Ode to Karyn's Cooked...

Well hello there! I'm just gonna put it out there, I'm feeling a little bummy today. Feeling very under the weather and that always depresses me because there's so many other things I'd rather be doing and exploring than lying in bed with a runny nose, drippy throat, and congested head, especially since we're in the final countdown of our days here in Chicago. I'm hoping that a day in bed full of hot earl grey tea and honey will get me better so I can resume my exploring and errand running tomorrow. Here's is my Thursday late edition of "Ode to..." with my Ode to Karyn's Cooked, an amazing vegan restaurant just off Chicago Ave. on Wells Street, just a few blocks from downtown Michigan Ave.

Look at all this food! All for under $14 with a coffee! (The mac 'n cheese was actually given to me free as a "sample" - how sweet is that?!) There's so many things I love about this place - first of all, it's super clean and super conscious. The staff are very nice and don't rush you out of the restaurant as soon as you've sat down. The desserts look great, though I've never had room left in my belly to try any. I've only ever come for lunch, however it looks like it'd be a really nice place to come to dinner as well. The beer and wine list is also very if not all organic and many of the drinks themselves are brewed/distilled locally. I also love that if I had not known that this was a vegan restaurant before eating the food, I wouldn't be able to tell after eating the food either. The mac 'n cheese tasted super cheesy (despite the lacking of cheese) and the chili was very hearty (despite the lacking of meat). They even offered me coffee to-go for free because "it's cold out there." All in all one of my favorite lunch spots here in the city, especially if you're downtown because a large majority of the food places that I've seen in that area are chains or pricey or both. Overall it was the start to a very lovely day in downtown Chicago! :)