Still Life with Winter Vista by Iain Baxter (1996)
Yesterday I saw a picture of this artwork in a magazine advertisement.
My first thought, “that doesn’t seem right.”
My second thought, “it’s no different from eating a banana in Chicago.”
Tag Archives | Chicago
An Oldie But a Goodie:
A New Kid on the Block:
(Local) Food for Thought
Veggie-Friendly Restaurants Everywhere
It’s easy being vegan ’cause there are veggie-friendly restaurants all over the place.
Tips for Locating Veg-Friendly Restaurants
- Give an ethnic restaurant a try. For example, Ethiopian is vegan friendly as is Indian food.
- Use Veg Guide or Happy Cow to find veg-friendly restaurants near you.
Where I’ve been this year:
Blind Faith (Evanston, IL)
Bombay Spice (Chicago. Also in Phoenix.)
Budgies Burritos (Vancouver, BC)
Chicago Diner (Chicago)
Crow’s Nest (Kalamazoo, MI)
Gardening and the City
Urban Gardening
Community gardens enjoy a long history in the U.S. and are popping up all over urban areas. More and more people are growing their own food. Doing so encourages self-sufficiency, saving money and a sense of pride. A community garden also builds a sense of, well, community among neighbors often lost in an urban setting.
For several years, I envied the gardeners involved in the gardens in my area. In 2009 I participated in a “veggie bike and dine” where we toured several community gardens on the North side of Chicago. I was in awe of what these folks were accomplishing and practically in my backyard.
Fast forward to December 2010. My boyfriend joined a group of folks starting a new community garden in our neighborhood. This group started late in the Summer of 2009. It took two years and a lot of hard work to take a small, forgotten city park and turn half of it into an official community garden with beds ready for planting. This city park was so forgotten that neighborhood gossip suggests it was used as a brothel until the sofa hidden behind the trees was removed. Seriously.
Continue Reading →
Something Old, Something New
Amitabul (a-me-TAH-bull)
An Oldie But a Goodie:
Amitabul
While there are a lot of new vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants in Chicago, like Urban Vegan, let’s not forget about an old friend. Amitabul, located on the Northwest side of Chicago, is one of my favorite restaurants for healthy vegan food. It’s a low-key eatery that never disappoints. Meals are fresh, tasty and healthy. The flavorful food excludes oil and salt and you would never know it. If you go, try the healing energy soup at your preferred spice level. It’s delicious and you will feel great. Amitabul serves large portions, so plan on taking some home to enjoy the next day, or better yet, share with a friend. Don’t go for the ambiance because there isn’t any. Go for the food. Check out the menu and go support a long, established and local vegan business.
6207 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60646
773-774-0276
Open Tuesday-Sunday from Noon-9pm.
A New Kid on the Block:
Native Foods
Located on a busy corner in Wicker Park
Earlier this week, I received an invitation to the Native Foods’ pre-opening party at the new Wicker Park location. Native Foods is a vegan restaurant chain out of Southern California. The pre-opening party gave employees, wearing “eat sunshine” t-shirts, a chance to practice on customers. Dinner was generously on the house, but drinks were on us. At only $2 a glass, it was okay that the wine sucked, because the food did not.
Sitting outside with the “L” tracks just behind us, my boyfriend ate the Portobello and Sausage Burger with a side salad and I gobbled up the Chicken Run Ranch Burger with a side of kale salad. Both were delicious. For dessert, we devoured a Boogie Bar and Strawberry Shortcake Parfait. Also yummy.
Unlike most veg restaurants, Native Foods spells chicken like chicken and cheese like cheese. It spells all traditionally non-vegan foods like normal — no “Chiken” in quotes here. The menu states that the restaurant is 100% plant-based. Check out the Chicago menu and take your omnivore friends to Native Foods. It’s as mainstream as it can get and still be vegan.
The Wicker Park location (1484 N Milwaukee Ave.) officially opens its doors August 9. Lakeview (1023 W Belmont Ave.) opens August 29 and the Loop (218 S Clark St.) will follow in September.
P.S. Enter online to win your chance to attend a Chicago opening.
Vegan Happenings Around Town
- Banner spotted in Edgewater
Good news, bad news
Let’s get the bad news out of the way first.
Closing…
Sunday, October 18, Lake Side Cafe will close its doors after a final veg buffet. Ironically, you can celebrate its 4th anniversary on October 17 with a special dinner as well as entertainment. Tickets for both events can be purchased in advance.
Closed…
Alice & Friends Cafe in Edgewater. Darn. I never made it back to order the green curry dish. I tasted a bite of my friends dish the last time I visited the restauant and fell in love with green curry. Bummer.
[Drum roll please.] The good news.
Now open…
In the old Alice & Friends location, Loving Hut opened on Monday. It’s an international vegan chain. Check it out and let me know if it’s good. I’m hoping the food is just as tasty as Alice & Friends, but the TV running the weird religious programming is turned off for good. Loving Hut is located at 5812 N. Broadway.
More good news…
Chicago is known for pizza but certainly not for vegan pizza. I was super excited last year when some Whole Foods locations started serving vegan pizza and now there is a pizza joint joining the fun. I learned through Vegan Chicago that Delisi’s Pizzeria now serves vegan pizzas with Chicago Soy Dairy cheese. Yum. Come try it out at the next Chicago meetup on November 7.
Delisi’s Pizzeria
5806 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
773-784-6320
