Amitabul

Has anyone been to this Korean vegan restaurant called Amitabul?

It's near the intersection of Devon and Milwaukee and has a reputation of treating illnesses through their meal plans. I went once before and I'm going back tonight.

I find their food so interesting, just wanted to see what everyone else thought too. I wrote about them before here: http://chewonthatblog.com/2008/06/02/eating-healthy-with-amitabul/

I haven't been to Amitabul in years and years (since it was in its former location on Southport in the now to-hip and trendy "Southport Cooridor"). I remember it being very good and different than Chicago Diner which was the only other restaurant attempting a vegan menu at the time. I'd be curious to hear how it is now.

Can I get a hell yes! For some reason in this land of rib tips, crispy chicken, and burgers piled with pulled pork, Amitabul feels like a guilty pleasure. In reality though, for me, this is the spot for the healthiest, enlivening eats that do not skimp on the seriously uncompromising chili burn. Love the kimchee stew and Dr. K's soup. Not strictly authentic, but these are class act Korean stews (a little kurobuta pork belly in there might be a nice touch, but there is a time and place for that and times when reviving vegan eating is just what the doctor ordered).

I went years ago and it was so awful I couldn't even bring myself to go back since then. Even Pie Dude hated it and he likes everything. I don't remember what I had, I just remember it was bitter and otherwise tasteless. Although, I am intrigued about the 'healing through food' claims. Next time we have a cold, I'll think about trying that magic soup. Otherwise, I'm staying away. I'll be interested in hearing what your most recent excursion was like.

My most recent excursion was another success for me, but not for the boyfriend who I brought there in hopes he'd love it too, although I'm not sure he brought an open mind.

This time, I had the "Wolfman's Dream Treats" which is sweet potatoes, potatoes, tons of veggies and nuts in a spicy sauce with brown rice. For dessert I had a maple cookie with some ginger tea. Something about this place is just so addicting to me and I always relish the opportunity I will get to eat my leftovers.

Like I said, my boyfriend didn't like his food though. He ordered the "Dark side of the moon" which is sort of like a mushroomy noodle dish. The noodles are homemade from some sort of vegetable. The problem was they were too slippery! It took him forever to make a dent in his dish because it was that hard to get onto the fork.

I would definitely go back, but maybe in different company. Any takers?

Sounds like a challenge. I'll have to consider that. I'm way busy this month, but after...

Had my inaugural visit here this evening. The Favorite Dining Companion and a friend of ours joined me.

I'm not a vegan expert by any means. However, tonight's meal was quite good. We shared an appetizer of Mandoo Vegan Dumplings. I had the Zesty Noodle as my main course. It was quite good. My only regret that that I ordered it medium hot. It was a bit too hot for my palate.

The FDC ordered Black Pearl Pancakes. They were quite good. She even offered to share them with me!

Our friend ordered the Chop Chae Bop. No complaints from her.

Overall, a good experience. Definitely on the radar for a future visit.

Amitabul
www.amitabulvegan.com
6207 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60646-3730
(773) 774-0276

I just went there the other day for the Cure All Soup. It was a bit hot for me and it cured nothing, but I have to say it was pretty tasty and I'll have to try this place again despite my disasterous first trip. The owner also made me a mug of date tea, which is really fantastic when you're in the mood for something sweet.

If Amitabul is unable to cure you, just walk down the street to Superdawg. That should do the trick.

I was thinking of some malt-related nourishment.

As a favorite of many of my close friends, my wife and I tried it out for dinner (when it was still on Southport). Two words - dirt soup, with bark (I guess that's 4 words). It has remained a running joke between her and I for all these years. Still a favorite of many friends, who now have to leave their comfort zone (Fullerton to Chicago, Kedzie to Halsted) to partake.

Love love love their soy pancakes with nine year old miso! Anything with rice cake is good too! Very spicy, full of veggies, yum! Try the ginger tea!

Mr. CM2772 headed over to Amitabul yesterday for lunch, and we were very pleased. I had the High Noon noodle dish--spicy, and Mr. CM2772 had Dr. K's cure-all soup. We also tried a cup of the ginger tea and the citron tea, as well as a starter of veggie dumplings.

The dumplings (order of 12) were okay--decent dough, felt that the filling was a little skimpy, and a nice drizzle of soy/plum sauce. The citron tea was really nice and flavorful, the ginger tea was like a pop in your mouth--but a bit too ginger-y for me. I couldn't finish it.

The High Noon noodles were fantastic. Perfectly cooked noodles a HUGE plate, enough to feed 2, maybe even 3 people. Loved the sauce, loved the veggies--meaty mushrooms, cabbage, brocolli. Highly recommended and I would get this again for sure.

Dr.K's cure-all soup--I can only describe it strange-good. Slurp up 3 spoonfuls of broth quickly, and you can feel your sinuses open and your chest feels like it is opening up. Totally can see why they market this for those that have a cold or the flu. Its got a nice kick, but not too spicy.

We were there at lunch, and there were only a few people dining-in, but saw a lot of traffic coming in for lunch take-out and what it seemed like a lot of people walking out with the Dr. K's soup. If I do get the swine-flu this season, the silver-lining will be getting Dr. K's soup for take-out.

This had been on my list of places to try for-ever. The geography got in the way.

Fortunately, lemoneater chose it for the 1st Vegetarian Small Household Exchange in 2011.

Yesterday was quite cold outside but it was warm and comfy inside Amitabul. It looks like a regular old diner. There's nothing dineresque on the menu.


Dr. K's Cure All Soup

This soup would feed 3 people as an entree. The warming peppery broth was fantastic. The seaweed was good. The noodles were long & toothsome.

We had a lot of food and I hope others present can add descriptions of the dish.

We were a chatty and happy group. I think we disturbed the calm that can only be found in a vegan zen-like diner. Once the food hit the table. There was silence. The kind of silence that occurs when no one wants to talk because they want to-be-one...with their food.



Wolfman's Dream Treats- This platter of health was good. Heck, even the brown rice was good & I hate brown rice.


Each of these Energy Pancakes was the size of a salad plate. Yowsa!


There is an entire menu of drinks to right the body. Here you can see the Happy Campers with their beverages of choice.

That bright green drink in front of ecs is fantastic. There's a reason it's called Green Heaven. Spinach, cucumber, kiwi, & orange. I could drink it every day!



I think this is Yin & Yan- The menu said don't even think of ordering it if you can't stand the heat. We ordered it at a medium heat (so that everyone could eat it) and it had a nice kick. Can't wait to try it at the highest level of heat.



Buddah's 3 Luck. This was really good. The sauce had a bit of a citrus flavor to it. This dish had no heat. It was chewy. The bias sliced items that look like they would be some sort of asian vegetable were actually rice cake (I'm told by Pie Lady).



The lone Mandoo Vegan Dumpling (you get a dozen in an order). Very nice. I loved the crunch of the raw cabbage around it.

There was tons of food left. With tax and tip our bill was $20.38/person.

Nothing tasted like dirt or bark, as one poster indicated above. I'm curious as to what dish they had.

Geography has never stopped me before when it comes to food. I'm already thinking about what else I want to have on my next visit to Amitabul. Oh yes, it is closed on Sunday & Mondays.

I had the ginger-apple juice and thought, oh, nice, apple juice. Then I was hit with some definite gingery heat - very good! As pairs4ife mentioned, it tasted like an un-fizzy Blenheim Ginger Ale. Could have used the fizz, but still tasty.

Amitabul has been on my radar for some time, but we haven't been in that neighborhood much for many years. My wife and I had a very enjoyable evening last night.

The owner was very friendly and polite and gave us suggestions for our first meal there. We had great chats with him throughout the evening.

Started with the good Mandoo dumplings. I didn't care for the Dr. K's soup, but I am not a fan of seaweed. We really enjoyed the Yin and Yan and the curry dish Hello Dolly and Bill. Both were in a perfect place heat wise for us, a very pleasant mellow heat that was definitely there, but did not stand out as the most prominent characteristic of the dish.

We were surprised at how busy it was for later on a Thursday evening in a family oriented neighborhood, where I'm guessing very few folks are eating a plant based diet. Heck, right next to extremely meat-centric (of various ethnicities) Niles. It does seem, and the owner confirmed, to draw many folks from many parts of the Chicago area.

Looking forward to exploring more of the menu.

I'm a big fan of Amitabul--the owner is super friendly, and they offer monthly meal plans which I've always been tempted by but have yet to partake. I like that their dishes are unapologetically vegan--they don't try to imitate meat, they just make delicious vegetables. Eff you, meat and dairy.

Love,
John

PS I'm an omnivore.

Another good meal yesterday. We have eaten here several times this year, and brought guests a few times, and always consistent, comfort food-like. You feel like you are dining at someone's home.

And you couldn't ask for a nicer restaurant owner than Bill.

Another good time at Amitabul last night. Good to see it was packed on a cold evening, and Bill always takes good care of you, regardless of how busy they are.

Ordered a bunch for five of us. Last night the Budda's 3 Luck and Dark Side of the Moon really stood out.

Kind of fell out of our rotation because we got lazy, since it isn't that close. Will have to change that.

First come, first serve last night so we arrived at 6:30 knowing it is busy fairly early. Almost full at arrival and was totally full when we left at 8. Good to see with the pouring rain and cold outside.

Ordered the pizza, Yin and Yang and Zesty Noodle and the last two may have been the best versions we've had there.

Found a quicker route, which will help for future visits.

Our daughter told us about Chef Bill organizing deliveries from Amitabul into Logan, Bucktown, Wicker, and Humboldt tonight. Bill had two delivery times, leaving Amitabul at 3 and 5. I emailed my order to him for the later time, to avoid him getting hit with the delivery company fees. Ordered extra dishes, figuring we could use the leftovers.

She said Bill posted on Instagram that he only had a couple spots left early this afternoon. Great to see people taking creative approaches to keep their businesses and their employees going, at least for the short term!