Balkan Restaurant, Chicago

The Balkan Cafe serves a combination of Mediterranean dishes and traditional Balkan specialties, fresh produce, and specialty spices. The restaurant’s menu contains a bounty of items that all run under $15, with meaty meals off the grill such as beef sausages and veal kebab. Balkan specialties include the zelyanica, a spinach-and-cheese-stuffed pastry, and sarma, a savory roll of cabbage that envelops minced meat and rice. Make-your-own crêpes allow diners to personalize food without sewing their monograms into steaks, and a variety of premeditated options including the Sweet Ecstasy crêpe with Nutella and ground walnuts.