We planned a four day eating adventure in Chicago for September 25th-28th. We have reservations for Moto Moto and Alinea Alinea already but we need help figuring out what other stops to make. As if just for us, Serious Eats just did a post about places to go in Chicago. We need help narrowing it down though. Perhaps you know a best kept secret that they didn’t mention? Please tell us!! We’re interested in anything, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, bakeries, butchers, gourmet shops, dives, trucks, fancy, whatever!
Thanks in advance!
Filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Try Phoenix for dim sum and Joy Yee’s for noodles. Also, Bob Chinn’s for crab.
Webster’s Wine Bar on 1480 West Webster Avenue is awesome – they have the biggest wine list in the city and some great tapas offerings meant to go with the vino. Plus these people know what they’re talking about – the entire waitstaff go to Europe every year on educational trips.
The Serious Eats recs are pretty good. Many are the same as ones I’d suggest, here are some more thoughts…
Phoenix is one of the best dim sum places in Chicago. Unfortunately, Chicago is not known for their dim sum so that’s not saying much. It tends to be a bit greasy.
Joy Yee’s noodles are only so-so, but that’s definitely the place to go for real fruit freezes with boba. Original in Chinatown is best though branches are open at UIC, Evanston and Naperville.
Definitely check out Bob Chinn’s in Wheeling for Seafood, they’re one of the top 10 revenue restaurants in the country and fly in $30k of fresh fish every day. Their downtown location is not as good.
For main stream deep dish pizza, Lou Malnati’s has beaten out Giordano’s, Gino’s and Uno’s in readers choice for several years.
For ice cream, check out Village Creamery in Niles (near Super H Mart big Korean market) which is owned by Philippinos and serves flavors like Buko-Pandan, Jack Fruit, Durian, Queso and Corn flavors. For real cultured frozen yogurt, check out Berry Chill downtown.
For Chicago hot dogs, an excellent choice is Hot Doug’s Sausage Emporium. However, it has 1-2 hour waits and closes at 4pm. For quicker service and more classic every day feeling, you can get a Maxwell Street Polish sausage near UIC.
Italian Beef is a good choice, some people like Al’s b/c of their strong anise flavor. The original is also near UIC campus. Consider getting a dipped italian beef in which they dip the entire sandwich in the jus.
Portillo’s is a decent chain that has Italian beef and Maxwell polishes and other similar foods, but they’ve gone down a bit in quality as they’ve expanded.
Across from Al’s by UIC is some of the best Italian Ice around, though they call it Italian Lemonade since all flavors are lemon based and contain whole slices of lemon. Johnnie’s is excellent for fresh fruit italian ices but it’s far, at the Arlington Heights exit on 90 (near where I live). The small is too small and the large is too large. You could potentially stop there on the way to Bob Chinn’s.
The American take on Gyros supposedly came from Chicago as did Flaming Saganiki cheese so you may want to check out Greek Town on Halsted near UIC.
Another local invention with a Puerto Rican nod is the Jibarito at Borinquen’s. It’s a steak sandwich but instead of bread, it uses fried plantains (similar to un-smashed tostones). A bit greasy but tasty.
BTW, definitely go to Alinea. Achatz’s tongue cancer is in remission but there’s an unspoken fear that one day, Alinea will be no more.
Will post more if any stand out ideas come to mind. If you want, you can attempt to sort through my blogs for other recs but i haven’t been too consistent about it… i really need to implement tags and categories some time too… http://www.filtsai.com
Oh, for fine dining seafood, check out L2O, they recently opened and they actually have a blog from their chef. My review here: http://www.filtsai.com/blargh_comments.php?blarghId=1943
Some of the best Italian you'll find in Chicago is in the near suburbs of Berwyn and Cicero. Unfortunately my favorite butcher (D'Andrea's) isn't reopening until October (they have these really flavorful Italian sausages with huge fennel seeds in the meat…so good) but Freddy's Pizza & Geleteria (www.freddyspizza.com) has the best deli food ever. I know most people go to Chicago and eat deep dish pizza, but I don't really care for it. And I really don't care for the tourist traps like Pizza Uno and Giordano's. Falco's Pizzeria however has a number of locations around the Chicagoland area, but don't go to the downtown pizza parlor. The best (and the original) is in Cicero (http://falcospizzeria.com/location.asp). Falco's sausage pizza uses some of the best sausage on their pies. And of course, if you like Italian beef, go to Portillo's for a "dipped Italian beef with mozz and sweet peppers" (http://www.portillos.com/portillos/). And for good mussels and pasta, go to one of the many fantastic Capri Restaurants in the area.
Say hello to my city for me!
I was just in Chicago for a couple of days last month. You’re going to have a blast!
I really really recommend Giordano’s deep dish pizza. I’ve had quite a few others, but this one I really loved.
I also recommend going to Greek town. I can’t for the life of me remember the name, but it starts with a “men”. Great authentic Greek food and a really good price.
Hey everyone,
Thanks so much for all the great recommendations. We will try hard to go to as many as possible!
wow! looks like you already got some intense eating spots advised from some serious chicago foodies! when you get back, I’d love to hear your take on momofuku+ssam bar+purefoodandwine!
have a fantastic time!
I just noticed this in the comments, but OH YEAH! Bob Chinn’s is totally worth it!
I am soooo jealous. I have wanted to go…and never have. Enjoy!!!
If it helps narrow down, Lon, Stephen & I ate at Giordano's a few years ago. I love it and would go back but if you're out of time and only want to try to new places.
I can't believe Lon's not pushing for Wiener's Circle!
Fil's post has me ready to hop on a plane with you!
Thanks everyone!! We need some breakfast spot, anyone?
I would second Louis Milnati’s pizza.
My grandpa’s noodle company is called Wah King Noodle Co. They sell it in Asian grocery stores so if you pass by one, I’d recommend picking some up, but they would add quite a bit of weight to your luggage, lol.
Oooh… breakfast…
Sorry to spam your comments, but I gotta show some gratuity for your Mediterranean suggestions (9 days til my vacation!)
Walker Bros. Original Pancake House is good. There are several locations with slightly different names. I like their potato pancakes which are made with mashed instead of hashed/shredded. I like their buttermilk pancakes though whole grain and others are good too. Or try an apple pancake, about 1.5 pounds. Even my smack-talking high metabolism friend couldn’t finish it.
Lucky Platter in Evanston has tasty pancakes, and the best Eggs Benedict value I’ve seen. It’s the first time an excellent Eggs Benedict actually filled me up. That didn’t stop me from trying their blintzes too though, which were good, though a tad sweet.
Thanks Caroline. I’ll see if we can stop at some Asian markets.
Filbert, Walker Bros is on our agenda! We really appreciate your comments! REALLY! It’s been uber helpful.
Have a great time on your vacation!
I went to Chicago for New Year’s last year for the first time.
Greek Islands in Greek town was delicious and surprisingly cheap. Giordano’s may be a chain but it was crazy good – we had it twice the week we visited (they delivered to our hotel room when we were struck by a sudden craving!). It’s the amazing flaky crust! I wish I had an opportunity to try Gino’s (East) pizza, it was recommended to me several times. I liked Twin Anchors for the neighborhoody vibe, beer and ribs, a worthwhile trek. Hema’s Kitchen served us amazing Indian food, with a very memorable raita which I’ve never tasted the match of (the place is BYOB, but neighboring shops sell Indian beers). Almost by accident I had a very good meal at Bistro 110 as well. Don’t forget the origianl Billy Goat Tavern (beneath the street at 430 N Michigan Ave). A tourist trap to be sure, but mighty fine old-fashioned burgers of the cheeseborger! cheeseborger! skit fame.
Thanks Eva, I’m going to try to go to Giordano’s and Gino’s East to do a comparison but we’ll have to see how much time we have.