says... > My daughter is insistent on eating her way through Chicago while there for > a campus visit and absolutely insists on eating cheesecake), Japanese, > Middle Eastern and Korean foods. We will be staying first downtown and > then somewhere near Northwestern. > It sounds like your daughter has quite the list ;) of things to do (eat?) If you are visiting NU - there are two Japanese restaurants within close distance. New Japan is a few blocks south of the NU Evanston campus on Chicago Ave. Akaihana is west on Lake Avenue and is in Wilmette. Both close one day a week and will need to be called beforehand. Korean restaurants are not really close to Evanston. Most are clustered in Korea town - on Lawrence avenue around the Kimball Ave area. However, if you would like to be in a slightly better area - go up/down to Bando. If you are actually looking for something near the NU downtown campus, Wu Lae Oak is fairly nice. (However, they are stingy on the "banchan" and will rarely give you anything more than a few dishes of pickles.) (For more info - feel free to contact me personally or contact Korea Times in Chicago... who publishes a Korean business directory) Middle Eastern... hmm. This one is tougher... you might want to try searching the restaurant database at http://www.metromix.com .If you're looking for more stuff downtown (in case you meant the NU Medical and Law campuses on Chicago and Michigan aves) - also try starting there.
Chicago, IL
Best places to eat ethnic in Chicago?
The best Japanese food I've ever had in Chicago is at Matsuya on north Clark street. It can be very crowded on the weekends but it's worth the wait; they have the freshest seafood and sushi, and they're terrifically consistent. There are five or six other Japanese restaurants on the same block, and they all sit empty while people flock to Matsuya.
Enjoy! And good luck at Northwestern -
Hanna in Hyde Park
Hanna in Chicago
[email removed]Someone wrote: : For Middle Eastern near NU, try the Olive Mountain, which is a small : restaurant on Church Street (just west of Sherman, turn at the Osco). Lots : of good places on this street, such as a Thai restauraunt (forget name), : Lindo Mexico, Pine Yard Chinese restauraunt, and Dave's Italian Kitchen : (looks like a hole from the outside, but very good - also get the chocolate : mousse for dessert...). Would stay away from Carmen's on that street, the : service is horrible and my wife and I have gotten sick once or twice, with : the last occurance because of raw sausage on the pizza.... The Thai restaurant is Thai Sookdee. It's been a couple years since I've been there, but I liked it back then. Lindo Mexico is actually a couple blocks north of Church on Maple. Las Palmas, another Mexican place, is on Church (just west of the tracks), as is Joy Yee's Noodle Kitchen (good food, but very limited seating). Dave's is *extremely* crowded on weekends. Further east on Church is Roxy's Cafe, which is basically eclectic Italian. On Benson street (runs parallel to the CTA tracks on the east side) there's the Stir Fire Grill, which is similar to the Mongolian BBQ places but (to address a comment in another thread) actually stir-fries the food at full heat (the meats aren't shaved thin). It can be very crowded on weekends. Next door is Merle's, which has excellent ribs, pulled meats and BBQ chicken, and further south is the Blue Sapphire, a Thai place. On Chicago near Davis, there's a tapas place, and the Szechwan Palace which is very good. Another Japanese restaurant in Wilmette is Kama Kura, located on Central Ave. downtown.
Someone wrote: > Tapas Barcelona--not my favorite tapas place but what is good there is > very good--the potato and garlic salad there has tuna and peas in > it--delicious! and they have the best pisto manchego (sp?) I've ever > tasted! The few times I've been to Tapas Barcelona I've had great experiences. The waitstaff is friendly and helpful with questions about menu items, and the food always tastes fresh. I also love the sangria. :) > how can Evanston support two such similar restaurants within two blocks > of each other? Because Evanston has a huge target population (students, etc.), I think that multiple restaurants with similar themes is essential. There are at least 4 chines, 3 italian, 3 breakfast/diners, 2 mexican, 3 thai places...all within a few blocks of one another. I could go on, too. Back to stir fry places - I used to like both places when they opened, but now I think every time I go there I feel ill afterwards. Whether that is due to the food or too much eating on my part I don't know. Another stir fry place is Stir Crazy up at Northbrook Court (and Oakbrook Center, a bit farther away), which I believe is a much finer establishment for this type of food. Instead of having the meat and sauces sitting out in the buffet, they actually add it in for you. A disadvantage is that you don't get to taste the sauces beforehand, but I'm sure if you bug them enough they will. I just don't like the idea of meat sitting out in the open for long periods of time. Didn't someone get food poisoning at one of the restaurants in Evanston? Anyway, I highly recommend Stir Crazy, because they have a larger variety of dishes, and their desserts are very unique (try the banana wontons!) - M