Michael’s North

Michael’s, aka Michael’s North, aka Super Michael’s. The reviews here at Unilocal and over at City Search really pan this place, but I didn’t have a problem with it. Basic diner food, decent menu, competent wait staff. I didn’t have to ask for hot sauce with my omelet, they brought it automatically. I was impressed.
Not exactly cheap on my personal scale, but twenty bucks plus tip for brunch for two? That’s about par for the course. At four in the morning, I suspect the place really comes into its own.
Clark and North Avenue, a short crawl from Rush Street.

Three stars for big portions and good omelettes. Service is lackadaisical and requires some serious aggressive tactics to get their attention.

I’ve had worst food in my life. This isn’t the place that I go out of my way to get a dinner. Adequate may be the best way to describe it. I had a turkey dinner. Turkey was dry but edible. The waitress seemed pissed at the world. But hey, it’s a diner. My only complaint is how in the hell do you screw up rice pudding? Mickey’s was basically overcooked white rice in a puddle of milk. Yeah, I’ll pass.

The place was empty on Sunday at 11:00 AM. We ignored this red flag at our peril.
My friends poached eggs were served in a bowl of water.
The eggs Benedict tasted dangerously wrong.
The sausage was mushy for some reason.
I’m not sure I’d even trust the water here.

scary empty, beige, depressing diner — but isn’t that what diners are all about?
I agree with the crap food/​overpriced-​part, but I figure lowering their prices isn’t going to lure many more people in so its probably a necessity
I think it caters to the late-​night-​too-​drunk-​to-​drive-​gotta-​walk-​somewhere-​now-​i-​dont-​care-​type of crowd…
But really the 1 awesome thing I had there was the VEGETARIAN CHILI. Not sure if they have it all the time, but its probably one of the best I’ve had anywhere (go figure)… i remember it more soupy than thick, but not really soupy, and it had great flavor and tons of perfectly diced still-​crunchy veggies.
REALLY GOOD, and I like my cow chili.

Skip it.
Coffee: not hot, tasted ‘cheap’.
Food: ridiculously greasy and overpriced. I mean, a lake perch dinner for $ 17.99? Has anyone actually ordered this? I settled for a egg, cheese and bacon sandwich… it could have been very good save for the crumbly English muffin, American cheese and skimpy, wilted bacon. When I’ve been drinking, I need some food with brawn!
Décor: utilitarian would be a stretch. Recycled crumbs are not cool.
Service was fine although the food that we were served failed to hit the average mark. And Michael’s, if you want to charge designer diner prices then at least gloss up your branding. The photo of the hunk of beef on the back of your menu could have doubled as a black lung. Appetizing, huh?

Looked like a friendly place on the outside. The sign was old so I figured that the place had been around for awhile, and therefore it must be a good place. I walked through the doors around 5:45PM on a Thursday and the place was EMPTY. My girlfriend and I were the only people inside except for the staff, who did not seem to want to acknowledge our presence. Finally after a minute of standing there a man trotted towards us in a very ghetto fashion and showed us to our seats.
The place was giving us a bad vibe already and we had barely sat down yet. As we sat down we both noticed that the place was dirty. The booth we were in and table was a little crusty, with bits here and there. The menus were a little greasy and slimy. A guy came and plopped some water on our table and ran away.
So I began to put all these negatives together to realize that this place might be a craphole. I quickly looked the place up on Unilocal only to see some bad reviews right off the bat. And BTW it took me several minutes to look the site up and we were still sitting there while no waiter had approached us yet. And that’s pretty bad considering we were the only source of income in the restaurant. There should have been lightning fast service nipping at our butts.
So I made the quick and intelligent decision to get the hell out of there. And we did. Thanks to Unilocal and my intuition! :)

For Sunday brunch, after trying (and failing) to get into Pancake House for the second time in a row, we remembered passing by Michaels on one of our strolls around the neighborhood. We got to the resturant and waiting about 15 mins until we were seated. They were busy, but it was possible that someone didn’t show up because they did look short on help.
We sat down and waiting another 15 mins or so until we ordered. Our waiter was nice, and apologized for the wait more than once. I had the Strawberry French Toast and boyfriend had eggs, hasbrowns and pancakes. It kind of irks me that the main dishes don’t come with ANY sides. I had to order 3 measly strips of bacon for 2.99 and boyfriend had to order his eggs and hasbrowns on the side. We got our food in a decent amount of time. My French toast was really good, it was a generous portion and the strawberry topping is great. Boyfriend liked his too, he got a stack of pancakes, lots of eggs and a good helping of hasbrowns. Overall, I would say the food was about what you could expect for a diner such as this. Nothing spectacular.
I will say that the staff was really friendly, and because we waited so long, they gave us 10 percent off of our meal– which totaled about $ 25. I thought it was a nice gesture and definitely would make me consider Michaels again for a Sunday Brunch.

I came in for a late breakfast on a Sunday around noon. The place isn’t expensive and the food was good, even though Moreno, the waiter mixed up our order with the table next to us and refused to admit his error.
The discrepancy in my order wasn’t noticeable, the only mistake was that I ordered over easy eggs, and they arrived scrambled. The scrambled eggs actually looked awesome, so I didn’t say anything. My girlfriend however, ordered the Pancho villa omelet and received a broccoli and cheese omelet. She asked him about a possible mistake and he indicated that she received the Pancho villa meal. She pointed out the broccoli, but he was certain that this was the Pancho villa, even though it had no beans, no salsa and mozzarella cheese instead of cheddar.
She thought it looked good and ate it and was happy with the breakfast. Our suspicion that Moreno mixed up orders was solidified when we heard the woman at the next table complain that her broccoli and cheese omelet had beans and salsa, but no broccoli. He also tried to convince her that she did in fact receive the world’s only broccoli and cheese omelet, with no broccoli.
Moreno also asked me twice if I would like a coffee refill. Of course I did and indicated this, yet I received no coffee refill from him for my entire breakfast. This was mitigated because the bus boy refilled my coffee 3 times after he bussed our dishes. I should have tipped him directly.
Overall though I thought the food was good and had big portions.

I don’t do diners very often. Probably because I am sick of hearing a certain spiked-​hair dude (I am being very nice and polite here) talking about them on TV…
Anyway — today was cold, snowy and the day my trendy friends and I decided to go drooling in front of the dresses of the «Chic Chicago» exhibition at the Chicago History Museum. Since:
1. one of us was sort of hung-​over
2. one of us had had a very… hmm-​hmm… «busy» night
we decided to get coffee first. Michael’s North is just across the street. Not very ‘glamor’ as a introduction to our fashion show but it had to do.
Coffee was quickly served and we started debating on food… since it was our ‘fashion’ date out we all shied away from the regular items on the menu and ordered a BABY omelet. I didn’t look around to see the size of the regular ones but jeezz… unless their idea of baby is the offspring of a sumo and an opera singer on beef hormones, there was nothing baby about them! They were tasty enough though, regular diner food. My fruit cup should have been labeled melon cup but other than that we left quite satisfied.
If you are cold, hung-​over, had a crazy night in bed AND want to go to the museum — this place is RIGHT for you!

Miss. Waitress sure it 2:00 am, but come on a Chicagoan is the new president can’t you smile? Can’t you look at us excited, intelligent, slightly intoxicated Democrats with a little more kindness & acceptance? I guess not…
After an exciting election celebration & a long walk home to the gold coast, my friends & I decided to grab something to eat at Michael’s. I fully regret it. It was kind of a downer to such an upper kind of night. The food was really greasy when it shouldn’t have been. The TV was switched to some trashy reality show just before they announced the Prop 8 decision. The waitstaff looked as if they couldn’t even bear the sight of us. And I got sick shortly after getting home. I blame the food, not the alcohol.
Never, ever again.

I returned. I can’t believe I did, but I did. Reason being… it’s across the street from my work, and I wanted something quick, and easy. And it wasn’t crowded. Sold.
Got the cream of chicken soup — it was actually really good.
Then I got the chicken fingers, just okay. Nothing too special.
I’m upping it a star because I had a pleasant waiter and got what I wanted… but here’s the reason it’s still low on my list.
On their window it clearly says, BIG, 20% off for students, every day. So, I thought what the hell, I’ll ask for the discount. I don’t really care, but why not. Anyways, I ask for it and the lady tells me «It’s only Monday through Friday.» The waiter I had straightened her out and said «Look it says everyday.» She said «Well sorry, thats false advertising.» What?
I paid for the whole thing. But how freaking weird. I’m sorry, their food isn’t bad, but this place is crazy. Somethings up with the workers. Although I will say, my waiter was nice.

LOVE Michael’s for breakfast! Apparently I’m in the minority, but I think their food is terrific diner food. I’m from philly, and have eaten here this year and last year when I was in chicago for a visit. We tried it out last year since it was near my friend’s place where we stayed, and liked it so much we made sure to return. Both times I’ve absolutely loved the omelette I had… big, fluffy and stuffed with veggies. This time I chose to have it with asparagus, spinach, broccoli, and tomato. All my friends enjoyed their food too.
The service has been good both times, and I have no complaints about the place or staff… it’s a regular diner. I left stuffed with eggs, happy, and ready for the day!

Can’t tell you how confused I was. I come from Diner country — where I’m from, if you can’t find a 24-​hr. diner at 4:30am, you’re not looking hard enough.
Well, last night, some friends and I were looking for a quick bite. They mentioned Michael’s, and since I hadn’t been there, or checked out Unilocal!,I thought why not. I actually thought, it’s right down the street from Nookie’s — how bad could it be? :)
First, it’s a small little place. Not a bad thing, but it was deserted. The lone waitress had the reins for the night.
Second, the food is overpriced. As I walked in, a board mentioned the vegetarian sandwich — $ 10! In fact, anything vegetarian is $ 10. I figured, maybe they’re not into the meat substitutes, etc. But no, it’s just expensive for no reason.
Sandwiches were $ 10. A BLT, nature’s cheapest sandwich, was $ 9.
Chicken fingers and a side of fries together is $ 12. The meal, that comes with soup, was a dollar more.
I looked for something under $ 5, something I could snack on since I was just a little hungry, but couldn’t find anything. And when the food came, which did take a while, it’s wasn’t worth it.
I just continued to look around, waiting for a musical performance or free drinks, but I assume it’s just an overpriced place. Or maybe we missed the entertainment.

I live right around the corner from this place, and have been searching for a good greasy spoon. I appreciate the «diner» feel and greasy damn good food. This seemed to look like the place, and the ripped vinyl seats in the booth looked like a good sign for a greasy spoon. Our waitress was missing a few teeth but was FULL of stories. My boyfriend ordered a burger and I ordered a turkey club with fries. Both took a long time and were horrible. I’m allergic to tomatoes and told the waitress, but my sandwich still came with them on it. The fries were floppy and nothing was fresh. We both took about two bites and were done. It wasn’t even that cheap either! I actually said «Gross» before we left. I would never go back.
NASTY.

The food isn’t brilliant, but when it’s 4 a.m. and you’re hungry in this part of town, your options are limited. I usually get the hamburger here, and I’ve never disliked it.
It is a little pricey… but you usually get soup and dessert thrown in for the price of your entrée. I suggest letting one member of your party have your soup (or decent vegetarian chili), while another eats the entrée and you both share the dessert.
Your waitress almost always leaves you alone, but that’s kinda what you want in the middle of the night, no?
There’s no reason to eat here when anything else is open, but beggars can’t be choosers.

A friend and I came here a few months back. I hadn’t been there in a few years (possibly since it was a Mitchell’s), but I remember it being as good a late-​night diner as any. Well, things have changed. Our server was friendly enough, but the food was just weird. My omelette was cold, flat and missing an ingredient. The server offered to get me a new one, but I suspected it wouldn’t be any better so I didn’t bother. My friend ordered some sort of egg sandwich that was dominated by a giant 1-​inch-​wide hunk of sliced raw onion. Gross.
The piece de resistance? Enormous dead cockroaches (and other bugs) all over the ladies restroom! Disgusting. I won’t be going back.

Ewww, this place was definately one of the worst ²⁴⁄₇ diners I’ve been to, if not the worst one. Food is way too greasy here, and the only factors that prevents me from giving this place zero stars, is that the food my friend got was slightly better (and ok), compared to what I got, which was an extremely greasy wrap. Another enjoyable factor, was that I liked the waitress who served us here, since me and my friend had a decent chat with her (sorry I can’t remember the name of her). Finally, I like how they have a TV in the background. I will also reluctantly admit that this place, foodwise, is marginally (+ barely) better than Hamburger Mary’s, and the only Chicago restaurant worser than this dump.
Glad to be g totally got his review right that this place was a MILLION times better, when Mitchell’s used to be here. (not to mention, one of the old signs above the entrance, even has the old Mitchell’s name on it! R.I.P. Mitchell’s) And a future warning to all: NEVER, EVER go here for a meal, if you’re going to the Chicago History Museum (née Historical Society). I disliked this place so much, that I’ll even rather go to the ²⁴⁄₇ Starbucks at North/​Wells, than here. (and that’s saying a lot!)
Remind me that next time I ever grace the interior of this dump again, I’ll definately come drunk instead of sober, so I can forget how meh the food is here. :D

its expensive, its open 24 hours, it gets full of some rowdy drunks and trixies on their last leg of the walk of shame… this is all good and worth stars as this is damn entertaining at 5 in the am after a long night of work.
but when your $ 10 burger has the consistency of a hockey puck and tastes like ass… not fresh out of the shower ass… sweaty, and stale ass (the not so good kind)…well then. me not so happy.
they do have good sides, and the appetizer sampler plate was quite tasty, eggs and omelets are doable as well as the club sandwhiches… but the pricing still leaves a bad ass taste in your mouth.
if you’re in the hood, like 3 stores down in the hood, it’ll do, otherwise move onto better tasting satisfaction for less

Late night Corned Beef Hash w/​4 (!) eggs…
After far too many beers at the old town ale house this was where my buddy who lives in the hood took me for a late night breakfast.
I loved every bit of what I remember and left fat and happy.
Unfortunately 4 days later this place was shut down by the city for health violations.

I’m alive (for now). But I’m starting to rethink those crunchy things that were mixed into the hash…