Two Lanterns Cafe, newish Asian in Lincolnwood

Two Lanterns Cafe, newish Asian in Lincolnwood. Clear clean flavor, quality ingredients made with care. Chicken wings tip-top, juicy, crisp, tender and meaty. Spotless comfortable space with parking and ultra reasonable lunch special prices. Spoke briefly to the owner, for now she has removed Cambodian dishes from the menu. I was looking forward to bone-in Cambodian chicken curry, not available. Its two doors down from double-yum Wholly Frijoles, not exactly the epicenter of experiential dining in Chicagoland. Lunch was still really tasty, and the soups looked terrific. I'll be back soon.

Bonus, I knew the friendly efficient server from two other neighborhood restaurants. Double bonus, owner is sister of Ethan Lim owner/chef of my current culinary crush Hermosa Restaruant.

Two Lanterns Cafe, count me a Fan!







Two Laterns Cafe
3900 W Touhy Ave
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
847-410-7829
Closed Monday

How was the Kung Pao/Bao? Demerits already for broccoli and celery but if the sauce is right I'll beat a path to their door.

Kung pao was half a step above typical americhinese KP. Nothing to make a trip for. Peppercorns in Evanston and Asian Bistro in Arlington Heights do a far superior job.

The wings are the saving grace in my book. I’d go back for an order of those alone.

JoelF wrote:How was the Kung Pao/Bao? Demerits already for broccoli and celery but if the sauce is right I'll beat a path to their door.

I like broccoli and the celery added a nice crunch, no demerits in my book. Far as flavor, it was Octarine's lunch and I only had a taste. I thought it tasty, and I love kung pao, but when I order at Two Lanterns I will ask for less dark, more spice. I liked my spicy chicken, bride her tofu vegetable but the real winner were the wings. We got one order of 6, tasted, and immediately ordered another round.

Great Beijing in the same general neighborhood has hyper-reasonable lunch specials, including kung pao, which I like quite a bit. If I remember correctly, $7.95 for big portion of kung pao, choice of steamed or fried rice, crab rangoon, surprisingly good hot and sour soup (add a splash of vinegar) and tea. Plus, if you ask, kimchi, diakon pickle, onion and jajangmyeon sauce to dip.

Octarine wrote:Kung pao was half a step above typical americhinese KP. Nothing to make a trip for. Peppercorns in Evanston and Asian Bistro in Arlington Heights do a far superior job.

The wings are the saving grace in my book. I’d go back for an order of those alone.

Just stopped in and the wings are fantastic. Perfectly crisp and the spicy tamarind powder is a great touch. Also actually spicy!

I recently started working in Skokie one day a week and I was really excited to be able to get lunch at new (to me) and old favorite restaurants in the area. 2 Lanterns, Great Beijing, Hoanh Long, Renga Tei, NY Bagel and Bialy, Larsa’s, Wholly Frijoles, Pho Nam Lua, Libanais were/are all on my list.
The hitch in my plans? 2 Lanterns. We went there first and now it's been 6 weeks and I haven't gone anywhere else. This place is a gem! Thanks, Gary, for posting about it. My favorite dishes so far are: lemongrass chicken (not on the online menu--made with sliced chicken, and very finely chopped lemongrass), honey garlic roast pork, spicy chicken, green beans, wings with tamarind powder. I brought home dinner for my family and my daughter loved the orange chicken (I agree it's a good version but I'm more interested in the southeast Asian items on the menu) and strawberry smoothie. On my list to try are the guan mein, shrimp noodle soup, and basil chicken (my coworker who doesn't really like basil said it was great).
Also, Jenny, the proprietor, is one of the nicest people! She's been greeting me by name since my second visit and she makes great recommendations. Sooner or later, I'll try lunch at some other spots in the area but for now I'm hooked on 2 Lanterns. To quote Gary-- 2 Lanterns, CMAF

This is awesome, I love Two Lanterns! I started working in the area in August and the food choices are mind boggling.
Two Lanterns is the real deal- not an abundance of items served in a mediocre way, but a relatively modest number of dishes- but every one is delicious. Very clean and clean-tasting. Jennie, the chef-owner is a doll. Reasonable pricing, specials at lunch. Thanks for starting this thread.

thaiobsessed wrote:The hitch in my plans? 2 Lanterns. We went there first and now it's been 6 weeks and I haven't gone anywhere else. This place is a gem!

Great list and I do love Two Lanterns. I also love Pho Nam Lua, they have been open intermittently (mostly) for take out and when it was warm had tables set outside. In normal times I am once a week lunch at Pho Nam Lua, once a week pickup NYBB, couple of times a month Great Beijing and once a month, at least, Hoanh Long, Renga Tei.

Deviating from general LTH sentiment I am so-so on Larsa's and Not a Fan of Wholly Frijoles. I flip-flop on Libanais, sometimes love, sometimes so-so. What about Middle Eastern? Have you checked out Skokie Grill or Jarasa Kabob? I dig them both, though they are different. Skokie Grill is slow pace more home cooking, Jarasa quick-serve done well.

This is my general neighborhood so I am pretty familiar with mentioned restaurants.

Pho Nam Lua (aka 5 Lua)
6261 McCormick Blvd
Chicago, IL 60659

Skokie Grill and Bakery
4209 W. Main St.
Skokie, IL 60076
224-470-5138

Jarasa Kabob
3641 Dempster St
Skokie, IL 60076
847-423-2088

G Wiv wrote: Have you checked out Skokie Grill or Jarasa Kabob? I dig them both, though they are different. Skokie Grill is slow pace more home cooking, Jarasa quick-serve done well.

These are both going on the list--the lunch special at Skokie Grill really caught my eye...

thaiobsessed wrote:These are both going on the list--the lunch special at Skokie Grill really caught my eye...

Cautionary note re Skokie Grill. Wonderful food. Nice people. Slow pace mom & pop where stated opening times are but suggestions. Though as they are only pickup at present. That’s less of a factor.

Sad news...per their voicemail message, Two Lanterns is closing. 6/30 will be their last day open.