First time in Chicago and have been wanting to try an Italian dipped beef sandwich. To my surprise,…read moreI consider this one of the best meals I've had thus far on my trip. Went on a rainy Saturday afternoon with the queue out the door but was moving at a good pace. Staff was friendly and food came out very quickly, a key trait of a well ran establishment. I got the regular beef sandwich with sweet and spicy peppers, and a side of fries. I love that the sandwich was soggy but held itself together, and the flavor was amazing in itself as well. Definitely coming back here when I find myself back in Chicago!

Came to Al's because it's Chicago and I've never tried a beef steak. I the restaurant has counter…read moreservice and you get your food quickly. The cashier was friendly and helpful. Here's what I had: got it traditional beef steak, wet with peppers and onions with no cheese. Overall it was good, kind of like a French dip sandwich, but with no Ajou sauce only dipped and given to you so it's wet. It was kind of messy and a cool experience.

Lizzano is a true neighborhood staple--we've ordered from here and stopped in at least 10-15 times…read moresince they opened, and it never misses. The bread is always fresh, the ingredients taste high-quality, and everything just hits. Our go-tos are the Il Carnivoro, Sicilla, Piccante, and the Italino... but honestly, I'd trust anything on the menu at this point. Also, their happy hour is such an underrated gem--Wednesday through Sunday from 5-7pm. They do 50% off Italian boards (perfect for a girls' night) and $9 spritzes. We're heading there this week and already looking forward to it.

The only reason I'm giving it a 4/5 is because for $19 I wish the sandwhich was bigger (or the…read moreprice was lower...). I'm not going to lie... I can't stop thinking about the sandwich I ate here. They have two vegetarian options on their menu and I went with the Modena sandwich. It was perfectly sweet, a little salty and had the most delicious pistachio cream. The focaccia bread it was made on was perfectly chewy as well. I wish they had more sides on their menu so I could try!

Kari's Rating 9.25/10…read more TLDR: -2 types of pizza, tavern = thin, Artisan = doughy -Opens at 4pm-Can have a line when opening! -One of my personal favorites for pizza in River North! Came with a friend for dinner around 4 PM and man was it crowded as soon as those doors opened. It had been my first time there and I'm more of a lover of pizza that has a little bit of dough, so we started off with the crispy calamari appetizer, and then went straight in with the artisan style vodka, pizza while adding Italian sausage. Calamari was pretty good, it was lately battered, and not very oily which I appreciated. It came with a lemon as well as some kind of mayo, dipping sauce. It was very delicious and light and came out relatively quickly after ordering. I was trying to see room as the pizza was the absolute star of the show-The cheese came almost the ends of the perfect puffy and doughy crust. Although, the middle of the pizza was thinner than the artesian, puffy crust, yet you could taste everything when you took a first bite. The combination of cheese, sauce, banana peppers, and the Italian sausage was incredible. Now, normally I would think vodka anything would be a little heavier, but it actually was a perfect light bite pizza. We seated in the secondary dining room and it had a very interesting layout, but it was very trendy and modernly decorated. I can't believe how packed it got considering we went in on a Monday. We left around 6:30 and the place was almost fully packed, including their first entrance seating. I fake to the bathroom as I was paying the check, and it was interesting considering the bathrooms were only one stall per gender, which is very unlike River North considering the bathrooms, usually take up a significant portion of the restaurant layout-but who knows, maybe they didn't have the space? We finished off our early lunch with a tiramisu and it didn't come out traditionally looking like a tiramisu, considering it came in a bowl almost as a pudding. It was coated in a dusting of cocoa and chocolate crispy rice balls, but was surprisingly not very coffee flavored. I don't personally like the strong coffee taste into tiramisu-and I found it absolutely delightful, although I would consider it more of a vanilla tiramisu than a traditional. Overall, a very positive experience, the servers were relatively attentive, the prices were moderate for pizza in River North, appetizers and dessert was relatively good as far as pizza goes in Chicago and I look forward to returning sooner than later!!

Zarella Pizzeria & Tavern is one of the harder reservations to grab in our fair city…read more I've waited several months to snag a coveted table in their downstairs cavern, much like a restaurant in Rome of Florence. This small room was just my fit for a cozy Italian dinner! Zarella is famous for their pizza; and the two pizzas us four had lived up to its reputation. Our Kale Caesar was spot on also. Our pasta had this spicy vodka sauce, pickled peppers, mozzarella, mushrooms and truffle. I enjoyed everything put in front of me. The service was stellar and I mentioned the ambiance above. I would come back here in a Roman flash.

food: good chicken sandwich for the price. would get charged 20+ at other restaurants…read more service: nice staff ambiance: nice outdoor area too

pros: -amazing service!! super friendly staff…read more-clean tables and bathrooms -i ordered the avocado and quinoa superfood ensalada with air fried chicken and it was cooked to perfection -great location! cons: -none

We were seated in the back on the restaurant which was nice since we were away from some of the…read morelouder tables. Our waitress was very nice and prompt. The tater tots were very crispy and tasty. My only complaint is that the Caesar wrap lettuce wasn't crispy since it was served warm and I just assumed it was going to be served cold and crunchy. It was still good but when I ate it the next day after it was in the fridge it was definitely better. I would definitely go back since it was seasoned well and had a good ratio of lettuce, chicken, and Parmesan.

It was a nice bar for drinks and late night food option. The drinks were phenomenal, the burger was…read morea little bit burnt but overall okay. I really like the staff, they are friendly and fast.

Great place. Good prices and friendly people. If they don't have what you want, talk to them they…read morewill stock it in the future.

Delicious sandwiches ! Did carry -out x 2 while visiting Chicago ; but very nice , casual area to…read moreeat in

I've been hearing so much about Chicago hot dogs and decided since I was in town why not try one so…read moreI checked out Portilo's & Barnelli's Chicago that so many people told me to try. It is a pretty neat place when went in I saw that they have a lot of memorabilia all around the place. Also famous people have also been there with their autographs on their pictures. This place was quite busy which tells me that it must be good. It was very organized you can order your meal on a kiosk or at the counter. We decided to order it at the counter I ordered a famous Chicago hot dog which is an all beef hot dog on a poppy seed bun topped with chop onions, sweet pickle relish, tomato slices, dill pickle and a small spicy pepper with no ketchup but does have yellow mustard the price you could not bet it was very reasonable my guest ordered an Italian sandwich. After ordering the cashier gives you a receipt with your number on it and you step to the side. Then you wait until your number is called and that's how you get your order. Yes it was crowded but we waited for our two items for at least a half an hour which to me was unacceptable but besides that the place is really neat to try and the hot dog as well as the Italian sandwich was delicious definitely will be back again fingers crossed that we don't have to wait so long but the wait was worth it. They also have lots of seating around the restaurant. There is a second story as well you could sit up there.

i tried the italian beef sandwich with extra gravy and spicy peppers. there was generous portions…read moreof beef and the peppers were actually hot! the bun does get quite soggy if you order extra gravy but think of it as a french dip sandwich. i came here on a saturday and the wait was about 30 minutes to get our food. the staff are very organized and have a good system down to handle the big crowds. the ambiance of the restaurant is pure chicago with the sports banners and decor.

Note to Fairground....The new flavors are trash or the batista has no idea what she is doing…read more.. I'm going with the flavor profiles are garbage...Watermelon Matcha taste like soda mixed with burnt ash...How is this considered watermelon or matcha....cant taste either. And the peach cobbler latte contains zero flavor of peach or a cobbler...Come to find out the peach flavor is supposed to come from the foam...Nope even the foam was flavorless...lol How is Dunking Donuts coffee better than this expensive vomit tasting coffee... You can do better than this Fairgrounds but I will never know because I will never be back...Chicago has an awesome coffee shop every 2 blocks.

We stopped in and a coffee and quick bite for breakfast. The staff was nice and it was super cute…read moreinside! I ordered a hot tahini caramel latte with oatmilk and really really enjoyed it. I ordered the breakfast bowl and didn't really care for it. It was very very spicy (i figured it would be a little spicy but nothing like this) and the flavors didn't mix well in my opinion. It looked good, but I really wish I would've ordered something else.

Good service. Welcoming staff. Good food. A fave of my friends and family. Really enjoy the…read moreatmosphere.

I have been here before and will definitely keep coming back here for the sweet treat and the…read moredessert. It's always so good and they have a lot of seating late night to sit and yap with friends.

I was pleasantly surprised how quick I got my food. The spicy reuben was extremely good! Super…read moreclean. Definitely recommend for a quality sandwich in a cool location!

I had to get food, (particularly chicken soup) for a sick friend of mine who was stuck in a hotel…read morein Chicago and it was very hard to find a place that had chicken soup who would deliver it to the hotel. (I am in Las Vegas ) Unfortunately the delivery service the Deli usually uses quits before 2:30 and so I couldn't get it delivered. I called the Deli to ask if they had a different service and the owner said, he would take it there himself to my sick friend THAT KIND OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT IS WHAT WE NEED MORE OF! Small businesses give a damn and I love that this owner was kind enough to go all the way over to the Warwick Allerton to personally deliver her chicken soup and tuna, which by the way she said was absolutely fabulous!! When given an option I will pick a small business over corporate America any day... And this owner just gave me another good reason why. Kudos to a business owner with pride and concern.