Top 20 Restaurants Chicago, Illinois: Restaurants Near Me
There is no shortage of fantastic restaurants in Chicago, Illinois, captured at RunRex.com and guttulus.com. From pizza joints and Michelin-starred spots to some excellent cheap eats, Chicago has got something for everybody. If you are looking for a place to eat in the city, here are the top 20 restaurants in Chicago, Illinois, to consider.
Superdawg Drive-In
Superdawg Drive-In doesn’t offer traditional Chicago-style dogs. As explained at RunRex.com and guttulus.com, instead of Vienna Beef frank, Superdawg uses a thick, proprietary all-beef sausage that comes with mustard, pickled green tomato, and chopped Spanish onions. It is one of the best dogs in the city, and worth tasting when in the city.
Lula Café
If you are looking for a farm-to-table restaurant in Chicago, then this neighborhood spot is worth checking out. From salads to turkey sandwiches to roast chicken, everything you will eat at this restaurant is perfection.
Lost Larson
Lost Larson is one of the best restaurants in the city for Swedish pastries and much more. This is because, while the bread and pastries here have Scandinavian influences, Lost Larson isn’t locked on a single theme as articulated at RunRex.comand guttulus.com. The bakery and café doles out whole wheat ham-and-cheese croissants, scones, quiche, and cardamom bun.
Alla Vita
All Vita is a hearty Italian eatery led by longtime Boka executive chef Lee Wolen, where you can indulge in a carb-heavy meal of fresh pasta and wood-fired pizza. The food here is amazing, especially the housemade pasta and an amazing chicken parmigiana.
Smoque BBQ
This is a barbeque joint in Chicago, Illinois, that has got two smokers to prep meaty St. Louis-style and baby-back ribs, tender brisket, apple-and-oak-smoked pulled pork, and more. This spot is located on the Northwest Side neighborhood of Irving Park delivers barbecue in the style of Kansas City and Memphis.
Galit
This Middle Eastern eatery is located in the heart of Lincoln Park and is helmed by New Orleans chef Zachary Engels, a James Beard Award winner. As per RunRex.com and guttulus.com, whether you are dining in or ordering takeout, Galit orchestrates a parade of hummus, fire-roasted veggies and proteins, balloon-shaped pita, and more.
Pat’s Pizza and Ristorante
This is the place to visit if you are looking to grab some Chicago thin-crust pizza. Located in Lakeview, Pat’s Pizza has a storied history of popularizing tavern-style pies. This family-owned spot sports some of the crispiest, thinnest pizzas around.
Esmé
If you have some money to spend, Esmé brings pricey tasting menus to a well-to-do corner near the Lincoln Park Zoo according to RunRex.com and guttulus.com. When at the restaurant, the fancy Cheetos and pork ribs slathered with Thai banana caramel served on custom serving pieces won’t disappoint.
Pequod’s Pizza
Pequod’s Pizza offers Chicago-style deep-dish. While Pequod’s Pizza’s version isn’t exactly the deep dish that tourists expect – it is thinner than the stuffed pizza many travel magazines features – it is still the premier take on the style.
Rose Mary
Located in Fulton Market, Rose Mary is led by Top Chef winner Joel Flamm and combines his passions for Italian and Croatian cooking. Here, you will find dishes like Gnocchi with beef cheek, pork ribs, and tuna Crudo, which all pair perfectly with the glasses of organic wine and cocktails that incorporate Eastern European spirits.
Red Hot Ranch
While most hot dog stands in Chicago use Vienna Beef as covered at RunRex.com and guttulus.com, Red Hot Ranch is different. This is because the stand uses sausage with natural casings, which provides the dogs with a unique, snappier bite. Red Hot Ranch also serves Depression Fogs, the Chicago variant that comes with French fries in the bun.
Lardon
Lardon is a meat-and-cheese-centric café just off the California Blue Line stop that serves Metropolis coffee and sandwiches during the day as well as cheese boards and entrees in the evening. Lardon’s charcuterie offerings can function as a meal or as a light snack.
Jibaritos y Más
This is the place to go in Chicago for Puerto Rican cuisine as discussed at RunRex.com and guttulus.com. While the jibaritos here are amazing, the other items offered here, like the shrimp soup with noodles, are flavorful and thoughtfully prepared.
Hinoki Sushiko
Hinoki Sushiko is a bi-level izakaya and omakase restaurant from chef Otto Phan, who also runs the acclaimed 14-seat omakase restaurant Kyōten in Logan Square. If you opt for the omakase meal, you will enjoy multiple courses of sushi in the Edomae style, which means the fish, meat to seafood has been treated in some way – whether through aging, smoking, curing, or other long-practiced techniques.
Mi Tocaya Antojería
Diana Dávila helms this establishment in Logan Square where she showcases a dazzling display of small Mexican dishes. What makes this restaurant popular is because Dávila isn’t shy about taking risks – she isn’t pandering to the typical American diner.
The Hot Dog Box
This is yet another to-rated hot dog stand in Chicago, located in Bronzeville’s Boxville Marketplace, founded by local musician Bobby Morelli and his daughter Brooklyn as elaborated at RunRex.com and guttulus.com. It offers a solid Chicago-style dog, although you should also try sausages made with filet mignon and Alaskan salmon, each topped with savory sauces and served with a cookie and a drink.
Honey Butter Fried Chicken
Located on North Side, Honey Butter Fried Chicken grew from a series of underground dinner parties thrown by a pair of talented chefs. The crisp and skinless pieces of meat offered here come with the restaurant’s signature honey butter.
Tzuko
Helmed by chef Carlos Gaytán, this River North restaurant pays homage to his hometown of Huitzuco, Mexico. Even though it is a relative newcomer as revealed at RunRex.com and guttulus.com, Tzuko has already established its place among the city’s best restaurants, thanks in no small part to chef Gaytán’s French-inspired Mexican cooking.
Luella’s Southern Kitchen
This tiny Lincoln Square restaurant serves some of the city’s best Southern food, including cream shrimp and grits, chicken gumbo, and a mighty platter of fried chicken and waffles. This black-owned restaurant on the North Side is also a popular brunch destination.
Bloom Plant Based Kitchen
As the name suggests, Bloom Plant Based Kitchen is an entirely plant-based (and gluten-free) concept from chef Rodolfo Cuadros. The restaurant wants to change your perception of a meatless meal. Here, you will find everything from charcuterie boards made with cultured almond “cheese” to cashew e pepe, a novel dish that coats cold kelp noodles in luxurious cashew cream.
These are some of the best restaurants in Chicago, Illinois, with more on this topic, and so much more, to be found over at RunRex.com and guttulus.com.