The Nine Best New Sandwiches
From a fancy take on a sloppy Joe to a lamb-stuffed Chinese wrap, here (in no particular order) are the top handhelds to hit menus in the past year.
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Best New Spot for Glamping
Camp Aramoni Chicagoans have long flocked to Starved Rock State Park for its gorgeous waterfalls and vistas, but the surrounding area has traditionally lacked standout lodging. That’s changed thanks to this new 96-acre glamping resort just 10 minutes from the park. The camp (from $450 a night, including breakfast and dinner), which opened in April, … Read more
Best ’90s Rap Revivalist
Defcee The life and work of Defcee provide a study in contrasts. He’s a serial altruist, rallying his pupils to conquer the written word. (His background includes stints as a CPS teacher, part-time prison instructor, and mentor to aspiring poets.) But on record, this lanky, lantern-jawed Jewish boy eschews warmth; instead, he tells hard truths … Read more
Best New Taco
Taco de Bistec at El Tragón Taqueria With its crispy griddled cheese crust, the costra taco is a product of Mexico City that’s becoming popular in the States. You’ll find a really good version at El Tragón Taqueria, which opened last October in a gas station complex near Halsted and Division. Listed on the menu as … Read more
Best Tiny Museum for Chicago History Buffs
Packingtown Museum The Union Stock Yards once commanded more than a square mile of the South Side. But while Chicago is no longer the “hog butcher for the world,” the story of the meatpacking industry’s massive legacy is now told at a decidedly diminutive museum in the same part of town. Located at the Plant, a … Read more
Best New Signature Drink
Bamboo Room’s Bamboo Room The tropical behemoth Three Dots and a Dash is not exactly what we’d call restrained, but the Bamboo Room, a hideaway tucked within the River North bar, sure is. When it reopened last November after a pandemic pause, the tiki trappings had been stowed away. Now this 22-seat bar serves spirit-forward … Read more
Best Personal Meditation on Chicago
Dawn Turner’s Three Girls From Bronzeville For many of us, there comes a moment when we wonder just how we landed where we are. We may wonder, too, how our paths ended up so different from those of the people closest to us. For journalist Dawn Turner, these questions didn’t just linger in her brain. … Read more
Best Southern Food Neighborhood
Hyde Park In Chicago, Southern food has for too long meant fried chicken, pimento cheese, and the kind of biscuits that would make any Southerner bust out a passive-aggressive “Bless your heart.” But thanks to two chefs, Hyde Park has emerged as a destination where down-home flavors ring true. Erick Williams deserves all the accolades … Read more
Best New Place to Grab a Latte, a Record, and a Scare
The Brewed Chicago has its fair share of craft-coffee-meets-vintage-records spots, but the newest addition adds another layer: a retro-diner-inspired horror-movie haven. From the owners of the adjoining Bric-a-Brac Records, the Brewed takes cues from David Cronenberg’s 1979 cult-classic flick The Brood and is filled with 1970s and ’80s cinephile memorabilia from the owners’ personal collections. … Read more
Best New Meal Kits
Gemma Foods Tony Quartaro has that familiar COVID-era story: Chef gets furloughed, brilliance ensues. In 2020, Quartaro — a pedigreed pasta guy who honed his skills at the Bristol, Balena, Formento’s, and Daisies — began making noodles and sauces from his home kitchen in Beverly. When demand exploded, he leased the Grand Avenue storefront from which he now churns … Read more