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Chicago restaurants! Hooray! I live about 200 yards away from Longman & Eagle and am definitely a fan. Their chix&waffs are top notch, and their biscuits & gravy are my second favorite in the whole city. Though, biscuits&gravy are only available on weekend brunch. A note about their rooms for rent: they are good quality, great price, and allow you to make reservations to the restaurant. So good all around. I should note that none of these places take reservations, afaik; it's a nice trend that's happening. For you from outside the city that doesn't like that idea, in the early 2000's, apparently the trend was Wallstreet fatcat-type people would make multiple reservations all over town just in case that's where the evening lead them. Places would end up having a ton of their seating go unfilled because it was all reserved by people would weren't gonna show up anyways. This way you can actually get tables. You may, of course, bribe the host/maitre'd at your discretion. With no further ado and in no particular order: LuLa Cafe http://lulacafe.com/ American Modern/Contemporary Cafe $$-$$$ 2537 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL 60647 Right next door to Longman General Info: Phenomenal food, menu changes somewhat frequently. I recommend “THE ROYALE” for brunch or STUFFED RABBIT LOIN for dinner. Wait time is exceptionally long on summer Sundays, (90-120min) however, you can give the host your cell# and go off to a nearby bar, or shopping, or browsing the farmers market that is immediately next door (Sunday only). They will text you when your table is ready and you have 10 minutes to get there. Note, you have to do this in person; no calling up. Aberdeen Tap http://theaberdeentap.com/ American Modern/Contemporary Cafe $$ 440 N Aberdeen St, Chicago, IL 60642 General Info: Great little hole in the wall place; their main claim is a great sausages section, similar to Hot Dougs et.al. Definitely get the Rabbit Banger. Comes with a cherry-balsamic reduction and seared slices of brie on it. Only downside is that even with a side of (sweet potato) tots or fries, it is still only like 80% of a meal. I usually just make up the difference with their great beer selection. SmallBar – Division www.smallbardivision.com/ Bar $$ 2049 W Division St, Chicago, IL 60622 General Info: One of my 'regular' bars that I frequent. Don't be fooled by the 'bar' category, though, as their brunch menu (only available Sundays) is top notch. As I mentioned Longman is my #2 favorite biscuits & gravy, this is my #1. The biscuit is large and wonderfully crispy, and the gravy is as generous with the sausage as it is unbelievably flavorful. Scotch egg is superb, comes with a rosemary maple syrup. Should also note that this is a very ad-hoc up-and-coming Euro-league soccer/football/futbol/footie bar. (don't quote me, but I think they do English, Spainish, and Italian leagues) All the time the place will be open and jumpin at 6am just to catch all the live games. And finally, this is also a huge hangout for brewers. At any given time in this bar, rest assured that there is at least one, if not more, head master brewers and vinters of the various Chicago breweries getting their fill of beer. Which should tell you something about the quality and price of their selection. Ask for Andy and his recommendations. Fat Willy's www.fatwillys.com/ BBQ $$ 2416 W Schubert Ave, Chicago, IL 60647 General Info: Ribs. Sweet sweet ribs. And smoke. Definitely categorized as 'hole in wall' spot, as the place is about 100ft wide and maybe 20ft deep. Odd shape, but the best ribs in the city. Cornbread & vinegar cukes quality sides. Not much to say otherwise, as you're either dead-set sold by 'ribs' or not. They also deliver, which is nice. Cafe Ba Ba Reeba www.cafebabareeba.com Tapas $$$ 2024 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614 General Info: Spanish tapas cafe. Elegant and light, works equally well as a brunch as it does a dinner. A pitcher of red sangria and you won't even question yourself once getting classy-drunk at 11am. Fantastic first date place, since tapas is small and family style, you get to talk and share your food, rather than your dull lives. Only downside to the place is the portions are a bit 'trendy'. i.e. small. However, as good as BaBa is, the better choice for tapas is... Cafe Iberico www.cafeiberico.com/ Tapas $$$ 737 N La Salle Dr, Chicago, IL 60654 General Info: Gun to my head, if I had to say unconditionally my favorite place to eat, this is it. Sangria is better, portions are bigger, valet parking is only $10, which is almost cheaper than taking the bus. I can't think of a single thing on their menu, both hot and cold tapas that isn't outstanding. Estimate about 2 dishes per diner. Word of note, though: only get an entree or the paella unless you are in a group of at least 4. Otherwise you will be robbing yourself of so many fantastic options due to their size. But with a good group, their paella is a thing of beauty. The crust from the bottom center of it is truly a delicacy. And chances are, unless you have astute gourmands with you, no one will make a peep about you taking the best thing they've never had. They also have a bit of a deli in the upper corner where you can buy all your Spanish meats and cheese, and they have a wine/cordial cellar that would make a viscount cry. Do not attempt to go Friday or Saturday nights. Lockdown www.lockdownbar.com/ BURGERS!! $$ 1024 N Western Ave Chicago, IL 60622 General Info: Perennial #2 rated burger place in the city. Burgers are crazy good and they do some pretty wild experiments with them. One you wouldn't expect to be awesome: banana-peanut-butter burger. They do have price Tuesdays fairly regularly, outdoor seating, and a solid booze selection. They also do most of their burgers as sliders, so you can do a sampler meal if you are uncertain of their adventurousness or just simply want to eat all the burgers. Kuma's Corner www.kumascorner.com/ BURGERS!!! $$ 2900 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL 60618 General Info: Perennial #1 rated burger place. Heavy metal themed place and heavy metal burgers. Be prepared for a mountain of a meal (so big that they charge a fee if you want to split it with someone). I always recommend the Mastodon, but as with burger places, you get what you wanna get, and they've got it in spades. The place is tiny, and the exposed kitchen is even tinier. DO NOT say anything to the waitstaff about them getting a bigger kitchen, sincere or ironic. They even have signs posted about the bar to this effect. Before, they used just call you an rear end in a top hat and you'd get slow service. Now, they'll probably just kick you out and tell you to go to their brand new second location (666 W. Belmont  ) I sat next to adult entertainer Joanna Angel there a year or so ago, which gives it a big thumbs up from me. MingHin Cuisine www.minghincuisine.com/ DimSum/Chinese Seafood $$ 2168 S Archer Ave, Chicago, IL 60616 General Info: Classy DimSum place right in the heart of New Chinatown. If you don't know what DimSum is, think of it as Chinese tapas. Estimate 2-4 dishes per person, as some are super tiny whereas some are fairly sizable. The menu will (should) state their approximate size. Char Siu Bao is really the only thing I make sure to get every time, but otherwise, just go nuts. The only complaints I have ever heard about this place is usually about that it is somewhat western-ized; as you order by checking off a sheet then handing it to your waitstaff. If you really want the authentic DimSum that the population of Chinatown goes to, you go to... Furama furamarestaurant.com DimSum $-$$ 2828 S Wentworth Ave Chicago, IL 60616 General Info: ...Furama! I went to college right across the street from this place, and man have I been there a lot. It's by no means divey, but I bet they only spent about $500 to decorate the whole interior. And a big interior it is. The place is basically a banquet hall, replete with church-basement chairs around plastic-tablecloth clad tables. Sunday afternoons will see it filled with people waiting for the casino shuttle to show up, local debutante/quinceanera/bar mitzvah type parties in one corner, and hungover college kids. Pretty diverse crowd. The little old ladies carting around trolleys with all the food on them are non-stop. You just grab whatever you want as they roll by and they just put a mark on your 'scorecard'. Parking is a nightmare on weekends and public transpo doesn't go very close. But it's still a crazy morning to catch brunch there. Always worth the journey for the adventurous types. Gyu-Kaku www.gyu-kaku.com/il/ Japanese/Korean BBQ $$$ 210 E Ohio St, Chicago, IL 60611 General Info: As someone who grew up way in the northern reaches of Minnesota, I know nothing but families who think every food that comes from  Asia is either Sweet and Sour Pork or Chicken Tikka Masala. This is a phenomenal introduction to simple, western-friendly Japanese/Korean style foods. You get a grill right in the center of your table and you order a few meat and a few vegetable dishes and you cook them right up in the middle! It's a great activity and shows us sheltered Scandinavians that Korean food isn't all just smooshed squids and Japanese food isn't all seaweed. All the foods and meats are extremely high quality and well seasoned, but as the cooking is up to you, I would only recommend this place if someone in your group knows how to handle a grill. The waitstaff can do it for you if you are too scared/incompetent to do it on your own, but expect their inability to abandon their other tables to handhold your food for 30-50 minutes to be readily apparent in your food quality. Avoid hot sake. Pizzeria Serio www.pizzeriaserio.com Brick-oven pizza $$ 1708 W. Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL 60634 General Info: Even though it is impossible to recommend any pizza place in Chicago that isn't a deepdish place, I think that makes it so they deserve even more of a mention. But, they do great pizza (margherita is tip top) and generously host our monthly 'Woohoo Simpsons Classic Trivia' Seasons 1 thru 11, every 3rd Monday of the month. 10$ all you can eat! [/shameless plug]
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May 19, 2014 20:16
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Purple Pig is unbelievably awesome, though I don't know if I'd categorize it as Tapas. Though that may just be splitting hairs. I've been there three times and every single dish I've had there I have just loved.
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Oct 6, 2014 18:58
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attackmole posted:Purple Pig was cool when I was there in August on vacation. Other than that my favourite was Kuma's Corner. The death metal's a little offputting if you're not initiated, but holy gently caress do they make good burgers. Well, yea, Chicago is one of the biggest food cities and simply one of biggest-population cities in the nation. There will be good places you can't go unless to go there off-off-peak hours. confonnit posted:The Chicago food scene is a giant circle jerk, everyone goes to and recommends the same "good" restaurants causing them to get slammed out constantly. There are a lot of good places to get a burger in Chicago that are much better than Kuma's that doesn't involve waiting in line or getting skullfucked by music, it's just that whenever someone asks Chicago burgers where everyone says Kuma's, An informative, good post.  Though, I do agree there are a lot of sycophantic joints out there. Piece pizza in Bucktown and Gene&Judes out on the west side. But at least I understand that it's the trendiness/experience that is the draw, not necessarily the food. holttho fucked around with this message at 14:51 on Oct 9, 2014 |
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Oct 9, 2014 14:39
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