Summertime Finds

-Grubbing in Chicago
Five of a Kind: Summer Bounty

Summer never fails to fly by as far as the timing goes. Where did it go?! Mornings are already starting to feel like fall while the days are getting shorter and college football returns this weekend. I think the main determining factor to most of when summer ends is students going back to school and just about all of them are back in class at this point. But technically summer doesn’t end until August 31st or September 22nd depending on whether you go by the meteorological end or the astronomical end. So you still have some time to indulge in these delicious summer dishes that I recently enjoyed.

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Bungalow by Middle Brow (Logan Square)

Bungalow by Middle Brow is one of my favorite spots to eat during the summer months. The pizza is outstanding year round but the rest of the menu really shines over the summer when they take full advantage of the bounty that comes with it. They have a rotating menu item called a ‘pizza sandwich’ which is the kitchen leaning into what it does best: taking their outstanding fermented pizza dough and treating it like sandwich bread. The current iteration is a BLT and it’s really, really good. Bacon is paired with locally grown lettuce and tomato plus togarashi mayo in their signature sourdough pizza crust. Typically the tomato is the most important element of a BLT but the fermented pizza bread is what makes this sandwich so special. It’s airy and crisp and golden on the outside, with a chewy interior and slight tang from the long fermentation. Another candidate for 'Sandwich of the Year'.

BLT Pizza Sandwich at Bungalow by Middle Brow
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Inspired Indian (Evanston)

Speaking of summertime sandwiches - I really liked my pre-beach visit to the Inspired Indian in Evanston. What an interesting little sandwich shop located in the old Al’s Deli space on Noyes street just steps away from the train station. It’s ran by a business lady who originally started the company as a subscription-box business selling pre-measured Indian spice kits before opening the Evanston storefront back in 2021. Last year she introduced a tight menu of vegetarian sandwiches using popular Indian flavor combinations as the baseline. I tried the 'Bombay Sandwich' which is the most popular style of sandwich in Mumbai. It typically consists of cumin-turmeric mashed potato, pickled red onion, tomato, cucumber, green pepper, and beets. At Inspired Indian it also comes with chaat masala, a cilantro and mint mayo, Kashmiri chili aioli and a house blend of shredded white cheddar and Muenster cheese. All of the sandwiches come with masala potato chips and an Indian spiced cabbage slaw, and are served on toasted sourdough panini bread. You can still buy the spice kits here too and although there’s no indoor seating there’s a very nice public space with tables and chairs across the street where people can eat. I wandered over there and thoroughly enjoyed my sandwich while soaking up some sun. It tasted really fresh and was clearly made with care. I’ll be back.

Bombay Sandwich at Inspired Indian
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La Cosecha at Green City Market (Lincoln Park)

There’s no doubt that Green City Market in Lincoln Park is the best farmers market in the city as far as produce goes but I always thought it left a little to be desired in the prepared foods department. Well I visited this past weekend and noticed a new to me stand selling tortillas and stopped to take a look at what La Cosecha Tortilla Company was about. When I saw they were based out of Madison I realized I’d heard of them before though this was the first time I’ve seen them or their product in Chicago. They had a smoked trout tostada on special and it was one of the best things I’ve ate this summer. An organic non-GMO tortilla made with Midwest corn was fried until crisp and topped with Sungold tomatoes, cucumbers, pickled cabbage, dill-Canzonetta cheese spread, and basil. I didn’t realize it until after I had left but every topping was acquired right there at the market making for a very high quality snack. I talked to the people behind La Cosecha and they told me they’re in the process of moving to Delavan (WI) and they hope to have their tortillas available on the Illinois side of the border soon. I suggested they reach out to Agora Market so be on the lookout for them. 

Smoked Trout Tostada at Green City Market
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Andros Taverna at the Farmers Market (Logan Square)

At a time when pretty much everything is getting worse, props to the folks behind the Logan Square Farmers Market which has actually gotten better with its new setup. Not only is it better situated as far as the new layout goes but the vendors are getting better too, particularly those selling prepared food. It’s been about a month since the folks behind Andros Taverna set up a stand ran by my guy Luis who I met the first week. They’re grilling up chicken and pork skewers over live charcoal and serving them in Andros’ signature woodfired pita. Chicago isn’t a big souvlaki town but we really got a good one with these which are the best I’ve had outside of Greece and better than a few in Greece too. The pork is nice and smoky with just the right bite and it pairs perfectly with their delicious dill tzatziki plus lettuce, red onion, and a slither of harissa for some nice spice. The pita in of itself is incredible to where you can put almost anything in there and it would be good but the current combo of flavors would be tough to top. I think I’ve been by for one of these three of the four times they've been there. Important to note these are not available at the restaurant, only Sundays at the farmers market. They also have nice looking Turkish bagels with spreads and some interesting pastries too. 

Pork Souvlaki at Logan Square Farmers Market
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Trecena (Dunning)

Last but not least I recently attended a Trecena dinner which is a tasting menu ran out of Santa Masa Tamaleria. Santa Masa is owned by Chef Danny Espinoza and his wife Johana who are also behind Trecena, the five course tasting menu exploring Chicano food inspired by memory, technique, and the evolving conversation around Mexican cuisine. They do these dinners a few times a month and I was fortunate to be invited to one by Danny and his lovely wife. It's truly all in the family here as Danny’s father in-law and another family member lend a helping hand. It’s a small and intimate meal and each dish comes with a description and a story. We started with a wonderful shrimp aguachile that was extra refreshing on a hot summer night. Next out was a play on barbacoa spiced shawarma served on a warm pita dipped in beef fat. I didn’t get a chance to write down every last detail but this was definitely my type of dish. Same can be said for a plate of cheffed up chicken flautas which were hot and crisp and sat on a tasty pile of black beans alongside some sort of sour cream mousse. The fried flutes were topped with cabbage for crunch and some cheese added saltiness. Fourth dish out was a plate of grilled tri-tip with a lip licking sauce that had peppers and other Mexican forward flavors. The sliced meat was served with a crispy rice taco which was arroz wrapped in a grilled cheese crust. Danny’s wife Jhoana is also a chef and she specializes in pastries and desserts and she absolutely crushed the final course. Listening to her description it sounded like she just kind of put together this bowl of chopped strawberries with a bunch of other stuff that was warm and cold plus crisp and soft. A strawberry smorgasbord of sorts. I had a great time at this leisurely dinner that runs around $90 for five ever changing courses and it’s byob which helps keep the costs down - highly recommended. 

Dinner at Trecena
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See ya next time @chibbqking

Suburban Finds

-Grubbing in Chicagoland
Five of a Kind: Northern Suburb Finds

It’s been a minute since I posted any of my findings in the suburbs so I figured I would throw something together for this week’s post. We’ll focus in on the northern suburbs which has had some interesting spots open in the last year or so. Here’s five of them that I would highly recommend - 

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Lao Tian Dumpling House (Evanston)

The Chicagoland area continues to be a bit of a dumpling desert compared to East and West Coast cities but it’s gotten better in the last couple years. Take for example the suburb of Evanston which despite being the home of a Big Ten university was without a spot a true go-to dumpling spot. Dumpling shops near college campuses have become very common these days. Lao Tian opened almost a year ago and I immediately wondered if there was any relation to QXY Dumplings. Reason being is the menus are very similar with the option to get your dumplings boiled, steamed, or fried. As far as I know there isn't a connection between the two though the quality of the product here in Evanston can match that in Chinatown. I’ve stopped in here a handful of times allowing me to try a bunch of different dumplings and they all hit the spot. I recommend going with the lamb and dill boiled or the pan fried with pork and cabbage. If you’re looking for a little more both the Sichuan Wontons and Zhong’s Dumplings are spiked with chili oil. The Zhong's Dumplings are a regional snack of Sichuan dressed with sweetened, spice-infused soy sauce, chili oil, garlic and sesame seeds.

Steamed Dumplings

Boiled Dumplings


Pan Fried Dumplings


Sichuan Wontons


Zhong's Dumplings
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Alan's Falafel (Skokie)

Here’s something I didn’t know until just recently - the largest and oldest Iraqi community in America is in Chicago, home to the largest Assyrian population in the United States. Honestly I never really thought about it but this makes sense as I know a few Assyrians myself and have also noticed a steady increase in Iraqi restaurants in the suburbs. Alan’s Falafel sits in a mini strip mall on Dempster and seems to stay packed with local Iraqi families. I recently visited and was greeted by two pristinely kept cones of meat - one beef and one chicken. When it comes to shawarma beef is more popular in Iraq and although I tend to prefer chicken I decided to try the beef shawarma samoon which consists of freshly sliced beef shawarma loaded into Iraqi Samoon which is a flatbread baked on-site. This sandwich is loaded with meat and ends up being a great deal too at just $10 each with a piece of piping hot Iraqi falafel included with the sandwich. I appreciated the fact they had bottles of sauce at each table too. Beef shawarma tends to be a bit dryer which this was but the sauce really fixes that. This was a really good sandwich at a super fair price-point. I can see why this place stays busy. 

Beef Shawarma Samoon Sandwich at Alan's Falafel
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Da Local Boy (Highwood)

Let’s go get some Mochiko Chicken on Da North Shore - except we’re not going to Oahu, we’re headed to Highwood where Da Local Boy was opened by a couple that moved there from Maui. There’s a handful of Hawaiian restaurants in Chicago but I can’t recall having Hawaiian fried chicken at any so I went with that on my initial visit and it hit the spot in a way Hawaiian food always does. I’m not a native but I’ve always found Hawaiian food to be extremely comforting. Mochiko Chicken is an iconic Hawaiian-style dish made with chunks of fried chicken. It's known for its sweet, savory, and chewy texture. The dish's signature characteristics come from its key ingredient: mochiko, a Japanese sweet rice flour. A plate comes with a scoop of steaming white rice and mac salad. Da Local Boy was recently featured in a NYT dining article about where to eat in Chicago but if you follow me on Instagram you knew about this place before it was in any local or national publications. I put their North Shore neighbor and former Bears legend and Hawaii Native Olin Kreutz on - he loves it.

Mochiko Chicken at Da Local Boy
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P Dern Thai Kitchen (Niles)

The locally owned Park2Shop grocery chain took over Assi Plaza on Milwaukee avenue in Niles a while back and the food court had some turnover too. There’s a few new non-Korean spots now including a Pho place and an outlet of a Sichuan spot in Bridgeport. There's also P. Dern Thai Kitchen ran by a Thai lady who can flat out cook. After a few visits it’s become one of my favorite Thai spots in the Chicagoland area due to an extremely high hit rate. I haven’t even had a chance to get into any of the Northern Thai options which are on a secret menu but don’t sleep on her spicy basil dishes. Pad Kra Pao is a good dish to gauge the talent of a Thai kitchen and the version at P Dern is among the best in the Chicagoland area - loaded with holy basil and Thai Chiles. But if you’re a fan of crispy basil pork you need to try the version from here which is as good as it gets. Super crispy chunks of pork belly are tossed in a mouth watering sweet and spicy sauce. You absolutely want to pay the up-charge for the fried egg sitting atop a mini mountain of jasmine rice. They don't skimp on the heat here so long as you can convince them you want it “Thai people hot” which I very much appreciate. 

Crispy Basil Pork Belly at P Dern Thai Kitchen
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Tandoor Curry Hotspot (Riverwoods)

Every now and then I learn of a new to me food spot that shoots to the top of my ‘to try’ list and Tandoor Curry Hotspot out in Riverwoods was a recent stop that attracted my attention in that way. I had kept hearing good things from reliable food friends about this Northern Indian restaurant in a very random suburb. When I finally got the chance to check it out I came away just as impressed as everybody else. I would say the Chicken 65 is my favorite rendition of that dish to date. It’s a very well seasoned dry spiced version made up of popcorn chicken sized pieces that are fried to a perfect crisp. The same can be said for the Gobi Manchurian which features little morsels of wok fried cauliflower bits tossed in a sticky chile sauce with some real deal heat. Dal Makhani is the dish I use to gauge a Northern Indian kitchen such as this and it was outstanding. Both the garlic naan and the basmati rice were very nicely done. The lamb chapli kebab was great as far as flavor but more like a meatball than a patty so I would probably list those as a one and done. I haven’t had a chance to try any of the “Ugly Delicious” portion of the menu but it features Northern Indian street food favorites like Samosa Chaat. The food seems to be really consistent from dish to dish so I might try an entirely new set of dishes next time with the exception of the Chicken 65 which will be a must on each visit. 

Chicken 65


Gobi Manchurian


Chapli Kebab


Dal Makhani
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See ya next time @chibbqking

The Red Hot Chilli Pepper

-Grubbing in Chicago(land)
Indo-Chinese Cuisine in Evasnton

Months before the pandemic me and a friend rode out to Evanston for some Indo-Chinese. The fusion of Indian and Chinese flavors is a magical one and is very popular in spots like Toronto and Bangkok on top of all the major cities in India. But despite a large Indian community in the Chicagoland area there isn't a ton of Indo-Chinese spots. There's maybe a handful and a few more that sell Indo-Chinese dishes but RHCP boasts a large Indo-Chinese menu and pre-pandemic seemed to be a popular stop for Indian families in the area. They even have a bar and lots of space for groups. 

Locals favorite in Evanston 

Indian-Chinese cuisine is said to be traced back to the ethnic Chinese community of Kolkata. Like all groups of Chinese nomads they brought with them their recipes and adapted to the local ingredients and such. There's many of Chinese fusion cuisines and Indo-Chinese is one of the most exciting. RHCP offers a solid menu with many of the favorites as far as Indo-Chinese dishes go. While I haven't had the chance to check out a ton of Desi-Chinese spots I always like to try the Hakka Noodles when doing so. It's a simple dish that relies on the wok skill of the cook to determine just how good it can get. The version served here is my favorite from anywhere thus far. They're just cooked really well to the point where you yourself might wonder what makes this bowl of noodles so pleasing. So much so I've been itching for an order for what's been almost my entire time in quarantine. RHCP closed it's doors when the covid cases started rising and just reopened for takeout not too long ago. 

Hakka Noodles at Red Hot Chilli Pepper 

Indo-Chinese features a ton of stir fried dishes mixing the spices popular in each cuisines together. Personally I find spots that do good stir fried foods always tend to do the fish dishes well so we tried an order of dry chili fish from the appetizers menu. It hit all the notes you want in terms of bold flavors. It was a busy weekend night when we visited so our food took a while to come out and they brought us some lollipop wings to enjoy while we waited for the fish. Those are always pretty good. 

Chili Fish at RHCP

For an entrée we had to try the chili chicken the first go around. It's maybe the most popular Indo-Chinese dish though it's rarely made the same way at any two spots. RHCP does up a wetter version than I was hoping for and bc we got  chili fish too this the meal might've seemed a bit repetitive but between the two of us we scarfed it all down. It came served on a sizzling platter which I always get a kick out of. You know how everyone turns their head when you get your fajita platter at the restaurant wishing they had what you had. I also like how the pieces of chicken get crisper as time passes. 

Chili Chicken at Red Hot Chilli Pepper 

The Red Hot Chilli Pepper

500 Davis St #102
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 563-8085
Website

Peppercorns Kitchen

-Grubbing in Chicago(land)

Szechuan food in Evanston

Restaurants serving food from China's Sichuan region show no sign of slowing down. With help from the now free Tony Hu Chicago has had Sichuan cuisine regularly available since he first opened Lao Sze Chuan over a decade ago. Funny bc it's just becoming all the rage in LA where most of the country's Asian food trends are set especially Chinese with the SGV area being damn near all Chinese. Well ever since the city's first Szechuan restaurant opened many have followed in it's path. I got word one of the city's best was found up North in Evanston. Not surprising considering all the other college campus towns across the Big Ten where regional Chinese food has a presence.

Locals Favorite in Evanston

Peppercorn's Kitchen sits in an old storefront on downtown Davis street. Word among those on food social media has it that the owners of Peppercorns are the same people behind Chef Xiong Taste of Szechuan. I haven't been there yet but early word is mostly positive from those I know and online reviews. I tried Peppercorn's one night this last summer and it was bustling despite being in it's last hour of business for the day. Lots of younger groups of Asian kids as well as gringo families and the likes. A nice mix. From what I heard this place is as good as most anywhere else in Chinatown so if you live closer to Evanston you might be just as satisfied here with a much shorter drive to boot.

 Dan Dan Noodles at Peppercorns Kitchen

I have a couple of dishes I will try the first time through a Sichuan focused spot. Dan Dan Noodles being the menu item most Sichuan spots are going to have. But it can be served in so many different ways in the States that it can be tough to find something like that which you might have had in China. Peppercorns does a pretty good version for an American made bowl. I liked it better than most all of the other spots around town where I've had Dan Dan but that's not saying much. The other item we're getting if you're dining with me at a Sichuan spot is Dry Chili Fish Filet. It's not always called such but most spots have pieces of crispy fried fish tossed with peppercorn chiles as a menu option. Peppercorns serves theirs with fried green beans as well. The peppercorns are deceiving in that they put so many of them on the plate it takes up much of the space so there's not as much food as there seems. I've never really had a bad rendition of this dish and I'd give this version a B- overall.

 Dry Chili Fish Filet

We also decided to try the stir fried cumin lamb. I thought this was going to be the little individual pieces of fried lamb you eat with toothpicks but I was mistaken. Instead it was little strips of cumin laced lamb stir fried with bell peppers and onion. While not what I envisioned it was still delicious as I love the combo of cumin and lamb and the meat was tender and the veggies crisp. Nice wok work.

Stir Fried Cumin Lamb at Peppercorns Kitchen

Peppercorns Kitchen
620 Davis St #4419
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 563-8461
Website

10Q Chicken

-The Sammy's of Chi (land)

No I didn't get a chance to try the Popeye's Chicken Sandwich. Will I ever? Yeah I'm sure someday I'll be in a rush somewhere or just hangry and near one so that day will come. But I wasn't going to wait in line and make the poor employees getting what's most likely low hourly pay work twice as hard for the same crappy pay. Plus there's lots of other fried chicken sandwiches to be found around town. It was only a few years ago they were all the trend and most of them still remain. 10Q Chicken in Evanston is probably the place I would name when asked about my favorite fried chicken sandwich.

Locals Favorite in Evanston 

One of the guys behind this downtown Evanston chicken shop is the owner of the popular bopNgrill which has two locations in the city. It was originally across the street from ETHS before moving into Rogers Park. It's still close enough to Evanston that most of the people who live there full and part time know about it. But now many of those Northwestern students don't have to go into the city to get Korean inspired fast food. 10Q focuses in on chicken and you can get it a variety of ways but it's the sandwiches that drive sales. The namesake is Panko fried chicken breast, pickled radish, togarashi mayo, on a buttered brioche bun. None of the ingredients took away the flavors you want when the taste for a chicken sandwich comes calling. Which for me isn't often but next time one comes I hope there's a 10Q nearby. Otherwise next time I'm in Evanston. I'll probably pass a few Popeye's en route.

The 10Q from 10Q Chicken 

10Q Chicken
816 Church St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 859-6100
Website

Evanston Grill

-Grubbing in Chicago (land)
Korean Diner Food in Evanston

There's a cool article on Al's Deli in Evanston that's been floating around my Social Media feed this week. I've featured Al's before but that Takeout article reminded me I've never given my thoughts on Evanston Grill. Another one of the city's most beloved spots. A place that generations have ate at.

Locals Favorite in Evanston, IL

I have pretty much zero affiliation with Evanston. I didn't go to Northwestern but I did go to Loyola Academy for a couple years and it brought me through Evanston often. As the purple line was my way home. I remember when I first learned of Bi Bim Bop after seeing the ad on Evanston Grill's window announcing they served it. Evanston Grill is a Korean owned diner where the mother and son are always in-house. It's the last of a dying breed. To my knowledge there's only three Korean owned diners left in the Chicago area as well as one Vietnamese owned spot. Evanston Grill caters to a city that's mostly vanilla so you can expect all the breakfast classics as well as a few Korean favorites.

a peek inside 

I can't say I'm a regular here but I can proclaim my love for it. Every time I stop by which is maybe every other year I'm reminded just how classic of an establishment this is. It just wreaks of old school feels. I'm sure that pretty much everyone that lives in Evanston or went to school at Northwestern has an opinion on this place and I'm sure most of them are good. Personally I love the bi bim bop here as much as anywhere. They make a pretty traditional style with a handful of different thinly sliced veggies resting on the bottom with a big scoop of rice on top as well as a fried egg and lots of sliced beef. It doesn't come in a dolsat bowl which is it's biggest weakness but the beef is it's strength. I love how they chop it down really finely and season it just right. Kimchi is free upon request. Bc the son runs this spot with his mother it may have a couple decades left but you never know for sure.

Bi Bim Bop at Evanston Grill

Evanston Grill
1047 Chicago Ave # B
Evanston, IL 60202
(847) 328-3339

Yeero Revolution

-Grubbing in Chicago (land)
New to the 'Scene'

Due to some glowing reviews I had wanted to try out Yeero Revolution in Evanston for some time. It's not your typical Greek gyro place in that they aren't getting their cones from a warehouse but rather making them on site. Yeero Revolution opened towards the end of 2016 and as mentioned did so to some good reviews. I'm all about spit roasted meat so I had to go check it out for myself. I'm rarely if ever in Evanston so I made a special trip out there to try it one recent summer night.

Newly Opened in Evanston 

I arrived around 7p and you could tell they were starting to shut down as they close at 8p. This meant there were no spits in motion and all the meat had been pre-sliced. I hate that shit, whats the point in cooking it on a vertical spit? Yeero Revolution offers gyros made with beef and lamb as well as a pork belly option and a chicken one too. I opted for the pork belly and bc I was hungry got it as a plate opposed to just a sandwich. I guess because they were close to closing they ran out of rice so I got fries alongside it. What I received was a plate with a small handful of pork gyros that must have been the end of it. The pieces were barely bigger than a nickel. The first thing I think of when gyro plate is mentioned is a big ass plate of food and this wasn't that. Maybe they ran out since they close so early? If so I cant see how this isn't a constant problem with people coming in around 7p which isn't all that late. The product itself was good but the delivery of it was pretty weak. It's more than possible this isn't the norm and I just caught them at a bad time. I will try them again one day.

Pork Belly Gyro Plate at Yeero Revolution 

Yeero Revolution
1009 Davis St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 905-0213
Website

Union Squared Pizza

-Grubbing in Chicago (land)

New to the 'Scene'

I took advantage of some nice weather recently and took a trip out to Evanston. It's a place I rarely make it to these days but I've had my eye on a restaurant there for a while. That restaurant is actually a pizza parlor and to be more specific it's a Detroit Style Pizza Parlor. For those unaware Detroit has a pizza style all it's own and it's having it's moment right now. There's no doubt about it when I say it's one of the trendiest foods in the country. A good trend as far as I'm concerned. Enter Union Squared

 Detroit Style Pizza in Evanston, IL 

Union Squared is an extension of Union Pizzeria where they're specializing in Neapolitan style pizzas. The space that holds Union Squared is small however the patio is large. When we visited on a recent weekend night there were a few people there but if it was in city proper it would've been packed. They have bags aka cornhole, and some butane fueled fire places as well as plenty of tables for people to sit and eat. The menu is small with pretty much just two options of salads and pizza.

Chopped Greek Salad 

A starter of Greek Style Chopped Salad was fantastic. I'm appreciating good salads more and more nowadays and this was one I could really adore. Nothing noteworthy as far as ingredients other than the fact they were fresh and and the whole thing was made really well. But that's now why we were here. It's the Detroit style pizza I wanted to try. What's that you ask? Well first off it's a square style pizza. What makes it unique and authentically Detroit is baking the pie in a heavy metal well oiled pan. That and the fact the sauce usually goes on top. Pepperoni is the preferred choice of locals in Detroit but that's not the only way people like it. It's crust should be well caramelized and have chew.

Pepperoni Pizza at Union Squared 

So how do the folks at Union Squared do? Pretty damn good I thought. Maybe not quite up to par with some of my favorite spots in Detroit but one of the better pizzas I've had of late. I thought this was worth the $24 pricetag which might seem a bit high out of the gate but it's enough to feed 3-4 people. The sauce was well balanced and the pepperoni curled well which is what it's supposed to do. Union Squared has a second location at Revival Food Hall but I never get near there. So I had to wait for it to get nice and head out to Evanston which I thought was worth the ride. Add me to it's fans.

Close-Up of the Crust 

Union Squared Pizza
1307 Chicago Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(224) 714-3100
Website

Al's Deli

-The Sammy's of Chi

Today we turn back the clock and check out an old favorite amongst Chicago's culinary driven. Al's Deli has been an Evanston mainstay going on over 60 years (Since 1949). It's one of the original spots I sought out when this online food thing actually became a thing for not just me but ton's of others. I remember reading about it back in the golden age of LTHforum and have been a semi regular customer ever since then. Al's is truly a treasure in that once it's gone so is this style of deli.

Longtime locals favorite in Evanston

Al's labels itself as a French Deli. The current owners took over from their dad. Bread is delivered fresh daily and aside from sandwiches the soups and cookies are also popular. Having just visited Paris a couple months ago I finally felt what people mean when they say it's like a little piece of Paris planted in Evanston. The atmosphere here is as old school as anywhere as far as a sandwich shop can go. It's long and narrow and you get the feeling some things haven't been moved in years.

The Menu (click pics to enhance)

While I'm sure all of the sandwiches at Al's are fantastic I've pretty much always stuck to roast beef. The only question for me is which type of bread I want it on. I slightly prefer the French baguette but the seven grain isn't anything to be looking down on. While I typically only like bleu cheese dressing mixed with Buffalo sauce, I enjoy the combination of it with this fresh cut rare roast beef as well. It's probably the closest thing Chicagoland has to old school roast beef. The type that's made on-site and not in a factory across state lines. I don't make it to Evanston often but when I do Al's is an option.

Roast Beef on Seven Grain Bread

Al's Deli
914 Noyes St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 475-9400
Website