626084 Mon Jun 08 09:35:50 -0700 2009 8 7 Chicago Area 0 4752930 Hello Chicago Hounds! Will be visiting your fair city at the end of the month for 4 days. While many of the restaurants I'm reading about on this board sound wonderful, I am looking more for places that are off the tourist track. We will have a car, enjoy ethnic foods of all types and, like most, enjoy value. More than anything, we'd appreciate experiencing things that we may not find in the NYC area. Thanks! Mon Jun 08 09:35:50 -0700 2009 69793 grubberoo 1 4754786 Chicago has more Polish people than any city but Warsaw, so why not try a Polish smorgasbord? Since you're driving, go to The Red Apple at 3121 N Milwaukee, about a block south of Belmont. It has a free parking lot in the rear. The brochure I have lists lunch at $9.49, dinner at $9.99, and weekends at $10.95. The buffet is huge---I would estimate about fifty selections, all hearty home-cooked Polish food brought out hot and fresh constantly by nice Polish kitchen ladies. Naturally this is all-you-can-eat: at least a dozen meats, pierogies (filled dumplings), potato pancakes, many kinds of potatoes, many kinds of gravy, a few token vegetables, stews, pastas, salads, desserts; soup and ice cream included, drinks extra. Sun-Thurs 11 AM-9 PM, Fri-Sat 11 AM-9:30. They have a website with more detail. This food is pure Chicago. Afterwards (if you can still walk) you can browse the neighborhood for Polish bakeries, delis, and the Avondale Liquor Store for Polish Cherry, a liqueur. Mon Jun 08 18:32:18 -0700 2009 4752930 15521 Querencia 1 4754813 Chicago's Indian-Pakistani neighborhood is along Devon Avenue at 6400 North, running west from Western Avenue. There are dozens of restaurants offering an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet of many Indian foods for less than $10 (personally I'm fond of Viceroy of India). Other stores offer Indian groceries, sweets, jewelry, saris, fabrics, home decoration items, wedding shoes with turned-up toes, religious items, videos and CDs, everything. It's like going abroad without a passport. Park on residential side streets. If you keep walking west on Devon past the bank that takes up a whole block, the neighborhood changes from Indian/Pakistani to Russian then to Orthodox Jewish with still more opportunites to eat, browse, and shop. Mon Jun 08 18:39:17 -0700 2009 4752930 15521 Querencia 2 4755646 An extremely enthusiastic +1 for Devon avenue. Especially if you have a car. Park the car, and walk. Give yourself a few hours at LEAST if you enjoy all things Indian. Tue Jun 09 05:35:43 -0700 2009 4754813 111530 gordeaux 1 4754818 For New Yorkers, I always recommend Chicago's Thai and Mexican restaurants . . . two areas in terms of food where I believe Chicago surpasses NY. For Thai, I would suggest Spoon Thai and TAC Quick. Spoon Thai is my favorite. There are other very good Thai spots, but those are my two favorite. Make sure to request the translated Thai language menus to really experience these restaurants at their finest. As for as Mexican goes, it all depends upon what you'd like to eat. Some of my favorites: Sol de Mexico (great moles), Mixteco Grill, Salpicon and La Casa de Samuel, Fonda del Mar and Frontera/Topolobampo. And Sunday at the Maxwell St. market is another great place to enjoy very good Mexican street food. Of course, there's also the Chicago hot dog. Hot Doug's is excellent and also serves high end specialty sausages. Weiner's Circle is bare bones and good for char dogs, burgers and fries. And of course, Chicago deep dish pizza. Off the beaten path and eclectic and excellent: Burt's. Pizano's and Malnati's are two of my other favorites. If there's any other type of food you specifically seek, let us know. Mon Jun 08 18:40:16 -0700 2009 4752930 12590 BRB 1 4755745 The other unique ethnic choice is the Vietnamese neighborhood at Argyle at Clark, easily accessible by El. Many choices for Pho or Banh Mi. My personal favorite is Tank on the corner, but others here like Pho 666 or Pho 777 on Argyle. Mmmm. I have a taste for it now. Tue Jun 09 06:25:09 -0700 2009 4752930 24468 chicgail 2 4755972 Agreed, especially w/ respect to Tank . . . but you mean Argyle at Broadway for Tank and the rest of the Vietnamese (and a few Chinese) restaurants. Tue Jun 09 07:26:39 -0700 2009 4755745 12590 BRB 3 4758266 Yes, Broadway. So sorry. The important thing is that you get there and enjoy it. Tue Jun 09 18:33:16 -0700 2009 4755972 24468 chicgail 1 4758570 here are some suggestions based on what i imagine might be harder to find in ny: 1. i enjoy parthenon in greek town 2. someone mentioned "red apple." i second that. i went there twice, both times i had buffet. very solid polish food! 3. noon-o-kabab serves good persian food. very friendly and helpful to first-timers 4. there are several ethiopian restaurants on the northside (near edgewater). i've only been to ethiopian diamond, which is quite good. maybe someone else will have another recommendation. 5. lou malnati's pizzeria if you want to try chicago-style deep-dish pizza 6. the silver palm is a restaurant set in a train car. although it's your everyday american diner type menu, they have a sandwich (can't remember the exact name) that contains pork prepared in three different ways (bacon, breaded pork chop, and i forgot the third one) with a fried egg on top - sounds simple (maybe even gross) but it's the best gd sandwich i've ever had. genius! Tue Jun 09 20:10:00 -0700 2009 4752930 1081890 mountsac