Specializing in delicacies from Zigong, a city in the salt mine region, this place offers a singular adventure. The menu describes the sliced cucumber marinated in a sweet vinegary sauce as a favorite of famed military leader Zhu De. The dish goes beautifully with twice-cooked pork belly fragrant with spices, a preference of former leader … Read more
In this downright swanky setting, the moi moi (African beans blended with tomatoes and spices, steamed into a gelatinous mold) and goat pepper soup taste wonderfully authentic. Adventurous eaters should try some fufu dishes (the base is pounded yams), but for more timid souls, the jollof rice comes with a liberal serving of fried plantains. … Read more
It’s easy to get hooked on the Radler’s epic Reuben: smoked brisket stacked on house-baked rye bread. This Bierhaus-y hall drips with personality, as do the grilled wursts piled over lentils, green beans, and more. The delicate but decadent onion pie has masterpiece written all over it. Order: Reuben with fries, $14; Black Bavarian Schwarzbier, $3 2375 … Read more
PB&J ascends to real-meal status at this skilled patisserie. Match a freshly ground nut butter (from basic peanut to chocolate-hazelnut) with seasonal homemade preserves and oven-fresh bread. Add an impossibly flaky chocolate croissant for dessert, and you’ve got a surprisingly luxe meal for less than $10. ORDER: Almond butter and caramel apple jam on oatmeal bread, … Read more
This lovable BYO feels like home—if you live somewhere in Latin America. And if someone like Yari, (half Honduran, half Puerto Rican) were your mother, you would have been eating pastelon (think lasagna with plantains, ground beef, and cheese) and pernil (roast pork with onions and coconut rice) all your life. Lucky you. Order: Beef or … Read more
The best patty around costs only $7. It’s a heroic griddled double cheeseburger: a lightly toasted bun full of freshly ground, crisp-edged, and somehow ungreasy beef sandwiched between layers of melting cheddar. 1571 Sherman Ave., Evanston, 847-864-3396; 2218 N. Lincoln Ave., Lincoln Park, 773-697-9909
Among the dozens of cheap Indian eateries in town, this comfy BYO stands tall. An outsize order of gobi Manchurian—a plate of battered and spice-slicked cauliflower—is good enough to make you finish your vegetables. And you’ll use every last piece of naan to sop up the butter chicken’s lush, curry-soaked gravy. As well you should. … Read more
The cheery little shop’s take on this comfort food staple is perfectly satisfying for $9. But for $2 more, get it Buffalo-style—with a drizzle of housemade hot sauce and copious amounts of blue cheese—and it’s suddenly transcendent. 2051 N. California Ave., 773-276-8888
The addictive $12 tomato pie at this East Coast–style joint breaks pizza down to its basics: a pinch of cheese, great punchy tomato sauce, and a little oregano on a crunchy, charred crust. 711 W. Armitage Ave., Lincoln Park, 312-867-9111
The golden-crusted shrimp ($8.50 for a half pound) at this family-owned, cash-only South Side institution are no small fries—they’re juicy, crispy, and gone in a flash. 3259 E. 95th St., South Deering, 773-933-9855
