Restaurant: Earl's Kitchen and Bar
Address: 1538 N Clyborn Avenue, Chicago, ILBuffet or a-la-carte: A-la-carte
Date of visit: 11/23/18
Background:
Salam/hey guys! Today I will be talking about my experience at a place where you can get halal steak in Chicago. The place is called Earl's. Earl's is a steakhouse chain that is based in Canada. I first heard about Earl's after seeing someone post about how they use Creekstone Farms beef (100% halal btw) at their restaurants. It turns out that they use Creekstone Farms beef at their US locations (I don't know about Canada locations). I looked up hoping that there would be a location in Houston, but there's one in Plano, near Dallas. Hopefully they'll expand to Houston in the future.
Originally, I was not supposed to go here. When I was planning my trip, I did polls for a few days leading up to the trip to determine which places I would try when I spend the day in downtown Chicago on the 23rd. I was originally going to Epic Burger and Tahoora, but that was for if I was going myself. I was in fact spending the day with my cousin from Cleveland. His favorite food item is steak, and he isn't a burger fan. So I thought of going to Prime and Provisions in downtown, but for some reason they were not open for lunch since it was Black Friday. I looked on Yelp and zabihah.com for places that had halal steak. I then saw that they had an Earl's in Chicago, so I reserved a table for two. After Friday prayers in downtown, we took an Uber to the restaurant .
Let The Experience Begin!
While the address mentions N Clyborn Avenue, the actual entrance is located on the northeast side of a roundabout that is to the right of the intersection of N Halsted Street and W Blackhawk Street. After confirming the reservation that I made, we were helped to the table by the friendly host. After taking a few minutes to read the menu, I was ready to order.
Let's Eat!
I decided to be adventurous and order the beef bibimbap. Bibimbap is a Korean dish that consists of rice, sesame chili sauce, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, and a soft boiled egg served in a hot stone bowl. I ordered it because I never had a proper Korean dish in Houston (Coreanos is a fusion of Mexican and Korean; Bento Hut in Atlanta, which had chicken bulgogi, closed down), and that there's no halal Korean BBQ spot (though it's the highest in demand after BBQ and steakhouse). I am also confident that this location uses the Creekstone beef since there is no mention of any other beef supplier in their menu. The price was $17 + tax. My cousin got the 6 oz steak frites. It's a 6 oz sirloin steak that comes with fries and garlic bread. I decided to teach him the finer points of steak eating by making him order it medium rare. The price? $17.50 + tax. To wait, I watched UH get their butts kicked by Memphis.
Menu: https://earls.ca/locations/lincoln-park/menu/kitchen
The menu of Earl's is one of huge variety. At one end you have Asian food items like the bibimbap. At another end, you have pizzas, and at one end, you have steaks. As mentioned, Earl's uses Creekstone beef for its US locations. But this location also uses halal chicken from Crescent. I found out a few days after the actual trip there. I don't know if they also use the halal chicken at the other locations. When ordering, just mention to them that you want it cooked separately and that the grill would be cleaned, and they would be happy to help.
Now in order to eat the bibimbap, read through the captions underneath each picture.
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| Step 1: This is how the dish comes. The red stuff on the left is the sesame chili sauce. |
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| Step 2: pour the sesame chili sauce into the bowl |
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| Step 3: Mix it. This is what the result should be like. Do not eat before mixing. |
For someone who's having a proper Korean dish for the first time ever, I thought the food was good. The spice level was adequate, and the food quality was high. My cousin really enjoyed his steak frites. He said that the steak had a lot of flavor.
The service was wonderful. The folks there are really friendly and really accommodating. They always had a smile on their face when talking with customers.
Conclusion:
Earl's is a good spot to try if you want halal steak and/or Asian fare in Chicago without having to pay a lot at places like Prime and Provisions or Roka Akor (Chicago locations only have halal and not the Houston location 😒). The really friendly folks will definitely take care of you. I'll head to their Plano location, hopefully during my next trip to Dallas, and try their steak.
Grading:
Service: 9/10
Food: 8/10
Total: 17/20 = 85% (B)
Pricing: $$$ out of $$$$
Restaurant Information:
Earl's Kitchen and Bar
Address: 1538 N Clyborn Avenue, Chicago, ILPhone: (312) 929-3952
Website: https://earls.ca/locations/lincoln-park
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/earlslincolnpark/
Timings: Mon-Thu: 11:30 AM - 10 PM; Friday: 11:30 AM - Midnight; Sat: 10 AM - Midnight. Sun: 10 AM - 10 PM
Caters: Yes
Reservations accepted
Cheers!
Zain Mohammed
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