Traditional Szechuan Far From Chinatown
Good Szechuan-style cooking can easily be found in Chinatown, but an even better option is at a family-run restaurant on Chicago’s Northwest Side where the grandfather is in the kitchen, all by himself.
Good Szechuan-style cooking can easily be found in Chinatown, but an even better option is at a family-run restaurant on Chicago’s Northwest Side where the grandfather is in the kitchen, all by himself.
A charming mom-and-pop neighborhood restaurant has a catchy name for those who filed their taxes this week. While most restaurants begin by planning a menu, then tasting wines to complement the chef’s food, at Income Tax they approach things a bit differently.
The Thai New Year of Songkran is coming up next week and if you haven’t had Thai food in the city recently, there are several places cooking home-style food. Home-style means bolder flavors and not just the usual pad thai noodles.
Chicago has several good doughnut shops, but I sniffed out yet another good one, this time in the Cragin neighborhood on the city’s Northwest Side. It’s a family-run operation led by Cambodian immigrants who’ve been shaping, frying and glazing for more than 30 years.
Catering is a tough business, but one local caterer decided that it had the right team in place, and the know-how, to create a new restaurant, adjacent to their catering facility. The result is Eden, a restaurant with high ambitions that manages to pull it off.
There are plenty of Middle Eastern joints in Palos Hills and Bridgeview, but nothing quite like Al-Sufara Grills, which sits almost hidden in the middle of a strip mall, near 103rd and Harlem Avenue. (In this week’s Extra Course Video: I talk about the two very different kinds of baba gannoush they offer). Extra … Continued
There are dozens of chicken sandwiches in Chicago, some fast food, others more elaborate. There’s a truly unique and delicious one, in West Fulton Market where classically-trained chefs have taken a completely new approach to this southern staple.
One of the Bridgeport neighborhood’s favorite British cafes has moved to Pilsen, greatly expanding its offerings. Now, more of a formal British pub, you can eat – and drink – pretty well, almost all day long.
We all know that Chicago has an enormous Polish population. But where does someone go if they want to buy the smoked sausages, breads and soups that remind them of home? You could certainly walk up and down North Milwaukee Avenue or down South Archer, but for one-stop shopping, you need to travel to one of … Continued
When it comes to its culinary scene, Milwaukee tends to get thrown into the beer, brats and cheese curds category. However, Chicago’s northern neighbor has some gems, including a beloved coffee roaster that’s soon coming to the Lincoln Park neighborhood, as well as a modern Chinese restaurant led by a former Chicagoan.
Cindy’s Rooftop Bar, which has one of the city’s best views, has undergone a pretty major change. Located atop the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel on Michigan Avenue, Cindy’s is popular in the summertime for its views of Millennium Park. However, a new year has brought a completely new menu, with a few tasty surprises that don’t … Continued