Seasoning & the West Suburbs

[Chicago girl]

When we go to Oak Park, we like Aripo's.
Try the La Nuestra arepa, and also a beef
Empanada. Delicious!

[ChicagoMeO]

Arent there any good restaurants next door to you in Forest Park? west of Harlem and on Madison Street? There has to be something good there.

[sfcambridge]

Originally Posted by ChicagoMeO

Arent there any good restaurants next door to you in Forest Park? west of Harlem and on Madison Street? There has to be something good there.

Not really what OP is looking for - "Fresh flavorful food". There are a ton of great neighborhood pubs/bars, but still lacking in good food that is not kind of "heavy", if you know what I mean (!).

I like Skrine chops in Forest Park. To try to make it better for you, stay away from the smashed potatos side and get the chopped salad instead with your huge slab of meat/barbecued chicken etc.... But the salads are an afterthought, and it's not like it's a healthy meal!

Let's just say this.... my brother who also moved from Brooklyn and lives in Chicago is also at a loss in Oak Park. So he alternates between Native Foods Cafe with something not so good for him. And my older brother and his family from California (Silicon Valley) - they've just given up and eat pizza and alternate with Whole Foods prepared food. They have a good soup and salad bar and a selection of prepared stuff.

An easy meal is just grabbing a rotisserie chicken (warm and ready to eat) from any of the supermarkets. It is a bargain too. You make the healthy vegetable sides.

I long terribly for better ethnic food for a quick take out. It has improved since I grew up here --- that's for sure -- but it has still got a long way to go.

One of my male friends moved to a food desert and bought a cookbook that we recommended, and started learning how to cook by going through one recipe a night. He is now an incredible cook, and the women flocked to him....

[ToriaT]

Don't go to Portillos for beef go to Johnnies in Elmwood Park. I think what has been posted here is a weath of information from healthy to ethnic to greasy but delicious stuff. Also there are a few Czech restaurants left that are not too far from Oak Park that might be worth czeching out.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by sfcambridge

Let's just say this.... my brother who also moved from Brooklyn and lives in Chicago is also at a loss in Oak Park. So he alternates between Native Foods Cafe with something not so good for him. And my older brother and his family from California (Silicon Valley) - they've just given up and eat pizza and alternate with Whole Foods prepared food. They have a good soup and salad bar and a selection of prepared stuff.

Yeah, in the Chicago area - I'm guessing Oak Park is not the greatest part for that. SF/Bay Area is really good about the healthy and good food like that. Chicago is getting more and more there but definitely far behind that area. Since I've moved here though I've seen a lot more healthy food places open in a handful of areas though which is great.

[Lookout Kid]

You can get great Italian food and groceries very close to Oak Park in places like Cicero and Elmwood Park. And there is Mexican food everywhere, and great soul food on Roosevelt Road in Hillside at Priscilla's Ultimate Soul Food.

I find the inner western suburbs lacking in many types of Asian food (most Asian immigrants went further west), and there are basically no good bagel shops or delis to be found until you get to Aurora, which has exactly one.

We have a few decent places for Pho out in Glendale Heights and Naperville, and of course Katy's Dumplings is legendary. Indian food is sporadic but "ok". We have a couple of Chinatown expansion projects way out here too... Thai food is very boring out here for the most part. And forget about finding a good Banh Mi sandwich like I was used to getting in Uptown.