I am very excited that Chicago now has full restaurants for my two favorite types of Chinese food-- Hunan and Dongbei!
I went with my wife and two friends on Tuesday to Home Style Taste.There's plenty of metered street parking. The dining room is on the smaller side and is mostly set up for groups of 4-6 with a few two-tops along one wall. One server had pretty good English, but overall be patient with the language barrier.
Dongbei is notable for a few things in Chinese cuisine: cold salads, wheat breads and noodles, potatoes, hearty meat stews, and pickled vegetables. The menu has plenty in all those categories. I will definitely be back to try more.
I'm sorry I don't have pictures, but, in order of favorite to least favorite, we ordered:
Jiachang Liangcai (家常凉菜) from the Cold Appetizer section. I forget how it was labeled in English, but literally translates to Homestyle Cold Vegetable. It is listed right under Colorful Wide Noodle (da la pi 大拉皮). It. Was. Excellent. So delicious. Thin strands of tofu noodle are tossed with chili, carrot, and cilantro stems, dressed in chili and sesame oil. Light, fresh, flavorful, a little spicy, with small bursts of cilantro freshness.
Stir-Fried Cumin Flavored Lamb (my friend ordered this, I didn't check how it was labeled in Chinese) from the Stir Fried Beef and Lamb section. I never thought this was a northeast dish (had it in plenty of northwest restaurants) but it's delicious so I'm happy it's here. This version was good, juicy, fatty lamb slices crusted with whole cumin with just a bit of zing in the back from dried chilies. Hopefully the bone-in version has a little more flavor, because this dish just didn't pop for me. Very tasty and satisfying, but it could have been dry-fried a little crispier and come out with more heat and "wok breath".
Scallion Pancake (tsong you bing 葱油饼) from the Dim Sum section. A very basic northern flat bread with green onions. I liked this better than ones I've had at Lao Beijing, but still not as amazing as a simple cong you bing can be. Very good, ask for a little vinegar for dipping if you like.
Stir-fried potato, eggplant, and pepper (di san xian 地三鮮), which is a dongbei favorite, from the Stir Fried Vegetable section. It is handwritten onto the menu. Three hearty veggies, braised in tasty brown sauce. Again, very good but not excellent.
Homestyle tofu (jiachang doufu 家常豆腐) from the Stir Fried Vegetable section. It was just okay, the tofu was not fresh made, and was pre-fried (possibly even bought fried already). Heated through with brown sauce, garlic, and green pepper. My wife liked it, but I thought it could be much better.
We also ordered some leafy green vegetables (listed on a separate Daily Specials insert). They were fine.
Extremely reasonably priced-- $70 after tax and tip for more than 4 people could eat.
Many other things look excellent and I would definitely go back for: Homemade Cabbage and Tofu salad, Spinach with Peanut and Vinegar, Smoked Rabbit, Pork with Dry Tofu and Jalapeno, Sliced Potato with Vinegar, and all the dumplings, skewers, and soups. Yum.