Bentorific

In a city with a Bento joint for every hipster on a fixed gear bike, its hard to stand out. This out of the way «lunch counter» does not have the bustle of Tom’s on 1^st nor the chic tell-you-friends-you’ve-been-there appeal of a food cart. The first turn off for the easily waylaid is that Bentoriffic sits in the Bally’s lobby on the corner of 2^nd and Taylor between a coffee counter and an open Chinese fast-​food spot. The lobby contains an assemblage of tables an chairs, is dimly lit, and gives the guest a unique experience of piling rice and meat onto your fork amidst the flow of the lunchtime-​workout crowd. I’m always amused at the sociological self-​awareness this inspires. And the shame.
The staff is amiable and efficient — the woman that runs the register values efficiency over socialization, as my conversations with her consist of «Buffalo, Veggie, Brown» and «Thank You». The guy that serves food is nice (FYI — speaks Spanish) and doesn’t skimp, although portions have dipped recently due to increased costs.
Veggies are steamed. Protein is plentiful, and the beef, lamb and buffalo are marinated in something fantastic. The rice is purple but delicious.
I recommend this place if you find yourself in the neighborhood, but stopping quickly to eat can prove difficult given the lack of parking.
Get the Buffalo — its pretty healthy and tastes fantastic.

This place (also known as James Bean Café, apparently) takes up the southwest corner the building the downtown Bally is in. I’ve eaten there a few times over the years and I’ve never been disappointed. Badly disappointed anyway, they don’t marinate their chicken, but it was cooked well and there was a lot of it.
They have buffalo and lamb in addition to the usual bento fare. The dude that runs it is always friendly and there’s not much of a wait outside the lunch hour.