Regina's Kitchen

I'm always up to trying out new places, especially if I've heard rave reviews from friends and co-workers. Regina's Kitchen have had it's fair share.  Located on Government Blvd near the Loop, Regina's is really popular with the 9 to 5 crowd.  I thought by hitting up the place on a Saturday there would be less of wait.  Boy, was I wrong but the food was worth it.

1/4 Muffaleta and pasta salad

Regina's first got on my radar while I was searching for a good muffaleta.  It can be quite hard to find anything outside of New Orleans that compare.  Regina's muffaleta is quite simply delicious, but not quite authentic.  First, I want to say I only ordered the quarter muffaleta with a side of pasta salad.  It was only about $5 and was plenty to fill an average appetite.  The bread is layered first with ham, homemade olive salad, salami and then provolone and swiss cheese.  It was a very flavorful sandwich.  The olive salad was not too salty and did not overwhelm the flavors of the ham and salami.  My only critcisim is that the sandwich was steamed and not toasted.  I would have loved the crunchy texture of toasted bread.  Right now, Regina's is where I would go if I wanted a muffaleta and could not wait to go to New Orleans.

The Loop $7.75

Is it me or every sandwich shop has their own "special" chicken salad recipe? And Regina's is no different.  My brother ordered The Loop, which consist of chicken, bacon, tomato, and lettuce on a croissant.  I have to admit I was very surprised by the amount of chicken salad on this sucker.  There were mounds of it.  I had a bite and was intrigued by the sweetness of the salad.  I didn't see the usual raisins or grapes so I wonder where that sweetness came from.  There wasn't a lot of bacon on the sandwich but what there was packed quite a punch.  It added a hint of saltiness to balance out the sweet.  Plus, everything just taste better with bacon.

Shrimp Salad (single serving) $4.95

Regina's shrimp salad was the talk of many a reviews on their Facebook page so I just had to try it out.  I ordered the single serving for about $5.  I thought the size was very decent for the price.  I saw many people order the same thing and was quite satisfied with their meal.  I found the shrimp salad very simple  I was looking for a little more flavor.  Some dill would have been nice.  If I were to guess the recipe I would say mayo, finely chopped celery, maybe grated onion, shrimp and salt and pepper to taste.  There's nothing there that really wows me.  The shrimp are a nice size and tasted very fresh.

Mud Pie $2.50

To top off our meal, my brother and I decided to try out the mud pie.   The best way I can describe it is a layer of fudge brownie, topped with marshmallow fluff, then a chocolate icing.  This thing is sweeet.. with a capital S.  I had about two bites and declared it was enough.  My brother is a bit of a sweets fiend so he finished off the rest.  All in all, we agreed it was one of the better meals we've had out.

Regina's is a counter service restaurant.  You place your order at one end and then go get your food when it's ready at the other.  It took quite a while for Regina's to prepare our food; about 25 to 30 minutes or so.  We passed the time by reading some interesting books that was part of the decor.  The decor is really a hodge podge of artwork and what seems like storage.  There are three hutches packed with sodas and in one case wine.  The walls are covered from everything for paintings to pictures.  Regina's is really a small place and it looks like there was an explosion of color there.  One thing I don't like is how loud it can get in here.  It was a bit crowded on this day and it seems voices just reverberate.  It works when the employees are calling out your name so you can get your order but not so much if you're trying to have a conversation.  My brother and I actually opted to grab our food and sit outside to escape how loud it is.  I think it's a bit cramped at Regina's for families but I saw quite a few this day.  There are a few tables you can push together but I didn't see any highchairs or boosters available.  I could be overlooking it though because it was packed this day.