After eating there for several years, I just had to give up. The food by and large is awful, prepared with complete indifference to taste or grease content. I had hoped that after the owner who had past away from pancreatic cancer, that there might a change in management and hopefully, the kitchen staff. But no such change has been made.
I prefer frequenting local businesses and would enjoy eating in a diner that serves, wholesome, if staid cuisine, but the Lincoln diner misses on all counts. Plus it needs a good cleaning and with warm, soapy water and fix the water leaks.
My hair salon is in the area and I noticed a sign outside advertising Monday night Banjo - no cover. Â So we make a point to return to this place to check out the music. Â The "decor" (we'll use that term lightly here), is confused and out-dated. Â It is a mix of old, new, and just plain tacky. Â I'd be happy to get past the decor if the food and service was good. Â However, the waitress got us a beer and didn't return for a really long time to take our food order. Â It wasn't very busy, and she looked over at us several times, but didn't bother to actually come take the order. Â The menu itself is as confused as the decoration in this place - it ranges from pastas to Asian to burgers. Â We ordered the Italian panini with fries. Â First, there is nothing about this panini that is Italian. Â The bread was nice, but it stops there. Â It was filled with some kind of unidentifiable meat and something I'll assume were vegetables. Â The fries had clearly come out of the freezer, and all it smelled strangely of beef - and not in a good way. Â This experience seemed to take forever, always trying to flag down the waitress. Â When we finally got our check, she disappeared with our credit card for a good 10 minutes while she delivered food to another table. Â Once we signed and were exiting, the first speedy thing she did all night was snatch the receipt off the table. Â If negative tip were possible, we would have done so. Â And if you're wondering what the Banjo night was all about - we'll just say there were about 10 older gentlemen playing a variety of instruments with one banjo player that you could barely hear. Â I hardly think this counts as a Banjo night. Â And the fact that the "no cover" advertisement implies there is EVER a cover to come in this disaster of a restaurant is a joke. Â One banjo not withstanding, the rest of the music was lackluster. Â Needless to say, we won't be coming back here.
Review Source:This place is solid as a diner. You have your standard diner menu with your standard diner food quality and pricies to choose from. You know the kinds of things I am talking about. i don't need to divulge much information now. The quality is consistent with any solid diner in the city.
I must jump ahead right now. When we were done with meals our server came around with a dessert tray. We were NOT expecting a nicely prepared dessert tray at a place like this. They got us hook, line, and sinker. We had to have a dessert!
You know how some places make an effort to go retro? This place makes no effort to go retrro because everything looks the same that it did many years ago, most likely when it first opened. It was not a turn off because everything was well kept but it was quite amusing to an extent.
It was a good, solid diner meal experience, worth of a return trip by us in the future!
Was reflecting recently about my worst restaurant experiences in Chicago and checking out Yelp for help. Â After looking at the dismal experiences that North Side Chicagoans have had recently with the US Postal Service, I was reminded of a visit to Lincoln Restaurant a number of years ago that was horrific and far beyond the grossness of the U.S. Post office on W. Irving Park in Lake View. Â I stopped in for a late lunch and discovered as time passed that the waitress was so high on cocaine, maybe even heroine, that she had forgotten about my order. When I asked the manager what was going on, he sent the waitress over to take my order again. To help her "save face," I think I gave her my order again and ended up leaving after actually eating something. But it was all so pathetic and something I will always remember. Â Happy to be living in Berkeley, California these days!
Review Source:The Lincoln (located on Lincoln Avenue of course), is basically a diner with a few goofy Lincoln references. I ordered a meat loaf meal for lunch with a cup of French onion soup. It was all fine but nothing special. Sounds like they host some entertainment on selected evenings, so I guess that is a good thing.
Review Source:Been going to the Lincoln for over 20 years now and it hasn't changed much which is just the way i like it! Â For breakfast, I'll have the "General Brag" which is a nice size omelet in a skillet filled with sausage, mushrooms and cheese complimented with o'brien potato's....it's delicious. For lunch, i go with a fat juicy burger with a mound of cottage fries and slaw washed down with a Behemoth size coke. For those of you who don't like a little grease in there food or portions that will fill up just about anyone, i suggest staying home and boiling an egg! Â Rather not see you there anyways.
Review Source:I had breakfast here this morning and was skeptical at first...The whole set up of the restaurant was kinda weird...it looked like a garage then when i went through the door it was this extremely dark long hall ..
 When i came to end of the hall i walked into what was a bar and it was dark and on the other side was the restaurant ..It was bright and the complete opposite of the bar...I felt relieved once I entered the restaurant side because it was kinda creepy on the bar side..
overall its like a mom and pop restaurant that turns into a bar at night ..It was separated by a wall and the bar and restaurant were very roomy.The food was really good! it was like a real home cooked breakfast..I ordered a omelette with ham and cheddar..The ham was shaved from the bone and the potatoes had onions and peppers which was sooo delicious and flavorful...
 There was so much food on my plate,I could only finish a quarter of it...Overall I left satisfied
I took my daughter here for a breakfast last week before running errands on a sunny Saturday. Â I had seen it in the neighborhood for a while and was anxious to check it out.
I am not that big of a food snob, but the food was very mediocre. Â The meal presentation was not appealing and tasted very greasy. Â Neither my daughter or I could finish eating. Â I know it is a local favorite - but bummer that it could not have tasted better. Â
It is not the cleanest place I have been inside either. Â The table was sticky and food was in the seats- it really turned me off when being seated and sort of made me lose my appetite for the greasy food.
Last was that the service was probably the least-friendly that I have had in the North Center area restaurants. Â The waitress was short with my daughter and I did not find that such a good thing for a family business.
I won't be back with my other two kids! Â We will have to find another place for going out to breakfast!
My hubby has been here before... in a past life, before I came into the picture.
He had talked about Lincoln Restaurant with a little gleam in his eye and a cute little smile on his face.
Because of that, I knew I needed to try it.
We loaded the kids in the car early one Sunday morning to drive to the city to visit my oldest son who lives there. After a few hugs and hellos, we headed in the direction of Lincoln Restaurant.
I love a theme and I love some kitsch.
As I was sitting there at a big round table for 5... I felt as though the cast of Seinfeld would walk in the door (if only Seinfeld was filmed in Chicago and was still on TV)... or maybe the cast of Cheers (again, if it was filmed in Chicago and still on TV) would walk in to cure their hangovers after sitting in the bar all night.
I loved it. The food was good, not awesome-spectaular-the-best-thing-I've-ever-eaten, but good. Our waitress was awesome (we were there on April Fools day and she fooled my 7 year old son many times and it was hilarious) and the setting was... well, Americana.
I'll be back!
Lincoln Restaurant is a perfect example of the old Irving Park neighborhood that once was, and it hasn't changed one iota in over four decades. Â When I moved to Chicago in the early 1980s, I first went to this place. Â Last week I took my six-year-old daughter there and it's exactly the same, accounting for age. Â
The food's good, the pricing's reasonable, the waitstaff is nice, the general decor is Lincoln- themed, although it's just decoration and does not in any way resemble Lincoln memorabilia.
The Lincoln Restaurant is the kind of unchanged cheesy I want to love. And in general, I do.
I have been coming to Lincoln Restaurant since I was a little kid. Â I like this restaurant, always have. Â They have excellent breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Â What more can you ask for?
I have *always* loved one particular piece of artwork on the wall - there is a flag made up of pennies glued to the board. Â It's so cool. Â I remember trying to count all of the pennies when I was little, lol. Â Might be time to try and count those pennies again.
See you soon, Lincoln Restaurant!
As a place to see stand-up comedy, it's A-OK. I can tell you that I wouldn't visit for an actual meal anytime soon, though the waffle fries are delish.
In terms of the comedy show, props for hosting Feminine Comique - I highly recommend you go out there, pay $5, and support these hilarious armature comedians! Service wise, awesome that the server automatically split all of our checks for us (mostly because we rolled in with a group of 15), but the drink choices are pretty slim. Lots of ultra crappy domestic beers, or sodas for $3.50. What the what?
This is like the Perkins Restaurant of Lincoln Ave, but with comedy and a lack of delicious mozzarella sticks.
Unfortunately have to report that my spouse and I had to walk out before placing our order.
This place is looooooong overdue for some kind of overhall/ clean-up /rehab of some kind
When we both sat in the very dated and worn booth there simply was no foam cushion left in the seating and we both felt the "boards" underneath us.
We sunk down so low in the booths we would not have been able to comfortably eat - like a child who needs a booster seat.
The waitress walked by our table carrying hot food and the aroma (odor) of pure grease traveled through the air and overcame us.
The menus were so old - the thick plastic was yellowed from time, almost non-transparent to view the print underneath and the plastic menu pages were sticking to each other.
The entire interior was so dim, so dark, so dated and stale almost hard to breathe.
Very sorry to report this, I'm sure at one time this was a great neighborhood diner, but I could not find myself feeling that I could comfortably eat a meal here.
Very sorry.
Post-happy hour with some new folk last night, in a land much too far from home. One person suggested fried shrimp...an enticing proposition. But then the idea of a restaurant that has banjo night came up.
Ehhh??? Let's go!
Unfortunately banjo night is Mondays and not Fridays...Friday is stand-up night, but we weren't interested in paying $10 for a show. We just wanted some eats.
The menu is both diverse and hilarious. Like...were we allowed to order from the part of the menu referring to the confederacy? And what was Mexican, Thai, and Chinese food doing on the menu? I mean, I guess America is the melting pot, so I can let that slide...
Among all the Lincoln and American memorabilia, you can get some decent diner food. I went with the patty melt with lentil soup, which was filling and good for post-beer eats. LR may not be worth a special trip for, but if you're in the area it's great for some comfort food. And you know I'll be here next Monday.
Wow... seems like the preppies, veggies, and hipsters really don't like this place judging from the reviews, which is probably one of the reasons I really enjoyed eating here.
It's an old school family restaurant and bar, the decor and ambiance is ancient but homey and welcoming if you grew up in a rural area or during the 50's/60's. If you are looking for slick, smooth, shiny polished spanking new decor this isn't the place for you, years of grease, smoke, good food and good times are etched into the very fabric of it's walls in the best possible way. Plus it has this Americana/Folky quality to it that adds to the charm if you aren't stuck up about everything being absolutely spotless and sterile.
A large group of us went there for lunch on Sunday, and although I missed Banjo-Jam Monday, or their other weekly events, I still had a good time dining here. The waitress was very friendly and helpful dealing with our large group and made sure we were taken care of.
I ordered the Sunday Chicken Dinner with Salad, Mashed Potato, and Corn. The waitress warned me that it would take at least 25 minutes... AWESOME! When they say a fried food will take a while, that means that it will be HOT and FRESH and this chicken was. I think everyone at the table was a bit jealous because they all remarked about how wonderful it smelled. It was also very delicious (although the could have spiced it a little heavier, but it still had good flavor). My girlfriend ordered the Greek Salad (which was huge and she had to take about half of it home with her) and she said it was pretty good. To drink, I got the LARGE rootbeer (which was a bit pricey, but for almost a liter sized drink, not bad) and it tasted really good. Our bill for the chicken dinner, greek salad, mega-rootbeer, large diet pepsi (with cherry and juice added), and coffee was $25 + tip.
All in all it was a delightful experience and felt like a bit of home. If you are expecting a modern, fusion, ultra-sleek and stylish restaurant that caters to the hipster and vegan crowd, don't bother this place isn't for you. But if you like good AMERICAN cooking in a rustic, well-used restaurant full of tradition then you could a lot worse than eat here, ESPECIALLY during one of their weekly events.
Seriously going to go there every Monday night. This place is magical. I don't know why the place wasn't wall to wall hipsters enjoying the banjo music. So amazing. Everyone here is like 80. I love it, so much.
Also portions are HUGE. Like triple size. I highly recommend doing shared plates, and you will probably still have leftovers. It's diner food and breakfast all day, and the waitresses are super nice.
GO. GO THERE MONDAY. Bring an extra banjo if you got one.
Lincoln Restaurant is like the Golden Nuggets weird cousin! You know their somehow related but your just not as to how and how you can feel so uncomfortable being around him. Plus the cousin just sits there and stares at you without blinking and he has a sticky handshake.
Same greasy menu, same greasy wooden decor, only difference is that LR has almost no sunlight entering the place. Also, they used to allow smoking so everything has this weird film on it. I haven't actually eaten anything here except for some fries late at night (when I couldn't really see them and enough alcohol in my system to burn up whatever bacteria I ate). I came in once or twice to see a friend perform stand-up. Certain nights they had a comedy show set up in the back. It was filled with locals and friends of the comedians, it was always a weird crowd. You had to be pretty sick and twisted to get a laugh. Drinks and food are cheap so you can't complain too much. Of course I had the waitress who was 30 but looked like she was 50 because she probably smoked two packs a day of Kools and even worse the grime had started to attach itself to her (like it had a mind of it's own).
I can't say I'll ever go back. Lincoln's head scares me enough to walk on the other side of the street when I'm in the area. It's like he is watching me!!
I had been meaning to stop by here for months ever since I saw the sign for banjo night mondays in the window. So when an old friend and I made plans on a monday night, I figured it was the perfect time to go.
Walking in, I was kind of overwhelmed by the family restaurant feel (and smell?). It was mostly older people (really old....elderly even) and the decor was pretty outdated.
I headed over to the bar and ordered a beer and was then given the choice of large or small, so I ordered large. This thing was huge. Comically huge. And it only cost $5.75.
Although I didn't order any food, I can say that the bartender and wait staff were all very friendly and helpful.
The banjo players were what really made my night though. They were so sweet and tried to get everyone involved, encouraging us to move closer and even telling us to bring our instruments next time.
They were all older gentlemen who would really like to get some younger people in there to keep the tradition going. As we were leaving, they were playing the last song.....which one of the banjo players told me was the song they played on the titanic as it sank.
Over all a fun experience. I'm definitely going back. And will probably hit up their comedy nights on Thursdays and Fridays as well.
It's your typical old school family style restaurant. Clean, but in a definite need of a facelift. Food is decent, but nothing spectacular. I had the BLT platter , which came with fries. Let's just say that it did the job.
One cool thing to note is that they serve their soft drinks in this oversized mug. Â The volume is at least two regular servings! Â
There's a small room in the back that has a old time Vegas charm to it. Â It has video poker machines, a few tables & it's own bar. Â My favorite part of the place.
I actually really love this place. When I first started coming here I ordered a Greek style skirt steak that I adored. It had the usual Greek seasoning and yummy tomatoes, olives and feta cheese. Then, one day, they changed their menu. I'm not a regular by any means, I go in maybe every six months or so. So, I was shocked when they remembered me and offered to make me the steak, even though it wasn't on the menu anymore.
I've never ordered anything else from here, besides a few (good, try them) appetizers, but with how great the skirt steak is, I don't need to!
Maybe it's just my love of diners, but I really do enjoy the Lincoln restaurant. I have been coming here since I was a kid, and the place has not changed a bit. Neither has the menu.
For breakfast you have your Omelets, pancakes, and bacon and eggs. For lunch and dinner you have your burgers, meatloaf, hot sandwiches and fried chicken.
Not only has the decor and menu stayed the same, I would swear that they have employed the same wait staff that used to serve me and my members only jacket in the 80's.
There is nothing healthy here, just a cozy joint with wonderful comfort food.
I have a little bit of a problem with any place that has such a big, obnoxious logo of Abraham Lincoln that is so poorly depicted all I can think of everytime I see it is Billy Crystal's character from "The Princess Bride":
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fimages1.fanpop.com%2Fimages%2Fquiz%2F11088_1213488891015_500_275.jpg&s=f2ddb843092803479feb8eb0e9d2699dc3a5d678d5e8b8d2aa7e4ace5203f878" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://images1.fanpop.co…</a>
(Well, that and the fact that I have a little bit of an aversion towards sketchy old diners with rickety booths, creepy, broken tile "wall art" and a Civil War theme all rolled into one.) hmm, who knew!
For breakfast I ordered two eggs, scrambled. Â This came with bacon, potatoes o'brien and 2 biscuits. Â The eggs were edible, but thats about the most I can say about them. The potatoes were vile, and tasted like they came from a grill that hadnt been cleaned since the Civil War. Â (I know they are working that theme hard but come on!)
However, the coffee, bacon and biscuits are what salvaged this review from being 1 or 2 star. Â The bacon is thick cut and just fabulous - not too greasy & not too crisp. The biscuits were warm, fluffy and perfect - I was truly shocked. They were probably the best I have ever had in the midwest.
I guess if you are a fan of the old skool diners then you might like this place. Â I am not, but i would consider going again if only for those biscuits and bacon.
Lincoln Restaurant is kind of a trip. Â They've updated the menus, so there's no Confederate Flags on them anymore. Â They name their omlettes after Civil War themes like Merrimac and Dixie to name a couple. Â General Custer....etc.
Good solid breakfast food. Â The menu's huge and there's something for everyone, but I recommend sticking with breakfast fare here. Â That's what they're best at serving.
What makes this patriotic place a trip in that on Monday nights, the Windy City Jammers roll in around 7pm and set up in the connected Lincoln Lodge bar and all of a sudden, while you're enjoying your scrambled eggs with a HUGE ass and cheap Heinekin draft, banjo music appears out of nowhere. Â I remember the first Monday I was there many years ago, we just all stopped and looked at each other as though the restaurant was haunted and the banjo music was conjoured by...uh...whatever... Â So we went next door and saw a circle of banjos and washboards being played by a bunch of older gentlemen. Â Apparantly they've been doing this Monday night thing at the Lincoln Lodge for decades. Â So, instead of a drum circle, there's a banjo circle!
One Monday we were eating here and some jackass decides to try to dine 'n dash. Â He was too wasted to move fast enough so every time he'd try, the waitress reminded him he had to pay for his meal, so he'd sit down. Â She tells the owner who finally decides to let him get outside the door, at which time the owner comes running out with a fucking pistol in his hand and holds the guy at gunpoint until the cops arrived. Â It was like being on the set of a movie or something.
I heart Lincoln Restaurant. You almost wonder how this place isn't attached to a truck stop, and why aren't the waitresses named Flo or Alice? That being said, the waitresses are quick, sweet and on top of things. The menu is ridiculously large with something to suit everyone. I've been here for both breakfast and lunch, and have always been happy with the service and the food. Portions are enormous and inexpensive and the food is made to order super-quick.
Things of note:
-The pancakes are delicious and filling on their own
-When asked what size soda, be aware that a large really means enough to satiate a group of 4.
-Try the dessert menu - the dessert nachos are incredible and enough for at least 3 people
Several months ago my son and I went to Lincoln Restaurant to grab a quick bite after a long day. Â My expectations were low, but still ...
Every. Â Single. Â Time. Â We drive past the Lincoln [which is just about every day] my son and I have the following conversation, which perfectly sums up our experience of dining there.
Ace: Â Hey Mom?
Me: Â Yes?
Ace: Do you remember the time we ate at that restaurant with the picture of George Bush on it?
Me. Â That's Abraham Lincoln, baby.
Ace: Oh yeah. Â Do you remember the time we ate at that restaurant with the picture of Abraham Lincoln on it?
Me: Yes, Ace, unfortunately I do.
Ace: Â Yeah, that place was GROOOOOOOSSSSSSSS!
Gross, indeed.
This place is awesome! I love the weird, vaguely offensive Civil War theme menu items, and the decor makes you feel like you're hanging out in someone's swanky basement rumpus room circa 1964.
The food is standard diner fare. Seriously, people complaining about how greasy the food is need to check themselves. Honestly, when you looked at the crazy huge sign with a giant Abe Lincoln face on it, what kind of establishment did you think it was? When you went inside and saw the wood paneling on the walls, did you immediately question if this was a Zagat's rated restaurant? When you read the menu and saw an omelet called Custer's Last Stand, did you think "This will surely fit in with my macrobiotic diet. My personal trainer will be so pleased!" COME ON, PEOPLE!
I decided to be adventurous and order the Chicken and Biscuits, and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I mean, it was still diner food, but it tasted good and it was $8 for an obscenely huge portion. Also, the large sodas come in a gigantic Big Gulp sized tankard, which is amazing. I cleaned my plate and then went home and fell into a coma for three hours.
The only disappointing thing is they don't have a dish called "The Emancipation Pork-lamation". Sad. Don't steal that idea from me, Lincoln Restaurant.
FOUR DAYS AND SEVEN MINUTES AGO...
I went forth to Lincoln Restaurant for a breakfast, conceived with love, based on the proposition that all skillets are created delicious. Â
What ensued was a great civil war within, testing whether my stomach, or any stomach so accustomed to good food, could long endure an oily bland mess of burnt potatoes, rubbery cheese, and overcooked eggs complete with shards of eggshell. Â This skillet and I met on a great battlefield of war. Â So I have come to yelp to dedicate my 300th review, as the final resting place of my appetite, which gave its life so that my curiosity to eat at a president-themed restaurant might live. Â
But in a larger sense, I cannot dedicate, cannot consecrate, cannot hallow this ground which also sells lotto tickets and cigarettes by the way. Â Rather, let us dedicate ourselves to the great task remaining before us, that we here resolve that my appetite shall NOT have died in vain, that all of yelpdom, shall have a new birth, and that reviews of the unreviewed, the praising of the worthy, and the slamming of the craptastic by the people, of the people, and for the people, shall not perish from this earth!
GOD BLESS YELP-MERICA!!!
If you do not like the Lincoln Restaurant, you do not like America.
An entire section of the menu is dedicated to omelets named after Civil War generals. This is the greatest and best menu in these United States.
You go to this place for cheap, bad-for-you food and a tankard of pop. Â You go for breakfast all day. You go to hang out with the taxi drivers and alcoholics and alcoholic taxi drivers.
As my father would say, "sit down, shut up, and eat."
God bless the Lincoln Restaurant. God bless America.
I really want to love this place. First of all, I am a fan of Lincoln. I've been to where he was born, raised, lived, died, and buried. My mom is a fan of his,too and where this weird obsession began. So this place had so much hope. C'mon, there's a huge head of Lincoln above the restaurant, and it's on Lincoln, and we are in the Land of Lincoln, could it get any better???
So I took my mom here for Valentines, since what better day not to come here? There's parking in the back and the entrance from the back is thru a long and mysterious hallway. I love it. When you walk in, there's Lincoln crap everywhere. I actually wanted more, but I will be satisfied for now.
The menu seemed promising. There wasn't a clear cut thing to order other than the funnel cake sundae which they were out of!!! :( So I got an omelet, I forgot what General I ordered, but it had cheese, bacon, sausage, and a weird confetti of vegetables. Yes, the omelet was fluffy, but so gross. It wasn't seasoned, it was greasy not in a good way, and I was so sad. I wanted to like it. The potatoes with it were sad. They all looked like rejects off a cutting board.
I see why you need a 32oz of beer here. My mom had a turkey sandwich and that was even sad. The layers of meat were cut thick and thin, like more rejects, and the bread seem stale.
Since it was Valentines Day, we got desert. We wanted the funnel cake, to hopefully make up for the rest of the meal. But so they out so we got cake. The cheesecake is why I am giving this place 2 stars rather then 1. It was pretty good, covered in chocolate and caramel. My mom got Dobos Torte, and the buttercream had seperated in the layers = gross. Other than the cheesecake, I wouldn't order anything else on the menu. And you need that frickin beer!
Huge portions and a huge restaurant.
The servers are very friendly, in a "grandma" sort of way.
The food is pretty good, but they do their omlettes in a way that I think is inferior to the old fashioned griddle style - they are puffy, kind of like the IHOP omlettes. Â This is more of a stylistic complaint, though - they are good enough but I just like mine prepared differently.
The skillets are enormous - no way you're eating an entire one. Â Coffee is average.
Prices are pretty much in line with other diners.
Wins in convenience (free parking, lots of tables available, close walk to my house), but not my favorite old fashioned diner in the city.
My boyfriend's friends LOVE going here for hangover brunches since the portions are gigantic, relatively cheap, and the food's decent and not fancy. As a vegetarian, it's an OK place--they have omelets and hashes for breakfast but they're not exactly inspired. There's lots of fried, cheese and starch, and oftentimes all three in one dish. The salads are just a cut above standard diner fare, but if you order the yogurt side it comes out to you on a faux-crystal dish on a pedestal covered in granola, which prompted one of our friends to pronounce it "Fancy Feast for People!"
Oh, and the hangover part--you can get a stein of beer sized for a troll. It's like a glass bucket that just happens to have a handle, but you might still need two hands to lift the thing. I suspect this is the real reason said friends love the Lincoln.
You know, I might be going off into the deep end here, but let me tell you about this Lincoln place from last night. Â Sister decided to go get Thai food, it was late, couldn't think of anywhere, tried to go to our fave Chinese spot Orange Garden, at 9:30, it was take-out only, so she decided that we check out "that Lincoln restaurant we always drive by..."
You walk in the doors and right away you are transported to another world, basically stated it smells like my Great Grandmothers house...that set me back for a moment and then we decided to just seat ourselves since we couldn't seem to find anyone who was working...perhaps they were in the back playing the slot machines Â
O.K. so we grab a seat on some floral print vinyl booths and look around. Â There are stuffed animals hanging from the walls and you can tell this is a hang out for people that frequent the road on Harley's and Big Rig trucks.
I was still doing ok at this point just checking out the scenery.
Then our waitress comes, really sweet, looks like she could have played a part in flash dance...whateve...she gives us our waters.
There's crust and food particles all over the glass...o.k. so their dishwasher doesn't work, um...I am beginning to glare at my sister.
Without giving us menus, she asks if we are ready to order, perhaps she thought we were regulars here...(ha, if I only knew) so I said no not ready yet, can I have a menu, and a few minutes later she returns
The Menu--aka, the whole reason I decided to yelp about this place:
To start it off how about we order something from the Confederate Appetizer section, or since it's late, let's eat light and get a greenback salad, or a plantation chicken sandwich, or heck give me an order of that patriotic pasta, let's live on the edge, I like eggs, how about a General Lee omelet!!!
Where the heck am I? Â Did I suddenly transport to the reconstruction period? Â
Why is everyone in here white? Â
I started getting really paranoid.
Don't get me wrong there were a few "Northern" references, there were the Union entrees, and the Lincoln whatever it was, not enough for me to say this place was anti secession, or to make me remember that we are in ILLINOIS...
My sister found the whole Civil War references amusing, I told her she's nuts. Â She didn't want to leave, and so we had to order...
I ordered the Turkey and stuffing with mashed potatoes and a salad. Â I'm not going to even get into what she ordered.
Anyway, the Turkey was like microwaved lunchmeat, it was served with previously frozen brussel sprouts, the mashed potatoes were the ONLY good thing (it's pretty hard to mess these up), and watered down gravy.
I asked for coffee, and I got some Foldgers knock off that I couldn't even drink. Â
I didn't finish anything, I took one sip of the coffee and decided I might catch something, and told my sister to wrap it up, I wanted to get out of here before who knows what happens. Â
Check came out to $18, we paid and I will never look back. Â
As a side note, while discussing my experience with one of my friends, she replied, if they offere federalism flan, or confederalism coffee cake run like h@#$. Â If there's an option of the 3/5's blackened salmon, call Jesse Jackson. Â
I just might have to.
3 Words: Monday. Night. Banjos. Damn, straight!
We got their early to get the food out of the way and just drink through the night in all it's honky glory (music starts at seven). The food (omelets) was good, huge, cheap (2 omelets easily gets 4 meals, plus two beers and a fucking big-ass stein of soda for less than 30 bucks, before tip).
Music starts, it's awesome, everything I'd hoped it'd be... I'd just heard banjo, but they had a genuine Dixie band... banjo, trumpet, washboard, all that.
The place was packed with old people, which I kinda dug... food was good and pretty cheap, service was fucking amazing (almost to the point of being annoying, but not quite.)
update: I threw up the next morning. Like, more than I ate. If it was less, I might be able to let it go, but...
If I do go back, which isn't out of the question, it'll be for beer and banjo. Not food.
I have yet to eat there but after going for a comedy show and seeing the place I swore to myself I'd return for food.
It looks like a southern truckstop that time forgot. Wood paneling, retro furniture and lots of photos on the walls make the place seem very cozy.
There is a mini comedy club in the back that showcases local up and coming talent that plays a handful of comics a night. You can hear anything from improv to weird characters, audience participation and the basic joketeller. It was a very friendly place where everyone seemed to know each other and called the staff by name.
If you're looking for something different and are sick of the clubs and bars the Lincoln Lodge is a step up.
The overall look of the place is an Eisenhower era diner. Â Not much to look at, super dark and sorta tacky inside. But...the skillets man, the skillets. Â Holy mackerel, the skillets are worth making a special trip here for. No patio, no breakfast drinks, no frills. Â Service is decent. Â Plus the burnt-out Betty chain smoking & playing video poker on the bar is, for some reason, sorta charming. Â
Try the skillets.
For the meatiest cheesiest omelettes and for the hostess with the biggest hair in Chicago, this is worth checking out.*
*Also referred to as "the fat peoples restaurant" by a member of my family, who, at the age of 5, walked in to The Lincoln and proclaimed, "It smells like fat people in here!".
This is one of the best kept secrets in the city. Â It is straight out of the seventies with wood panelled walls and hostesses with GIANT hair. Â the food is good and cheap. Â They give you a 32oz mug of soda or beer and every Monday is Banjo Open Mic Night starting at 630. Â You tell me what is wrong with huge beers for $6 and lots of banjos? Â Go ahead try. Â That's right, you can't because, there is nothing wrong with huge cheap beer, cheap food, and lots of banjo.
I have heard complaints from some people that the service is not great, but that has never been my experience. Â I believe they also have some sort of comedy open mic night and on the weekend a political discussion group, but the banjos are definitley the best night to go.
Lincoln Restaurant was introduced to me by an ex and even though in the end she was a cold, manipulative and tasteless wench at least I still have Lincoln Restaurant!
It's dark and cozy, always a good temperature and their booths are deep and comfortable. You can really get used to an environment like that. The waitstaff isn't attentive but that just adds to the homey feeling this restaurant gives you. My personal recommendations are as such:
Get a large Coke. And I mean large. Specifically ask for the really big Coke. It's an oversized beer stein full of soda and I have yet to make it through a refill on it. For a starter, go with the cajun shrimp. Fried, crunchy lil' nuggets from the deep with a nice spicy sauce. After that it really depends on your hankering. If you want breakfast, pretty much any omelet can do no wrong. I especially like the one with spinach, bacon and swiss. I'm a big dude and even I end up taking some of it home with me. The buttery, eggy goodness just oozes out of it and fill you up. If lunch or dinner is more the case, their fried onion burger is really delish. A fat ol' burger absolutely PACKED full of fried onion strings.
All in all Lincoln Restaurant is a great stop, there's free validated parking available in their lot accessible from the Irving Park side.
I've been to the Lincoln several times but lately it has been looking pretty empty. The cool factor of it is definitely the back lounge, as stated in earlier reviews. If you walk in through the back from the parking lot, you'll see the waitresses playing on the slot machines. I think there's even live entertainment on weekends...
Anyway, I really like the O'Brien potatoes and fries you can get from here. If you order a pop, you get a really huge glass of it so order with caution. Service is so-so. They're not really good at checking up on you. One of those old time restaurants that sells candy, t-shirts & stuffed animals by the register. Really big menu. Typical diner food.
Seems like it's owned by the mob!
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