Little Brother's - Best Asian/Korean Meal for 8 bucks!

Little Brother's

Categories: Korean, Asian Fusion
Neighborhoods: Lincoln Park, DePaul
818 W Fullerton Ave
(between Chalmers St & Halsted St)
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 661-6482
* Hours:
Mon-Sat 11:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.

[b]references


http://www.timeout.com/chicago/articles ... e-brothers

http://www.yelp.com/biz/little-brothers ... 20brothers


I realize nobody has written about this place but it's very new, and what they do is so unique and filling for $8 (a big brother meal) that is you're in the lincoln park area you really need to check this place out. They now also offer such items as a house made kiwi lemonade, with real bits of kiwi, brown rice if you ask and really good vegtable dumplings. The owner is a very friendly fellow who is culinary trained and has spent years in Korea perfecting his kraft. He remembers your name and is very accomidating, and you can tell he is passionate about his offerings. It's rare to find this type of passion and preparation for semi fast food, please check this place out so that perhaps someday it will become a GNR staple. Try the cucumber salad, the dusty fried tofu and the raging bull sauce, I make it a habit to go here 2 times a week have not found a better deal meal wise in the entire area for under ten bucks.

here is my review that I posted on yelp.

For those who don't want to read my entire detailed review, I'll keep it simple, THE BEST ASIAN MEAL YOU CAN GET FOR 8 BUCKS!

I stand by that statement, go check it out, you won't find a higher quality Asian meal for 8 bucks anywhere. For the price of a big brother meal, you get a TON of MEAT! You will leave full, and the choices you can make, (3 different salads/ plus edamame or fried veg dumplings/ as well as your choice of protein (beef/chicken/tofu) will leave you FULL. The little brother meal is sufficient enough as well and obliterates any need to go fast food ever again considering the prices!

Why am I so fanatical about this place? It all comes down to the quality preparation, the 3 different sauce choices for the meat, I chose the hot, are very complex and addicting, while maintaining the "fresh" taste approach. You can tell the owner takes pride in the preparation of this quick meal spot. The 3 different salads are also very unique, (wasabi cold slaw as well as a refreshing cucumber salad are memorable, as well as the standard garden salad are done well.) and the beef, is more like a quality steak, very well grilled, juicy, moist on the inside and NO FAT! Very high quality meat that you will immediately savor.
If you're one of those picky eaters who can't stand the monotony of Asian themed fast food places which use questionable "rubbish" beef for their pepper steak or a default, corn syrupy terriaki for their sauces, you must check this place out! The creativity and quality of the food as well as the preparation is amazing, it's the details you will see and taste as well as the low prices will keep you coming back like all the other regulars.

I also wanted to comment on some of the other opinions voiced on this board, to the people complaining about the container that the food comes in, what do you expect for fast food prices? A crate and barrel table setting? The container does a good job keeping the items separate and it's fine with me, yes you may have to wait a few minutes (usually about 5, are you in that much of a rush?) but that's the point. The prices are fast food-like however the quality and process (grilling) are not... You won't find any dried out beef or chicken laying around for their next customer, instead what you get is FRESH. It may take a few minutes longer than your local drive through burger king but waiting a few minutes for some quality grilling is fine by me!
To the person comparing this with Aloha Eats, that is laughable. Aloha is a different concept and although I like some of their sides, I'm not going to eat their fatty fried offerings or spam on a daily basis, and their meat quality pale in comparison to Lil Bro's. That is a traditionally Hawaiian themed spot, whereas this is a Korean themed place where you can get some kick ass kalbi steak for 8 bucks which will leave you full and satisfied, I'd take Lil Bro's over aloha any day due to the variety of salads, the amount of meat and the quality of the sauces here.

And finally for the tofu lovers, you must check out their fried tofu, it's very unique with a dusty fried outside and a very soft chewy interior which you will savor for days to come. Order it as a side along with your BBQ Short Rib meal with some hot sauce and I guarantee you'll be back again and again... Places like Little Brother's give me faith that quick food can be done with care, creativity, and preparation, without breaking the bank or leaving a carnivore wanting much more!






_________________
I'm not picky, I just have more tastebuds than you... ; )

FoodSnob77 wrote:THE BEST ASIAN MEAL YOU CAN GET FOR 8 BUCKS!

A bold statement considering what you can get for $8 in this town. I look forward to trying this place next time I am in the neighborhood.

Better than two lunches at Spring World?

Spring world is one of the best deals for lunchtime no doubt, the kung pao chicken is actually quite tasty. However, I'm not a huge fan of chinese and I'd rather fork over double that amount for Little Brother's since I want to feel completely full from their steak.

FoodSnob77 wrote: However, I'm not a huge fan of chinese

Really? Even with all the regional Chinese options we have in this city?

Well, I wouldn't rank this Americanized Asian fast food place among the best Korean spots in town, even if Koreans started it. Which means I wouldn't give it a Great Neighborhood Restaurant award. However, I am perfectly happy to give it another honor which is perhaps more practical, and probably more exclusive: Places In Lincoln Park That Don't Suck.



For about $8 (before tax) you get an impressive mound of shortrib meat (no bones) and some rice (the brown cost me an extra 99 cents), as well as a couple of sides. You have your choice of three sauces, all of which, I suspect, tend toward the Americanized sweet side, but at least the middle one was not afraid of a little chili heat.

No, it's not meat grilled over coals at San Soo Gab San, it doesn't have any char, but it was decent on its own terms, better than most of the takeout Chinese beef within a mile or two in any direction.



Sides were more of an "ennh." The pot stickers were fine, I'm sure they also came from a big bag of frozen machine-made such. The cucumber-onion salad was more freshly made but I found it bland and limp, and didn't finish it. You only have to think of the superb eggplant salad at Urban Belly to see how ordinary this is by comparison.

Still, given the mostly woeful state of dining in this deprived area, if life brought me here around 6 or 7 at night (though with no used bookstores or movie theaters nearby, I'm not sure why it would any more), I would happily pop into Little Brother's for a quick bite at a reasonable price.

Mike G wrote:

Well, I wouldn't rank this Americanized Asian fast food place among the best Korean spots in town, even if Koreans started it. Which means I wouldn't give it a Great Neighborhood Restaurant award. However, I am perfectly happy to give it another honor which is perhaps more practical, and probably more exclusive: Places In Lincoln Park That Don't Suck.

What are you opinions on...

Aloha eats
allende and their al pastor spit (right by three brothers)
Athenian Room
the enchiladas at TBP
Wings from birds nest and House of wing
Cage Bernard/red rooster
fresh beer from goose island (while it lasts)
Half Shell
fish and chips from red lion and other really good English pub food
Lito's
mayan palace
Pequods
cicago Pizza and oven grinder
twin Anchors (burger and chili)
Sweets and savories
Weiner's Circle
Charlie Trotter's
trotter's to go
Alinea

and a few others im probably forgetting. Thats a pretty damn respectable list that I will add LB's too.

look downtown is probaly the worst dining hood in the city and LP isnt the best but they both have much more restaurants than other neighborhoods making the chance to have more place that suck. Its not the best eating hood but its not the worst, bucktown is pretty bad.

i would add chicken quesadilla at taco/burrito express to that list

Da Beef,

I couldn't agree with your post more and was actually about to post a similar list (with the exception of Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder...yikes). I would also add:

Riccardo Trattoria
Boka
Molly's Cupcakes
Ponzu Sushi
Webster's Wine Bar
Miss Asia
Emilio's
Sapori
Head a couple of blocks north into Lakeview and you hit Crisp and Pastoral

Sure, not all of these are destination places, but they certainly don't suck.

Honestly, there's really nothing to eat in Lincoln Park

My opinion, in the aggregate, removing everything in the higher price range (Riccardo, Sweets and Savories, etc.) as irrelevant to the discussion at hand, is... there's a reason I haven't eaten there since moving from Webster and Racine many years ago. Though I guess it's time to go back to Athenian Room....

(Nobody's mentioned one of the few places I do like, Coffee and Crepe Palace/Cafe Icosium.)

(Actually, if you want to know a more personal story about how mediocre Lincoln park dining brought me to Chowhound and ultimately to LTHForum, listen to the podcast from last year with a bunch of the founders. It's about 18 minutes in.)

I also forgot Muskie's, which I went to the other day and its still damn good and one of the better char cheddar burgers in the city. Ill def. listen to that podcast, and im going to have to finally give little brothers a try. I live right down the block from Webster and Racine, ya Johns place is awful but on that list alone I gave places to get good chicken wings, burgers, dogs, greek, french, Mexican, pizza, fish and chips and homemade English pub food, fried seafood, empanadas, bar food and high end food and Chicago's best and only real Hawaiian lunch plates.

Along with Muskie's add Pats pizza and la gondola for tavern style pizza and Tom and Wendees for Italian ice and the patty's at Ja Grill are pretty damn good too and Hamburger king is next door and there's a few more im forgetting. That list is pretty formidable to me. Even with some of the old school favorites gone.

That list is pretty formidable to me.

That's where we'll have to disagree.

I'll grant you that there are a number of decent places to eat in LP and environs.

But here's what I'm convinced: setting aside high end dining, there is no cuisine or noteworthy dish whose best example is in Lincoln Park. With one possible exception-- crepes-- you can get better everything elsewhere.

Mike G wrote:

That list is pretty formidable to me.

That's where we'll have to disagree.

I'll grant you that there are a number of decent places to eat in LP and environs.

But here's what I'm convinced: setting aside high end dining, there is no cuisine or noteworthy dish whose best example is in Lincoln Park. With one possible exception-- crepes-- you can get better everything elsewhere.

So what?

Sure, Lincoln Park may not have the best Thai food or the best Mexican food but that doesn't make the neighborhood dead or useless from a culinary perspective. At the very least it shouldn't just be dismissed which it seems like you're doing. Why don't you try some of the places that have been listed here? Who knows, maybe you'll find something you like?

And you know what? I would actually put a few things from Lincoln Park up against any other place in the city. Aloha Grill is certainly unique. Molly's makes one type of cupcake that's probably the best I've ever had. Otoro with fresh wasabi at Ponzu might be the best I've had in Chicago (including Katsu, including Mirai).

Also, I don't buy the whole "take out the high end stuff". Why shouldn't high end restaurants make Lincoln Park a dining destination? That's something to be proud of. These are quality high-end spots, not just places trying to fake it. I mean, you have 3 of the best restaurants in the country in Lincoln Park and that's pretty cool. The fact that you can get a pretty killer plate lunch and a 12 course blow-your-mind-out seafood focused meal within 4 blocks of each other is pretty neat IMO.

Mike G wrote:

That list is pretty formidable to me.

That's where we'll have to disagree.

I'll grant you that there are a number of decent places to eat in LP and environs.

But here's what I'm convinced: setting aside high end dining, there is no cuisine or noteworthy dish whose best example is in Lincoln Park. With one possible exception-- crepes-- you can get better everything elsewhere.

Please tell me where to get better lunch plates, Id love to know. Wings? who has better than birds nest or HoW? better cheese fries than WC? where? Some of that statement is true but Muskies is alot closer than Paradise Pup, Zaffiros doesnt deliver in Milwaukee so they aint coming to me and Vito and Nicks is on the south side, so Pat's does it. The skirt steak and fries at AR is hard to beat, in whatever cat. thats in. The fish and chips at red lion were the best I found (its reopening soon) and I love enchiladas and aside from the lady at Maxwell with the red sauce I think TBP's chicken with ranchero sauce suiza are the best you will find but im still on that hunt. When they are carving straight off the cone at allende, the al pastor tacos are as good as ive had and Ive been to carnaceria leon and Burrito Buggy. If you want to eat the best of everything Chicago has to offer your gnna be driving back and forth Chicagoland all month. Its not its best dining neighborhood but by far not its worst. Id put it in the middle.

BTW, Im not trying to pick an argument with my teachers, without LTH my knowledge and love of food would be half of what it is, and the day I found the post about the 30's style cheeseburger was a good one for me, that style has always been my favorite and before I knew it had its own style I would just say my favorite type of hamburgers were "burgers like McDonalds but much much better" So I thank you for that and other knowledge shared. Just a friendly food debate was all I was stirring up.

One more plug for LP and the "24 hour" cat. The homestyle cooking at Presidente on Ashland is pretty damn special with all those grandmas that cook all day and night and live upstairs. Im not sure there many better 24 hour place's to eat and its been here forever so you gotta love that. They have what I believe to be the best nachos in the city. the type where they cover them chip by chip and when covered with the ranchero sauce and beans and a mound of cheese they are heavenly.

Well, some of this is just apples and oranges-- I'm not a cheese fries or a wings kinda guy, for instance.

The high end is irrelevant to me because if I wanted to grab a bite between shopping at Booksellers Row and a movie at the Threepenny, c. 1994, I didn't think Trotter. And I don't think of El Presidente, or even Muskie's, as being in Lincoln Park (but then when I first moved there, west of Halsted was the wrong side of the tracks and some folks had just formed the RANCH association because the Old Town association wouldn't give them the time of day out there on the prairie... how yuppiedom has spread since then).

It's not like where I live now, Brunch Central, is any better, really, all I can say is, once I really started discovering the city-- and THEY got rid of the bookstores and movie theaters on Lincoln and Tower Records-- it's not a destination part of the city any more for me, certainly not for food.

On the other hand... who else here tried your Korean place and gave it a fair shot?

Mike G wrote:ny better, really, all I can say is, once I really started discovering the city-- and THEY got rid of the bookstores and movie theaters on Lincoln and Tower Records-- it's not a destination part of the city any more for me, certainly not for food.

On the other hand... who else here tried your Korean place and gave it a fair shot?

It wasnt my place but ill be trying it. I bet when you lived at Webster and Racine you went to that record shop at 1151 W. Webster that was run by the dead head. Tower was a great place back in the '90's when I was growing up, I still remember buying "Doggystyle" from Snoop at midnight on a monday, snuck out and rode my bike over there to get it. But it became an absolute overpriced dump that along with Peaches turned coconuts, couldnt survive best buy and the internet with their ridiculous prices. What was the name of the deli that sat underneath tower records? I remember goin in there and just ordering coke and eating pickles all day.

Da Beef wrote:What was the name of the deli that sat underneath tower records? I remember goin in there and just ordering coke and eating pickles all day.

Belden Deli R.I.P.

P.S. Belden Deli was there long before Tower Records or even the building that presently stands in that spot. That location used to be a Jewel with Belden Deli next door to it in the same parking lot. You might more properly say that Tower sat over Belden Deli.

After it was Belden Deli, it was Max's, but hardly any different.

That cramped Jewel with its peeling linoleum and aisles about a foot wide was a real culture shock when I came here from the big open country of Kansas. It was like going shopping in Russia.

DaBeef wrote:The fish and chips at red lion were the best I found (its reopening soon)

Beef, from the sound of things it will be quite some time before the Red Lion reopens. The current building is going to be torn down and a new building put up.
Until then Red Lion regulars meet the second and fourth Wednesday eve. of each month at the Skyline Lounge on the sixth floor of the DANK haus on Western Av.
Joe from the Red Lion tends bar and tries to serve one dish from the old menu.
Stop by and have a beer.

DANK Haus
4740 N Western Av
Chicago.

Judging purely from the looks of the pictures and the general idea that someone spent time to "perfect" Asian food while in Korea, makes me wonder whether this place is authentic or if it's another americanized asian foodery.

I'll check it out, but I have my doubts, being korean and all.