Spice of Life Cafe

I was there when Spice of Life made Chicago history: the first Chicago hospital with great food at extremely low prices. It was somewhere in late 1998 or early 1999. A bunch of us ate there EVERYDAY. So did a lot of other business people from neighboring companies. Back then, other area hospitals were still stuck in the coffee shop/​vending machine mode. Spice of Life was a beacon for people who wanted great, fast and cheap food ²⁴⁄₇. It’s set up like little food islands – stations, really – where you can get Chinese, Sandwiches, Pizza, Sushi, Grill, Breakfast food, Salad Bar, Soup Bar, Desserts, etc. By the end of 1999, the Chicago Tribune caught on and wrote a big article on what was soon to be a phenomena: well-​appointed cafeterias with good food at blue plate special prices for everything. By early 2000, my office mates and I had to fight for tables and wait in lines for whatever we wanted – this place was THAT popular.
Well…that was then, and this is 2009 – era of reduced service hours, apathetic food service employees and prices that are just as expensive as traditional fast food. In 1999, a soda cost 65 cents. Now it’s $ 1.95-and no free refills. A slice of pie was $ 1.29 in 1999; in 2009 it’s $ 3.25. During the daytime, Spice of Life is still OK and offers basically the same food stations as they did when the place opened, but service and food availability is terrible after about 3pm when most food stations close for the day/​evening.
After Spice of Life closes in the late evening, you’ll be stuck with the overpriced (yet yummy) Au Bön Pain which I always thought was an ironic name for a café in a hospital.

Variety of cheap good food. Friendliness could be a little better though.

Hospital food doesn’t have to be horrible! And if you’re looking for decent food at a decent price you might want to check out the wide selection of healthy eats offered at the NMH cafeteria.
There’s a grill, sandwiches, soups and salads, and pizza — to name just a few of the offerings.
Hours:
Daily 6AM — 3AM