Ad Categories: Food and Wine

@pennypollack: See this steak sandwich @JanesRestaurant? Given the opp, I would put it on our November Best Sandwich list again!  JANE'S: 1655 W CORTLAND, 773-862-5263

Arugula, apples, walnuts & blue cheese salad is to the new millennium what the wedge was to the 1950s. The one @ Cooper’s is especially generous. COOPER'S: 1232 W BELMONT, 773-929-2667

@pennypollack: Need a burger before the show in the Belmont Theatre bldg? Cooper’s has a good one. It also has free parking! COOPER'S: 1232 W BELMONT, 773-929-2667

Never seen such artful tonkatsu as @ Kai Zan, and speedy delivery keeps it juicy. KAI ZAN: 2257 W CHICAGO, 773-278-5776

Maguro pearls @ Kai Zan make good on their menu promise: fresh tuna, spicy mayo, chili oil, creamy wasabi sauce. Talk about a balancing act. KAI ZAN: 2257 W CHICAGO, 773-278-5776

@pennypollack: One out of every ten shishito peppers are spicy. I risked it all to polish these off @ Kai Zan. KAI ZAN: 2257 W CHICAGO, 773-278-5776

Love the crisp parsley shreds covering the sweet “naked” lobster @BaumeBrixChi. Love the playful vanilla-potato foam, too. BAUME & BRIX: 351 W HUBBARD, 312-321-0351

What’s up with oddly dry focaccia for super smooth & delish chicken liver mousse @BaumeBrixChi?  BAUME & BRIX: 351 W HUBBARD, 312-321-0351

@pennypollack: I was just a/b bored stiff w/beef short rib until this one @BaumeBrixChi. Props to the coconut congee underneath. BAUME & BRIX: 351 W HUBBARD, 312-321-0351

The B-4 crepe w/egg, chorizo, pico de gallo & cheeses @ Nu Crepes (Elmhurst) might be a way to get your kid to eat eggs. NU CREPES: 115 W SCHILLER, ELMHURST, 630-577-7558