Roti
10 South Riverside Plaza # 141, Chicago, IL 60606; (312) 775-7000
Date of Review: October, 2008
Roti is a great spot in the Loop for lunch. While I figured that it would be a good spot for a shawarma or falafel, I was surprised to find out how good some of their other options were, including the salmon kabobs.
Located next to Café Baci on Riverside Plaza, this place is very popular. I either go at 11:30 or wait until closer to 1 PM after the lunch crowd as the line (while it does move quickly) can extend outside the door. They have a fair amount of seats inside and have a pleasant outdoor dining area in front of the restaurant.
They have a full range of typical Mediterranean fare with solid hummus and baba ghannoush, great shawarma and even better kabobs. Everything is very fresh here as the grill is fired up in the back and knowing that your chicken, steak of fish is cooking over an open fire makes you even hungrier as you stand in line. Freshness is one of the beauties of Middle Eastern food. Sandwiches are filled with your choice of chicken, steak, falafel, kabob meat or roasted vegetables inside of a wheat pita or piece of excellent roti flatbread. You then top your sandwich with whatever you want. It is almost like subway as you have an assortment of items before your eyes, including 3 types of hot sauce, hummus, baba ghannoush, kalamata olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, roasted peppers, caramelized onions and feta or asiago cheese. The sandwich is good size and filling enough for lunch. It is served with a small portion of capri cous-cous salad which is good in its own right if you order it as your lunch. It is different than other cous-cous I have had as it is large grain and is served with scallions, chopped peppers, pine nuts, orange segments and currants and is tossed with olive oil. If you’re not in the mood for a sandwich, the venetian platter is a good option. It includes hummus, baba ghannoush, cous-cous, tomato, onion & cucumber salad and choice of fire roasted chicken or steak roti with pita.
The kabobs are freshly cooked and outstanding. They have steak, chicken and salmon or halibut. On one visit, I had 2 salmon kabobs and while a bit pricey (11-12$), there was a lot of food on the platter (rice, choice of sauce, tomato, onion and cucumber salad and pita). I have to admit that I did not expect the salmon kabobs to be nearly as good as they were. They had outstanding flavor and it was after this visit that I became a Roti regular.
On the downside, their falafel is average at best. It just isn’t crunchy enough for me. I like that fried falafel that makes a crunch sound when you bite into it and I find their falafel tasty but too mushy for me.
Roti offers decent size portions of good food at prices that are a bit high but not outrageous. For a make your own sandwich, it is $6.50 plus tax (7.50 for steak). That isn’t horrible except that a falafel sandwich is not worth 6.50 anywhere. Kabob platters run $6.50 to $12 depending on portion (1 or 2) and choice (chicken, steak, fish). Overall, the food is worth the price as it feels good to eat healthy and enjoy so much taste at the same time.
They are in the process of opening a second location in Northbrook and it is a fair bet that they will continue to expand.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Chicago (Middle Eastern) - Sultan's Market
Sultan’s Market
2057 W North Ave., Chicago, IL 60647; (773) 235-3072
Date of Review: October, 2008
Sultan’s Market empire continues to grow as they have a spot in Lincoln Park and a supposed full service restaurant planned for Logan Square. For me though, the original Wicker Park establishment is all I know. I remember this place from years ago when it seemed that it was just a spot those in the neighborhood frequented. My friend Santiago used to live across the street as he is good pals with the owner. As I grew older and my culinary tastes continued to expand, I found myself frequenting Sultan’s Market more and more often. Over that time, I saw the place change too as the owner did a great job reinventing the place and making it feel like a real Middle Eastern destination. He added comfortable booths to dine in, put a neat ceiling up and even added a pleasant al fresco dining area. What has never wavered has been the quality of the food.
Their menu is pretty typical Middle Eastern with shawarmas, falafel, rice and lentils, hummus, baba ghannoush and so forth. Everything is wonderful, authentic and full of flavor. I eat Middle Eastern food often and find Sultan’s Market value and quality to be nothing short of outstanding.
On my last visit, we shared a large Lentil soup ($4) as a starter which is almost enough for a meal for one with a piece of pita bread. The flavors are complex as this filling flavorful combination has a bit of heaven inside that is enhanced with a squeeze of lemon (wedge is provided). Ivy had the chicken shawarma sandwich ($4). As always, the freshly cooked and chopped chicken is piled into a large pita and stuffed with their fantastic hummus, Jerusalem salad and some spicy sauce. This is great value as the pita was packed so full, a bit of hummus burst through the pita pocket. It makes things a bit messier but she didn’t complain. This sandwich is so good I could eat it every day. I opted for the chicken shawarma dinner which had chicken piled on top of rice and lentils (with caramelized onions), a good portion of hummus and a large pita. This is a lot of food ($6) and is very good. The rice and lentils alone is a great vegetarian option as it is so yummy that I just kept eating it until it was all gone, ignoring my full stomach. With free water, out total bill was $16.40 for this feast. You really can’t beat the value here.
I have eaten at Sultan’s Market so many times it is hard to count. Their falafel is the best I have had as their falafel balls are huge and crunchy and they make it the same way they make the shawarma sandwich, piled full of goodies. The basmati rice is recommended as is the lamb kefta kabob.
You absolutely cannot go wrong here whether you swing in and grab some hummus to go or fill up a container with some goodies off of their innovative and wonderful salad bar (very popular with vegetarians). This place is a winner in every way and they even deliver.
2057 W North Ave., Chicago, IL 60647; (773) 235-3072
Date of Review: October, 2008
Sultan’s Market empire continues to grow as they have a spot in Lincoln Park and a supposed full service restaurant planned for Logan Square. For me though, the original Wicker Park establishment is all I know. I remember this place from years ago when it seemed that it was just a spot those in the neighborhood frequented. My friend Santiago used to live across the street as he is good pals with the owner. As I grew older and my culinary tastes continued to expand, I found myself frequenting Sultan’s Market more and more often. Over that time, I saw the place change too as the owner did a great job reinventing the place and making it feel like a real Middle Eastern destination. He added comfortable booths to dine in, put a neat ceiling up and even added a pleasant al fresco dining area. What has never wavered has been the quality of the food.
Their menu is pretty typical Middle Eastern with shawarmas, falafel, rice and lentils, hummus, baba ghannoush and so forth. Everything is wonderful, authentic and full of flavor. I eat Middle Eastern food often and find Sultan’s Market value and quality to be nothing short of outstanding.
On my last visit, we shared a large Lentil soup ($4) as a starter which is almost enough for a meal for one with a piece of pita bread. The flavors are complex as this filling flavorful combination has a bit of heaven inside that is enhanced with a squeeze of lemon (wedge is provided). Ivy had the chicken shawarma sandwich ($4). As always, the freshly cooked and chopped chicken is piled into a large pita and stuffed with their fantastic hummus, Jerusalem salad and some spicy sauce. This is great value as the pita was packed so full, a bit of hummus burst through the pita pocket. It makes things a bit messier but she didn’t complain. This sandwich is so good I could eat it every day. I opted for the chicken shawarma dinner which had chicken piled on top of rice and lentils (with caramelized onions), a good portion of hummus and a large pita. This is a lot of food ($6) and is very good. The rice and lentils alone is a great vegetarian option as it is so yummy that I just kept eating it until it was all gone, ignoring my full stomach. With free water, out total bill was $16.40 for this feast. You really can’t beat the value here.
I have eaten at Sultan’s Market so many times it is hard to count. Their falafel is the best I have had as their falafel balls are huge and crunchy and they make it the same way they make the shawarma sandwich, piled full of goodies. The basmati rice is recommended as is the lamb kefta kabob.
You absolutely cannot go wrong here whether you swing in and grab some hummus to go or fill up a container with some goodies off of their innovative and wonderful salad bar (very popular with vegetarians). This place is a winner in every way and they even deliver.
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