24 hour restaurants near Evanston/Far North Side

Here I am again, 12:30 am and just getting started on my homework. That and the heat are probably going to keep me up until 4 am, and darned if I'm gonna go into the hot kitchen and cook anything. I imagine this situation repeating several times over the next 1.5 months until my discrete math class finishes. So I need some quality food that's available at this hour and nearby, but the pickings here seem slim. I've been to:

1. International House of Pancakes, Howard and Western.
Ick.

2. Steak and Shake, Oakton near McCormick (Evanston)
Good shakes, but otherwise no comment.

3. Delhi Darbar, California and Devon
Open at the appropriate hour, but kinda greasy for the hour too.

4. Togo's/Dunkin Donuts, Howard and Western
Ick.

5. Deluxe Diner, Devon and Clark (?)
Okay food, but pricey, and terrible service on my past two visits.

Any other suggestions? Google offered http://dennisobrien.net/chicago/24-7.html, but a lot of the places mentioned on that site aren't close by. I've seen a couple of taquerias and other Indo-Pak places open late, but those can be so hit-or-miss that a recommendation (or warning) would be much appreciated. I'll settle for any kind of cuisine that's of reasonable quality and cost.

Thank you in advance for helping to feed a hot, lonely, insomniac student.

Jeri's Grill, on Western and Montrose, is a great 24 hour place that has been recently discussed on this messageboard.

See this thread on Jeri's:
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=4558

Happy late night eating!

It's not 24 hours, but I do believe Candlelite serves food until their 2am close.

There are a smattering of 24 hour korean restaurants further south, too.

The Fireside at Ravenswood and Rosehill (5739 N Ravenswood Ave) is a bar/restaurant that is open till 4:00 AM daily (5 AM on Saturdays) and serves their full menu until an hour before closing. The food there is generally not bad, although not spectacular. Still, at 2:00 AM, it's probably the only place of its ilk still serving. They deliver too, but I'm not sure how late. I would probably recommend getting one of their sandwiches. The specials and entrees can be good, but are often hit or miss. Aviod the ribs as they are not good.

Isn't Jack's on Touhy (slab bacon) open late?

Ghareeb Nhawaz on Devon isn't great, but its cheap open and open til 2

of the late night devon Indian, I'm not sure any is going to be less greasy than delhi darbar

a taqueria to avoid is unfortunately the only one on the N/ clark st strip I know to be 24 hour - its the one fairly far north (el charro maybe?), on the SE corner of an intersection and also advertises pizza

zim wrote:Isn't Jack's on Touhy (slab bacon) open late?

Jack's began closing at midnight after Skokie instituted its smoking ban. Alas, the best 24-hour destination nearby, The Melrose at Touhy and Caldwell in Niles, now sports the dreaded "closed for remodeling sign." And while the building really does seem to be under construction, there's no indication of what will emerge when it's finished. A "thanks for 10 great years" sign implies it will not be a cleaned-up Melrose.

This thread covers a number of far north and north suburban late-night options.

Here are a few more late-night options:

El Famous Burrito
773/465-0377
7047 N. Clark St., Chicago
-1 a.m. Su-Th; 24 hours F-Sa

Adequate but not wonderful for big burritos (suburban locations are better). Try the al pastor and the guacamole.

Gullivers
773/338-2166
2727 W. Howard St., Chicago
11 a.m.-1 a.m. M-Th; -2 a.m F-Sa
12 p.m.-1 a.m. Su

Big eclectic menu of pizza, burgers, Mexican fare and more amid an amazing atomsphere of antique lamps -- 430 chandeliers! -- leaded glass and sculpture.

Whistler's Restaurant
847/673-9270
3420 W. Devon Ave., Lincolnwood
24 hours daily

Grecian diner with all the usual stuff, good for breakfast fare, sandwiches, etc. A little shabby.

Jang Mo Nim Korean Restaurant
773/509-0211
6320 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago
11 a.m.-6 a.m. M-Sa (sometimes variable)

Bright, plant-filled Korean restaurant serves nicely prepared Korean standards. Try the gun mandoo, crisply pan-fried, half-moon shaped beef dumplings; dol sot bibimbap, rice, meat, vegetables and hot sauce, served in a hot stone bowl, topped with egg; nyang myen, cold chewy noodles in a vinegary broth.

Hae Woon Dae Kalbi
773/764-8018
6240 N. California Ave., Chicago
11 a.m.-1 a.m. 7 days (sometimes later; call first)

Small, plain West Rogers Park Korean barbecue where you can cook your food over live coals. Also good dol sot bibimbap.

Thanks for the replies everyone, and thanks for the link to the other thread, LAZ. I tried searching but didn't think to use the term "midnight."

zim wrote:Isn't Jack's on Touhy (slab bacon) open late?

Ghareeb Nhawaz on Devon isn't great, but its cheap open and open til 2

of the late night devon Indian, I'm not sure any is going to be less greasy than delhi darbar

As pointed out already, Jack's now closes as midnight, the first victim of
the Skokie smoking ban.

The late night Indian spots are all greasy - but Iam personally most
partial to Hyderabad House myself. They do some grilled and dry stuff,
which really isnt too greasy and is pretty good.

BTW, Evanston Chicken Shack, much beloved on this forum, is open
until 12:45 as well.

Pakistani chap (who IIRC attends Depaul) was telling me the other day
about a terrific little hole in the wall Chinese spot (which is almost
Indian/Chinese, he said, very spicy)... anyway, I cant quite recall, but
I think he said it was at Belmont/Ashland? Open till 6am or some such,
and might just qualify as "north".

And, of course, as already pointed out, Roger Ebert's "finest restaurant
in America", the Steak-n-Shake, is open 24 hours

c8w

Just got back from Guilliver's. A little pricey, but food was good and the decor was out of sight! Definitely will go back.

publicblast wrote:Just got back from Guilliver's. A little pricey, but food was good and the decor was out of sight! Definitely will go back.

Glad you liked it. It used to be open till 4 a.m.; the change occurred shortly after we moved out of that neighborhood. And now that I no longer work in the vicinity of The Melrose, it's closed. I'd be sensing a pattern here, except that our presence in our current neighborhood has done little to encourage late-night eateries to open. It's still basically Steak 'n Shake with a Denny's and an IHOP available if we're up to driving a little farther.

Chicago, overall, is not a great late-night town, and the suburbs shut down even earlier. Although there are at least a few options here in the northwest 'burbs. The North Shore rolls up the sidewalks before 10.

Pakistani chap (who IIRC attends Depaul) was telling me the other day about a terrific little hole in the wall Chinese spot (which is almost
Indian/Chinese, he said, very spicy)... anyway, I cant quite recall, but
I think he said it was at Belmont/Ashland? Open till 6am or some such,
and might just qualify as "north".

Hmm, he's not thinking of River Kwai, is he? It's Thai but otherwise fits the bill and I can't think of anything else in that area open at that hour (not that I'm ever out and about my hood then).

Mike G wrote:Hmm, he's not thinking of River Kwai, is he?

The latest on River Kwai from Chicagoist.

E.M.

The rumors I had heard-- I point them out as neighborhood chatter, with no assumed validity whatsoever-- were that "the old guy had died" (I do not, in fact, know that there was "an old guy"), and that the hours in the first place came from a desire to only be open at a very inconvenient time for inspectors....

I was a River Kwai regualr for several years in the mid 90's. Deja (I KNOW i spelled that wrong but hey)the owner worked with his brother at the wok and his sister in the back making soups and prep work.

Deja had heart problems last year and went into the hospital for an extended stay. I was last there back in Feb or Mar and his brother showed me some pics, Deja looked pretty gaunt and tired

I haven't been back since but I will miss the place. When they were good, they had the best fried rice I have ever eated in my life. Spicy pork was my preferred style. The Po Tak seafood soup was great after a hard night's drinking next door at Gunther Murphy's.

In the last few years their hours had gotten increasingly irregular and I became less and less willing to wait an hour for my food. When I was sculling pints next door, it was no problem but the clientele and atmosphere changed at GM so I stopped going.