Egg Rolls at Sochi Saigonese Kitchen Chinh Pham and Son Do, two Saigon natives who wanted to bring a taste of home to Chicago, nailed it with this airy spot. Their egg rolls — stuffed with ground pork, shrimp, and rice noodles — are made with a special rice paper from Vietnam for maximum crunch. They come with lettuce, … Read more
Agridulce Cold Brew at Bueno Days With their coffee brand Bueno Days, Alma and Cristóbal Mora, a Mexican American couple from Little Village, breathe tangy new life into cold brew by mixing it with a sweet-and-sour blend of agua de Jamaica (made from hibiscus) and orange juice. They source the coffee from Mexico and sell … Read more
Mochi Doughnuts at 2D Restaurant If ever a food fit its surroundings, it’s the fried treats at this café, where comic-style illustrations by local artist Mia Larson cover every surface. Looking as if they were plucked straight from Homer Simpson’s fingers, these rings get their fluffy-chewy texture from a mix of mochi, tapioca, and wheat … Read more
Don Pablo’s Kitchen & Bakeshop Chilean food made a triumphant return to Chicago when this empanada specialist went from a ghost kitchen to a sliver of a brick-and-mortar space. The Chilean empanada is noteworthy for its larger size and the fact that it’s folded rather than pinched and baked instead of fried. Where to start? … Read more
An Inconvenient Hour You know that odd hour when Saturday daytime is over but Saturday night hasn’t yet started? Chicago author Jeffrey Wolf (pictured) figured the perfect activity to enliven that peculiar interval would be a reading series showcasing the Far North Side’s many talented writers. Since November (except for a summer hiatus, which ends … Read more
Comercio Popular In September, three years after setting up an online store, founder Miguel Cervantes and partners Lucy Angel and Dom Cordilla opened a brick-and-mortar outpost to sell jewelry, pottery, clothes, and other goods from Mexican designers. The weekends-only shop not only stocks items from south of the border but also serves a vital purpose … Read more
Jefferson Square As much fun as it is to walk around Chinatown Square, Chicago’s new Asian food hotness lies just across the river in the East Pilsen mall Jefferson Square. At street level, Qiao Lin Hotpot provides the city’s most over-the-top hot pot experience, and Holu proffers prime and wagyu steak on tabletop grills (that’s … Read more
Eiffel Waffle Friends-turned-business partners Omar Falaneh, Barra Abousalem, and Yahya Ghouleh opened the first location of their over-the-top sweets shop in Downers Grove last year. With outposts in Lincoln Park and Bolingbrook recently added and an expansion to Naperville and Geneva pending in 2023, their photogenic offerings will be ubiquitous across the Chicago area and … Read more
3 Little Pigs Chi Henry Cai (pictured) started slinging his takes on Chinese classics via Instagram in 2020, becoming a cult-favorite pandemic pickup spot. Late last year, he made the move to a ghost kitchen, so now you can order online for pickup and delivery rather than by Instagram direct message, which makes it easier … Read more
The Wiener’s Circle Patio During the second year of the pandemic, the Wiener’s Circle transformed its decrepit parking lot into a swanky back patio, featuring a bar and plenty of seating. But best of all, the hot dog institution added a basketball hoop and a small asphalt court, complete with a Wiener’s Circle logo. Grab … Read more
