Soul Vegetarian

Picture from www.pjchmiel.com/vegan/soul_vegetarian.html

Jesse and I recently celebrated our first wedding anniversary. Jesse surprised me with a visit to Soul Vegetarian East. I've been wanting to check this place out for a while. I have been hearing about how great this place is for years. I love soul food. In fact, growing up every Sunday my family got together for some of my grandmother's famous southern cooking. We went on a Sunday and got the Sunday special, because that is the only thing they serve on Sundays. It was collard greens, vegan macaroni and cheese, green beans, and a choice of bbq' tofu or seitan roast. The dinner was followed by an stewed apple desert. I got the tofu and Jesse got the roast. Don't get me wrong, the food was good. In fact, I would like to go back, but I expected more based on all I had heard about the place and was mildly disappointed. I guess folks made the food seem almost magical. Although, it was the best vegan Macaroni and cheese I've ever had. Very creamy, I wonder if they use silken tofu to get that consistency. The service wasn't the best, but we enjoyed ourselves. I would give this place a 12. It's vegan, good, comfort food, and healthy. The prices aren't that bad, 10-15$. Just be prepared to wait, they are quite busy.

205 E 75th St
Chicago, IL 60619-2215
Phone: (773) 224-0104

Thai anyone?

So, last weekend my mother in-law was here visiting and the three of us decided to go out to lunch with Jesse's sister in Skokie. In order to please everyone, we chose a Thai place, Tub Tim Thai (http://www.tubtimthai.com/). It was good and cheap. I was nervous because I'm picky about my Thai food, well hell I'm picky about all my food, and the place offered some very non-traditional Thai dishes. Jesse and his mom ordered the lunch specials, Pad Thai and Fried Rice. The lunch special is seven dollars and comes with an appetizer (egg roll) and salad. The dishes were a little on the small side, but it was enough for lunch. Jesse's sister ordered Tom Yum. It was fairly large and according to her, flavorful. I can't speak about the fried rice or Tom Yum, but the Pad Thai was good, not great, but good.

I ordered Meang Kum as an appetizer. I love this dish. They served it in the traditional leaves with roasted coconut, sun dried shrimp, ginger, shallots, lime and peanuts on top and a dipping sauce on the side. I think most people are familiar with Thai lettuce wraps, well this is the real thing and it's a must. I ordered the Tofu Basil dish, also known as drunken noodles or spicy basil leaves. Overall, the food was good, not spectacular, and I give the place a 12. There was no wait, service was fast, and our waitress was very personable. I would definitely return if I'm ever in the neighborhood.

Bongo Room

If your looking for a great place for breakfast, check out the Bongo Room in south loop. My husband and I have passed by this restaurant many times and have always wanted to check it out. Everyone inside always looks like they are enjoying their food and now I know why. Jesse, our friend Angelo, and I decided to check it out Saturday morning. The wait was a little long, 30 minutes, but it was worth it. The staff was great and so was the atmosphere. We ordered Lemon Raspberry Hotcakes, Black Bean Chorizo Burrito, and a choose your own Omelet.

The presentation of the hotcakes was beautiful, less so for the other dishes. The Lemon Raspberry Hotcakes melted in my mouth. They are very rich, so if you plan on ordering these make sure to order a short stack. They are lemon flavored hotcakes (almost like a lemon cake ) covered in a lemon creme and raspberry puree and topped with fresh raspberries. It was a party in my mouth. In fact, looking around I saw all of the pancakes appeared to be things you only dream of.

They have a variety of options to choose from for the choose your own omelet. We chose smoked Gouda, spinach, and roasted red peppers. The omelet was served with a side of potatoes and sour dough toast. Delicious, the only complaint about the omelet was that it wasn't spicy enough for me. However, the potatoes were great. Good use of rosemary. I think they may have been baked.

I had a bite of my husband's bean burrito. It was good, I didn't realize it had meat in it until afterwards. He loved it and from the looks of the restaurant he wasn't the only one.

Overall, this place gets a 24. It was well worth the wait. I suggest everyone check it out, just don't forget to leave your diet at the door. The cost of each dish was between 10-15 dollars. A little steep, but you won't regret spending the cash. This is one of the best places that I have eaten at in Chicago.