Restaurant Review: Karyn's


This is a super late post! I went to Karyn's on my birthday, May 13 and I enjoyed every bit of it. As you all know, unless you're a new reader, I switched to a vegetarian/casual vegan/gluten free diet in late March of this year. I heard excellent reviews about Karyn's and decided to check it out for my birthday dinner.


Karyn's was founded by Karyn Calabrase and is currently owned by herself and her husband Jerrold "Jerry" Scherer. Karyn is a 69 year old grandmother,"holistic health expert", and opened her restaurant "Karyn's Fresh Corner" in 1995. Not only is Karyn's health food empire a restaurant that serves cooked and raw meals through the"Karyn's Raw Bistro" and "Karyn's Cooked" menus, but she also owns a spa called "Karyn's Inner Beauty Center and O2 Day Spa", a cosmetic line, supplements, a cookbook and "uncookbook", and raw dishes.

Karyn has been a vegan since 1983. Her restaurant's popularity even afforded her an interview on Oprah Winfrey's talk show in 2000 and singer Beyonce Knowles stopped by the restaurant for a bite to eat.

So back to the review. The atmosphere of Karyn's is totally calming and has the true ambiance of a restaurant. Dark light room with candles  There was a lot of old school soul and rhythm and blues music playing that night, Jackson 5, Diana Ross, etc, which is funny because my birthday look was 1960's inspired. It took us a little minute to be seated, I'm assuming they were short on staff that night.

As I mentioned, Karyn's has cooked vegan food and raw vegan food options on the menu:


For an appetizer, I got the Nachos. The chips are gluten free, fresh guac, beans, and pico de gallo salsa. 


Let me tell y'all something. When you are on a vegetarian diet, finding restaurants that serve soul food is rare. Of course I had to get the Southern Comfort dish. It. Was. Delicious. This came with a gluten free cornbread, rice, beans, greens and I got a side of macaroni and cheese. 


When I went to the bathroom, I started perusing the other side of the restaurant and noticed shelves stocked with supplements, snacks, water, vitamins, natural herbs, and other holistic goods. 



There was even a display case of desserts and other sweet treats. Not to mention I got a free piece of vegan, gluten free chocolate cake. (yum)


As someone new to the vegetarian/casual vegan, holistic lifestyle, I'm impressed and inspired by the empire that is Karyn's. I will be returning to this restaurant in the future and I highly recommend it to fellow vegetarians, vegans, and those looking to indulge in a healthier lifestyle. 

Karyn's is located at 1901 N. Halsted open daily from 11am-9pm and 11am-10pm Friday and Saturday 312-255-1590


Source: The fall of vegan queen Karyn Calabrese




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