Best Eats of Chicago

What can I say about Chicago? It’s a huge metropolitan city with a prairie feel. Midwest hospitality is a real thing and results in the best customer service experience I’ve ever had. I thought Canadians were some of the friendliest in the world but I think we may have some competition from the folks of the midwest.

Chicago Skyline at dusk from the John Hancock lounge.

To emphasize my point, one evening I was enjoying a glass or two of wine at a small blues bar and telling an animated story. For those of you who know me, it comes as no surprise that my muppet arms came out and I knocked over my full glass of wine. Dejected, I asked for cloth to clean it up myself and expected to get a water for this round. Instead, my waitress thanked me for helping clean up and she gave me a new glass of wine for free. This has never happened to me in Canada (or anywhere else for that matter) and I’ve knocked over a glass or two of wine in the past 10 years.

Before we arrived in Chicago, I did quite a bit of research to find out where the hotspots are for food. It’s no secret we travel for culinary experiences and I wanted to make sure I was bringing some good suggestions to the table (literally). I scoured magazines Bon Appetit, Saveur, and Lucky Peach as well as Instagram. My aim was to test which source was more reliable. Social media or highly regarded magazines? Once we arrived in Chicago, I realized I had to add the ‘personal’ factor, the recommendations from people we met in Chicago! Who do you think won? Let’s tally the score.

Must Visit Restaurants and Eateries

Buttermilk Fried Chicken from Dove’s in Chicago

Dove’s Luncheonette – I had the best fried chicken of my life at Dove’s. It’s a retro joint serving Mexi-American eats. The decor was really fun and offered a lot of history of the area and the types of luncheonette’s that had been in the building before Dove’s. The fried chicken was so good I went back a couple days later for seconds. Local Recommendation – 1

Beef Wagyu from Union. Yum! Japanese BBQ!

Union – Awesome Japanese cuisine in downtown Chicago near the Magnificent Mile. In addition to shared sushi rolls, Billy had a wonderful Beef Wagyu plate and I had a chicken ramen bowl. We sat at the bar and got to know the sushi chefs. Hot tip: if they like you, the sushi chefs here will give ‘screw-ups’ or misorders to people sitting at the bar. So bust out of your comfort zone and get up there. Social Media – 1

The Violet Hour – A super posh cocktail bar that has been nominated for a few James Beard awards for excellence in bar-tending. It’s dark, hidden, candlelit, and trendy. There are house rules such as no checking cell phones, a dress-code, and a behaviour code (“Don’t bring anyone that you wouldn’t take to family dinner with your grandmother”) in addition to having no signs outside apart from a red light above a hidden door to indicate they are open. We had a couple great cocktails there that went straight to our heads and bacon wrapped dates that were stuffed with cheese. Local Recommendation – 1

Hash – A 70’s inspired breakfast joint with hash skillets to start your morning off strong. There is a lot of variety in the menu, a cozy atmosphere, and some of the best salsa verde out there. We stumbled on this place because it was one block from our Air BnB and recommended by a server. Local Recommendation – 1

The Trencherman – I walked into this bar and my mouth fell open. The decor was 1920’s apothecary with an industrial lighting. I LOVED it. We had a wonderful server who made sure our whistles were wet and introduced us to the Chicago liquor of Malort. It’s gross (unless you like grapefruits) and Chicagoans delight in watching guests face contort with the sour flavour after their first try. I guess it’s an acquired taste. I can assure you that you’ll love their Bison Beef Jerky. Also, Monday is Family Supper night, so pop by for a stellar 3 course meal (that’s a reasonable/amazing price). Local Recommendation – 1

Publican – Service here was a bummer but everything that came out of the kitchen was wonderful. Standout dish was wild mushroom grits. Magazines – 1 (Shitty service is noted. It seems once a restaurant has hype from national magazines, front house customer service declines.)

A steamy birthday dinner date at the Furious Spoon.

The Purple Pig – A cool place to stop if you are shopping on the Magnificent Mile. They specialize in Mediterranean cuisine with the concept of sharing plates. Try the stuffed squid. This place also suffers a bit from the haughty front house staff of a restaurant that’s been acclaimed in the magazines. Local Recommendation – 1

The Furious Spoon – Ramen, Ramen, Ramen! The new trend in food world according to Lucky Peach. This place is still really new and it’s bustling. Word is out that the food is dope. The joint was hopping and the food was hearty and complex. Social Media – 1

Honorable Mentions:
Glazed Donuts – There is a rivalry of donuts on Damen Street in Wicker Park against Glazed and Stan’s Donuts. Stan’s was recommended to us by a server for their banana filled donuts, which fell flat for me. When I asked the Glazed Donut guy about the dynamic between the two shops, he told me “It’s not a rivalry when you are winning.”

Eating a peanut butter and banana filled donut from Stan’s. Looking unsure.

I had a blackberry cheesecake filled donut and Billy had a bacon maple longjohn. DIVINE. Glazed wins for stellar product and badass advertising.

Outside of Glazed donut shop. Heck yes!

Max’s Wine Dive – Great service! We ended our first evening in Chicago at this bar by accident and ended our trip there on purpose. Really nice atmosphere to sit at the bar and chat to Chicago folk and enjoy some great wine. They will open any bottle for you if they think they can get two glasses out of it.

Totals:
Magazines: 1
Social Media: 2
Local Recommendation: 5

Lesson: Trust the locals for food recommendations and go out of your way to meet them when traveling. Especially in Chicago.

Chicago Food Trends We Noticed
Brussel Sprouts
Avocado & Grapefruit toast
Ramen shops
Butcher shop/restaurants
Diner decor
Matchboxes and Postcards as promo items
Local Chicago Craft Beer
Bring Your Own Booze (BYOB)

The greater Chicago area at dusk from the John Hancock Tower