White Palace Grill

Location: 1159 S. Canal St., Chicago, IL 60607

A Quick Word:
Living around the UIC area, I drive by White Palace Grill probably twice a day... if not more.  This 24-hour diner style restaurant seems popular, especially with that huge Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives poster proudly attached to the exterior of their building.  I can definitely see why it is popular for late night, drunk food cuisine, but for a normal breakfast, I have very different views.  For instance, don't advertise southern fried chicken tenders and then serve frozen chicken fingers.  This was basically their nail in the coffin for my review.  I will say their portion sizes and prices are wonderful and very generous, but this is one of those "you get what you pay for" when it comes to quality.  The actually diner is nothing spectacular so we decided to order take out this time.  I mean, I can't get passed the idea that I could easily cook all of the food we ordered.  Nothing was spectacular, and everything was definitely below average.  For that reason, 2 mile rating seemed generous on my behalf.

What We Ate:

"Mama White's" Chicken and Waffles

It took several minutes to comb through White Palace Grill's extensive menu.  With several pages, I was afraid they focus more on offering a variety of average items rather than a few higher quality ones. The meal that stood out to me was nicknamed "Mama White's".  My entree came with three southern fried chicken tenders, one Belgium waffle, two eggs (I chose over easy), hash browns, and my choice of rye toast.  It sounded incredible and for only $10.00, it sounded like plenty of food for two meals.  I was definitely correct on the latter... the portion size was incredible.  They make sure you have left overs.  Personally, I didn't even touch the eggs, hash browns, toast, and a quarter of the waffle.  Unfortunately, I was still EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED with the meal.  First of all, they state southern fried chicken tenders, but all I found was three frozen chicken fingers that were warmed up.  No seasoning whatsoever meaning I needed to use ketchup on my chicken fingers.  The maple syrup didn't help hide the frozen aspect of the chicken.  The waffle was bland and on the soggier side.  Everything else was just average.  I felt like I could make this entire meal at home for even cheaper.  I guess I had my hopes up especially with the description of all this entree.

Veggie Omelette

My roommate stuck with the typical vegetarian dish--the veggie omelette.  It seemed like a 3-egg omelette based on the size and was filled with tomatoes, green peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, spinach, onions, and for a little extra, he chose cheddar cheese.  The meal came with hash browns and choice of toast, which he stuck with wheat.  Once again, portion size wasn't an issue, but my roommate even mentioned how it wasn't anything unique.  Use a good amount of ketchup, maybe some hot sauce, and it reminds you of your omelette at home.

Pecan Waffle

My roommate's girlfriend knew she wanted a waffle, and at the last minute, decided on the pecan one.  The name explains the entire dish... a freshly made Belgium waffle with pecan chunks cooked right in and a dusting of powdered sugar.  Add just a little maple syrup and you are good to go.  I actually really enjoyed her waffle.  The pecans added the crunch that lacked in the plain waffle.  Especially when ordering take out, the waffle tends to arrive on the soggier side, so those pecans are key.  Unfortunately for this entree, the price was a little on the higher side for only getting a waffle.

The DOs/DON'Ts:
DO:
- Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Definitely check it out for late night option.
- Do consider sharing.  The portions are huge.  I guess the food is cheap as well, so maybe sharing shouldn't be considered?

DON'T:
- Nearly impossible to park.  Don't drive.
- Don't expect too much.  Their description sound way better than their food actually is.
- Separating checks is impossible for them for some reason... Don't ask.

How far would I walk for this food?