current year
From its start in the early 2010s as an itinerant brewery with twin interests in experimental beers and social justice, Logan Square’s Bungalow by Middle Brow seems to gain new layers of complexity by the year. It’s a pizzeria. It’s a bread bakery. And most recently, Middle Brow is also a daytime café serving up … Read more
Summertime drinking should be about ease, which is exactly why Sportsman’s Club in Humboldt Park is my preferred spot for an alfresco hang. Not a single thing about this bar is fussy, from the long wooden picnic tables to the crushable cocktails that rotate daily. (Who doesn’t want to sip a watermelon and gin drink … Read more
Though the Oakville Grill & Cellar is a magnet for West Loop office workers, let us not forget it’s a Lettuce Entertain You joint. And for that forward-thinking restaurant group, school-age diners’ palates are no afterthought. Case in point: the tasty and healthy kids’ menu offering of grilled Faroe Islands salmon served with fresh berries … Read more
The thoughtfulness underpinning the drinks at Two Mile Coffee, a light-soaked Beverly café, could be borrowed from a seasonally driven tasting menu. So might the evolving catalog of flavors: Come chilly weather, the offerings revel in savory grace notes (think lattes laced with cedar-smoked vanilla syrup or nutty miso caramel), while the warmer months bring … Read more
Best Italian Beef Justin Fortuna opened the first Jay’s Beef in Schiller Park back in 1976. That spot has since closed, but the family’s other northwest suburban location is still kicking. Their prep is a two-day process that involves roasting the meat in a mix of seasonings, then cutting it razor thin. They dunk slices … Read more
As you stroll past a certain food shop in Lincoln Square in the summer, you might not be aware that some folks are sitting on its roof, sipping craft beers, biting into spicy sausages, and possibly even looking down at you. To reach that delightful space, enter Gene’s Sausage Shop & Delicatessen, walk past the … Read more
Attention, delegates: The area around the United Center isn’t exactly a drinking destination, so thank goodness for the West Loop’s Kaiser Tiger, a 15-minute walk away. Double thanks since the drink list offers a tour of Chicago’s best breweries — an Italian ice–inspired lager from Hopewell, a clementine cider from Right Bee Cider, a collaborative Pilsner from … Read more
No place in town gives this classic cocktail its due quite like Queen Mary Tavern. A couple of times a month, beverage director Dan Smith changes up the offering by selecting a gin from the Ukrainian Village bar’s deep selection — maybe it’s Mahón from Spain or Kyrö from Finland — and turns it into a martini with dry … Read more
Joe Briglio and Lily Wang of Nine Bar make terrific cocktails with Asian ingredients like Sichuan peppercorn, ube, Calpico, and baijiu, so we shouldn’t be surprised that they had the brilliant idea to turn Chinese almond cookies into a smooth orgeat syrup for their mai tai. Loaded with flavor, it’s become an instant classic and … Read more
Stepping inside Carver 47 Food & Wellness Market in North Kenwood is like entering a fairy tale for the senses. The name honors George Washington Carver, the Black inventor and agricultural scientist (yes, the peanut guy), and the plant-filled café is like a greenhouse, reflecting his love of nature. So does chef-general manager Lizz Wright’s … Read more
