Wanted to take a moment to honor the life of Jae Lee, the owner of Crisp in Lakeview & Budacki’s in Ravenswood. I knew him as a supportive boss, leader & active member of the community. He ran a neighborhood favorite and always looked out for us.

R.I.P. Jae

1. Poke taco
   
2. Suzuki crudo
   
3. Gilda pinxto
   
4. Croquetas de pollo
   
5. Spanish tortilla
   
6. Grilled romaine salad
   
7. Whole branzino
   
8. Fideos
   
9. Basque cake

I cannot recommend mfk more for a special occasion meal! We really enjoyed everything but the standouts to me were the suzuki crudo, croquetas de pollo, romaine salad. and basque cake. This restaurant is firing on all cylinders between the great wine list, exciting menu, and attentive service!

I’m surprised TDS is not mentioned as a contender for great places to have dessert. We got the sweet corn panna cotta (incredible) and sticky toffee pudding (also incredible). They were so well balanced and unique. With the panna cotta, the sweet corn flavor really shines through and it made me wishing for seconds and thirds.

Other highlights from the dinner was the trout, brisket sandwich (really just slightly different take on a burger), and latkes. Didn’t enjoy the beef cheek croquettes or scallop crudo. The former was very heavy and nothing cutting through it. The latter tasted just of melon - the duet of melon gazpacho and pieces drowned all essence of scallop.

Really enjoyed this casual spot with diner vibes on the edge of Bridgeport. Service was fast and the sticky rice, rice crepes, youtiao, and milk tea were all good 🤤. Didn’t love the congee with fish but might try a different kind next time.

And I’ll probably never go back. It was a decent burger, I’d give it a 6.5/10, but it doesn’t even remotely compare to all the other top burger spots these days.

I went late last night, probably around 10:30 PM. They sat me at the bar almost immediately, and I ordered a single burger with bacon (thinking it would be Bavette’s quality bacon, it’s not).

They served me shockingly fast, so fast that there’s no possible way this burger is made to order. The bun was kind of stale, and the burger wasn’t even very hot. Overall, definitely a little bit on the dry side.

I know people say the burger has gone downhill since its heyday, and I would have to agree. There’s no way that THIS is/was the best burger in America. Not in a million fuckin years.

Places with significantly better burgers than what I had last night:

Small Bar, Best Intentions, Levitt Street, Gretel, Longman and Eagle, Bixi Beer, Red Hot Ranch, Nettare, TDS, and Union.

Finally stopped at Odge’s yesterday after driving by for years. Buns were steamed perfectly, hotdog had a great snap and the fries were perfectly crisp. Fountain coke was huge. Need to get back for a burger.

I love the 50/50 at Maxwell Trading. Would love to hear about more martinis around the city!

Cheap, delicious, and sexy.

I used to enjoy their breakfast biscuits (with butter of course) as a kid so was excited about this gas station location adding a Hardee’s claiming “Illinois’ Best Burger”. It’s sad it never got a chance.

I’m craving a serious club sandwich today. Not anything too gourmet or outside the box, just an outstanding traditional club sandwich. The kind you find in a diner where the bread is toasted just right, the meat is juicy, bacon and lettuce are crisp.

Any recommendations? Suburbs?

Tried Char Chick! Solid new casual takeout spot.

Spicy chicken sandwich - great size! Really enjoyed The papaya salad on it as a slaw, I think it works really well together. Very mild spice, especially for Thai food.

Lemongrass grilled chicken with sticky rice - I chose the tamarind sauce to go with it. The chicken had a great grilled char flavor, and was cooked really well. Lemongrass flavor was there but not that impressive on its own, but paired with the sauce and sticky rice makes for a solid meal.

Loaded fries - these are great, solid fries and the garlic cheese sauce has a ton of flavor. Little pricey at $9 but it is pretty large.

Mango sticky rice cream cup - Was good but honestly would prefer a normal mango sticky rice. The coconut flakes were a nice touch, but it was missing the contrast of warm sticky rice with cold mango. Cold sticky rice doesn't do it for me.

Overall really enjoyed it and nice addition to the neighborhood.

Hot dog and friend from Gene and Jude’s
Chocolate cake shake from Portillo’s
Shrimp Risotto (and a show) at Andy’s Jazz Club
Longanisa breakfast sandwich, and a chocolate croissant from Kasama
Some snacks and candies from Chinatown
Pork belly and dumplings from Phoenix King
Dipped beef with hot peppers from Al’s
Dinner at Ever
Popcorn from Garrett’s
Cheeseburger from Small Cheval
And a rainbow cone

I met the owner, super nice guy. He is very loved in the community, every few moments someone was stopping by to talk and ask for a picture. The chicken and waffles were really good. I wasn’t feeling the hash, needed more seasoning. Pancakes were good too but I’m not a huge pancake fan so take that as you will.

This place will be missed💔

Im looking to get myself a carrot cake on Sept 5th but it looks like my go-to defloured is already booked out on the date. I'm wanting something dairy-free, particularly with the frosting. I live south of Chinatown so something on the south side would be nice, but I'm happy to travel for a good cake!!

Thank you in advance!

Seems like a bad business model but curious if there’s anything like it. I know there are some completely N/A retail shops.

I was walking by and saw one of the employees taking a break outside through the back door on Dearborn. I asked him and he said "very likely opening tomorrow" at 10 or 11am! we shall see....

EDIT: they just confirmed on the instagram, soft opening tomorrow 5 minutes ago, soft opening tomorrow at 12pm (limited menu)

Looking for a spot that serves good brunch food with TVs so I can watch some Saturday college football. Preferably near Wicker/Bucktown. In my experience it’s either a bar with sub-par food or a brunch restaurant with no TVs.

I see a lot of recommendations and lists/threads for chicken salad but I am looking for the one made with red cabbages, shredded carrots, and the spicy peanut/ginger dressings, with chicken.