Sisters Carmen Lemons and Lynn Walker Harvey keep the flames of Chicago-style ’cue alive at the city’s oldest Black-owned barbecue joint. Everything in the aquarium-style cooker gets a gentle bath in hickory smoke, but it’s the pork rib tips that exemplify Chicago’s contribution to the barbecue canon. A study in textures, the rib tip is … Read more
The original location celebrates its centennial this year, and as the neighborhoods surrounding it have changed, Margie’s has remained a constant, a beacon for teenagers who cluster in groups and for older couples on dates, everyone outside waiting for a booth. Inside is a diner/candy shop/ice cream parlor, its walls covered in memorabilia, much of … Read more
In a city bursting with laureled pastry chefs, only one baker on the South Side has received recognition from the James Beard Foundation as a semifinalist for the Outstanding Baker award. That’s Stephanie Hart, who opened her upscale dessert shop in 2004. What makes her version of the classic caramel cake so special? It’s decadently … Read more
Run by siblings Joyce and Matthew Chiu, this 35-year-old bakery — Chinatown’s oldest and now the anchor of a growing chain — offers several kinds of egg tarts, but the bestseller is their Portuguese-style version. Inspired by Portugal’s pastel de nata, a dessert that’s popular in Macau, it consists of a flaky pastry shell loaded with an eggy filling … Read more
You can find Italian ice at any number of places around the city, but Mario’s distinct style, which includes actual bits of lemon rind, delivers a special puckery note. You’ll find standby flavors like cherry or strawberry, but go for the specials, which change regularly and are listed on hand-painted signs. Those specials are often … Read more
Is it possible to dine at Portillo’s without adding on a slice of its fluffy, decadent chocolate cake for dessert? For more than 2 million customers, the answer is no — that’s how many slices of its signature dessert the local fast-food chain sells each year (and no, that doesn’t count the folks who just spring for … Read more
It’s a treat that could have been invented for Instagram: five colorful kinds of ice cream (orange sherbet, pistachio, strawberry, chocolate, and cherry- and walnut-filled Palmer House) layered atop a cake cone in a joy-inducing, vertiginous tower. Only thing is, the Rainbow Cone has been around for about 95 years. Indeed, little has changed inside … Read more
The founder and chairman on the company’s history and why he still needs mentors
