PACKED dumplings reimagined

I really would have loved to like this place but unfortunately I really didn’t…
I am in with the concept, I am in for the price because I understand that you are trying to offer some good quality food but honestly the dumplings are just not good enough, at least for me (who I am not a dumplings expert btw).
I tried three types:
— pecking duck: ok fillings, but the dough was completely off…
— short ribs: quite good filling and sauce but again the dough was chewy;
— lobster: terrible! really terrible! the lobster was clearly overcooked and chewy, we didn’t leave it there because we were hungry…
Overall, I found that the main problem is the dough. The fillings are ok, the sauce too. Presentation is actually nice but please improve the dough and I am sure you can bring this place to do much better than how it is doing now.

I loved the lobster, and if you have a sweet tooth then I would ask for the sweet banana. Although If you want a kick than get the lam, it’s all really good, however it add on, the cups are made from Sugar cane, the forks, knifes, and spoons are made from corn, while the plate are made from Palm tree leaves. I would suggest everything and even though the might say its over priced, it’s one of the cheapest meal, or cheaper than you would think.

Very good place, lots of flavor combinations you don’t really find in Hyde Park. Not everything is a hit but there are more hits than misses. I enjoyed the short rib, the lamb, and the duck dumplings the most. The price is reasonable for the quality and the ingredients used. There are not many places where you can go that have Mexican, Greek, Asian, and other influences all on the same menu. I look forward to the changes in the menu each month

Ended up dropping in here when lunch plans somewhere else fell through. 6 of us were impressed by the food and service. Most of us were vegetarians and liked the options available.

Anyone giving this spot a 4 – 5 star rating is either a staff/​family/​or friend. My rating is not at all based in the prices (I understand that we’re paying for Eco-​friendly this and that, and local this and that.) Packed gets one star because the dough of EVERY dumpling was under seasoned and grossly under cooked, the filling of every dumpling was bland, the «Mac n cheese» was horrendous (an understatement), about 5 udon noodles and zero cheese. The «crackers» made from dumpling dough scraps were disgusting (coated in unpalatable raw flour), chicken liver with bonito was not a good flavor combo. OH, and the food-runner’s pants were down around his knees, so had to look at his underwear every time he walked through the room. Chef was there at the time and allowed this offense to happen. Very unappetizing and unprofessional! $ 75 for three ppl, only one n/​a drink and left very hungry.

This was my second time eating at Packed, and it inspired my first (and probably only) Unilocal review. I want to start off with this: I am all about paying a little extra for food that’s worth it. This food is not worth it. Not even close.
If you need to put signage at the register to justify why your menu is so expensive, I think you need to reevaluate your strategy — maybe focus on making the food instead of telling us about it. Hyde Park is a neighborhood with super limited restaurant options — I can’t imagine that so many people would complain about the price if the quality was up to par. No one should support a big up-​charge for locally sourced and organic ingredients if you are going to prepare them so horribly wrong that they become inedible.
Let’s break it down: I paid over $ 15 for a 6 pack. A 6 pack = 6 items, 4 dumplings (2 flavors), a side, and a drink. (It’s worth noting that most of the dumplings cost an extra $ 1 to be included in this lunchtime deal.) I grabbed the pastrami and lobster dumplings, with a side of crackers (black bean dip /​chicken liver mousse), and a Nicaraguan Cascara (1 of 2 drinks currently on the menu).
The pastrami dumplings were OK.
The lobster dumplings were so difficult to bite through that the texture made me gag — they were like sinewy rocks. The combination of flavors tasted like sea regrets and an old vanilla candle. I couldn’t ingest any of it. Just… nope.
The chicken liver mousse was so foul I couldn’t get it down, either. I have no idea what happened inside of my mouth.
The Nicaraguan Cascara was too strong. I’ve had this drink before and enjoyed it — but this was a bitter mess that needed some water to dilute the strength and open up some actual flavor.
I don’t understand the concept of this restaurant’s ever changing menu if nothing on the menu is ever executed to perfection. I wish I could have asked for my money back, but by the time I got myself together I had to run back to the office. Do yourself a favor and take a hard pass, even if you are stuck in the neighborhood.

They are new and still getting on their feet, but the food was so fresh and interesting, the people were so nice, and so Eco-​friendly. I loved the rice and beans bun.

First, let me say price is NOT the measure of good food. If you’re looking for good value and good food, those places are plentiful in Chicago and I frequent many of them. Yes, this place is prohibitively expensive for a drop-​in lunch, and it’s close proximity to far more affordable fare inevitably leads to some reviewer bias. However, an eatery should rated on its merits alone.
Now onto the food. I had my first taste this evening, in leftover form. Reheated, 5 hours later, these things were amazing! I had the lamb dumplings and the lobster dumplings.
The lobster was moist and slightly sweet, with a lightly flavored sauce just tying it all together. The few shell fragments were a bit of a concern, but they were also a reminder that a real crustacean gave it’s life to fill this dumpling.
The lamb was packed with meat, and while the mouthfeel wasn’t quite as moist as I would like, I could attribute that to the oven reheating rather than a shortcoming of the dumpling itself.
It’s not a value choice, and I certainly won’t be a «regular», but it’s definitely worth a visit and adds nicely to the foodscape in Hyde Park.
P. S. I have no idea why they didn’t put this place on 53^rd where similarly priced offerings would deaden the sticker shock dramatically.

Some progress, but still much more possible. The new lobster and shrimp dumpling is quite delicious! Nice creamy Tofu sauce underneath, and the filing had good innate flavor. Lamb is also new, but like the short rib the meat is bland and the only ingredient inside the dumpling. Tsaziki sauce good but doesn’t quite save it. Banana dumping nice healthy sweetness, but the peanut butter underneath is very thick and coats your mouth so it’s the predominant flavor. And the price is still high for hyde park, $ 14 for 6 dumplings…

Packed Dumplings, and the reviews, bring to light one of the issues on sustainable and healthy eating: it’s financially inaccessible to America’s working class, in that, as indicated by the prices here for the food and portions. Buying local, organic, non-​GMO ingredients is too expensive for anyone to eat often without a 6-​figure salary. Presumably this has something to do with government subsidies and farming.
If you are poor, it’s probably impossible to eat in a way that is ‘environmentally friendly’ — and it’s not your fault — it’s just the system that is broken. Thus I don’t think Chef Sheerin is to blame for the high prices nor his philosophy of how he acquires ingredients. There seems to be a lot of hate on that, though I will admit it’s a bit odd for 4 out of the 5 main dumpling types to be premium-​priced vs the other one.
Is Hyde Park — a mostly student-​filled, and middle class neighborhood — the wrong neighborhood to open a high-​end fast casual place? Maybe. But I think if this restaurant had opened elsewhere it wouldn’t bring up the same issues on how sustainable farming and class intersect.
Now onto the food… yes, it’s expensive. I’m very small and my lunch special was just on the cusp of being filling. My meal was around $ 14 and that was with not buying any of the special dumplings. I don’t imagine I would go here for anything other than special occasions. I definitely think — and this might be how the place was marketed — this place is trying to make ‘dining as entertainment’ available to a wider audience. I’m still not really sold on ‘dining as entertainment’ (think Alinea, etc), but if you are curious this seems like a good start for relatively cheap. The flavors sure are uh interesting.
I could see the $ 2-​$ 2.50/dumpling price tag making sense, but the pricing on the salad seemed offensive — unless those are some really rare peppers being used. Maybe it’s the watercress, I have no idea. The salad was really small and by itself, $ 7. But, it was good.
We sort of avoided anything people had complained about and the food we had was great. The drinks are bitter, but this goes well with all the dumplings, which are not bitter. The menu changes often, at time of writing we had the coffee and the hibiscus black tea. The coffee’s actually really good for being black, I’d recommend it, it’s got just enough flavor tones to be palatable and not overly bitter. The tea, not as much. The beginning of the flavor is good — slightly sweet hibiscus and then slightly bitter, but the end of it has too much bitter bite. It didn’t seem possible to cut this by adding some milk or cane syrup.
The food we got was:
— Lamb dumplings — these were nice
— Mango rice dumplings — I think the rice filling could use some flavor that comes out near the end. The toppings were nice, but fade out and by the end it tastes like (better than average) rice pudding/​sticky rice
— Banana dumplings — really good, not overly sweet, but the sesame paste can overpower everything.
— Pastrami dumplings –nice balance all around! the pickled tomatoes and spicy sauce thing on the bottom work well
— hush puppies — these went really well with the coconut sour cream! felt expensive for $ 7 by itself since you just get 3
— salad –mentioned above — good flavor, great salad, just really expensive
I’d be interested if there would be a way to compromise Sheerin’s morals and great flavors with a cheaper menu. Especially for people who need more than a small meal.
I imagine that something that would help this restaurant could be building more trust with the local community. I think that pricing transparency would be a huge one, because when we see something that looks like $ 2 of food that is priced at $ 7, the knee-​jerk reaction is that we’re being ripped off.

Overall: inconsistent, mostly mediocre food, too expensive for the small portions.
I went with several other people and we ordered a bunch of different items.
Excellent: Hush puppies
Very good: Pork belly
Good: Spicy meatball dumplings, though they should have been hotter, spicier, and jucier
Okay: Peking duck dumplings, though they didn’t have the taste or texture of Peking Duck
Not good: «Mac and Cheese» (small plate of weird rice noodles with lukewarm cheese sauce and too many other flavors), short rib dumplings (dry and flavorless), butternut squash dumplings (too sweet), cascara «tea» (just weird).
If you want farm to table there are many other wonderful restaurants in Chicago. If you want good dumplings there are many very inexpensive good spots on Chinatown. This tries to be both but is actually neither.

Don’t WASTE your money!!!
Last night I went to the restaurant and was totally let down. I purchased the hush puppies per the cashiers suggestion. I also purchased two dumplings. I was so surprise when I received the smallest portion of food in my entire 39 years. This was so bad!!! Maybe it was one and a half ounces of food at the very most and I think that I am being generous. So I called myself trying to be a good citizen and call the restaurant and let them know that I was dissatisfied by the bland food that I just received. And the manager had the nerve to educate me on why the price is the price. And that the food that they serve is not meant to be taken out of the restaurant, the stupidest reason in the history of the entire world. Do not waste your money on this restaurant. There are too many restaurants steps away from this door that you will enjoy — that if you waste your money it is your fault. I even told the manager that I was going to write this today and he had the nerve to say «go ahead». So to me basically they are robbing Hyde Park and they will be shutting down very soon unless they change their entire menu and fire every employee they found on 69^th and Woodlawn on the corner.

This place his horrible! Absolutely horrible!!! We spent almost 70 on 3 people, and we left to go to a different restaurant. The dumplings are all very doughy, lack flavor, and inconsistent. Some came out hot, some was lukewarm. The chips, made of baked left over dough used to make the dumplings, were disgusting! They were hard and flavorless. In fact they were so hard they hurt my mouth. I could not imagine why anyone would think to serve that to customers let alone charging $ 7 for it. Here’s a hint: fry them instead. After leaving this place my mouth felt like I just ate a giant dough ball and it was not comfortable. Mac and cheese, which was about 7 pieces of udon noodles barely coated with some sauce, was also a rip off.
Their drinks, which sounded very interesting, were also gross! We had a tea and it was very bitter (not tannic, bitter) I had to ask for a different one.
Staff moved at a glacial pace.
No thank you!

It’s a neat idea, and the dumplings are all competently made and relatively well-​conceived (other than the supersweet butternut squash dumpling). But most of them were bland and tasted too similar to one another, and even the most flavorful ones were still mediocre. I’ll wait until soup dumplings are on the menu before coming back — I wouldn’t rush to come here.

I got three pairs of dumplings: Peking duck, short rib, and meatball.
First, the signage indicating that these dumplings are upcharged from the usual $ 4 price should be more clearly indicated with larger lettering. I didn’t know these dumplings cost extra until I paid.
Ultimately the dumplings were just ok and way overpriced for what they were. I understand the claim that they’re using fresh local ingredients and whatnot, and I’m supportive of that, but the dumplings still need to be amazing to justify the price point. You can’t just charge a lot of money for local ingredients and then serve so-​so food. If I had paid $ 1 for each dumpling, I would have been alright with the experience. But instead I paid 15.50 for 6 dumplings that were «meh.» Worst of all, I was still hungry afterwards, so I had to cook dinner for myself when I got home!

Overpriced and not good. Was lectured about «farm to table» price. Also literally only one dumpling for someone like myself who doesn’t eat red meat. Super not diverse menu, bad tasting drinks (I only had the iced tea I suppose, but it was bad and that’s hard to mess up), overpriced, and bad attitude. I wish another good restaurant would come to Hyde park, but this isn’t it.

I ordered five of the Peking duck dumplings and a PDR («coconut water, cardamom, pineapple, allspice»). First, I was annoyed to find that the duck dumplings were 50 cents more per dumpling than the listed price; but I guess that was my fault for making up my mind before getting close enough to see what the fine print under the menu item said.
For over $ 2 per dumpling, it really should have been a lot better. You get the impression that Packed is trying really hard to project an upscale foodie vibe — there’s a ‘flavor profile’ underneath each menu item, the waiter describes the food as it’s put it in front of you («here we have a [whatever] with [whatever] sauce…»), and the whole aesthetic is trendy eco-​conscious minimalism. I’m not a fan of any of that, but given how hard they’re trying (and the relative priciness of a single dumpling), the dumplings should have been a lot better.
I just wasn’t sure what made the dumpling ‘Peking’ duck at all. It didn’t taste anything like the roast duck I’ve had before — there was no skin as far as I could tell (which is the best part of Peking roast duck!), there wasn’t any hint of tianmian sauce… it was just 5 over-​dry dumplings packed full of meat, which wasn’t even exclusively duck. The dumplings weren’t juicy, they weren’t fragrant — they just weren’t what I was expecting, and in a bad way. I should also mention that I bit into a chunk of bone in three of the five dumplings I had, which was painful the first time and annoying the second and third times.
All in all, I walked out feeling angry that I spent something like $ 15 dollars on five sub-​par dumplings and a drink.
It may not be fair that I’m rating them based on one serving so soon after they’ve opened, especially because Packed intends to switch up its menu every month. It’s totally possible that other menu items are better, or that the quality in general will improve from month to month. But given the price and the bad experience I had, I’m not inclined to go back and try it out again.

Worst meal ever! Dumplings were dry and cold. The chicken liver mouse literally tastes like cat food. The lunch special was abysmally small. The tea tastes a bit like a bitter waste was spit in my mouth. Yuck. The aesthetic felt like a chain. And overpriced for a terrible experience.

Dined in on opening week! Short ribs were delicious! The PDR drink… need to sell in quarts, absolutely the best beverage I’ve had in a long time! Black bean dip was good and tasted as expected, banana dessert was just sweet enough that you could still appreciate all the flavors in it, not overpowering sweetness. Value seemed in line with other locally sourced food products but I don’t buy those everyday, so it’s something to consider. Everything tastes great and fresh.+no waste because all is recyclable

Aesthetic: Very simple, when you order they give you a neat lacquered stump of wood with a number on it. All of their plates, utensils, cups, etc. are compostable, a fact the employees will remind you of. Everything is local too?! They do not have a military or student discount, but the cashier said she’ll inquire about the possibility later. Also they are currently only available for dine-​in, but will offer delivery later. Open from 11 – 11!
Packedness: I went at 5pm, there was no line. By the time I was done eating, the line was at the door.
Menu: There are vegetarian dumpling options, although I did not try them. Butternut dumpling looked great though. Prices are $ 4/​2, $ ⁹⁄₅. Sides and desserts are $ 7, specialty drinks are $ 4. Lunch special (from 11 – 2) for $ 13 includes 2 pairs of dumplings, a side, and a drink– typically $ 19! Their menu offerings rotate out MONTHLY, which all of their advertisements and menus will emphasize.
Food: I had the Peking Duck, Spicy Meatball, and Short Rib dumplings with the Mac and Cheese side. Left feeling satisfied. Dumplings themselves are just standard gyoza dumpling sized.
Peking duck– blend of duck and pork with a ginger and scallion sauce. You could really taste the ginger! 7/​10, would recommend
Spicy Meatball– ground beef and pork meatball dumpling with aged provolone?! Garnished with some olive oil and pecorino cheese, and served with house-​made marinara. Marinara sauce was amazing. I’m not sure how you were supposed to eat this– dunking the dumpling in the marinara was quite cumbersome. I took a bite of the dumpling, then scooped up a bit of the marinara and put it directly in my mouth. When the dumplings were gone i still had a ton of marinara, which also went directly into my mouth because it was amazing. It’s in that right zone of spiciness where you can tell it’s spicy but it’s not burning your mouth. ⁹⁄₁₀ needed instructions, opted for shovel, definitely get this.
Shrt Rib– probably my least favorite of the three. Kinda bland, maybe the actual meat couldn’t stand up to how plain the brown rice was? Came with a horseradish sauce that was decent. ⁴⁄₁₀ would order something else
Mac ‘n’ cheese– let me tell you about this mac. A delightfully thick american cheese sauce covers house made udon noodles. But so what right? WELL. They also add nori and shiitake mushrooms. The nori might sound weird but it adds a saltiness to the dish that really makes it stand out. The shiitake mushrooms give you something hearty to chew. The menu says there’s jalapeño in this but im 99% sure i did not get any jalapeño. ⁹⁄₁₀ so wonderful, and compared to the dumplings it’s a really good portion.
The sweet potato side looked really good as well, will probably order it the next time I go there. There is also a crackers side that consists of different types of crackers with a black bean dip and a liver mousse. Looked good. Didn’t get any dessert, but their banana dessert sounds super great. The pear sounds good too except it has whipped coconut and I Hate Coconut.
I didnt order any of the specialty drinks because I’m lame and only drink water. However, their Nitrogen-​charged Winter Coffee sounds amazing and I heard good things about the Winter Lemonade. The nicaraguan cascara «tea» is apparently too summery of a drink according to some people considering it is currently Not Summer.
Final verdict: Small portion sizes for their main $ ⁴⁄₂ attraction might be a turn off considering you will probably order more than one. However, the bold flavors of (most of) the dumplings are a great change of pace from the bold burntness of Bartlett chicken breasts. The lunch option seems to be a great deal! The next time I go, it will probably be for lunch. Packed would be a great place to go to with a friend/​on a date since you can split the dumpling orders and taste a bunch of different ones! Some sort of soup option appears to be coming in the near future too, which seems promising.

The food itself is okay, but the short rib dumplings were dry. It all looked pretty though and tasted okay which is why I did not give it one star.
Really the problem is I feel like the quality is not worth the price. When you order a pack of five, they all have to be the same flavor, which is annoying because you are spending so much on so little you should get what you want. They also do false advertising– on the board it says 2 for $ 4 and 5 for $ 9, but majority of the dumplings have tiny writing above them saying they are each 50 cents more than that, so really each dumpling is $ 2.50. Also, we calculated that you would probably have to spend over $ 30 for dinner to really be satisfied (i.e. order 10 dumplings and a side $ 11.50×2 +$ 7 + tax), as each dumpling is literally the size of small regular potstickers and there $ 7 sides are also tiny. If I am going to spend over $ 30 for a meal, I want it to be on real plates with real cups in a nice room– this is a «Fast casual» restaurant so you feel like you are in a noodles and company but less nice! It is also way too overpriced for location– on a street of student eats where at the other places you can get something for under $ 10 and leave full.

I had high hopes for Packed. They let me down. Hard.
I can understand the long wait and I appreciated the attentiveness of the staff. They made this meal enjoyable. They did a fine job on opening day.
I was disappointed more by the food than anything. I had ordered a lunch special: two short rib dumplings, two pastrami dumplings, a side of beets, and a drink. While their drink selection is delicious and interesting, they fail to make their «reimagined» dumplings all that palatable. The short rib dumplings were on par, but not so much above average. They were exactly as I expected from short rib, just not as flavorful as I would have liked short rib to be. The pastrami dumplings were less than stellar. The pastrami was a little too mushy and a little lacking in flavor. I would have rather walked two doors down for a satisfying, less expensive, and fulfilling pastrami sandwich at Z&H. The sides impressed me as both creative and delicious. However, in totality, Packed delivered a less than filling dining experience. It was pricey for the amount served, and I was left hungry as well. I do not doubt that Mike Sheerin could have delivered a better meal.
I hope that when I return in the future, I will enjoy Packed more than I did three days ago.

After arriving late to the show on the grand opening Saturday (note: 6:30pm is not the ideal time to try a new spot on opening night), my husband and I dropped in for an early lunch the next morning. The owner recognized us from the night before after a brief conversation we had with him about promising to return at a less busy time. We were able to chat with him a little more and we learned not only is everything local & sustainable, from the food, to the plates to the plastic cups, but they also pay their workers a living wage. As a fellow local small business owner, who also tries to pay workers substantially more than our competitors, this got me right in the heart. And the food! We tried every dumpling and while I enjoyed them all, the real standouts were the pastrami (#1), Peking duck and the braised short rib. I can’t wait to frequent this establishment on a regular basis and give my money to a place that obviously cares about both their customers AND employees.

Anyone dinging Packed for long lines on opening weekend is a jerk. Yes, it sucks to wait in line but everything I ate was not only worth the wait in line, but also worth the wait for the restaurant to open many months after it was expected to.
As much as I would have liked to try everything on the menu, I was with only one other person and the dumplings had to be ordered in pairs so we sampled the squash, short rib, and pastrami savory dumplings, the mac & cheese side, and the banana and pear sweet dumplings. Soup dumplings weren’t yet being served.
Everything we ate was delicious. These dumplings are truly gourmet. The fried sage with the squash dumplings was a perfect accompaniment, the whipped horseradish cream with the short rib made all the difference when eating that dumpling. But the true surprise was the toasted shiitakes with the mac & cheese. I would have stood in line again just for a plate of those if I could have possibly eaten another bite.
PLEASE do yourself a personal favor and order the banana dumplings with your meal. Quite possibly the best dumpling I’ve ever had in my life. It rivals a fancy dessert you would have in a 5 star restaurant. Both tables sitting next to us were jealous they didn’t order dessert. The staff brings the dumplings out separately almost like a coursed dinner, so dessert will show up last and they won’t get cold while you eat the rest of your food.
I live way up north but I’ll be making the drive several times a month to get back in here and try the stuff we couldn’t get through on our first visit, the soup dumplings that weren’t yet available, and many many more banana dumplings. I hope this location does so well that the owners can expand to another location closer to me because this place is SOLID!

3.75 stars but sure it can go up.
Long lines on the first day (took about an hour from showing up to getting food) but that’s to be expected.
Best items: meatball and pastrami dumplings. The meatball was especially tasty.
Wouldn’t get again: chicken satay is actually a sandwich. The chicken was well seasoned but the sandwich as a whole didn’t feel particularly inspired. The bread didn’t do much and was dry.
The udon Mac and cheese was quite good but a bit cold/​the heat was inconsistent throughout the dish. But I could easily see that as a favorite.
Worth trying and The plating is quite pretty.