Vegetarian Express

The tamales from here are also sold at farmers mkts around town and omg these are the best, biggest tamales i've ever had snd i grew up in the southwest. Their red and green sauces should be bottled for sale! Had the poblano, chicken and pork and wow, divine!

I'm sorry to tell you all that Vegetarian Express is no more. Oh, the restaurant building is still there, but the signage on the awning is now Tamales Express. It is no longer a vegetarian restaurant. Their specialty is tamales, and the tamales they sell mostly are meat-based tamales. Some of the old posters featuring vegetarian entrees are still in the window, but I'm not even sure if those are available anymore.

The restaurant interior looks bad. I don't think anyone is dining inside anymore. There are boxes and furniture piled up and around the space. The refrigerated section that held vegetarian sandwiches, salads and treats now sits empty. And those gross fish in the window tanks are huge now. I'm surprised they haven't been used (yet) to make goldfish tamales.

I suspect Vegetarian Express didn't survive the pandemic, and the owners did what they thought was necessary to stay in business. Even last summer, they were signs out on the sidewalk reading Tamales Express (all to go), listing varieties such as chicken tinga. Not vegetarian at all!

Vegetarian Express is another casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic. It's sad, because there isn't much vegan/vegetarian choices in the Ravenswood/Lincoln Square neighborhood, besides the ubiquitous Thai restaurants.

Great Tamales. We tried 4 kinds. Beans, Cheese & Poblanos, Pork and chicken & mole. All were great.

The mole is not Tex-mex so keep that in mind.

Only major downside, is the price of the Tamales. $3 a piece is a bit steep they should do specials 2 for 5, 3 for 8 etc.

Being a vegetarian, or preferring a vegetarian diet, is never a compromise in the city. This is the Vegetarian Express' second location (the original is near Halsted and Clark). This satellite location is close to the CTA Damen Brown Line station. Paid street parking can be found easily, but one of the tips mentions that parking at the CVS lot is free, perhaps with validation?

We sat down at the restaurant this evening, in order to catch pokeballs every five (5) minutes at the nearby two (2) poke stops. In my opinion, this place is dine-in friendly, but don't expect too much service out of the person who is solo and responsible for taking orders, making juices, and cleaning the tables.

Rosa J.'s dinner was the "West African Stew." The entire dish was hearty, and the curry had great flavor. I hardly detected the presence of soy sausages. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of meat substitutes. Feeding this lady fresh vegetables should do the trick.

Prices are quite reasonable. Hubby and I spent about $13 for two (2) entrees. Originally we were curious about the raw tiramisu and wanting to split an order. However, our spirits were willing, but our stomachs were full enough to call it a day.

"Vegetarian Express" is one of hubby's favorite places to eat in Chicago, so there will be opportunities to give almost everything on the menu a try.

What a great lentil burger!!! Have followed these guys since they worked at Kramer's in the loop. They have a very diverse menu with some Mexican veggie dishes as well.

Reading through all of these reviews and honestly, all you complaining about not finding non-vegetarian food and how the place is decorated should really keeps your negativity to yourselves!

This place has a great selection of food! Which should be the only important thing to criticize. I've tried almost everything on the menu and everything is great!

You want traditional tamales keep going to La Villita! Stop trying to take everything and making it your own.

Vegetarian Express is VEGETARIAN!!!

There should be more restaurants for vegetarians/vegans. We don't have enough of these spots. There are plenty of other locations where you can find your kind of food.

Review the place for what it is. A restaurant.
Tell me what you ate! Take a picture of it! Tell me how the food taste! Tell me what you recommend and what you don't! Tell me if the place is unsanitary! Tell me if the staff takes too long! Tell me if you saw a fucking roach!!!

If you don't like the spot, but you like the food, then take your food home to the better lighted and decorated spot you apparently live in. Stop showing how privileged you are.

Learn how to review.

P.s. This review was for all the complainers. Plus, I love me some Vegetarian Express.

I hate having to write this, especially since finding vegetarian restaurants are not easy. (Or atleast not for me due to the neighborhood I live in.)

I was very disappointed by the food I received from Vegetarian Express. I ordered the Panini combo which comes with a small juice and soup.

I chose the "Forest" panini which comes loaded with mushrooms, onions, fresh tomato, sundried tomatoes and pepper jack cheese. For the soup I chose the vegetarian chili and for the juice I ordered a special blend of orange, carrot, apple, and ginger.

The panini was nothing like what I have always known a panini to be, which is a firmly pressed and nicely toasted -grilled sandwich. Instead what I received was a sandwich so soft it couldn't even be considered toast. I thought I could let that go if the sandwich at least had good flavor but yet again I was let down. The sandwich was bland.

I moved on to the chili hoping it would become a saving grace but it too had no flavor. Like at all. I attempted to fix it up by adding a little salt and garlic powder but it was pretty much pointless. One good thing I can say is that the chili was actually loaded with beans and other veggies, I'm actually sad it tasted like nothing.

As for the customer service the girl at the front was pleasant, and as for the restaurant it has lots of seating and a really pretty painting of an elephant on
the second floor.

If I ever did come back here it would probably be for the juice bar because I actually enjoyed my juice and the pricing is reasonable.

I really want to like this place: the employees are nice and the location is convenient for me. But the food is terrible. On my most recent visit I ordered a couple tamales, which came with brown rice and red & green salsa. Only the salsas were good. I've had their tamales at farmer's markets before and those were tasty, but the ones I got here were not fresh. They had no flavor. The rice had a weird flavor as well. I feel like whoever is in the kitchen doesn't enjoy making or eating this type of food. I don't see or taste a love of veggies. And although the menu is extensive, there is too much reliance on the usual suspects: rice, beans, corn, tofu, seitan. Technically, none of those are vegetables. Where is the butternut squash? the zucchini? the pumpkin? cabbage? eggplant? Bueller? I'd rather eat turnips than eat seitan.
Decor needs a complete overhaul as well. The unused bar is awkward, and I hate the koi pond. That pond is way too small for 4 huge fish.

I'd walked by the other location numerous times, but for one reason or another, never got around to trying it (when I lived closer). So, I was delighted to see this location close to where I live now... and near where my errands brought me today.

The atmosphere was very relaxed. The fellow who took care of me was adorable and polite. I ordered a carrot, kale, apple juice (which was freshly prepared). And a West African stew entrée... which is a savory blend of soy sausage, red peppers, green peppers, onions, zucchini, broccoli, corn, peanut butter, coconut milk and curry... served over brown rice.

Maybe it was because I hadn't eaten all day, but I think it's one of the most delicious dishes I've had since moving to Chicago.

I'll most certainly be back (when I'm able) to try more of their offerings.

YUM!
love everything from the juices to the peanut butter curry to the sandwiches. they have great veg tamales. in fact, i would give 5 stars to everything i've ever had here and i've tried tons of things.

the portions are HUGE.
if they delivered to my barrio...hijole! i'd have em on speed dial.