“ Recently, a friend had sent a text to me with a listing of restaurants to try in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. The Licking was one of the restaurants on the list. I had no idea that DJ Khalid had opened a spot on the Chicago landscape, as The Licking is one of his restaurants. Not bad and a nice addition to Austin since it's not the usual fish hut, rib joint, or chicken shack. I arrived early enough to have the restaurant to myself. For an appetizer, I ordered the chicken roll that came with a sweet chili sauce. High marks. They didn't try to go gourmet or spectacular, just sent rolls to the table that tasted delicious. For my main meal, I ordered fried red snapper with collards and sweet potatoes. I appreciate the red snapper being meaty and having only a light crust. I used some more of the sweet chili sauce or dipping, which was a good option. The greens were flavorful and without any salt meat, ham hock, or smoked turkey. Often restaurants serve bland greens if they don't use hock or turkey. That was not the case here. The sweet potatoes were a nice add-on that they didn't mess up. Having eaten too much, I had a slice of caramel cake for takeaway. It was from someone who baked the desserts of premises. I can't ding the restaurant for the cake needing to be warmed up to moisten it, but I will pass on it next time around. The woman working the front of the house was cool. Made good recommendations and also spoke at length about some other good restaurants in the Austin area. Like many restaurants I've gone to lately, I will have to go back later to try a few other items on the menu. ”

“ Now this was yummy! I'm a south side girl, hey I try to stay far away from the Westside, but THESE WINGS were unforgettable!! I love a naked wing dipped in plenty of sauce! This was a hit! Although the restaurant reminds me of a fancy sharks w/the chandelier lol. This was some yummy and fresh chicken! ”

“ I've been to 2 of the Miami locations several times so I'm familiar with their food. The location here is new to Chicago and I've heard bad things. But I always check places out for myself! We arrived to a full parking lot on Tuesday at about 2pm. So we used Madison street parking instead of the tight lots. There are 2 sides to the facility, take out & dine in. Take out is in the front & dine in is in the back. When we walked in we were advised there's a 15min wait. Once seated we had a really nice waitress, unfortunately, I can't remember her name. We ordered baked & fried chicken dinners. Got green beans, yams, & mac. They don't have greens everyday of the week! Which is unfortunate because they never have them in Miami either! *** ROLLS EYES*** These must be some bomb ass greens! Geesh THE FOOD IS PREPARED TO ORDER THIS IS NOT A FAST FOOD MCDONALD'S RESTAURANT!!!! GET THAT THRU YOUR HEAD PPL! THIS AIN'T MAC ARTHUR'S! GO DOWN THERE IF YOU'RE HURRIED. It took about 20/25 mins for our food to come out. Everything was fresh/good! I'll definitely be back for the seafood next time. ”