The Chicago Kitchen

BEST no bean chili. … I think this is how a real chili is made, beans are just fillers. I come here for the Chili. The other food is good too, comparable to any good food establishment, but the chili is like no other.

NEVER COMING HERE AGAIN!
I came here for a couple slices of pizza and was VERY DISSAPOINTED.
I order 1 deep dish slice of pepperoni and 1 deep dish slice of sausage.
Aside from the fact that I had to wait about 30 minutes for my food (although the cashier told me it would only take 10 minutes), the pizza was disgusting. The toppings themselves, were good, but it was that deep dish crust that just ruined the pizza.
It’s hard to describe the how horrible the crust was, but I couldn’t eat it and if you know me, you know that I LOVE pizza.
If you’re looking for that Chicago Deep Dish style pizza, DON’T come here.

I work nearby and have been here a bunch of times. The Italian beef here is better than two stars. It’s a very good sandwich. So they get three stars for that. Just do yourself a favor and don’t order anything else. Seriously, everything else I’ve had has been not good. The chicken parm is more like a chicken tender with ragu on bread. Thermal and cheese was meh. The dogs looked pretty good so since I’ve never had one there they are exempt until next time.
Stick to the Italian beef and you’re golden.

This email was actually intended for the owner but kept on bouncing back so I decided to post it here on Unilocal which will also serve as review:
On Dec 26, 2013 2:12 PM
To the owner,
My son and my husband love going to your restaurant because we live up the hill (Bernardo Pines) but today would be our last day.
The way we were treated by Ricky was not acceptable. …
After shopping at the mall, hungry and tired we decided to get hot dogs and spaghetti and we remembered that we have the completed stamp card which entitled us for a free meal. Upon coming to the cashier we handed the card to Ricky (who said he is the Gen. manager…) and without hesitation to say that the 2 initials were not his which implying that we did those 2. How embarrassed we felt for a $ 10 meal to do this.. I hope that this is the last time and we would be the last costumers that will be treated this way. we cannot accept this kind of treatment as we are not this type of people and we can afford to buy as much many meals as we want to… but thought we use the free meal stamp since we ate there more than 6 times as required to get the free meal.
Before we left I told him that we were not happy the way he treated us and his response was…“let it go guys“
Hoping for your comment on this.
Thanks for the time reading this email.
Abby

Worst sandwich ever. Since other people seemed to be ok with this place, I will add the disclaimer that I got this sandwich to-​go, did not experience the sit-​down atmosphere, the people who took my order seemed nice, and my order came up in a timely manner. There’s also the chance I just ordered the wrong thing off the menu. Usually I would take all these things into consideration and average it out to give my star rating. But the sandwich was THAT bad that it still canceled out any positives of this place.
I got a Philly cheese steak to go. It was the WORST sandwhich I’ve ever had. I hate wasting food and I’d been starving from working in the field all morning. I ended up tossing more than half of it, and was supremely cranky for the rest of the day until a Jamba Juice cheered me up later that afternoon. The sandwhich put me in such a bad mood, my co-​worker even said she could tell that my sandwich must have been REALLY bad.
The bread was stale, the steak park was just some dry cuts of beef with a slice of room temperature cheese throw on top of it. The meat was not marinated. The cheese was not melted on. The whole thing was not grilled together to make a yummy juicy goodness. There was no sauce. There was no condiments. It was a sandwich thrown together with nothing going for it on to stale bread. AND the thing cost me around $ 7.
Waste of time, effort, money, taste buds, and stomach space. The only time I would ever eat this again would be if I was on day 2 of being stranded in a desert somewhere. Even then I would find a rabbit or something to marinade some juices back into the thing…

I had the deep dish pie. It was expecting lots of gooey cheeese and a very juicy thick pie. The pizza had very little cheese very dry. It was more like a bad regular pizza that you wouldn’t pay $ 20 for.
Very disappointing. I am still in seach of the best Chicago Deep dish pizza in San Diego. Maybe Lefty’s or Assagios.

This is my first visit here and not sure I will be back unless I’m kinda near by and really in the mood for a beef. Being from Chicago I kinda grade a Chicago joint by there Italian beef. This unfortunately was only Ok at best. The beef was tender enough but the spices weren’t really right and it had a few day old refrigerator funk kind of taste to it. The sweet peppers were grilled but not even fresh, the giardinere was ok but had a weird look to it and the gravy (au jus) tasted like straight beef stock out of a can. I ordered the meal for an extra $ 1.99 and was definitely the way to go. The sandwich was pretty small though and for some reason it was cut in half! I hafta say though that the fries here are the star of the show. They were some of the best around a d pretty sure they make them home made. I guess when I absolutely have got the urge for a beef and I’m in the neighborhood I’ll be back but if I have to have a real, honest to goodness Italian beef like you get in chicago, I’ll make the trek to Portillos in Moreno Valley or Buena Park.

Their food is solid! Not mushy or watery it’s solid! Jk nah but forreal solid place to eat if you finna get zome of dat pizza fo dat… Yeah.
It about my 3 or 4^th time in, & the chances I’m giving this place isn’t doing justice. Its okay, and it will get you by on your hunt for your pizza fix. Although I wouldn’t recommend it as a must go type of pizza place. There are better spots down in North Park, Hillcrest area! Just a heads up.

I ordered pasta with meatballs. The pasta, Rigatoni, was pre-​cooked and delivered to my table within 3 minutes. As you know pre-​cooked pasta is not going to be al dente and as this was mushy. I did make a request for meat sauce. This meant chop up a meatball and add it to the sauce.
The meatballs were tender but not cooked in the sauce. The meatballs just did not taste good.
In reality this is probably not a place for pasta. Advertised as Chicago I expected more. Nevertheless I will probably be back to try the pizza and eventually the Italian Beef. The place is close to where I stay every other week. I live in Chicago and feel compelled to give them a chance. Beside the place had one thing definitely going for them only comes from Chicago, friendly Midwestern kindness.

It’s more like «Mexican Kitchen»! All of the (Hispanic) cooks and workers were singing along to Ranchero music, and could be heard throughout the entire place. Then they were all hanging around out front ogling the poor young girl who was working the register. It seemed like a pretty hostile environment for her… I ended up asking her how she liked working there, and she said it was her last week after only being there a month! Good for her!
So enough about the «ambiance», what about the food: well… I found a hair in my fries, then a hair in my daughter’s spaghetti halfway through! What are you gonna do? So yeah, poor quality and standards at this place… and not cheap! I was wishing I went to Taco Bell across the way as I left :(

Went to Chicago Kitchen last night to celebrate the last day of the school year. Wanted to take a break from cooking and patronize a neighborhood business. We’ve had pizza from here before and really liked it so we wanted to try their other menu items.
We ordered a Chicago Special pizza, 2 burgers, onion rings, & a turkey wrap.
The Chicago Special was very good, the burgers were good & the onion rings were a very nice surprise. HOWEVER, the item we expected to come out the fastest, the turkey wrap, took FOREVER! My poor husband waited & waited while my son & I slowly ate our burgers expecting his wrap to come out any minute. It did start to get busy after we got there but the priority should be spent on making sure previous orders have been filled instead of focusing on taking new orders.
After asking a couple of times, it was obvious they forgot all about our turkey wrap. When it was finally ready, we had them wrap it up to go because we had waited so long & were done with our meals. My husband pretty much just had onion rings for dinner & he’s having his day old turkey wrap for lunch at work today.
We were really looking forward to having a nice time & giving Chicago Kitchen our business but I don’t know if my husband will ever want to give this place another chance.

3.5 stars actually. Good Chicago style hot dogs. It is very filling. Do not expect Costco style prices. A very nice selection of beer for a small place in a hidden part of Rancho Bernardo. I could come here for an afternoon to enjoy some beer and watch the tele.

We came here for lunch around 12:10 PM– perfect time to beat the rush.
FOOD: Lunch specials!
My friend ordered the Chicken Sandwich with a salad and a drink and I ordered the Chicken Wrap with a salad and a drink. Each meal was fairly priced at $ 6.99.
I love how they have a sandwich or wrap option. I loved it even more when I had a choice between a wheat or white wrap! I LOVE options ! The wrap was warm, soft, fresh, and delicious. As for the wrap, I felt like it was a little plain. The chicken wrap consisted only of chicken, lettuce, and tomato. There wasn’t any crazy flavors or sauces– it was simple/​classic. It is nice to have a light and healthy lunch option.
SERVICE: Super friendly staff! The food came out in 10 minutes and devoured 15 minutes later.
I’m not sure why this place was rated a 4 dollar bills because it is just average price for sandwiches!
It seems like this place is known for pizza and hot dog. I guess I must come back to check that out!

I’ve made two trips since they renamed it from Chicago On A Bun to Chicago Kitchen. Definitely beats what is now known as JK Burgers. Quite some time ago, I went there when it was COB — dogs OK and Italian Beef sort of dry.
Since it has been renamed Chicago Kitchen, the food is great. Their Polish Dogs and Fire Dogs rock! (this is where they outdo Lefty’s). Onion Rings are the bomb! This prompted me to re-​evaluate their Italian Beef so I ordered one the same way I do at Lefty’s (wet, sport peppers, sweet peppers, giardiniara mix) — very tasty. Bread was a little softer, but still good nonetheless.
The only reason I didn’t give it a 5 is because Johnnie’s Beef (in Chicago @ 7500W North Av) is the STANDARD that even Portillo’s is judged by for Italian Beef.
Their dogs compare to Portillo’s. Have to try the sliders and brats.
Where Lefty’s has the edge is the pizza by the slice is available at all times.
Consider me a repeat customer on Chicago Kitchen.

I’ve liked this place since it was DiCricenzo’s…two name changes ago but I definitely like the new décor. This place was funky 10 years ago. I love the pizza here, and the way they cut it. A very family friendly place in my book. I like their hot dogs, and sandwiches. The prices seem fair to me, and the clientele is consistently friendly. I do miss that pretty girl who used to work there on Sundays though, she is the bomb.

We recently needed food for a group– quickly! After much debate of pizza toppings we ordered a thin crust pizza w/​tomatoes, cheese, peppers, & onions. Not everyone was thrilled w/​this compromise, but you’d never no it when the pizza came!
Yum Yum! After making pizza for years we don’t usually get excited about takeout, but this pie was the bomb! The crust was just the right thinness– not too thin or thick.
My theory is– you can tell a great Italian restraint from the quality of cheese they use– this place is definitely uses the good stuff.
Bravo Chicago kitchen– we will be back!

A little pricey but the food was good, service was good and friendly, draft beer great. Plus it’s local so it’s nice to support a place that isn’t mainstream or a chain.

How is this place in business? Food was awful, service was slow, food is way overpriced. I don’t understand how a place like this keeps the doors open. There is a taco bell in the same shopping center that probably takes more pride in their product than these guys.

If you place a phone order and arrive after the estimated pick up time you should be able to grab your food and go. Especially when there are no other orders. When it appears the cook is out back having a cigarette and you have to wait almost another 10 minutes it certainly doesn’t make a good impression. I am assuming with the new name that the ownership has changed. The Italian beef and sausage sandwich was dry and they forgot the juice. The Eggplant sandwich was way overdone. If you lower the prices you will sell alot more food. In my opinion.

On my last visit to this plaza, I noticed a «Grand Re-​opening» sign for a restaurant. I didn’t go in at the time, but I made a mental bookmark of it. Fast forward to lunch on a random day when the refrigerator needs to be restocked and cooking would not be ideal in this heat. While I was trying to make a decision and take in all of the options on the menu, I asked the guy behind the register how long they had been open. Apparently they have been open, with the new name for a month. I can’t remember if he said there was a new owner, but apparently there has been a restaurant at this site for a long time. He pointed out the salads and wraps that were new on the menu. I ended up deciding on the Italian Beef Sandwich with fries and a drink. I also opted for the onions and peppers on the sandwich.
I took my cup to the soda fountain and noticed that the little condiments area next to it was a bit of a hot mess… two large tin cans of ketchup, one about a ¹⁄₃ full and the other full. I didn’t see any container or pump mechanism for ketchup, so I guess you just have to dip a small plastic cup in for ketchup and then wipe the sides down? Not sure. I had a seat at the counter against the window, but they also have a small counter that wraps around the area that has their beers on tap and the t.v. They have a Happy Hour, drinks on special and breadsticks on special as well. And if you are eating in and order a beer, you can get 20% off of your order.
I took my order home and dug in. The huge portion of fresh cut fries come in a small brown bag… love it! I love fresh cut fries and could just eat an order of those! I think they have some kind of seasoning on them, but I didn’t taste that until the bottom of the bag. For me, that’s ok because I actually didn’t think the fries needed any seasoning. The Italian Beef Sandwich looked delicious and smelled lovely! They pack a little cup of meat juice (yes that’s what I call it) if you need more juiciness. First things first… the bread… delicious. This bread is the right kind of bread for something like an Italian Beef Sandwich or any sandwich that has a lot of juice or sauce. It was toasted so it had a nice crunch, but it was also softened by the juices of the meat. The beef itself had good flavour, but there were some rather tough parts in mine. There were a lot of peppers, which I enjoy and the onions were nice, except for the ones where it looked like the ends had been left on… I dipped a bit of my bread into the meat juice, beware if you don’t like oregano, you may not enjoy this. I do like oregano, but will admit with the first taste, I wasn’t expecting any of it and it kind of got me, the drink came in handy. Honestly, I think my favourite part of the meal were the fries.
I paid just over $ 10 for the meal and I do think that was a little pricey, but it is quite a bit of food. I would like to go back and try some of the other sandwiches and definitely their pizza. If you are in the area, you should stop in and try it out.