First time in Chicago so I had to try the national sandwich of Chicago! Al's beef has been serving…read moreup Italian Beef sandwiches since 1938. They have won several awards for their sandwiches and are said to have the best Italian Beef in Chicago. With all this being said, this was certainly a must eat on my trip! Their menu consists of their famous Italian beef, along with Chicago dogs, burgers, sausage sandwiches, chicken, and fries. There is definitely something for everyone here. The inside is casual and reminiscent of a fast food eatery. Really liked the yellow accents throughout the restaurant. I will also note that it was extremely clean inside, which is always appreciated. Ordering is simple and they will call your ticket number when your food is ready. All the food is served made to order and very fresh and doesn't take too long to come out! I ordered the Regular Beef, wet, with both hot and spicy peppers per the workers suggestion. Ordering the sandwich wet simply means the bread is dunked in the gravy/aus jus. If you want the real deal, this is how you order it. The peppers are optional as well, but complete the sandwich. The sandwich consists of their famous Italian beef roasted and sliced, served on freshly baked French bread. I can see why this sandwich is so highly regarded. The Italian beef that is made in house each day is tender, flavorful, and just perfect! It isn't chewy or tough either. The sweet and spicy peppers paired nicely with the savory beef. And the fresh French bread covered in the gravy--phenomenal! The gravy adds a lot of flavor to the sandwich. You do have to eat it quickly, otherwise the bread will fall apart, oh but it is so worth it. I got fries with a side of cheese sauce to go with the sandwich. By far some of the best fries I've had. Not super crispy, but not soggy either, the texture was just right. They were salted perfectly and dipping them in their velvety cheese sauce was a treat! A regular sub is roughly 6 inches and quite filling. The sandwiches are stuffed with ample amounts of beef. The price is also excellent considering how much you get. Overall, I would say Al's Beef lived up to all its praise. My sandwich was very memorable and was like nothing I'd had before. Everything is so fresh, between their beef, bread, and fries, it is all made in house. This isn't just some fast food spot, it is an institution. I was impressed with everything I ordered, especially the fries. They take a lot of pride in what they serve. This is evident in their customer service. If you are visiting Chicago, don't think, just go--you won't regret it!

(Kari's Rating 6.5/10)…read more Finally made my way out here and it was alright. My go to is normally Portillo's Italian beef, but I wanted to change it up. It's a little stop in place and they have a pretty small seating area, but I went on a day where it wasn't super crowded. Beef was pretty typical, I think I enjoyed the gravy seasoning more on this one over Portillo's, but I did like Portillo's spicy and sweet peppers a little bit better. I don't like my bread, saggy, so I was able to get the dipping gravy on the side. Service is pretty quick as it's just a small sit down place. It wasn't too loud, so you could have a conversation with the person next to you, but I imagine it would be much louder if you went on a Friday or Saturday night. I probably wouldn't stop in again but it's a nice place to go to. If you have people from out of town they don't wanna go to Portillo's.

Lovely lunch spot -- great service & the sandwiches were reallyyyy fresh & delicious!!read more

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.

Yum, yum, and YUM!!!!…read more Went here with a larger group for a surprise birthday dinner and it didn't disappoint! We had a little bit of a wait before we were able to be seated, but not too bad. We were seated in the basement level of the restaurant, which had a small bar and intimate, dark lighting. The decor is very fun, patterned, and glitzy. Our server was super kind and attentive -- wish I remembered her name! We got a wide variety of menu items, but the stand outs for me were the meatballs, mozzarella sticks (some of the best I've ever had!!!), kale cesar salad, radiatore alla vodka pasta, tiramisu, and brown butter cake. The pizzas we ordered were all good, but I wished we tried the other style crust as I think I would've liked it more than tavern style. Wished the ricotta gnocchi, while it had a great texture, had more of a basil flavor. The green river sodas were a fun touch, as I don't see that often in the city!!! Definitely a great spot for a group outing such as a birthday, or a casual dinner. Would love to try lunch here, as well as the cocktail menu. Can't wait to come back!!!

We had a great experience at Zarella's. The decor and ambiance really stood out beautiful…read morewallpaper, light fixtures, and artwork that made the space feel warm and inviting. Our server was extremely nice and added to the overall positive experience. For food we ordered a tavern-style spicy vodka pizza with pepperoni, and it was very good. The thin, cracker crust had great texture and the flavors were spot on. Overall a really enjoyable visit and a place we'd definitely come back to.

Food was good. Nice employees. Fun vibes. Would recommend the couscous and the chicken soup.read more

Love the not so fried chicken sandwich . We ordered ahead of time .it was still a few minutes so…read morethey brought it too our table! Well lit cute farm booths. Nice weather permitting outdoor tables . I wish there were more locations , I found it first in CA. I want to try the Salad some day! I love the bread . Potato salad was good. Open one I Pleasant Prairie WI lol . I love driving a distance to partake in this fave of ours !

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

Came here at noon on a Monday and I was pleasantly surprised to find a table in this large place…read more They are well set up to handle large numbers of people. Chicago dog: 4/5. Solid dog and I really enjoyed the poppy bun. Cake shake: 4.5/5. Tastes just like you would expect if you blended a slice of chocolate cake into a shake. But don't bother with a straw, cuz this sucker is thick. Well done.

This Portillos was huge it had two levels. It was easy to order by using one of the kiosks or the…read moreapp from your phone. My friend and I were waiting for them to call our order number but it was taking a while so I went to the counter and the order had been ready sitting there they just weren't calling out the orders. I'm glad I went up otherwise my food would have gotten cold! I'm not sure if their sound systems were down to call out the order numbers for pick up or if they just don't do that. I came here with my friend as I had never tried the beef sandwich and she highly recommended the cheese fries. I also heard great things about the chocolate cake slice. I added peppers to the beef sandwich to give it some spice but besides that it was bland! I was disappointed but I thought the Chicago dog would make up for it but the bun was soggy. The best part of my order were the cheese fries and I got a free slice of chocolate cake since it was my birthday month! The chocolate cake was the best chocolate cake I've ever had that wasn't homemade. Very moist and lots of frosting! I would come back for the fries and the cake, but I wouldn't order the beef sandwich or Chicago dog again.

We stopped in and a coffee and quick bite for breakfast. The staff was nice and it was super cute…read moreinside! I ordered a hot tahini caramel latte with oatmilk and really really enjoyed it. I ordered the breakfast bowl and didn't really care for it. It was very very spicy (i figured it would be a little spicy but nothing like this) and the flavors didn't mix well in my opinion. It looked good, but I really wish I would've ordered something else.

Finally stopped into Fairgrounds Coffee after walking by it a hundred times. Grabbed a cold brew…read moreand a tuna avocado melt to go. The cold brew was awesome, they have several roasts on tap and even ask what kind of roast you want, which was a cool touch. Waited about 15 minutes for my sandwich, which was totally fine considering how busy it was. There's tons of seating inside, so it'd be a great spot to post up with a laptop or just relax. Tried the tuna avocado melt when I got home and it was perfect fresh, flavorful, and came with some crispy tots on the side. Solid portion and not too pricey. Definitely above-average food for a coffee shop. I'll for sure be back soon.

ALERT NEW MENU ITEMS!!!!! Gold Coast Cafe is doing a…read morecomplete revamp of their menu items and here are just a few to begin with: *Herby Flatbreads *Meat Pie Flatbread *Spicy Spinach Pita *Pistachio Rose & Lotus Biscoff Cakes *Baklava Matcha & Banana Matcha *Mango & Cantaloupe Smoothie *Avocado and pistachio smoothie ANDDDD... fresh Kanfeh every single weekend for the rest of summer!! Definitely go check them out this weekend! Check out my reel if you want to see how street Kanfeh is made!

Sandwich from here was pretty drab. Not very filling, didn't taste fresh. Plenty of other deli…read morespots to try! Service was fine.

Great lunch/breakfast spot with fast service and simple/fresh sandwiches…read more The oven roasted turkey sandwich was great, tasted like something my grandma would make me (in a good way). Will be back.

Was super excited to try this place, and finally came to pick up some bagels. The inside is very…read morecute, old-school vibes, with a few small tables inside. It's located in a busy part of River North with minimal parking options but I do believe they have 1 or 2 parking spots in the parking lot they share with the motel. It gets pretty busy on the weekend so I'd recommend going early or be prepared for a line. Ordered online the night before to take to a friend's for brunch. When I arrived to pick up my order, disappointingly, I was told that part of my order wasn't available because they hadn't been set aside in the morning. They offered to replace it with a different flavor and add a free schmear, but I'll admit I was super annoyed. I ended up getting some everything bagels to make some lox sandwiches with. Unfortunately the bagels were very mediocre (a step or 2 above a store bought bagel). I like my bagels chewy and moist, but these were dry and too fluffy for my taste. And weirdly enough, they were salty yet didn't have a very strong everything bagel flavor. To be fair, Chicago is severely lacking in good bagels, so not sure if I should fault Schneider's for that, or wherever they source their bagels from. Either way, I hope they get their online ordering system straightened out.