Taste Of Chicago

Awww, they closed and I forgot to review the place before it closed.
I really liked the owner. My veggie dog was only so-​so. I would’ve returned anyway because I liked the overall vibe of the place and the Chicago decorations and it was reasonably priced. I guess the Ave is a revolving door when it comes to restaurants, though, especially the northern parts of the Ave. Taste of Chicago’s one of 4 other places that I’ve liked on the northern Ave in the past few years that all shut down or moved.

The hotdogs/​sandwiches are nothing special.
I only came here because of the old black man who works here. He is awesome. I’m pretty sure he could beat me at chess while blindfolded. When I used to live 2 blocks from this place, I would gso there around 2 in the morning after navigating around the drunk people hanging out at the bar next door, order a chicago dog, and play chess with my boyfriend while listening to the awesome radio station that they play here.
I recently walked the whole 7 extra blocks from my new place at 2 in the morning and found that this place was closed. I haven’t attempted the trek since.

I’ve been here once and I had a great experience. The food is tasty and the service was great.
I believe that the owner waited on me and he went out of his way to make me feel special. I’d gotten a deal from Moocho and was hungry and looking forward to it. I couldn’t get the deal to come up on my phone right away, but he was very patient.
The food was tasty. Greasy and yummy. If this is authentic Chicago food… then I guess I’ll never need to go to Chicago.
It’s worth a stop! Hop on one of the 70’s and it’s a quick ride from campus.

Let me start by saying I lived in Chicago for 25 years and consider myself a beef connoisseur/​snob.
That said, I very much wanted to love this place. Since moving to Seattle, I’ve always identified the complete void of Chicago-​style food here a huge business opportunity.
I ordered an Italian beef, wet, extra hot. The best part about this place was the nostalgia of being at a Chicago-​themed joint and having Chicago-​style food. The spot is dive, exactly what it should be for its theme. It is decorated with Chicago sports memorabilia and a map to indicate where in Chicago you’re from. I tacked an old CTA card to the map and was enjoying the nostalgia. There are Tribune articles and board games at the tables… overall very much what you’d see from a similar place in Chicago. The menu is an authentic Chicago selection and while the prices were higher than you’d see in Chicago, it could have been justified with great food, since it’s such a specialty. The service was friendly and the sandwich came out a few minutes after I ordered.
The beef looked pretty good when it arrived. At first bite, I was disappointed. The beef was very salty. It was definitely not freshly shaved, probably from a freezer bag. The bread was the right kind but crunchy, indicating it was old or not properly stored. The giardiniera was very good — big pieces of marinated carrot, celery and jalapeño. The fries were also good.
Don’t get me wrong, I happily finished the sandwich and scooped up everything that fell out. I also had a nice chat with the owners.
While I probably won’t be back, I’m glad I gave it a shot. I also would recommend it to anyone who wants to try some Chicago fare.
However, as of yet, there is still no good Chicago style beef place in Seattle.

I’ll keep this simple.
Don’t go there for hot dogs because you will 1) pay too much for what you get. 2) feel ripped off because they charge you more than what the menu price says. Why? I have yet to find out. and 3) be left feeling half full of mostly condiments and french fries.

So I had a LivingSocial deal for Taste of Chicago that I had TOTALLY forgotten about. It was the second to last day for me to redeem the coupon and I was very excited to finally try this place.
I had $ 20 to spend and with the prices offered I was able to order a bounty! Everything comes with fries, so even though I got three things to share (I wanted to try as much as I could to get a good taste of this place), we also got three things of fries. No worries, some tasty goodness to munch on while driving home.
I got an italian beef sandwich (wet), a windy city chicken sandwich and a Chicago style hot dog. We tore into the hot dog first (we were both hungry) and were delighted at all the flavors and how they all worked together, it was SO GOOD! The Windy City chicken sandwich was pretty good, great flavor notes and really crispy! The italian beef left something to be desired. It was SO SALTY that the beef flavor was completely lost and all you could taste was salt. A bit disappointing, but we ate it nonetheless.
All in all, the food was tasty. The fries were hot and crispy when I got them and held onto their taste all the way home (to Bellevue). The hot dog was definitely the star and will definitely be going back to get another one of those!

Everything I have had here is pretty good fast food. Good little pizza pockets, & excellent Chicago style dogs. The owners are very friendly and from Chicago. Good spot to hit up before or after a night out. Everything comes with fries. I always leave satisfied.

YUM!
Stumbled upon this place thanks to a friend. Husband & I drove from Kent to check it out. The italian beef was awesome. My parents came out to visit and we took them here. They grew up in Chicago and both agreed… Taste of Chicago passes the test!
Probably the best thing on the menu is the Chicago Dog. As soon as you bit into it you hear this snap. The way it should be. :)
Only downside is the guy working behind the counter is a Sox fan. Had he been a Cubs fan I would’ve given it 5 stars ;)

This is how it’s done in Chicago. And since it’s in Seattle — it has a little more Chicago pride than the joints you would go to in Chi-​Town: Any major Chicago sports game is an event. The Chicago style hot dogs are done exactly how they’re supposed to be done: All the fixings — no ketchup! And I haven’t been able to find a Gyro done right in Seattle until now — Seattlites always try to fancy them up.
Oh — and the Pizza Puffs. I never knew these delicious heart-​attacks in a wax paper bag were so rare until I left Chicago.

This place makes me happy when I am feeling nostalgic for Chicago. The food is decent — exactly as you might get in Chicago. I love the Chicago dog. The prices are a little high, but that’s rather Chicago authentic, too.
Yes, I miss the Windy City. I think it’s the time to pay this place a visit again.

Sandwiches served «wet». You know there are just not enough cuisine options that come wet, and let me tell you. Things that are wet, are simply better.
Fries were solid too. Not steak fries, but not limp little frites either. These were son-​of-​the-​midwest type spuds that burn if you eat them too hot and will choke if you eat too many at once.
The prices here are a little higher than one would expect for Ave bites, but once in a while it’s surely worth it.

For $ 6.50, you can get a soggy hot dog with a pickle on top. For 25 cents, a cup of sink water. Not to worry; interacting with a stuck up cashier girl is free!
S thought the best deal was $ 5 for a glorified Hot Pocket and fries. No and no.

Wonderful place… just visited Chicago and loved the food there! This place has a very decent Italian Beef… but the only one I can compare to is Al’s which uses a softer bun and beef, with a touch of oregano in the gaurdinaire, but I think this passes just fine for me. :)
The Vienna Beef hotdog is perfect (a vienna beef is a vienna beef no matter where you get it from), the same that you will get anywhere in Chicago… its been done there like this forever because the combo is perfect! Yeah its shipped from chicago cuz they dont make them here, are all Seattlites idiots?
The Seattlites who complain about this style of dog have been brainwashed by our mediocre dogs with cream cheese (which is added not for originality, but to mask the flavor of a poor quality dog). The more I read Unilocal the more I realize alot of Seattlites have no clue of good flavor or QUALITY… have our tastebuds been burned out by our 6 trillion mediocre Thai restaurants?
I even liked the loud RnB/​Hiphop/​Gospel music, dominoes and simple décor, its called atmosphere people, but again Seattle and it’s over PC douchey attitude doesn’t like anything over the top or different
I only wish they had Goose Island or Half Acre beer (GREAT Chicago beers BTW) to complete the entire «taste» spectrum of chicago.
I’ll be back to try the rest of their menu, especially the italian sausage and windy city sandwiches.

I found this business from Groupon and am very glad I did. The Windy City Chicken Sandwhich was AMAZING! The portions were huge, the chicken was very tasty and everything tasted fresh. This is truly a great find and a place where I will be sure to return. The staff working at lunch on 10 – 13 where also great. The owner (I assume, otherwise a great manager) was very welcoming and I could tell he had a great following and knew his repeat customers very well. Although I am not in the University district much, when I am, I will be sure to remember this great place for a good meal!

I’m a Chicago native. It’s something that I’ll gladly share with just about anyone that’ll listen lol. One of the things we Chicagoans are proud of is our food. Ask anyone from the Chi about Garrets popcorn, Harolds Chicken, Gladys restaurant, Maxwell St polishes etc, and you’re bound to have an hour long conversation. So, since I’m out here on the west coast, I’m always interested in eating in places that claim to be Chicago this, Chicago that. 9 times out of 10, I’m horribly disappointed. However, A Taste of Chicago has it right.
Unbeknown to me, I met the co-​owner Drew while he was out passing out flyers down the street from the restaurant. He ranted and raved about this place. So I took a flyer and thought I’ll try it one day and forgot all about it. It wasn’t until I was on The strangermart website that I saw they had a coupon for it that I figured, «Ok, if it sucks, I’m only out 10 bucks, and if it’s good, I have 20 to spend.» Made sense. PS. As of today, the strangermart coupon is still online GET IT.
So I went to T.O.C., armed with my $ 10 certificate and was met by the same dude that was passing out the fliers. He was enthusiastic to say the least about every single item on the menu. Pizza puffs, Vienna beef sandwiches, pork chop sandwiches, fried chicken etc. I settled on 6 wings and fries and sat down. Drew, the owner, came up and struck up a conversation with me and I explained how I was from Chicago etc.
About 15 mins later, the hottest, juiciest, crispiest wings I’ve had in years came out. They are the bomb. It’s the only thing I get. I know Chicago is known for it’s hot dogs, and T.O.C. has them, and they look delicious, but for me the wings gets it. I did have the Italian Beef combo sandwich, and it was hot and delicious. The au jus is tasty, not too salty, just right. The restaurant itself is themed after Chicago, complete with a plaque for Dusable, the African American guy that founded the city. The service is also friendly, as it’s usually Drews «sister» (hey we all are cousins, sisters, bro in Chicago lol) that serves me with a big olé cute smile. AHEM. anyway, my buddy bought a pizza puff and it was hot and gooey. Definitely the type of food you’d get after a night out.
Speaking of which, they’re open late as all get out on the weekend. Something like 3 AM, which in UW, is awesome. I really cant think of anything too bad to say about the place. The staff could wipe the tables a lil more often. I’ve been in a couple times when it’s slow, but the tables were dirty & were sticky, and having ketchup and napkins on the table would be convenient given the types of food they serve (chicken, hot dogs etc), but that’s hardly any reason to complain, and something that’s easily fixed. This place is awesome, the owner is a hard worker, the food is good. It’s one of the few restaurants that gets it right all the time. I’ve brought my mom, sis, and friends here, and they all can agree, this place is LEGIT! Come check them out, and you’ll say the same.

Wow the Italian beef wet w/​peppers and cheese is amazing! That is how you eat it in Chicago!
There was options of dry and marinara??? not sure bout that!
Pork Chop sandwich was good, there was the Maxwell st. polish on there.
There was vegan choices as well. they were well rounded.
You can also have a beer as well!
You could also hang out play some games as well, it was like a coffee house/​deli diner… very interesting twist w/​games, great food and beer!

The Italian beef is terrible. This is definitely not the sandwich that I crave from back home. First of all, It is pre-​packaged beef that they microwave or heat in pre-​packaged juice. They do have proper giardiniera, but I also asked for sweet peppers and I got banana peppers? In Chicago, sweet peppers means roasted green peppers. The roll was also dry and crumbly at the top and soaked and falling apart at the bottom. I like my Italian beef wet but this roll couldn’t handle da juice. There was also way more bread than beef.
This is a no effort sandwich. It gives a bad name to Chicago and its beloved Italian beef. They may have a decent hot dog and polish (it is vienna beef), but I will not be going back. From now on, I will make my own Chicago style food.
Hmmm I wonder if V.M. in any way is associated with this sad excuse for a sandwich shop? So you watched the cook prepare your beef? Ha! Mine was served by a college girl who must have been a chef in training. What a joke. It is pre-​packaged beef! What did you watch him open the packet and dip it in the juice? Absolutely brilliant! I don’t know how they do it!

Taste of Chicago has won a place in my heart, not necessarily for outstanding food, although I don’t doubt them, but more for their commitment to customers!
So the short story goes that I was drunk off my ass and desperately craving french fries at 1:30am. My group of 7 sloshies were denied access to the already closed Jack in the Crack (understandably) so we made a bee line for Taste of Chicago. Upon arrival we realized the place was closed as the owner was putting up all the chairs. He saw our disappointment & kindly welcomed us into his closed shop and proceeded to prepare us food! WIN!
Those were the besssst fries I’ve had in ages and my friends’ dogs were stellarrrr.
Taste of Chicago, thank you for tolerating 7 drunk bafoons & serving us with a smile.

I expected to be way more impressed by this place than I was. It shouldn’t have been hard, either, because I was hangry (so hungry that I was angry) and who doesn’t like a sausage dog? Especially from a place that specializes in them?
But the sausage tasted like a regular hot dog, they put too much mustard on it, and the bun was kind of puny. The fries were pretty OK, though.
Other things that bothered me were that the soda cup was maybe 14 ounces (last time I checked, I could drink more than a kiddie size), I had to get up and ask for napkins because they didn’t have any out on the tables or anywhere, and that despite the fact that there was only one other customer there, just about every table hadn’t been wiped down.
Meh!

I’d been meaning to try this place, but it had been closed for a while. It’s back open now, so I stopped by to pick up a late dinner.
The menu has the usual suspects — hot dogs, burgers and such. I went with the hot Italian beef, dipped. I was a little dubious about ordering a wet sandwich to go, but I’m not averse to a little sogginess. It actually stood up to the jus pretty well, and the soaked end was the best part of the sandwich. It would have been a little dry if I’d ordered it without the jus. The beef was thinly sliced, the peppers were just right — all in all, exactly like the Italian beef I remember from college in Illinois. The $ 7.50 order came with fries. Not the carefully double-​fried, crispy-​on-​the-​outside fries you’d get at, say, Mr. Lu’s; these were simple blobs of potatoey goodness. They worked perfectly with this kind of food.
It’s safe to say that I’ll be back here, probably pretty often (next on the agenda: Maxwell Street Polish). Once I’ve tried more of the menu, it’s quite likely that Taste of Chicago will get that fifth star.
Now, if only someone would open a proper Chicago pizza place…
UPDATE: I’ve tried the Polish and the pork chop sandwich, and they are up to spec. (Yes, the chop is bone-​in, so attack carefully.) I’ve decided to hold off on the fifth star for now, because there’s a bit of a wait.
Also, they are planning to add some vegetarian items to the menu in the near future. So if you’ve been waiting to try an authentic Chicago-​style tofu dog… ow, that sequence of words makes my brain hurt.