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This place is pretty good. Consider Panda Express but with better options and food. This is not a 5-star dining experience, but if you need a quick Chinese food fix, this is a great place to go.
Good sauces on standard American Chinese fare, overall a good value and flavor for the loop. But I'd recommend taking your food to go, the inside is not the prettiest of eateries.
I ate here one time and really disliked the food. Went back with my girlfriend to try it and see if it was just the dish I had originally and we didn't even order because the food they had looked so bad. We asked if they had orange chicken, their response was sure, we will give you chicken nuggets and pour orange sauce over.
Panda express is 100 times better than this place, which sucks because its really close to my apartment and I was hoping it would be better.
If you catch the food when it has been freshly cooked, Sixty-Five is OK. Eating here won't change your life, but it will save you a few dollars.
Don't go for breaded stuff covered in sauce only later to complain that it is soggy. I wish places like this would only put sauce on those kind of dishes after you place your order....
"What?" you ask. "Four stars for this dump? Are you crazy?"
It's possible. It's very possible that I'm crazy. But I've been eating at 65 for so long that it's also possible that I know a few things that you don't. I can help you. I can *enlighten you*.
Sixty-five is the first Chinese food I ever ate, at a very young age. My Mom would order from there when I would visit her at work. Probably 17 years later, I am now doing her job (literally) and I too, indulge in this wonderful culinary disaster a few times a month.
A lot of this has already been said. The place is a dump. Cafeteria-style Chinese, plus American-style bakery (you can get a slice of cake for like $2 with an entree, and it's shockingly good cake) with a few torn-up booths. All food comes in a to-go container, and at the end past the register are plastic cutlery, chopsticks, napkins, sauce packets, and the tell-tale watermelon-colored plastic bags.
How to eat at Sixty-Five:
1.) Do not go during off-hours. Oftentimes they'll be out of many things and what they do have has been sitting out for awhile. If you go during peak hours, they're turning out plenty of fresh options.
2.) This one is genius. Sixty-five will cook fresh for you anything that they do not have ready. So if you have a few minutes, it definitely will behoove you to order something that they don't have sitting out. For example, I don't do pork so I always have them make fresh vegetable lo mein for my combo. Nothing you order will take more than 5 minutes to come out of the kitchen, fresh and steaming hot.
3.) The fried rice is rather blah, so are the spring rolls. Instead, get the lo mein and an egg roll.
4.) For the love of God don't get a large combo unless you're ordering for two people, two meals, or haven't eaten for days. For like $1 more to upsize your combo, you will get a container full of more food than anyone could ever possibly eat. Even a medium-sized combo will often last me for lunch and dinner if I'm working a double.
5.) The kung pao chicken, sweet & sour chicken, and orange chicken all use the sweet & sour chicken nuggets topped with a separate sauce. This is actually kind of brilliant when you have caf-style food, since it prevents the chicken + sauce from getting soggy and mushy like at Panda Express. I recommend the orange chicken, which is really wonderful, but those aren't bell peppers in there. Pick out the whole sichuan peppers before you eat, or you're in for an unpleasant surprise.
6.) Don't expect gourmet Chinese food. 65 is really satisfying, gluttonous goodness and if you know what to order, you're going to be very pleased. But don't order anything that looks like brown mush, and don't be afraid to ask them to make you something fresh.
7.) They have these bottles of jasmine green tea that are like drinking flowers. I'm not sure what brand it is, but it's worth a try.
8.) Avoid the bubble tea. AVOID. One particularly sweltering day last summer, I got off work and was walking to the El and decided to stop for some honeydew bubble tea, which is my favorite. I'd never tried it at Sixty-five before, but the "smoothie window" is new within the last couple years.
There was so much simple syrup in my drink that it was undrinkable. Most often when I see bubble tea, the sweetness comes from the blended fruit, juice, and the boba (which are boiled in sugar syrup to make them chewy), so I was surprised that they added syrup to mine when they blended it. It was teeth-twirlingly sweet. I had to dump it.
I haven't patronized this famous shit hole for at least a decade, but yesterday right when my low-blood-sugar-haven't-eaten-a-thing-all day-headache was at its absolute worst, I found myself a block from here, and there was no doubt how I would solve my problem.
I ventured up Michigan Avenue to see if this place still existed. It does. I ventured in to an empty restaurant, which had it been lunch time would have been a warning sign, but this was late afternoon.
The place hasn't changed in a decade. It's still a grimy, garishly decorated - non-decorated - dive with a water cooler, cups, and plastic silverware. They always did elevate bare bones to an art form here, and they still do.
I ordered egg plant and garlic chicken on a bed of shrimp fried rice. The owner, or the man who appeared to be the owner, scooped a heaping, giant portion into what they use for plates here: a to-go carton.
I paid my $6.00 for enough food for two people, easily.
I ate quietly, but as my headache subsided I could feel the new ailment rush in: pulsing temples from MSG. And, I knew if I didn't leave quickly I'd have a whole new headache from the barrage of WLITE playing Christmas Muzak, which I find a refuge of cretin Philistines - yes; a Chinese proprietor can be Philistine, too, I suppose, when it comes to Christmas Muzak.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
But damn that was fine tasting Chinese slop, and it was so good I'll probably go back: in another ten years.
This is the kind of restaurant my dad used to call "cheap Chinese." Inexpensive, yummy and quick. I try very hard to overlook the fact that this place has been previously shut down by the health department, because I do so love the bbq pork noodles.
It ain't pretty. It ain't even particularly clean. But darn if it ain't good. Fatty, salty, msg-filled goodness.
This is old-school Chinese food that's very tasty and usually not too greasy. Don't come in here expecting Ben Pao, but if you're starving for egg rolls, bbq pork fried rice, and a nice spicy mix of veggies and meat (beef or chicken, I prefer), this is a good Loop lunch option. The medium combo is plenty for lunch today and tomorrow.
Let us realize this place for what it is -- a dive in the loop for decent Chinese food.
Nearly a decade ago, I ventured into Sixty-Five with a coworker for my very first taste of Chinese food in the city. I was pleasantly surprised. The food was decent and after a few trips, I came to realize it was consistent between the hours of 11am-1:30pm. Anything after 1:30pm could be dodgy in terms of quality and freshness. After about a year of visits, I came to discover they had additional seating upstairs. However, I wouldn't recommend I remember it being poorly kept and very dirty. It's a shame too, because the windows offer an interesting view of the busy Michigan Avenue below.
I can still say that Sixty-Five (during the lunch hours) was one of the better of my dive experiences and it certainly laid the groundwork for my standards in the future. I'd like to believe they have become better over time but my visits since have not wavered from my original assessments on my very first visit. I suppose you can consider that a plus on the side of consistency.
We have a winner folks! We have a winner!
Da-dada-da-dada-da-daaa!
The Nastiest Food Restaurant in Downtown Chicago!
Winner for 17 years and counting in both food and appearance categories. I would bow in your honor, but I'd probably keel over in pain from the lousiest food I have ever had. No, seriously. It really was the lousiest food and experience I've ever had.
Was it the poorly spelled Engrish signs throughout the restaurant (I loved the "WEL-COME" sign...numbnuts), the dingy and shabby banquettes, the walls that haven't been washed in years, the steam trays with slimy, mushy food (if it really was Chinese food, I couldn't tell) worthy of a Fear Factor challenge?
There was Joe Rogan in my mind as I ate what I thought was steamed rice and bits of dark-meat chicken with mushrooms:
"Come on, Robert...Just five more bites, and you go to the next round. You are lucky, Bro, we killed these before putting them on your plate."
To the next toilet bowl would be more like it. My god, could not the city health inspectors find any number of a dozen code violations they are allegedly breaking? I dare Pam Zekman to take a camera back to the kitchen to find out what kind of meat they use (and from what mammal) for some of their dishes. Where's Chicago's version of Marvin Zindler when you need him. Good Marvin, R.I.P., you would have had a doozy reporting about this place.
Chicago has a gore house in it!
This is, in my opinion, the best lunchtime Chinese place in downtown Chicago. Its located near the corner of Michigan and Wacker Drive so it's pretty close to the business district in the Loop. I think this is a great alternative to Panda Express in the Thompson Center or Chens in the Clark and Lake Food Court.
For $6.95 you can get a HUGE meal and drink. This is pretty much lunch and an afternoon snack in the office.
I suggest the Orange Chicken, Sweet and Sour Chicken and they have an oustanding Beef Chow Phun.
Not only do they have lunch but they also have Dim Sum food. Those awesome Shrimp Creps and BBQ Pork Buns!
Order a cake and eat chinese while you wait. This place also makes made-to-order cakes if being a superstar at chinese isnt enough! You will find the place by the big red awning and the HUGE wedding cake in the window.
If this location is too far they also have locations at:
225 S Canal Street (inside Union Station)
201 W. Madison Street
111 West Jackson Blvd.
I wonder if these are Yelped yet? (wink, wink!)
I think Robert really hit this one on the head. I used to work at night around here and would come here to grab a dinner. I don't think i ever even paid as much as Robert did. The price is good with large portions and good taste. Try those dishes that Robert Listed, especially the Orange Chicken and the Beef Chow Funn. I recommend also getting it with the noodles instead of the rice (mainly because it has bbq pork in it, which tatses good), but that might just be me.
The only other location I have tried is in Union Station. If you are in the area, but have to get to Union Station to get home and want some dinner either to take home or before you get on a train, I have to say that while it doesn't make sense to go here first from a "keep the food hot" perspective, there are more options at this location with a lower price. At Union Station, the menu is simpler, the price is a little higher, and the portions are a little smaller.
While the ambiance leaves much to be desired, 65 is worth a quick stop for lunch. I recommend the singapore noodles... they're very good for a quick order chinese restaurant.
I just had this for lunch today. Actually I come here anytime I have a huge craving for shrimp egg foo young. There's no other place by me downtown that serves decent egg foo young and charges very good prices. I haven't tried any other dish here, so I couldn't tell ya if they're any good.
The restaurant does need a major upgrade. It's old fashioned seating, walls, etc does make one question whether the kitchen area is clean or not. There are more presentable places in Chinatown... but being that this restaurant is in downtown, they ought to make the restaurant look more spiffy.
Decent pedestrian Chinese food to be had here. 65 is good for a cheap Chinese lunch if you're in the area. There are a few naugahyde booths to choose from, but other than that - it's nondescript and divey.
You walk in, pass a bakery section, and proceed to order your food Panda Express style. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. I ordered the spicy orange chicken with pork fried rice and chow mein and it came out to $7. There wasn't anything particularly memorable about the food. It did taste better than Panda Express, but not by much.
I read the reviews and took a chance hoping to get a decent, cheap, meal. YIKES...not very good at all. Tried the orange chicken-quality of the chicken was suspect and the sauce was goopy, guessing that it had been sitting out for awhile. Garlic chicken had better flavor and was recognizalbe as chicken, but was just great ok with a strange after taste. Had them whip up some fresh veggie lo mein as recommended by a fellow reviewer and it was edible...but not much flavor going on. All in all this was a very sub par meal. Would not return even though the prices are cheap and the portions are large. I think Panda may taste better-and I DO NOT like Panda.
Never eaten the food here, as it appears that they have nothing that caters to my animal-less eating habits. However, I am thrilled that they serve some sort of boba/bubble tea hybrid. Yummy, perfectly chewy tapioca balls floating in a fresh fruit "smoothie" (fruit + ice = smoothie). I got a banana-coconut mix with tapioca - YUM! Best of all, this tastiness is vegan - only fresh coconut, banana, ice, and some coconut milk. Minus 1 star because the price tag is higher than I'd like it to be ($4!!!!) and they don't have taro (undisputed champ of boba flavors). Otherwise, a tasty treat.
DISGUSTING. I am shocked by these good reviews! Sometimes I run across places with lots of positive, even some glowing, reviews and I am FLOORED. This is one of them
The Springroll tasted.. I cannot even describe it, but both the vegetable refried rice and the spring roll had this vile weird,old, moldy flavor.. It was like they used an 80 year old rotting bamboo steamer or SOMETHING. I cannot imagine what would give this stuff the favor of three month old bread, and rancid grease. The Vegetable Delux was ok, but the spring roll and rice were..,. UGH. Funny thing is? I went there twice in a week. I came back here and read the reviews and decided maybe somehow I came on an off day. Nope. they are vile. Maybe the good stuff is in the meat dishes? This place is just gross....
FYI they print the reason for their name, and it is not because the owner had 65 cents... it is because soup cost 65 cents, and he made some weird joke with bungled english and it became his nicname.
i can't believe this place stays open. i guess it attests for everyone's need for cheap crappy chinese food for lunch. last time i ate there i had an eggroll that tasted like a hand rag soak in oil and something they tried to pass off as spicy chicken, but came off more a palte of barf.
why two stars then? because i'm a lover not a hater.
The story goes that the owner came to the United States with only 65 cents in his pocket, so hence the numerical name of his restaurants. This downtown branch of his Chinese fast-food restaurants is sort of like Panda Express. The food is not too adventurous, but anyone who enjoys typical Chinese fare should like the food here. This location is now also on the smoothies bandwagon. The ornate model of the giant wedding cake in the window really catches the eye. I usually stay away from Western-style cakes made in a Chinese establishment, but someone bought a cake for a birthday party from here and it was surprisingly not bad. Still not sweet enough for me though!
I order cakes from here - I know that does sound silly - cake from a chinese restaurant? But it has one of the best cakes around for the price that they charge and it comes in heart or round shape plus the decorating on top is exiquisite. Make sure that you spell everything correctly though and you confirm it with the people on the phone.
Dumpy but cheap, the kind of place you would go if you were interested in quantity over quality, you will get plenty of food for your money but the dishes they offer are nothing special in terms of variety or taste. The egg rolls are pretty good though. Am surprised to hear the positive comments about their cakes, kind of weird to see that sort of thing offered in a dive-y old Chinese take-out place, I've never seen anyone actually order a cake in all the times I've visited for lunch.
Don't order from here. We ordered via the web site, were charged and the food never came. It was impossible to get the charge reversed so we just "ate" the $28 and obviously decided to never order there again.
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Category: Chinese
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