Sikia

Sikia is a restaurant attached to the Washburne Culinary Institute and manned by students and supervised by experienced faculty chefs.  I had never heard of it before taking a job in the Englewood area and I have to say, if it were located in the Loop, it would be packed every day.  The concept is designed to allow the students to gain valuable kitchen and front of the house experience but the gain is really for the diners.  Three days a week, the restaurant offers a three course gourmet meal for well under $10.  I'm not overstating the presentation, this is gourmet food prepared by tomorrow's top chefs.  If you've got the time, get out to 63rd and Halsted and take advantage.  Lots of free parking.

One of two restatruants located on the south side, owned by the City of Chicago, this place is a much needed outlet for the area.

Love the simple, yet chic African decor. At first, I thought the dry attitude of the host/server was going to dampen our mood, but he turned out to be one of the absolute best (and he is a recent graduate of King Kennedy College Culinary program - has better customer service skills than most seasoned wait staff). He made small talk with us, checked on us periodically and even offered us a private tour of the culinary schools' state of the art facility. And he kept us laughing the entire night!

The food was great. Loved the goat and peanut stew! Full of flavor and oh so creamy.

They even have live jazz on the weekends which I will definitely be back for!

Don't forget to BYOB, they do not and will not be getting a liquor license!

Last weekend, I was part of a parent's group that hosted a private workshop for our children to teach them about social graces and it was held at Sikia.
All of the moms were delighted with what we found. The waitstaff was attentive, the prices were reasonable, the decor was attractive and the food was wonderful.
Keep in mind that we were dealing with children - the menu was butternut squash soup, fried chicken, mac & cheese and corn on the cob, and sweet potato pie with ice cream. Even the sweet tea was delicious - a kind of spiced tea. We were all impressed and vowed to come back and recommend Sikia to everyone we knew.