Restaurant Review: A hopping good time to celebrate Lunar New Year at Lakeview’s 2D Restaurant!
Happy Lunar New Year, Dean’s Team readers! This year’s Lunar New Year started Sunday, January 22, and spans 15 days until the full moon (February 5). Chicago’s Asian communities on the North (Argyle Street/Broadway) and South (Chinatown, 16th and Wentworth) are gearing up for a spectacular Year of the Rabbit!
After all, several sources cite the rabbit as the luckiest of the 12 animals, and is considered a gentle animal that thinks before acting.
In Chicago, one restaurant is so carefully thought out, it deserves our attention. Lakeview’s 2d Restaurant, opened in 2022, is a 22-seat immersive, interactive and eminently Instagrammable two-dimensional “comic artopia,“ according to its website. The black and white hand-drawn 1600-foot space resembles a mashup of ‘Emily in Paris‘ meeting A-ha’s video ‘Take on Me. ‘ (ask your parents for reference!)
While this family-owned Asian café may be called 2d, trust me when I say that their approach to food, commitment to their community, and commitment to quality service and fun for all is very much a four-dimensional experience for patrons.
You can see 2d Restaurant’s wife-and-husband team of Vanessa Thanh Vu, the Interior Designer and Chef Kevin Yu’s commitment and thoughtfulness, so appropriate for the Year of the Rabbit, in their limited menu, which specializes in plant-based Asian chicken sandwiches, Vietnamese coffee concoctions, and 2d Mochi (Pon De Ring) Donuts.
They even explain why their specialty is the ‘What-the-Chicken’ sandwich. “It’s all about sustainability,” they explain on their website. “On average, plant-based chicken use less land, water, and produces less CO2 than chicken from birds. “ Good to know. And bravo!
And their donuts? They are “freshly made daily using the 2d exclusive mochi donut recipe, which we sourced three different blends of mochi powder and tapioca powder to mix our signature cake flour to create one of the kind 2d mochi donuts.” It’s also “relatively low” in gluten and fat. Bravo again!
Start your adventure with their Original What-the-chicken sandwich, an ultra-crispy WTC chicken, topped with fresh shredded cabbage topped with Japanese mayo. PLT What-the-chicken sandwich, which pairs plant-based chicken, lettuce and tomato with Japanese mayo. (think BLT, use chicken, and give it an Asian twist).
Save room for the donuts! Delectable, Winnie-the-Pooh inspired Eeyore Grey, the Winnie-the-Pooh, with peanut butter and honey, Passion Fruit Pebble, and the Blue Man, named for the famed interactive performance artists experience. Those are just a few of the whimsical flavors and colors inspired by the North Side of Chicago, children’s stories, holidays and area landmarks. They also have unique Chicago Bulls merch based on Benny the Bull, their mascot.
2d has captured the hearts of Google reviewers. One wrote,
“Thought the whole experience, atmosphere, and food was awesome! Hear me out, order the chicken tenders and the strawberry cheesecake donuts and take a bite of both at the same time. Fire. I was in taste bud heaven. It is pricey to go but sometimes you gotta splurge and enjoy things. Do it! Go and enjoy!”
Lunar New Year’s Celebration, Chicago Bulls Merch and Special Donut
They’re going all out for Lunar New Year, with events, red envelop giveaways, traditional food tasting, and more! Using the talents of students from nearby Haines Elementary School and partner Chicago Bulls, 2d Restaurant created a special mochi donut for the lunar new year. All profits from the donut will be donated to Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation, which is dedicated to eliminating pediatric cancer and providing help and support to pediatric cancer patients and their families.
2d is located at 3155 N. Halsted Street. They are open Thursdays, 9am–4pm, Fridays 9am–5pm, Saturdays, 8am–8pm, Sundays, 8am–6pm, and Mondays, 9am–4pm. For reservations and information, click here.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
