Karson’s Restaurant & Pancake House

I’d have recommended Karson’s in a minute.
Sadly, they are now closed with plans for another type of eatery/​sports bar place to go in its place.

My dad has been a 35-​year Evergreen Park resident whose fav local food joint is Karson’s. I’m kind of shocked at the low review stars. No matter, here’s my point-​of-​view: Karson’s serves very typical local restaurant food with what I think is pretty decent, local restaurant-​level of service. Look, it’s not the Four Seasons. You go there to get a quick, simple chicken dish or a large omelet at a reasonable price. For that reasonable price, you get servers who are local and work hard (most of the time) and Nick, the owner, is a real solid family guy. Plus, you get to support the local, little guy.
While I’m a little biased from my dad being a regular there, I can still stake my Unilocalutation and recommend Karson’s as a good choice if you’re in Evergreen Park. I like the veal cutlet and cream of chicken soup the best.

Ended up here when the place we originally wanted to go to was closed.
Waitress was nice and that’s about all that was really good with this place.
My guy had the Karson Omelette… it was massive. He ate it, but said it wasn’t all that.
I opted for the turkey BLT club and cream of chicken soup. The soup was thick and had that gummy taste too it, like too much corn starch. The sandwich came with curly fries, but they were eh. The sandwich tasted liked cheap quality mayo and turkey. Yuck!
I also thought the prices were a bit high, but after tasting the food it IS high for the quality you get. I would not come back here!

Consistent. Great Staff. Mouth-​watering breakfast options served all day.
They always accomodate me when I want to make my meal choices vegetarian: (anyone else substitute corned beef with eggs on their reubens?)
If I need a place to fill up that’s always friendly and affordable Karson’s is the spot.

I’ve been to Karson’s maybe three times in the last 3 years, twice recently.
Recently my wife and son went for breakfast one Sunday. The place was relatively empty so we were seated immediately, the waitress was prompt and friendly, but the food was awful. My son’s blintzes were cold my over easy eggs were over cooked and my hash browns under cooked, my wife’s omelet was okay. We were heading for our favorite breakfast spot but Karson’s is just a few blocks from the house and looked empty so we went there instead. Both my wife and I agree that was the last time.

Karson’s has really gone downhill! This had long been a pretty safe bet for a family restaurant, and it meets my parents’ criteria (they’re in their 80s): dinners come with soup AND salad, the prices are low, there’s no obnoxious (anything post 1940) music blasting in the background, it’s within 2 miles of their house, and you can get rice pudding. The last few times we ate at Karson’s though, we noticed that their quality had kind of deteriorated. The last time we went will be the last time EVER. They had gotten rid of their liquor license, which is no big deal because they don’t sell themselves as a pub… but some of our party who expected a glass of wine with dinner were disappointed, since we had selected Karson’s assuming they still served alcohol. Then, the waitress (who told us it was her last day) had the unenviable task of nickel-​and-​diming our dinner choces. Everything was an extra charge, like certain salad dressings and toppings that had always been included before. The most ridiculous was when my mom asked if she could substitute jello (remember, she’s 85) for salad… NO: she would have to pay EXTRA for the jello! She wasn’t even asking for SPECIAL jello, with pieces of fruit suspended inside! We figured that, if we had ordered what we usually order and added in all those charges, our bill would have been another $ 5 per person. The food was okay – it’s usually pretty good, but by the time we got it we felt like we had to work for it. It’s too bad, because families (and seniors, and familes of seniors) looking for a decent, affordable meal now have one less option.

If you pass on the stale, plastic-​wrapped rolls in the bread basket in favor of the sweet muffins, Karson’s is a decent choice for a diner-​style meal. My broiled trout was as expected (moist, but nothing special) and my husband’s Monte Cristo was spot-​on. Lost a star for lack of atmosphere, and another for over cooked rice, otherwise a solid three stars for service, taste and value (we would rate it just one $, not $$). We can’t comment on their peak hours, however for a mid-​day, mid-​week visit, Karson’s is worth a stop when we’re in the neighborhood – above adequate but not spectacular.