Lakeview dining with a Vegetarian...

I'm meeting a friend in the Ashland/Belmont area of Lakeview tonight. She's a vegetarian and I'm looking for affordable suggestions that are not Wishbone or El Tipatio (nothing against these places, I just go there too much and I'm looking for something different.) Since I've moved to Avondale, I haven't been able to explore this area as much as I like.

What about Frasca?

www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=8413

This is further east, but I like Adesso. I was a little surprised at the reviews. I've had good experiences there.

The last time I was there I started with the arugula salad. It is pretty standard preparation--a sharp citrus dressing and plenty of shaved hard cheese, but it stood out because it was very fresh. I also liked the pesto/green bean dish--it was a huge portion and I thought the flavor was very good--I believe it was topped with extra toasted pinenuts. The other time I went, I ordered the gnocci, which I didn't like as much, but they weren't terrible--I just don't think they were freshly made, which for me is the whole point of gnocci. My gf has said that the hamburger plate is excellent.

It's byob and an easy choice on a weekday.

Here are the less favorable reviews:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... ght=adesso

I'm terrible with Chicago geography, and I know it's more East than where you're looking, but the Chicago Diner is always a good bet.

Chicago Diner
3411 N Halsted St
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 935-6696

TAC Quick can be accommodating for a veg-head. Sometimes, though, I've had language barrier issues with certain servers, which can definitely complicate requests for "no fish sauce, etc." That said the last time I was there (last weekend) I had the best service that I've ever had. This is probably a place where the meat eaters win- grilled pork neck, Thai fried chicken, beef salad, etc. But then again my veg/ fish girlfriend has been pretty happy there.
Also, I still haven't been, but Nazarlik could be a good option for middle eastern.

Tac Quick
3930 N Sheridan Rd
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 327-5253

Nazarlik
1650 W. Belmont
Chicago, Il
773-327-5800

Cafe Orchid is a very good hole-in-the-wall Turkish restaurant at Lincoln and Addison. Their menu (available here) has a fair amount of vegetarian options. I always get take-out, but there are a few tables in the back and it's BYOB.

And I'd think any of the restaurants on Roscoe would have good vegetarian options: Kitsch'n, Volo, Piazza Bela, etc. I'm partial to Four Moon Tavern, but vegetarian options might be limited.

Cafe Orchid
1746 W Addison St
Chicago, IL 60613

Four Moon Tavern
1847 W Roscoe St
Chicago, IL 60657

Turquoise has some good vegetarian dishes; it's my favorite place for dinner in Roscoe Village.

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=1400

Turquoise Cafe
2147 W. Roscoe St.
773-549-3523

Love,
John

Actually, I think Turquoise may be closed on Mondays...I can't find their hours on their website. But you should double check to make sure wherever you're going tonight is open.

Love,
John

Four Moon Tavern is across the street from my house and has no vegetarian options.

My favorite spot for a casual dinner is probably Frasca. If you're looking for super-casual, you can go to Riverview Tavern, which is nothing memorable, necessarily, but nothing bad, either. If you want to go a bit fancier, Terragusto and Sola are nearby, too- both have great vegetarian options.

Terragusto
1851 W Addison

Sola
3868 N Lincoln

Frasca (already mentioned) is a good bet. Solid pizzas and salads, even some decent pastas.

Agave Bar & Grill is a non-Tapatio Mexican option. It's on Lincoln just south of Belmont. I've been there once and had a veggie mole dish that was good.

There's a whole series of bar/grilles around there (Belly's, Fizz, Bourbon) that each have some veggie options of varying quality.

Kite Mandarin & Sushi is on Lincoln just south of Roscoe. Decent sushi and other asian dishes.

Sapore di Napoli is on Belmont east of Ashland. It has thin-crust pizzas and pastas. The place is a more modest version of Frasca, and much smaller. It is also BYOB and there is a new and pretty good wine store on the same block called Wine Styles (terrible name).

Harmony Bar & Grill, which is attached to Schuba's, is at Southport and Belmont and has better food than most bar/grilles in the area. I recall there are several veggie options there but it has been more than a year since I've been there.

Not terribly far from there is Rose Angelis.

They have many vegetarian options, including my favorite dish there--Lasagna.

http://www.roseangelis.com/

1314 West Wrightwood Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60614
773-296-0081

Chloe54 wrote:Not terribly far from there is Rose Angelis.

They have many vegetarian options, including my favorite dish there--Lasagna.

http://www.roseangelis.com/

1314 West Wrightwood Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60614
773-296-0081

Rose Angelis is a very large restaurant that always seems crowded, so clearly it has a lot of appeal. You can therefore take my opinion for what it is (or isn't) worth. That said, Rose Angelis easily wins the Kennyz award for Worst Restaurant in Chicago. Think gigantic portions of overcooked pasta drowning in either syrupy tomato or flavorless heavy cream thickened with still-raw flour. Add indifferent servers and screaming kids, and you get a good picture of the place. Rose Angelis is one of very few places that I actually refuse to go to, even when invited by pleasant company.

I second the Frasca recommendation if you're looking to stay in that hood, and would add praise for nearby Coopers, which serves awesome homemade fries and a delicious mushroom tart, among other vegetarian options. The beer list is extensive and interesting as well. Coopers is owned and run by the same people who ran Menagerie - the former, more upscale occupant of this space.

Coopers
1232 W. Belmont Ave.
773-929-2667

I like A La Turka, just south of Belmont on Lincoln. Plenty of veg. options here. Harmony Grill is indeed a really good choice too, took me by surprise. I would also recommend Joey's Brickhouse on Belmont and Lakewood. They have a few nice veg. entrees here, I especially love the veggie casserole and order it frequently.

I respectfully disagree with the Chicago Diner recommendation.

I have found it to be a major disappointment and that it's turned many people off of vegetarian restaurants entirely. Many ingredients rely on fake meat without much thought. Sometimes it's fun to eat meat recreations as a change, but items like their Swedish "meatballs" with gravy just aren't good.

And the service. Sometimes it's been hippie-dippy and well meaning, but other times, I've found it to be nearly insulting. The last time I went, they forgot our appetizers, and then half the ingredients on my main entree. I complained but got nowhere--"the kitchen was too busy."

I go back every few years, when I've forgotten to be annoyed. Anyway, I don't think it's a good answer as a vegetarian restaurant or option. There are other much better vegetarian restaurants in Chicago, and many other places that serve great vegetarian options.

Thank you all for the suggestions - we didn't end up eating in the neighborhood because my friend had her car with her. I'll have to check out Frasca some other time because it sounds great!

We did have dinner at Treat which is on Kedzie at North Avenue. My friend suggested it because we were looking for something closer to our neighborhood (Logan Square / Avondale) - this was my first visit.

Had a really nice dinner, we split a beet salad to start...it had a nice chunk of warm goat cheese and a pomegranate dressing. She had the Lentil soup (which looked wonderful) and I had the curry pasta with raisins, fennel and mint - it was spectacular: spicy but with a sweet/savory creaminess that really balanced the flavors. I definitely want to get back to check out more of the menu and because it's close to home, I'm sure it will be on the regular rotation.

Treat
1616 N Kedzie Ave
773-772-1201

You might want to try Sapore di Napoli on Belmont and Southport. There are a number of neopolitan style veggie pizzas.

Across the street from there is the Harmony Grill (connected to Schubas), and they have veggie sandwiches, soups and entrees.

Also Uncommon Ground at Clark and Grace has lots of vegetarian options.

And Kite Mandarin and Sushi is on Lincoln north of Wishbone.

veghound wrote:I respectfully disagree with the Chicago Diner recommendation.



I have found it to be a major disappointment and that it's turned many people off of vegetarian restaurants entirely. Many ingredients rely on fake meat without much thought. Sometimes it's fun to eat meat recreations as a change, but items like their Swedish "meatballs" with gravy just aren't good.



And the service. Sometimes it's been hippie-dippy and well meaning, but other times, I've found it to be nearly insulting. The last time I went, they forgot our appetizers, and then half the ingredients on my main entree. I complained but got nowhere--"the kitchen was too busy."



I go back every few years, when I've forgotten to be annoyed. Anyway, I don't think it's a good answer as a vegetarian restaurant or option. There are other much better vegetarian restaurants in Chicago, and many other places that serve great vegetarian options.

For what its worth, Robin Pecknold, the Vegan co-lead singer from Fleet Foxes gave Chicago Diner a ringing endorsement yesterday at Lollapalooza. He said it was the best vegetarian restaurant he's ever been to.

radiator wrote:For what its worth, Robin Pecknold, the Vegan co-lead singer from Fleet Foxes gave Chicago Diner a ringing endorsement yesterday at Lollapalooza. He said it was the best vegetarian restaurant he's ever been to.

wow - guess he doesn't get out much. i would probably vote for millenium in san francisco. nyc has plenty of places that are better than the diner too. (not that the diner sucks, but i definitely would not call it the best).