Restaurant Review – The Roost

Moving to a new neighborhood is so exciting, for so many reasons. But I always love discovering new restaurants in my area. This weekend took me to The Roost: Carolina Kitchen, located at 1467 W. Irving Park Rd. Just a three block walk from my house, I already know this will be a dangerous spot. This location is newly remodeled, they’ve just added a full bar and expanded seating area. We stopped in at around 9 pm on Friday night and the place was quietly bustling, with patrons seated at the bar, playing games at their tables, and picking up to-go orders. We ordered our food to go! My friend ordered the Nashville Hot fried chicken sandwich. This spicy fried chicken is brushed with a coat of fiery, ground pepper paste- not for the faint of heart! You can choose a brioche bun or a biscuit- he chose the biscuit- and two sides. He picked the Creamy Mac and Cheese and hand-cut potato chips. I ordered the Nashville Hot Hillbilly Tacos: a fiery hot fried chicken tender wrapped in a flour tortilla topped with coleslaw and chipotle ranch. You can either order the tacos a la carte or as a meal, with two tacos and two sides. I thought the tacos would be much smaller, so I ambitiously ordered the meal. For my sides, I also chose the Mac and cheese and cucumber coleslaw. We waited about 20 minutes for our food to be ready and then walked it home. When we pulled it out of the bag, it was still piping hot! Nothing needed to be reheated- always a plus for take-out. And the food was delicious! My friend’s biscuit sandwich was absolutely wonderful. The biscuit was fluffy, the chicken spicy, and the dill pickles perfectly crunchy. My fried chicken tacos were gigantic! I could easily have done with one taco and one side, the portion was huge. One of my favorite things was the Mac and cheese. It was dripping with cheese and the flavor was awesome. We will most definitely be back!

The Roost has three locations: Irving Park, River North, and The Loop. The Irving Park location is open Mondays through Thursdays from 9 am to 10 pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 9 am to 11 pm, and Sundays from 9 am to 3 pm. Find more information on the other locations’ hours on their website.

RACHEL HOOVLER & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO