been easily enough for 2 people.

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Theme: Italian
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 312.733.5136
Address: 1374 West Grand Avenue Chicago, IL
Directions: http://www.bellanottechicago.com/map.html
Website: www.bellanottechicago.com
Other Contact: 312.733.1520

Restaurant Name: Giordano's

Giordano's has too many locations to mention. There's a simple reason why: They make GREAT pizza!

They offer both thin crust and stuffed pizza.

Favorite Dish: My favourite variety has spinach and shrimp, though I love everything from Giordano's.

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Theme: Pizza
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 312.951.0747
Website: http://www.giordanos.com

Restaurant Name: Cafe Iberico

I REALLY like this restaurant. They offer Spanish tapas, which are individual dishes ordered a la carte.

I've been there twice for lunch and enjoyed both meals immensely! The food is absolutely delicious and the prices are reasonable.

Favorite Dish: Please note: I would not know about this restaurant if it were not for Dabs. In fact, I would not know anything about most of the restaurants in Chicago if it weren't for the Goddess of Food, aka Dabs.

Legal requirement now fulfilled.

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Theme: Other
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 312-573-1510
Address: 739 North LaSalle Street
Directions: In the River North neighborhood, a bit north of the Loop
Website: http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/dining/28288,0,1277592.venue

Restaurant Name: Chicago Brauhaus

Located in the heart of Lincoln Square, this restaurant offers wonderful German food and ambience. They have a selection of different kinds of sausages which I really appreciated.

Favorite Dish: I had lunch here with "dlandt" and tried a number of items. Everything was fantastic!

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Theme: German/Austrian
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 773-784-4444
Address: 4732 N. Lincoln Ave.
Directions: On the El-Train take the Brown Line to the Western stop.
Website: http://entertainment.metromix.chicagotribune.com/top/1,1419,M-Metromix-Home-!PlaceDetail-4079,00.html

Restaurant Name: Paprikash

Dlandt introduced me to this fabulous restaurant. It has a great ethnic feel to it and great tasting Hungarian food. If you're going there for dinner be sure to arrive by 5:30pm or else you'll be waiting a long time!


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Theme: Other
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 773.736.4949
Address: 5210 W Diversey Avenue Chicago, IL 60639
Website: www.paprikashrestaurant.com
Other Contact: contact@paprikashrestaurant.com

Restaurant Name: Greek Islands

Greeks Islands offers wonderful ambience and splendid cuisine. If you're looking for good tasting Greek food then this is definitely a great place to go!

Favorite Dish: I had the shrimp baked in tomato sauce - Delicious!!!

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Theme: Middle Eastern
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 312-782-9855
Address: 200 South Halsted St.
Directions: In the heart of Greektown, just West of the Loop

There's also another location in Lombard (630-932-4545)

Restaurant Name: O'Fame

My Lincoln Park friends took me to this restaurant one evening during the Cubs 2003 series against the Marlins. The action on the TV was super but the food here was even better!

Favorite Dish: We ordered a large house salad to share amongst the 3 of us, along with a simple cheese, tomato, and light garlic pizza. It was all really, really tasty.

The night we went the pizza was half-price making it an insanely inexpensive meal.

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Theme: Pizza
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 773.929.5111
Address: 750 West Webster Chicago, IL 60614
Website: http://entertainment.metromix.chicagotribune.com/top/1,1419,M-Metromix-Home-!PlaceDetail-62,00.html

Restaurant Name: Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory is a restaurant chain in the U.S. offering so-called "California Cuisine". If you've never had this kind of food it generally means: Fresh, healthy, and delicious!

While you'll pay a bit more for atmosphere here than other restaurants, it's a great place to go when you want to have a good time and enjoy a great meal.


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Theme: Eclectic/International
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 312-337-1101
Address: 875 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611
Directions: Located in the John Hancock Center on Michigan Avenue, just down the steps from Michigan Avenue.
Website: http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com