Dining on the Curb: Mango Pickle

Soul satisfying comfort pretty much sums up what you’re getting in that brown paper bag restaurants are using for food pick-up and delivery these days. Whether it’s braised ribs at Wherewithal or Pork Chops and whipped potatoes at Funkenhausen, chefs and restauranteurs know the world craves food of solace when the future looks murky.    It’s likely the cautious and solvent will be taking advantage of these services even after the stay at home order goes poof, making knowing what’s out there and what to expect valuable information for the foreseeable future.  City Pleasures plans to float around town sampling the fare and reporting back to our readers what the food landscape looks and tastes like in this odd new world.  A recent trip over to Edgewater proved the terrain of curbside dining is far from bleak. 

Proving how it earned its Michelin Bib Gourmand rating earlier this year, Mango Pickle is hands down one of the brightest spots on the upper Northeast side for value and quality.    Chef Marissa Paolillo’s passion for the culinary heritage of the sub-continent led her to travel extensively across India before coming back to the states and opening a restaurant bearing the name of country’s favorite thing to put on prepared food.    

Unabashedly about comfort and the use of both bold and subtle flavors, chicken biryani, a startling cabbage and shrimp salad, yellow lentil dal (soup) and a dessert in the form of a beautiful cookie sandwich made up the meal’s courses on one lazy Sunday evening.  Known for drizzling unexpected twists into many of her creations, each dish proved to be a little surprising and a lot delectable.  A side serving of a thin yogurt sauce intended for pouring over the main entrée added moisture and an insinuation of sweetness to the biryani.  Shrimp preserved in sesame oil turned the cabbage salad into a sensation. 

Mango Pickle’s website lists what’s being offered on the current day and the following day. There’s only a single entrée with sides available daily.  However, by providing a vegetarian option for every meal featuring a meat based protein, it’s easy to say, “make mine meatless”.    

Mango Pickle

$14 + Tax    2/4/6 Orders to Go

Carryout/Curbside Pickup/Delivery (2 miles)

773-944-5555 / https://www.mangopicklechicago.com/

5842 N. Broadway

Edgewater

Highly Recommended