Karyn's Fresh Corner
$$ - average
Raw Food
A (mostly) vegan raw foods restaurant
All the food is vegan except that some desserts have honey.
Added by ElisaMcClain on Feb 27 04 (updated Apr 27 05)
Reviews
This was my first experience with raw food a few years ago and it was really good. I expected it to taste really bland and boring, but it was actually quite delightful. I ordered from the raw bar, where you pay per pound and I tried a little of everything. Aside from the beet cheese (which tasted absolutely horrible), everything was delicious. Although it was more than I normally spend on food, it was reasonably priced given the quality.
I definitely enjoy the food and atmosphere at Karyn's. They have things to go in the shop that's attached, which makes it nice if you are in a rush.
The service can be insanely slow, and I was shocked to find out that the server was also the person preparing the food (this was around lunch time).
Karyn's is, in some sense, an ideal "date" restaurant in Chicago. It is upscale enough that it looks impressive to take someone there, but the prices are fairly reasonable for what you're getting - ravioli made from delicately sliced vegetables pressed together and filled with a macademia nut "cheese," served with sun dried tomato sauce, for example. The ambience is California chic. There is even a "cafe" section of the restaurant that sells "To Go" items such as Karyn's delicious nut cheeses and raw sour "cream" (the cheese at Karyn's is particularly notable).
I go back and forth in my opinion about Karyn's Raw. Up until now, I had rated it "great," because I think that the food is pretty impressive. However, the last few times that I have eaten at Karyn's, I have found myself wanting a second dinner afterwards (because raw foods don't tend to be very filling). It can be frustrating to shell out $20 or $30 for dinner at Karyn's only to find that I'm hungry an hour later. Also, I've found that Karyn's is not a great place for bringing friends. Most of the people that I have taken to Karyn's have subsequently told me that the food was "weird" and a few even complained that the raw food made them feel sick afterwards.