Like a Kandinsky gone awry, kosher restaurant Slice of Life takes an abstract motif and inverts it into a peaceful design that's sure to keep first-time patrons busy staring at it for hours. Located just west of Skokie's busy Dempster Street, Slice of Life doubles as one of Chicagoland's premier dairy restaurants and Kosher banquet halls. Tables and booths are placed tactfully around a large meeting room frequently rented for large-scale family or business functions. Wide, wrap-around windows keep the dining hall bright and cheery and help keep the Slice as alive as its frequently vociferous crowd.

The Slice of Life specializes in vegetarian dishes and serves excellent seitan, or soy meat dishes. Particular standouts are the atypically mild soy sandwiches, which are both tender and delicious. Most are served in a special BBQ or Asian dressing, though one came in a delightful balsamic reduction that truly brought out the robust colors of the faux-meat. Slice of Life also offers pizzas and pastas with a particular standout being the sharp macaroni and cheese, dolled out in huge, smoky servings. Fish, particularly the lightly glazed salmon, make nice alternatives to the soy-based fare.

Attached to Slice of Life lurks its lavishly polar opposite: the meat-only, Hy Life Bistro. The Bistro serves an array of steaks, chops and chicken dishes. It's slightly smaller than Slice, but on a weeknight it's just as crowded.

Average cost: <$10

Centerstage Reviewer: Adam White