Sabor Express

It’s easy to see why Sabor Express is closed. Their food wasn’t that good, the portions were too small, and most of the things on their menu were overpriced. I went to Sabor Express once and that was enough.

We drive by all the time and keep saying we need to stop in — given our love of Brazilian steakhouses, I couldn’t believe we hadn’t tried it sooner.
First visit Thanksgiving Eve. It was about 6pm and there were only a handful of other people in the restaurant. We were looking for a quick dinner and Sabor Express delivered it quickly without compromise to the food.
Walk-​up counter service. Variety of Mexican food on the menu too, which worked perfectly for our kids who love tacos. We ordered the 2-​skewer plate of Picanha, steak/​chicken tacos, the Picanha sandwich w/​egg and sweet potato fries all around. Everything was really good, but that Picanha was outstanding. Medium rare, tender, and flavorful. It was good in the sandwich, but the skewer was awesome. Plated on grilled pineapple with black beans (option of black or pinto), and a scoop of white rice. The picanha skewer is going to be a staple on our order whenever we stop in from now on. We love sweet potato fries and the fries here were perfect. Not too thick and not to thin, and crisp in the right spots (ends).
Service was terrific — while we initially headed to one section of the restaurant, they were apologetic in asking us to stay in the central dining area since they were closing up that one section. They made sure to check in on us throughout the meal.
I also like the restaurant itself… warm, inviting interior, brick and granite counters, flatscreen monitors with menu items, comfy tables/​chairs.
Glad we stopped in — it was a good start to our Thanksgiving feasting last week.

Yummy

Nice people, but they could not get it straight.
Just based on my first experience I would not go again, at least any time soon.
It was highly recommended, however, when we went it was told that it was under new management.
They were fairly young people working there, maybe the daughters of the new owner.
Anyway they got both orders wrong,. two times.
The food was bland.

This place is way to expensive for the quality of food and the cafeteria style of ordering & picking up your own food.

First time here for a quick bite before a movie
Tried the kabobs. chicken, steak, and shrimp with black beans, rice and plantains
all was fast and yummy. I will definitely be back to try more

I think that I am heartbroken indeed.
They’ve folded to the ways of the wicked. Co Workers and I decided that we wanted Brazilian and what other place that is near us at work but Sabor. Oh wow were we in for a shock! They have now converted to ½ Brazilian and ½ Mexican! NO WAY!
Can’t say that I am a big fan now, hence the lower rating. I asked for the Feijoada (Black Bean Stew that I sooooo loved) and I was given a «sorry, now only served on weekends». «Whats this you peasant», I do declare.
So we ordered the guacamole. Which back in the day (a few months ago), it was served perfect! And the size was made for a few people. Now they serve it on lettuce, no garnish, no seasoning, just guacamole and lettuce, with wilted soft chips. The maneuvering at the table was hilarious as my co worker tried to balance the «guac» on to her so soft chip. This was comedy I must say. But deep down I became disenchanted with the whole idea of combining the two types of food, since Mexican food is everywhere. My co worker decided that she wanted to try their burrito, ummmm really, this isn’t what we came for! She said it was good, the size seemed right for its $ 4.75 price, but I digress.
I had the Moqueca (coconut milk, peppers, white fish and shrimp with a side of rice). It was okay. Which leads me to believe that they also downgraded the chefs. Or in this case, cooks. Can’t say I tried but of course, they seemed to lack the luster that they once had. The place was SUPER EMPTY and this was unusual for me to see. Usually at lunch you see at least 10 people.
Sorry, but if I want Mexican food, I will go down the block on 18^th street. This is the death of them as far as I can see. The food at best was mediocre and I am hoping that they can realize that ASAP. What was once a passion is now a pass. I am so disappointed indeed.
WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I am so sorry that I have to post this review, inside, a part of me does not want to let go (insert the plight of Jack in Titanic as Rose let his hand go knowing that there was enough room for two on that door)…

Having been to Sabor Express, and a big fan of their dishes — especially their chicken, rice and black beans — YUM! I was surprised when I came here to write an update, only to see that I’ve never even written a review!
SO…when I walked by there today during lunch, there was a sign taped up on the door indicating that the restaurant would be closed from Feb. 25 — March 11 for some redecorating and menu changes… hmmmm. I’m all for redecorating, but I really hope they don’t mess with those delicious chicken skewers, they were my fave!!!

Was invited to lunch by a colleague and we checked out Sabor Express. I was very impressed by this lounge-​themed eatery that seemed to cater more to the lunch-​time crowd. I love Brazilian and Argentine food as they place a huge emphasis on STEAK! This place was no different. I had a steak sandwich that came with fries and boy was the meat tender!
The place was very clean and cozy and had huge flat-​screens for you to follow whats going on around the world. On my next visit I plan on ordering the skewers! Chicken, Beef and Shrimp!

I do not have much experience with Brazilian food but I was a little disappointed with this place. I was excited to try something new and unique but was disappointed to see they had four different types of «rio style» hotdogs.
I obviously skipped over these and went for their pasteis which seemed to be like empanadas which I’ve had before. They were smaller than expected and were a little greasy. Their menu also needs to be updated since their veggie and hearts of palm are the exact same thing even though one is 40 cents cheaper (they of course charge you for the more expensive one).
I do want to go back and try their sandwich or something else Brazilian that I have never had before and hopefully it will excite my taste buds enough to come back here and add a star or two to this review.

This was my first experience with Brazilian food! It was pretty good.
I got to try half of the pork sandwich and the steak sandwich. Both were very flavorful, but the food I was eating was a bit cold (we got take out) so maybe this would have been a 5-​star review if it had been hot and fresh!
The fries were yummy, but my only complaint was that the meat was a little bit tough. I hope I get to go back and try some other dishes!

They got my order partially wrong. I ordered a chicken pastel and chicken skewer (w/​black beans & rice) and received a chicken coxinha and chicken skewer instead. No big deal to me because the coxinha (shredded chicken in a tear-​drop shaped fried pastry) was something I was interested in trying anyway. It was okay, but now I really want to try that chicken pastel. The skewers were okay too.
The hubby is pretty hung up on their picanha sandwich, the fried egg makes this sandwich IMHO. They make good sweet potato fries too.

My first time trying any sort of Brazilian food! I can’t speak for authenticity, but it sure was delicious!
FOOD: The picanha sandwich that comes with fries is the best deal! Tender marinated juicy pieces of steak sandwiched in soft bread… wow delicious! Fries were fries but the sandwich… I want another one! The flavors are rich and flavorful… I loved it.
SERVICE: They have a Noodles and Company sort of system where you order… given a number and you seat yourself. Simple. Not all that fast on service especially when I went on a seemingly slow day but we didn’t have to wait too long either. Maybe I was just hungry?
Atmosphere: spacious, lots of natural light, and CLEAN! I like that you can see into the kitchen and I liked what I saw… very tidy and shiny!

The picanha sandwich with sweet potato fries is probably the best I’ve tasted! And it’s definitely a steal for about $ 9. :) The steak is always cooked perfectly and sandwiches always taste better with a fried egg on top! And the bread, is so soft and complements the proteins and veggies perfectly. I love having mango in addition to the egg as well for an extra sweet kick!
Only downside is that service can be quite slow.

We went in on a random Monday night, it was empty, just like the plans for our night. So, the bf and i decided to Unilocal something different, and we stumbled upon Sabor Express. I wasn’t too hungry, so i decided to grab something small.
We started off with the pasteis– one chicken and one beef. It looks like an empanada and tastes like one too. Unfortunately it was too disappointing. The chicken was bland and so was the beef mixture. It was edible, but definitely not that interesting.
I got shrimp skewers which were grilled really well. They were spiced really well too– just the right amount of rub, garlic and lemon. The shrimp were really weasly little rats. but they were good. The bf got the brazillian sausage. The sausage was prety good, but the beans and rice were mediocre.
The entire experience was pretty okay. The cashier/​server was very very helpful, explained practically everything to us on the menu and even showed me a few ingredients that was curious about. Our bill total came to 22 $. If we had it our way, the food was not really worth it, but if we are hungry and the area, and Unilocal cant find us anything else open on a random monday night, we may be here.

New Year’s Eve and I am too lazy to do anything in my own kitchen except get water from the refrigerator. So I am in my car heading to Taylor Street for some Brazilian food. Sabor Express. Hello, how have you been?
Last time I was at Sabor Express was during the summer. It was the feijoada that drew me back, but it was the moqueca de peixa that I bought. Oh was I happy. Oh was I well-​fed. Oh was this a perfect way to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
Now I am missing São Paulo in a major way.

IN LOVE!
YESSSSS…
Finally, I found my place! I was craving brazilian food so much for the last week, I finally had my taste buds happy and satisfied.
We went there tonight, I only have good things to talk about this place. Clean, organized, nice staff, they had Diet Guarana (which is suuuuper — i love the Guarana Antartica, but there’s too much sugar in it…)
I ordered Moqueca and Jeremy ordered the Trio… The food is considerably cheap and DELICIOUS. Oh my! Take a look at the pics I’m posting with this review.
Love, love, love the place so much — maybe I am just in ecstasy because it’s been a really long time I had brazilian food, but seriously this place is a MUST to try. Simple, light weight food, portions are just the right size… YUMI!
I will be back for more!
On a side note, they could make the Pastel a little bigger. It is common in Brazil to have lots of filling inside a pastel, and I was expecting that, especially for my heart of palm pastel (my favorite). The pastels are cheap at this restaurant, but they are also small. Another thing is about the acai. Visually it is beautiful, but it is too watery and doesn’t taste like the ones I was used to get when I was back home (Sao Paulo) … It has not enough consistency, it seems like ice flavored Acai. Just an fyi… we need a more rich and creamy acai. Please, please, please!
But my tummy is happy and says thank you very much ! The Moqueca was DIVINE! :D

So after my co-​worker told me about this place i decided to check it out…
Since i’m brazilian my bar is set way higher than the average american customer, but i have to say that sabor managed to WOW me!
The place itself is quite small, but it’s welcoming, modern and organized.
The Food:
For starters we had coxinha, the ham and cheese pastel and the heart of palm pastel… oh how i missed those, believe me, no empanada will ever get close to the absolute yummyness of the brazilian pastel!
Then i had the Sao Paulo Mortadela Sandwich… that kind of sandwich is kinda of a landmark from my city, and once again the guys at sabor didn’t let me down… that thing was YUMMY! My girlfriend and roommate had the picanha sandwich, and considering how quick it disappeared from their plates i might say that it was really good.
My roommie’s girl had the moqueca, a typical brazilian dish… and she loved it!
For deserts we had the brazilian flan (a little bit more sugar would make it perfect!!) and the passion fruit mousse…
I think the only bad thing about this place is the location, we could use one closer to my place… let’s say around the lakeview /​uptown area. It took me more than 1h on CTA to get there, but i can’t wait to go there again!

Sabor Express’ teething stages are over, and they’ve begun to settle into their locale and menu!
Their picanha sandwich with mango is awesome, as is their passion fruit torte. mmm…
The pasteis are good, but stay away from the «heart of palm». Adventurous diners may lean towards ordering this appetizer, but be warned, it’s kinda tasteless and bland. Instead opt for one of their tastier options.
On another note, Sabor Express must be good, as it’s frequented by tons of Chicago po-​po (policemen and policewomen). there were packs of police the last time I was there!

We live a block away from this place, so we figured we’d give it a shot. The inside was done up nice – menus were on LCD screens. The place was clean, and there were a couple of other tables occupied with people eating and drinking wine.
My bf ordered the garlic steak picanha (which he said was good, yet very greasy), and an order of the chicken pasteis, which were bland.
I was super disappointed that this place was not vegetarian friendly AT ALL. I ordered the mozzarella pasteis (super bland, and the mozzarella tasted nothing out of the ordinary), the «brazilian» rice – which was just plain jasmin rice w/​what seemed like butter in it — which was super undercooked and hard (how can they serve hard rice and think it’s ok?), and also a side ‘brazilian’ salad (which was just bagged iceberg salad w/​some cut up tomatoes). Let me note on here that the salad was dead and brown. They also didn’t give me dressing. When the server brought the food to our table I asked for it and she was not sure what dressing (if any) that they had. She brought me a small plastic container of Italian (which tasted like a bottled store brand). Overall, this experience was bad. We left here disappointed and won’t be coming back anytime soon. The only good thing about this place was the people who worked there were very friendly and there were free pop refills.