Vegan Restaurants in Chicago?

My girlfriend is a vegan and we will be in Chicago this weekend. Any good vegan restaurants out there?

Having a 90% veggie wife has left me in a similar position to you and hears what I have found.
You are lucky as there are quite a few choices for you now. if on the north side, my fave is Chicago Diner on Halsted which has a full range of both vegetarian and vegan, and the food is pretty terrific while mostly avoiding the stereotypical trapfalls of this cuisine (Though that does not go for the warm if hippie-dippy service).
Now if you are far up North in Rogers Park you can always go to Heartland Cafe where the service is so hippy-dippy I am still waiting for a taquiles dish I ordered four years ago. Also they do have some meat items on the menu (and on the floor, as the bug population meant I wouldn't darken their doors again.
In Evanston is Blind Faith Cafe on Dempster but their menu has narrowed over the past few months and I find it a tad on the expensive side.
On Irving Park there is a "Raw" restaurant called Cousins, which was, tu use a technical term, "Blechh-y"
In addition to the above there is Soul Vegetarian East on the south side which has some really good food as well as Alice and Friends on N. Broadway and Karyn's Cooked/Raw on Halstead, neither of which I have enough experience with to comment on.
Good luck

My BF and I love Alice's and Amitabul.

Alice's has a nice Asian influenced vegan menu (mostly). I think the only thing that I've had that wasn't vegan was the veggie burger which had a slice of cheese (which can be replaced by something more vegan friendly.) I've eaten extensively on the menu and I haven't had a bad meal yet. Try the Spicy BBQ, Spicy unChicken balls, or ChapChae (called glass noodles or something). The BF likes the Himalayan Spirit bento box. And the BBQ unChicken wings are to die for (Moist seitan deep fried to a crunchy golden brown. Word of warning: ask for bbq sauce on the side). Most of the entrees are under $10.

Then there's Amitabul on North Milwaukee on the northwest side. They specialize in Korean-type food with really great noodle soups. I'm also quite partial to their "pancakes" which have root veggies and other goodies.

Alice's is easily accessable by Red Line (bryn mawr stop), Amitabul, unforunately is not as easy (take Blue Line to Jackson Park stop and then take 56A Milwaukee Ave bus north). Either would be a great choice.

Alice and Friends Vegetarian Cafe
5812 N. Broadway
773-275-8797

Amitabul
6207 N. Milwaukee Ave.
773-774-0276

You may want to hit up some Eithopian food. Ras Dashen is about a storefront away from Alice and Friends so you can look at both menus and decide.

Also, the RED line stop of Thorndale is closer to them than thr Bryn Mawr stop.

Alice and Friends
5812 N. Broadway
773-275-8797

Ras Dashen
5846 N. Broadway
773-506-9601

monksblu wrote: You are lucky as there are quite a few choices for you now. if on the north side, my fave is Chicago Diner on Halsted

My vegetarian and vegan friends all swear by this place.

In Wicker Park, I'd guess that half the menus at Earwax and the Handlebar are either vegan or can be had vegan.
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/2/12206/Chi ... arwax.html
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/2/13042/Chi ... lebar.html

The more adventurous can try something like the Udupi Palace.
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/2/17495/Chi ... alace.html

Oh man. I may not know much about really fancy food, but after 3+ years of veganism, I know vegan restaurants.

The Chicago Diner: Order the chocolate-chip-cookie-dough peanut butter milkshake, by far the most popular shake, or any other shake, but skip all the other desserts; Karyn's Cooked knocks them out of the water.

Best things on the menu: The Thunder Salad with any kind of garlic dressing, Thai Tofu, Scrambled Tofu Deluxe, Biscuits & Gravy Hash Scrambler
Worst things on the menu: BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger, Swedish Meatballs, BBQ Wings, Mac & Cheeze, Grills Gone Wild. It's usually safer to avoid the specials.

Alice & Friends: Creeeepy religious cult atmosphere and not very vegan-friendly at all. Lots of eggs and cheese on the menu. I got a tofu scramble and it was terrible.

Karyn's Cooked: My favorite vegan restaurant in the city. Don't mix up Karyn's Cooked with Karyn's Raw, or you'll be one sad puppy. The burger with cheese is the only meat-like veggie burger I've ever liked. And I don't just like it, I love it. The only dishes I wouldn't recommend would be the falafel & hummus - there's better out there. You have to get a dessert; the slices are huge and moist, and the frosting is incredible. Get a scoop of vegan ice cream with it.

Veggie Bite is way out on the Southside, but is a fun visit; it's so full of junk food that it's basically a vegan McDonald's. Picture 'cheese' fries, Italian beef, etc., and you can take your meal and a milkshake out to the patio and chill out in the great weather.

Blind Faith isn't a bad restaurant, but it's pretty much what omnivores picture vegetarianism to be: decent but overall bland. The atmosphere can be very crunchy-granola - and in such a pretentious way, too. The booths are usually full of aging hippies and their very pale children. Skip the desserts - I once ordered the Sesame Stick which I couldn't break with my teeth or hands. Made it pretty difficult to eat, as you might imagine.

South Vegetarian East is in kind of a sketchy area, which is why I hesitate to recommend it to tourists - I really wouldn't recommend taking public transit there - but there's no denying the food is great. It's unapologetically bad-for-you soul food. And I do mean that literally: it's been shut down due to health code violations at least twice (mice, etc.) so go at your own risk.

peglegged_heart wrote:Alice & Friends: Creeeepy religious cult atmosphere and not very vegan-friendly at all. Lots of eggs and cheese on the menu. I got a tofu scramble and it was terrible.

If I had to guess - you are talking about Victory's Banner which is a breakfast/lunch only place in Roscoe Village. http://www.victorysbanner.com/

Alice and Friends is up on Broadway and I believe is completely vegan except for honey, no booklets and videos of old men bench pressing a thousand pounds here. Here's the site http://www.aliceandfriends.com/

mellonhead wrote:Then there's Amitabul on North Milwaukee on the northwest side. They specialize in Korean-type food with really great noodle soups.

Is this place related at all to the Amitabul that used to be on Southport, practically under the Brown Line Southport stop (where, I think, Ann Sathers is now)? Through high school, I spent a lot of time watching movies at the Music Box, and I remember having a few good meals at the old Amitabul. In particular, I have to credit that place with first introducing me to plum tea, which is now one of my all-time favorite beverages. For me, the closing of that restaurant marked the beginning of Southport's demise.

happy_stomach wrote:
Is this place related at all to the Amitabul that used to be on Southport, practically under the Brown Line Southport stop...

Yep, it's the same chef/owner.

Re: Blind Faith Cafe in Evanston

My problem with Blind Faith, apart from the prices being somewhat high, is that I think the quality of the food is really variable. I was just there on Sunday for breakfast, and I had the chilaquiles with tofu. It was outstanding. However, a few months ago, I had some kind of "Southwestern" salad there, and the lettuce leaves were pretty wilted. I have a half dozen other examples like this, a really solid meal followed by one that I maybe should have returned to the kitchen.

chrisch wrote:

happy_stomach wrote:
Is this place related at all to the Amitabul that used to be on Southport, practically under the Brown Line Southport stop...

Yep, it's the same chef/owner.

Thanks! What terrific news. I'll try to get over to the current location in the next few weeks.

There is an Organic/Vegan/Vegetarian place on Howard and Sheridan which is run by the practitioners of some new-age philosophy. The cafe is a little odd, but it is actually very pleasant. I only ate lunch there once, and thought the food was OK for what it was (a juicy rare burger is more my style). Vegan friends have told me the food is very good, and vegdining.com users voted it best in Chicago. I noticed on their website that they are only open in the evenings now, except for Saturday.

Lake Side Cafe (and Inner Metamorphosis University)
1418 W. Howard St. / Sheridan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60626
773-262-9503
http://lake-side-cafe.com

peglegged_heart wrote:South Vegetarian East is in kind of a sketchy area, which is why I hesitate to recommend it to tourists - I really wouldn't recommend taking public transit there - but there's no denying the food is great. It's unapologetically bad-for-you soul food. And I do mean that literally: it's been shut down due to health code violations at least twice (mice, etc.) so go at your own risk.

There's a new message about commenting on heath code violations, so I thought I'd toss this into this discussion to prevent any trouble.


From the Chicago Tribune July 17, 2005:

Soul Vegetarian Restaurant at 205 E. 75th St. and Eternity Juice Bar & Deli at 201 E. 75th St. were cited for failure to keep food stored at proper temperatures, lack of cleanliness and inadequate sewage and waste water disposal.

Inspectors found coolers incapable of chilling below 40 degrees--violating city code--24 gallons of soymilk spoiling, a dirty kitchen, lack of towels or soap at the employee sink and garbage strewn outside, according to a department release.

The restaurant and deli were to stay closed until they passed Thursday's re-inspection. Management could be fined at least $2,000 at administrative hearings next month, officials said.

Edition: Chicago Final
Section: Metro
Page: 2
Column: THE BEAT: CHICAGO

What about cusines that offer vegan entrees? Doesn't that open up a lot of Asian options, and maybe some Indian at the very least?

Mhays wrote:and maybe some Indian at the very least?

Yes, like the aforementioned Udupi Palace, or Mysore Woodlands, Arya Bhavan, or that new place that promises healing through food but instead leads to bitter drag-out fights over garlic naan -- but you need to be careful to specify that your food should be cooked in oil or other ghee substitute.

peglegged_heart wrote:Blind Faith isn't a bad restaurant, but it's pretty much what omnivores picture vegetarianism to be: decent but overall bland. The atmosphere can be very crunchy-granola - and in such a pretentious way, too. The booths are usually full of aging hippies and their very pale children. Skip the desserts - I once ordered the Sesame Stick which I couldn't break with my teeth or hands. Made it pretty difficult to eat, as you might imagine.

Has anyone been to Blind Faith lately? Is there any reason to go there if you are either a) not a vegetarian or b) a vegetarian who can leave Evanston?

Not Chicago but close... I've been meaning to try Life Vegan in Evanston. It got a decent review in Yoga Chicago (I realize, perhaps not the most trusted source for food reviews!). Cara Jepsen in the current issue of Yoga Chicago reviews the Balanced Kitchen, which sounds pretty appealing.

Life Vegan
1601 Simpson St
Evanston
847-869-6379

Balanced Kitchen
6263 N McCormick Blvd
Chicago
773-463-1085

LAZ wrote:Has anyone been to Blind Faith lately? Is there any reason to go there if you are either a) not a vegetarian or b) a vegetarian who can leave Evanston?

Funny you should ask LAZ, as I wound up there last night.

I had awful awful memories of a macrobiotic plate some years back. I didn't even order it, but it haunted me so. And that was before I was really a critical eater or knew a darned thing about anything on that plate. I just knew that if that was non-meat cuisine, I wanted none of it.

Cut to last night. A visiting friend in from out of town really wanted to go and I indulged him. They have made over the space since I was there last - darker ruddy tones. It is quite attractive actually. They also beefed (ha) up the cafe space.

I talked him into a tofu crab cake appetizer. This was actually quite good. Somehow the tofu was a little stringy, almost like the texture of crab. It was browned on the outside and garnished with scallions, red pepper flakes and a vinegared cucumber salad sitting in a cilantro basil sauce. I really liked this dish.

For mains, my friend had a Blind Faith Salad with added seitan. I had vowed not to eat any meat-substitutes but the salad was fresh, the seitan was sauted well and the dressing was tasty (albeit forgettable). I had a North-African cous cous style dish. Two types of chickpeas (if I recall), fresh summer squash, potatoes and carrots in a a slightly spicy, piquant sauce that had a healthy dose of harissa. This was served, as you might imagine, over cous cous. This dish was also good.

The dessert, a vegan fresh berry cobbler was entirely forgettable. I detected no fresh berry cobbler whatsoever. I believe it was stewed, reconstituted dried cherries and cranberries and the like. While pleasingly tart, the fruit mixture was topped by no cobbler whatsoever. This baffled me, but I think the 'cobbler' was bits of toasted oats mixed in with the fruit. A waste of calories.

In short, there are some tasty vegetarian things happening here. I now would very willingly return. I'd skip anything with the word cobbler in it, though.

LAZ wrote:Has anyone been to Blind Faith lately? Is there any reason to go there if you are either a) not a vegetarian or b) a vegetarian who can leave Evanston?

We eat at Blind Faith all the time. My wife is a regretful omnivore that gets nostalgic for her "vegetarian" college days at Northwestern. I carry around no regrets.

Anyway, I enjoy food, even the macrobiotic plate. I dont shy away from the meat substitutes because I find the preparations to be really tasty. Blind Faith has a really nice bakery and also offers a pretty decent breakfast. My 2 year old absolutely loves the place and on an average day it is pretty packed with kids.

There is nothing about the food that I rave about in particular, but i find that most of the food passes the threshhold question that I always ask when eating this type of food. Wouldn't it taste better with meat? Blind faith usually passes

I went by Life Vegan in Evanston recently and it looked like it was permanently closed. If I'm right, that's a shame. When I went shortly after it opened I had a very good meal that was only slightly marred by the lack of menus, the oddly-timed delivery of food, and the forgetting of a couple items ordered by our party. Knowing that it was related to Soul Vegetarian, I was prepared for such service issues. Also, it helped that our waiter was much friendlier than the folks at SV usually are. A highlight of the meal was his greeting when we walked in the door: "Welcome to Life."

There is a new Veggie Bite on Milwaukee North of Ashland.

I really like the place, except I am a regular vegetarian. So I get their Philly Cheesesteak without the fake soy cheese and add my own at home. Other than the fake cheese (which I really dislike) the food is really good.

that VB opened in marchish...

...from the openings/closings thread, there's a new upscale vegetarian place on Division @ 1742 W Division St called Mana Food Bar. i imagine they might have vegan options as well..

I went to the Balanced Kitchen on my birthday and had an amazing time. On Sundays they have multi-course brunch served at a communal table. I don't remember all the dishes, but there was a mango puree, asparagus and mushroom crepe, a berry salad, along with several other courses. Espresso drinks were included. I was impressed with the variety and quality of the food--they have some great chefs. Most of their meals come directly from the farmers' market. You have to call ahead for reservations and it costs $35. This particular experience was unique--it was Father's day and the owner's family was part of the communal table. They were marvelous and really made the meal, in part because the whole place is over the top self-congratulatory for being organic, local, vegan and gluten free. With much love and humor, the family was merciless in cutting through this front, and focusing on the food.

My gf, a confirmed meat and wheat eater, was very skeptical and had fortified herself with a scone before going, but she loved it too. She's been back since and says that the salads are wonderful.

The Handlebar on North Ave (just a couple blocks East of Western) is terrific! With the exception of their fish items (and I think there are only like two or three of them) it's all veggie. It's also got a great outdoor patio which is nice in the summer.
Another good spot- a bit further north, in Rogers Park, is the Heartland Cafe. It's a neighborhood staple- lots of good veggie and vegan food. Hearland is right off the Morse red-line stop on Lunt.

veghound wrote:I went to the Balanced Kitchen on my birthday and had an amazing time. On Sundays they have multi-course brunch served at a communal table. I don't remember all the dishes, but there was a mango puree, asparagus and mushroom crepe, a berry salad, along with several other courses. Espresso drinks were included. I was impressed with the variety and quality of the food--they have some great chefs. Most of their meals come directly from the farmers' market. You have to call ahead for reservations and it costs $35. This particular experience was unique--it was Father's day and the owner's family was part of the communal table. They were marvelous and really made the meal, in part because the whole place is over the top self-congratulatory for being organic, local, vegan and gluten free. With much love and humor, the family was merciless in cutting through this front, and focusing on the food.

My gf, a confirmed meat and wheat eater, was very skeptical and had fortified herself with a scone before going, but she loved it too. She's been back since and says that the salads are wonderful.

Thanks for this report. I'll try to get to the Sunday brunch soon.

Karyn's Cooked on Wells and Chicago is one of my favorite restaurants in the city (and I'm not vegan). The food is great, the service is always friendly and the desserts blow my mind. As a non-vegan, I don't do fake dairy. It never tastes like the real thing. Some how, Karyn makes it taste just like the real thing. In fact, I always get dessert when I'm there and it's always either the lemon meringue pie or coconut creme pie. The polenta is also one of my favorites. It even has that butter texture to it. I don't know how Karyn does vegan so well, but I definitely think it's a must try.

I just learned that Opera in the South Loop has a fair number of vegan options.

Opera
1301 S. Wabash
Chicago, IL 60605
312-461-0161

gastro gnome wrote:

LAZ wrote:Has anyone been to Blind Faith lately? Is there any reason to go there if you are either a) not a vegetarian or b) a vegetarian who can leave Evanston?

In short, there are some tasty vegetarian things happening here. I now would very willingly return. I'd skip anything with the word cobbler in it, though.

Ronna and I were dragged to Blind Faith over the weekend. I will put up much more of a fight if I get asked again.

Ronna ordered Chilaquiles, which turned out to be two sunny side up eggs over soggy tortillas, with a can of black beans opened up, warmed, and dumped onto the plate.


Our host ordered the Mongolian Stir Fry, which he loved, but I tasted and would describe as the saddest version of General Tso's Seitan ever. Sugar, sesame seeds, and more sugar.


I made the biggest mistake of the afternoon with the Blind Faith Burger. Tasted of sesame seeds and corrugated cardboard. I took one bite of the burger, ate the fries and the pickles, and called it a day. There are 15 better tasting veggie burger choices in the freezer section of any supermarket. Damn good thing I was heading to Vie that night for a birthday feast.


[Insert some joke here about being blind or having faith or some funny remark that this meal didn't inspire me to be creative enough to follow through with.]
--Rich

I had many fond memories of Blind Faith that apparently were either due to my relative lack of sophistication in my college years or a general drop in quality over time. Those chilaquiles look sad. Compared to Tweet's excellent vegetarian version there's really no comparison. And M. Henry's drunken poblano pepper with soy chorizo beats them both.