Johnny Casserole

Searched but couldn't find a topic on this. Finally got around to trying Johnny Casserole on the weekend and so glad I did.

Ordered for take out, didn't know you could eat there. Got there and its like walking into some grandma's house. Cozy with just a few tables and basically a kitchen counter instead of a business counter. About 5-6 tables, very quaint. Plate ware that didn't match like you were at your Grandmas and she was combining sets.

Just about the nicest staff I've ever met at a restaurant. I think 3 different people came out of the back just to say hi including Dave, the guy who took my order and just wanted to come out and introduce himself. The cook even came out just to ask if it was ok to put chives on our mac n cheese.

Now onto the food, we got two individual chicken pot pies....the best we've ever had. And a mac n cheese which was also delish. The apple cobbler was the worst part of the meal, it was ok, nothing special.

We will definitely be going back A LOT. Gonna have to try the other casseroles for sure.

Anyone been there, what would you recommend?

Johnny Casserole
4019 N Damen Ave
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 857-2665
www.johnnycasserole.com

We've ordered the Jambalaya and the strata (Eric Estrada, I think it's called). both were excellent, but we didn't realize there was cooking involved. However, now we know. The food seems like it's made with good quality ingredients. I was quite happy with what we got.

Johnny Casserole rocks.

We went there for the first time a few weeks ago. Got the Shepherd's Pie, Pot Pie and Mac & Cheese. Everything was great. Super friendly staff and a really nice, family atmosphere. If I lived closer so I could go more often and were more eloquent, I'd nominate it for a GNR.

They said business has been picking up lately, which is a good sign. We went on a Friday night and every table was filled at some point during the ~2 hrs we were there.

There are some beautiful, informative shots of Johnny Casserole over at Restaurant Guru's website:

http://restaurantguru.com/chicago/johnny-casserole

I've had their stuff at a few events and it's always been really tasty.

=R=

GWiv - remember we ate here and left scratching our heads a little at the process....

When Gary and I visited (shortly after they opened), most of the hot casseroles had to be ordered (whole) 45 minutes ahead of time - they weren't heating individual pieces to order, so we were left with only a few options (can't remember what we had)...

When I heard about the concept, I liked the idea - I especially think this works well in a restaurant setting as casseroles are easy to make, re-heat and stay hot well, and you can incorporate any number of ingredients/genres of cuisine into a "casserole". Anyone know if they have changed there service process, and have more hot options available daily?

If so, I'd visit again

I believe that they have a set list of 8-10 to start the day and they are 86'd as time goes on. They also have more of the 'hits' available and IIRC, the server said you can pretty much get anything you want if you call in advance.

They had 3 sizes - individual, 'family' and whole.