new to chicago

hello, I have been lurking for a while, and I am now moving to Skokie, I was hoping for a little help.

first - any recomendations for an extremly authentic italian place? doesn't need to be fancy, but authenticity is key for us, we have spent a lot of time in italy. this can be anywhere in the greater chicago area.

next - any recomendations for (local to Skokie) a diner, a Chinese place (doesn't have to be authentic, we can go to chinatown when we want authentic), a thai place and a mexican place?


thank you all for your help.

I personally don't have first hand experience, but my aunt and sister who live in the area order carry out from China Town Express in Morton Grove.
China Town Express
(847) 967-8992
(847) 967-8822
6121 Dempster St
Morton Grove, IL 60053

I have had lunch at Tub Tim Thai in the downtown Skokie area. My friends and I shared the Meang Kum appetizer - which was unlike anything we'd ever tasted. It was a very delicious blend of different tastes and textures. It was very good, but be warned that when she asks you how spicy you want - be a little bit on the conservative side. My friend who loves spicy food couldn't bear a 3 out of 5. It is discussed in this thread. Here is their website.

Hope this helps. Skokie is very close to Evanston, and there are numerous posts w/more details.

For authentis Italian not too far away, you might want to try this small BYOB place ... not far from Skokie, on Howard just west of Ridge.

La Cucina di Donatella
2221 W. Howard St., Chicago

It was, shall we say, inconsistent when first opened, but on recent visits it seems to have matured nicely.

thank you very much

anybody else?

For Neapolitan style pizzas, check out this thread on Spacca Napoli:

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=7215

Amata

The closest we've come to the restaurants we've experienced in Italy (in Milan, anyway) is Follia. It can be expensive, but you can keep prices down by sticking to appetizers and pizza (wood-burning oven), altho their veal chop Milanese was very good. Here's a review

http://centerstage.net/restaurants/Follia.html

I've heard good things about Merlo, too, altho I haven't been myself.

Follia
953 W. Fulton Ave.

Merlo Ristorante
2638 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago

Merlo on Maple
16 W. Maple St.
Chicago

I'd recommend Trattoria DOC on Main St in Evanston, just west of Chicago Ave. I've been very pleased both times that I've been there. Really fine pizza. Yum.

Lessee... I haven't worked in Skokie for a couple of years, but I have a couple of recommendations for you:

Thai: Lai Thai on Dempster and Harlem in Morton Grove is worth a short trip. Don't skip the Golden Noodle Soup. There are a couple of places on Waukegan north of Dempster too, I can't remember the names but the one on the east side of the street makes a killer tom kha.

Chinese is pretty mediocre over the region. Nan Garden just west of the Edens on Dempster is OK (Morton Grove, but just barely).

For Mexican, the ones local to Skokie are Taxco on Oakton between Niles Center and Skokie Blvd, which is reasonably tasty, but on the Mexican-American side of the fence, and El Tipico on Dempster just west of McCormick, which is about as pure Mexican-American as you can get. Very good salsa, lots of fajitas, chimichangas, etc. Not a blissful tacqueria, but sometimes just what you want.


El Tipico Mexican Restaurant
3341 Dempster St, Skokie, 60076 - (847) 676-4070

Taxco Restaurant
4907 Oakton Street Skokie IL 60077 (847) 329-1835

Nan Garden Restaurant 5844 Dempster St Morton Grove - (847) 967-0066

Lai Thai Restaurant 7168 Dempster St Morton Grove (847) 966-8216

Although I haven't been there in a while, Wholly Frijoles at 3908 Touhy in Lincolnwood (not too far) used to be good (sometimes very good).
Don't forget about local cusine either... Poochies and Herm's palace on Dempster are great for hot dogs, Pita Inn for Mid Eastern and Kaufman's which is probably the best take out deli in the city. I like New York Bagel and Bialy (also on Dempster ) too. Lots of interesting Korean places have sprung up in that area as well but these are all too recent for me to be familiar with. There are probably worse places for a foodie to live though.

thank you all very much

kuhdo wrote:Although I haven't been there in a while, Wholly Frijoles at 3908 Touhy in Lincolnwood (not too far) used to be good (sometimes very good).
Don't forget about local cusine either... Poochies and Herm's palace on Dempster are great for hot dogs, Pita Inn for Mid Eastern and Kaufman's which is probably the best take out deli in the city. I like New York Bagel and Bialy (also on Dempster ) too. Lots of interesting Korean places have sprung up in that area as well but these are all too recent for me to be familiar with. There are probably worse places for a foodie to live though.

I agree with the above - Wholly Frijoles has gotten some very good reviews
(a couple on this board too I think), and was on Check, Please a while ago.
About 3 doors down from WF is Tsang's - a chinese place that I takeout
from once in a while (they make things extra spicy if you ask them, and
theyre pretty decent IMHO).

For local cuisine - Pita Inn is an old favourite obviously, but Dempster is
Middle-Eastern Row right now. Within a mile of Pita Inn, you also have
Larsa's (Lebanese, and very favourably reviewed on this board, a
quick search will give you all you need), as well as La Baraka (upscale
Middle Eastern), and Basha's (who some people, but not me, prefer
to Pita Inn). Also, a half mile east of Pita Inn on Dempster, is Kabul
House (which had its own thread on this forum only a day or two
ago I think).

For the Deli's - you mentioned Kaufmann's, one of the best in the city.
Across the street is Chaim's, also pretty good.

For hot dogs there are a few options - Poochie's and Herm's are among
the best, but Hot Dog Island is only a mile down the street. Grecian
Kitchen Delights and Hub's arent bad either IMHO. And a couple of
miles away from Poochie's (but in Evanston), you have Weiner and
Still Champion (which makes a pretty good burger, good fries,
and a very good and excellent value corn-dog - the "dipping dogs"
are actually a buck on Sundays, which is by far the best corndog deal
in the city, and by a ways at that).

c8w

globetrotter wrote:(local to Skokie) a diner, a Chinese place (doesn't have to be authentic, we can go to chinatown when we want authentic), a thai place and a mexican place?

Here are some of my favorites in that area:

Sander's Restaurant & Pancake House
847/673-2626
5320 W. Touhy Ave.
Skokie
Better-than-usual Grecian diner serving good breakfasts and lunch fare. For dinner, there's excellent Athenian-style broiled chicken. The cinnamon-laced rice pudding's tops, too.

What's Cooking Restaurant
773/583-3050
Lincoln Village
6181 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago
Diner with a slightly more Jewish emphasis than most. Recommended: Hoppel poppel, chunks of sauteed kosher-style salami, potato, onion and green pepper held together with a little scrambled egg.

Mandarin Village Restaurant
847/933-1188
Village Crossing
7150 Carpenter Road
Skokie
Cantonese, Mandarin and Szechwan standards. Excellent egg rolls. Peking duck, served in two courses, is available without advance notice.

Kow Kow Restaurant
847/677-7717
6755 N. Cicero Ave.
Lincolnwood
Straightforward, traditional Cantonese-American fare in generous portions with famous egg rolls.

Siam's House
847/967-2390
Rayyan Plaza
7742 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Niles
A little farther from Skokie but definitely worth the trip -- this storefront is possibly the best Thai restaurant in the north suburbs.

Tsang Chinese Cuisine
847/329-0035
3918 W. Touhy Ave.
Lincolnwood
Tiny, mainly carryout spot serves top-notch hot-and-sour soup, empress chicken, crispy duck with vegetables. Lunch and dinner combos are bargains.

El Tipico
847/676-4070
3341 W. Dempster St.
Skokie
Full-service Mexican restaurant. Try the queso tejano appetizer, a huge and deliciously gooey concoction of melted cheese with sausage, peppers, onions and cilantro, served with tortillas for scooping.

You can find out more about most of these places with a search here.