Fast Track - Corner of Des Plaines and Lake Street.

Just outside the Loop on the northwest side but this is one of my favorite dog places in the city. I'm surprised doing a search on here that it does not get more pub because they really do a great job on their dogs. They do a variety of dogs and their polish is also very good. Fries leave a bit to be desired, however. Nice atmosphere too.

Also, the early read on Taza Cafe on Franklin (replaced Chickadilly's) is good. I had a sandwich there (Sechwan Chicken?) that was quite good.

elakin wrote:does anyone have opinions about Sopraffina? They have four or five locations in the loop.

There is a Sopraffina in my office building (Aon Center) and I like it a lot. I've had a few different salads, with the Hilltop and Farmstand as my faves. The paninis are pretty good too and I liked the huge serving of lasagna toscana and stuffed pasta shells. I have yet to try the pizza and any baked goods they have.

I haven't had any issues with the service or quality of the food - never has disappointed me.

How about some recs up on the Mag Mile? I'm sick of eating at the Nordstrom's foodcourt and I can only go to the Equitable Building soo many times. I'm in the Murray Hill building or othewise the building with the illuminating 444 across the width of the building.

PIGMON wrote:

Binko wrote:There's also a Mexican joint on the southwest corner of Clark and Van Buren. It's not fantastic Mexican food, but it's the only Mexican I've had in the Loop that tries to be like the neighborhood Mexican restaurants, serving stuff like tacos al pastor, tortas, chiles rellenos, etc... Technically, it does have waitstaff, but you can order take away as well.

La Cocina Restaurant
406 S Clark St
(312) 922-8211

Not sure if this new place is related to either the South Clark or the one off Madison on Wells, but a sign in the window of the former Hoagie Hut at 178 N. Franklin now has La Cocina coming soon.

Its next to the new Taza Cafe.

We'll see how it does up against Chipotle Grill right across the street

I believe it is the same as the La Cocina on S. Wells. Pretty good stuff, if you ask me. Now I'll have Chipotle, Taco Fresco and La Cocina within spitting distance of my building. ¡Que maravilloso!

This past Friday, Intelligentsia opened a new cafe at 53 E. Randolph (between Wabash and Michigan). In addition to their excellent coffee, I am delighted to report that they offer salads and baked goods from Fox & Obel (PIGMON and trixie-pea take note), as well as cookies from Sugar and Spice in Evanston and cupcakes from Southport Grocery. The "Italian" panino I had ($5.25) was on good bread, with ham, prosciutto, salami, swiss and fresh basil grilled just right. No soup option that I noticed. The salads were priced at $7.00 and $8.00. Prior to the appearance of this spot, there were acceptable salads and somewhat dry (day old?) sandwiches from Trotter's-to-go at Gallery 37 across Randolph. One advantage of both of these places is that they are not (yet) packed during the lunch hour.

Josephine wrote:This past Friday, Intelligentsia opened a new cafe at 53 E. Randolph (between Wabash and Michigan). In addition to their excellent coffee, I am delighted to report that they offer salads and baked goods from Fox & Obel (PIGMON and trixie-pea take note), as well as cookies from Sugar and Spice in Evanston and cupcakes from Southport Grocery. The "Italian" panino I had ($5.25) was on good bread, with ham, prosciutto, salami, swiss and fresh basil grilled just right. No soup option that I noticed. The salads were priced at $7.00 and $8.00. Prior to the appearance of this spot, there were acceptable salads and somewhat dry (day old?) sandwiches from Trotter's-to-go at Gallery 37 across Randolph. One advantage of both of these places is that they are not (yet) packed during the lunch hour.

FYI, the Intelligentsia in the Monadnock building (Jackson & Dearborn) serves the same array of foods. The F&O stuff started a few months ago. Excellent croissants, if you get them fresh.

Willkat98 wrote:Grand opening today for:

Taza Cafe
Mediterranean Cuisine
176 N. Franklin
312-201-9886

Haven't been yet, but menu is a listing of salads, sandwichs, and plates using the same items as Falafel, Hummus, Shawarma, and Kababs.

Taking one for the team, I stopped in yesterday for lunch. It's Haifa Cafe all over again, even to the "oven roasted turkey" and the picture of the hills of Jerusalem on the wall, but not nearly as good. They had a chicken curry special. Chicken, potatoes, water, a bullion cube, some sweet curry powder, and cornstarch not very well blended in. I bet I'm not leaving anything out either. The pita it came with was dry, as though it had been delivered a couple of days ago. The only good thing was the rice, which was a real basmati, with a not-overwhelming sprinkling of dill. I had intended to try to falafel, but even at 40 cents, it looked so much like a hockey puck that I couldn't bring myself to do it. Oh, and if they had the whole turkey, it was gone by 1:30 when I got there.

If anyone else is tempted, or desperate, try the chicken shwarma. I didn't notice until I was leaving that they were cutting it from a spit--which would be an improvement over the shwarma at Haifa.

I also stopped in last Friday for the first time and was underwhelmed. I had a Jerusalem-style felafel sandwich, which was o.k., but nothing special. I certainly won't be going out of my way to dine there in the future.

just had a great falafel and nice lentil soup at the place in the walkway of ogilvie center, formerly nortwestern station. ask for a little hot sauce on that falafel. nice people there too. petra's just north of van buren on franklin is fairly good too.

Also, and i will try to do a review (haven't seen one of those on this site in a while on Tena Mia's--italian family place just outside nw corner of ogilvie.

I noticed a new truck featuring Jamaican food and barbeque on the east side of Wacker Drive, south of Monroe. I asked the driver for a menu, but he said he was out and would bring a lot more tomorrow. He mentioned they serve rib tips, chicken, pork sandwiches and a lot more. I was late getting back to the office and didn't have time to talk, but I plan to check it out tomorrow at lunchtime.

Suzy

I saw that truck on Wacker the other day, but didn't get a chance to stop by. I was intrigued, though. I'd be interested to hear what you think of the food.

I've had curry goat from that truck a few times now, and thought it was pretty good. I noted it somewhere here. It's a 3j's truck, I think.

I heard a rumor today from one of the tenents of Prudential Plaza that Keefer's is looking into opening a new outpost in the building. I believe they said the Beaubien and Randolph corner of the building.

Just what I heard.....

JeffB, you are correct, it's a 3Js truck. I had rib tips on my mind, so that's what I ordered. While the tips were good and came with potato wedges (plus a slice of wheat bread on the side), they were drowning in barbeque sauce -- so much that it almost appeared to be a rib tip and potato stew. I doubt I'll get that again unless they can take it easy on the sauce in the future.

The driver was pushing the jerk catfish today, kept telling me how great it was. I'll probably try that next week.

Most entrees are in the $7 range (for dinners), and they have boxes of 1/4 jerk chicken only for $4. They did have the curried goat, as well as curried chicken, available.

Suzy

After sdritz's headsup, today I also trudged through the cold and rain to sample the 3J's truck at Wacker and Monroe. I tried the jerk barbecue chicken dinner. Not too much sauce on mine, although it tasted like they had just mixed up a jerk and a tomato-based BBQ sauce in equal portions, plus some liquid smoke. The meat itself was very flavorful and moist, although it was roasted or grilled, not actually barbecued, from what I could tell. I thought it was good enough, and worth going back to try some other jerk variations. The sides were pretty good, too (sweet potato, mac & cheese and greens, the last being the best of the three). Knowing I wouldn't finish everything but wanting to give something more a try, I also had a Jamaica Patty, which was nicely prepared, not too greasy, and flavorful, but not as spicy as I might have preferred. $2.00 for that, so actually a bit pricey, esp. compared to the $7.00 dinner that was way more than enough on its own. Though not given a hard sell, I was tempted by the catfish; maybe next time around.

I've gone back and enjoyed the catfish; again, a massive serving, way too much for lunch, and they should think about serving less and charging a bit less ($7.00 for food wasted versus $5.00 for just the right amount; I prefer the latter). In any event, the fish came with a really excellent rice and beans side, and a little 1-oz bullet of jerk sauce, which was a bit stinky (for lack of a better term) and notable more than anything else for its extreme spicy heat. Like a fool, I poured the whole thing on my meal; you should not make that mistake. By the way, the ubiquitous cheap white bread packed with the meals is NOT ubiquitous or cheap, at least it's not Wonder Bread; dense, almost sweet, it's actually a thoughtful accompaniment to the jerk sauce and other juices exuded by the 3J's entrees. So, basically, I'm happy to have this truck near my office. Looking forward to testing something more interesting (I have to think an oxtail, at least, is hiding in the back of the truck).

That dense, pound-cake like bread is your basic Jamaican staple. Nice that they include it. On my last visit, I got a stale slice of generic wheat.

JeffB wrote:That dense, pound-cake like bread is your basic Jamaican staple.

Is there a name for that type of bread, so I can specifically request it next time? It's really quite good, and I'm glad I noticed what I had without simply assuming it was Wonder Bread and tossing it out.

I went last week and got the dry wheat/multi-grain bread. Not too tasty. But the chicken was very good. Plus I enjoyed watching my co-workers' reactions when I told the food came from a truck.

I tried Market Creations today (the salad bar/buffet in the Civic Opera Building). Like others I stuck to the Chinese food. The pot-stickers were pretty good. The BBQ was just OK (a bit too fatty, and not in a good way). I also got something called "Capitol Beef" which was pretty tasty, but the standout dish was the chicken wings. Crispy, a little bit sweet, and with a little bit of heat. I wasn't terribly impressed by the non-Chinese options. I'll probably go back, but only when my lazy prevents me from walking over to Garden Village.

JimInLoganSquare wrote:Is there a name for that type of bread, so I can specifically request it next time? It's really quite good, and I'm glad I noticed what I had without simply assuming it was Wonder Bread and tossing it out.

It’s hardough or dough bread, likely from Caribbean American Bakery (1539 W Howard). They supply many of the Jamaican places with bread and patties. As the Tropic Island (my favorite jerk chicken; 1922 E 79th) poem says:

Remember--
Jerk chicken is good,
Jerk chicken is nice.
Eat it with dough bread,
Or red beans and rice.

hey, i can only eat there 2 or three times a week. i noticed yesterday biz was very slow. i dont want them to leave! eat at 3Js! as per my id, i like everything, especially the curried goat
ep

I haven't seen the truck the last couple of days. Has he moved from the corner of Wacker and Monroe?

Suzy

truck was there yesterday. hope he did not move on

He was there today too.

There were trucks on Jackson near Franklin today (and the past few days), too. A Jerk truck and a Ribs truck. No idea on the quality of the ribs. Unfortunately, I already had lunch plans.

Had the curried goat from 3J's truck on Wacker, today. The meat was outstanding, cooked about medium, tender and with strong goat flavor to it. The curry was fairly pedestrian and the rice was more notable for quantity than quality, but the potatoes mixed in there were remarkable for their toothsome texture. The meat was also a bit fatty and bony, although not out of line with what you'd expect for a $7 goat dinner. Also had a Jamaica patty, which reaffirmed that this is probably the best fast food option in the West Loop. And I also was assured that dough bread is available every day; they also pack crappy wheat bread for the gringos, apparently; it's clear they had enough dough bread to feed a nation.

I had the BBQ/Jerk chicken combo from the elusive truck today. (I had been told he moved to Jackson, but was getting harassed) He was on Wacker again.

This is a huge portion of Chicken - 2 legs, a thigh 1/2 a breast and a wing. Plus a whole sweet potato, mac and cheese, and greens. And 2 slices of soft wheat bread. And it was all VERY GOOD. Juicy meat, tangy sauce, sweet potato wasn't over candied. cheesy mac n cheese (but not fake gooey).



I'd agree - less food for $5 would be preferred, but I'll be back.

Maybe it's been covered, but I'm curious if Oasis Cafe is ever going to re-open? If appears to be closed for construction and they give a # if you're interested in having an event catered. I haven't called... yet. I do miss this hidden gem.

jjwall wrote:There were trucks on Jackson near Franklin today (and the past few days), too. A Jerk truck and a Ribs truck. No idea on the quality of the ribs. Unfortunately, I already had lunch plans.

I found the Rib Joint truck on the corner of Jackson and Franklin today. I had noticed it earlier in the week up on Wacker near Lake, but had already eaten when I saw it.

Today I ordered a tip/link combo ($5.25 including fries and coleslaw). The tips were very well suited to my liking - nice smoky pink ring, some crispy outside bits, and a good meat to not-meat ratio. The texture was very good - toothsome - and the flavor was appropriately meaty. I'd guess there were about 5 or 6 tips - an adequate amount of food when accompanied with the link and extras.

The link was bland and grey. It's true that I have a taste for the very spicy, but this wouldn't have registered on anyone's personal scoville meter. The texture was very good however, and the taste wasn't bad, so none was wasted.

The fries were pretty bad. As you would expect, fries pre-packed on top of an order of tips/links and then kept warm in the back of a truck turn into a soggy mess. Presumably to compensate for the texture, they were coated in a mostly-sweet, orange bbq sauce. Many fries survived the meal.

the slaw was nothing special, but not bad either. there were two pieces of white bread in the bag too.

I'd recommend the tips, but not the links. Next time, I'll order tips only or try the ribs.