What the Food! (Asian) in Evanston

This is a new place in Evanston, in the revolving door spot that was last a Hawaiian place. The chef and owner, David Lee, used to have a big highly Zagat rated place in Wilmette called Cafe Chinoiserie, but he said he was getting too burnt out by a huge, busy place and scaled down. It just opened last month.

I had to go when I saw that he had ja jang myun (black bean sauce noodles) and other Korean Chinese favorites! He also does a lot of the Chinese classics, like Mongolian beef, and right now he's also willing to personalize the dishes, which is really nice.

The ja jang myun is fantastic, really flavorful with a ton of meat and delicious noodles. The "buffalo chicken" is his version of gan poongi, Korean fried chicken, and also has a great flavor. He doesn't make it too spicy because he says his old clientele never wanted spicy, so don't be afraid to tell him. HIGHLY recommend! Hope it breaks the curse. Prices are ridiculously cheap for the quality and quantity right now -- I think he's trying to find his price point, so take advantage.

What The Food!
822 Clark St
Evanston, IL 60201
847-328-2222

Maybe this place will revive the trend to name restaurants things like Jonathan Livingston Seafood, Lawrence of Oregano and The Great Gritzbee's Flying Food Show.

riddlemay wrote:Maybe this place will revive the trend to name restaurants things like Jonathan Livingston Seafood, Lawrence of Oregano and The Great Gritzbee's Flying Food Show.

I think my favoritely-named restaurant was Frasier's Traveling Brown Bag in St. Louis.

As for this place, I'll have to check it out. Evanston may now have a whole bunch of eateries, but not really any good Chinese.

riddlemay wrote:Maybe this place will revive the trend to name restaurants things like Jonathan Livingston Seafood, Lawrence of Oregano and The Great Gritzbee's Flying Food Show.

Those do set the bar pretty high, but the creators of What the Food somehow managed to come up with an even more idiotic name.

I got a flyer about this place in my mailbox and my first reaction was along the lines of

"Are you foodin' kidding me?"

I'll be honest I have a hard time generating excitement in trying a new restaurant when the name is so horrible. Also
when it comes to punny Evanston restaurants Wiener and Still Champion takes the cake IMO

PlayItGeorge wrote:I got a flyer about this place in my mailbox and my first reaction was along the lines of

"Are you foodin' kidding me?"

I'll be honest I have a hard time generating excitement in trying a new restaurant when the name is so horrible. Also
when it comes to punny Evanston restaurants Wiener and Still Champion takes the cake IMO

The punniness of Wiener and Still Champion's name can be excused to some extent by the fact that it was the product of a naming contest held among Evanston school children in the 1970s, if I recall correctly. The name of What the Food!, on the other hand, was presumably thought up by adults, although of undetermined maturity levels.

tarte tatin wrote:

PlayItGeorge wrote:I got a flyer about this place in my mailbox and my first reaction was along the lines of

"Are you foodin' kidding me?"

I'll be honest I have a hard time generating excitement in trying a new restaurant when the name is so horrible. Also
when it comes to punny Evanston restaurants Wiener and Still Champion takes the cake IMO

The punniness of Wiener and Still Champion's name can be excused to some extent by the fact that it was the product of a naming contest held among Evanston school children in the 1970s, if I recall correctly. The name of What the Food!, on the other hand, was presumably thought up by adults, although of undetermined maturity levels.

In terms of name [and not quality of food, as I somehow have never been to Wiener and Still Champion despite growing up in Evanston], I prefer Mustard's Last Stand over Wiener and Still Champion. On a related note, in a short [rather old] video I've seen several times on PBS, Burt Wolf went around many Chicagoland hot dog stands, admiring the food and names of the establishments--Mustard's was his favorite name.

we will have to try it, we have also been disappointed by lack of chinese options in Evanston

This restaurant name makes more sense than WTFood.

Went here on a tip from a friend who goes there often for lunch in Evanston. It is by far the BEST chinese food I have had, apart from high-end places. The food is always fresh, great veggies and huge shrimp. I know it has a crazy name, makes me laugh...I highly recommend the food. I want people to go so that it stays around!

A cautionary note to the upbeat comments that describe rose01’s and piquillo’s experiences at What The Food:

The Jersey Girl and I went for lunch on Saturday at ~1:00. The restaurant looked deserted and two of the tables were covered with the remains of previous customers. We walked to the kitchen and roused the owner, who seems to be the only employee. In his friendly conversation with us, he talked of his difficulty in finding a waitperson. He also was very gracious in explaining his culinary approach and the (currently) limited menu. At the end of our meal, he brought a complimentary portion of onion pancake (there were no appetizers listed on the menu).

We ordered Chicken With Broccoli, Garlic Shrimp In Black Bean Sauce and Vegetable Fried Rice (The Jersey Girl loves Chinese food, but is not an adventuresome eater). Our impressions of the food were that it was mediocre: 1) both sauces tasted okay, but way too similar; 2) the vegetables were overcooked (the broccoli was dull green in color and had no snap to it); 3) the shrimp tasted fine, but were certainly not “jumbo” in size, as described; 4) the VFR was skimpy on vegetables and was under-fried, as it had clumps of rice that were still white.

In addition to being underwhelmed by the food, the restaurant looks to be ~two weeks away from being ready to open. While we enjoy funky places that serve good food, there is a point at which the grunge detracts from your overall experience. Put in the construction effort to fix up the wiring and the floor. Clean up the supplies that litter the hallway leading to the bathrooms and that are visible from the dining room. Wash and paint the walls and ceiling. Then open.

It was one of those restaurant visits that leave you feeling ambivalent – nothing was terrible, but you have no urge to return. Within three blocks of WTF are Pine Yard, Joy Yee’s and Lulu’s. All three get mixed reviews, but are far better (in our opinion) for their food, service, value and overall enjoyment.

WTF definitely appears to be a Work-In-Progress. We’ll wait a month and try it again, if it still gets raves on the forum.

jimwdavis wrote:two of the tables were covered with the remains of previous customers.

That can't be up to code.

Cilantro -- Probably not, but he did clean the tables while we were eating.

cilantro wrote:

jimwdavis wrote:two of the tables were covered with the remains of previous customers.

That can't be up to code.

Their last words, muffled by huge clumps of vegetable fried rice: "What...the....foooooood....."

I have to echo Jim's comments above. I took some co-workers to lunch at WTF today and was a bit disappointed. They didn't seem really ready for prime time and the food was mediocre.

The chef offered lots of flexibility and so in the spirit of adventure, we asked for his best beef dish, best chicken dish and chicken fried rice. We were served mongolian beef, that was actually quite good. Unnamed chicken dish in salty brown sauce was ok, but way too salty with no real flavors. I wish I could warn LTHers away from this dish, but it remained unnamed, both by the chef and our table. Fried rice was just ok. There was a bit of confusion when the check arrived (we ordered family style and were then charged for dinner portions based on the owner's old restaurant's menu.) Portions were ok. We were disappointed to learn that all of the specials (including the black bean noodles) were not available. The chef and his wife were both very hospitable, but I doubt we will be back soon. A newspaper clipping in the window chronicled the history of this space- including this info nugget: due to its history of hosting multiple failed food joints, the Jimmy Johns people next door had deemed it a cursed location. Maybe something to that...

I really think the food is good, but yes, it is a hole in the wall-type space. Wasn't that grungy when I went, but I could see if he had no help for a day (or longer) that it would get all piled up. Useful to hear about the changing prices. He needs to make things a little clearer. I like the flexibility, but sounds like it's getting out of hand.

I don't usually judge a place by a delivery order...but when the rice in your order of Asian food arrives wet and overcooked to the point where you can see the paddle-prints in it, you know it isn't the travel time.

What the Food has changed its (back, I guess) name to Chinoiserie. It really seemed like it could be good food - but how can you have good Chinese without good rice? I had to re-fry the fried rice I got; half of it was still in shining white lumps and it had no flavor at all; I added sesame oil, shallot and ginger just to make it palatable (it reminded me more of congee.) A fried tofu dish wasn't too bad - had a sauce that was neither too goopy nor too salty and a lot of nice, appropriate vegitation (this probably suffered a bit from the travel, but held up well considering.) Mushu pork was nearly egg foo young, not too bad if overly eggy, a bit chunky and a bit overcooked. Potstickers were nicely crispy on the outside, nice filling with, again, nice vegetation; they needed a bit of salt, but the dipping sauce took care of that.

The entire order arrived in styrofoam clamshells, which had the effect of getting everything even more soggy, leaking everywhere, and allowing a good bit of the heat to escape. We don't have much in the way of Chinese food in Evanston, I was really hoping for better - if it weren't for the appallingly bad rice, I might try delivery again.

The lunch menu looks quite interesting - maybe they have gotten the kinks worked out by now and things are better if you dine in. I suppose it's always worth a try. Sigh.

For those who above claim there is no good Chinese food in Evanston, I suggest you try Koi if you have not already done so. I've found the Chinese food there to be pretty darn good. No, it's not equal to the high standard of places in Chinatown like Double Li, but it's about as good as you'll find in Evanston (and much better than the truly mediocre places like the one that rhymes with Mine Hard). The prices are somewhat high but this is offset by the exceedingly generous portion sizes. Try it and let us know what you think.

nsxtasy wrote:For those who above claim there is no good Chinese food in Evanston, I suggest you try Koi if you have not already done so. I've found the Chinese food there to be pretty darn good. No, it's not equal to the high standard of places in Chinatown like Double Li, but it's about as good as you'll find in Evanston (and much better than the truly mediocre places like the one that rhymes with Mine Hard). The prices are somewhat high but this is offset by the exceedingly generous portion sizes. Try it and let us know what you think.

I've eaten at Koi a few times only because it's close to my office, and they occasionally send out $20 gift certificates. While I think it's fine, I have a hard time thinking of it as Chinese food (despite the restaurant's claims). It's pretty sweet, dressed-up, pan-Asian at best.

happy_stomach wrote:

nsxtasy wrote:For those who above claim there is no good Chinese food in Evanston, I suggest you try Koi if you have not already done so. I've found the Chinese food there to be pretty darn good. No, it's not equal to the high standard of places in Chinatown like Double Li, but it's about as good as you'll find in Evanston (and much better than the truly mediocre places like the one that rhymes with Mine Hard). The prices are somewhat high but this is offset by the exceedingly generous portion sizes. Try it and let us know what you think.

I've eaten at Koi a few times only because it's close to my office, and they occasionally send out $20 gift certificates. While I think it's fine, I have a hard time thinking of it as Chinese food (despite the restaurant's claims). It's pretty sweet, dressed-up, pan-Asian at best.

My one meal at Koi was horrible. Every sauce tasted like a melted jolly rancher.

Kennyz wrote:

happy_stomach wrote:

nsxtasy wrote:For those who above claim there is no good Chinese food in Evanston, I suggest you try Koi if you have not already done so. I've found the Chinese food there to be pretty darn good. No, it's not equal to the high standard of places in Chinatown like Double Li, but it's about as good as you'll find in Evanston (and much better than the truly mediocre places like the one that rhymes with Mine Hard). The prices are somewhat high but this is offset by the exceedingly generous portion sizes. Try it and let us know what you think.

I've eaten at Koi a few times only because it's close to my office, and they occasionally send out $20 gift certificates. While I think it's fine, I have a hard time thinking of it as Chinese food (despite the restaurant's claims). It's pretty sweet, dressed-up, pan-Asian at best.

My one meal at Koi was horrible. Every sauce tasted like a melted jolly rancher.

Yes, but if you ask them to make a dish (any dish; they're all the same) extra-extra-extra spicy, you at least get melted Jolly Rancher with a kick. And you get to eat it with chopsticks. But you won't have anywhere to put your chopsticks because customers have stolen their chopstick rests (so the waitress said on our last visit).

My opinion on Koi is the same -- I generally prefer a clearer dividing line between main course and dessert. But I love when places like that give out chopsticks. I mean, are you really gonna eat your sesame chicken with a fork??? Don't you know that's not how it's done in the Orient?