Non-chain drive-thrus?

Having recently acquired an automobile, and always having a sometimes-napping toddler in tow, I have been spending way too much time at Dunkin' Donuts drive-up window.

Is there such a thing as a non-chain drive-through in the city? I'm up for anything I can munch on without getting out of the car. DD takes long naps!

TIA!

There's always Superdawg, discussed in the Essentials thread here.

Hi,

We have several threads on drive-ins, not necessarily city-centric or non-chain, they are: Root beer drive-ins, Super Dawg, Ken Tone's, STan's Drive In, Toot's.

These were found via our search engine usng the keywords 'drive-in,' where you will find a few more.

Well, just today we heard about a drive-up birrieria on the far South Side. Then there’s Tropic Island Jerk Chicken Restaurant (1922 E 79th; seriously good jerk chicken and homemade ginger beer) also with a drive-through window. I have to warn that I have not actually observed the window in use for a couple years so call first!

Cathy2 wrote:We have several threads on drive-ins, not necessarily city-centric or non-chain, they are: Root beer drive-ins, Super Dawg, Ken Tone's, STan's Drive In, Toot's.

KenTone’s and Stan’s (and I think also Toot’s) are drive-ins in the old sense (i.e., they have parking lots) but they don’t have drive-through windows.

Add another - Suzie's, a small place on the N. side of Montrose, just west of Elston. Drive-thru, non-chain, and open 24 hours. It was discussed some on a thread ostensibly about Italian Beef here.

I've gotten to like the Western Burger quite a bit.

I just came to mention Suzie's. They have gotten mixed reviews here on the boards but has a special place in my heart. Specifically, the fries are among my favorites. The giardineria is really fresh and a contender for my 'best' title. You can do alot worse for a beef, as far as I'm concerned. A friend turned me on to their italian subs, too.

Caveats:
Show Suzie respect or she's show you the door..or driveway, I guess.
Service is slooow.
The late crowd can get a little rowdy.
Bring a friend if you want 'chez fries.' It's a huge portion.

Charcoal Delights, a very small chain (2? 3 locations?) has a drive-up window at their Foster & Kedzie location. Also, I seem to remember a drive thru at Porkee's on 106th & Western.

Al's No. 1 Italian Beef
312/943-3222
169 W. Ontario St., Chicago

I advise, from woeful experience, though, do not try to eat a wet combo fully laden with giardiniera while driving!

Niko's at Diversey, Western, and Elston has a drive-thru, but I can't think of any reason why you'd want to drive thru it. The food was much better in their previous life, when there were two ks in "Nikko's".

Best,
Michael / EC

eatchicago wrote:Niko's at Diversey, Western, and Elston has a drive-thru, but I can't think of any reason why you'd want to drive thru it.

Well it is 24 hours...

Kman wrote:Add another - Suzie's, a small place on the N. side of Montrose, just west of Elston. Drive-thru, non-chain, and open 24 hours. It was discussed some on a thread ostensibly about Italian Beef here.

I've gotten to like the Western Burger quite a bit.

Glad to hear that you also enjoy my beloved Western Burger.

clogoodie wrote:

eatchicago wrote:Niko's at Diversey, Western, and Elston has a drive-thru, but I can't think of any reason why you'd want to drive thru it.

Well it is 24 hours...

That's definitely not good enough for me. Niko's is pretty damned miserable.

Never, ever order the gyros. Yikes.

The rest of the menu I've tried (I quit after I had those gyros) was average chicago burger/gyro/etc joint fare. Nothing special. I suppose as long as you stick to the burgers it might be edible.

Fluky's location on N. Western (6800N) has a drive-thru. It's a little convoluted as the drive-thru doesn't wrap around the building. Instead it wraps around the parking lot. Not sure if it was a later add-on, but it still gets the job done.

By the way, I wish I had read this topic last week, because I was driving home via Elston and needed a place to eat with a drive-thru (I had a sleeping baby in the car with me). Niko's was on the way home so I stopped by for a burger and fries. If not miserable, then indifferent service, overcooked fries and questionable meat on the burger adds up to something pretty close to it.

However, I will note that the one highlight of the meal was two slices of red tomato on the burger. They weren't very big - maybe 1 1/2 inches in diameter each - but they were ripe and juicy. It was a nice surprise to find a place like Niko's serving good tomatoes, rather than the dark pink tomatoes, often with whitish-green insides, that most burger/hot dog places serve.