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.
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