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The Un-Tourist's Guide to Chicago

The Un-Tourist's Guide to Chicago

Old Oct 11, 2014, 10:31 am
  #46  
 
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Originally Posted by JonB110
Someone mentioned the polish community, any suggestions on good polish restaurants ??
One of the things I miss most about Chicago is the great all you can eat polish buffets. If you want great, local authentic Polish food, go to a buffet. Don't let them fill you up with a lot of soup first, it just fills up the tummy for better food. It is great as the weather starts to get colder, as the food is hot and filling.

One of my fave's is Red Apple on Milwaukee Ave. on the north side and the one on the south side near Midway, that I can not remember the name of.

Anyway, if you want great food and ALOT of it, try a Polish buffet (and leave lots of time to eat, it is not a quick meal).
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Old Oct 11, 2014, 10:42 am
  #47  
 
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Originally Posted by LongingForORD
One of the things I miss most about Chicago is the great all you can eat polish buffets. If you want great, local authentic Polish food, go to a buffet. Don't let them fill you up with a lot of soup first, it just fills up the tummy for better food. It is great as the weather starts to get colder, as the food is hot and filling.

One of my fave's is Red Apple on Milwaukee Ave. on the north side and the one on the south side near Midway, that I can not remember the name of.

Anyway, if you want great food and ALOT of it, try a Polish buffet (and leave lots of time to eat, it is not a quick meal).
Originally Posted by chgoeditor
I haven't been to either of these spots, but the local food community loves Podhalanka and Smak-Tak.
Thank you! I will definitely check these out.
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Old Oct 11, 2014, 4:39 pm
  #48  
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Originally Posted by chgoeditor
I haven't been to either of these spots, but the local food community loves Podhalanka and Smak-Tak.
Podhalanka is right by our house, and we went last winer. We loved it! The food felt very "wintery" so we've put off going back.

Just an FYI, they tend to order for you. I suppose it could be off putting, but my definition of luxury is having someone else make decisions for me, so we loved it.
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Old Oct 12, 2014, 3:17 pm
  #49  
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Originally Posted by rjque
Podhalanka is right by our house, and we went last winer. We loved it! The food felt very "wintery" so we've put off going back.

Just an FYI, they tend to order for you. I suppose it could be off putting, but my definition of luxury is having someone else make decisions for me, so we loved it.
I've said it before, but anyone who's serious about food should cross reference restaurant names with posts on LTHForum.com, which is a great Chicago food board. Anyway, a lot of LTH posters hate the waiter at Podhalanka who is very pushy and overorders...there are many complaints about him adding unwanted condiments to dishes and upselling dishes so the cost of a meal is significantly more than anticipated. Just a word of warning...
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Old Oct 12, 2014, 4:13 pm
  #50  
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Originally Posted by chgoeditor
I've said it before, but anyone who's serious about food should cross reference restaurant names with posts on LTHForum.com, which is a great Chicago food board. Anyway, a lot of LTH posters hate the waiter at Podhalanka who is very pushy and overorders...there are many complaints about him adding unwanted condiments to dishes and upselling dishes so the cost of a meal is significantly more than anticipated. Just a word of warning...
Yes, I read that thread before going. I think we ended up with the same waiter (there was too much food), but we really enjoyed the experience. Though we tend to be people who want to try a little of everything.

And I'll agree that LTHForum is a great resource for Chicago. It tends to be much more of a community like Flyertalk rather than a bunch of random posts like Yelp or even Chowhound.
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Old Oct 15, 2014, 6:42 am
  #51  
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Originally Posted by JonB110
Someone mentioned the polish community, any suggestions on good polish restaurants ??
I'm rarely, if ever, a fan of buffet style anything. That said there have been a couple of Flyertalk dinners at Red Apple Polish buffet & our group was very pleased. http://www.redapplebuffet.com/
-
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Old Oct 16, 2014, 4:43 pm
  #52  
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Originally Posted by LongingForORD
One of my fave's is Red Apple on Milwaukee Ave. on the north side and the one on the south side near Midway, that I can not remember the name of.
You may be thinking of Mabenka near MDW:

http://mabenka.com

About 78th and Cicero. No buffet last time I was there.
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Old Oct 17, 2014, 11:36 am
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Just to add a bit of non food talk to this discussion, cuz it's lunchtime and I'm on a diet, when you are downtown, go see the Tribune building on Michigan Ave. Embedded in the facade are rocks from monuments from every state in the union as well as famous places from all over the world. In the 20's Col. McCormick had his reporters bring them back from far off places. Of course back then, you could swipe a section of the Great Wall of China or n Egyptian pyramid and no one would stop you! Some times they even have a moon rock on display, the only one on display outside of the Smithsonian. And the price is right, free!
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Old Oct 17, 2014, 12:05 pm
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Originally Posted by toomanybooks
You may be thinking of Mabenka near MDW:

http://mabenka.com

About 78th and Cicero. No buffet last time I was there.
TooManyBooks, thanks but that is not it either, although I looked at their menu and it looks delish! Thanks.....
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Old Oct 17, 2014, 10:53 pm
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Originally Posted by LongingForORD
TooManyBooks, thanks but that is not it either, although I looked at their menu and it looks delish! Thanks.....
New Warsaw? 6250 W 63rd St. Immediately southwest of MDW.
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Old Oct 18, 2014, 6:11 am
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Now we need to have a MDW-area-Polish-dinner DO.
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Old Oct 18, 2014, 10:51 am
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Originally Posted by aktchi
New Warsaw? 6250 W 63rd St. Immediately southwest of MDW.
aktchi-- that is exactly the place I was thinking of, thank you very much.

I am making a December trip to Chicago, but don't think I will have time to get to the South side.

Thank you for figuring it out, they seem to be still in business but don't have a website, the funniest review I saw for them "is look for the 80's style funeral home", yep that is exactly what it looks like from the outside. If you guys have a DO there, ENJOY!!
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Old Oct 18, 2014, 11:09 am
  #58  
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Another recommendation for visitors to Chicago:

The Chicago Architectural Foundation's boat tours are the best in the city, but don't overlook their other tours and offerings.

Once a year (usually in October), they coordinate the opening of about 150 architecturally significant buildings, homes and spaces that are normally closed to the public for free open houses. Open House Chicago is an event that's not to be missed if you're an architecture buff!

Also, the CAF gift shop is a fantastic place for more unusual Chicago souvenirs. It's right near the Art Institute, so if you're in the area it would be a shame to miss it:
Retail Shop
224 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60604
9am 6:30pm, Saturday Thursday
9am 7pm, Friday
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Old Oct 18, 2014, 10:03 pm
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Originally Posted by toomanybooks
Now we need to have a MDW-area-Polish-dinner DO.
As a Chicagoan with many Polish friends, I am overly blessed with Polish food, delicious but you have to be in mood for bland. However, company of FT'ers would be an extra enticement.

Originally Posted by LongingForORD
aktchi-- that is exactly the place I was thinking of, thank you very much...I am making a December trip to Chicago, but don't think I will have time to get to the South side.
I hope you are able to visit them sometime during one of your future visits. Reviving old memories can be fun. A 3-4 hr layover at MDW should do it comfortably.
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Old Oct 21, 2014, 9:25 pm
  #60  
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Great information. Clueless, I suggested Al's Italian Beef on Taylor to my son, because someone took me there. Should I call him right away and redirect him?
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