Two new Asian fast food spots open in Lakeview
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Tso-Good chicken sandwich from Flamingo Tea in Lakeview. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios
Lakeview has been exploding with new casual Asian eateries this summer, from Konbini & Kanpai and Noori Chicken to Seoul Taco and Rangoli Kabob.
- The flow hasn't stopped, and we checked out two more this month.
Flamingo Tea: This sleek new bubble tea shop on Belmont off Clark cranks out fancy boba tea but also inventive sandwiches, including the croissant waffle grilled cheese ($10); tamago katsu, which is a breaded egg cutlet sandwich ($10); and a hot-honey waffle chicken sandwich ($11).
Dig in: We tried the Saigon bahn-mi chicken sandwich ($10), featuring terrific pickled daikon slaw and thick slices of pork paté atop chunks of juicy fried chicken. Rich, but delicious.
- The Tso-Good chicken sandwich ($10) offered that same perfectly fried chicken smothered in a sweet sauce.
Katsu Shack: Billed as Chicago's "first authentic Japanese katsu fast food restaurant," this unassuming Halsted storefront takes breading and frying heritage breed pork cutlets (katsu) super seriously.
Dig in: The Shack offers katsu in a bento box ($17), a Japanese milk bread sandwich ($17) and a black curry meal ($18.90). It also specializes in fried tornado potatoes bathed in curry cheese sauce ($6.45).
- We got the "traditional tonkatsu set" ($16.35) and were impressed by the juicy fried cutlet, deeply flavored miso and perfect rice — but not the plain-Jane cabbage.