cjchaps wrote:

Pucca wrote:Anybody hear know about Teena Mia? How is it?
564 W. Washington St.
312-441-9577

I've eaten there twice about a year ago. I forget what exactly I got but I remember the food being good.

I went there for lunch last week. I had their lunch special: chicken tender wrap with ranch dressing and fries ($3.95?). The special was so cheap! The sandwich was ok, but I wasn't terribly impressed. Someone nearby had pizza, and it did not look appetizing. The cashier was not very friendly.

Anybody know where the 3J's truck has been hanging out lately? Thanks

Pucca wrote:Anybody know where the 3J's truck has been hanging out lately? Thanks

On the east side of LaSalle street, just south of Washington. Between Washington the alley.

And they're back.....
Mallers' Family Restaurant
5 S. Wasbash
Chicago, IL 60603
3rd floor
312-419-2817
free delivery

Now owned by an hispanic couple. The whole front of the menu is mexican specialties, the rest of the menu is typical diner food from the past. I only stopped into today for a large soup to go and it came in a 16 oz styrofoam cup for $3.85. The prices appear the same, hamburger deluxe (with fries or onion rings and soup $4.99) pretty good loop deal.

Apparently they have been open a month. I went in at 11:45 and no one was there. I hope it makes it, but the jewelry shops in the building are closing at a rapid rate.

* This resto has closed*** It is now the Hong Kong Cafe

I went to Specialty's Cafe today, the corner of Lake and Wacker and I have to say, the sandwich I ordered was pretty damn good. I got the Turkey & Cranberry, which had alfalfa sprouts, mayo, lettuce, whole cranberry sauce, turkey breast and I switched the bread to their whole wheat. Some of the girls I was with got the Hot BBQ chicken, which was shredded chicken, with bbq sauce, cole slaw, bacon, cheddar and I took a bite and that was really good, probably better then the Turkey.

Also, a note, their website is pretty cool. You can pick your sandwich, choose edit and it will show the dietary information. They also have baked goods, salads, freshly made soups that change daily. All in all, it's better then any sandwich I've had in the area.

Specialty's Cafe
http://www.specialtysdirect.com/welcome.asp
191 N Wacker Dr
Chicago, IL

I'll add to this post.......I like Cavanaugh's which is in the Monadnock building on Jackson and Dearborn, and also Ceres Restarant in the Board of Trade Building. Also Cellars cafeteria in the Board of Trade. The first two are not fast food but the Cellars I believe has carryouts in the cafeteria.

Pairs4life was looking for some loop restaurants, so I thought I would revive the thread, as I could use some new places too.
Berghoff Cafe downstairs, has fresh meats sliced for sandwiches and fresh soup and salad you can create(real cutlery).
17 W. Adams
Chicago, IL

Cafecito opened last summer and is a great option in the Loop. Inexpensive, great sandwiches and coffee, and independently owned. http://cafecitochicago.com/

The Market Creations cafeterias have been mentioned in another post, but not, I think, here. They operate at the Sears Tower, the Dirksen federal courthouse, the Civic Opera House (mentioned in the other thread), and the Prudential Plaza. I can only speak to the Prudential Plaza location, but I continue to be pleasantly surprised and since lunch options near Millennium Park are always in demand, it's worth a mention.

The daily menus are on-line. so you can figure out if there's anything tempting before you make lunch plans. My usual tactic for avoiding the priced-by-the-pound buffet overload is to start off with a pile of greens (now all organic, at least at Prudential) and then start putting some protein on top, saving the smaller sections of the container for the carbs. Recently, to my absolute delight, they had excellent salt and pepper smelt (I didn't say I was only putting low-calorie protein on top, now, did I?). I'm keeping my eyes open for a repeat. In the meantime, the steamed sole with ginger and scallions is nearly always on the menu (although not today at Prudential, I notice) and is pretty reliable. There are also always an assortment of cold salads, which they don't list on the menu. There's usually one or two with papaya or mangoes and those are usually pretty good.

I've always gone with the buffet, but they also have a grill and I have co-workers who swear by their burgers. Most people are doing carry-out, but they've got big windows and lots of seating as well.

It's not open weekends, so it only works as a Millennium Park tourist stop Monday through Friday. But for a quick lunch in the northeast corner of the loop, you could do a lot worse.

Market Creations
Prudential One
130 E. Randolph st. (Note that the outside street entrance is on the east side of Beaubien Court, just off Randolph).
Chicago, IL
Tel # (312) 540-0085
Fax# (312) 629-0089

nicinchic wrote:Pairs4life was looking for some loop restaurants, so I thought I would revive the thread, as I could use some new places too.
Berghoff Cafe downstairs, has fresh meats sliced for sandwiches and fresh soup and salad you can create(real cutlery).
17 W. Adams
Chicago, IL

I like the Berghoff Cafe. Fair prices, decent food. I like their Greek salad with dolmas and their freshly-made potato chips.

Ronna

Has anyone been to Bionda to Go lately? It's at 400 S. Financial.

I went when they first opened last year and was really disappointed by the meatball sandwich and the fact that it took more than 15 minutes for three of us to get our takeout orders.

I liked the menu, but would hesitate to return absent a glowing review or two.

Thanks,
Ronna

Love LOVE the Turkey Cranberry sandwich from Specialty! I was unaware there was a location here in Chicago. This was my go-to place when I was working in SF. Wacker and Lake is quite a walk from the AON Center, but I think I will make the trek tomorrow!

Thanks Shaggywillis!!!

Shaggywillis wrote:I went to Specialty's Cafe today, the corner of Lake and Wacker and I have to say, the sandwich I ordered was pretty damn good. I got the Turkey & Cranberry, which had alfalfa sprouts, mayo, lettuce, whole cranberry sauce, turkey breast and I switched the bread to their whole wheat. Some of the girls I was with got the Hot BBQ chicken, which was shredded chicken, with bbq sauce, cole slaw, bacon, cheddar and I took a bite and that was really good, probably better then the Turkey.

Also, a note, their website is pretty cool. You can pick your sandwich, choose edit and it will show the dietary information. They also have baked goods, salads, freshly made soups that change daily. All in all, it's better then any sandwich I've had in the area.

Specialty's Cafe
http://www.specialtysdirect.com/welcome.asp
191 N Wacker Dr
Chicago, IL

Thanks Shaggywillis!!!

Anytime. I really enjoy this place, their soup is really good as well and changes daily and is homemade. I work off of Madison and Wacker, so it's a little hike especially when it's windy out, but well worth it.

From what I can tell, the lone mention of Olive Mediterranean Grill on LTH appears over here in the jury duty thread. (N.B. I notice that it's gotten a lot more play over at Yelp.) I work in the building next door to Olive, so I've watched Olive transform from an awkward, unsure place into a Loop lunch destination that I think ranks with Oasis and Benjyhuda.

My first experience with Olive, many months ago when they first opened, was not terribly memorable. My falafel was dry, cold in the middle, and oddly, unpleasantly seasoned. It's accompanying pita tasted stale and had the sandpaper texture of those that come out of a plastic bag sold in grocery stores. Since then, though, Olive has really fired up its grills, both literally and figuratively. Herein lies its strength. It's unfortunately an oddity to see actual, visible cooking being done at a Loop fast-lunch place. At Olive, during peak lunch hours, there are 3-4 people manning flaming, meat-filled grills and the spinning schwarma trompas. I've come to really enjoy the schwarma sandwich, a carefully composed meal containing well-seasoned, moist meat, a schmear of garlic sauce, pickled vegetables, and feta. Thankfully, the pita of my first visit has been replaced by one that is fresh and fluffy. I love the green hot sauce with the mustard tang (although I think I like it just as much as Oasis' red chile sauce). It's jam-packed with meat and costs a reasonable $5.00. I hope you like curly parsley because their fresh salads don't hold back on that ingredient. I should probably give the falafel another try, as this place has hit its stride since my first visit -- and has the lines to show for it. For meat dishes, I prefer Olive over Oasis. Oasis still has my business for falafel and lentil soup (for now). (FWIW, I think they're Israeli at Olive. For another taste of Amer-Israeli via Chicago Loop, go upstairs from Olive and try the turkey at Jaffa Bagels.)

Olive Mediterranean Grill
201 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60601-1663
(312) 726-1234

The free drink that comes with the chicken schwarma lunch special at Haifa Cafe (Clinton at Monroe) may have saved my life today. Without it, I could easily have choked on the unpalatably dry chicken. I've also never experienced hummus that tasted this much like nothing more than a can of chick peas whirred around a bit in a food processor.

Never again.

--Rich

My Loop Standbys:

Goodwins
135 S La Salle St
(between Adams St & Marble Pl)

I Dream of Falafel (has replaced Roti in the rotation)
331 South Franklin Street
112 West Monroe Street

The Vault (solid food stations for a fair price)
135 S La Salle St
(between Adams St & Marble Pl)

aschie30 wrote:I should probably give the falafel another try, as this place has hit its stride since my first visit -- and has the lines to show for it.

The falafel is pretty good. Olive has become one of my go-to lunch places, as I work right across the street.

Any comments on the new Al's at Jackson/Wabash? What's its proximity (quality, not distance) to a}. Taylor-Street Al's; b). All the other Al's?

Kid Charlemagne wrote:

aschie30 wrote:I should probably give the falafel another try, as this place has hit its stride since my first visit -- and has the lines to show for it.

The falafel is pretty good. Olive has become one of my go-to lunch places, as I work right across the street.

The sudden proliferation of falafel is mind-boggling. Much like kebabs in Eastern Europe (I was in Krakow recently and there are easily 2 or 3 kebab shops on every block in the old town area) they now seem to be everywhere. Within 5-10 minutes of my office I have Oasis, Olive, Tahini, Jaffa Bakery, Haifa Cafe, Benjyehuda, I Dream of Falafel and the abomination they serve at Subway.

Not that I'm complaining but it's an oddly-timed trend.

...and Roti and Mezza must be nearby too. This trend has been trending for a long while and it gives out of town visitors a completely skewed view of Chicago's fast food and ethnic mix. Midtown Manhattan is similarly overrun with falafel, but it makes more sense there and it doesn't seem quite as concentrated.