First Slice

RIP First Slice. I just went today on my lunch break to get either the lentil salad or the mushroom tamales (my two favorites) and was greeted by the horrific sight of the whole thing gone. Poof. Vanished. I’m so sad. It was my favorite place to eat lunch. There was so many good things about it, including the fact that they donated part of their proceeds to charity. I can only hope they reopen someplace else.

I love this place — locally-​owned, healthy, inexpensive food options are difficult to find in the Mag Mile area.
But I just heard that they’re closing today because the city wants them out? This is sad news for the entire North Michigan Avenue lunch-​eating crowd.

Fight hunger while addressing your own! Nestled in the quaint and cozy visitor’s center, stop in for a sandwich, pizza, soup, salad, or a slice of pie!
I wasn’t in the salad mood and got a chicken and bleu cheese sandwich. Came with side of chips and a side salad (light vinaigrette with apple chunks). My sandwich came out hot with nicely melted cheese. I could’ve done away with the chips and was sad that they didn’t offer a side soup portion. There is an option of substituting the salad for a «70’s style salad» like roasted beets, tortellini, lentils, etc.
I was stuffed after my sandwich and couldn’t fit in the pie. However, I couldn’t help but oggle their offerings. While they have the usual apple, cherry and lemon meringue, I had my tummy set on the coconut macaroon or the red wine poached pear.
Overall, a great place to have lunch while supporting a great cause!

After surviving a shopping trip to Water Tower, I was a tad bit hungry. I needed a snack of some sort since I had dinner plans later. Where was I to go? What was I to do? I didn’t want to go back in WT but remembered reading about First Slice on Unilocal.Luckily, it was a hop, skip, and a jump across the street from Macy’s.
Don’t let the name fool you. There’s much more to the place than just pie. It also offers: quiche, sandwiches, soup, salads, pizza, and a variety of pastries. While all this was tempting, my eye was glued on the different flavors of pie (sweet and savory options available). I got a slice of the peanut butter chocolate pie. I sat and enjoyed this delicious treat at one of the three tables only for First Slice customers (take note those who are scheduled for a tour). Holy cow. This pie was very rich and creamy. The chocolate pie crust and hard chocolate topping were a nice touch with the peanut butter. It was a very filling pie, and I actually didn’t eat much at dinner. I need to come back for this again… or perhaps one of the items on the menu. Also to note: most of their items are veggie/​vegan friendly.
This place sort of brought back memories. I haven’t been to the old Water Pumping Station/​Tourist Info Center since my first trip to Chicago almost 20 years ago. Eek! Back then, there wasn’t anything to eat here… at least, one that I can remember. So it’s nice to see First Slice to give visitors (and locals!) a chance to relax and eat before/​after a tour along Michigan Avenue.

Man, how can you not give this place 5 stars?
The food is pretty good (what I’ve tried, anyway, which isn’t much as I’m vegan) and the people are nice but they support local farming! They support local shelters and feed the hungry programs!
The last time I went in there it was to buy a sandwich for my friend who is always asking for money for food outside of the Water Tower, so I go in to First Slice and tell them I want whatever the popular sandwich is. The girl at the counter was a little confused, so I told her it was for the guy outside and that as a vegan, I can’t really pick a sandwich so I’d go with popular vote, and the same goes for the soup, too. SO she makes the sandwich, gets the soup, throws in a drink and gave me a discount. It was really awesome of her.
I couldn’t tell you how it tasted, though. Ask the dude that hangs out by the Water Tower on Fridays.

This is the best Cobb Salad I’ve ever had, and the peanut butter pie is ridiculously delicious.
I came here probably 20 times before I realized they’re a non-​profit that’s feeding the hungry. What?! There’s no reason not to go here.

LOVE LOVE Latin Hip Hop Salad!
LOVE.
I’ve never written something so stupid on a review before
BUT this salad will give you the shivers it is sooo good!
ambiance is junk. Just think of it as a food court and you’ll manage your expectations and be available for… THE GLORY OF THE LATIN HIP HOP

1^st time here.
quite disappointed.
Ran in for a quick lunch.
I got the soup/​sandwich combo…
I REALLY WANTED TO LOVE IT. but sadly 1^st slice you fail.
I am pretty sure they gave me Spaghetti sauce instead of Tomato soup.
I mean seriously it was like straight out of a Prego jar. it wasn’t soup at all.
i got the Chicken and bleu cheese sandwich. it was just ok.. .
I could have spent less money at Go Roma down the street and got fabulous soup and sandwich combo. and it comes with Fries too. !
Blagh. the soup thing ruined my whole day.

We stumbled into this place after wanting to go to the Chicago info center and having a craving for pie. We were excited at the unique creations they had and decided on the Mint Chocolate pie and Polka Dot pie.
The mint chocolate tasted just like the ice cream, but without the ice cream. It was delicious, but we were unable to finish the whole slice.
The polka dot pie ended up being an almond cheesecake of sort with chocolate slices on top. It was again interesting, but not something that we really wanted to finish.
After learning (just now!) that this place is vegan, I can understand the tastes.

1 star– Locally sourced foods.
2 stars– Proceeds go to homeless food kitchens.
3 stars– Sandwiches, pizzas, sides all affordable, all tasty, especially considering the location.
4 stars– Pie is otherworldy.
5 stars– Two of the best cookies I ever had, the molasses and flourless peanut butter.

I can’t tell you how happy I am that there is finally a place in the neighborhood that knows how to serve a really good cup of coffee! No disrespect to other cafes in the area– but I have tried all the others one by one and had one bad-​to-​mediocre cup of joe after another. But First Slice serves up coffee that is just the strength I like!
I LOVE First Slice’s scones– especially if you’re lucky enough to go when they are arriving hot from the oven… the Cheddar Chive and Blueberry Struedel scones are both excellent. I’m sure the others are, too, but I haven’t tried them yet.
I bake, so I’m pretty picky about pies– I’ve tried their strawberry-​rhubarb, polka dot, and blueberry peach. The polka dot was my least favorite– more like a chocolate-​hazelnut cheesecake, which sounds awesome, but the texture wasn’t great and it was far richer than I would want a humble pie to be. The blueberry peach was pretty tasty, but I’m pretty sure there were at least as many blackberries in my slice as blueberries, and the crumble topping was slightly too crunchy, although the filling was a gorgeous color and the fruit combination worked well. The strawberry-​rhubarb, though, was absolutely delicious. I would go back again and again for that alone, if only it were in season year round and calorie-​free :)
Also, all the staff I’ve met there have been super friendly and welcoming, especially Annette (I think that’s her name!).
So… yay! I’m a fan.

This vicinity of the Mag Mile is without a doubt, the epicenter of a sugary sweet showdown: Ghiradelli, Hershey, Vosges, Godiva, the Cheesecake Factory to name a few. Here, sassifyin’ a sweet tooth is an easy feat, which probably explains why tourists bring home a couple pounds as a souvenir of the Windy City.
When chocolate’s charm has melted and the idea of grabbing a slice of cheesecake has your arteries trembling, stop in the Chicago’s Visitor Center for a slice of pie to suit your fancy!
If there’s a more welcoming dessert than pie, I’d be hard pressed to find it. First Slice has the perfect location for welcoming tourists. While it is in the Visitor Center, it still is tucked away enough that you can eat without being serenaded by traveling childrens choirs.
Disclaimer: this review is all about pie. They do have some tantalizing options for lunch, but as the name is First Slice, so I had to get pie. «When in Chicago!!!» First and foremost, they have quite the selection. Tabasco in pie? You don’t find that at Bakers Square! So out of the indulgent options, my dining companion and I settled on Sour Cherry and Chocolate Espresso slices. «Tart and crumbly» and «Full bodied and velvety,» respectively.
First Slice is dedicated to fighting hunger. No, not your hunger, but rather those in need. So when you sassify yours, you help support their mission to help feed those in need. So that $ 4 went down extra smooth.
Slices are available in plastic to-​go containers either twirling ’round in a glass case or freshly cut behind the counter. In most cases, to try those exotic (whole) pies, you have to call in an order.
Whether your a native or just visiting, give it a-​go! If I haven’t given you enough reasons, just remember, pie doesn’t need a reason, just a fork and mouth.

Despite saying I wouldn’t be back, I decided to give this place one last chance. This time, for «real food» rather than dessert. The tortilla soup was ok, but was not tortilla soup – excepting the fact that it had a few tortilla strips floating in it. It WAS, on the other hand, soup that had sunflower seeds in it. Which I found mildly alarming, as I did not expect my soup to crunch.
In addition, my friend and I decided to split the chicken and bleu cheese sandwich. I had about 3 bites, he had 2. The chicken was tough and sort of stringy (eeww!), and the flavor was meh.
Soup and sandwich (which was served with a few chips and a tiny salad) for $ 15.
No more! I mean it this time!

My margarita pizza was just okay. I’ve had better pizzas. The nice thing is that the profits go to a good cause.
Oh and their Chicago vegetarian sandwich sounds disgusting. From what I understand, it’s just a slab of different condiments… Seriously, what!!! You call that vegetables? People amaze me sometimes.
Also, this place is not cheap! Don’t be fooled by the Under $ 10 prices… It’s actually more expensive than event Potbelly’s. My little mini pizza came out to be around $ 7 — you can get a larger slice (slice but mini whole pizza) at Foodlife for around $ 3 and it’d be tastier too (albeit more oily).
Since they’re known for pies, perhaps I’ll give them another chance one day…

Meh! This is in the space of my beloved Flat Sammies. I just found out about it a few days ago and decided to give it a try. While a little pricey, the sandwiches were okay… grilled/​toasted and served with chips and a small salad. Afterwards, we decided to split what looked to be an awesome chocolate cupcake. FAIL! It was awful… frozen, no flavor, so sad. How disappointing. The pies looked good, but now I’m afraid to try one. Perhaps I’ll give them another shot. They did have this chicken tortilla soup which looked good. Maybe next time I’ll try that soup with salad and a slice of pie. Hopefully, it will be better.

I was disappointed when my sour cherry pie came out – tiniest $ 4 slice of pie ever. It was really really tasty, and I understand that the profits go to a good cause, but couldn’t you give me more than a tasting portion?
However, the mint iced tea I had was SO SO SO good and everyone was so nice and the other options sounded so tasty and it was overall just such a good little sweets break in my day that I had to give it at least 3 stars, maybe more like 3.5. And, like I said, it’s all for a good cause – feeding the homeless – so I am fairly positive I will be back (or maybe check out the Ravenswood mothership.)
I liiiiiike piiiieee.

I made some chai on Saturday morning and was going to skip breakfast as my work provides breakfast on Saturdays.
Instead, it was decided that cheesecake should be had for breakfast. The cheesecake actually came in a plastic container from the day before. And thus, my first experience of pie for breakfast occurred.
Well, not only was the Pumpkin Cheesecake delicious on so many levels, but it filled me up until 2pm! I didn’t have anything else for breakfast and had a late lunch.
As for the Cheesecake, it was delicate at first and had a nice crumbly finish. Yum!
Two days later, we go to the Water Pumpkin station to return something at the Chicago Public Library (which on another note, is the smallest library — the size of a room!) and had the Peanut Butter chocolate pie. It was good, but i had to have black coffee with it. The PB Chocolate pie was too sweet, too cremey to finish. I liked the taste, but I only need a fourth of it to enjoy it completely.
All in all, a great and cute place to visit. I love First Slice as I go to their Ravenswood one frequently. And what’s not to love. Its a non-​profit that gives a portion of profits to fight hunger, makes amazing pies and has very good prices.
Treat yourself. Now!

Since my obsession with Hoosier Mama these recent weeks, my sister decided to feed my addiction by telling me about another place that makes pies. Boy was I glad that there was an outpost downtown as it’s quite a hike for me to take the Brown Line to Montrose just for a slice.
This branch is a tiny counter spot with a few tables in the Chicago Visitor Center. I only ended up buying a lemon square since I love just about anything lemony and it seemed to be a wildly popular item per other Unilocalers. They weren’t kidding. My sis said it reminded her of a lemon meringue pie, on the tangy side, the way we like it. Plus, the two buck price tag was appealing as it didn’t set me back that much like the pretty penny I fork over at Hoosier.
I figure the Ravenswood location has more ambience and is more of a café, but I am glad I tried out First Slice where I could. Maybe I will finally get around to trying some of that pie, but they have to look a bit more appetizing than what I saw in the display. Like the nearly neon orange cheese biscuits and scones, the pies looked roughly hewn. I’m not talking rustic as an art form, but downright a preschooler’s creation rough and ready.
First Slice, I hope your pies taste better than they look.

After three visits in the few weeks they’ve been open, this is definitely a keeper.
First Slice is located in the old Water Pumping Station, with its entrance on the Pearson side of the building opposite Macy’s in Water Tower Place. It’s a great alternative for lunch or a snack, or pick up a light dinner on the way home. $ 7 for a cup of soup (4 choices) and a small freshly-​made sandwich or a salad. I had a great tortilla soup, thick with vegetables, and a delicious turkey and cheddar sandwich, warm, with lettuce and onions. It was really tasty and enjoyable.
They have excellent pies. The cherry pie is terrific. Not quite homemade, but excellent. Their chocolate cream pie is simply awesome. Note that they cut their pies into eight slices, so you’ll get a smaller than normal piece. But for $ 3 it’s still a bargain.
Plus lots of other snack items, pizza, and more. Decent surrounding and very friendly staff. Without their program supporting the homeless, this would still be an excellent spot. Add to the food the fact that First Slice is part of a project to help the homeless and it’s a wonderful way to run a business and a great addition to the Magnificent Mile neighborhood.

Did someone say pie?
First Slice:
now has a 2^nd location in the Chicago Visitor Center where Flat Sammies used to be. :o) Hazaaah!
They’re doing a lunch special like Panera’s you-​pick-​two. I had the Latin hip hop salad and tortilla soup — it was a delicious Latin explosion! I think their menu is seasonal too — the gift that keeps on giving!
I also got a piece of their Michigan sour cherry pie to go too. .. GOOD GOD! MMMmmMMmMmMMmMMM!!! The filling had the PERFECT balance of tangy and sweet and the crust was flaky and MMMMM!!! As a co-​worker of mine said «It looks like somebody’s grand-​mama made that!»
Terriffic lunch spot with a terriffic non-​corporate cause! :o)