| Charcoal Delights | 3139 W. Foster Avenue | Fast food |
A neighborhood institution for nearly 40 years, Charcoal Delights serves great charbroiled burgers and chicken. The interior is modern and bland, but the original neon is a classic—a hot dog roasting over a flaming grill.
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| George's | 3222-24 W. Foster Avenue | American |
George's is a large, casual dining restaurant with a full menu. Save room for one of its popular ice cream desserts — the George's Dream banana split, or The Presidential, a coffee ice cream sundae created at the request of the North Park University president.
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| Loree's | 3232 W. Foster Avenue | American, Thai |
Another big casual restaurant, Loree's serves American-style breakfast all day, but its large menu of Thai items is very popular for lunch and dinner.
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| Midori | 3310 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue | Japanese |
Discriminating sushi lovers of all ethnic backgrounds flock to this Japanese restaurant because of its great prices and consistently fresh fish. The karaoke scene there has faded, though, as aficionados have moved on to clubs with flashier, state-of-the-art systems.
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| Outdoor Café | 3257 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue | Korean/American cafe |
Popular with Korean and American students from North Park and Northeastern universities, the Outdoor Café—which, ironically, has no outdoor space—looks like a suburban backyard, with paving stones and pebbles covering the floor, patio furniture for tables and chairs, and cheesy statues. There's a nice selection of flavored coffees and Korean teas, and a small library of American and Korean magazines. The staff is very friendly.
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| Rancho Luna | 3357 W. Peterson Avenue | Cuban |
Recently relocated from Foster Avenue, Rancho Luna is a good bet for an inexpensive lunch. The Cuban sandwich is delicious, as is the Ropa Vieja—shredded beef on french bread with onions and green peppers. The Cuban coffee is great too, sweet and strong, served in a demitasse cup.
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| Tre Kronor | 3258 W. Foster Avenue | Swedish |
Tre Kronor is a cheerful and intimate storefront restaurant with wooden floors and wall murals of Swedish woodland fairy tale scenes. The menu features Swedish favorites, from fish dishes and Swedish meatball dinner entrees, to breakfast omelets with smoked salmon or Danish blue cheese.
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| Via Veneto | 6340 N. Lincoln Avenue | Italian |
One of the few restaurants in the neighborhood with an outdoor patio, Via Veneto has early-bird specials every day from 3-5 p.m. that drastically reduce the prices of their already reasonable entrees. Full bar with a good wine list.
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| Sweden Shop | 3304 W. Foster Avenue |
 Gifts from Scandinavia ranging from crystal to linens to Christmas knickknacks are the niche at this gift store. The Porsgrund china, with heart and pine and floral farmer's rose patterns, is especially beautiful. There's also a large selection of brightly painted Dalecarlian horses, Norwegian-made wooden horses of varying sizes that are hand carved and painted. Bastad clogs, shoes from Sweden with a clean and simple design, are pretty reasonably priced for a specialty store.
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| Leo Naturals | 3242 W. Foster Ave. |
One of the only Korean medicinal herb stores outside of Albany Park. Besides mainstream vitamins and powders that promise to transform you from scrawny to buff, the owner also sells Chinese remedies and complete acupuncture kits—and his wife is an on-site practitioner of the healing art.
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| The Covenant Bookstore | 3200 W. Foster Avenue |
Stocks nearly every kind of Bible in print. There's also a large selection of theological books and inspirational biographies of Christian celebrities. It also sells gifts and clothing, and plays New Age-style religious music.
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