byA. LaBan
April 15, 11:59pm, and you've just postmarked your taxes. Relief washes over like a wave, and then, inevitably, hunger.
Unfortunately for those seeking late-night culinary excitement, Chicago truly is a second city. Unlike New York and other metropolises that offer night-crawlers plenty of opportunities to feed into the wee hours, we're relatively limited in our late-night, post-witching hour dining options, unless you're up for a hot-dog stand, a burrito hut or a diner. A budget option, however, may be just the thing if Uncle Sam has left you feeling a little light in the wallet.
The intersection of Lincoln, Wellington and Southport is not only the home of St. Alphonsus, the church that was the center of the Lakeview German community in the late nineteenth century, but is also one of the premier twenty-four-hour dining spots in the city. Flanked by the Golden Apple on one corner and the S&G, with its creative assortment of egg casseroles, on the other, this intersection attracts breakfast aficionados, policemen and sailors on leave at all hours.
The Golden Apple, with its radiant neon apple sign, holds its own against any other diner in the city. Some six pages of breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert choices (with most complete meals priced under $6) should satisfy your cravings, no matter what they are, no matter what time they hit. The menu has a Mexican twist, and the breakfast burrito, a huge roll of beans, cheese, guac, tomatoes, lettuce and taco meat accompanied by spicy rice, can be an excellent way to start your day or end your evening. One piece of adviceÑtry to avoid the allure of the cream pies in the rotating display. Stress-tested at 3am, these meringue-coated confections just don't stand up to the pressure.
If the whole tax(ing) experience has left you weak, with only enough in your pocket for maybe a muffin washed down with a strong cup of joe, there are plenty of late-night coffeehouses around town. Open 5pm to 3am on weeknights and twenty-four hours on weekends, the Pick Me Up Café serves an assortment of Italian options, sandwiches, big breakfasts and good vegetarian chili with thick slices of honey wheat bread. And it's never too late (or early) for a brownie sundae.
Like the IRS, the service at the Wicker Park coffeehouse Earwax is, at best, grudging. But if the surly help doesn't bother you, you'll enjoy an extensive list of sandwiches and specials oriented to the health-conscious and vegetarian, such as Indian lentil stew, roasted mushroom and red pepper sandwich and potato sage pizza. Earwax's cafe is combined with a video and record store, giving a new meaning to the notion of dinner and a movie.
Need a vacation after finally putting those taxes to bed? Late-night dining can offer plenty of exotic adventure. With its five small tables, low-slung ceiling, overworked window air conditioner cranking away, bullet holes in some of the windows, open kitchen piled with dirty dishes and red-faced, sweaty cooks, the River Kwai may be just the thing to top off an annual exercise that always leaving you feeling as if you've descended into hell. Opening around 9 or 10pm, the River Kwai serves Thai and Chinese stir-fries, noodles, curries, soups and rice dishes until dawn the next day. Helpings are huge, and liters of Thai iced coffee are served in carryout soup containers. The place is a dump, but everything I've eaten has been safe , at least so far. Feel like you almost have to study a foreign language to deal with the IRS? If you're willing to learn one, you'll have a lot easier time ordering your Korean hot pot or barbecue at 24/7 spot San Soo Gab San Korean Restaurant. The place is ringed with wicker-walled cubicles, creating private dining rooms that allow you to sprawl on cushions after your financial ordeal. Each table's equipped with its own grill, so you can fan the flames of traditional Korean dishes.
After all that bean counting, if you're thinking there's really nothing wrong after all with a little late-night pintos and cheese, try El Presidente. Open twenty-four hours and resembling a Denny's spruced up with Marvel Comic-like pictures of feather-dressed warriors rescuing bosomy Aztec maidens, the restaurant serves acceptable Mexican fare, especially at 4:30am, when beans rarely taste so good. Try the machacado con huevo (scrambled eggs with dried beef, rice and beans) served "hot," if you don't have anything to do the following morning.
The Golden Apple, 2971 North Lincoln, (773)528-1413. Serving 24 hours, 7 days a week.
Pick Me Up Café, 3408 North Clark, (773)248-6613. Weeknights, 5pm-5am; weekends, 24 hours.
Earwax, 1564 West Milwaukee, (773)772-4019. Mon-Thu, open until midnight; Fri-Sat until 1am; Sun until 11am.
River Kwai II, 1650 West Belmont, (773)472-1013. Wed-Fri 9 or 10pm-5am; Sat and Sun until 6am.
San Soo Gab San Korean Restaurant, 5247 North Western Avenue, (773)334-1589. Open daily 24 hours.
El Presidente, 2558 North Ashland, (773)525-7938. Open 24 hours, 7 days a week.
copyright 1999 New City Communications, Inc.