Near My Office...A Wasteland?

Hey There,
I work in a weird corner of Wicker Park, where WP becomes super-industrial. Specifically, I'm at the corner of Hubbard and Wolcott, good old 60622. I've been working there three days a week since November but haven't, I'm sad to say, explored much of the culinary landscape in and around the office. I tend to brown bag it. Young and poor.

I'd have time, on any given day, to run out for lunch about as far North as Division, Ashland to the East, Western to the West. I know there are good places to grab some take-out in that area but haven't fallen in love with anyplace just yet. Namely, I'd prefer someplace with healthy options (salads, soup, sandwich maybe) where lunch including a beverage would come in under ten dollars. Heck, under 5 dollars would be ideal. I'd love to grab Bob-San takeout 3 times a week but then I'd probably be spending my whole paycheck on lunch.

Also, someplace with reasonable parking so I can do a "pull-up-run-out-grab-and-pay" type maneuver would be ideal. All the guys in my office order Chinese food or eat big meaty Bari subs, which I love, but just can't handle those calories 3 times a week.

Any ideas?

Try:

Cafe Ballou
939 N. Western
(773) 342-2909

Or:

Letizia's
2144 W. Division
(773) 342-1011

Or:

Kasia's Deli
2101 West Chicago Ave.
(773) 486-6163

One of my favorite places for breakfast is Uncle Mike's on the corner of Paulina and Grand. They do a great bowl of grits and nice slabs of ham as well. Cheap and friendly service.

They also have a lunch menu but I have never had it before.

I would certainly recommend this place.

Uncle Mike's
1700 W. Grand Ave.
Chicago, IL

I work near North and Wood.
My three regular joints are:

Lucia's Deli
1825 W. North Ave.
773-292-9700

The Goddess & Grocer
1646 N. Damen Ave.
773-342-3200

Zen Noodles
1852 W. North Ave.
773-276-8300

I believe all places have a 15 minute standing zone in front.

If you're willing to travel slightly east of Ashland, there are a few options:

J. Patrick's has a very good Cobb Salad. (Erie & Noble)

Bella Notte does takeout and they have a killer Italian salad and excellent soups. On any given day, they have stracciatella, pastina, minestrone, chicken, escarole. (Grand & Noble)

Oggi also has a selection of decent salads, sandwiches and soups. (Grand and Noble)

That's a few parks away from Wicker Park, but an extremely fertile area for food.

For sandwiches, you could do worse than Bari. Pizza from D'Amato's. Both are takeout and about as good as it gets for what they do. Other options in the area are Boston's for beef and sausage, Burger Baron for burgers, all of the Grand venue Italian places, all of the Division Puerto Rican places, Moonshine, Hillary's (which is about to close), Andy's deli (great food and value but limited seating), Andrezej Grill, Podhalanka, Carniceria Leon, Old Lviv, Traspasada, all the Mexican on Ashland, Twisted Spoke, La Jaliscience, and more.

Hillary's is closing? You mean HUE on Division and Ashland with the tasty brunch? When?

JeffB wrote:That's a few parks away from Wicker Park

This reminds me that a Pizza Ria menu shoved through my mail slot a couple of weeks ago also referred to its Grand Ave. location as Wicker Park. Not that was I inclined to order Pizza Ria in the first place, but still.

Yep, Hilary's is closing.

Today's dish:

One of the original destinations for the urban pioneers who helped transform West Town into the land of the oh-so-hip, Hilary’s Urban Eatery (1500 W. Division St.; 773-235-4327) will close its doors on February 27th. But those doors will reopen on Division Street’s congested restaurant row three blocks west between Ashland and Western Avenues this fall. “I have limitations, and the neighborhood is evolving,” says Hilary Farrell, who opened her namesake dining room ten years ago. Farrell will renovate her new space (1630 W. Division St.), a 100-year-old dairy barn with 20-foot ceilings and sky lights. The restaurant’s current 180 seats will be trimmed to 120, but a garden—a popular draw of the original space—is a key component of the build-out. Food offerings and prices will remain the same and Farrell hopes the clientele—an eclectic mix of ethnically and socioeconomically diverse neighborhood residents—will, too. “In the next place, we will attract the poseurs,” who she hopes will learn something from the tenor of her room. “They’ve been missing out,” she says. Farrell, however, is ready to embrace change. While she is proud of her accomplishments, she believes it’s time to move forward. “The neighborhood is exploding,” she says, “and I want to continue to be a part of it.”

gleam wrote:Yep, Hilary's is closing.

i kinda like HUE.. but i've been there 2 or 3 times and every time the people i was with HATED it... not sure why? i can sort of remember that they thought everything was overdone... the burger was full of weird seasonings, etc.. the sugar has sprinkles in it, etc.. to me that was the kitsch and why it was slightly different than y our average breakfast or lunch spot...


BTW... Hubbard and Wolcott? That's so not wicker park!

For the fiveteen years I lived in Ukrainian Village I reffered to it
as Grand Ave. and nobody corrected me. If you had to "park" it
it would probably be Smith Park. If somebody writes it up as
being a different neighborhood I look at it the same way as
when the realtors call Humbolt Park West Ukrainian Village.
It's BS.

Dispite the name, Pizza Ria, reasonable thin crust (unless your
from New York). large slice, plenty of parking. Don't let the
name scar you off.

"come as you are, you can eat in your car"

Try Andy's Deli across from Alliance Bakery, it's a polish deli and they make really good sandwiches.