Post Punk Kitchen Forum

http://www.chicagoveganweek.com/

4 (so far) participating restaurants on the north side!

so cool! I love the idea. I've never been to any of these places, but I will be sure to support them that week. Even though nothing really strikes me as very healthy...

Vegan Ian's by the slice? Oh, yes! *drooooooooool* I may have to take a trip up to Wrigleyville (against my better judgement).

I've been meaning to check out Drew's Eatery. I guess next week is the time to do it!

Has anybody been there?

I actually just went there a couple weeks ago! They had quite a few vegan choices, I just went with a chili dog. It was pretty good (the "dog" itself was lukewarm at best though...that's my only complaint), I liked the atmosphere and the owner was very nice. They also had vegan brownies and vegan ice cream. I'd definitely recommend a trip up there to check it out!

I've been to Drew's. I had an ice cream cone. It was awesome because I had really wanted one, and then I walked by that place on my way home. It was like magic!

I'll try and make a point to check out all these places that week. If I have any money. Which I don't right now. So we'll see.

Maybe we can try a mini meet up?

This is so cool, thanks for posting this. I'll be downtown that day at the Art Institute (viewing the Chagall windows, they're coming back!) I wonder what kind of a pain it would be taking the el up to Drew's. If the whole place is going to be vegan that day, how can that be missed? They must be supported!

We should! But OF COURSE I'm gonna be out of town from Tuesday to Friday (annual banquet thingy for my husband's work...up in Wisconsin...). Figures.
Are you planning on hitting up Drew's on that Saturday? If so, let me know and I'll try to meet ya there! I don't think Concrete Cowgirl re-registered yet, but I'll text/call her and let her know too!

It's not bad! Catch the Brown Line from the Loop and take it up to the Montrose stop. Then just head west about 7-8 blocks.

I would participate in a mini-meetup if it happened. I have not, as of yet, met anyone from here. I am for sure getting a hot dog from clark street dog at least once next week.

I would like to meet up.

I miss all the good stuff when I'm away for school. Bummer! I'll just pretend that I'm there in spirit.

Hey so I went to the "New York Deli" tonight (turns out it was only like 3/4 mile from my apartment, I'd never even heard of the place before so I had no idea!), and tried their Chicago Vegan Week offering, a Chik'n Parmesan Sandwich and it was really good! If you get a chance, stop in there and grab one! I posted a "review" and a pic on my blog if you're interested.
The guy working there said that they're considering keeping the sandwich on their menu permanently, but it's not for sure yet.

Whoa! I just remembered that my BF delivered for New York Deli about a year and a half ago. I'm glad they're thinking about keeping the sammich and that it was delicious. Yay for awesome vegan options!

Other than happy cow can anyone recommend a good listing of Chicago restaurants that are a must-visit.

The Musts:
-Chicago Diner-Total classic. I'm sure you've heard all about it already.
-Pick-Me-Up-Only a few blocks from The Diner. They're open late (24 hours on the weekends). Their milkshakes are the shiitake.
-Sultan's Market-2 locations, one in Lincoln Park, the other is in Wicker Park. I kind of like the Wicker Park one better. It's definitely bigger.
-Handlebar-So forking awesome. It's quite possibly my favorite restaurant. Plus, they have tasty beer specials every night. The Black Beans Maduro is mildly life changing.
-Karyn's-I've only been to Karyn's Cooked, but they also have a Raw restaurant. I'm pretty sure this is the place that turned me into a mushroom eater (they were on a pizza and I was trying to impress this vegan boy on the first date, so I didn't pick them off).
-Ras Dashen-Amaaaaaaazing Ethiopian food. I took my BF and his mom there the first time she came to visit. They both freaked out. It's so good!
-Earwax-I have dreams of their vegan Benedict. The buffalo seitan kicks some major asparagus too.
-Bleeding Heart Bakery-All organic bakery with a lot of vegan stuff. It's a little more expensive than most bakeries, but it is certified organic.
-Sweet Cakes Bakery-I have a soft spot for this place since it's super close. A lot of their pastries are vegan, but nothing is marked, so you have to ask. All of their mini cupcakes are vegan.
-Letizia's-Has quite a few vegan pastries. I haven't been there in a while though.
-Dharma Garden-Funny little Thai place. They have a ton of mock meats. It's been a while.

Places I haven't been but have heard awesome things about:
-Green Zebra-I hear the food is amazing, but the portions are supposedly small.
-Amitabul-All Korean vegan food. I've never really had Korean anything, so it's on my list. It's way far out in the 'burbs, though. :\
-Soul Vegetarian-Most of the Whole Foods around here carry some of their stuff, so I've had all that stuff. It's awesome. But the restaurant is pretty far south, so I've never been. If you can't make it down there, stop by a Whole Foods and grab the mac & cheese meal with greens and BBQ tofu. I eat this for lunch a lot. Those greens are so good!
-Mana Food Bar-Supposedly pretty good. It's really close to my house. I should make Fred take me soon.

I'm sure there are a ton of places I've missed. This is off the top of my head. Have you tried Yelp yet? I did a little Yelp search for you. Also, check out some of the vegan lists people have made.

Good luck. Have fun. The city is pretty awesome!

Green zebra is expensive and portions are small, but its phenomenal. Great place if its time to treat yourself. And yes, you should go to Mana, its fantastic.

I'm vegan and my husband is omni, so I'm always on the search for new places that we can both enjoy. Although he can get down with the Diner (for dessert, order a Snickerdoodle warmed up with with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top! So freaking good, husband still talks about it!), I like finding places where neither of us has to "settle" (ex. him with seitan, me with a salad).

Dib- in Uptown. Thai/Japanese. They have a vegan "Hawaiian fried rice" and vegan rolls. They are specified "vegan" on the menu...always a plus!

Thai Uptown (in Uptown too, of course). Uptown fried rice without eggs/fish sauce. Also, tofu satay!! Very good.

Loving Hut, well this one's all vegan. But I see it hasn't been mentioned yet so thought I'd throw it in there. I LOVE their veggie burgers! Gimme one of those with a side of sweet potato fries, iced chai tea latte and chocolate cake and I'm good to go!!!!

Cozy Noodles and Rice- in Wrigleyville. Tofu fried rice with no fish sauce. Also, Lard Na with tofu and no fish sauce is great!

Fritz Pastry. Nothing is labeled vegan, so ask! But doughnuts are (almost) always vegan. Sometimes they have specialty flavors like hazelnut that are NOT vegan. :( But their muffins, cupcakes and soups are usually vegan. But still...always ask!

Delicious Cafe!!! Oh man I love this place. I love their vegan breakfast muffin. They make their own cheeze there (cashew based, I believe) and I like the atmosphere. This one is all vegan as well, but I'm typing as I think (that doesn't really make sense).

I know I'll think of more.....
I'm trying to eventually turn my blog into a Chicago vegan and vegan-friendly restaurant guide. But I just got it started so there's not much to it yet. But check back in a few months and there should be a lot of restaurant listings! I recently discovered a menu for a place called "Diva Sushi" (I think that's the name), that has a small vegan section on their menu! Sweet Potato Tempura!! But I can't really recommend this place since I haven't been yet. But I will go soon, oh yes, I will!

Oh one more! Yummy Yummy...yeah that's the name of the place. In Lakeview. It's Chinese food and smoothies. Vegan-friendly place. I LOVE their Mongolian Seitan!! Oh man. The reviews on Yelp are very inconsistent, you'll see a 5 star review then a 1 star then a 4 star then a 2 star. But I'm down for the Yummy Yummy.

EDIT: Thought of two more!

Veggie Bite, on Milwaukee. Vegan fast food/junk food all the way. I like how they claim their deep-fried food to be "healthy" since it's vegan. Uh-huh. But it's still good!

Irazu, also on Milwaukee. Cowgirl (AKA Concrete Cowgirl) told me about this place. They have a delicious vegan burrito, but my fave is the potato tacos!! Vegan-friendly.

I like RAW. in the train station/French Market. It was a godsend to have such a convenient place available when I was taking the Metra down to school twice a week.
Also, another cool raw restaurant in the 'burbs is called Borrowed Earth Cafe.

Both vegan and raw. You know, if you want to switch it up a bit. But impressive lists have been made and I clearly need to get downtown more often!


That will be so fantastic!

Awesome, thanks for all the recommendations and suggestions of what to eat, it'll be hard to narrow down my choices with only 2 nights in Chicago.

two nights? i vote for chicago diner and handlebar!! and maybe one of karyn's restaurants if you want something fancier? sultan's and/or irazu for a cheaper, quicker meal.

thursday and saturday nights, go to dragonlady lounge for an all-you-can-eat vegan korean buffet!

i need to get my asparagus to ian's.

I still haven't been to dragonlady! Aaaarghh! I second the votes for Handlebar and the diner. Handlebar is a fantastic brunch option also, especially the vegan diablos and the biscuits and gravy.

I went to Clark Street dog after work last night to try the vegan dog, but the were all out! I was sad, but I guess thats a good sign. I'm not sure if I'l have time to make it to any other places, maybe lunch on Saturday, if I can get my shiitake together. So it seems like a meetup isn't happening, right?

Maybe not this weekend it looks like. I just got back into town, we were gone since Tuesday. Now I'm tired and broke...what a sad combination. Maybe we can organize something for another time? I'd love to meet some more Chicago PPKers.

Good news though: my husband picked me up a slice of Ian's vegan pizza after we got home. It was awesome except...it was too spicy for me! I'm such a wimp!! If you guys like spice though, then by all means get this pizza!!

Oh, and my husband said that Ian's was packed and everyone was getting the vegan pizza! I hope they'll start offering vegan pizza by the slice instead of making you order a whole pizza.

Hey everybody, just want to let you know that there is a vegan food truck roaming the city! Check out http://stemartaen.com/ to learn more about these folks, and make sure to follow them on twitter @stemartaen for constant location updates!
Recently they've been targeting university campuses and downtown, but they've been branching out to Wicker Park, Boystown, and (hopefully tonight!!!) Wrigleyville.
They've got their own food offerings, but they've also teamed up with SoulVeg and now have even MORE stuff.

We should try to patronize these guys and help keep 'em going!

Anywhere to get softserve in Chicago? Chicago SoyDairy doesn't list any places in your state with softserve.