DINING FEATURE A Chicago Bite Encino Park-area eatery serves Chicago-style dishes P ossessing a Ph.D. in education, Krystal Cross began 2021 as an assistant BY EDMOND ORTIZ
Cross pitched the restaurant idea to her brother Chris Irving, but it was her cousin Johnathan Chatman, who lives in Houston, who came to visit and became her business partner. “In that time, we had the bank account, the [employer identi cation number and] a business license; [we] found a location, and we were signing a lease, all in four days,” she said. Cross said she spent another four months out tting the physical location inside a small retail strip o Evans Road. “It’s been a whirlwind; it turned my life upside-down quickly,” Cross said. The menu at A Chicago Bite features jumbo wings, Italian beef sandwiches, Chicago dogs, Vienna Beef Polish sausages, gyros, cheeseburgers, fried cat sh, chicken, sh and pizza pu s. Patrons may partake in a soul food special on Sundays. Last July, Cross and her family— many of whom pitch in at the eatery— celebrated one year in business. Cross said she is blown away by the community’s response— especially those who have never eaten Chicago- style food. “That’s one of the things that sets apart A Chicago Bite from other places. Here, you get a bite of Chicago [cuisine], but you get authentic, homemade food,” Cross said. also enjoy sh fry Fridays or
principal at public charter school Jubilee Academy San Antonio. Now, she spends each day fully focused on running her rst restaurant, A Chicago Bite, which she opened in July 2021. The eatery o ers Chicago-style food in north central San Antonio. Cross said she and her son, James Cross, moved from Chicago to San Antonio six years ago after her son decided a change in scenery would bene t them. They love San Antonio and its diversity, she said. “It’s like a big melting pot; everybody kind of meshes in,” Cross said. One day her son suggested she open a restaurant so he could have more chances to enjoy her fried chicken, she said. Cross said she typically tops fried chicken with Chicago Mild Sauce, a condi- ment popular in the southern and western parts of Chicago often used on fried chicken, ribs and hot links. It combines barbecue sauce, ketchup, hot sauce and mild spices, she said. “I put some [Chicago Mild Sauce] on some chicken one time and posted a picture of that just because it was my dinner for the night. Everybody who saw it said, ‘Oh my God, that looks so good, you should open a restaurant,’” Cross said.
The menu includes the Chicago dog ($6.50) with onions, mustard and relish.
EDMOND ORTIZ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Soul food Sunday specials at A Chicago Bite o er the option of wings or cat sh with two sides ($12.50-$20).
Krystal Cross, a native Chicagoan, is co- owner of A Chicago Bite, which o ers a variety of Chicago-style foods.
COURTESY A CHICAGO BITE
EDMOND ORTIZ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
WHAT DEFINES CHICAGO STYLE CUISINE? Owner Krystal Cross said Chicago-style foods—often messy but delicious—are known as such because of the ways they are prepared and topped.
“HERE, YOU GET A BITE OF CHICAGO CUISINE , BUT YOU GET AUTHENTIC, HOMEMADE FOOD.” KRYSTAL CROSS, CO OWNER
Italian beef
This sausage dish ($8.50) is grilled Vienna beef topped with yellow mustard, grilled onions and, sometimes, a pickled spicy pepper. Beef Polish
Chicago dog
An open-face roast beef sandwich ($14) is dipped in its own juices, or au jus.
Vienna beef ($6.50) in a sesame seed bun has relish, onions, mustard, pickled peppers, tomatoes, celery salt, and pickles on top.
ENCINO COMMONS
A Chicago Bite 2339 E. Evans Road, Ste. 106, San Antonio 210-481-4200 www.achicagobite.com Hours: Tue.-Sun. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Mon. closed
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NORTH SAN ANTONIO EDITION • SEPTEMBER 2022
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