How's Bite these days?

A friend has suggested this as a place to get dinner Sunday night. Haven't been there in a couple of years myself, and remember it mostly as being a decent, inoffensive, neighborhoody spot, etc. Based on the times I've been there (and the fact that this friend is very non-food-oriented) I've got no objection to going, but wouldn't mind some more recent reports if anyone's been there. Thanks!

I've posted elsewhere about Bite. It defines the term funky. It's BYOB, well-priced, fun, and surprisingly reliable. Other than the goat cheese-eggplant involtini, avoid ordering from the menu, and pick one of the specials off the blackboard. But, definitely, go.

nr706 wrote:I've posted elsewhere about Bite. It defines the term funky. It's BYOB, well-priced, fun, and surprisingly reliable. Other than the goat cheese-eggplant involtini, avoid ordering from the menu, and pick one of the specials off the blackboard. But, definitely, go.

I actually disagree with this...if I go to Bite, I'm getting the Burger. The specials are often a let-down IMO.

I tend to only visit Bite when I go to a show at the Empty Bottle these days, since I moved from the UV. It's always pretty reliable, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to eat there.

LionRock wrote:I actually disagree with this...

Get in line.

Erik M.

I am firmly in the "order from the chalk board" catagory--I eat there about twice a month and have rarely been disappointed. The burger is good, I agree, but nothing special IMHO. I have always found the Latin American influenced specials to be good, and have almost always enjoyed the fish specials, too.

If you don't BYOB, the ginger beer (non-alcoholic soda with a bite) is tasty and refreshing.

I think one of the interesting things about Bite is the divergence between its menu offerings, which I would describe as mostly comfort food, to its chalkboard items, which are slightly more sophisticated. Both can be good, depending on what you’re in the mood for. For me, it’s the chalkboard. But if there’s not a Hackney’s close, I might try a burger there, too.

The O. Henry twist ending to this is that getting eight people to agree on anywhere, even Bite, was worse than herding cats, so after a full 24 hours of silence as everyone simmered, I emailed the group that I was going to be at Artopolis and anyone who cared to join me was welcome to; fortunately, everyone showed, and no one left disappointed. One friend who makes a point of eating exactly half of the food on her plate, saving the rest for take-home, actually ate her whole Artopita -- I've known this person for six years and this is one of maybe four or five times I've seen her clean the plate. I got the jambon pizza; don't know the source for their ham, but it was sliced razor thin (I suspect via machine for those who keep track) and had a nice sharp taste, just enough of it on the pizza to enjoy without overwhelming. The salmon pizza was also spoken of kindly. So Artopolis still has its game on, if anyone's been thinking of going. (Ironically, the out-of-towners showed they were kindred spirits by revealing they'd eaten at Korean Garden on Lincoln the night before.)

Maybe I'm not looking in the right place, but this thread seems to be the most recent activity for Bite Cafe. I'd been there maybe a dozen times over the last few years to fulfill my hankering for inexpensive, home-cooked food. When we showed up for the first time in over a year, we were surprised to see that it was totally revamped. The prices are still wallet-friendly, but the space has been remodeled without losing it's soul, and the food has been kicked up several notches. We were thinking "Bite meets Longman & Eagle", and then found this article:

Bite Article

It makes total sense.

We had the mussels and fries, beet salad, fried chicken (chalkboard), and tilapia (chalkboard). Everything was very good to great. The current menu also has a meatball polenta dish, but not realizing the relationship to L&E, we didn't get it.

They are still BYOB and encourage you to pick up pints or glasses of wine from the Empty Bottle. All bottles of wine are $20 at the Empty Bottle, but we stumbled in on half-price night (Tuesday), so we got a decent bottle fro $10. Or maybe the bartender really liked us...our server was unaware of the deal, and was surprised when we told her.

Anyway, if you haven't been since 2010, it's worth a visit.

Bite Cafe
1035 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 395-2483

I'm not sure why Bite is flying so far under the radar. A quick search on LTH turned up just a few posts in recent years, and that's too bad as I think there's a lot that's good going on at Bite.

As it wasn't on my radar, it took my parents' suggestion to head over there. They've been and enjoyed Bite many times, despite being much more than twice as old as the average customer.

I've now been twice in the past few weeks, and will be sure to keep Bite on the list of dining options in the area.

I like that Bite is BYO, and is also connected to the Empty Bottle, where you can grab drinks and chat while waiting for a table. They have a decent tap list, including (as of last night) Stillwater Statewide Saison, which at $6.50 was by far the most expensive beer available. I don't remember what else was on the draft menu, but it included a few Metropolitan options and Lagunitas IPA.

On my two visits, service was helpful, friendly, and efficient. I haven't tried much of the menu, but have found everything thus far to be good to very good. Highlights have included a steal of a skate dish with French green lentils and a fennel salad at $14, a smooth cream of mushroom soup, and a salad with bacon and a poached egg (the salad was perfect on one visit and a bit tired on the second).

As we're frequently looking for easy dinner options within a short drive of Bucktown, I'm glad to know about Bite and am looking forward to trying more of the menu soon.

Ronna

I left last night's dinner very impressed with a note to definitely return.

Highlights: The meatballs were juicy and tasty. The grilled pork chop was cooked really nicely, pink in the center and very juicy. The batter they use on the friday fish fry was nicely spiced. The honey buttermilk panna cotta was creamy and not too sweet and accented well with the orange and grapefruit slices.

Some small nit picky things: The home made fries could have been a bit crispier. The barley, veg, pork confit, brussel sprouts combination that the pork chop rested on top of, the flavors came off a bit muddled. It's definitely a hearty, filling mix, but maybe a bit too much. The mac n cheese was ok, nothing to get excited about.

Prices are very reasonable for the quality and quantity of food.

Mrs. Sweetbread has declared Bite's mussels the best in the city. I'll give it top three. A comparative analysis mussel tour is in order to make it official.

Good place. Connected to the empty bottle, so it's always full of dirty cool kids. They recently redid the place, and it feels like less of a hole in the wall. I had the grilled cheese with bacon, and a cup of tomato soup. SO GOOD. Buttery, bacon-y, and ridiculously over the top. Bacon was super smokey. Soup had huge tomato flavor. Perfect for really cold Chicago nights.

Tried to go last night - would have been my 1st time - but it was absolutely mobbed on a Wed. night. There weren't even spots open at the counter. Maybe next time...

Hmmm - I was probably hogging one of those tables last night. Went with my husband and his sister. Husband had the hangover salad and stroganoff, sister had the beet salad and the pork shoulder steak special, and I had the beet salad and the whitefish special. Everything was excellent. Wanted a vanilla shake for dessert but the cooler had malfunctioned during the day so the ice cream was too soupy. I 'settled' for the bourbon swirl ice cream sundae instead and it was delicious!

Ahem. This is making me feel really old, but I used to go to Bite quite often in the early 90's because you could get thoughtfully made food at prices that made sense for being a young-ish creative person working for peanuts and the bonus was that you would probably see other friends eating their pastas or their Thai kebabs and then we knew we could slide on over to the Empty Bottle afterwards.I have a really strong memory of them serving righteous Chocolate Cake. Am I insane? I did not know it was still open. I will have to go back and check it out. Glad to know it's still attracting the arts crowd, I always felt welcome there and anyone that knows me can tell you that I am not (nor have I ever been) hip. But I like small, locally owned places where I feel just right. Can't wait to go back in.

bjt

bjt wrote:Ahem. This is making me feel really old, but I used to go to Bite quite often in the early 90's
bjt

Not so old, Bite started serving food in '95. But you should definitely back and check it out.

The timing/timeline makes sense. I moved here in '94 and probably started going there in '95 when it was new. But do they still serve chocolate cake?

bjt

Had a fantastic dinner last night that was a tremendous value in a very inviting space. And no corkage BYO, how do you beat that?

My wife, daughter, and I ordered a bunch of stuff. Veggie egg rolls (good, but the tofu may have been better mixed in with the veggie filling), Mom's mac & cheese (daughter was a fan), mushroom/barley soup (more of a risotto texture, which was nice but a bit salty), the winter salad (very interesting combo that worked well), fabulous pickeled pork rillettes (would make a fantastic lunch), the Parisian gnocchi (which my wife was swooning over), an orecchietti special with a Mint Creek Farms goat ragu (WOW!), housemade coconut ice cream (delicious), and the cardamom pound cake (great dessert).

Can't say enough about how good the dinner was and the value.

Will be back soon...

Al Ehrhardt wrote:My wide daughter and I . . . Mom's man & cheese . . .

Exactly how much did you BYO?

I've been twice in the last month. The food is always solid to knock-your-socks-off good. We normally go off of the chalkboard, but the whitefish on the menu is always a winner. The current prep has sunchokes and a lemony cream something-something. It's really freaking good.

Another cool dinner at Bite yesterday.

With corn being in season, it appeared on the menu in a few dishes. Fantastic corn chowder was the soup of the day. Wow, what depth of flavor.

Wife had the summer salad and the charred cippolinni's were and awesome addition. I loved braised pork belly (nice crisp exterior) over creamed corn and green bean giardiniera.

Nancy had the Parisian gnocchi, for which the waiter said the prep recently changed. She loved the just right amount of preserved lemon brightening it up. I was intrigued by the crispy chicken thigh confit. Two boneless thighs over perfectly cooked haricot vert, mushrooms, almonds, and pickled peaches. I rarely order chicken out, but would order this again.

Friendly service, comfortable room, creative food, great prices, and BYO. I was surprised that it looked like maybe half of the tables were not taking advantage of the BYO. Although I did spot someone at nearby table with a bottle of Tablas Creek rouge, not sure which cuvee....

Went to Bite for a quick one last night. Haven't been before, pretty sure I'll be back.

Was a bit late, I was a bit drunk, and it was quite dark. Apologies for the photos.



Poutine French Fries, Bacon, Cheese Curds, Pickled Chiles

Having heard so much about Bite's poutine, I knew we would be ordering this the minute our server came by. Not dissapointed.

Burger Bacon, Gruyere, Fried Egg


Kinda disappointed. I thought it odd when our server said that their burger was, "fantastic when not overcooked." I thought that meant be weary of ordering it medium, so we asked for it medium rare. Just as were warned, there was no pink to our patty's color.

Thursday special
Half Smoked Amish Chicken Served with White Barbeque sauce, Braised Greens and Fries

Wow! This was awesome. Slightly sweet and crispy (almost candied) skin, juicy, flavorful meat. Picked the bones dry. Having been told how amazing the poutine and burger at Bite were going to be, I was a bit flabbergasted by how great this was.

Poutine was great, Chicken was amazing, and burger was overcooked and sat on top of a shitty bun. Service was excellent. At the end of the day, it was a nice meal.