Karyn’s Cooked is one of two vegan restaurants in Chicago owned by Karyn Calabrese, a well-known holistic health guru. The menu here is entirely vegan and chock-full of tried and true comfort foods.

Unlike Handlebar, Karyn’s cooked is well within walking distance from the main tourist area in Chicago but not so much that you’re likely to have to wait too long for a table, if at all. Andy and I hoofed it over to N. Wells on Saturday evening for dinner and we were both very impressed with the overall experience.

First of all, I’d almost forgotten what it felt like to peruse a menu without wondering about ingredients or peppering the server with questions about what might be vegan. It felt like such a luxury to be able to order absolutely anything I wanted! Second, the size and variety of the menu at Karyn’s is exceptional. It almost made me angry to think about how near I used to live to where this place now sits.

Anyway, I ordered a meatball sandwich with a side of mac and cheese. The sandwiches all come with two potato wedges and coleslaw, which unfortunately, cannot be substituted for anything else, so yet again, I ended up with too much food.  Andy opted for the green enchiladas – also a ton of food.

Both of us thoroughly enjoyed our meals and even though we were too stuffed to consider dessert, we couldn’t resist a ginormous chocolate chip cookie to-go. I can report that it too was delish.

The quality and inventiveness of the food at Karyn’s is top-notch. Definitely worth a stop the next time you’re in Chicago. I really wished we’d have had enough room to try one of their pizzas (ya’ll know how I feel about pizza), so I’m sure we’ll be back again sometime to give it a go!