“Fast food- the healthy way”

[rating=4] In today’s world, time is money and it seems we are always in a rush. Run here! Go there! We seem to be racing with the clock and often, in particular at lunchtime, we grab what we can in the short time we have. Just think about the people who work in the Loop. They might have to wait for several minutes to get on the elevator, then walk down the street to a fast food establishment, order food that may have been sitting for awhile, pay and then either sit and gobble or retrace the steps back to work, wait for another elevator ride and then back to the desk to use what little time is left to gobble the soggy food just picked up. What a life!

How about some healthy eats, at affordable prices? There is a new lunch place in the loop. The name is Imee’s Mediterranean Kitchen and the food is delicious. Located at 171 N. Wells, between Randolph and Lake, we noticed this spot when attending the Cadillac Palace Theatre. Of course it wasn’t open as they are only open Monday- Friday from11 a.m. until 3 p.m.. The perfect hours for lunch as well as possibly taking food home for dinner or back to the office for some late night paperwork.

The menu is Mediterranean with  combo platters and salads as well as some wraps and sides. We took our meals home and then plated them so you can see that the portions were more than enough to satisfy our dinner with leftovers ( Frank, as usual takes those home).

The meals that we enjoyed were: The Beef Combo:

Beef marinated in a mint marinade served over rice with tabouli toom ( home made pickled beets and turnips-DELISH) and pita bread. There is an option for Lebanese salad instead of the tabouli.

The second meal was the Kibee Combo:

A middle eastern delicacy, ground beef, onions, wheat, pine nuts served over rice and again with the same choices as above. The way that this is prepared makes it outstanding. I took all of the other items ( leaving the Kibee) and put them into the Pita making my own wrap. The pickled beets made this very special.

The third entrée was the Mujadra Combo ( lentils and rice vegetarian dish)- Lentils with rice and onions topped with crispy fried onion and Lebanese salad. This was served with roasted cauliflower ( not spicy), toom, lift and Pita bread. This was the shocker as all three of us fell in love with this dish. I am, for the most part a meat and chicken guy, but I know that this dish is probably the healthiest  of the three and the restaurant’s slogan is” eat with good health”!

I forgot to mention that we also had some marvelous chips and wonderful Hummus (chickpeas ,lemon, garlic and tahni, with  great chips for dipping. The Laban (  home made plain yogurt ) was delicious and in looking at their wraps and  salads I can see how one could eat there often ( or should I say pick-up) and not repeat.

While they are not open for business on Saturday and Sunday, they can work with you for gatherings, parties, celebrations and meetings. Yes! You can order from their catering menu and plan your next affair knowing that your guests will be well served and dine healthy.

Imee means “Mom” and owner, Nicole, opened this restaurant to bring her family’s traditional recipes to the City of Chicago. The food is freshly made, from scratch so it is far from your typical “fast food restaurant” At Imee’s Mediterranean Restaurant you will experience great flavors, a little Mediterranean culture and some great value. Jane and I just visited Israel where we enjoyed a great deal of home cooking and found this to be just like that. reminding us of our experience there.

To view the menu and learn more, visit www.imeskitchen.com or call 312-285-2895

Again they are located at 171 N. Wells Street