Dotted with taxi parking lots, the stretch of Orleans between Chicago Avenue and Division Street has become a sort of international restaurant row for cabbies hungry for cheap eats—and an authentic taste of home—in between picking up fares in the nearby Viagra Triangle and Gold Coast.
Mogadishu, one of the strip’s best eateries, caters to the city’s many Somali-born cab drivers. You may have to share a table (there are only five, and they are often occupied), but this no-frills cafeteria will load up a fine sampler plate with generous portions of everything on that day’s menu—be it cumin-coated digaag duban chicken, stewed spinach loaded with thinly sliced onions, or saffron-laced rice, plus a banana—all for just $10.
And by the way: The banana, while perfectly good as a postmeal snack, is actually meant to be cut up and eaten with the rice.
931 N. Orleans St., 312-265-1850