Address: | 835 Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, USA |
Phone: | +1 312-335-3663 |
Site: | foodlifechicago.com |
Rating: | 4 |
Working: | 11:30AM–8PM 11:30AM–8PM 11:30AM–8PM 11:30AM–8PM 11:30AM–8:30PM 11:30AM–8:30PM 12–7PM |
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A Private User
Located in the mezzanine in Macys. My girlfriend & I visited on January 3, 2012. The concept of using a card to get food, where you pay after, is good. But I saw this idea handled better in Chinese mall food-courts. On the Chinese note, despite what others say the Chinese food experience is authentic (where you choose your own vegetables & its paid by weight). The food itself is not authentic. Most Chinese food is made with the sauce & spices. These necessities were Americanized, as well as were the chefs cooking (looked hispanic). I feel the best Chinese food is cooked by people who are trained to cook Asian style, most often a Asian person. But this is based off my experience of living in China. Your experience might tell you otherwise, & thats okay. I also tried the comfort food & MBurger both of which met my expectations. The service was great, & in my opinion was the best part. People were helpful, friendly, & I swear the cashier seemed to be flirting with me (she was cute, too). Might have not been sincere but who cares, it made my experience more special. Also people here were much nicer to my out-of-town politeness, than other places which make me feel stupid for even asking a question (definitely not here). The atmosphere was modern but a little short & compact. Too crowded for my taste but thats perhaps because I was seated on a outside table next to the exit/cashiers (the hostess put us there). Finally I get to my most important issue, price. I went here because it was rated one $ in priceiness. But I ended up paying over $10 for a drink burger & fries. And nearly $10 for my girlfriends single "Chinese" dish. Not what I wanted to spend but this is downtown Chicago. However I feel the price should be $$ not $. Overall a good experience but if you have eaten in a card-then-pay setting before then you would be better off spending your dollar elsewhere.
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Crystal Carter
Love, love, love Foodlife! They redecorated a while back and added a sushi station and custom salad bar. This place is a bit pricey and the bill for feed 4 people would make anyone cringe - but once you find the station with your favorite you will think its worth it. I love the roast beef from the comfort food section, the crazy chicken and pasta from the soup section, and the sausage pizza which you can get in the – wait for it – pizza section! Soooooo delicious. If I have to say anything bad it would be that Chinese food is not the greatest but if they cared at all they could fix that with a little research. As time goes on this place gets more and more expensive and as of a few months ago the roast beef priced out of my reach at almost $14 with taxes, but maybe that is expected with the classiest of food court experiences. If you are inclined to save money though you can go to M Burger instead and there is an entrance into the M Burger from inside Foodlife, so if you’ve already committed to the station card (you’ll see how that works once you visit) you can change your mind and literally go left without too much hassle. Little known secret time: Foodlife also services breakfast! If you visit in the morning when the mall first opens they have an awesome (if once again pricey) breakfast served out of the pizza station. They have bacon, sausage, eggs, breakfast potatoes and hash browns (they are two different things after all!), French toast, and sandwiches. What they call the “Sunrise” is your typical breakfast platter of greatness.
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Tom Stam
This restaurant is truly top-notch and just... EPIC! They have a counter for every type of food - barbecue, "comfort food" (i.e. chicken and mac&chee), pasta, pizza, salads, sandwiches, soups, sushi... The assortment is international! American? Chinese? Italian? Japanese? Mexican? Thai? They have it all! Admittedly, the prices are, or at least ordinarily would be, excessive for what one should expect for such a format (food court, self-service). However, food quality easily makes up for it. Foodlife distributes Lettuce Entertain You brand products, so the quality of whatever you order is more than worth it. Besides, self-service means that you are guaranteed to pay less than you otherwise would for essentially the same meal elsewhere. No gratuity/tip to cover... Everything is delicious and so rich. While I might warn off those who are more health-conscious (this is not the best place to go if youre dieting), they do have a world-class salad bar. Though I am not a salad person myself, they offer an option even for the most health-conscious. Thus far I have only visited once but fully intend to return again and again!
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Samuel Tan
This food court is a great place for those who like variety if cuisines to choose from. Theres everything from American burgers, Italian pizza, Chinese ride plates, Mexican burritos and some other eclectic and unique cuisines. I wont let the cat out of the bag here so that youll have some incentive to check this place out. The food quality is ok, nothing fantastic about it. I particularly enjoyed the stall that was selling soups. A great way to warm up on a cold day, great flavours and a special selling point that will make you coming back for more. Just a word of warning, if you are a vegetarian, there might not be too many choices for you. And if youre looking for fish dishes, you only have one or two choices at best. Other than that, this place is great! Check it out if youre in the area. The prices are quite reasonable too!
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Yaneira Alvarado
Foodlife is by far one of the restaurants I’ve been to. From the amazing food varieties to the the very kind people, Foodlife is in general just amazing. I especially recommend the beef and broccoli, chicken noodle soup with Goldfish crackers, and the hibiscus lemonade. Foodlife is also a very clean restaurant and all of the employes always wearing an amazing smile. I highly recommend this place. Food life is an amazing place to go to if you’re hungry and you don’t know what you want to eat. The staff is Foodlife is very friendly and they are very clean. I also enjoy how you can walk around the different stages and choose what you want to eat. And the best part is, you don’t have to wait on a waiter to serve you and bring your food! You can do all that within 5 minutes!
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Eddie Moy
Pros: Variety, quick service, food court style options. Cons: Typical fare, unoriginal food items, unexciting choices. Came here on a Saturday afternoon for the second time in 4 years and, naturally, there was a line to be seated due to it being in Water Tower Place and all the holiday shoppers. I was surprised at how unexciting it was from when I first dined in. Its a different concept on the whole food court theme where you can order à la carte from multiple kitchens using a card racks up all the items. Youll find your typical variety of stir-fry, barbecue, pasta, soup, salad, comfort food, but nothing that you cant get from any standard place. Come here for the number of choices, but dont expect anything new or exciting.
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Ray Khouri
Not too bad. BUT, WATCH: on your way out they charge you without asking you at all the service charge 5% and that is not a must it is optional.... Watch that, they have been charging us since a long time without them mentioning the charges. Finally that time I was looking to see why I paid more than usual, I noticed that under the tax line and with a faded line ( so you dont pay attention ) it says service charge $... I called and asked them what is that for and I was told thats optional. I replied I need my money back and they did give it back to me. Read the back of that card they give you to be able to charge your meal on it. They are something else.