Chicago Restaurant Spotlight: Big & littles

Do you ever find that the closer you live to a restaurant, the longer it takes you to actually try it? Charles and I had been talking about trying Big & littles for years, before we finally dined there last week. Big & littles got a little famous when a visit from Guy Fieri landed the River North restaurant on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. I would say that Big & littles fits into the “diner” category. It does have booth seating, even though it is a big more casual than most diners.

Big & littles has a fast casual concept. You order from the counter up front, and your name is called when the order is ready. The menu at Big & littles is fun – that is just the best way to describe it. There is a little of everything, including fish and chips, burgers, poboys, and tacos. This might be the perfect restaurant for me and Charles – he can be a typical Brit and have fish and chips, meanwhile I can satisfy my constant need for tacos.

Charles loved his gigantic order of fish and chips (pictured above). It was two massive pieces of cod piled over a generous serving of fries. He even said that it was better than most of the fish and chips that he has had back in England. Something tells me Big & littles will become his go-to place for the dish.

I ordered tacos, of course. I had the short rib taco that was a special that day, and the pork taco. It was under $10 total, and the perfect amount of food for dinner (and I might have stolen a few of Charles’s fries). For a fast casual restaurant, Big & littles has some ingredients that are more gourmet. The short rib taco (pictured above) was wonderfully tender and had just enough topping to compliment the beef and make the dish interesting without overwhelming it. The pork taco packed more heat, and was definitely something I would order again.

We both enjoyed our meals at Big & littles, and it made for a very cheap date night. We spent just over $30 on two meals. Had we known that the restaurant is BYOB, we would have brought beer – which would go very well with just about anything on the menu.

Big & littles is tucked away on a quiet corner at 860 North Orleans Street, just a short walk from the Chicago brown line stop. There is a second location in Lakeview on Belmont near the Belmont red/purple/brown line stop. They do not take reservations, but they have a generous amount of seating.