First Slice

Normally i don’t enjoy key lime pie, its too tart for my liking.
First Slice’s key lime is DELICIOUS!!! light creamy and the graham cracker crust is amazing.
I also bought blueberry cheesecake, which is the best i’ve ever had!
I’ve been to the other location and i’ve tried other pie flavors as well.
Luckily, i live two blocks away from here, so i can walk there, buy myself a slice and not feel as bad.

i LOVE PIE. Maybe it’s my favorite dessert, but I say that about all desserts.
This location is super cute inside the art store/​gallery in Lilstreet. I love that they have lots of choices of pie every day, not just 2 – 3.
Once I had the espresso/​chocolate pie, and it was actually too rich for me. They warned me, but I didn’t believe them. So be careful.
The fruit pies are all delicious and the coffee is good too.

A good place to have a quick, delicious lunch. My friend had a goat cheese/​roasted vegetable sandwich that came with a side salad. She was a little surprised at how much food she got, and ended up taking half her sandwich home.
I had the bacon/​onion quiche, and that came with a side salad, too. Both were very good.
I took a slice of chocolate/​peanut butter pie home. It was delicious.
The only thing that really annoyed me was paying extra for a coffee refill. You pay for a cup of coffee, and then pay another $.55 for a refill. That sort of thing pisses me off. I know this isn’t uncommon, but I still hate it.
Someone delivers the food to your table, but you have to bus the table yourself. There is a tip jar by the register.

Best pie ever!!! Polka dot pie is perfect to satisfy the craving and its gluten free!!!

Still going there after 5 years for the prepared food, and still delicious! We also get extra soups, and often a treat while there for pick-​up. Great food, great value, great cause (and great staff too!)

Yummy sandwiches, excellent pie, has wi-​fi, but a dearth of outlets.

Always excellent pie, even if it’s not the very best I’ve ever had. They have three locations; this one is inside the Lillstreet Art Center (which is not actually on Lill Street).
I’ve had slices of their their key lime, chocolate peanut butter, raspberry cheesecake, and cherry, and I think cherry is the best.
They also sell savory food, so you can eat a legit lunch and not just pie. Their Pi Day special was also a good one: two for one slices (at every location; we made an afternoon of it a few months ago and walked to all of them for endless pie).

Took a group of seniors for lunch here today – and they were so accommodating and awesome! RJ was a great «hostess», she sat aside a table for us, she prepared pamphlets and information about the café and it’s mission, and she took the time to give us a wonderful talk of the organization, the café, the helpful things they do for the community… and the food was VERY yum. Even my usually picky older eaters, were «ooh“ing and «ah“ing about the grub! Thank you for your patience with an «older» crowd, and thank you for all that you do for our Chicago area folks in need!

Amazing pies for great cause. You got to go there.

When we were planning our wedding, my husband and I had three rules.
1. By the end of our wedding day we had to be married.
2. Our guests had to have a great time.
3. We had to stay under-​budget and avoid falling for ridiculous wedding costs. Especially in a market as saturated and ludicrous as Chicago’s.
The first rule was all on us and our officiant, but First Slice largely helped us accomplish the second and third. I’m not generally a fan of fondant or wedding cake, so getting pie seemed like the natural solution. From our tasting (hint, they give you huge, whole slices at pie at the tasting) all the way to the delivery (on time and even pre-​sliced for us) Alyssa was incredible to work with. She was super responsive to my compulsive e-​mails and I never got the sense that she was trying to sell me on anything. I guess that’s a sign of their awesome business model.
Our guests couldn’t stop raving about the pies and many out of town folks asked if they shipped, so they could order some for their next family gathering. People also really seemed to like the alternative to wedding cake and the ability to try many different flavors. We had a good mix of chocolatey and fruity and threw in coconut for something unexpected. The stand-​outs were the Michigan Sour Cherry (my personal favorite) and the Toffee Coffee.
With 150 guests, everyone got multiple slices and we had about 5 pies left over at the end of the night which guests gladly took home. The best part? We only spent about $ 500, which was far less than the $ 1,000 and upwards quotes I got when I was researching other bakeries.
Overall, I highly recommend First Slice for like-​minded-​brides who are open to breaking traditions a bit. Viva Pie!

I stumbled into this place with a friend after a visit to the Story Studio Chicago, just a few blocks south. It is inside a gallery /​art studio center and has such a great vibe mixed with the artist’s space and small gift shop. I wasn’t expecting to eat much, and to be honest, expected it to be a pizza joint when I heard the name. I got a simple bowl of turkey chili and it was quite delicious. I also got a lemon heart and I recommend any of their little sweets selection.
It’s a charming little café that does good food very well without a huge price tag or pretentiousness. Also, there is some sort of subscription-​based service they provide that is for a good cause, but I a haven’t investigated it enough to know the details. The service, particularly the one gentleman, was absurdly pleasant!
If you’re in the area (or if you need a reason), then I’d absolutely recommend stopping here — –as I will be!

I’ve only been here once, but I love their mission and the cherry pie was very tasty. I picked up a whole cherry pie to bring to someone for his birthday and he said it was fantastic. Success! Will for sure have to come back to try lunch sometime. Definitely support this lovely organization!

I have lived nearby for four years and finally found myself going in here. That was a mistake. My slice of coffee toffee was pretty darn good. I consider myself a good judge of desserts, this place does good things. The shop that sells ceramic works is cool too. Now that the seal has been broken I might need some new bigger pants. Between this place and margies, good lord.

Here’s my experience…
70’s style salads: I can personally vouch for the Mango Jicama, Chicken Cucumber, and Chicken Curry (if you’re eating-​in, just make sure to mix it up as the chopped lettuce is at the bottom of the bowl). Not many places go beyond tuna salad, so it’s refreshing to see these on a menu. Ingredients seem fresh too.
Beverages: Colectivo brand out of Milwaukee. It’s awesome, my expectations were exceeded. I love their iced teas, and I’m obsessed with their Custom Palmers (mix any iced tea with any of their lemonades!).
Pie: Their sour cherry hand pies are my favorite breakfast on the go (though they could stand to have a bit more filling in them); the portion is just enough to cure my pie craving without the guilt. Their other pies are just as good; I love that they consistently offer so many different flavors!
Vegan Goods: I’ve only tried their vegan carrot cake and I’m sorry to say it just wasn’t very good (lots of pineapple, carrot, and coconut). I would love to see them experiment more with vegan items though and would be open to trying more.
Customer Service: The same guy is usually working there most days and he’s super awesome. Service is quick, easy, and polite (which is surprisingly rare in most cafes). If you’re ordering to-​go he’ll personally bring you the to-​go bag (instead of yelling that your order is ready). He’ll also ask if you need a top off of coffee after you’ve added the cream (who else does that?!). SOLID.
I live in the neighborhood and I’d say I spend equal amounts of time here as I do the Julius Meinl down the road (the coffee! the cinnamon rolls!), but First Slice is definitely a unique place. I’m giving it 4 stars in comparison to other joints in the neighborhood, but it’s probably in my top 5 favorites cafes in the city.

The michigan sour cherry pie was a hit in my office. I thought I’d bring my team a treat and the entire pie was gone by lunchtime. I’ll definitely be coming here for all my pie needs.

This place is a savior to those of us who prefer the pie life in a cupcake city.
It’s an adorable space (in the Lillstreet Art Center) with some really, really, really good pie (and given my rural Indiana roots, I consider myself a pretty qualified pie evaluator). My usual go-​to is key lime or anything cream based, but lemme tell you what, it’s their crust that really blows my mind. I’ve never had their «real» food, but the other people there with me really seemed to love it.
There’s only 5 or 6 tables, though, but it’s never been too busy when I’ve gone in. If you’re planning something with a bigger group (I know I’ve had meetings at First Slice, because meetings are infinitely better with pie), I know the Manor location off of the Francisco Brown Line has more seating.
Other perks:
1) Free Wifi
2) Portion of the proceeds go to feeding the homeless/​hungry
3) I really like their plates. They’re cute.
4) If you’re baking challenged like I am, you never have to buy terrible grocery store pie (with terrible grocery store crust) again, because you can buy a whole pie from these guys and take it home.
5) I’m pretty sure there were 2 or 3 first dates going on in the half hour I was there, so if you’re looking for a spot, apparently this place is popular

I enjoyed one of the best sandwiches in the city here. Duck confit in sandwich form… whoda thunk? It was delicious. The accompanying greens were fresh and appropriately dressed. The cappuchino was great. The piece de resistance, the pie (Balsamic Raspberry Pear) was devine.

I visit this place for lunch about once a quarter. They serve up pretty tasty food and have a nice selection of delicious treats but sadly, I’ve never tried their pie.
Their grilled cheese is super yummy! I love that they serve a fresh side salad with most of their sandwiches. I must go back to try the pie!!!

I work near First Slice and find myself walking the short distance there for lunch often.
Some of my fav dishes:
Greek Grain Salad — TOP PICK! different grains, thinly sliced lettuce, feta, fresh tomatoes, warm fresh flat bread, just really great!
Spinach goat cheese quiche. Comes with a small side salad. Yum.
The chocolate cream and coffee pies.
Mint malt balls! Yay!
Things I’d pass on in the future:
Pretty much all their cookie bars. They are a bit hard and have a strange taste/​texture: grainy, sugary. Not a fan. Give me a regular ol’ cookie any day!
Final Verdict:
Artsy, laid-​back vibe, usually pretty busy but always fast with service, definitely run by hipster or hipster-​like people who are not always seemingly happy about working there, and overall a good place to grab a healthy lunch that is a bit pricey but not outrageously so.

Yikes. Maybe I’m spoiled by Hoosier Mama but the slice of pie I had was SAD. It was teeny tiny, and tasted like grocery store pie. I’m not knockin’ Dominicks bakery pie, but if you’re charging $ 3.50 for a small slice it should at least be good. And it wasn’t. Wah wah.
Extra star for nice people working there, and I appreciate their mission but if you’re looking for good pie, keep a’ lookin’.