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Picky eaters feel at home at I Dream of Falafel, where they can choose from vegan, gluten-free, low-fat, low-carb and high-protein options.

The route Middle Eastern cuisine took to enter the American mainstream, it turned out, went straight to Chipotle Way. In downtown Chicago alone, there are more than a dozen places where you can order shawarmas and doner kebabs via the point-and-serve fast-food model. This wasn’t the case a decade ago.

LAKEVIEW — Local foodies with fantasies of falafel can wake up: Chicago-based I Dream of Falafel is opening its fifth restaurant by the end of this year in Lakeview.

Bite Me: Food That Looks Good Enough to Eat

Forbes’ recently published a list of “10 great restaurants you haven’t heard of – yet,” which included mostly fast casual brands.

The Loop Lunch Club’s second tour held its final meeting this past Wednesday at I Dream of Falafel at 117 W Monroe. I was a few minutes late, but seeing as Marilyn was invariably late I can rest assured knowing my fellow LLCers aren’t the only people to have waited on Monroe.

Welcome to the 2012 edition of the FastCasual.com Top 100 Movers & Shakers, sponsored by Henny Penny!

Just as fast casuals change recipes from time to time, so do publishers. This year—our 7th of publishing the Fast Casual Top 100—we decided, as did many of our brands last year, to add some new flavors to our mix. In the past, the Top 100 focused exclusively on concepts. For this edition, our rankings include not only the top brands, but also the people, trends and technologies that contributed most to fast casual.

With the influx of alternative eating (gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, etc.) over the years, all kinds of ethnic-based restaurants and American dining services have been gradually adapting their menus to cater to their clientele’s demand. The palette of gluten-free options for fast food and dine-in establishments is now more colorful than ever.

Some restaurant owners have been busy during the downturn. Not just cooking, either — they’ve been filing their papers to become franchisors. Now, investors looking to own a franchise of a hot new concept can get in on the ground floor with some interesting small chains that are just starting their bid to become national brands.

If you’re in the mood for Mediterranean food for lunch that doesn’t cost an arm, a leg, or a kidney, I Dream of Falafel will fill that fried-chickpea-hole in your heart. And if you’re not in the mood for chickpeas, they have lots of meat too. Their name is a not-so-subtle throwback to the TV show I Dream of Jeannie, and yes, I actually looked that up to make sure I wasn’t making that up.