After workout dinner- Wicker Park recs

Hi,
I’m a long timer lurker, who recently moved to this city and is finally ready to become a part of the LTH community! On suggestions from here, I’ve tried the sensational noodles at Katy’s (Niu Rou Mien with the addition of beef tendon), delicious octopus in garlic sauce at La Oaxaqueña, the savory clams in wine sauce and appetizer of the beef steamed buns at KS Seafood, the overwhelming large pastrami sandwich at Manny’s, the wonderfully prepared beet salad and piolin torta at the Bombon Cafe and the luscious homemade 5-fruit pie at Healthy Food Lithuanian Restaurant, among other culinary delights.

I love having this resource that always seems to steer me in the right direction in a city this large and this diverse. I was looking for suggestions for a relatively cheap, healthy-ish place that’s open at least until 9 on weekdays, that also caters to vegetarians (though I am obviously not in this category), that I can go after my yoga class in Wicker Park. I’m tired of hearing the suggestions of my friends to go to Subway (which I vehemently refuse to go to) and while Booster Juice and Panera can be decent, once in a while, choices, I’m eager to hear what else is around. I live in the Near South-side-ish area so anything around Wicker Park, or south of it would be great. Thanks!

Hi JermAngela,

up near your class you might try Irazu, a Costa Rican restaurant. They have a veggie section of their menu (you can look at it on chicago.menupages.com). Their oatmeal shake has gotten lots of praise here on LTH.

Heading back toward your neighborhood (by the way, I think your location should say something like "Near South" rather than "South Chicago" which is the name of a suburb), there are a couple of serviceable possibilities on Taylor Street near UIC. Couscous has standard Middle Eastern dishes plus a few Maghrebin specialties. Che Cafe is a coffeehouse with sandwiches, a few Mexican dishes, and a couple of Guatemalan entrees. (The owner is from Guatemala.) I can't find my menu from Che Cafe, their web site seems to have disappeared, and they aren't on menupages, grrr... But I remember the owner saying his black beans are vegetarian (hence kind of bland for my taste, unfortunately).

Of course, you guys could go to the Patio on Taylor Street -- you can have an Italian beef and your veggie friends can have a french fry sandwich! (just kidding...)

Would Chinatown be too far to go? Lots of vegetarian possibilities there.

good luck and let us know where you end up,
Amata

You could try
Sultans Market
http://www.chicagofalafel.com/
earwax cafe
http://www.earwaxcafe.com/v1.0/index.ht ... bars=false

All the Greek places in Greek Town are right on your way, too. Lots of veggie options, including saganaki (opa! opa!), Greek salads, mousaka (most have a veggie version), spanakotiropita (spinach-cheese in filo), etc. And open late every night.

Artopolis Bakery Cafe & Agora
306 S. Halsted St.
312-559-9000
www.artopolischicago.com

Athena Greek Restaurant
212 S. Halsted St.
312-655-0000
www.athenarestaurant.com

Costa's
340 S. Halsted St.
312-263-9700
www.costasdining.com

Greek Islands
200 S. Halsted St.
312-782-9855
www.greekislands.net

Nine Muses
315 S. Halsted St.
312-902-9922

Parthenon
314 S. Halsted St.
312-726-2407
www.theparthenon.com

Pegasus Restaurant and Taverna
130 S. Halsted St.
312-226-3377
www.pegasuschicago.com

Roditys
222 S. Halsted St.
312-454-0800
www.roditys.com

Santorini
800 W. Adams St.
312-829-8820
www.santorinichicago.com

Venus
820 W Jackson Blvd
Chicago, 60607
(312) 714-1001
www.venuschicago.com

Well, assuming that you're looking for a SMALL dinner in the immediate vicinity of Wicker Park after your workout, Caffe DeLuca is open till ten and has salads and sandwiches.

Caffe De Luca
1721 N Damen Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 342-6000

Thanks for all the suggestions! Irazu, Che Cafe, Earwax cafe, Sultan's Market and Caffe de luca have all been added to the list!