From Spanish paella to all-you-can-eat sushi to breakfast in bed, dining on a budget in Chicago doesn’t mean you’ll go hungry or miss out on some great food.
TANGO SUR 3763 N. Southport Ave., 60613, 773-477-5466 Hours: Monday-Thursday 5 pm to 10:30 pm. Fridays and Saturdays 5 pm to 11:30 pm. Sundays noon to 11 pm. With its soft lighting, flickering candles, exposed brick walls and seductive Latin music, Tango Sur qualifies as a romantic restaurant. Unless you’re a vegetarian and then this Argentinean eatery specializing in large portions of meat is probably your idea of hell. Your loss. Start off with crispy empanadas, filled with beef, chicken or spinach and cheese. Skip the wimpy house salad and save more room for the bife vesuvio (grilled steak filled with spinach), lomo (filet mignon) or mixed grill (yes that is blood sausage and yes it’s good). The generous portions means splitting is definitely an option and the BYOB policy means more dinero for you. The estimated cost per diner is $15-$20. BYOB. Reservations accepted for parties of six or more. Closed all major holidays except New Year’s Eve.
QUARTINO 626 N. State St., 60657, 312-698-5000 Hours: Monday-Saturday 11:30 am to 1 am. Sundays 11:30 am to 10 pm. We know what you’re thinking: How could a restaurant owned by the same peeps behind big-bucks Gibsons Steakhouse be a bargain? We thought the same thing too, that is, until we actually ate at Quartino… again and again. This year-old rustic River North restaurant and wine bar serves robust Italian small plates — think house-cured salumi, Prosciutto di Parma, Italian cheeses — Neapolitan brick-oven pizzas, specialty salads — prime Angus beef with field greens anyone? — fresh pastas, risottos, and meat and seafood entrees, all at reasonable prices. Wine comes by the quarter (Quartino, get it?), half and full liters, as well as by the bottle. We always save room for the grilled dessert sandwich with hazelnut chocolate spread and you should too. Small plates range from $4-$9. Pizzas are $10. Entrees are $13. Reservations accepted. Closed all major holidays except New Year’s Eve.
THAI PASTRY 4925 N. Broadway Ave., 60640, 773-784-5399 Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11 am to 10 pm. Fridays and Saturdays 11 am to 11 pm. Although the name of this Uptown restaurant cites pastry, that’s not why we go there. Truth be told, we find the traditional gooey Thai sweets to be an acquired taste. No worries. The extensive menu features almost 100 authentic Thai dishes for us to choose from, from the conventional — pad Thai, fried rice, hot and sour soup — to the more unusual — roast duck salad, catfish in coconut milk curry, eel in garlic sauce. The papaya salad with shrimp and tomato is flavorful and tangy, while the red curry with chicken and baby eggplant turns up the heat. We cool down with an icy cold beer from our own stash. The estimated cost per diner is $10-$15. BYOB. Reservations accepted. Open for all holidays.
SUSHI PARA II 2256 N. Clark St., 60614, 773-477-3219 Hours: Monday-Thursday 11 am to 10 pm. Friday-Saturday 11 am to 10:30 pm. Sun. 12:30 pm to 9:30 pm. For the most part, when a restaurant says we can eat all we want, we probably won’t want to. But at Sushi Para II, we’ve discovered that all-you-can-eat sushi is actually a good thing. The below street level restaurant is not much to look at, but that’s not why you came here. Instead, concentrate on the Fashion roll (crab, avocado, and cucumber inside, tuna on top), Volcano roll (spicy yellowtail, tuna, and salmon with tobiko and chili sauce) and soft shell crab roll, as well as an extensive selection of sushi. The low price also includes cooked Japanese items, such as gyoza, tempura and edamame. Be sure your eyes aren’t bigger than your stomach or be prepared to pay a leftovers charge. The cost per diner for the all-you-can-eat sushi is $16.99; a la carte menu available as well. BYOB. Reservations accepted for parties of six or more. Closed all major holidays except for New Year’s Eve.
CAFÉ IBERICO 739 N. LaSalle Ave., 60610, 312-573-1510 Hours: Monday-Thursday 11 am to 11:30 pm. Fridays 11 am to 1:30 am. Saturdays noon to 1:30 am. Sundays noon to 11:00 pm We have a confession to make: We suffer from “plate envy.” We always want what our tablemates are eating. But that’s not a problem at the lively Café Iberico, one of the first Chicago restaurants to feature shareable small-plates dining. Start with the jamon Iberico (Spanish-style cured ham with cheese) and salpicon de mariscos (seafood salad). Warm things up with the queso de cabra (baked goat cheese in tomato sauce), almejas (clams sautéed in white wine and shallots) and champinones (grilled garlic mushrooms). Wash it down with pitchers of red or white sangria or take advantage of the very reasonably priced bottles of Spanish wines. The average cost per tapa is $2-$7. Entrees range from $12-$15. Closed for all major holidays except for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day.
RIQUE’S REGIONAL MEXICAN FOOD 5004 N. Sheridan Rd., 60640, 773-728-6200 Hours: Monday-Tuesday 4 pm to 10 pm. Wednesday-Saturday 11 am to 10 pm. Saturdays 11 am to 11 pm. Sundays 10 am too 10 pm. Often bargain dining involves traveling to less-than-desirable areas. Prime locations mean higher rent (hey, you do the math). But the above-average Mexican food with below-average prices makes Rique’s worth the trip. The friendly servers are quick with the complimentary chips and black bean dip. Traditionalists can opt for the flavorful tacos, burritos and fajitas. For those wanting to cross the border, try the shrimp ceviche, chicken in almond-mole sauce or slow-roasted pork in a green tomatillo sauce. The $20 four-course dinner on Saturday nights ups the ante, while Rique’s breakfast and brunch items are guaranteed to ease the pain of any hangover. The average cost per diner is $8-$15. BYOB. Reservations accepted. Closed for all major holidays except for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
HAI YEN 1055 W. Argyle St., 60640, 773-56-4077 2723 N. Clark St., 60614, 773-868-4888 Hours: Monday-Thursday 10:30 am to 10:00 pm. Fridays 10:30 am to 10:30 pm. Saturdays 9:30 am to 10:30 pm. Sundays 9:30 am to 10 pm. Closed Wednesday. (Argyle). Open seven days 11 am to 10 pm (Clark). Practice your rolling skills — mind out of the gutter, please — with Hai Yen’s traditional Vietnamese cuisine. For both the broth fondue or grill dishes, diners cook their own meats — beef, shrimp, squid — top with veggies and then roll them up with lettuce leaves and thin rice paper. Or let Hai Yen do all the cooking and order the lotus root salad with shrimp and pork, pho beef noodle soup, miniature crepes with shrimp or a hundred-or-so other dishes. Hai Yen is always well known for its fresh fruit drinks. The average cost per diner is $8-$15. Reservations accepted. Closed all major holidays except for Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.
FRONTERA FRESCA 111 N. State St. (inside Macy’s, 7th floor), 60602, 312-781-4884 Hours: Monday-Saturday 11 am to 4 pm. Closed Sundays. Okay, you got us here: Frontera Fresca really isn’t a restaurant; rather it’s a self-service food stand. But what it lacks in formality it more than makes up for in star chef power. Chicago’s own Rick Bayless, the man behind Frontera Grill, Topolopambo and the food show “One Plate at a Time” and well known for his authentic, regional Mexican food, is behind this quick-service spot. We’re big fans of the Torta Cubana — smoked all-natural pork loin sandwich with applewood-smoked bacon —tortilla soup, handmade tamales and freshly made guacamole. The three salsas are the real deal, full of smoky flavor and heat. We wash it all down with a refreshing limeade. The average cost of lunch is $8-$12.
PARS COVE 435 W. Diversey Prkway, 60614, 773-549-1515 Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11 am to 10 pm. Friday-Saturday 11 am to 11 pm No matter the size of the bank account, everyone loves getting something for free. Case in point: Pars Cove. For more than thirty years this family-run business has been serving tasty Persian food with a little extra on the side. Entrees — we particularly like the baby lamb shank in fresh herb sauce and the chicken breast simmered in walnut pomegranate sauce — include an earthy lentil soup as well as a perfectly dressed house salad. Order the Pars salad — romaine, dolmeh, olives, feta, vegetables — and they’ll throw in a free soup. And the vanilla ice cream with honey and roses for the ladies? Those are on the house, too. The average cost per diner is $12-$16. Reservations accepted. Closed all major holidays except Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
RITTER’S BREAKFAST DELIVERY 2665 N. Clark St, 60610, 773-665-4700 (delivery & carry out) Wicker Park & West Area: 773-529-4700 Hours: Wednesday-Sunday 7 am-2 pm. Some things, as the commercial goes, are priceless. Breakfast in bed definitely tops our list, especially when someone else makes it. Enter Ritter’s, a two-year-old breakfast delivery service that makes it easy to rise and shine. Their homemade quiches, frittatas, French toast and breakfast pizzas arrive warm and toasty. Ditto for their specialty espresso drinks. Healthy types can opt for their fresh fruit salad or vanilla yogurt with granola. Ritter’s sweetens the deal with yummy baked goods, such as muffins, scones and turnovers, and, should the need arise, fresh flowers. The average cost per breakfast is $18-$12. Holiday hours TK
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