Leona's

What's your favorite thing to eat at Leona's? I am not looking for bashers, just want to hear your opinions on some of your favorite things to order when you choose to dine at this long standing Chicago establishment.

Some of my favorites:

cheese sticks - won't find a cheese stick done this way anywhere else
lasagna with sausage and pepperoni (as a side dish, usually makes more another meal)

I've never been a fan of leona's, but I'm interested in knowing how they do their cheese sticks. What makes them so unique and tasty?

Thanks for the admonishment not to bash, as that was the first thing I was going to do when I saw this topic...

I agree..the Lasagne is quite good.....and actually the ribs used to be decent as well (it's been a while since I've had them)..

Other than that....yucky place...

First off, they are sold by the stick, and I think are $1.25 each or somewhere in that vicinity. One is plenty for 2 people to share as an appetizer, but after having one, you may end up ordering a second.

These are not your ordinary little sticks, but more of a slab of cheese, freshly sliced off a larger hunk of mozarella, They are then coated in a light batter and fried, served hot and fresh.

Truly a masterpiece in the field of mediocrity we find in most bars and taverns throughout the city.

oh...Leona's...you used to be our too-tired-to-bother-with-anything-else Saturday delivery...

of course the 5 dollar off coupons you used to pile upon us went a long way in that regard...no longer...fie! on you! revamped Leona's!

when we were denizens of a pre-boutiqued-out-the-butt WP we ordered from *that* Leona's...and they'd invariably screw something up/leave something out...still we perservered...their level of mediocrity *can/could* be quite good, on ocassion

since relocating to Das Gelb Coast the local Leona's is much more on the ball...but, alas...no more coupons

we are irritated with their constant menu tinkering, the seeming sweetening of already sweet sauces, the ridiculous uber-packaging of delivery items(oh...so I guess a fourth of our bill went towards Leona's plastics R&D)

what's good/what used to be good/what you cross your fingers when the mood strikes and hope is good that day:

buffalo chicken strips/buffalo chicken sammy(just remember to request a hamburger bun because some nitwit decided french bread is the way to go...um...no Leona, Jr....it ain't)...the buffalo sauce(when not being sweetened for some godawful reason) actually packs goodly back-of-the palate burn...and the blue cheese dip is the real deal...not some blended mayo abomination

kickass garlic bread with roasted garlic, marinara, and ricotta on the side: well, when the ricotta hasn't obviously been sitting out somewhere and stinks of having gone "off." Oh...and you need to remember to order a side of alfredo sauce for the garlic bread...it was included by default for years, but again, some nincompoop decided to nix it from the appetizer.

spinach/artichoke dip...not bad at all

ribs: I really like the clove note in their bbq sauce...the "Chicago" ribs themselves rarely disappoint

chicken: romano chicken...shrug...I like the char, the breadcrumby cheesiness with a simple squirt of lemon

I also appreciate, that as expensive as Leona's can get, by ordering a "dinner" you get two sides, bread and butter. It's always enough food to nosh on throughout a lazy evening and usually tons leftover for the next day.

okay sides: the fettucini alfredo, the psychedelic salad, the real(sic) chicken soup, the lasagne, the fried calamari---a good pick in the past...also now victim of their ubiquitous sweetening campaign.

as per sugars: perhaps it's just the location we order from

So, I'm a bit concerned with a rise in "sweetness" of everything from their breads to the buffalo strips to the decent marinara. Also, the few times(I've ordered from them a lot over the past 10 years) I've been pissed enough to contact them via the website I've received no response, nada.

maybe I'm a sucker for punishment

mmm...Leona's

The veggie burger is surprisingly good, and I second the buffalo chicken sandwich recommendation. The lemonade is also pretty good. I believe that every order I have ever placed at any Leona's anywhere has been screwed up in some way. We had a standing two dollar credit at the Old Irving Park location for several years.

i second the recommendation of leona's cheese sticks. they are freakin' awesome. the best i've ever had.

first off, they're huge. one is equivilent to about three or four of the sticks you'd get at most places. second, they're batter dipped and fried, not bread crumbed.

i'm a big mozzarella stick afficianado and these are seriously great cheese sticks.

Since you said no bashing, I have very little to say -- however, I always liked the grilled vegetable kabobs. It's really hard to screw those up.

Suzy

Suzy,

There are other Leona's threads where you can express yourself faithfully.

Regards,

their margherita pizza wasn't bad... and their cobb salad was delightful. It was my first experience there and I certainly wasn't disappointed. (Rogers Park location)

I am not a Leona's fan either, but I do like their Cobb Sandwich, its a fried chicken breast with avocado and blue cheese and bacon on their decent hamburger bun. I also like the variety they offer in their sides, like the aforementioned veggie kebobs. Although, somehow all the vegetables taste exactly the same on those. But at least you aren't forced to get fries only.

No bashing? You're no fun. They used to have a kickass chocolate brownie cake dessert for about $3.50, then they doubled the price and added a mandatory scoop of ice cream. Gimme a break. I haven't called since their manager hung up on me for complaining about an item they forgot on a delivery. They must not need business.

Feeling under the weather, unwilling to travel and not wanting to think too much about my dinner - I ordered delivery from Leona's this weekend. I've always found Leona's to be pretty consistent, average italian-ish fare. I ordered the lasagna with romano chicken, which was ok. the lasagne was a little too cheese-y for me, but I find that their chicken dishes are pretty consistently good. and I am a sucker for their psychedelic salad and red zinger lemonade. I really love the chunky veggies in the salad along with their garlic dressing. I also quite enjoy hanging out at the bar of the Augusta location on the rare occasion - it's got a very neighborhoody vibe and doesn't feel like I'm sitting in a chain (sort-of) restaurant.

For what it's worth, the Leona's on Franklin (between Erie and Ontario) is closed, and is slated to reopen (on Monday, 11/27, I believe) as "Patrick's Fine Food & Cocktails - open 'til 4"

As the nearest restaurant spot to my office, this is cause for some interest, but neither the name nor the signage lead me to expect anything too terribly interesting about this new place.

LOL - Leona's - a name from the past. Anyone remember their stuffed spinach bread roll appetizer? I'm sure they had to get rid of it because 4 salads, and an order of the spinach bread roll stuff was EASILY dinner for four hungry people. I gave up on Leona's after two things: One was an order of squidamari that had an unbelievable amount of salt in the batter.
And the other, on a separate occaision, the fried perch had an even more unbelievable amount of salt in the batter. Not bashing it tho. I'd go back in a pinch. Have fond memories of the old Leona's days.

I've found the grilled, marinated tofu kebab, which can come with the aforementioned veggie kebab (does there have to be meat to qualify as a kebab?) reliable. It's a generous portion for a vegetarian dish and pretty satisfying. I've had it at the Rogers Park, Wicker Park and now defunct Dempster/Skokie?/Glenview? locations at consistent quality.

I never really find leonas to be too exciting myself.

i know a few things I don't like. their wings border on being some of the worst wings i've ever had. what's with restaurants in chicago calling wings 'buffalo wings' then serving up the entire (unclipped?) wing...not just the "flat" .. its so annoying and they're hard to eat that way.

i think their sicilian style deep dish might as well just be bread with dipping sauce, all you taste is the cornmealish dough.

i do like their thin crust pizza.

i can't remember eating much else other than pizza that was notable from there, especially after it came delivery... the cobb sandwich described sounds really good though!


they always send the $5 coupons to me still. yet i still always seem to fill ripped off... it seems like i always order 2 things and its $40. and last time i paid the driver had a really tough time figuring out how to deduct $5 (and apparently so did i, since i was under the influence) and acted like he didn't have any change (though he was holding it in his hand) and the guy ended up getting a $10 or so tip...

It should be noted, though, that I do believe Leonna's has the distinction of being the only restaurant to deliver to every address in the City of Chicago.... or at least i swear i've seen that advertised by them...

dddane wrote:It should be noted, though, that I do believe Leonna's has the distinction of being the only restaurant to deliver to every address in the City of Chicago.... or at least i swear i've seen that advertised by them...

When I get those $5 coupons, sometimes I will order a catfish dinner, which usually is OK. But afterwards I still feel ripped off as everything on their menu is so overpriced that adding anything more than negates the coupon savings. Maybe they HAVE to deliver everywhere in order to stay in the black?

The 63-year-old Leona's restaurant empire is in the midst of major changes, as it prepares to move its Rogers Park restaurant and close at least three suburban locations.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/article/20130201/CRED03/130209977/leonas-to-close-three-suburban-restaurants

Dave148 wrote:

The 63-year-old Leona's restaurant empire is in the midst of major changes, as it prepares to move its Rogers Park restaurant and close at least three suburban locations.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/article/20130201/CRED03/130209977/leonas-to-close-three-suburban-restaurants

Yeesh, finally. I can recall when the empire was merely 35 years old, and the Sheffield location was almost cool---and almost affordable. A student could get a meatball sandwich, with fries and maybe a complimentary loaf of bread and garlic spread for about $6 in 2013 $. Hang out with theatre types late night, and feel just the slightest edge of community. And Leona's pimped out that good feeling equity by ripping off people near and far with their mediocre food and absurdly high prices.

And Leona's pimped out that good feeling equity by ripping off people near and far with their mediocre food and absurdly high prices.

Not to mention that they didn't bother to comply in any way with an EEOC ruling against the company, which is leading them to Federal court soon. . .

Marco wrote:

Dave148 wrote:

The 63-year-old Leona's restaurant empire is in the midst of major changes, as it prepares to move its Rogers Park restaurant and close at least three suburban locations.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/article/20130201/CRED03/130209977/leonas-to-close-three-suburban-restaurants

Yeesh, finally. I can recall when the empire was merely 35 years old, and the Sheffield location was almost cool---and almost affordable. A student could get a meatball sandwich, with fries and maybe a complimentary loaf of bread and garlic spread for about $6 in 2013 $. Hang out with theatre types late night, and feel just the slightest edge of community. And Leona's pimped out that good feeling equity by ripping off people near and far with their mediocre food and absurdly high prices.

I got hooked on Leona's Sheffield location in the early 90's, but the expansion really didn't hold up well.
For a while the Oak Park location was on my regular rotation when it first opened because you actualy got a good amount of edible food for a decent price.
Unfortunately shrinking plates, slipping quality, and increasing prices took it off our radar some time ago.

Does anybody remember what the Rogers Park location was before Leona's took over the space? For some reason, London Broil seems to come to mind, but I can't really remember.

6935 N Sheridan Road - "Beefsteak Inn"

here's an audio commercial from the TRIAD FREE-FORM Radio from 1974...the opening credits have a commercial for the Beefsteak Inn, at 6935 N. Sherdian road, cows mooing in the background, and they state "Come in for all you can eat salad bar and all you can drink beer with each meal, and if your date is a bottomless pit - you can take him/her out without worrying about over eating or drinking your budget." The whole time, there are cows mooing in the background, it's pretty funny

midas wrote:Does anybody remember what the Rogers Park location was before Leona's took over the space? For some reason, London Broil seems to come to mind, but I can't really remember.

Pierre O'Brien's was at 6935 N Sheridan until 1987, when Leona's opened their third location there. Pierre O'Brien's didn't last long; before that it was the Beefsteak Inn.

Wow, you guys have better memories than me. Thanks much!!

...and for bonus points- what famous steak and seafood place was in the clark st. hop haus space before they moved in ?

(I am gym buddies with Steve the Greek (the owner), so I'll bow out on this one)


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rubbbqco wrote:...and for bonus points- what famous steak and seafood place was in the clark st. hop haus space before they moved in ?

(I am gym buddies with Steve the Greek (the owner), so I'll bow out on this one)


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Gateway Restaurant?

Nope...here's a hint : "it was my place to go for great seafood in Rogers park"


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My Place For.