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And the Hottest Place to Eat in Chicago Is ... Pi-Hi Cafe?

By  Patty Wetli and Josh McGhee | January 26, 2015 5:27am 

 Yelp's list of the top 100 places to eat in 2015 includes just one Chicago entrant — Pi-Hi Cafe.
Pi-Hi Cafe
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ROSCOE VILLAGE — Looking for the hottest place to eat in Chicago in 2015?

According to Yelp, that would be Pi-Hi Cafe.

The website released the Top 100 places to eat in the U.S. and the only Chicago restaurant to crack the list, barely squeaking in at No. 100, was Pi-Hi. If that surprises you, it was just as surprising to Pi-Hi owner Fares Zanayed.

"Wow. We're very humbled by [it]," said the owner of the Roscoe Village Mediterranean-and-pizza joint that's barely been open a year.

Patty Wetli says that she hadn't heard of the place before it made the list:

"You don't know what to expect when you come up with the concept. You just open your doors and hope people come in," said Zanayed, as he cleared the table of a few Lane Tech students grabbing a bite after school Friday.

"We pride ourselves on giving you the best service when you enter our doors," he said.

Whither Alinea you ask?

Ha, Grant Achatz' three Michelin stars are no match for Pi-Hi's slew of five-star Yelp reviews.

To create the list, Yelp staff combed through the site's data and analyzed which restaurants were the most popular and the best reviewed in 2014, giving more weight to recent reviews and less to older ones.

Pi-Hi opened in 2014 at 3539 N. Western Ave. inside what one Yelp reviewer referred to as a "non-discrete [sic]" strip mall.

Despite being somewhat locationally challenged — "This spot is not ideal for good food places which is why we need to support them!!!" another reviewer urged — Pi-Hi has earned raves from diners praising the friendly staff and declaring the falafel the best in Chicago.

"YES YES A MILLION TIMES YES! Seriously this place is ridiculously good. From the hand made falafel to the wood oven baked pizzas, you can't go wrong here. Not to mention the service is AMAZING," sums up the sort of general enthusiasm expressed by reviewers.

"This is a concept I wanted to do for a while. I had the vision and I jumped in. It's a dream come true," said Zanayed, who's lived in the neighborhood for over 40 years.

"Space is limited in the area so, you're taking a chance no matter what business you're in. I'm from the neighborhood so I knew this place kind of needed it. This is a strong supportive neighborhood, which wanted some kind of Mediterranean restaurant," said Zanayed.

Without money or business experience coming out of college, Zanayed worked as a contractor until he was able to bankroll the restaurant. That contracting experience helped him design the place himself and build, in his opinion, one of the tools that keeps his customers flocking back — his woodfire stove.

"The woodfire pizza concept is really different than the commercial pizza, and people can really taste the quality," he said, adding that moms and children alike love the chicken. "I think people just love healthy food and that's what our food is: authentic, healthy homemade food cooked from scratch."

"And the food tastes good. I guess that's what keeps them coming back," Zanayed said.

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