dddane wrote:

aschie30 wrote:Shows how desperate this area of the Loop is for lunch places. Food was better than decent -- good, in fact -- in terms of value and taste for this part of the Loop. It more than holds up to its competition, which includes, within a three block radius, Catch n' Carry, the carryout outpost of Catch 35, Potbelly, Quizno's, Arby's, Burrito Beach, Sbarro, McDonalds, Popeyes, Subway, four Dunkin' Donuts (you get it -- it's fast food central).

it sounds like you're really only comparing it to the 1 block radius, not 3. if you're really talking about a 3 block radius from the state/lake you're probably missing at least 30 lunch spots from that list (expand the radius another block and you'll easily add another 20 or 30 options). and i'm not even exxagerating. i work by lake/michigan and am in awe at the number of lunch options in the area, at times the choices are too many... do you ever venture eastbound towards illinois center? hannah's bretzel is great for example. macy's food court has some good options. encore. there are countless sit down restaurants you can order food to go from, some good, some bad... chipotle. hey sushi express. you're missing a corner bakery or two, au bon pain, and those types of places.. (and there's 10 or so chain fast food places you missed too.. ;P) ...

I've worked at Wacker & Clark (former RR Donnelly building) for 8 years and, honestly, the lunch options suck. Michigan Ave. & Lake is too far. Yes, the Illinois Center is fine, but I don't have the time to walk the 10 blocks or so there and back everyday just to pick up lunch. Marshall Field's Food Court was expensive but okay when it opened several years ago, but ever since Macy's took over, it sucks and continues to suck more and more. (Yes, I know about Frontera, but that's okay and I can't eat that everyday.) Chipotle, not close enough (one's on Michigan; another's on Franklin), even if I wanted to eat a bad burrito for lunch. Corner Bakery, forget it - I don't have time to wait in a huge line just to put in my order, only to have to wait another 10 minutes or even longer for someone to bring it out to me (that's got to be the slowest and stupidest ordering system ever). Au Bon Pain is viable for convenience only, but otherwise the food stinks. Tuscany Cafe is in my building but I think I've had everything on their menu about 15 times over. I hate Cosi. Everything else is fast food.

And I should add that, up until a few years ago, there were no Corner Bakeries in my area (the closest CB was on Wacker & Michigan), no Macy's 7 on State Food Court, no Pastoral, no Wow Bao, no Cosi, no Potbelly - so you can imagine what a food desert existed in my area of the Loop. The current sad state of affairs is actually an improvement.

aschie30 wrote:I've worked at Wacker & Clark (former RR Donnelly building) for 8 years and, honestly, the lunch options suck. Michigan Ave. & Lake is too far. Yes, the Illinois Center is fine, but I don't have the time to walk the 10 blocks or so there and back everyday just to pick up lunch.

so you're two blocks west of where that 3 block radius for state/lake was, so wrong radius i guess. but still i'd be suprised if there weren't 30-40 places to pick from for lunch in that radius. i'm in your 3 block radius is goodwin's, perry's, encore, Bin 36, Keefer's Kaffe (and 5 or 10 or so restaurants on that block)... the macy's food court upstairs hasn't changed in some respects, and if you ask me Fronterra was one of the worst "improvements" made to it... (though the fish n chips keeps getting worse and worse, other things i get haven't changed a bit)

michigan and lake isn't 10 blocks from you, try 3.5-4 depending on how you exit your very building? perhaps 10 blocks round trip if that's what you're saying. but i can walk to hannah's bretzel from where you are in say.. 8 minutes.

what do you consider to be "fast food" ? fast/quick serve food is prevelant in the loop for a reason though... and if you're not willing to walk 10 minutes each way to get lunch i don't see why you're seeking out anything but quick serve food(?) ... i could name at least 15 restaurants in your radius where you can go in and sit down and be waited on but it really doesn't sound like you're wanting anything but exactly that...fast food.

...anyway, my only real point here is that there's more dining options at lunchtime in your area than most people ever see in their entire worklife... try working in west loop pre-gentrification and debating on "that hamburger place where the burgers are crusty" and uncle remuses every day.

I have some suggestions for near Clark and Lake beyond chain fast food (or upscale chain like Cosi or Corner Bakery). On the second floor of the food court where McDonald's and Chen's are located is a place that serves sandwiches, sushi, and frozen yogurt. I think it's called Yogurt & More, but it's easy to find as there are only two restaurants on the second floor. The California Club is especially good -- turkey, bacon, avocado on your choice of bread. And you can get that hot Japanese mustard on it.

Next to it is a Middle Eastern place that serves turkey and vegetarian kabobs and sandwiches. The kabobs are not bad, and they come with a tasty yellow rice or mashed potatoes.

On the first floor, where Burrito Buggy used to be, is now a Toro sushi place. The Udong soup is nice, and the teriyaki is not bad.

If you are willing to walk a few blocks north on Clark, Singh Ha is great for Thai takeout. Usually it's only a five to ten minute wait even if you don't call in your order.

Petterino's recently added a carryout station; the door is just east of Corner Bakery. They have a carryout menu of pricier things, but you can get soups and salads at reasonable prices. The corn chowder is good.

I go to Tuscany a lot too; I like their American entrees better than the Italian ones. I recently had a nice roast beef with mushroom gravy, au gratin potatoes and sauteed green beans. Sometimes they have roast pork or meatloaf. They have a nice open-faced Reuben as well.

I tried the new Wow Bao location today and had the potsticker combo. The potstickers were smaller than what you usually get at a Cantonese restaurant, but with the small Pad Thai salad I ordered as part of the combo it was enough, although I did not feel full and ended up snacking on leftover Halloween candy midafternoon.

PortPkPaul wrote:I have some suggestions for near Clark and Lake beyond chain fast food (or upscale chain like Cosi or Corner Bakery). On the second floor of the food court where McDonald's and Chen's are located is a place that serves sandwiches, sushi, and frozen yogurt. I think it's called Yogurt & More, but it's easy to find as there are only two restaurants on the second floor. The California Club is especially good -- turkey, bacon, avocado on your choice of bread. And you can get that hot Japanese mustard on it.

Next to it is a Middle Eastern place that serves turkey and vegetarian kabobs and sandwiches. The kabobs are not bad, and they come with a tasty yellow rice or mashed potatoes.

On the first floor, where Burrito Buggy used to be, is now a Toro sushi place. The Udong soup is nice, and the teriyaki is not bad.



If you are willing to walk a few blocks north on Clark, Singh Ha is great for Thai takeout. Usually it's only a five to ten minute wait even if you don't call in your order.

Petterino's recently added a carryout station; the door is just east of Corner Bakery. They have a carryout menu of pricier things, but you can get soups and salads at reasonable prices. The corn chowder is good.

I go to Tuscany a lot too; I like their American entrees better than the Italian ones. I recently had a nice roast beef with mushroom gravy, au gratin potatoes and sauteed green beans. Sometimes they have roast pork or meatloaf. They have a nice open-faced Reuben as well.

I tried the new Wow Bao location today and had the potsticker combo. The potstickers were smaller than what you usually get at a Cantonese restaurant, but with the small Pad Thai salad I ordered as part of the combo it was enough, although I did not feel full and ended up snacking on leftover Halloween candy midafternoon.

Thank you for your suggestions. The Green Apple (Yogurt & More) was better (although far from good) under the old owners. The place next door is Jaffa Bagels, part of a small chain, and yes, that place is fine, probably the best in the area. The veggies that go with the kabob are actually quite good as well - a good way to put down veggies. I do like their turkey sandwiches on a french roll with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, dijon and cranberry sauce (yes, that's right). Unfortunately, they are part of that awful fast-food-eria (formerly known as the smoketeria when it allowed smoking not too long ago).

As far as Tuscany goes, I don't know that their American is better than their Italian (although I never get the risotto, which is advertised as having "cream" -- bad sign), and their pastas are touch-and-go, so maybe you're right about that. I do think their strong suit is the soups. I like their Minestrone (a daily offering).

Singha is okay, too, but you really have to put on your Ameri-Pan-Asian cap and suspend reality before eating there.

I haven't tried the new Japanese place - it's good to hear that the worst burrito place ever (Burrito Buggy) hasn't left it's bad juju in that spot.

dddane wrote:

aschie30 wrote:I've worked at Wacker & Clark (former RR Donnelly building) for 8 years and, honestly, the lunch options suck. Michigan Ave. & Lake is too far. Yes, the Illinois Center is fine, but I don't have the time to walk the 10 blocks or so there and back everyday just to pick up lunch.

so you're two blocks west of where that 3 block radius for state/lake was, so wrong radius i guess. but still i'd be suprised if there weren't 30-40 places to pick from for lunch in that radius. i'm in your 3 block radius is goodwin's, perry's, encore, Bin 36, Keefer's Kaffe (and 5 or 10 or so restaurants on that block)... the macy's food court upstairs hasn't changed in some respects, and if you ask me Fronterra was one of the worst "improvements" made to it... (though the fish n chips keeps getting worse and worse, other things i get haven't changed a bit)

michigan and lake isn't 10 blocks from you, try 3.5-4 depending on how you exit your very building? perhaps 10 blocks round trip if that's what you're saying. but i can walk to hannah's bretzel from where you are in say.. 8 minutes.

what do you consider to be "fast food" ? fast/quick serve food is prevelant in the loop for a reason though... and if you're not willing to walk 10 minutes each way to get lunch i don't see why you're seeking out anything but quick serve food(?) ... i could name at least 15 restaurants in your radius where you can go in and sit down and be waited on but it really doesn't sound like you're wanting anything but exactly that...fast food.

...anyway, my only real point here is that there's more dining options at lunchtime in your area than most people ever see in their entire worklife... try working in west loop pre-gentrification and debating on "that hamburger place where the burgers are crusty" and uncle remuses every day.

Yes, I meant 10 blocks there "and back" to Michigan Ave. Like most workers in the Loop, I can't expend 16 minutes walking to and from a place just to get there and back (not counting the time spent in line ordering and waiting for your food).

So no I'm not looking for "fast food," in the sense of McDonalds, Arby's etc., but for an independent place that is willing to be efficient and good. Unlike the southern end of the loop which has a much better variety of independent luncheonettes, the North portion is all chains. I don't think I'm asking a lot for some type of food that is more "honest" than the mass-produced grub of Quizno's, Subway, etc. There used to be a dive-y Italian place called Serrano's, but they're gone now, too (despite having lines out the door).

Yes, I understand that there may be areas of the city where the lunch options are slim, but I don't think that's relevant. There are plenty of potential lunch customers in the Loop (unlike, until recently, the numbers in the West Loop). If I had to theorize about the lunch issues in my part of the Loop, it's that the number of workers/potential lunch-goers vastly outnumber the lunch options, which explains the massive crowds you see at Corner Bakery, for instance. However, few non-chain business owners want to take the risk of opening places here because the rents are too high.

So, kudos to Pastoral, I hope they turn the tide.

And the breakfast bao is actually very good.

Agreed. The State/Lake location has become a pretty regular stop for me right before I run into work. The sausage/egg bao are very nice, the spinach/egg bao and BBQ pork are good, and the option of having a really good, strong, hot cup of coffee (Intelligencia, I think) rather than office swill is a strong motivator.

Lunch doesn't do as much for me - potstickers are nothing special, and the peanut noodles are just okay, but the line has always been quick for me, to the point where in the morning sometime they have your order ready almost before you're done paying. You could do a lot worse than Wow Bao.

Now I need to try that soup mentioned upthread...and it is getting close to lunchtime...

The 2-bao/soup combo that I mentioned way back in this thread is no more. It really was an extraordinary deal.

Wow Bao has started offering frozen yogurt (plain) with a choice of syrups (tangerine, ginger, or pommegranate/hibiscus) and a number of mix-ins (berries, fruit, black sesame seeds, etc.). It's a nice, unique offering and I'll certainly give it a try when the weather warms.

Wow Bao is like an old sweater that grandma gave me when I was a kid: I wasn't crazy about it when it showed up, but it became comforting to have around after a while.

The food isn't bad, there's nothing else quite like it around, and it's consistent and affordable.

Best,
Michael

They do still have the 2 bao and a pad thai salad combo - it's a great deal. And the one on Van Buren has free refills on the addictive hibiscus tea. I went with a friend last week - lunch for two for under $15.

I went to the Jackson location today for lunch and discovered that there are actually several off-menu combos you can get:

3 bao plus side salad (got that instead of the 2 bao plus salad)
Soup and side salad
Bowl and side salad
One or two others that I can't remember

The cashiers know about them (or at least mine did), they just don't put them all on the menu.

After ditching my car under the tracks at Lake and Dearborn in order to take the El the rest of the way to Wrigley tonight (grr...) I stopped at the State/Lake Wow Bao based on this thread, and had the pad thai salad + 2 bao combo with hibiscus tea (still on the menu), which came to $8.53 including tax. I was mostly unimpressed, though I recognize that this is a refreshingly different fast food option. The place was clean and neat and the equipment shiny and well-run (very evenly steamed buns), but the cuisine puzzled me. The lettuce mix with the unseasoned rice stick noodles was bagged and on its way to browning, and there was no texture or flavor offset except for some poorly chopped pieces of regular old red onion. The dressing was heavy on the sesame oil, with pulverized peanuts and little sweetness. I could picture someone doing a good cold Americanized pad thai salad, but this wasn't it. Soy and the very mild table chili sauce helped slightly. The bao were better - good dough and even cooking. The fillings were scant, though very perfumy: the bbq pork tasted mostly like ginger and lemongrass, totally missing the fivespice complexity of true char siu, and the "Mongolian" beef like garlic, brown sugar, and more ginger. The meats were totally inconsequential to the point of indistinguishability, with no porky or beefy flavor. The overall buns were therefore pleasant but not particularly Chinese (or even "Asian," as in "Hot Asian Buns"), seemingly more developed by Bed, Bath, and Beyond's aromatherapy department.

The tea was the best part; good flavor, nice and bitter, and free refills. I'd go back to try this, their homemade ginger ale, and other flavors of buns, leaving the combos aside (unless someone here really likes the broths, the other likely combo option). I was glad to have tried Wow Bao out but would still be more likely to stop by 65 Chinese (several locations) for a dim sum craving in the Loop, or to get small plates at Spring World, Shui Wah, or Moon Palace in Chinatown for less cash, bigger portions, and more authentic flavors.

Santander wrote:After ditching my car under the tracks at Lake and Dearborn in order to take the El the rest of the way to Wrigley tonight (grr...) I stopped at the State/Lake Wow Bao based on this thread

Santander wrote:I was glad to have tried Wow Bao out but would still be more likely to stop by 65 Chinese (several locations) for a dim sum craving in the Loop, or to get small plates at Spring World, Shui Wah, or Moon Palace in Chinatown for less cash, bigger portions, and more authentic flavors.

If you want dim sum on the way to a ball game, you need to either park near Argyle and take the El from there, or do the truly rational thing and become a Sox fan!

If you want dim sum on the way to a ball game, you need to either park near Argyle and take the El from there, or do the truly rational thing and become a Sox fan!

Points taken. Both of those are better ideas than what I sat through last night.

I continue to not get this place. It's not cheap and it's always busy. Why?

I had lunch plans with a friend yesterday. By the time he was free for lunch, it was late and I was super-hungry. We had a coupon for BOGO smoothies at Jamba Juice (which turned out to be another mistake) and thus wanted a lighter lunch. I thought for a minute about what was quick and in between our office and the nearest Jamba Juice. Wow Bao came to mind.

I'd only been to Wow Bao once before, more than a year ago after moving to Chicago. I ordered a few bao and the cold pad thai salad. The bao were passable, while the salad, with it's tough noodles and bland flavor, was unacceptable. Plus, after spending around $7 for lunch with no drink, I was still a bit hungry.

This time, I decided to try something other than the bao. There were many signs advertising a 3 for $5 special, which I ordered without too much forethought. I got two pot stickers with a too-dense pork filling. The sesame ginger sauce sauce helped these to be edible. It was downhill from there. I also received a small pile of too-dry white rice, topped with an ounce of "Mongolian beef." This turned out to be their filling for the Mongolian beef bao - - finely chopped beef, very salty. It was ok and I ate it with several spoons of sambal. Finally, I got the cold peanut noodles. The noodles themselves were tasteless. This was accompanied by a peanut sauce, that turned out to be more soy than peanut. Yuck.

After that, I was certainly still hungry for a big Jamba Juice smoothie after my Wow Bao lunch. I've now been twice and won't make the same mistake a third time.

Ronna

REB wrote:I continue to not get this place. It's not cheap and it's always busy. Why?

I would venture to guess that most of the clientele just don't know no better. They've probably never been to Chinatown, let alone understand what dim-sum is supposed to be.

stevez wrote:I would venture to guess that most of the clientele just don't know no better. They've probably never been to Chinatown, let alone understand what dim-sum is supposed to be.

Maybe they are from Central Iowa

I frequent the Wow Bao at Water Tower. I stick with a few items: combo with the eight vegetable salad (or whatever they call it now) with Thai curry and Mongolian beef bao. Another regular order is the kung pao chicken rice bowl. The menu is more limited at the Water Tower location, which suits me fine. I continue to patronize Wow Bao because it is one of the few quick, under $7 lunch locations in the North Michigan Avenue area. Sure, I'd rather be having authentic food in Chinatown, but at noon on a Wednesday when I have 20 minutes for lunch, I don't have the luxury.

I like Wow Bao, especially when held to the standard of other loop lunches. As The GP says, it ain't a perfect representation of dim sum, but but the soup is tasty (especially on a cold day), the bao aren't bad, and I think the dumplings are ok too. It's not greasy and it is actually priced competitively to other loop lunches. Sure, there are things on the menu that don't work (those rice bowls just aren't right, the filling doesn't work outside of the bao), but I can say that more than half of their menu satisfies me perfectly well and I don't ever regret eating it.

I have the same view as Eatchicago. I have been to Chinatown and, if I may say so, I do "know better". But sometimes convenience wins out over finding the very best example of a dish.

I'll happily eat at Wow Bao when I'm in the area, but certainly wouldn't make a special trip downtown for them. I've never left hungry - in fact, I generally underestimate how filling a couple of baos can be.

I work right across the street from a Wow Bao, and rarely find myself in there for lunch any more. However, I'll still shuffle in for a breakfast every now and then - a couple breakfast bao (usually spinach/egg and a sausage/egg) and a cup of coffee (Intelligencia!) for under 4 bucks is as good a way to start a day in the Loop as any. Beats the pants off of Starbucks, anyways.

I think Wow Bao is fine for what it is. At least for me, it's better than a lot of what's available in the Loop for lunch. 2 or 3 baos and an order of the spicy peanut noodles makes for a pretty solid lunch IMO.

jesteinf wrote:I think Wow Bao is fine for what it is. At least for me, it's better than a lot of what's available in the Loop for lunch. 2 or 3 baos and an order of the spicy peanut noodles makes for a pretty solid lunch IMO.

This combo is my standard order too. While I'd much rather have a proper dim sum lunch in Chinatown, I don't think Wow Bao's a terrible thing to have within walking distance of work in the Loop. I do find I have to sauce things up quite a bit to get them to my liking, but luckily the staff seems to be pretty generous in that department.

Baozi aren't just dimsum food--Tianjin's Gou Bu Li comes to mind--and I really don't like many of the baozi in Chinatown, as compared to the homemade kind, or the ones found all over Beijing. That said, WowBao's aren't exactly stellar examples--kung pao filling?--but they certainly don't taste bad, and they're cheap by downtown standards. WowBao gets this Sinophile's stamp of approval.

Wow Bao offering free lunch for ‘National Bao Day’

In celebration of “National Bao Day,” Wow Bao is giving away free lunch on Thursday August 22nd

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., anyone who walks into a Wow Bao can get up to $10 worth of food for free.

In addition to traditional steamed buns, like Teriyaki Chicken and BBQ Berkshire Pork, Wow Bao recently added a new bao to its menu in partnership with Impossible Foods.

The menu item, which was released earlier this month, is a plant-based alternative to the Spicy Mongolian Beef bao. The Spicy Mongolian meat substitute is also available for rice and noodle bowls.

Artie wrote:Wow Bao offering free lunch for ‘National Bao Day’

In celebration of “National Bao Day,” Wow Bao is giving away free lunch on Thursday August 22nd

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., anyone who walks into a Wow Bao can get up to $10 worth of food for free.

In addition to traditional steamed buns, like Teriyaki Chicken and BBQ Berkshire Pork, Wow Bao recently added a new bao to its menu in partnership with Impossible Foods.

The menu item, which was released earlier this month, is a plant-based alternative to the Spicy Mongolian Beef bao. The Spicy Mongolian meat substitute is also available for rice and noodle bowls.

gotta go wait in a 2-hour line for my $10 worth of food. but that's ok because my time's only worth $2.74/hour, so I'm still coming out ahead!