Flavorful Italian beef sandwich (but it has to be dipped into gravy). The chargrilled cheese burger…read morewas the big surprise for me. Great char flavor. The burger was juicy topped with fresh l/t/o. I like this Al's shop the best of their restaurants. Fast, friendly (for Chicago) service. Even though they were busy, they cranked through the orders pretty quickly. I think I like the cheese burger better than the Italian beef sandwich. You can't go wrong with either. If I lived here, I would probably eat here twice a month.

Al's did not disappoint! I got the Italian beef dipped with sweet peppers and fries. The beef was…read moretender, flavorful, and perfectly juicy; the sandwich was good. The fries were also really good. It's counter order service or a kiosk. My food came out really fast, even with a line, which I appreciated. It's a grab-and-go or sit-and-eat revolving atmosphere. Definitely another must-try in Chicago, and I'll come back next time I visit!

The only reason I'm giving it a 4/5 is because for $19 I wish the sandwhich was bigger (or the…read moreprice was lower...). I'm not going to lie... I can't stop thinking about the sandwich I ate here. They have two vegetarian options on their menu and I went with the Modena sandwich. It was perfectly sweet, a little salty and had the most delicious pistachio cream. The focaccia bread it was made on was perfectly chewy as well. I wish they had more sides on their menu so I could try!

Lizzano is a true neighborhood staple--we've ordered from here and stopped in at least 10-15 times…read moresince they opened, and it never misses. The bread is always fresh, the ingredients taste high-quality, and everything just hits. Our go-tos are the Il Carnivoro, Sicilla, Piccante, and the Italino... but honestly, I'd trust anything on the menu at this point. Also, their happy hour is such an underrated gem--Wednesday through Sunday from 5-7pm. They do 50% off Italian boards (perfect for a girls' night) and $9 spritzes. We're heading there this week and already looking forward to it.

Kari's Rating 9.25/10…read more TLDR: -2 types of pizza, tavern = thin, Artisan = doughy -Opens at 4pm-Can have a line when opening! -One of my personal favorites for pizza in River North! Came with a friend for dinner around 4 PM and man was it crowded as soon as those doors opened. It had been my first time there and I'm more of a lover of pizza that has a little bit of dough, so we started off with the crispy calamari appetizer, and then went straight in with the artisan style vodka, pizza while adding Italian sausage. Calamari was pretty good, it was lately battered, and not very oily which I appreciated. It came with a lemon as well as some kind of mayo, dipping sauce. It was very delicious and light and came out relatively quickly after ordering. I was trying to see room as the pizza was the absolute star of the show-The cheese came almost the ends of the perfect puffy and doughy crust. Although, the middle of the pizza was thinner than the artesian, puffy crust, yet you could taste everything when you took a first bite. The combination of cheese, sauce, banana peppers, and the Italian sausage was incredible. Now, normally I would think vodka anything would be a little heavier, but it actually was a perfect light bite pizza. We seated in the secondary dining room and it had a very interesting layout, but it was very trendy and modernly decorated. I can't believe how packed it got considering we went in on a Monday. We left around 6:30 and the place was almost fully packed, including their first entrance seating. I fake to the bathroom as I was paying the check, and it was interesting considering the bathrooms were only one stall per gender, which is very unlike River North considering the bathrooms, usually take up a significant portion of the restaurant layout-but who knows, maybe they didn't have the space? We finished off our early lunch with a tiramisu and it didn't come out traditionally looking like a tiramisu, considering it came in a bowl almost as a pudding. It was coated in a dusting of cocoa and chocolate crispy rice balls, but was surprisingly not very coffee flavored. I don't personally like the strong coffee taste into tiramisu-and I found it absolutely delightful, although I would consider it more of a vanilla tiramisu than a traditional. Overall, a very positive experience, the servers were relatively attentive, the prices were moderate for pizza in River North, appetizers and dessert was relatively good as far as pizza goes in Chicago and I look forward to returning sooner than later!!

Delicious pizzas! A great ambiance! I really enjoyed my food here. I visited on a Thursday evening,…read moreand it was so busy. Every single table was full. The interior feels inviting and warm. I love their vintage decor and dim lighting. The food was outstanding. I loved every flavor of pizza I tried. The mushroom truffle was exceptionally good, with a strong truffle scent. They have a dairy free pizza option that was surprisingly good. The fried zucchini was crispy and came with a creamy dipping sauce. The spicy vodka pasta was another hit - the noodles were bouncy, and the sauce was so flavorful. Can't wait to visit again and try more delicious dishes.

I came in with low expectations after walking past this place so many times, but everything was…read moregenuinely so good. The service was also amazing. 10/10. You order at the counter, but the server gave me recommendations and told me about the restaurant's history. They even let me sample their homemade juices and the green juice was so good. You can tell they actually care about the customer experience. Chen's Crispy Rice Salad was so good, especially the miso sesame dressing. It was savory with a nice crunch from the crispy wontons. 8.5/10. The Seasonal Goat salad was genuinely one of the best salads I've ever had. 9.5/10. Super light and refreshing, with sweetness from the Pink Lady apples and dried cranberries. It reminded me of Chick-fil-A's Market Salad, but the roasted almonds took it to another level. So satisfying and I'm already craving it again. Vibes are super casual, so this is definitely going into my rotation.

food: good chicken sandwich for the price. would get charged 20+ at other restaurants…read more service: nice staff ambiance: nice outdoor area too

We were seated in the back on the restaurant which was nice since we were away from some of the…read morelouder tables. Our waitress was very nice and prompt. The tater tots were very crispy and tasty. My only complaint is that the Caesar wrap lettuce wasn't crispy since it was served warm and I just assumed it was going to be served cold and crunchy. It was still good but when I ate it the next day after it was in the fridge it was definitely better. I would definitely go back since it was seasoned well and had a good ratio of lettuce, chicken, and Parmesan.

It was a nice bar for drinks and late night food option. The drinks were phenomenal, the burger was…read morea little bit burnt but overall okay. I really like the staff, they are friendly and fast.

Great place. Good prices and friendly people. If they don't have what you want, talk to them they…read morewill stock it in the future.

Delicious sandwiches ! Did carry -out x 2 while visiting Chicago ; but very nice , casual area to…read moreeat in

Kari's Rating 8/10…read more As someone who is always at This Portillo is considering it's very close to where I live, it was decently busy this Sunday evening around 7:30. There was a large cluster of individuals in line to use the kiosk because they seem too scared to talk to a human-even though there's absolutely no line to talk to the women up front. It's kind of sad realize how antisocial people have become but also, I know it's beneficial to use a kiosk for the company because they're getting really fast data results, people tend to add more of their order because they're not being watched and they're able to do it in an antisocial way. Honestly, it's actually really fascinating. This place is always busy so as normal, we waited for about 20 minutes. It's OK, it looked like they were a little bit short staffed as 95% of the population of the restaurant was waiting in line. It's usually backed up at this location as it's super busy and very popular but tonight, I can't tell if it's because they're just backed up, or if no one can hear the number because they use those funny one liners after each number which makes it harder to hear the actual number called. I think this location-as it is mostly a tourist spot-is usually very clean. Tonight, it was not. I think it might've just been that one table around us, but whoever sat there before the fries were all strewn about and the sauces were all over the table cloths and there were napkins everywhere, and it just looked kind of bad. Since it's not normally like this, I figured it just was a one off or it might've just happened.

This place is wild. From the ordering system to the wonderful lady calling out the orders ready,…read moreit's a food hall trip. And the French, er, Italian Beef, outstanding, even with all the hype. And I can't compare it to the others, I can only compare it to the French, sorry, yea, French dips I've had everywhere else. Great. HOWEVER....the chocolate cake shake stole the show! Period. Yes, definitely worth a stop here when in Chicago.

Pretty spacious location. Plenty of seating, both indoor and outdoor. It looks like they have…read moreoutlets if you plan to stay awhile. I stopped in for a quick Banana Walnut Muffin this time and it wasn't bad.

Note to Fairground....The new flavors are trash or the batista has no idea what she is doing…read more.. I'm going with the flavor profiles are garbage...Watermelon Matcha taste like soda mixed with burnt ash...How is this considered watermelon or matcha....cant taste either. And the peach cobbler latte contains zero flavor of peach or a cobbler...Come to find out the peach flavor is supposed to come from the foam...Nope even the foam was flavorless...lol How is Dunking Donuts coffee better than this expensive vomit tasting coffee... You can do better than this Fairgrounds but I will never know because I will never be back...Chicago has an awesome coffee shop every 2 blocks.

Good service. Welcoming staff. Good food. A fave of my friends and family. Really enjoy the…read moreatmosphere.

Everything could improve. 2 workers, 5 patrons. My sandwich was left in the panini press for 20…read moreminutes, and one of the workers was loudly complaining about patrons yelling (they didn't yell) at her for not having their two coffees in the 30 minutes they were there. Take your business elsewhere.

I was pleasantly surprised how quick I got my food. The spicy reuben was extremely good! Super…read moreclean. Definitely recommend for a quality sandwich in a cool location!

I had to get food, (particularly chicken soup) for a sick friend of mine who was stuck in a hotel…read morein Chicago and it was very hard to find a place that had chicken soup who would deliver it to the hotel. (I am in Las Vegas ) Unfortunately the delivery service the Deli usually uses quits before 2:30 and so I couldn't get it delivered. I called the Deli to ask if they had a different service and the owner said, he would take it there himself to my sick friend THAT KIND OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT IS WHAT WE NEED MORE OF! Small businesses give a damn and I love that this owner was kind enough to go all the way over to the Warwick Allerton to personally deliver her chicken soup and tuna, which by the way she said was absolutely fabulous!! When given an option I will pick a small business over corporate America any day... And this owner just gave me another good reason why. Kudos to a business owner with pride and concern.