Looking Near 5200 North Elston

May I Have This Dance.com opens this week at their new dance studio digs in the 5200 block of North Elston. Although I have been passing through this neighborhood on the way to the old studio, I have not spent much time investigating it.

While quality picks are great, sometimes convenience wins over quality...so any feedback is welcome, e.g. passable burgers, won't kill you, not the best I ever had, etc.

Smak-Tac, looks like a must try... but then just about anyplace Ronnie Suburban takes pictures looks worthy of trying. I haven't read too much about the other places below...

New Studio at 5246 North Elston (just North of Foster between Cicero and Central Park)

Rabbit’s
4945 W. Foster Ave.
Chicago, IL 60630
773-736-5766

Mr. V’s Pizza
5285 N Elston Ave
Chicago, IL 60630
(773) 736-9434

El Pueblito
5152 North Cicero
Chicago

Smak-Tak
5961 North Elston

Las Cazuelas
4821 N Elston Ave, Chicago 60630
At W Lawrence Ave

I took one for the team a few years ago at Las Cazuelas and wasn't terribly impressed. I wrote about it at the other place:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/112406


In last week's reader, Mike Sula authored had a nice blurb on The Couscous House which is located just west of Elston on Lawrence, across the street from James and Joy Fried Chicken. The menu is pretty basic, couscous, lamb chicken, and a daily tangine special.

http://www.chicagoreader.com/cgi-bin/rr ... &numb=3844


I'd certainly be inclined to give it a try based upon Mike's mini-review.

How close does something have to be? About three miles south of there on Cicero is Sol de Mexico.

nsxtasy wrote:How close does something have to be? About three miles south of there on Cicero is Sol de Mexico.

Thanks...and I may give it a shot sometime. However, I am looking for convenient places when I may have limited time to spare.

pd

Daane,

Mr. V's must be avoided at all costs. Their cheese laden, pre-made frozen crusts make Domino's look like actual food.

That's pretty close to the original location of the Gale Street Inn, which AFAIK is still there.

Pretty quick drive up the road to Superdawg. Elston merges with Milwaukee a little farther north.

I see you're willing to go as far as Smak-Tak. You might also want to consider Pasta D'Arte at 6311 N. Milwaukee.

I have not tried Afghan Kabob myself yet, but the pictures and descriptions posted in a previous thread have whetted my appetite.

At Montrose and Elston, it is probably only two minutes away from the new May I Have This Dance.com space.

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... highlight=

Afghan Kabob
4040 W Montrose Ave.
Chicago
773-427-5041
11:30-9 Mon-Thu, 11:30-10 Fri-Sat

Hi,

Afghan Kabob is an excellent choice. I have been there maybe half a dozen times. I am especially pleased with the appetizers, which they recently added hummos.

Hope you will like it, too.

Regards,

In last week's reader, Mike Sula authored had a nice blurb on The Couscous House which is located just west of Elston on Lawrence, across the street from James and Joy Fried Chicken. The menu is pretty basic, couscous, lamb chicken, and a daily tangine special.

http://www.chicagoreader.com/cgi-bin/rr ... &numb=3844

We've been in a rut with our usual pizza/thai delivery choices, so this past Tuesday we decided to give Couscous House a shot. I've been feeling pretty guilty about not trying them yet and really wanted to like the food as they are about 5 blocks from our house. To be clear - we have not dined in the restaurant - our sole experience is from Tuesday's order I placed through Grub Hub. There were a few highlights, but over-all we were pretty unimpressed. Most everything suffered from being bland and/or dry. No sauces accompanied either my husband's combo entree or my falafel sandwich (no tahini!) The oddest dish was the fatoush salad. I'm no expert, but I've never had one without any pita pieces or sumac. It was really just chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, and scallions. The positives were - very tasty hummus, super-fresh salad greens, and warm pita. However, wait time for the delivery wound up being 80 minutes (was quoted 50.)

Hummus appetizer (no garnishes, but nice flavor)


Fatoush Salad?


Kebab Combination Entree (ordered Mid-Eastern style w/ rice & salad)


Very fresh salad that came with the entree


Falafel Sandwich (this was pretty mushy. Post picture taking I added some of the side salad to it which helped somewhat.)


I do plan to try dining in the restaurant sometime. The flavor of the hummus and the freshness of the salads were promising....but we won't be rushing there anytime soon.

Couscous House
4624 W Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL 60630
(773) 777-9801

LP Express

4968 N. Elston
Chicago, IL

This is the northwest side outpost of the famed La Pasadita (Ashland and Division). Very nice. Basic tacos, tortas, burritos but done oh so well.

LP Express: Love the name. An alternative to the slow, formal experience that defines La Pasadita. Like Trotter's to Go, but with tacos.

AngrySarah wrote:LP Express

4968 N. Elston
Chicago, IL

This is the northwest side outpost of the famed La Pasadita (Ashland and Division). Very nice. Basic tacos, tortas, burritos but done oh so well.

Meats griddled, not grilled. No pork of any kind. White meat chicken only. A real dissapointment.