Gejas Cafe

340 W. Armitage

Fondue/Wine

average cost: $80-$100

$40 - $60 with coupon

Rated one of Chicago's Most Romantic Restaurants, Gejas Cafe provides just that - romantic and intimate dining.

This restaurant offers a finer fondue experience than The Melting Pot. With candlelit tables and live music of Spanish and classical guitar this might not be the place for a casual first date.

The most popular dinner is typically the four-course 'Premiere Diner'. The course begins with cheese fondue over an open flame with an assortment of fruits and breads. The next course is a simple but delicious side salad.

Next, diners will choose between lobster tail, jumbo shrimp, beef tenderloin, sea scallops or chicken breast for their main course. The meats are served alongside oils for DIY cooking. The server gives specific instructions on how long to cook each meat as to avoid any sort of uncooked meat illness.

The means are served with eight unique dipping sauces. Finally, the meal concludes with chocolate fondue and marshmallows, pound cake and fruit for dipping.

With the four courses and slow cooking meat process, Gejas provides plenty of time for conversation between diners.

If paying full menu prices, the four-course Premiere Diner ranges from $30 - $50 a person but Gejas frequently offers discounts. Recently there was a Groupon for $25 toward $60 . With the discounts, a dinner for two with no wine would average about $40, not too bad for such a nice restaurant!

Cheesies Pub and Grill

958 W. Belmont Ave
American/Sandwiches
average cost: $8 - $15

Specialized restaurants are opening up all across Chicago. From cupcakes to soup to even a restaurant just for meatballs, it seems like everywhere needs some sort of schtick to be successful - and Cheesies on Belmont is no exception.

Cheesies Pub And Grill, a restaurant which specializes solely in Grilled Cheese opened up May 12th in Lakeview right on Belmont and Sheffield.

The restaurant offers seven variations of grilled cheese with a rotating special every month. While grilled cheese might seem pretty generic on the surface with just cheese, butter and bread, Cheesies takes it to whole new level.

There's the classic, cleverly named 'Tradicional' with Chihuahuah Cheese, Chorizo Sausage, Pickled Jalapeno Peppers, and Bacon, But, Cheesies still offers some unique creations. My personal favorite, 'The Frenchie' includes American and Mozzarella Cheese, Bacon, Chives and French Fries .

Cheesies even offers a spin on a a Cicago hot dog in order rally up some local support. The special for opening month is a grilled creation with a a beef hot dog, american and cheddar cheese, relish, peppers and mustard.

Grilled Cheese wouldn't be complete without fries, and Cheesies offers fresh cut french fries with delicious seasoning - along with the option of sweat potato fries.

On top of the array of grilled cheese options to choose from, Cheesies has a wide selection of handcrafted beer at a reasonable price.

Overall, Cheesies is worth a try.

Unhealthy? Absolutely
Greasy? No Doubt.
Cheap? Totally.
Delicious? Yes.

Pasta Palazzo

1966 N. Halsted
Italian/Wine
average cost: $11-$20

Pasta Palazzo offers authentic, hearty and cheap Italian food for the Lincoln Park crowd.

The restaurant is located right in the hustle and bustle of Lincoln Park on Halsted/Armitage. Pasta Palazzo tends to be the go-to restaurant after a long day of shopping on Armitage offer.

The menu ranges from traditional appetizers, quick salads, hearty sandwiches and homemade pasta. Pasta Palazzo also features an extensive wine-list and delectable desserts.

With DIY tile mosaics on the walls, an open kitchen where diners can watch their food simmer on the stove, and a welcoming atmosphere the of this restaurant is well deserved. But, with a capacity just under 50 people, the wait can get up to two hours on a weekend night.

This tiny restaurant is unable to accommodate many diners at a time but to meet the demand they offer their whole menu for take out.

Bottom Line, Pasta Palazzo is a low-key, high-quality Italian restaurant in the heart of Lincoln Park. Give it a try.

State Restaurant and Cafe

935 W Webster Ave
American/Bar
average cost: $8-$15

State , a Lincoln Park bar with over 100 plasma screen TV's, daily discount specials and friendly staff is an obvious hit with DePaul students.

If you plan on having a quiet, romantic dinner State certainly isn't the place to go.
With giant plasma screen televisions plastered all around the bar with various games being played, quiet isn't something you'll find at State.

On a normal night State would be a bit too expensive for a college student with the average dish price being around $14. But, State offers amazing food specials on most weekday evenings. If you're not on such a college budget, try stopping by State on a Tuesday for trivia night.

On Wednesdays everything on the menu is half off with a purchase of a drink and on Thursdays everything on the menu is $5. Mondays offer $5.99 sandwiches and Sunday's feature unlimited brunch buffet for $15.00.

The drinks purchased don't need to be alcoholic so college kids under 21 can still reap the benefits of these discounts.

Metromix speaks highly of State saying, "Tucked onto a residential street in Lincoln Park, State is not named after State Street, Ohio State or any state for that matter; management tells us it refers to a 'state of mind'".

However, the reputation of State is one that differs depending on the crowd. A Lincoln Park house owner wouldn't be one to say that State brings a nice, easy 'state of mind' with the blasting music, crowds and late hours. If you leave near State the noise can be a bit unbearable, but a DePaul student is in awe of the cheap and delicious food.

Some of the most popular items on the menu are the Chicago Style Cheddar Burger, a burger on a pretzel bun piled high with cheese, onions and bacon. The main dishes at State are accompanied with fries, tater tots or "State Fries", which are essentially cheese fries. Other popular items are the pesto and garlic-infused mozzarella appetizer, milkshakes, pulled-pork sandwiches and moderately healthy salads.

State offers a fun crowd on Friday evenings with DePaul students/staff celebrating the beginning of the week.

Homemade Pizza Company

location: various
Pizza/Salad/Take Out
average cost - $15-$20
*$10-$15 with discount code!


Homemade Pizza Company isn't the traditional dining out eatery, but this fast service takeout restaurant makes eating out a little more 'homey'.

Homemade Pizza Co, founded in 1997 fused eating out, ordering in and cooking at home into one - creating fresh bake-at-home pizza. After placing an order a customer will go the store, pick it up and simply bake it at home.

The pizza menu is broken down into three categories. First, the 'Simple Classics' such as cheese, pepperoni and veggie. Second, the 'Favorites' with 10 unique pizzas including "The Georgia" with Santa Fe chicken sausage, poblano peppers and Ricotta cheese. Finally, the 'Seasonal' section which rotates depending on the weather, location and most obviously, the season.

As well as offering 13 different types of pizza this take-out restaurant offers salads and delicious bake at home cookies.

Homemade Pizza Co. has locations in Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and the Virginia/D.C area but is quickly expanding.

The pizzas themselves aren't exactly inexpensive, but Homemade Pizza Co. prides itself on giving back to it's customers. The online ordering form offers discounts for returning customers and discounts are constantly sent out through the email newsletter.

When I first ordered from Homemade Pizza Co. the owner of the store I ordered from sent me an email with a discount code and encouraged that I return. There are plenty of ways to get a discount on food here, but even without a discount $16 for a fresh pizza isn't outrageous.

Cheap Food, Now!

Groupon, an online deal-of-the-day website recently launched 'Groupon Now', a new instant buy and use daily discount.

The site will be offering instant deals in various categories such as 'Have Fun', 'Go Shopping' 'Get Pampered,' and the most frequented and favored category, the 'Eat Something' option.

Groupon prospers because people love discounts, but people especially love food discounts.

Just last Friday after stepping off the Chicago Red Line I noticed a line outside Q'doba that was out the door and wrapped around the corner.

After questioning someone as to what was going on their response wasn't even the least bit surprising.

"Groupon Now!" the man said. "$1 for $10 worth of Mexican food!"

How does that make sense? How is Q'doba making a profit?

The logistics and number crunching behind Groupon isn't something that makes sense on the surface, but Groupon's 25 billion dollar worth speaks for itself.

Groupon is meeting the needs of budget shoppers and business are catching on quickly.

People don't spend the way they used to and it looks like some businesses are teaming up with Groupon to meet their sales goals.

Even chain companies like Q'doba are offering 90% discounts through Groupon which only reinforces the shift in consumerist patterns and the necessity for discount deals.

Why would anyone spend $10 on lunch at Flacos Tacos on Chicago Ave when you can get ten dollars worth for just a dollar only three doors down at Q'doba?

Taco Joint

1969 N. Halstead
Mexican/Spanish/Cantina
average cost: $6-$14

Lines form when Taco Joint, a new Lincoln Park restaurant opens up on Halstead/Armitage.

This quirky new Mexican restaurant prides itself on being a 'modern taquería' and the hype of the Lincoln Park foodies is building up. The location that Taco Joint moved into has been the home of two other restaurants that failed to make it big.

The layout of the restaurant might be to blame for the failed success of the previous eateries. Taco Joint features a full bar, little breathing room, and just a few tables.

Showing up at Taco Joint on a Saturday night at 8pm will guarantee an hour wait at minimum. I visited Taco Joint on a Friday night around 8:30pm and didn't get seated until a little before 10pm.

But, if people are willing to wait that long, the food must be good - right?

Absolutely.

Taco Joint's menu is incredible! The food has been compared to the well known restaurant Big Star in Wicker Park but in my opinion it's better. Yes, there's no outdoor patio like Big Stair but the food speaks for itself.

Because Taco Joint is intended to be an "Urban Taquería" everything is ordered à la carte which works well for sharing. The menu includes nine different tacos all ranging from $2 - $4. If you ordered every taco on the menu it would only cost $24, so next time I go I think I might end up doing that to make sure I get the chance to try them all.

The crowd at Taco Joint ranges from poor college kids to young professionals out after work to the occasional family. The restaurant has made an effort to target a varying crowd and recently featured a discount on Groupon for $15 off.

For cheap, authentic Mexican food I'd definitely recommend stopping by Taco Joint...just aim for a weekday or a weekend before 7pm.