Food in the Skokie Area

Just Moved up to Skokie. Found a nice little place for Coffee and Baked goods called Sweety Pies anyone got any good recomendations for Dinner. Not a big fan of Red Robin or BW3.

Pita Inn
Yolo (and the excellent Wholly Frijoles about 5 minutes South in Lincolnwood)

just to start.

Tub Tim Thai in downtown has truly spectacular Thai food. We also love California Pizza Kitchen and The Bagel in Old Orchard. Hana Bistro on Skokie Boulevard has decent sushi.

De-Jred Fine Jamaican Cuisine is very good
4901 Oakton St
(between La Crosse Ave & Lamon Ave)
Skokie, IL 60077
(847) 983-4582

Kabul House is having there grand opening on Friday Nov 12th for dinner
4949 Oakton St.,
Skokie
(847) 674-3830

Patty's Diner and Poochies. They are the Alinea and Charlie Trotter's of Skokie (I grew up in Skokie, so I'm allowed to say that. Plus, it's true).

I forgot there is also the following which are pretty good and literally right next to skokie(Morton Grove):

China Chef
5920 Lincoln Ave
Morton Grove, IL 60053
(847) 967-6050
www.chinachef.org

Burt's Place
8541 Ferris Ave
(between Lincoln Ave & Capulina Ave)
Morton Grove, IL 60053
(847) 965-7997

The search function in this forum is quite handy. Just type Skokie in the search box and search in the Eating out in Chicagoland section and you'll find all sorts of options.

spinynorman99 wrote:Yolo

Ditto. Just remember, it's small, and it's a good idea to call ahead to make a reservation. And it's BYO, so bring your preferred alcoholic bev. Website link

Agree with all the above, and need to add Larsa's to the list for Assyrian cuisine and pizza.Thread here. Great lentil soup.

Larsa's Mediterranean Restaurant
3724 Dempster St
Skokie, IL 60076
(847) 679-3663

Also in Lincolnwood (about 100 yards from Wholly Frijoles) is Renga Tei, very good Japanese/Sushi. Taboun on Dempster is also worth a visit for very good Middle Eastern, but as a Kosher restaurant the prices will be much higher than Pita Inn.

Other good bagel options:

Kaufman's
4905 W. Dempster
(847) 677-6190

New York Bagel & Bialy
3556 1/2 W. Dempster
(847) 673-9388

TomInSkokie wrote:Other good bagel options:

Kaufman's

Kaufman's is a very good Jewish deli, with lots more than bagels: cold cuts and sandwiches, smoked fish, etc. It's carry-out only.

For ethnic foods and produce, check out Marketplace on Oakton. (This is a grocery store, not a restaurant.)

Note that if you expand your search to towns surrounding Skokie - Evanston, Wilmette, Glenview, Morton Grove, Lincolnwood, Niles, and the far north side of Chicago - you'll have a whole lot more places to choose from, all within a ten-minute or so drive.

As has been pointed out above, Skokie is pretty well-served for food... and especially if youre willing to drive 10-15 minutes, the range of great options increases dramatically.

The 2 best varieties are probably hot-dogs-and-burgers, and Middle-Eastern IMHO. Its one of the best dog-and-burger areas anywhere, in terms of quality - Skokie+10minsdrive will yield you Poochie's (on Dempster - great burgers,dogs, grilled salami, fries); Herms (on Dempster great dogs); Weiner and Still Champion (on Dempster just over the border in Evanston, great burgers, fries, dogs, corn-dogs, country-fried-bacon etc); Edzo's (in Evanston, great burgers, shakes). Youre spoiled for choices in this area.

For Middle-Eastern you have a variety too.. Pita Inn, the standard, still the best lunch-deal in the city (4 bucks without the chicken tenders still, for more food than you can eat). There is also Basha's on Dempster, a block away on the opposite side of the street; Larsa's another block away on Dempster (more Assyrian, better over-made items). And Taboun (Middle-Eastern Kosher). Plus there is a bakery+grocery store on Oakton in Skokie which bakes Middle-eastern breads (including the Assyrian samoon bread that ends up in most Assyrian restaurants), and they serve some terrific (and cheap) home-made Middle-eastern food on the side.

Afghani food used to be available in Skokie in the form of Kabul House on Dempster - it went away a while ago, but has now returned to Touhy.


c8w

BTW, continuing...

Fair Thai can be found, as mentioned above, at Tub Tim Thai. But also at Ruby of Siam (on Skokie Blvd) and Thai Sookdee (in neighboring Evanston).

Jamaican, as mentioned, at Djred.. but I personally still get my fave jerk from the southside.. and my second option (for nearby jerk) remains the Howard Street corridor in Chicago (which isnt all that far away, just more than 10-minutes drive in non-rush-hour traffic).

There is no really good Mexican or Indian/Pakistani in Skokie probably.. but Rogers Park for terrific authentic Mexican isnt very far away, and neither is Devon (both, in late evening, are less than 15 minutes away).

Similarly great fried chicken is only 10 minutes away - in Evanston (Evanston Chicken Shack, and Hecky's - which makes a terrific fried chicken, far better than their bbq).

The things that are really lacking in the area are... well, mostly bbq (you have to drive 15 minutes down Crawford for decent bbq in Smoque.. but for really good BBQ, Uncle John's at 69th is a long way away And a good bahn-mi spot nearby wouldnt hurt - Nhu Lan on Lawrence is a bit of a ways away).

Overall, though, its a pretty decent food town - and within a 10-15 minute drive of a great variety of excellent food.

c8w

c8w wrote:Afghani food used to be available in Skokie in the form of Kabul House on Dempster - it went away a while ago, but has now returned to Touhy.

According to the topic on Kabul House, the new location is not on Touhy, but rather...

FerdyonFilms wrote:Kabul House, 4949 Oakton St., Skokie (847) 674-3830 opens Friday, November 12, for dinner!

c8w wrote:There is no really good Mexican or Indian/Pakistani in Skokie probably.
c8w

http://www.yolomexicaneatery.com/index.html

Dave148 wrote:http://www.yolomexicaneatery.com/index.html

LTHForum Yolo thread. --> Link

Another excellent middle eastern place is Taboun Grill on Dempster - excellent food. It is a Strictly Kosher establishment and will be close early Friday, Saturdays as well as Jewish holidays -

Seconding (or thirding) the recommendation for Taboun. The meat dishes will be a little more expensive than the equivalent Middle Eastern because they are kosher, but the sandwiches are quite reasonable (about $8-10) and such standards as hummus, falafel, baba ghanoush and matboucha are done quite well. The place is loud and Sundays are a madhouse, particularly the family hour between about 5-7.

For a basic pub, Curragh's is decent, and particularly nice during the summer for the Beer Garden. I can't say the food is anything outstanding, but it's a friendly place and that counts for something. Better than your typical chain sports bar.

There are so many restaurants in Evanston, which depending on where you live in Skokie, can be just as close as Skokie places. I'd suggest searching for recommendations.

Taboun Grill
8808 Gross Point Road,
Skokie, IL, 60077
Phone (847) 965-1818

Curragh's Irish Pub
8866 Lincoln
Skokie IL
847-675-9600

Also check out nearby Niles, both for dining and wonderful ethnic food shopping. The food courts at H-Mart and Assi Plaza, Himalayan, Siam's House, Village Creamery and others.

We went to Yolo for the first time tonight, and it won't be the last. Wonderful mole and a lovely sauce for dipping the complimentary chips in, not chunky salsa like you find everywhere else. The cook is a genius with sauces, and the space is very comfortable, much better than when it was Papillon. I don't really like Mexican food that much, but this has made a believer out of me.

Oh, and there's a Village Creamery in Skokie, too, on Oakton, east of the Skokie Swift tracks and across the street from the water park.

There are a couple of places I like to go to in Skokie.

The Village Inn: 8050 Lincoln Ave
They have great pizza and awesome chicken tenders. http://www.villageinnskokie.com

Grecian Kitchen: 3938 Dempster St
I personally think they have the best gyros in town. http://www.greciankitchen.com

Dear Franks: 5699 Touhy Ave
They have great hot dogs and cheese fries. http://www.dearfranks.com

Yolo: 5111 Brown St
Unbelievable authentic mexican food. I have been there many times. http://www.yolomexicaneatery.com



FYI: To the original poster. Yolo and Village Inn are right next to sweetie pies which I agree has great desserts.

I agree with a couple of suggestions made upthread. I always enjoy Poochie's for a dog, burger or charred salami sandwich.

Poochie's
3832 W Dempster St
Skokie, Illinois 60076
(847) 673-0100

I'm also a fan of Pita Inn. Even though they do occasionally mess up our lunchtime carry-out orders, I like their food a lot and it's consistent, and very inexpensive.

Pita Inn
3910 Dempster Street
Skokie, IL 60076-2236
(847) 677-0211

=R=

I've lived in Skokie since July '09 - Evanston from '74-'09 Lots of great suggestions in this thread already.

We like Thai Pavillion for Thai - their buffet is very reasonable but mainly for delivery.

Just Found Annies Pancakes and it's a very chill breakfast place.
Keep hearing that the Village of skokie did a Dine-Around hoping they do that again soon so I can try out some more places.

Speaking of chill ... Chill Bubble Tea in the Village Crossing Mall on Touhy is worth a visit.

I expect that if you put together an itinerary and posted it on Events, you could find takers for a more intimate LTH Skokie dine-around.

I really want to add that the newly relocated Kabul House is excellent. I had dinner there this weekend and thought every dish was outstanding. I'm going to make a detailed post asap.

Kabul House (post in main thread where the new location is mentioned)
4949 Oakton St
Skokie, IL 60077
847 674-3830

=R=

Hooray, it's freakin' stifling outside!
If I turn on the oven, we'll all die. This means it's time for me to patronize some bakeries. I love this time of year. But sadly, this area is a bit short on bakeries. Are there any within 15 minutes of, say, the Skokie/Niles border that you recommend? (Not including grocery store bakery sections.) I'm looking for somewhat old fashioned sweets like cupcakes, pies, and individual-sized desserts/cakes, not large items.
I'm making a stop at Sweety Pies tomorrow, and visiting the nuns at the Lincolnwood farmer's market Thursday. I'm on hiatus from Rolf's and Schlegel's for a while.

Ben Tre Restaurant

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=14261&hilit=ben+tre