Chicago welcomes new casual Pakistani, Italian and Polish spots
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Simple South Asian fare including saag paneer and fried and rotisserie chicken at Rickshaw. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios
Chicago has recently seen the arrival of casual dining concepts from South Asia, Italy and Poland.
Rickshaw Pakistani & Indian Street Eats in Irving Park/Mayfair debuted this month in a Pulaski storefront with warm hospitality, reasonable prices and a charitable twist.
- Chef-owner Faraz Sardharia, who serves on the board of advocacy group Chi-Cares tells Axios he's directing some of the food and profits to support the unhoused "to give back to the community."
On the plate: Juicy fried chicken charga or rotisserie chicken that comes with salad, rice and chutney ($7 for a quarter and $18 for whole); biryanis ($10-$12), palak paneer ($9), beef nihari ($13) and naan ($2).
- Grab-and-go options include fried fish and spicy chicken sandwiches, wraps and burgers with fries ($10).
- Desserts include mango mousse cake ($6), gulab jamun ($5) and carrot halwa pudding ($7).
Drink up: South Asian sodas, chai and mango lassi ($3-$5).
Spoko, a new Polish street food eatery, is scheduled to open Wednesday in Lincoln Park by the same folks who brought you Pierogi Kitchen in Wicker Park and Wurst Behavior in Irving Park.
Context: As they did with their Wicker Park restaurant, chef Art Wnorowski and Gosia Pieniazek are opening the new concept in a former Ella's BBQ location. This time at 723 W. Armitage.
- "Pierogi Kitchen was our first time testing Polish food in Chicago, and we noticed right away that people were very supportive of it," Wnorowski tells Axios. "Now, we've decided to bring Polish street food to the city with Spoko, as there's nothing else like it out there right now."
On the plate: French bread pizza-like zapis ($9-$15), pulled pork maczanka sandwiches ($11-$17), sweet waffles ($8-9), Polish kebabs ($13-$15) and the greatest hits from Spoko's sister pierogi and sausage eateries.
- Plus, milkshakes ($5.49).
Bonus: Beginning at 5pm opening day the first 100 customers to mention "zapi" at the register will get a free treat.
Lizzano Foccaceria and Spritzeria offers a fast-casual spot for an Italian sandwich or post-work spritz in River North.
The vibe: Like a cute Italian Panera with booze.
On the plate: Panini on fluffy focaccia ($14-$17) along with salami and cheese boards called taglieri ($23-$27).
- I tried the Lizzano panino with prosciutto and fresh mozzarella and (like a typical Chicagoan) thought it could use some giardiniera.
Drink up: Italian beer ($7), wine ($14), Negroni ($15) and Aperol spritz drinks with discounts during happy hour.