Chicago may be America’s “Second City,” but its restaurants are second to none. In this gritty urban mecca of flavorful, historic neighborhoods, local chefs have carved out a niche for Chitown flavors all their own. Restaurants here offer eclectic, filling fare providing visitors and locals comfort in the winter cold, beating back the chill of lake-effect snows (and bringing a nice sweat above your lip as you feast during the hot summer months, too). Below, our top ten Chicago picks for your dining delectation.
It’s hard to beat Taxim in Wicker Park for ambiance on a summer night, especially on its rooftop terrace. The candlelight glows, the trains trundle by, there’s music with a cool vibe, and the menu provides a tasty blend of varied regional Greek cuisines. If you’re with a big group, order up several small plates — the squash fritters and the fried cauliflower are amazing, especially after olives and wild yeast bread with goat butter. Or try the excellent pork loin. If you have a question, the staff — mostly Greek themselves — will help with pronunciation and pairings. For the mains, we recommend lamb (the chops, especially), or the duck gyro. The wines are also excellent, and Taxim makes for a perfect dessert stop, too, with a small glass of Mavrodaphe or Greek coffee on the side. No reservations are taken for the rooftop patio, but wait at the bar downstairs in summer for a table to open up. In colder months, you’ll enjoy sitting under the hanging lanterns in the cavernous back area on the ground floor.
This Andersonville hot spot offers “heirloom” cuisine of the American South (they even have a bourbon society). Chef Paul Fehribach himself hails from southern Indiana, and his focus is on sustainability, blending the past with the present as his restaurant strikes a savory balance between of-the-moment local food sourcing and historic recipes. Open up with the pickle tasting and the Sally Lunn (a traditional Southern bread featuring honey butter), or try the Smothered Okra. Then go deeper with the Fat Jones Burger or Crispy Catfish a la Big Jones for entrees. Then again, there’s the Butcher’s Pork Duet of pork loin and a “boudin ball.” Big Jones has a very deep list of whiskeys, wine and drinks as well, so you’ll need the big eats to soak up the big spirits.
A downtown staple, the Berghoff serves up classic German fare in a fine old-world setting: Grab a stein of beer and Gedadschde (potato croquette) and the Wisconsin Fried Cheese Curds before you start to chow down on the Berghoff Burger (which packs a tangy kick of bourbon barbecue sauce and fried onion). Or go with the 14-ounce ribeye. The German gnocchi is a house blend of three cheeses, and you can really power up, über Deutsch-style, with Wiener Schnitzel and the Game Sausage Plate. Breads are proudly made in-house here, as are desserts (the flourless chocolate cake is a standout). The Berghoff is famous also as the first place in Chicago to obtain a liquor license post-Prohibition and, as the staff will tell you, yes … Sesame Seared Salmon Niçoise Salad is, in fact, a German dish.
951 West Fulton Market
“Primal” cooking techniques and an open (read: unavoidable) kitchen make Roister, part of the Alinea Group, a culinary experience in which you surround your chefs/servers — quite literally. There are two menus, for lunch and dinner, with a touch of notable variation: Dinner is heartily upscale, but comfort food-style, with hushpuppies or cheddar rillete on offer along with Yukon fries. You can follow these with pork butt or a shared plate, recommended for two to six, of duck or a whole chicken to really dig into (get your elbows in there for leverage). Lunch features maybe the most unexpected fried bologna sandwich you’ll ever eat, some seriously satisfying biscuits and gravy, a lighter turn with soft-boiled eggs or a crazy A-5 grade burger with special sauce that’s out of sight. And for dessert, if you’re still hungry, sate your curiosity with the Foie Gras Candy Bar.
The Andersonville location of this little eat-in spot is a perfect place to sit, work, and enjoy a hearty breakfast, lunch or dinner, whether you want to mellow out, or go in the backyard patio and go big. But then again, all the Goddesses are good. The food is healthy, and the sandwiches are especially vegetarian-friendly: Try the Goddess Wraps (the Garden or the Greek) and the Wicker Park. If you crave meat, the Smokin’ Brisket packs some tang, with BBQ sauce and housemade slaw, while the chicken schnitzel is a blend of panko chicken, caramelized onions, hot pickles and red chimichurri. Wrapped take-away dessert treats are set out on the counter, but sit and order up a Big Slice of Cake, the flour-free Chocolate Nemesis or a Gourmet Goddess Cupcake. They’re heavenly.
This Texas-style BBQ joint in West Loop is serious about barbecue. If the peeling walls, overhead Edison lights and big wooden picnic tables don’t tell you they mean business, the meats, sold by the half-pound, will. Here, it’s your choice of brisket, pastrami, pulled pork, pork ribs or pork belly. Their sandwiches, served “by the each,” are outrageously tasty too, especially the Warren Moon, a massive gut-buster of sauce-slathered brisket resting on sausage links. You can check out the Smoked Salmon Sandwich, but we recommend going big with the Bone-In Beef Short Rib, which at $25, is honestly worth every penny.
Trench, formerly Trencherman, has been revamped, offering an array of filling eats, especially for the weekend bruncher: Crabs Benedict, a Pastry Flight (a nice twist), quiche and a surprisingly awesome plate of shrimp and grits, for starters. Formerly of Longman & Eagle, head chef Jared Wentworth famously helped bring pig face to the Chicago culinary scene, and he subsequently took it with him to Trench in 2017 just after the reopening. It was deep-fried, crunchy, pastrami-tasting, Reuben-esque and no joke. The current dinner menu remains meatily vibrant, with seared quail, a “Butter Burger” (get it with the North Country Bacon), and Pork Wellington making star turns. If you’re unsure about a healthier direction to take, there are veggie options. However, just ask the staff, as they are friendly and extremely adept at offering selections, though we recommend indulging your carnivorous impulses here.
Danielle and Thai Dang, formerly of West Loop’s Embaya, opened this spot in Pilsen, which highlights clay pot Vietnamese cooking. You can learn the backstory about Embaya, but more important is the cuisine now served up at HaiSous, which brings the heat with searing sauces, and also the savory, with filling flavors, to saporous fried chicken wings and spare ribs, respectively. Goi Vit, a shredded duck salad with cabbage and scallion oil (and a lot more), is particularly filling and delicious, along with clay-pot mussels and coconut broth spiced up with chili and cut with lemongrass. It’s hard to go wrong here, as the “Drinking Things” portion of the menu shows: Items on it go well with the drinks on offer — a nicely mixed Negroni and a Salty Dog will make you eat even more.
This place is always packed, and deservedly so, as chef Jimmy Bannos Jr. (the “Prince of Pork”) and the staff do “cheese, swine and wine” like no others. So you’ll believe us when we say that you can’t go wrong here, whether you choose one of each from the cured meats, cheeses, “smears,” fried items or off-the-griddle offerings. A special nod for originality may well go to the salt and vinegar beef tendon chips and the pork neckbone with gravy ricotta. You’ll be eating communal-style at the Pig, and you’ll definitely be among after-work locals and tourists. And most likely, you’ll be back again the next day.
Talk about crowd-pleasing eats: Pecan-smoked baby back ribs and tri-tip steak with sour cream and mushrooms, in red or green sauce? Check and checkmate. Giant is still newish (its one-year anniversary was July 1, 2017), but it’s already a local stalwart with mouth-watering small plates, especially the pasta —lasagna, sortallini — a punny name — and saffron tagliatelli (with king crab and a soak of chili butter). Get one or two, or go bigger, and mix them with the Jonah Crab Salad and Waffle Fries or the fried uni for asymmetrical flavors. Chef/owner Jason Vincent is an award-winner, and cofounders Ben Lustbader and Josh Perlman also hail from previous Chitown hot spots. Giant is smallish, only seating about 50, and the décor is midcentury modern/minimalist, and very very unstuffy. It isn’t open on Sundays and reservations are recommended. Oh, and if you like Shel Silverstein, read the oversize “Me and My Giant” sign on the wall; Silverstein was a Logan Square native and the poem gave the restaurant its name.
David Podgurski has written about travel, books, fashion + entertainment for digital and print media. He’s hunted down vintage finds in crumbling attics, published poetry, worked for the New York MTA, and likes to haunt museums, cafés and shops. When he isn’t traveling or writing, he’s thinking about his next trip — and what to enjoy when he gets there.
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