Dragon Lady Lounge

This is such an unique little cute place! I have never been to anywhere like it in Chicago and wish I had known about it earlier.  It's a bar that serves yummy Korean and American vegan food with a Latin flair.  The price in general is very reasonable.  The atmosphere is laid back and fun.  I went with a group of 6 and we got a table easily and had a great time eating, talking, and drinking.  The drinks are very cheap too; PBR were $2.  They serve beers, sangria, Margarita, hot tea with tequila ( my favorite), wine, many other drinks.  The service was quick and friendly and our servers were genuinely nice and we felt very welcome there.  The food is also good.  We were able to get small plates and my favorites were the kimchi pancake and vegetable dumplings (steamed). I love it how they played mostly 90's music as well. Everything about this place is very down to earth, neat, and great  to hang out with a group.  Not to mention, our servers were so awesome that they gave us free shots of tequila and dragon lady juice. It's always wonderful to have more options for folks that enjoy vegan and vegetarian food.   I am so happy that the now I another place to go for vegetarian food.

I've known a few Dragon Ladies in my time. Luckily, maybe they eschew this spot in favor of meeting with their coven or off being Cryptkeeper's play cousin. Unfortunately, it's seems many others do as well. We strolled in after a delightful meal to check it out on a Saturday night and it was a bit dead.

The atmosphere was strange. And not in a quaint way. Odd decor. Lots of red accents, candles, velvet draped couches. A bunch of Dragon signs on the walls which my partner felt reminded him of the Karate Kid logos; but I thought resembled logos from Double Dragon. It's weird the restaurant aspect is emphasized so much, when there's only hightops, a bar, and couple of couches, and it's all dark.

The music was also eccentric. They played old school hip hop, 80's metal, hits from 90's Now That's Music compilations. Tag Team, Mötley Crüe, Toni Tone Tony, Kid Rock, Montel Jordan...uh ok? Someone set the iPod list on shuffle.

It was very cold. Even the bartender's (who was very nice) pals/co workers (?) were wearing parkas and wool hats. We only stayed for 1 round of beer due to this and the fact it was Snoresville.

They seem to be mostly known for the Thursday 7pm $7.50 Vegan Korean buffet with a bunch of options including their kimchi which is supposed to be rad. My partner said he actually likes Korean food and Kimchi (learn something new everyday). So I'm giving it an "A-OK" since I'd likely return to try the famous buffet.

Dragon Lady Lounge gets a double thumbs up from me. I came here the first time for the vegan buffet but ended up leaving after 15 minutes as I had arrived a bit too early and would have had to wait a good hour for the buffet to start. After I had gotten most of the way home I realized I left my credit card at Dragon Lady Lounge. I called and spoke to Robert, asking if he could hold onto my card for safekeeping for a week when I would return. He said he would and he did!

A week later I returned to enjoy a regular "Vegan Thursday" as they like to call it. Right away I asked for my card and got it back. I had been checking my bank account on a daily basis to ensure no one was making fraudulent purchases and was very relieved to find that no one did. SO, to make a long story short, the folks at Dragon Lady Lounge are honest and trustworthy, which, I feel is difficult to find these days.

Now onto the food. I had never had Bi Bim Bop before so I decided to try it. I'm a wuss when it comes to spicy food so they gladly made it without the spicy sauce, and they made it fresh. Needless to say I was very pleased! The Bi Bim Bop was delicious and I enjoyed how the various vegetables were seasoned differently on top of a bed of white rice, then topped with a nice piece of tofu. I really enjoyed it. In addition to the Bi Bim Bop I also tried some of the green bean crisps (which I thought would be deep fried, but instead were sauteed -- still good though), steamed dumplings and the kimchi pancake. All were VERY good. Finally for my drinks, I enjoyed a couple of their warm apple juice/cider drinks that have rum and cinnamon. Super good and warming for such cold weather.

All in all I enjoyed Dragon Lady Lounge -- the staff is very friendly and the food very good. Recommended!