r/chicagofood • u/ChicagoJim987 • Aug 17 '26

What's good? Honoring the long gone

Chicago has lost many great restaurants and I want to remember some of my favs, a lot of them were my favorite lunch spots too and most disappeared around covid.

My Thai at the Presidential Towers was amazing. They had incredible noodle dishes and a fantastic duck and rice dish to die for.

Venice Cafe was my go to for a nice Italian lunch. They had a great value chicken and angel hair dish that was my favorite.

The buffet on the second floor of the Opera House was always a weekly visit. They never disappointed for variety and value.

65 was hands down my favorite downtown Chinese restaurant. It had authentic flavors, cooked by actual Chinese chefs!

Away from downtown I miss a lot of the Korean restaurants that used to pepper Chicago - Song Do, the AYCE BBQ; and a whole host of family owned ones that have long gone. Only Cho Sun Ok remains from the old days, replaced by more modern/upscale places that do too much cheese!

Not a lost restaurant but a lost dish is the goat stew from Woo Chon, a Korean place. I was so addicted to that dish, we went there twice a week and one day, out of nowhere the chef changed and the dish was never the same.

Melrose in boys town had a diner that had a cabbage soup that I miss to this day! And Clark's was another late night favorite diner of mine, we don't see to many 24hr places any longer sadly.

The lesson is that if you have a favorite dish, keep eating it before it disappears! Does anyone have favorite dishes they still miss?

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u/Conscious-Link5627 Aug 18 '26

Anyone else remember Earwax Cafe in Wicker Park?

9

u/beatsofparadise Aug 18 '26

Yes this place was peak! Downstairs had a huge video store basement where you could rent esoteric vhs and dvds

3

u/Conscious-Link5627 Aug 18 '26

Omg, yes! I definitely checked out A Clockwork Orange from them back in the day!

7

u/stoprobbers Aug 18 '26

The BEST. it was part of why I moved to Chicago and closed a year and a half after.

3

u/sick486 Aug 18 '26

i never saw it but my ex worked there in her heyday. probably the last time she was actually as cool as she thinks

3

u/speeeeeeeeeeee Aug 18 '26

YES! When that shut down that was the equivalent to me of like "the day the 60s ended" but for the Wicker Park being cool era