Life on Mars

Right in the neighborhood and really great food. All the items I’ve had are great.
My staples are the Hummus Sandwich on wheat pita, Mac & Cheese, Coconut Greens and Yams. I tend to get a half & half mix in my to go container of Coconut Greens and Yams with the Hummus Sandwich.
If you’re vegan/​vegetarian or just want to try something different definitely try out Life on Mars. You won’t be disappointed.

I absolutely love having an all-​vegan takeout place in my neighbourhood, but I wasn’t entirely impressed. I had coconut greens, mushroom stroganoff, mac & cheese and a brownie. Perhaps I came at a bad time (late afternoon/​early evening), but it was slightly dried as though it had been sitting in the heating pans all day.
The mac & cheese was definitely my favourite out of the three dishes — comfort food at its best. However, the food was overall salty and lacked a «pop» of freshness and flavour. I was hoping it would at least be at the quality level of what I could make at home in a rush. The brownie was a bit disappointing — crumbly in texture, not fudge-​y and gooey like brownies should be.
That being said, I am still very appreciative of the vegan options, and I was able to make two meals out of what I got. Perhaps I caught them on an «off» day and just need to try it again.

A real good place for Vegan/​Vegetarians. I myself am no longer a vegetarian, but I really enjoyed the food here, specifically the rice and falafel.
Plus, I live by the place so It’s super convenient, and it’s well-​priced!

Wow! im bummed it took me so long to get here! Only about a 12 minute drive from my job — i find myself always going to whole foods for lunch — but now I will be coming here more.
The two people working there were SUPER friendly — showing us everything, letting us taste it, making suggestions, etc.
I opted for a sandwich with the sunflower artichoke spread, which he let me sample, so i went for it. It was on a homeade wheat bread that was SO good. then i took everyone’s advice on here and tried the mac and cheese and coconut greens and WHOAHYUM! so good.
I didnt get a chance to try to the milkshakes yet, but cant wait to go back. I was bummed they didn’t have rice krispie treats because the menu online said that they did. Guess Ill have to go back!

This is a take-​out joint offering vegan comfort foods. They fill Chinese take-​out containers with whatever dishes you want and charge you by the pound. They also have tempeh/​seitan/​tofu sandwiches made to order, as well as soy shakes.
I tried their Mediterranean tofu scramble, sweet and sour seitan, and mac & cheese. The tofu scramble was actually pretty good (it’s rare to find a good tofu scramble at restaurants) and filled with spices, artichokes, olives and more. It has a robust flavor. The sweet and sour seitan was pretty much what you’d imagine it to be, augmented with some broccoli. Lastly, the mac & cheese was creamy and rich, though I would have preferred it with some bell peppers and wholewheat pasta. Those three, packed into a small take-​out container, cost $ 4.50 or so.
For dessert I had a rice krispie treat ($ 2) which was really good — it tasted just as I remember them to taste, though this one was a bit less chewy.
They’re going to add some seating in the coming weeks (currently there’s space for only a few people up front). This is a take-​out joint, at the end of the day.
I will probably come back here as the food was good and relatively cheap. The offerings themselves looked kind of basic (I could probably make many of these dishes myself, quite easily), but I appreciate that Life on Mars adds some diversity to the Chicago vegan world.

I love the concept of Life on Mars –vegan take out. F*ck yeah! We desperately need more places like this in our pork obsessed city. Quaint little spot with some nice selections whilst on the go.
What I’ve tried–
coconut greens
couscous with shredded carrots & ginger
seitan sammich!
All satisfying. All tasty. Gunna try their smoothies soon, I’m sure they’ll be great in the hot summer heat.
My only thought is that in time, hope the guys whip up some more creative choices back in their big kitchen — soo many things that can be made vegan style — esp salads and sandwiches!
As for the ‘look’, perhaps show a bit of love to the front of the house. Yeah, I know it’s a small space, which means it doesn’t require much –surely it can be done up proper (splash of paint, art, flowers) so it is a tad more inviting to patrons! I wish this place much success!

LOVE! And I’m not even vegan! The coconut greens were dynamite, along with the the mac n’ cheese, the yummy sandwich with the artichoke sunflower spread, and the quinoa and couscous salad.
The pasta salad was Meh, but that’s my fault — I mean, there are so many delicious things here why did I go pasta salad?
Super friendly, super nice and chill and super delicious. Sold on a new favorite!

I was a little nonplussed here. I plan on giving it another chance, but I expected more.
The prices are a little higher than I expected: I thought this place would be cheap and it was just a little on the inexpensive side. Food was OK. The BBQ bean thing I did not like: It was acidic and like chili more than I thought it would be. Maybe that’s what you like, but I didn’t. The other things I got were decent though. The shake I got was the bomb though. Go here for that. I might have to get fat just because of that. They get an extra star for it.
One thing that is odd: The front of house is small, with only a few benches for seating. There are no tables. But back of house has a HUGE amount of space. I think they could move the counter back ten feet and have lo loss of kitchen functionality and allow room for a few tables. I’m not expecting waiters, but if I drive out of my way to get here I don’t want to have to eat in my car.
All in all, I’ll try again. The menu changes each day, so I’ll eventually find something I really like.

Kudos to opening a cute, simple vegan café in Logan Square. Unfortunately, I was not impressed by the food or the concept.
I’m not exactly down the street from Life on Mars, and I think that is at least half of the reason why I can’t rate them more than three stars. The food is served cafeteria style, with a few sandwich and drink options, but no opportunity to eat a quick bite in the store (there isn’t even a chair to sit in while you wait for your milkshake). I feel like this concept would be best served in a busy neighborhood or business district with a lot of people on lunch hour. Instead, it’s like taking food from your college or office building’s cafeteria (if us vegans could only dream of having six or so hot plate options at the cafeteria in the basement of our respective places of work, but I digress) — it’s a little expensive, crusty from being reheated all day, and really not nearly as good as the food made fresh at one of the many veg-​friendly joints in town.
We got a ginger cookie, a piece of vegan rugalah, a «rib» sandwich, the mac and cheese, coconut greens, some kind of black beans and peanut tofu. I didn’t particularly like any of the hot food, and I especially disliked the peanut tofu. It was just tofu covered in peanut butter, yuck. I am always on a quest for awesome vegan mac, and this was certainly not it. It was nutritional yeasty and tasted kind of healthy, but meh. The pastries, on the other hand, were quite good. The rib sandwich was tasty, but reallllly small for $ 5.50 and didn’t come with condiments other than lettuce and a pice of tomato, no mayo, pickles or anything on the side.
All in all, I wasn’t impressed by the food although I acknowledge Life on Mars would have more value to me if I lived or worked down the street. It really isn’t the kind of food I want to take out and bring home for dinner, I’d rather go to Veggie Bite or pick up thai or something.

Today I had the archichoke sunflower spread sandwich on whole wheat. It was bursting with fresh veggies: cucumber, juicy red tomatoes, red onion. And it was friggin’ delish.
There was a range of options, including various sandwiches topped with sliced seitan and BBQ «ribs.» The «deli» selections were enticing as well: bbq baked black eye peas, hummus, mac and cheese, etc. I went with a sandwich because I was on my bike with no easy way to secure an abundance of takeout boxes :-)
I’m so glad the near Northwest side has a new veg place! The more options the better.
Can’t wait to go back and try more!

Sort of a horizontal move from Veggie Bite. Had a variety of dishes there today; the «rib» sandwich was the shining star, though still under-​seasoned and on a far from fresh roll. No condiments, just a generic bbq sauce seitan with veggies on a bun. No vegan mayo, not even a pickle.
My main issue with the place is that it falls into the trapping of so many modern veg/​vegan places: I’m just not convinced that the food is healthy. The greens we had were by all estimations frozen; the only vegetables I saw that weren’t grey were the lettuce and tomato on my sandwich. The food just looks dead. The focus was on starches and faux meats, neither or which were as well executed as any number of other veg-​friendly places nearby.
This isn’t the 90’s anymore. Back then we’d drive miles to get a decent hummus plate. Just serving food that is ostensibly animal free is NOT enough to build a successful restaurant these days. You’ve got fierce competition in Mana, Diner, Sultan’s Market, Green Zebra, Lula, Handlebar, Devon, Karyn’s, Cousin’s, Soul Veg, even Revolution around the corner offering a higher quality, better tasting product at a decent price point.
I’ll give more stars on future visits for some vegetables that aren’t frozen or over cooked, and maybe the sort of seasoning a non-​vegetarian would expect. Veg does not equal bland, ok? If anything, vegetarians should eat more vibrant, more healthy, more flavorful food. It is the 21^st century, after all.
Only two sizes? I would have loved to have tried more stuff, but even the small is more than two people could easily polish off with an entre. Perhaps a combo plate/​Thali?
Also I know the place is carry out, but the prospect of sitting there and eating at all was alienating. I couldn’t tell if dining in was not allowed, or was merely discouraged through lack of stools etc…
Sorry to leave a scathing review, but if you guys can step it up a little, you’ll have a great thing going.

Desserts are surprisingly super! Rice Milk Shakes and fresh fruit smoothies make my days better. Vegan Mac n’ Cheese might be the best available in Chicago.
The kitchen area is huge and the take out area is small. I kind of wish they would have pushed the counter back for a bit of seating. Great Lake has a tiny eating area, but at least you have a choice to eat in.

This place is such a great asset to the neighborhood, and it’s only three blocks from me! It’s such a quirky place that is easy and comfortable. Its set-​up is simple as well as its menu, but this is a GOOD thing — QUALITY over QUANTITY.
When I entered the place on a sloooow Sunday afternoon, the clerk was attentive and friendly. I loved how the kitchen is right out in the open — I knew everything was going to be fresh because I could see the folks making everything from scratch right before my eyes!
I ordered the black-​cherry chocolate soy shake, bbq baked black-​eyed peas and the coconut greens. The price was definitely right as I knew my goodies would make more than one meal.
The soy shake was SO TASTY that I couldn’t stop chugging it on my walk home — every last drop had disappeared by the time I hit my front door.
The coconut greens could not have been more perfect. The acidity of the tomatoes was a great balance with the sweetness of the coconut and the mildness of the spinach. I could eat this stuff all day.
The bbq baked black eyed peas had a little kick to them and had this wonderful smoky flavor. There were also some peppers and onions mixed in, which made the dish even more hearty.
I will definitely make this place a regular habit. It’s comfort food. It’s easy on the wallet. And it’s obvious the people cooking these tasty morsels know what they’re doing. THANK YOU Life on Mars, for choosing to place your establishment a hop, skip away from me!!!

I grew up in Wichita, Kansas where being a vegetarian is nearly a sin, so I would imagine that being a vegan would mean you are pelted with stones. Even now when I go home my family questions my choice and when we go out to dinner it is often to a steakhouse where I enjoy the iceberg salad that is on the menu. Wichita, KS… not so great for the vegetarians.
Imagine my surprise when I moved to Chicago and there were ENTIRE restaurants dedicated to ME (yes…dedicated to me. I swear they have actual plaques that say… TO MARY). I couldn’t believe the Chicago Diner the first time I ate there. It was food mecca for me. Over the course of the five years that I have now lived here I have come to realize that while the Chicago Diner is damn tasty, it is also… boring.
Last week my good friend Elizabeth T. (see the gal below) told me about this new vegan carry-​out place near her house and how we simple must try it. I thought sure… ok…but really I was thinking I don’t want to go to Logan Square its cold out. Well today the weather was damn near perfect for a March evening and I found myself with Liz and in Logan Square and walking toward Life On Mars!
Today we had the Chickpea Potato Curry, Orange Sesame Tofu, and Coconut Greens. The coconut greens are something that I know I will be dreaming about tonight. Like Liz said they were so perfect because the sweetness of the coconut milk was balanced out with the acid from the tomatoes. SOOOO GOOOOOOD!
All were amazingly delicious and über affordable. I mean really? Enough food for two ravenous ladies and a chocolate rice milk milkshake for dessert? SOLD!
Also the girl at the counter was way cute and loved my ring. And there was a bearded boy in the kitchen. Thank goodness it is nearly spring and I can bike over soon.

I’m sort of on the fence with this place and will update this review after a few more visits, but here’s my initial opinion.
1. There is little to no seating. This was totally fine with me, but just plan on taking your food to go.
2. The girl that took my order was not too friendly, and seemed disinterested overall. The owner was definitely nice though.
3. The veggie chili was alright and the mac & cheese was good. The ginger cookie, was surprisingly amazing!
I generally will go out of my way to eat at vegan restaurants, but this is one I can take or leave. I’m sure over time they may improve, so if I’m in the area I will definitely try it again, I just won’t go out of my way for this place right now. As a new vegan place, I hope it grows and does well.

If you are looking for a light, healthy lunch, this probably isn’t your joint, however, if you are looking for robust flavor, amazing texture and down home healing via the large intestine, look no further.
I padded my belly with the mac n cheese, sweet and sour seitan and coconut greens. The seitan and mac n cheese were SO delicious. The coconut greens pretty much tasted like greens sauteed and soaked in coconut oil which was just alright.
It was difficult to select what I wanted because really, I wanted everything. I will be back to sample more of their saliva-​inducing savory selections.

I have been waiting impatiently to try Life On Mars for a few weeks since it’s been open, but it’s not so close to my house that it’s easy to just pop by.
Fortunately, my Sunday errands took me fairly close to that neighborhood, so I finally got to stop in!
The place is a little sparse. A lot of the room is dedicated to the prep area. It would be fantastic if some of that space could be used for seating, but that’s not up to me, is it?
On to the food. There didn’t seem to be as large a selection as I had expected in the hot/​cold dish section, but I settled on small containers of mac and cheese, coconut greens and ratatouille. And for good measure, I threw in a peanut butter cookie (all for $ 11! and enough for 2 meals!). While I was waiting I saw the sandwich board, which did indeed contain a fair number of sandwiches with tempeh or seitan that I wouldn’t mind trying in the future.
I really enjoyed the mac and cheese. It was a little salty/​garlicky, but at least it didn’t taste like they used Teeze, so right there, we’ve got an improvement on most of my recent excursions into vegan cheese territory. The coconut greens and ratatouille were much more subtle, which paired well with the mac and cheese. The cookie was just downright delicious.
I will be anxious to return to try the samosas, major tom tofu and sweet and sour seitan. The menu on their website changes daily, but that day it didn’t match up, much to the chagrin of the owner, who seemed really nice.
I hope this place sticks around for a while. It’s so immensely appreciated by vegans who just want to grab something quick and «homemade,» that fits into their diet without having to resort to deep fried tofu nuggets (not calling any place out in particular… maybe).

I discovered Life on Mars after noticing someone has «become a fan» on Facebook. I was excited that yet another new food establishment has opened just a few blocks from my house.
I showed up on a Saturday afternoon and was greeted by a cute girl in a gray hoodie (I promise this isn’t going to turn in to a missed connection). In front of the counter are about 4 – 5 cold dishes and 5 – 7 hot dishes. The color coded pricing system is a bit confusing, but I learned quickly not to let my budget affect my order. This place is very inexpensive so I let me stomach make the decisions for me.
I arrived at 2PM and they open at Noon. I did notice that some of the hot dishes looked a little dry after only 2 hours of being opened. I am aware that these dishes may have been made much earlier than noon, but their presentation did affect what I decided to order.
I got some Chipotle Slaw, Mac’n’Cheese, coconut greens, a samosa, and a kaiser roll. The total was $ 11. The Chipotle Slaw is great. It’s very spicy and I think it would make a great sandwich ingredient. The Mac is great. You won’t know it’s soy cheese. It’s very creamy. The greens were a bit bland, but great to dip the roll in to. The Samosa was tasty, but would have been better hot.
Be aware that Life on Mars is 100% vegan. A couple came in while I was waiting for my order and the female half of the couple asked if they had meat. I was happy to see that one of the other girls who responded was not preachy or rude, simply proud to state that they are an all vegan establishment without judgment towards carnivores. I’m a ravenous carnivore myself with an open mind and appreciate reciprocal sentiment.
I wouldn’t necessarily travel via train or bus to get here. It’s location is one of its greatest assets for me. And the price is right! I’ll definitely come back. Even if only for the cute girl in the gray hoodie. Check their web site often. I understand the menu changes frequently. It’s

After waiting a little over a month for this place to open I finally had the chance to check it out on day 2. The menu may change a little bit every day so check the website because that is where they list what they have for the day. When I went I tried the Tuna Salad (made with chickpeas), Chickpea Curry, Samosas, and BBQ Black Beans. All of the food that I tried was great, but I must highlight the Chickpea Curry which was phenomenal.
The pricing is very reasonable, I ordered enough food to feed 2 — 3 people and it came out to $ 14! Wonderful.

This is based on only having two things, but, it’s enough to make me go back. My step-​father had to come here earlier, and I decided to put a request in, since he was headed here anyhow.
I’m not vegan. I like milk too much (and chicken and fish)…but I like trying new things, and I like to support new businesses in the area, so what the heck. Got the macaroni and some samosas. I’m very impressed with the macaroni. If I didn’t know this place was vegan, I would have never guessed (and I’ve tried vegan cheese… EWWW). It has an interesting taste, and reminds me of garlic, but I’m not sure what it is. I’m eating it in between my typing breaks. Mmmmm. The samosas aren’t bad, but I feel like I might enjoy them better with a nice beer. It’s almost like it wants to be a dessert, but it wants to be spicy. Then again, every time I’ve had samosas I’ve been at a party and the last ones were vegetarian… so maybe they’re supposed to be like this?
I have a vegetarian friend who is trying as hard as she can to be vegan (she loves cheese too much and cheats on weekends), but I think we just might have to make a trip here in the near future! Also, not sure if they’re doing delivery, but I hear they’re going to. If that’s true, that’s pretty cool, in my opinion.
Does this place deserve 5 stars if I only tried two things? I think so. It was enough to get me to want to come back and try more. I don’t like eggplant but the previous two reviews make me want to try it! I’m keeping my eye on you, Life on Mars… please don’t disappoint.