1 - Caldo de Res at Cocula Restaurant in Marshall Square

2 - Matcha Roll Cake and Ube Latte at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery

3 - Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup at Shang Noodle Chicago in Streeterville

4 - Peach Green Tea at Heungseng Square in Chinatown

5 - Pho Ga at Pho Nam Lua (Love their Bun Bo Hue too but never took a picture)

6 - Rainbow Roll at Sushi Taku in Logan Square

7 - Americano at Venteux

8 - Kimchi Jjiggae at To Korean Restaurant in Uptown

9 - Chicken Pho at 3 Asian Sisters in Lincoln Park

10 - Butter Chicken at Gharab Nawaz in Lincoln Park

11 - Chicago Dog at Portillo’s

12 - Black Pepper Nuggets at McDonalds HQ

13 - Sushi Combo at Gangnam Market

14 - Pani Puri at Chiya Chai in Logan Square

Been in Chciago for almost four years but am curious, what’s one Chicago restaurant that you wish never close its doors that you could experience one last time?

Had some friends in town this weekend and went on a food and drink tour from Uptown down to Hyde Park. We went to:

1. Begyle Brewery (not pictured)
2. Dovetail Brewery
3. Spacca Napoli
4. Smoke Daddy (pre Cubs home opener)
5. Kai Zan for Omakase
6. Jenis Ice Cream (not pictured)
7. Cafe Tola (not pictured)
8. Do-Rite Donuts
9. Mesler Kitchen
10. Virtue

Hard to beat a weekend of this kind of eating and drinking! Begyle & Dovetail great as always. Spacca Napoli pies were terrific, although the mushrooms were not my favorite, however the burrata was fantastic. Smoke Daddy was OK - we went pre-Cubs game expecting the brunch menu but that is apparently weekend only, so a bunch of BBQ at 10:30am was not really ideal, however it was fine. The Bloody was tasty.Kai Zan was absolutely phenomenal and I can't wait to go back. Jenis was Jenis. Cafe Tola always hits. Do-Rite has some of the best donuts in the city and I adore their chicken sausage breakfast sandwich. Mesler Kitchen was fantastic vibes and great drinks (food looked great too but we didn’t eat there). And Virtue was one of the best meals I have in the city. Feeling very full and very happy today!

Photos as follows:

1. Four pies from Spacca Napoli
2. Burrata from Spacca Napoli
3. Kolsh from Dovetail
4. Bloody Mary from Smoke Daddy with a rib on top
5. Madai from Kai Zan
6. Himachi from Kai Zan
7. Soup & tempura from Kai Zan
8. Flaming Scallop from Kai Zan
9. Drinks from Mesler Kitchen in Hyde Park
10. Mezal cocktail from Virtue
11. Fried Tomatoes from Virtue
12. Biscuts and pimento cheese from Virtue
13. Mac n Cheese from Virtue
14. Cornbread and butter from Virtue
15. Short rib from Virtue
16. Salmon from Virtue
17. Fish & grits from virtue
18. Roasted Chicken from Virtue
19. Carrot Cake from Virtue
20. Donuts from Do Rite

Sorry My pics aren’t great but we came to Chicago for the Rufus Wainwright show and we ate at Do-Rite (omg), The Dearborn (shrimp and grits, American bfast and beignets), and we managed to get a seat at the bar atBavette’s after we failed to secure a reservation (we split the ribeye steak frites with Bernaise). Not pictured- we met friends for drinks and small plates at Le Colonial and loved it.

Thank you to this sub- everything was amazing, especially Bavette’s

Mine is actually Reggios. I've never been so disgusted by the literal taste of a pizza pie. Sweet/off-putting red sauce, terribly dry crust, and toppings that didn't deserve to be in production.

Even if it's a hot take-- what spot blew your mind (in a terrible way)?

Pork Belly Sammy hashbrowns, cheddar, fried egg, spicy sauce, arugula, 1 side $17

Anyone have recs for Passover catering other than lettuce entertain you? Thx!

Looking for recommendations on where to eat a late weeknight casual meal after Cubs/Dodgers game (Wednesday 4/23). Will be taking the red line back downtown to the hotel, and thought it would be easier to stop somewhere on the way instead of trying to eat in Wrigleyville. We have pizza/italian well covered during our visit, but open to most anything else. Thanks!

EDIT: I feel like what I’m asking is getting missed. Not looking to eat near the stadium. Want to get on the red line, start heading back downtown, and get off somewhere between the two and grab dinner. Looking for recommendations, please.

I've seen Papa Bop mentioned in question posts but I don't think it's ever had a post of its own and think it deserves one. It's a cute little Korean restaurant near Downtown Evanston that's been open for about 2 years now. It looks like a family runs it and they couldn't have been nicer. They don't take reservations but it is possible to get a table. There was one 2 seat table available at ~7pm on a Saturday. I've never had bibimbop before so not sure if the hot stone bowls are unique or not but they were warm and comforting. There are also 3 sauces that they bring to your table you can choose from to add to the bowl. The food was well flavored and delicious. They also have their own handmade sodas like a grapefruit one. Bibimbap is just one thing on their menu. It's not huge but does have other items. Just wanted to share with the community. I think this place is a find.

Hi! Looking for favorite Thai restaurants in the LS/Irving Park/Avondale area, specifically. Our regular spot is Trike noodle & would love to try something new nearby!

Follow-up from my last Yaoyao post: https://www.reddit.com/r/chicagofood/s/kqahKYiXuf

I went to Yaoyao for the first time a few weeks ago and went back yesterday, getting new dishes.

This time I got:

Eggplant in Garlic Sauce: $14.95

Was recommended this on my last post. I've had dishes similar to this, with minced meat in it, this didn't have any. It was cooked well, and tasted great, but nothing too unique that makes it stand out.

Smacked Cucumber: $7.95

Easily the best dish this time. Came with peanuts, cilantro, and a light sauce of vinegar and garlic paste. This was a cold cucumber salad. Very simple but it was perfect.

Golden Fried Crispy Pork: $7.95

Was also recommended this on my last post. Hate to say it, but I found it pretty underwhelming. I felt that there wasn't much "meat" to bite into and almost all of it was crispy. Definitely not burnt or overcooked though. Lots of the seasoning also fell off of the pork and back into the bowl. I ended up just mixing it into the eggplant dish.

Overall:

I definitely enjoyed my first time a few weeks ago more. Of the dishes I've tried so far, the Cold Spicy chicken is easily #1, the Dry Pot Cauliflower at #2, and then the Smacked Cucumber at #3.

I'll probably be back again in a few weeks and honestly just want to go through all their cold dishes now. If anyone has any recommendations again, cold dish or not, drop them in the comments, please!

Any/best places to get fresh made sourdough loaves in Logan/Avondale?

Went to Kai Zan last night for their Omakase. We arrived 20 minute late due to some horrific traffic and the team was incredibly accommodating despite showing up late. It seems like they course everything out to the whole restaurant at the same time so we were very thankful they accommodated us.

Food was absolutely phenomenal. Definitely my favorite Japanese food experience I've had in the US and surpassed many sushi meals I've had in Japan. It is certainly more of a small plate type omakase vs just straight nigiri and sashimi but this is hard to beat for $96.

My favorites for the night were the shooters and the pearls (the 4 pieces of nigiri) but everything was great.

Highly highly recommend.

So fun! Just learned about this. My favorites in the city in no specific order Dino’s Poretta’s Martino’s Nancy’s

Yum.

What are your favorites?

We love Plugra French sweet butter that we’ve been getting at Whole Foods, but according to the Plugra website, the nearest store that carries it is 25 miles away in the suburbs. What can we buy instead?

Hey everyone!

My partner and I are on the hunt for the best fattoush in Chicago. Granted, we have been spoiled by the middle eastern food in his home city of Detroit and nothing we have found in Chicago has compared.

We have tried Kabobi, and a bunch of other places that people rave about here regarding middle eastern food in general and haven’t been impressed. Anyone got any recs?

Bonus points if they also have other great vegetarian options like real good felafel, spinach pies, dips etc

Yum!!

Pork + chive dumplings (8/10) were delicious, the dough was perfectly tender and the broth was surprisingly bright from the cilantro (note: ask for no cilantro if you’ve got the soap gene, a lot of the dishes are garnished with it).

Dan Dan Noodles (8/10) peanutty and just the right amount of spice, great bite to the noodles.

Xi’an Bing (7/10) this was really good but felt like it needed another element to it to really tie it together. Super flaky and chewy and the lamb was seasoned really well. Very good dunked in the leftover dumpling broth.

BYOB but there’s a cute little wine shop a block away and a Mariano’s across the street. No reservations so go early or expect to wait a bit.

Now that ramp season is approaching/here, are there any good resources that compile which restaurants have specials featuring them? Or if anyone knows of spots that are using them, please share! I was at Longman & Eagle today, and their steak and eggs comes with a ramp vinaigrette currently. Looking for more!

I was driving through Schiller Park today on Irving Park Road and it was drawn to this old school signage so I had to go in and check it out. It's an old school Greek breakfast/diner spot and the dining area with a throwback to the 80s. Time was not on my side to grab something to eat there but I did grab a menu which looked great, has anybody been to this place?

Hey all!

Flying into midway then going to Indiana on Monday and looking for a late lunch rec that’s open around 2:30-3? Having a hard time based off of others recommendations at that time. I’m not picky, like at all. Looking for something unique or “best you’ve had” Homemade pasta always a plus, Korean, Thai, etc. again, not picky! Thank you 😊

never been to one and looking to try one for my birthday. Below has more info on what I’m looking for:

• solo diner friendly
• Atmosphere: somewhere I don’t have to dress up and can feel comfortable wearing casual clothes
• Meal type: open to lunch, brunch, or dinner!
• Budget: <$100 - $200 (including tax and tip and would love to find somewhere that gets the most bang for your buck but not a hard requirement
• A la carte vs tasting menu: open to both - i just want to be full at the end of the meal so a bit worried that the tasting menu might not be enough
• Also don’t drink so am not interested in wine pairings/the place’s drink selection
• Cuisines: I eat most foods - just can’t handle a lot of spice
• Location: accessible by cta from the bucktown/logan square area (I’m by the western stop)