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That is a very good question. I live in Pekin right outside of Peoria. and I would also like to know if is worth the trip
My best friend lives in Chicago and she thinks karen’s is amazing. I will have her comment on the forum about it.
I went to Karens years ago and we had an amazing time. I don’t remember what we had but I was the only vegan everyone else were meat eaters, and everyone enjoyed themselves. That was years ago I haven’t been there recently.
hannah -
I am from Chicago and have been to all the raw places there. My bf worked at Cousins for a bit too.
Karyns is great! The restaurant is a bit expensive and I wish they would change it more often but I found the things I have had so far to be too heavy for me – they use a lot of nuts – but it is definatley worth a visit. Lots of people like the cafe part of Karyn better – they have all sorts of raw takeaway and a little store where you can buy a few raw things.
I am not sure if Cousins has a full menu anymore – I think it is mostly a raw buffet now. Not sure on that – it is alot of yoga now I believe. The owner is Turkish and has lots of Middle Eastern type raw items.
http://www.cousinsiv.com/
Chicago Diner also has some raw. It is a vegan restaurant but they have daily raw specials which change every week. The owner is actually raw now and his wife is a raw chef. Their raw dishes are really good esp the deserts!
http://veggiediner.com/menus.html
There are a few other new places which are more out in the suburbs.
Borrowed Earth Cafe in Downers Grove. http://www.borrowedearthcafe.com/
Balanced Kitchen on the far Northside also has some raw. http://www.thebalancedkitchen.com/
Their is a big raw community in Chicago if you are going for a visit you might want to try to catch one of the potluck or events.
http://rawfood.meetup.com/222/
I’ve been to Cousen’s and Karyn’s. Karyn’s wins! The food was just better… and the selection was… everywhere! You could even take to-go-food. I wanted to try EVERYTHING! Raw ice cream, tamales, the buffet, rejuvelac (sold by the gallon)... it’s just better selection. Click here for my blog about both places.
By the way, there are a couple more raw places around that area, but we didn’t have time to visit those.
Karyn’s is delicious—if you go to her website, she has free seminars every few months where you can try free samples of her food. I just went to the last one the end of June and it was great. Karyn was actually there giving the seminar and she answered questions for about an hour, all while we tasted macadamia nut cheese ravioli and banana pineapple cake.Plus, we got coupons for her restaraunt and free samples of her raw shampoo/conditioner.
Check out her website for the next seminar…www.karynraw.com