There's a beer list a mile long, and the food is brash. Samosas with salt cod, lamb dumplings, and sweet & sour cauliflower with Szechwan peppercorns and chiles. Plus, the space itself is beautiful. Read more.
The main course is as it should be: a handsome rib eye, aged 55 days, sliced thick and settled into a slowly forming pool of its beefy juices. Read more.
The must-order entrée is a shatteringly crunchy skate-wing “schnitzel”; and the wok gets a warm welcome into the Italian kitchen, imparting toastiness to everything from chicken livers to strangozze. Read more.
You’ll want the spunky fermented cabbage with roasted pineapple, the whole chicken served with sunchoke hot sauce, and, for a worthy splurge, the absolutely transcendent uni-bathed Japanese wagyu. Read more.
An ode to Northern California, Presidio’s sleek space features a long minimalist bar with recessed and studio lighting, plus plenty of exposed brick. Read more.
Bringing vintage vibe to its bar with bright light fixtures and art deco-inspired details, The Duck Inn is great for enjoying cocktails, local beers or bar snacks. Read more.
A classic cocktail lounge and supper club easily fit for a fun night out, American restaurant Celeste features a long, silver-hued bar lined with tall, comfortable chairs. Read more.
The glossy, marble-topped bar at American eatery Lula Cafe feels modern yet rustic, complete with an approachable chalkboard menu of draft beers and extra-wide mirror. Read more.
The stylish, softly lit bar at Spanish restaurant Salero offers a wide array of creative cocktails, making it easy to sink into the industrial and rustic-chic vibe. Read more.
Located in the Langham Hotel, Travelle Kitchen + Bar offers a sophisticated setting for sipping craft cocktails, regional beers and wines while taking in the stunning river views. Read more.
With modern lighting and graphic, textile floor, The Dawson’s stylish bar is an ideal spot for taking in their handcrafted cocktails, international wines and beers. Read more.
I ALWAYS get the White with clams, jalapeños, and BACON!!! Squeeze some lemon and sprinkle red pepper flake over the entire pie and guaranteed you'll never order anything else.
Add this to the list of downtown rooftop spaces with a hip, modern terrace atop the Raffaello Hotel. The menu features a mix of seasonal cocktails along with a focus on bourbon and whiskey.
You can find amazing views of the city from this rooftop bar. The service is great and a pretty stellar atmosphere. One of my go-to's in Chicago.
Get here early, spoil yourself a little and bring back extras for your coworkers. Consider it your good deed for the day.
A Chicago institution, Margie's is worth all the hype. The house specialty--"heaven in a white clamshell dish"-- combines three scoops of ice cream, nuts, whipped cream and hot fudge. Read more.
If you have a favorite gin, they have it. Try Martin Miller's or Ransom Old Tom to start building your gin palette in style.
Absinthe happy hour from 6 - 8pm. Chase down that green fairy, just make sure you're not driving afterwards.
A brilliant cocktail list complemented with great music make this a bar worth frequenting.
Knowledgeable bar tenders making classic cocktails with care. Try their homemade draft mixers to elevate old standby's to a new level.
From a custom aquarium smoker, the father and son team pile crackly, chewy, brawny rib tips into a paperboard tub, glazed with exactly the right amount of sticky, vinegar-kissed sauce. Read more.
"The best pancake place we've ever been" according to my wife. No arguments here. Worth the hour and a half wait.
Don’t miss this icon in Chicago, where you can get served the quintessential Chicago dog by car hop in the city’s last remaining drive-in restaurant. Read more.
Sardine sandwiches floating on titanium antennae, solidified olive oil -- Alinea may well be, and I do not say this lightly, the most important restaurant in America. -- Andrew Zimmern, Bizarre Foods
Rick Bayless is a world-renowned authority on authentic Mexican cuisine. He's also a genius in the kitchen. XOCO is Rick's love letter to Mexican street food. -- Andrew Zimmern, Bizarre Foods Read more.
When it comes to Mexican food, Chicago is second to none. The proof is in this open-air market. You just don't find this at your typical Tex-Mex taco stand. -- Andrew Zimmern, Bizarre Foods Read more.
Only Chicago could convince me that the New York hot dog was not, in fact, anywhere near the apex of the hot dog arts. (The Chicago Red Hot deserves that honor). – Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations Read more.
What’s my take on the age-old argument: New York thin crust versus Chicago deep dish? Let’s just say, I’m a Brooklyn guy, but Gino's tests my loyalty. – Adam Richman, Man v. Food Read more.
On Man v Food: Chicago, Adam Richman went to Lucky's to take on their overstuffed sandwich challenge - finish 3 of their overstuffed sandwiches in an hour
Try one of the dipped beef sandwiches - they've been a Chicago staple for 70 years. As seen on Man v Food: Chicago.
This take-out bakery specializes in the "Big Dat" an enormous doughnut, measuring 9" across and 3" tall.
Popular with locals and visitors, Chicago’s Home of Chicken & Waffles serves soul food up in a stylish dining room. Read more.
Mark Blue Chicago on your map; comprising 2 clubs 2 blocks away from one another, Blue Chicago offers plenty of live music at a convenient downtown location.
Local and international legends play here, and Buddy Guy himself graces the stage of his authentic blues club, where memorabilia like B.B. King and John Lee Hooker’s guitars complete the atmosphere. Read more.
Its late hours, regular acoustic blues sets, all-night kitchen, and vibrant neighborhood full of shops, restaurants, and other entertainment recommend this club as a top blues destination. Read more.
This welcoming neighborhood hangout in Logan Square presents renowned local and national bands 5 nights a week. Read more.
Try the Full English fry up from our 100 Best list: Hands down, this British pub is putting out one of the best brunches in the city, from the ornate coffee service to made-in-house seasonal scones.
Try the mashbrown from our 100 Best list: The search for the perfect hash browns ends at Bite, where a patty of skin-on potato mash is always fried to a golden crisp.
Try the estrellados y tampiqueña from our 100 Best list: We order steak and eggs, and we challenge you to find a better, more fairly priced version than this aggressively seasoned $12 skirt steak.
Try the croque-madame from our 100 Best list: Lush has developed one of the most craveworthy menus of drinking snacks in the city, though this sandwich—ham, cheese, béchamel, egg—is no snack.
Try the chef’s selection steak from our 100 Best list: Go for the chef’s selection, they’re beautifully marbled, expertly grilled over Japanese binchotan charcoal, and the best value in the house.
Try the Autumn Scene at Next: Childhood from our 100 Best list: This stunning, intriguing, arresting, intricate, beguiling array of shoots and leaves is like a salad we want to live in.
Try the Competition St. Louis slab from our 100 Best list: These ribs take two additional hours of labor because they’re pulled out of the smoker periodically to baste. These bones are killing it.
Try the fried chicken dinner from our 100 Best list: Dinner is served only Wednesdays & Fridays, but the limited window is worth hitting for some of the best fried chicken around.
Try the Swiss chard tortelloni from our 100 Best list: These chard-stuffed pasta pockets aren’t currently on the menu. But we strongly encourage you to start a petition to bring them back.
Try the chef’s cut New York strip from our 100 Best list: The high-end chain had us woozy with its dry-ice martinis, warm butter cake, and expertly cooked and seasoned cuts of beef.
Try the carne en su jugo from our 100 Best list: Pinto beans, crispy bacon, radish rounds, avocado, raw onion and cilantro among oil droplets lining the surface of tender bits of beef in its juices.
Try the caldo gallego from our 100 Best list: With white beans, potato, spinach, ham and chorizo, it’s every bit as smoky, porky and satisfying as the restaurant’s Cubano.
Try the mozzarella sticks from our 100 Best list: You’ve got to give props to a mozzarella stick whose mozz is made in-house.
Try the fava-bean crostini from our 100 Best list: You realize why everyone wants to imitate Avec. And just how inimitable Avec is.
Try the fried onions with lemon and jalapeño from our 100 Best list: A medley that balances the sweetness of the onions with acidity (the lemon), heat (the jalapeño) and lots of flavor (both).
Try the blue-cheese-and-mushroom beignets from our 100 Best list:We went for the cocktails. We came back for these meltingly rich puffs.
Try the steak tartare from our 100 Best list: If you can find a better steak tartare anywhere in town, we’re buying.
Try the ham and cheese fondue from our 100 Best list:Take a croque-madame, increase the cheese tenfold, melt it in a crock, fold in ham, put the egg on top and use the bread on the side, for dipping.
Try the basque cake from our 100 Best list: Thankfully, this warm cake with a golden crust and soft middle is the only dessert pastry chef Amanda Rockman keeps on her menu year-round.
Try the Salted-caramel marshmallows from our 100 Best list: Katherine Duncan takes her masterful caramel and folds it into her light marshmallows sweetened with wildflower honey.
Try the frozen cucumber mousse from our 100 Best list: Executive pastry chef Bryce Caron turns a humble cucumber into this creamsicle-like dessert, which is unexpectedly rich & surprisingly refreshing
Try the pineapple upside-down cake from our 100 Best list:Sandra Holl turns a dessert most associated with the Midwest, the ’70s and canned pineapple rings into something lovely and sophisticated
Try the Ice-cream sundae from our 100 Best list: Grant Achatz + whipped cream + Oreos + gummy bears + peanuts + unreal ice cream + maraschino cherries + a carafe of chocolate sauce = believe it.
Try the Oatmeal-chocolate bread from our 100 Best list: There was nothing molecular or fancy about these thick slices of homey, chocolate-studded cake. There was, though, something special about them.
Try the chocolate bouchon from our 100 Best list: Stephanie Izard successfully incorporates foie gras as a decadent marshmallow “fluff” alongside a moist chocolate cake.
Try the gianduja gelato from our 100 Best list: Every flavor, every time, Jessie Oloroso kills it. But when her shop is out of this knee-bucklingly rich chocolate-hazelnut flavor, it nearly kills us.
Try the Sweet-potato pie from our 100 Best list: It’s the most obvious treatment of all that wins us over: straight-up sweet-potato pie, as ideal as it is simple.
Try the fruit shortcake from our 100 Best list: This sweet-as-pie biscuit-and-fruit concoction (the fruit varies with the season) is good enough to go toe-to-toe with any of the fancier takes.
Try the Chestnut doughnut from our 100 Best list: It doesn’t get any better, any fresher, any more flavorful, any airier than this.
Try the In the Rocks from our 100 Best list: It's our favorite drink at this high-concept lounge, for how it seamlessly integrates tactile pleasure (“cracking” the rock) into a beautifully made drink.
Try the michelada from our 100 Best list: We know it contains Tecate, Cholula and Valentina hot sauces, and Maggi. Oh, and we’re certain it's delicious, alleviates hangovers & might just cure cancer.
Try the El Pirata from our 100 Best list: The spiked shakes at this L.A. import are so thick, so boozy and so frickin’ delicious that even the burger-bored should get in here for these alone.
Try the Pure Black, a deep, dark, bottled cold brew from our 100 Best list!
Try the Rocket Sauce from our 100 Best list: It’s the most refreshing iced tea known to sticky summer days, boosted with ginger syrup and fresh lime juice.
Try the uni avocado toast from our 100 Best list: Chef Ryan LaRoche’s unlikely combination of briny sea urchin, smooth avocado, Mangalica ham and bright capers exhibits a keen understanding of flavor.
Try the Jucy Lucy from our 100 Best list: Oh, man, we do not need to remind ourselves how good this juicy, greasy, medium-rare burger oozing Velveeta cheese is.
Try the almond Danish from our 100 Best list: This marble-replete space is a fine room in which to drink a cappuccino and enjoy a danish.
Try the Ham on Rye from our 100 Best list: Three Floyds’ smoky Bukowski tribute.
Try the alfajores from our 100 Best list: When it comes to alfajores, no one makes them better than Lucila Giagrande, which is why we follow her to anywhere there’s word of her specialty being sold.
Get the Garlic Fries: Skin-on and fried, they get that rich hue of brown, rendering them crispy on the outside and pillowy on the inside, tossed in a perfect amount of fresh minced garlic. Read more.
Order the Foie Gras Fries, hand-cut beauties that have a crisp exterior and soft interior and are bursting with fresh potato flavor. The foie gras was flawlessly cooked with a nice crust. Read more.
Get the Sweet Potato Fries. They have a thin crispy exterior and a sweet interior with a hint of caramel flavor. Served with a lemon-Tabasco aioli - a spicy kick to make things even more interesting Read more.
Order Taylor Street Fries, a standard order of fries, doused in Italian beef jus, topped with sweet peppers and spicy giardinera. The result? A glorious cross between an Italian beef and french fries. Read more.
Get the Cheese Fries. Yes, these are frozen and this is fast food, but that doesn't stop us. Crispy and well salted with a piping hot cup of bright yellow cheese sauce. Sometimes, that's all you need. Read more.
Korean flavors mark the starting point for Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark’s unexpected but always exceptional forays into global flavors. Read more.
Paul Kahan defines the twenty-first century beer hall, serving a raucous excess of craft brews, oysters, and pork. Read more.
Admit it—your life needs more smoked Gouda. This Chicago hot spot’s creamy mac and cheese is coming to the rescue. Read more.
"The ultimate chef-metalhead combo for me is the Metallica Burger at Kuma. This thick, perfectly cooked burger on a toasted pretzel roll satisfies any foodie."- Rick Tramonto Read more.
Start with a Thyme After Thyme, try some sangria and end the day with a Basil Peach Smash or Watermelon Martini. Read more.
3 Arts Club Cafe was voted the Best Instagramable Date Spot by OkCupid users in the first-ever Daters' Choice Awards! Tap Read more for additional date spot categories in Chicago. #daterschoice Read more.
This mom and pop shop has been doling out smooth, custard since day one for its house-made creations like the Elvis (vanilla custard, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, banana — no bacon). Read more.
A beautiful interior, multiple bars and an outdoor space makes it spacious enough to hit the dancefloor or find a quiet corner to sip down a few alcoholic slushies. Read more.
I had the Polska kielbasa. When they say it's a homewrecker, they aren't kidding. My sister says she could take it, but I couldn't. Tastes fantastic, though!
A great way to spend an afternoon, especially a Sunday-funday. Bags, basketball, drinks, plenty of tables, good prices, and moderate crowds.
Burger is juicy and flavorful. Calamari is a good appy. Beer selection plentiful. Signs of a good watering hole!!
The only nautically themed bar in Chicago, Located in the South Loop, people come for the food and stay for the fun! Daily food and drink specials with Mount Gay Rum!
First Slice is not just a great place to get a slice of pie. Buy healthy meals for your busy family, and you'll pay for the same meals to go to Chicago’s hungry and homeless. Read more.
