Jess Cafe (Pan Asian)

I was at my sister's house for lunch today, and she ordered delivery from Jess Cafe. She has been raving about it ever since they opened. Being of Chinese descent, we are always a little wary of places that tout themselves as being Pan-Asian. Can they really do more than one kind of Asian food well? Surprisingly, this place put my doubts to rest! My sister ordered lemon grass shrimp, basil pork, green curry pork, beef chow fun, fried shrimp shiu mai, and salty fish fried rice. Being that the fried shrimp shiu mai are fried, they suffered a little from being delivered, but I could still tell that the breading was very light, and they were filled with shrimp and no fillers. The lemon grass shrimp had a surprising kick to it. The salty fish fried rice was done very well - it tasted really light. The beef chow fun, which can be too greasy and overdosed w/MSG at some other restaurants, was delicious here! I really like every dish she ordered. I definitely ate too much. I am looking forward to explore more items from their extensive menu. The most expensive item on the menu is a steal at $8.50! The portions are large.

Jess Cafe
Pan-Asian (Chinese, Thai, Korean)
5819 W. Belmont
Chicago IL
773-637-2717
Sun-Th 11:30am-9:30pm
Fri-Sat 11:30am - 10:00pm
Carry Out, Dine-in, Catering, Online ordering, Delivery

A newer place and am surprised no one here has posted about it yet. I've finally decided to post after my fourth visit. I've been impressed by the variety of food, the prices, and the quality every time I've been there. Normal NW Side storefront place with many booths and plenty of tables for larger groups. Bubble drink Smoothies are a big draw here...so many choices.

So far I've had Malaysian, Korean and Thai dishes here. All have been better than I was expecting. Many times at "Pan Asian" places what I've encountered is kinda of a Melman-esque experience......mediocre food but a great presentation and big portions. Not here. The flavors and ingredients are a notch above.

Cafe Jesse
5819 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, IL 60634
Tel:(773)637-2717

Their website is great. The photos are the way the dishes actually look. Check it out:

http://jesscafeinc.com/

Air Handling Note:

Everytime I've been there they have the air conditioning cranked way up. Personally I like it but others with me sometimes think it's too cold. If you don't like your room at about 67-70 degrees bring a sweater just in case.

I posted about it here.

Thanks for pointing that out.

Well it looks like between the two of us we have it covered now. You had a great take-out dining experience and I had the great dine-in experience. And you are Asian too!

Not trying to be funny but when I go to Asian places I find some werid kind of satisfaction when I look around and there's a bunch of other Asians dining with me. Must be a Chicago kind of thing....