Chicago’s go-to spot for Persian food has been steadily expanding since it opened in 1997. Originally little more than a shack, it now occupies an expansive location that handles both dine in and catering. As the restaurant’s name suggests, boldly flavored grilled and skewered meats get top billing, and the barg — juicy filet mignon seasoned with … Read more
Still humming beautifully after 21 years, chef Jason Hammel’s Lula Cafe is the matriarch of Logan Square’s dining scene, and this warming, Greek-inflected tangle of noodles has been on the menu since day one, holding strong as the winds of seasonal cooking have shifted around it. Aptly enough, the dish is an ode to co-owner … Read more
Arguably Chicago’s most influential Chinese restaurant (it currently has eight locations scattered around the city and suburbs), Tony Hu’s flagship made its name with Sichuan specialties that deliver numbing heat. The signature dish — diced chicken stir-fried with garlic, ginger, scallions, dry chiles, and Sichuan peppercorns — is an ideal entrée to the cooking of this heat-obsessed region of … Read more
In 1975, Inocencio Carbajal set out to re-create the signature fried-pork dish of his native Michoacán, and a Pilsen legend was born. There’s a reason his family’s carnitas — sold by the pound with tortillas, lime, onion, and cilantro, or tucked into a taco — attract lines out the door on weekends: After a low, slow simmer in manteca … Read more
New York had steakhouses before Mrs. O’Leary had a cow, but let’s be clear: This Midwestern stockyard city perfected the genre. Want proof? Walk into the gray, shingle-roofed building that has stood under the L in River North since 1941 and watch history still writing itself. Visiting celebrities, titans of industry, and stalwart regulars smile … Read more
Order the kalamata chicken from this half-century-old Greek restaurant and, for the price of a glass of wine at most Lincoln Park spots, you’ll get your own broiled and grilled half chicken, crisp-skinned and juicy, plus an ample side of thick Greek fries drenched in a jus of olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, and … Read more
John Meyer’s catfish was an instant hit when he introduced it at his first restaurant, the Retreat, in the historic Pullman district. That was 1992, and 30 years later, the catfish is the top seller at BJ’s, his current restaurant. The fish, which comes with a choice of sides like red beans and rice, cornbread … Read more
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
