Pls help out of towner w/ veg take out in downtown Evanston

[APBAPB]

Hi locals!

Will be in town with my siblings at mom's place. We need some delicious non-meat take out, other than Mexican, for a party evening. Budget no big deal, some of the group have pretty well educated palates so I would like to source some high quality, well executed food. Can you help a visitor, please? TIA

[nsxtasy]

There are quite a few strictly kosher restaurants and food stores in Skokie and in Rogers Park (neighborhood on the far north side of Chicago), both of which are next to Evanston. There's a comprehensive list at www.jewishchicago.com/directories/kosher.html

Mount Everest is not strictly vegetarian. If you'd prefer a strictly vegetarian Indian restaurant, you might consider Mysore Woodlands in West Rogers Park. www.mysorewoodlands.info

[ferret]

Unfortunately, there aren't really any strictly Kosher places that satisfy the "high quality/well executed" part of his requirements. Manghal is (in my opinion) on top of the heap for nearby Kosher restaurants.

[nsxtasy]

>> Unfortunately, there aren't really any strictly Kosher places that satisfy the "high quality/well executed" part of his requirements.

Oh, I agree! Putting a lot of constraints on the food - such as vegetarian AND strictly Kosher - means limiting yourself to a handful of places to get the food from, and rules out virtually all of the highest-quality, most interesting foods you can get.

If I were getting food for a party evening, and if most of the people will eat anything and it's only a handful who have dietary restrictions, I'd go out and get the very best food I could find, including a few vegetarian dishes for the veggies in the crowd. And I'd make a separate stop at a strictly Kosher place to accommodate those who can only eat food from such places. But that's just me - I'd rather not restrict everyone else's food for the needs of a few.

[APBAPB]

Kosher only in my mother's house....could do meat and veg in that case.

Thanks to all who have replied so far!

[ferret]

Then try Manghal. As I said, it's the best of the nearby Kosher options. In the case of their non-meat dishes, they're best by far. They also do a fantastic chicken shawarma and bake their own laffa - but they'll need advance notice for both.

[weinstein5]

I would put Taboun Grill ahead of Menghal which is good but I find Taboun Grill in Skokie to be much more consistent and better and like Meghal is strictly kosher

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Taboun Grill
8808 Gross Point Rd, Skokie, IL 60077

[nsxtasy]

Does it have to be vegetarian, or can it include seafood?

Blind Faith Cafe is the big all-vegetarian place in Evanston. www.blindfaithcafe.com

Other good places that handle take-out (you'll have to select non-meat dishes) include:

Thai Sookdee* - www.thaisookdee.com
Pine Yard* (Chinese) - www.pineyardrestaurant.com
Lou Malnati's* (deep-dish pizza) - www.loumalnatis.com
Giordano's* (stuffed pizza) - www.giordanos.com
Panino's (Italian) - www.paninospizzeria.com
Cross Rhodes (Greek) - www.crossrhodes.biz
Mount Everest* (Indian) - www.mteverestrestaurant.com
Bat 17* (sort-of-Jewish deli) - www.bat17evanston.com
Al's Deli (sandwiches) - www.alsdeli.net

There are lots more, but these are the best of their type, and good for carry-out.

*All of the above are in Evanston; those noted with an asterisk (*) are in downtown Evanston.

[APBAPB]

Thanks for your post....between those who keep kosher and those who don't like fish I'm afraid seafood is out. Thus, I'm looking for some really yummy veg or other non-meat dishes.

[ferret]

Manghal in Evanston is a Kosher Israeli place with some really excellent sides. I would typically recommend Pita Inn which is nearby in Skokie because they have really excellent hummus, falafel, tabouleh, Jerusalem salad and baba ghannouj, but that's the extent of their veggie offerings. Manghal adds several other sides including matbucha and Moroccan eggplant - both of which are excellent. They will also do hummus with sauteed mushrooms which is great. Pricier than Pita Inn because of the Kosher premium.

http://manghalgrill.com/menu.html

They're about 10-15 minutes South of downtown Evanston, literally on the border with Chicago but they do catering portions of everything.

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Pita Inn
3910 Dempster St, Skokie, IL 60076

[chicgail]

I would second both Mount Everest and Blind Faith to meet your particular needs. For non-meat carryout I really think Mt. Everest is your best bet! You can get some great vegetarian dishes in trays from them.

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Mount Everest
630 Church St, Evanston, IL 60201