my chicago visit would have been incomplete if i would have missed out on this place. so during my research about the city,i had come across this restaurant's name multiple times,and obviously my curiosity got the better of me and eventually wanted to badly check this place out (and it was a very good decision).
first of all, starting with the location, its like 10 mins walk from lincoln park zoo. when my 2 friends and i reached there for dinner around 4 pm ,we were greeted by this huge crowd of people waiting to get inside,with a glass of beer or other drinks in their hands. we somehow managed to enter inside and saw another tiny queue of people. it took us some time to figure out that we need to speak to the manager first and tell him the number of people for the table. it was fascinating to see that the manager remembered the faces of the people waiting,the number of people accompanying and the amount of time they've waited,without taking a note of it anywhere! such an awesome memory. so he later told us that we have to wait atleast an hour and 15 minutes for a table. we were tempted to give up and move to other nearby restaurants,but my curiosity kept me going and i somehow convinced my friends to stay put and wait. finally after like 1.5 hr of sheer boredom and what felt like eternity ,the manager called us inside and took us to our table.
so the restaurant is pretty dingy and really congested (for a second i felt as if i am in some restaurant in mumbai). the place is not very decked up, minimal decor,but that should be least of the concerns. so finally the menu arrived,my friends and i shamelessly peeped onto other tables nearby and asked the waiter (who was this really good looking guy) as to what the people were eating. so we ordered for the mediterranean bread first, then for one pounder pizza pot pie. the bread took around 15 mins to arrive,we were already dying due to hunger by then, but the size of the bread amazed us (and it was really delicious, very buttery and soft,like some kind of naan with cilantro). we were confused whether to go for 3 half pounders or one full pounder,because we didn't have any idea regarding the size,but one pounder seemed to be more logical because the bread was pretty big too. the potpiepizza took half an hr to be made,but trust me,its totally worth the wait. so the waiter explained how thepiewas made and later demonstrated how to serve it and i can't really explain as to how mesmerizing the procedure looked (complete with melted cheese falling on the top of the pie,just like the fast food advertisements). when he left,we didn't waste a moment and just dug in, and that moment we felt infinite xd it tasted like something i can't explain in words,you have to eat it to know the feeling.
we were pretty content and were on the verge to leave,but as usual, my dinner is never complete without a dessert, so we ordered for the only dessert option which they had 'tortoni'. it took another 20 minutes to arrive,and its one of the most heavenly ice creams i've had. it had a rich taste of rum (which isn't real,but just a flavouring) and condensed milk (basically like kulfi rasmalai with rum). it's a dark horse which isn't very talked about since the restaurant is popular for its pot pie,but do try it,you won't regret it :) so finally after eating so much,the bill was for around 60$ (carry cash with you,since they don't accept cards).
we finally left the place around 8:30, fat and content. do not miss it!