MallysBestOfChicago

January 18,2012

Del Seoul Korean Street BBQ has become a Lincoln Park favorite for foodies and those who just love fusion food!  Its traditional Mexican tacos combined with Korean style barbecue ingredients.  Its Korean inspired Vietnamese bahn-mi sandwiches.  Its taking traditional Korean ethnic foods like Kimchi and Americanizing them with french fries.  The fusion concept is consistent throughout the menu at Del Seoul.  On paper the food sounded good, but once I tried it, I was blown away with the flavors!  I had both the BBQ pork tacos and the rib eye steak bahn-mi sandwich  The meat was tender, and the subtle Korean style coleslaw on each dish gave each bite a good balance of spicy and savory flavors.

When I arrived during the lunch hour, the place was packed with people and the kitchen was bustling.  Despite that, the customer service was friendly and efficient and orders were brought out quickly without much of a wait.

Del Seoul is not a new story in Lincoln Park.  The restaurant has received great reviews by all of the foodie elites in Chicago.  After my visit, I can confirm that they lived up to my expectations and more.  Not only was it really good fusion food, but its been some of the best Korean barbecue I have had in Chicago period.  The barbecue by itself could stand alone and be successful!

For more information, please visit their website, http://www.delseoul.com.

Del Seoul is located at:

2568 North Clark Street  Chicago, IL 60614

Till Next Time!

Mally

January 17, 2012

Vapiano is one of the latest innovative restaurant concepts to come to Chicago in the past few months.  Vapiano offers made to order a la carte style italian dining options in a casual yet upscale environment.  Vapiano creates individual food stations where customers can go up and order by using a “Chip Card” that each diner receives upon arriving.  This card can be used at multiple stations as you acrue charges to the card.  On your way out, just present your card to the cashier at the front of the restaurant and thats where you pay.  Its a highly simplified concept of ordering food.  There are no waiters, no checks and you can sit wherever you like.

The decor is urban italian and the space is filled with lots of plants, potted herbs, high ceilings and lots of window space for sunlight.  The seating varies from bar stools to lounge style booths and there are several dining areas that provide different seating arrangements.  One room may be large with lots of seating for a more public setting, while there may be another area  that is much smaller for a more intimate arrangement.  The restaurant space is very open and inviting and the people who work there are adept at being very patient and explaining how the concept works.

I have been there twice so far and the food was very good both times.  I went once over the holiday season and I had their rucola pizza.  It was a flat bread style pizza that they made to order for me and the ingredients tasted very fresh.  The food is very affordable, the entire pizza only cost $7.50 and there was enough there that I had to take some of it home with me.

Vapiano has successful restaurants located already in D.C., Boston, Charlotte, Florida, New York and Virginia.  Vapiano which began in Europe has expanded all over the globe and now the company has locations in 16 different countries worldwide.

Vapiano is a nice change of pace for the Lincoln Park neighborhood and I would definitely recommend going!

Located:

Vapiano Chicago. 2577 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL. 60614. P. 773-904-7984

Till Next Time!

Mally