The warming weather makes unduly long waits on the L platform bearable (a few might add enjoyable). So hop on the Red Line and shoot straight past the Loop to Chinatown, where restaurant upon restaurant awaits. After all, as spring fever hits, directing that need for spice southward ensures that you'll get the something you're looking for.
Panhandler rating: Not really, so save your change for dim sum.
Safety rating: You're a-OK in daylight, though if you're not a seasoned traveler in these parts, it's always wise to bring a friend to explore with.
Late-night locale
Three Happiness Original Restaurant
Despite being off Chinatown's main drag, this small, unassuming restaurant is just as popular as its central counterparts, as evidenced by the line near the door in mid-afternoon. The decor is nothing fancy, and aside from some Chinese lanterns and strung lights, it's just a handful of tables (one with a bonus lazy Susan in the center that allows easy sharing) in a small room. The crowded space and language barrier may make this place a bit hectic, but the food, heaping plates of authentic Mandarin and Cantonese cuisine, is clearly sumptuous.
The dim sum menu (which is probably the cause of the mid-afternoon post-shopping rush) includes steamed buns (with pork, chicken, sweet lotus seed or custard filling), dumplings, spare ribs, deep fried shrimp balls, fried wontons, spring rolls and various noodle dishes. Many of these small treats cost a mere $2. Popular entrees from the regular menu include the Mongolian beef ($7.50), stir-fried fresh crabs ($10.95) and stir-fried baby clams ($11.75). Combo dinners (available for parties of two, three, four, five, six or eight) are a good way for a group to sample the traditional cuisine cheaply.
Good for groups
Tommy Gun's Garage
Tommy Gun's Garage's warehouse setting boasts concrete floors and a rear entrance...enterable if youse know da password. A trip to Tommy Gun's is as good as transportation back to the 1920s, complete with gangsters and flappers, Roaring '20s music and memorabilia, old school photos and more. As an interactive "speakeasy," Tommy Gun's Garage offers a family-friendly musical comedy revue with the expected cast of characters. Says Tommy's, "After youse have been served our great food (a choice of five entrees like Frankie's east broiled pork chops), and our fine hooch (alcohol) by da mugs and molls, join Vito, Gloves and others for non-stop comedy and dangerous fun." Tickets, which include the show and dinner (soup, salads, rolls, dessert and your choice of pasta, beef, fish, chicken or pork entree), run $50-$60.
In-the-know spot
Won Kow
Prepare to kow-tow over Won Kow, a Chinatown eatery that serves up a side of history along with its dim sum. Starring in Chicagoans' hungry dreams of Chinese food since 1927, Won Kow is Chinatown's oldest eatery, and gosh darn it, it knows what it's doing. The food is awesome (fans of the place are apt to use capital letters for emphasis), the service is very friendly and the decor...leaves a little to be desired, but it's more than worth a trip all the same.
Dim sum is served daily from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at this mostly Cantonese restaurant. Lumber up to the second floor, take a seat, and decide if you'd like to take the safe (you have your pick of beef, chicken, pork, duck, seafood and tofu dishes) or adventurous route, via shark fin soup and jellyfish offerings. Lazy Susan on the larger tables makes sharing with friends a snap.
Where to chill
Phoenix
Directly across from Chinatown Square is this two-in-one dining destination. Praised by Chicago critics (proven by an entrance decorated with its accolades), this restaurant has remained popular for its diversity of options. Downstairs is the Dumpling House, a casual, cafe-style spot that provides what few Chinatown restaurants do: round-the-clock dim sum. Here patrons can nosh on cold plates, Szechwan noodle dishes or Shanghai dim sum items like crispy scallion cake or steamed juicy dumpling with minced pork and ginger. The items range from $2.45 to $7.95 and are the perfect snack, especially when washed down with a cold bubble tea.
The upstairs dining rooms provide a more elegant ambiance, with full-course meals to match. A sizeable banquet room features white tablecloths, red lanterns hanging from the ceiling and striking contemporary art. A selection of traditional soups, chicken, duck, seafood (the steamed sea bass is among the restaurant's most popular entrees) pork and beef are available for between $9.95 and $30. A banquet menu, suitable for private parties or groups of six or 10 people, provides some more exotic dishes, such as the suckling pig platter and shark's fin soup. In the mood for something lighter and less expensive? The top floor does serve legendary dim sum, but only until 3 p.m.
Dinner-date destination
My Place
Casual, hip and elegant at the same time, My Place makes for a terrific date spot and happily lives up to the expectations set by its name: comfort and friendliness. Surrounded by walls of pale green and seated in luxurious-yet-tasteful burgundy banquettes, patrons won't be able to feel anything but relaxed. The menu accommodates a wide range of tastes and preferences. Food groupings include "Noodles Corner," "Fried Rice Corner" and "Vegetarian Corner," in addition to the usual soups, salads, appetizers and entrees. However, there's nothing usual about the choices here. Try the Thai-style mussels, char siew wonton, mango shrimp or lemongrass pork chops. If you're lucky enough to live nearby, My Place will deliver to your place.
Cheap eats
Furama
Hong Kong-style dim sum served daily. Waiters parade around the restaurant with steam carts, show you the goods and let you choose what (and how much) you want during the daily 9 a.m.-4 p.m. dim sum session. The food is good, from standbys like spring rolls and meat dumplings to more rare items like quail eggs and chicken feet. You settle up at the end of the meal, usually for less than $10. Dinner (sans the dim sum option) features entrees like shark's fin soup, scallops with broccoli in XO sauce, and sauteed squid with celery in a shrimp paste sauce. Plum wine and the Chinese beer Chin Tao round out the drink options. Free parking, semi-private rooms (reservations requested).
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