Chicago Carry Out

New Columbia student who works in the restaurant industry. For fast food from a non-​franchise this is pretty darn good. The discount and location is hard to beat and the star rating is definitely skewed. I love Chicago and I see this place on the rise. If they can keep their prices competitive they’ll survive.

So convenient for us college students. I tell everyone about this place it’s amazing. They have $ 4, $ 5, $ 6 lunch deals and add a drink for an extra dollar. 10% off student discount. The crispy fries are some of the best I’ve ever had. The Greek wrap is so good too.

Got a gyro here, the gyro itself was pretty good but the fries left much to be desired. Clearly highly overprocessed fries, ive had better from the frozen section of the grocery store to be honest. The service was quick and polite so with that and the great gyro it was a positive experience in the end, but hopefully they can stock some better french fries in the future.

I definitely agree with Bethany that the rating is thrown off because of how this place was before new management took over. I wouldn’t say this is the best place ever but, it certainly gets me through the day. They’ve got a wide variety of I guess what you would classify as all american food. I got the greek wrap last time I was there and it was pretty good. There burgers aren’t bad either. Its a little pricy, but if your a student, you get a 10% discount (always a plus!).
If you’re a Columbia student on campus and need a quick bite, this is a decent place to go (certainly better than Subway which is right around the corner, yuck!)

This place use to be every kind of busted but they renovated it/​changed management and I’m so glad they did. It’s a great place to stop off and eat between classes, and by great I mean that it’s affordable and they have student discounts/​deals all the time. One of the few places on campus you can get breakfast!

These guys are dishonest. I walk in and spent a two minutes deciding what to order. I choose a panini and the cashier guy shouts the order to the kitchen who acknowledge it. Then he walks up to the cooks and they say something to each other. As I wait I notice one of the cooks looking around for something that he can’t find. Whatever, nothing too weird. I notice that the panini machine is open and devoid of panini. As if by magic a greasy scrunched up paper back is dropped in front of me. I pick it up and it seems kind of small and light for a panini. The cashier guy seems to take notice and grunts that the ketchup is inside. As if that was what I was looking for. I leave, walk back to my office, open the bag and out falls a greasy grilled cheese sandwich. I know it is not a huge deal but what the??? I ordered a panini which is almost $ 2 more than the grilled cheese because surprise surprise its supposed to be a panini, not a greasy, flimsy grilled cheese. Why on earth they could not have just told me that they were out of panini bread is beyond me. Actually, no wait, its not. They really wanted that extra $ 2. If it had been a mistake then fine but I was one of two customers there and cashier guy’s actions were suspect. If they didn’t have it, hold your hands up and admit it and just offer me something else. Don’t slam the wrong thing in the bottom of the bag, cover it with fries and hope I don’t notice.
Well, good one guys. I won’t be back and i’ll make sure my Columbia College colleagues and friends don’t either. I may have lost $ 2, but I’ll make sure you lose 10 customers.

Awesome hash browns (aka home fries). Decent eggs, pancakes, sausage and bacon. Great hot sauce. Quite a wait for the food, but it was busy and food was cooked to order. A little overpriced, but quite convenient.

Five words:
Cheap.
Dive.
Greasy.
Fast.
Good.
When I was a poor college student at Columbia, this was the place to go, especially when drying prints in the photo lab. I’d just take the elevator down, walk to the left and bam, cheap good snack food.
Burgers, chicken sandwiches, gyros, things like that. French fries? Yep, they have those, too. It was cheap, it was good enough, and service was lightning fast. It’s perfect for college students (which there are plenty of around here since there are several schools in the area).

Cheap and easy. The staff is VERY friendly and was great at accommodating for gluten-​free option. I ordered a burger without the bun and they gave me a discount! My friend ordered the greek omelet an was BLOWN away by the gyro meat.
This is definitely not a place I would go out of my way for… but the food was decent if you are in a rush.

I ate here today for the first time and while I can’t honestly say that the food was bad, it certainly wasn’t memorable. I wonder if the same people own the TLC café on Wabash? the menu and setup is pretty much the same. Anyway, what you have here is another option in the Loop that is reasonably priced, has a good amount of seating, and decent tasting food. I had taquitos and fries. They could have easily been a frozen dinner option from El Monterey. hey, I won’t act all shocked. When you go to a place like this you have a fairly good idea of what you’re getting. Another notch on the gluttony belt

Went to this place during the utterly mediocre Manifest Art Festival at Columbia. Friends and I stopped in to satiate our hunger before taking on (what we thought) was the fun and festivities.
I got the gyro. It was plain boring, and at $ 6.78 the size was unjustifiably small. What I’m trying to say is this place is a friggin’ rip off. $ 5 for three chicken fingers.
What the shit is that? Avoid this place and go to a real Chicago carry out.

Food is alright, but you get what you pay for. Typical diner food.
I go here every once in a while for lunch, dude behind the register is a cool guy and has no problem with you making specific additions or subtractions to your order. You wait two minutes at most for them to make your order and call your number. You eat, and that’s that.
Columbia College kids, you get discount! Sweet!

Okay, I had the crispy chicken wrap. Just had to update my review to 5 stars because A) its cheap and B) its delicious. What more could a girl ask for?!

This is a greasy fast-​food joint, yet a step up from the typical greasy fast-​food joint. The beverage selection, for example, goes well beyond watered-​down fountain sodas to include organic milk and sparkling water. Their cooler contains fresh salads and chopped fruits. You can get a side of mashed potatoes if you want, and they’re not instant/​from a mix but actually made on-​site from the same potatoes that make the fries. Oh, and those fries have a lot of texture, with the outside almost resembling tempura. The lines around lunch time get crazy, in part because the huge popularity of these french fries with students and staff of nearby colleges, as well as with the employees of other local businesses.
That’s the biggest downside of this place – when it’s busy, the fast food isn’t all that fast. I once waited about fifteen minutes in line here and had to scarf my food as I ran out the door. If you’re walking by and there’s a short line, though, there’s no excuse for going around the corner and getting re-​heated Dairy Queen fries. NO EXCUSE! Better to find out why the other people in line with me that day were willing to wait fifteen minutes just for an order of fries.

I ate here because I was staying at this hotel, but the restaurant has a separate street entrance.
The gyro is the best I’ve every had… it was stuffed with meat! The style of this place would be «fast casual,» though it has the look of a cafeteria. The menu selection was very large and the prices were great. Should I return to Chicago and not stay at the Travelodge, I’ll still work my way to this place if I want a fast/​cheap, but great meal

One word: GREASE
Okay, here’s another word: CHEAP
One more word? Okay: You can get cheese fries and a dog for under 5 bucks, do you really think you are eating at a fine establishment?
I enjoy this place, it’s greasy as all get out, and they don’t skimp on the condiments. They pile the cheese, mustard, chili, or WHATEVER else high! If you go (and I think it’s worth it if you are close by, no need for a special trip) then make sure you know what you are getting into. We’re talking dogs, gyros, and fries. Yum.
Good food, just don’t count the calories.

My friend and I had just been to the Museum of Contemporary Photography, which is sandwiched in amongst Columbia College and its other Michigan Avenue property holdings. While there are outposts of Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, and Caribou in the vacinity, the Harrison is just right there; the closest place with tables and chairs where you can grab a quick cup of Joe. And that’s all we bought there. So can’t tell you anything about their food. The house-​blend coffee was so-​so, but drinkable.
It’s all counter service; order it, grab it and take it to a table of your choosing. Amazingly (maybe because classes were starting), two tables at the large picture windows (see photos) were unoccupied. This is THE best place for Columbia College people-​watching (or maybe to BE seen.)
WiFi? Don’t know, but I did not see any signs saying it was available and no one there had a laptop out. While they do have washrooms, they state flat out that those are for customers only. The shop has a convenience door that connects to a lobby, through which you can enter the Thai Spoon & Sushi restaurant to the west.
This may have been previously named Harrison Snack Shop.

Eh, it’s alright. Food is cheap and pretty OK, although not the best. Service is good and they have after 2 PM specials and discounts for students and staff.
I wish I could say more about the food, but nothing really jumps to the top of my mind. I do like that they give free refills on the soda.

So, recently this place renovated. Or someone went through and made the place a little more inviting and friendly. I definitely wouldn’t call the place dirty, and I’ve never seen any dead bugs or whatever. Everything is usually pretty clean.
It’s a typical bottom-​of-​a-​Travelodge, get-​in-​get-​out kind of place. Yeah it’s not healthy, but that’s not why I go there. I go there ’cause I’m tired of Subway and don’t want to pay for KFC’s overpriced (but yes, f-​ing delicious) chicken. This place used to be cash only, but I believe they accept cards now. The staff has always been pleasant.
As far as their menu goes, they have a lot of choices for breakfast, it seems – omelets, cereal, breakfast sandwiches, etc. They have a dollar menu that is mostly morning stuff, which I’m sure morning people around here enjoy. They give a student discount as well. On Wednesdays they have a special where you can get a double cheese burger, fries, and a drink for around $ 6. Their combo meals are filling even if they’re not the greatest food. I usually order a burger or the philly steak, and I haven’t been disappointed yet.
My only complaints was that I couldn’t find any napkins anywhere, and when they filled up my drink, it was mostly ice (ohh, I hate that! I don’t like a lot of ice, ever!). Otherwise, this place isn’t nearly as bad as other people seem to be saying, at least not lately.

You know how some young people would eat anything? Well, I was one of them. When I was a freshman in college, I didn’t pay much attention to how healthy the food I was putting in my mouth was, how clean a restaurant was, and whether there were dead bugs lying around. I was so horrifyingly myopic.
With that said, I ate at Chicago Carry Out a few times. My burgers were always sloppy, my hot dogs always tasted like a big fat «mystery meat» mess with ketchup on top, and I always had to wash my greasy hands after eating the french fries.
Somewhere in the end of my freshman year, I walked in there, paused in the middle of the room, and thought to myself, «Why the hell am I eating here again?» I turned around and walked out of the door. I haven’t been inside there ever since then.
I am happy to say that I did a complete 180 — I am now a health freak, and I’m really anal about the sanitation of every restaurant I eat at. Oh, and now I throw up a little bit in my mouth every time I pass Chicago Carry Out.