By Kristine Sherred Mardi Gras, for some, is more of a Jeudi Gras. In densely populated Polish neighborhoods from Chicago to Milwaukee, Buffalo to Cleveland, and Grand Rapids to Detroit, the Thursday before Ash Wednesday welcomes the throes of thousands of pączki with open arms year after year. Oak Mill Bakery, one of many bakeries … Continued
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
It’s the new year, and for a lot of us, that means an attempt to try to eat a little bit healthier. Remember Muskie’s? That little burger dive on N. Lincoln Avenue? It’s been re-born as a super healthy-yet-delicious option in Lakeview, where most of the menu is guilt-free.
There won’t be any ball-drops Friday night, but the Chinese New Year does begin at midnight. The “Year of the Rooster” will have just about every restaurant in Chinatown busy, of course, but you might want to seek out a new spot on South Wentworth where you’ll find hand-pulled and hand-shaved noodles exactly as they’re … Continued
When most new restaurants in Chicago tend to feature steaks, chops and other meat-heavy entrees, Bad Hunter is taking a very different approach. The Chef – a recent hire from Nico Osteria – has made grilling, roasting and transforming all manner of vegetables the stars of his menu. Bonus: this week’s Extra Course Video – … Continued
As regular readers of my blog will surely know by now, there are plenty of options for great pho in Chicago. But few, if any top-line, classically-trained chefs in the city have devoted much time to perfecting the classic Vietnamese soup. Tomorrow night, however, one of my favorite Korean chefs in town is taking up … Continued
At a Venezuelan restaurant in Chicago, they are serving that country’s most famous export – the arepa. BienMeSabe in the Ravenswood neighborhood is one of the city’s only Venezuelan outposts, where they make dozens of fresh arepas all day long.
Cinnamon rolls are usually a favorite treat for a Sunday brunch. But a recent addition – only available for about a month-and-a-half and for now – are available on the weekends only at one of Chicago’s best bakeries. Bittersweet celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and the Lakeview bakery shows few signs of age. They still … Continued
The past few days, we’ve laid out our methodology and procedure for finding the best bowls in Chicago and the contenders at play. Now the moment you’ve all been waiting for. After tasting 31 bowls of pho and countless weeks of crunching numbers and pouring over notes with my Pho Consigliere – Paul Nguyen – … Continued
We continue our big reveal this week from the city’s most thorough #ChicagoPhoCrawl. Researched, analyzed and put together between my friend Paul Nguyen and myself, we’ve visited all of the primary pho operations in the city, and have come up with our ranking for each one using a consistent and statistical based methodology. On Tuesday, … Continued
In the middle of winter, several bowls vie for your attention. In Chicago – home to the largest Polish enclave outside of Warsaw – borscht and bigos (hunter’s stew) are a given. But our melting pot culture, and patchwork of 77 distinctive neighborhoods, also means you can indulge your memories of that backpacking trip to … Continued