Every time I feel a cold coming on I head over here for a steaming bowl of Kimchee Noodle Soup. Â Fixes me right up. Â I swear the stuff is magical. Â It's also served in a gigantic bowl, so one is almost guaranteed leftovers for the next day. Â
The rest of the menu is pretty good, too. Â Everything is rich and flavorful. Â The prices are a tad high, but the portions are huge, so you are definitely getting your money's worth. Â Even my mega-carnivorous spouse is happy here.
My only complaint is the location. Â They are way out in the northwest corner of the city, so this is not one of those spontaneous "in the neighborhood so we decided to drop by" kind of places. Â Coming here requires purpose. Â I miss the good old days when they were located on Southport, but, ah well, things do change. Â And they are still very much worth the trip out.
Try the freshly squeezed juices while you are here. Â My favorite is the Green Heaven, made with Kiwi, Lime, Orange, Pineapple, Spinach, and Cucumber. Â Â They used to occasionally make this juice into an amazing vegan "ice cream, " which, should you ever see on the menu, please let me know, 'cause I want some.
Food is great, but what good is it when the takeout containers are recycle #6, polystyrene. Â Polystyrene (Styrofoam) is not recyclable whether it is the white or the clear clam shells. Â Lots of consciousness for the health and enjoyment of the customers but lack of regard for the world on the other side of the door. Â And he does have many takeout orders, all wrapped neatly in a plastic non-biodegradable bag. Â Â
Floating garbage patches the size of Texas in the oceans with dead birds from ingesting discarded plastic and the owner doesn't want to see my take out container suggestions (recycle symbol #5, biodegradable, corn) that I've collected from conscious restaurants. Â
And then there is the leaching into hot foods common with #6. Â I've had the hot pancakes and rice leave their marks in a clam shell or two over the many years.
The food was also better years ago, more mushrooms.
The owner, Bill, is awesome! Almost every time I go in, he's there and he tells me stories of his life in Chicago. I love the location - thank goodness there's a healthy food restaurant in the northwest side. I like the smoothies - especially the ones with tofu because they pack a lot of protein and still taste great. I love the vegan dumplings. Everything is pretty healthy and it's an acquired taste. A little pricey. Beautiful restaurant with peaceful music playing.
Review Source:Read the reviews on Yelp and decided to give this a try. Â My friend and I were pleasantly surprised. Â The place is clean, quiet and zen-like. Â If you want a quiet conversation with your dining partner, this is the place. Â Chef/owner Bill was gracious and recommended a couple of dishes to help us narrow down the healthy and interesting choices. Â The portions are very large and Chef Bill was happy to let us split the 9 Ways to Nirvana Soup which came in very generous bowls. Â We also ordered the Tibetan High Noon, which will bring me back again! Â It was so delicious, a nice kick of spice but not overwhelming, and so tasty. Â I am not a vegetarian but with all the amazing flavors of the dishes, I didn't miss meat at all. Â You do leave the place feeling healthy, relaxed, and satisfied. Â There is music (I called it massage music) which plays nicely in the background, and lends itself to a hushed atmosphere. Â I found myself speaking with a soft, low voice. Â Overall experience was positive and I'd highly recommend Amitabul for a delicious vegetarian meal in a quiet zen place.
Review Source:A great , healthy addition to the Chicago Vegan restaurant scene! Amitabul feeds the mind, body, and spirit. A menu of colorful, flavor-filled, healing foods offers unprocessed, organic grains and vegetables dishes made fresh daily. Finish off your meal with a rejuvenating juice blend or refreshing smoothie. Feel the difference!
Review Source:Great place, great ambience. Wonderful and delicious food. A Â must stop for vegan / vegetarian fans near Chicago. We thoroughly enjoyed everything we ordered - Kimchi tofu young, date tea, miso / tofu soup, curry with nuts and sweet potatoes. The portion sizes are really big. Be warned!
Review Source:I am sad to say that I have some friends who are vegetarian. I mean, I am not sad we are friends, I am sad that they don't eat bacon or the many other tasty meats...especially of the cured variety. No matter. Dinner was in order and Amitabul fit the bill.
Amitabul is a little unassuming Korean vegan restaurant off Milwaukee in Norwood Park. I'm sure I have driven right past it before so keep yer eyes peeled out there, people! Â The booths are something to be desired. They are old, sort of small and have seen better days. I think the rest of the decor is pretty in line with most other Asian eateries. It is VERY quiet in there. I mean, QUIET. I had to talk with a hushed voice. There some very zen-like music being played. I felt like I should be doing yoga rather than perusing a menu in a Korean restaurant.
Ok, enough about the atmosophere. I know you are dying to know if I survived a vegan meal. I did it! Praise the lawd! I survived, I survived! We got an order of mandu dumplings and soy pancakes to share. I got "the dark side of the moon"...a noodle dish comprised of oyster & shitake mushrooms, mystic Asian veggies (their words, not mine), rice noodles and a black bean miso sauce. Utterly delicious. The dumplings were also solid and the soy panckes were particulary tasty (they are somewhat similar to scallion pancakes, but not quite).
I would totally go back to Amitabul to score some more pancakes and perhaps check out their soup while soaking up the zen-like yoga-tastic atmosopher of this place. I'd also like to try one of their homemade juices. I noticed A LOT of take out orders going out the door and discovered that Amitabul does monthly meal programs, meal plans and fiber fasting plans. Interesting and something I might consider doing being that their food is so tasty. Maybe my New Year's resolution will be to go vegetarian?! ........ Yea, I know we all had a good chuckle over that one.
Amitabul, does a body good. Give it a try.
Quiet, friendly, calm. Â Alas, if this restaurant were only a juice bar, cafeteria or spa. Â Dumplings seemed to be made in house, but often fell apart when trying to eat them. Â Temperature also seemed to be something the kitchen struggled with. Â Both mandoo order and noodle dish [Dark Side of the Moon] arrived just below room temperature. Â Noodle dish could have also been more generous with additional oyster and shiitake mushrooms. Â There were perhaps three shiitake and one oyster mushroom used. Â Overall, food was bland and lacking inspiration. Â Again, service was friendly, but one doesn't go out to eat service.
Review Source:Amitabul. Wonderful with a purpose. Healing, and restorative. But does it taste like you are scarfing down medicine? Heck no! I will describe the plating; let's say you go to a fancy restaurant, and they "plate" using a plate upon which they put another plate... Hang with me for a sec, remember that first plate? Well that is the plate your food will get served on.HUGE! The soups? Well, lets just say most places in the city will leave you feeling like Oliver Twist, "Please, sir, may I have some more porridge?" Not so here. Restorative healing would be an apt description of the cuisine, but only to a point. It is feel good veggie delight; there are mushrooms, broths, and vegetables in combinations that you will not find many places in the city. Chef Dave will offer suggestions, on your mood, or your health.
I ride my bike year round, and have been to this place all seasons, I have  seen this place evolve and grow into a place that is always on the top of my list. Why? Because this place has the best  vegetarian (vegan) cuisine in the city... To me. Fresh, piping hot veggies, with no fake meats, that is different that what I can make at home, and that is FLAVORFUL (not just with Sirracha). I meant to write this sooner. My apologies to the chef. I think I was so blissed out, and feeling good about my health that I forgot about you. Me Bad.
I have had Amitabul bookmarked for years, literally. My boyfriend and I happened to be in the area and hungry and decided to check it out. The decor does not impress, like others said, but who cares when the food is amazing? All the dishes are loaded with veggies, nuts and roots, portions are very generous and prices reasonable. Â The owner came around the tables to check on his guests and make sure all is well. Comfortable and friendly environment- we will be back.
Review Source:Jeebus... they give a lot of food here! So have been going vegan for a bit now and plan to at least continue for at least 2 more months or so. Gf is going vegetarian and we'll see how long she'll last. Anyways, instead of going to get a quick juice we decided since she was hungry (and we were kind of in the area) that I would take here to a place my friend took me to a few years ago.
So Amitabul... Interior is old and pretty outdated. The booth we sat in needed some upholstering, but whatever.
Service was good and we got a few good suggestions for food options. Water was also never empty which is good.
Food. Well I got the wolfman dish while the gf got Dr. K's noodle soup. Both were spicy, but I think the temperature added to that initially. It's not Thai spicy so not a big deal for us, but I would say for most it will be very spicy if you ask for spicy. Both dishes were good and gf loved her soup. I loved all the nuts in my dish as it was a nice addition.
For dessert we got the vegan green tea ice cream. Honestly, it was awesome... I wouldn't have known it was vegan if I had it elsewhere. Taste was good and I was surprised.
While pricey, they give you more than enough bang for your buck. We will definitely be coming back.
I'm grateful this place is closer to the neighborhood than most vegan only restaurants, but it could certainly use an update. Â The menu seems to be more Korean orientated than Buddist or Vegan focused. Â Besides the fact I'm not crazy about Korean, the food is just OK. Â The postives are that the portion size is great and love the date tea, because it uses real fruit inside. Â I find that the if you take the meal home and wait a day it usually tastes a lot better, but I guess that defeats the purpose of fresh, microbiotic yada yada yada crap, maybe processed and stored in just in my palate vocabulary now. Â
Something seems wrong in the execution of this business, I say this to help. Â The 30 month cleanse diet thingy is tempting, but if I'm expected to stop by every morning for a fresh meal prepared that's just not possible in my life. Â And I understand the $300-$400 for it, BUT, realistically that will cause me to spend too much on food for a month because I don't see myself being limited to come only here. Â What if I miss a day? Â I just wouldn't want to make that much of an investment for something that isn't a sure thing.
While back in Chicago for a few days, we decided to have lunch at Amitabul, a restaurant serving "Buddhist healing vegan cuisine. " Â From the outside, it appeared to be a bit rundown as the letters on its green awning were peeling off, but inside it was just fine.
Once inside, we were greeted by a server who said we could sit wherever we'd like. We picked a booth near the window. Â There was a Buddha statue, plants and literature near the entrance. The restaurant itself was casual and there were only a couple of people eating when we arrived.
The menu is 100% vegan and we were a bit overwhelmed by all of the choices. I couldn't tell much by the descriptions on the menu as they tended to state things like, "complete list of many healing herbs, veggies with tofu that will kick one step higher for your inner level of energy." When I asked what was actually in this dish, I was told herbs and veggies -- not quite sure which herbs and veggies though.
I settled on the Yin and Yan plus tofu while Zach ordered a different veggie dish. Â I also ordered the ginger apple juice. The juice was okay -- kind of watered down. Â My dish had the following warning on the menu: "Please don't order this dish if you can't take the heat." Â Ha! Â When it arrived it was not only super spicy, but temperature-wise hot too! Â There were lots of different veggies accompanied by brown rice and a spicy sauce. The veggies were mostly shredded, which is not my favorite way to eat veggies. There was green peppers, squash, carrots, broccoli, peas, onions, and tofu. The vegetables were fine, but the sauce was not that great. It was super spicy, but it lacked other flavor, that is, other than hot. Zach felt the same about his dish - it was missing something.
The portions were large so I left with enough for lunch the next day. With so many different entrees, I have to think that some of them are probably pretty good. Our entrees were okay, but nothing I'd go out of the way for in the future. I also thought the dishes were a bit pricey for lunch at about $12 each. Â They could have served half the size for lunch at half the price and that would have made it a bit more reasonable.
I had high hopes for this place by hearing and reading the great reviews, but honestly, the dishes I ordered were decidedly "meh." It was about $50 bucks for three dishes and an appetizer, which is pretty steep for a carryout Korean place, especially one that doesn't need to buy expensive ingredients like meat. Granted, the entrees were HUGE, about enough for two or three people.
We ordered the Mandoo Vegan Dumplings, and they give you twelve where most places give you about half that. Honestly, they where just OK, but I've had better ones at other places. The dipping sauce was pretty watery and bland. It also comes with a hot, Sriracha-like sauce as well.
For the entrees, we got two orders of the Amitabul Original Veggie Tofu Young, one going to a carnivore and another to a vegetarian. The carnivore was displeased with the texture.. it was kind of custard-y, and just did not taste like an egg foo young at all. The vegetarian said it was not what he was expecting, and it was low on vegetables. They use a tofu skin on the top of the custard-y vegetable concoction to replicate the egg in egg foo young, but it's not that great. Â I tried it, and I agree with them. It also comes with three sauces, two of them were the same as the ones that came with the dumplings, and the other a brown miso-y gravy. Kinda disappointing and bland.
I had the Yin and Yan, which is really spicy, which I love in general, but the dish was very one-note. It's basically a bunch of random vegetables floating in a watered-down kimchi sauce. Â They give you a teeny tiny box of rice, which is unusual for the size of the dish--I would have preferred more rice to counteract the heat.
We did carryout, so I can't comment on the service, but the best description for the decor is "old man bar."
Overall, I found the dishes pretty uninspired. They seem to suffer from the same problem that a lot of Americanized Chinese restaurants have, where to make up for the meat taste, they basically just throw a bunch of random vegetables together, make a salty brown sauce (I call it Snot Sauce) and hope for the best. Â
Another reviewer mentioned that the mushrooms were unusually chewy. Yes, they are, and I wonder if that's because they were cooked and then frozen? I'm just making a guess here, but yeah, it's kind of a weird texture.
At least there is another vegan option in the city, for what it's worth.
It was a bit further out of the city than I thought but after trying Amitabul all I can say is, Â it was entirely worth very block.
Amitabul is like a shot of wellness - giving yourself a big hug. Everything on the menu is very healthy and balanced and most importantly deeeeelicious!
I had the Yin and Yan with brown rice and we split an order of the dumplings. The dumplings are delicate, tasty and you wouldn't even know they are vegetarian. I enjoy spicy food and the Yin Yan doesn't disappoint. I broke a sweat and the sinuses were cleared! The portions are very generous, the rice is cooked perfectly and the veggies are uber fresh. Everything was flavorlicious. Do yourself and your body a favor and try Amitabul! Don't be put off by the decor - it is - lacking -- but what's crazy is, the food and vibe are so good that I don't care! I wish they were in the city! A friend told me they used to have a location on Southport. Come back!
Amitabul is just straight up awesome.
I don't care if you are vegetarian, vegan, or Ted Nugent. You have to come here just to see how enormous the portions are, how good the food is, and try the desserts too. Not to mention that it's definitely not going to be heavy on the wallet.
The vegan dumplings are awesome - and quite filling. They definitely tasted different than any vegan dumpling I've had elsewhere. Â I coupled that with the Jade Maki, and barely had room for dinner. There is definitely some magic to the style of food here.
I elected to get the Yin and Yang, which was warned to be spicy. The food was extremely hot - but by hot, I mean temperature. Spiciness was about average for me. I guess I need to learn how to explain to people that "yes, I mean as hot as you can make it", not "As hot as the average diner can handle". This doesn't detract from the flavor - it was still a good meal with good flavor, and I was served quickly, plus the service was polite - definitely a plus. As far as spices, not everyone enjoys a bhut jolokia for being made to sweat, I suppose.
To finish it all off, we elected on a pair of chestnut cookies. All I can say is, try it. I don't think I've ever had a "chestnut cookie" before in my life, and it was very, very different. It tasted like a rice bean paste cookie - it was chewy, sticky, and delish.
I found it quite interesting that they also do a "eat your entire month here" type meal plan, which must be quite interesting for the locals.
Definitely coming back here again.
This is the reason why i love to live in Chicago. A truly unique eatery Korean/Tibetan/Vegan spot that even has a meal program were one of the brothers that will be greeting and waiting on you offers a diagnosis that determines what your body needs.
My fave dish is Dark Side of the Moon it has Heavenly oyster mushroom with shitake mushrooms steamed stirred with mystic Asian veggie noodles all mixed over rice noodle and aged Chef Bill's black bean miso sauce. A perfect place to take a meat lover to show them that vegan food can be delicious.
Stopped by shortly after the lunch hour to check this neighborhood place out. Â Thinking of bringing a Vegetarian Guest.
had the Mandoo Vegan Dumpling (12 pc.) over a bed of raw cabbage.
The dumpling skin was thin and soft, difficult for the fork but easy with the chop sticks. Â The skin was delicate to the taste, in fact, a sensation we enjoyed.
The filling could have been more .... filling, but they were still very good.
We shared the Dark Side of the Moon entree. Â The brown sauce (Miso) was outstanding and there was so much we stopped eating to have something to bag and bring home. Â Dinner tonight (at home) will feature the brown sauce. Â The rice noodles were a bit hard to eat, fork or chop sticks making me wish the entree was served along with small bowls to serve in to. Â The veggies were cooked just right, could have had a few more of the mushrooms, but overall the taste was really good and that's what we came for.
We'll be back soon as there were several items on the menu we wanted to try.
Absolutely worth the effort to get to Amitabul. My wife and I went for dinner on Saturday and tried the soy pancakes and Wolfman's Dream Treat. We enjoyed it so much we went back Sunday for lunch! A word of warning for those sensitive to spicy food because I found even the medium spicy to be pretty hot. My wife, on the other hand, really loves spicy food and thought it was perfect. Don't be deterred though because they will make it as spicy or not as you would like.
I would also recommend the juices/smoothies as they are outstanding.
Lastly, I'll mention that the atmosphere is relaxing and welcoming with friendly staff and patrons.
Ok. I am not vegan or vegetarian but I grew up with my very very Buddhist grandparents so 'temple food' ( ) isn't foreign to me. I thought Amitabul was that. It is, I guess, but quite westernized.
I'm not sure if I can consider food from Amitabul to be authentic Korean.
It's more of a fusion, I guess. First of all, no ban chan. I mean.. come on..
We got the Jap Che Bap (maybe it's spelled differently) and the tofu bibim bap. I wasn't impressed at all. They were both pretty bland, and the bibim bap really should have more ingredients. One would expect at LEAST 4 types of different colored veggies in there (usually lightly boiled/tossed spinach, bean sprouts, carrots, fernbrake or potato, lettuce..) and all I saw were some bean sprouts and carrots.
I would possibly give Amitabul another chance, but probably not any time soon.
Delicious Vegetarian / Vegan food is available in Chicago, just sometimes it's hard to find.
Amitabul specialized in Vegan KOREAN foods. Â For a culture known for it's meaty BBQs, who knew Vegan Korean could taste SO GOOD. Â Everything on the menu is catered towards wellness, rejuvenation and healing. Â Lots of veggie dishes, soups, rice and noodles.
It's Korean so there's lots of Kimchi and spicy flavors if you want them. Â My friend and I split a seaweed salad to start (warning, NOT like a Japanese seaweed salad) Â But super spicy and delicious with seaweed mixed with chunks of tofu and bell peppers.
Then we each got a bowl of soup. Â The soups are GIGANTIC, think Pho sized but BIGGER. Â We barely made a dent and took so much home in a doggie bag for later.
I will definitely return. I want to try more of the salads and the BiBimBop. Â Or if I'm starting to feel a cold coming on, these soups have healing powers!
Wow, who knew this place was just the best? Â I wouldn't know where to start, except that the food here is just out of this world. Â
No, its not Alinea or its brethren, but this is home cooked food. Â Something you could have every other day, and feel good in consuming it. Â Everything here is pretty much healthy and tasty. Â
One of the soup is called "Dr. K's Cure All Noodle Soup" and really, I think it might cure your cold. Â if you ask for it spicy, it will come spicy. Â I'm Indian and find that saying spicy in most places is medium at best. Â But here, they give you spicy.
Both there ginger and date teas are good, and I recommend getting one.
The big negative is that its SO out of the way. Â Apparently, they were on Southport a while back. Â Not sure why they went up so north, I assume they would have lost lots of walk-ins. Â And they are closed Monday... always the day when I want it...
And as a aside, don't judge a book by its cover. Â The interior is 1970s seedy diner. Â Imagine plastic wood diner table with booths... florescent light, space that looks like a community center, no interesting facade, and a whole lot of other negatives. Â But I think that's what makes this place so great. Â Something that most people don't know about, and those that take the time to try it, are tremendously rewarded.
p.s. they accept MemberCard (if you have one), which gives you 2 for 1 deals at many Chicago places.
First things first, I'm not a vegan or vegetarian. Secondly, going here leaves me with no desire to even have any meat by the time I leave! This place just rocks. I LOVE the pancakes! I stick to the Original and even tried and liked the Spicy Kimchi pancakes last time I had them. We always order the dumplings appetizer. Those are tasty as hell. The tofu miso soup is way better than other miso soups I've had at chain type places. The regular soups on the menu come in a bowl about as big as my head (and that's saying a lot!). I hear the smoothies are great too. By the way, I have never left the restaurant without taking leftovers home, portions are huge and prices are very reasonable. The Owner/staff are extremely friendly. Support your local business!
In summary, the food is great and vegan or not, get your butt in here and try something awesome!
This place is pretty amazing. Â I'm a pork lover, and generally don't go crazy over vegetarian food, but I do love noodle soup, so I figured I'd give it a try. Â The effort was rewarded, as this joint has one of the best versions I've ever had.
I only tried two items, as the portions are ridiculously large. Â The first was the 9 Ways To Nirvana noodle soup. Â A 12 year aged Miso broth, noodles and loads of veggies. Â I'm a pretty picky eater, and the only 2 vegetables I don't like that were in the soup were mushrooms and broccoli (I know, I'm strange). Â Other than that, once started, I could not stop until there was nothing left of everything else. Â Insanely good.
The other dish was Tibetan High Noon. Â Noodles with some sort of awesome, spicy sauce/curry bedazzled with black sesame seeds, and the kinds of vegetables I dig on - green beans, bell peppers, etc... Â I was really impressed with the depth of flavor in this - it's kind of similar to Pad Thai in makeup, but the flavor in this beats that all to hell.
And as others have noted - I felt like a million dollars while eating this food. Â I'm not sure how Chef Bill achieves the magic healing powers of the dishes he's crafted, but I can attest that the goodness contained therein most definitely gives you a pleasant buzz. Â My only complaint is that it's so far North - they need to bring one of these down to Wicker Park!
My wife and I had lunch here today, and I was so impressed that I wanted to Yelp the experience straight away. Â We had the mandoo with veggies and a side of kimchi to start - each was absolutely superb. Â The veggies in the mandoo were crisp (i.e. not overcooked) and delicious, and the kimchi was some of the best I've had. Â For our entrees, my wife had a spicy vegetable soup (Dr. K's Cure All Noodle) - very spicy, loaded with amazing vegetables, noodles, tofu. Â Wonderful. Â I had Yin and Yan - rice cakes with vegetables, rice, tons of fresh veggies, and a super-spicy sauce. Â I also had the ginger-apple juice (very gingery, be warned - if you like that sort of thing like I do, dive in!), and my wife had the Green Heaven, a healthy smoothie with green vegetables and juice. Â
In addition to the food, the atmosphere was delightful - the artwork and music were very tasteful and appropriate for the mood of the restaurant. Â The service is top notch (Chef Bill will take your order and help you out with suggestions - he's very cool!). Â
My highest 5-star review.
Just went here for lunch. Â All of us were not vegan or even vegetarian and really enjoyed it! Â We were craving something spicy and hearty, now that the weather is starting to turn, and found it at Amitabul.
Only knock - HUGE portions and prices that are not that friendly to an everyday lunch crowd. Â I really wanted the nirvana soup and decided to try it for the $12. Â Well, I now have lunch for the next 4 days. Â Which I totally don't mind, but would rather it be $5-6 and finish it right there and then.
Sort of defeats the purpose of being healthy when you have portions that define what is wrong with America today :) Â
Will definitely be back though, with more friends to share!
Amitabul is not your typical vegan resturant. There are no mock meats and the food is veggie, not tofu, based. These dishes are fresh and exciting, too good and too generous not to share. The flavors are complex and beautiful and loaded with fresh exciting vegetables and herbs to make a body feel good. I usually do takeout, but I've brought everyone I know here and we always leave happy.
Favorites: Â The Dark Side of the Moon is an amazing noodle dish and Steve's Super Shitake Wonder Noodle Soup is huge and ridiculously filling. It's packed with big, beautiful mushrooms, chewy rice cakes and plenty of vegetables. The Korean Soy Pancakes come with a mind-blowing aged miso sauce; between the veggies, texture and the sauces I think it's probably the perfect dish.
Oh! And Dr. K's Wonder Noodle Soup! It really does cure hangovers! In fact, it cleans out your whole system - so be prepared for that :)
Reason to go: The "Cure All" Soup. This thing is incredible, hot, spicy, full of delicious mushrooms, vegetables, and chewy noodles.
Conversation behind me: "oh that's too spicy. no that's too spicy. what should we get. [ asks guy what to get ]"... 15 minutes later. "SO WHERE DID YOU GO TO SHAMAN SCHOOL?"... few minutes later "it's the frequency of the ospital lobe. osbital? orbistal. you can heal it from anywhere". 10 minutes later "the problem is the guy goes to the doctor too much"... 5 minutes later "obahma.. [ something something conspiracy ]"...
Summary: also, get the "amitabul classic pancakes" too.
ps. Be prepared to take food home.
Well, now I have a new spot for lunch on my airport runs. Me vegan mate Thomas asked me to take us to lunch before I dropped him off at O'Hare for a flight to London. So I took the opportunity to go to Amitabul, which is just down the street from the very un-vegan Superdawg. My first question, though, is why would a vegan place be called A-Meat-A-Bul, and not A-Veg-ta-Bul?
Our lunch was fantastic. We ordered date tea and ginger tea, which were both quite the taste bud fiesta, and very warming and assuring on a cool afternoon. We ordered the dumplings or "pot stickers", the miso soup, a curried veggie mixture with nuts and mushrooms, and the mushroom bi bim bop. Now I am not a vegan, but I enjoy a great combination of flavors, and none of these dishes disappointed. Ordering the medium "heat" was perfect. It took me to the edge of my heat threshold without destroying flavors. Â I cannot wait to have the mushroom bi bim bop again. I did get to taste Thomas' "flu soup", their famous antidote to that illness. Great soup, but again the nomenclature. If pea soup, is made from peas, and carrot soup is made from carrots...well you catch my drift. But I would come here for the flu or the miso.
We had no issues with service. It was reliable and gracious. The decor is a real hoot, however. You can tell that they took over an old coffee shop, and then sent someone out to a few local yard sales to pick up just the right items to achieve that Goodwill haphazard style. There is a table in the front with graduation pics from the 60's and 70's, a really handsome hippie, and other characters who just could not be family members. It's like carrying around the pics you get in the wallet instead of putting in your own. The walls have some actual Asian graphics, and above our table was a shot of The Dalai Lama with Richard Gere. (I am guessing it was NOT taken there at the restaurant). No-one could accuse these folks of not being original. I love it!
I Â do have to address this phenomenon of mixing religion and cuisine, which only seems prevalent with vegan/vegetarian places. Soul food vegetarian, Victory's Banner, and Amitabul all have this religious or spiritual component. At Amitabul, its Buddhism. There is even a buddhist item on the menu-a type of service, I think. Anyone know of a good Episcopalian dive?
1st off... call before you go... verify they are open... they seem to close at a whim. Â 2nd the decor is lacking but it's about the AMAZING food anyway. 3rd waitstaff can be a bit stand-offish until you've been there a few times... but again... it's about the AMAZING food. Â 4th if the menu says it is spicy... it is.... do not be fooled... prepare for sweating and nose running.
I despise mushrooms-as in dry heave. Â The 1st meal I had there had mushrooms in it (most dishes do)but I planned to flick them to my friends plate (who loves mushrooms.) Â I did try one since this restaurant was a new experience for me. Â I have no idea what type of mushrooms they use... but they tasted great-texture perfect... to my friends dismay since he was looking forward to extra shrooms. Â I actually called my little brother after wards to brag of my mushroom eating. Â The 1st thing he asked was "What?! Â No dry heaving?!" Â Nope ;-) We had soy pancakes as an appetizer which is a meal in itself... they have grated veggies in them! Â I have also had Dr. K's soup. Â So good! Â sorry I can not remember all the names of items I have had... but I have not been disappointed!
If you are a "meat and potato" loving person, this is NOT your place.
This is a Korean owned Vegan restaurant...it is more Vegan cuisine than traditional Korean cuisine.
It's good, it used to be better. Which is sad.
The portions used to be much bigger and tastier.
It's very close to my house, which is worth a star.
When I'm in the mood for a good healthy, meat-less, spicy soup, I go here, but it is becoming less and less as there are much tastier Vegan places opening up.
I do like their soups and they have a Ginger-Citron tea, I really like.
Amitabul was my first vegan dining experience, and I loved it.
Two friends and I ordered three entrees and a spring roll appetizer, and it was all delicious.
My Dark Side of the Moon was yummy, even if the noodles were crazy slippery and next to impossible to grip with chopsticks.
The oddly written menus left me puzzled, and the mantras on the walls induced giggling, but that's really part of the charm.
The prices were great, and the service was prompt and friendly. I only wish it were closer to Logan Square.
I went here for the first time last night and I was amazed.
First of I was amazed cause I used to drive right past this place at least once a week for six months and I never knew that it was there.
Second was that the location is not in an area where you expect to find a restaurant that serves delicious food, let alone delicious vegetarian food.
Third, every other person who came into this place was greeted by name...
Okay, so I was really indecisive about what I wanted to get, luckily they had a combo platter which included my choice of tea, soup and desert, plus a surprise entree. Perfect! I could make some small decisions and leave the main one up to the chef.
What I got was a kind of kimchee inspired meal...it had sooooo many vegetables and rice noodles. I thought the serving size was a bit big, but since it was so good and almost all vegetables I ate the whole thing. Mmmmmm....
My boyfriend got a sweet curry dish...I tried it and it was also tasty and sweet and had lots and lots of fruit in it...very good.
I saw other people order soup, and that makes me want to get soup the next time I come in there.
I want to go back already.
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