I’ll admit it: I’ve been there before. As a former resident of Logan Square, there would be many weekends where I’d be out with a group of friends, hopping from bar to bar on Milwaukee Avenue, and end up looking for some food. But, the kitchen at Revolution Brewing...
As I’m sitting here reminiscing about my last visit to L’Appetito, which a friend of mine highly recommended, I find myself mowing down a sandwich that I just just whipped together in my kitchen. I’ve always had a deep appreciation for a simple, yet satisfying...
During a recent trip to New York City, I walked by multiple meatball-focused restaurants and now Mondo Meatball has come to Chicago’s Wicker Park. Are we in the midst of a meatball revolution? These are not just your classic Italian meatballs, either. Mondo...
Open since 2012, Municipal Bar + Dining Co is a sports bar and restaurant located in Chicago’s River North, not far from Merchandise Mart. While the area already has its share of sports bars, Municipal is a bit more upscale than its rivals, quite spacious, and does...
The West Town area over the past couple years has truly become a hip place to hang out thanks to trendy shops and boutiques and great restaurants. The latter includes Unite Urban Grill, a sleek and chill neighborhood steakhouse concept. I was invited to stop on by the...
I found myself wandering the streets of Chicago one evening. I was aimlessly walking around snapping photos when the slight growl of my stomach made me realize that I had yet to eat anything that day. I made a couple phone calls to get recommendations from friends,...
I found myself in Naperville on perhaps the most sacred day of the week– Taco Tuesday. With no lunch plans, my own two feet for transportation, a craving for tacos and wide eyes– I spotted the On The Border Naperville location just down the road. This Tex-Mex...
Forno Rosso owner, Nick Nitti spent a large part of his childhood in Italy where he fell in love with the simplistic pizza in Naples. That led him to attend culinary school in Italy, study Neapolitan pizza in Naples, and open Forno Rosso back near his home in...
Riot Fest is perhaps the oddest duck of the major Chicago summer music festivals. It feels something like a combination of Pitchfork, early 90s Lollapalooza, Warped Tour, and the Gathering of the Juggalos– thanks to its diverse, often random, lineup and collection of...
Our recent list of the best Chicago burgers was not without its share of controversy. After its publication, I was told I had to go over immediately to Cochon Volant and try their Le Cheeseburger Royale. Translated as “Flying Pig,” Cochon Volant recently opened in the...
In 1975, following two years of success running a Loop luncheonette, Alex Dana took over a Little Italy Men’s Supper Club, reopening as Bocciola della Rosa. Soon rechristened in English as Rosebud, the restaurant became incredibly popular with locals, visiting...
When we last visited Kizuki Ramen at the end of winter, it was their first night of service. Though Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya is a chain spanning from Japan to the Pacific Northwest, they were breaking in a new staff, trying to get the whole menu together, and...
Since opening in March 2014, Ukrainian Village’s Leghorn Chicken has become a favorite of hipsters, neighborhood residents, and Chicago’s fried chicken enthusiasts. They boldly positioned themselves as the anti-Chik-fil-A with Sunday hours, branded condoms, and...
Chicago’s the Fifty/50 Group has so far been known for their eclecticism with restaurants ranging from the namesake sports bar to Roots Handmade Pizza to craft cocktail lounges like the Berkshire Room. With the recent opening of Steadfast in the Loop’s business...
As I approached Tradition, I thought to myself ‘oh no, not another sports bar.’ Not that there’s anything wrong about sports bars, but they can be very similar: sports memorabilia, dozens of flat screens, and pretty good burgers. Fortunately,...
The idea of going to a Wrigleyville bar could either be the greatest or worst thing every depending on who you are. If that is your scene, there’s certainly no shortage of places to choose from to watch the game, grab some lunch, or have a boozy weekend. Located just...
On May 16, 2015, Bucktown neighborhood bar Lottie’s Pub celebrated an incredible 81 years in business. While the sports dive now seems like an outlier in the gentrified neighborhood, the pub was packed with people enjoying .81 cent burgers and beers and generally...
With its rusted metal exterior and a revolving skeleton motorcycle rider atop a ‘garden’ of motorcycle parts, Twisted Spoke may seem a little intimidating upon first glance. While biker-themed, the bar attracts a wide range of customers to its easily...
While America may have exported the bulk of its manufacturing jobs overseas, more and more restaurants are adopting the assembly line model such as Chipotle. One of the more recent additions is Mixed Greens, fast food restaurant focusing on organic and healthy salads,...
The red Weber Grill has been a staple of American backyards since the 1950s, but you may not be aware that the iconic kettle was born right here in Chicago. In 1952, George Stephen Sr. was a part-owner of the Weber Metal Works in Chicago crafting marine buoys....
Up a secretive set of stairs at Little Goat, the casual sibling restaurant of Girl & the Goat, lies a gorgeous private dining space featuring a sleek, modern kitchen, a homey and bright dining area, accompanied by a rooftop area with a gorgeous view of the...
It’s clear with a name like “Coconutz” the owner’s of the Gold Coast’s newest bar don’t take themselves too seriously. Taking influences from traditional Tiki Bars, which has made a major comeback in recent years– and the Caribbean, Coconutz promises fun and the...
Ravenswood’s Artango serves authentic South American cuisine, but it’s also a dance studio and something of an avant-garde art gallery– all packed in a hundred-year-old former factory. That certainly makes Artango one of the most unique dining experiences in the city....
Caffè RoM is an Italian-style coffee shop with three locations in downtown Chicago: Prudential Plaza, the Hyatt Center, and River East. They specialize in Fair Trade coffee creations, gourmet Panini sandwiches, and freshly made gelato. The River East location is the...
Does a Texas-based taco concept have anything to offer Chicago? While Chicago may already have an insane number of incredible taquerias, Velvet Taco in the Gold Coast manages to offer something different with tacos influenced by world cuisine. Whether you’re a fan of...
Earlier this summer, the Chicago Traveler visited CHOP just before it opened to serve shoppers and residents of the Roosevelt Collection. This time around we visited CHOP owner Jovanis Bouargoub’s original restaurant concept: Porkchop. Porkchop serves a variety of...
Kick, which replaced Sola in late 2015, is a gastropub in North Center focusing on spicy food. Though fiery burgers, sandwiches, and other casual pub food with a kick make up the bulk of the menu, the restaurant takes influence from all around the world. People from...
Chicago has no shortage of breakfast and brunch options. Stumble out bleary-eyed on a Sunday morning and even the grease bucket on the corner is probably offering some fried egg hotdog nightmare’there are so many places to grab brunch that it’s easy to...
Generally my beat around The Chicago Traveler is restaurants and the occasional concert. The evening started off normally enough at Old Town’s Pomp & Circumstance for an open house at the nearby IVme Hydration Clinic– drinking an Old Fashioned and snacking on...
Walking into Belly Up, you’ll be astounded by how surprisingly huge it is. The restaurant is very long and has these really high ceilings. The vibe is Chicago warehouse industrial with lots of brick, exposed fixtures, and wood ceiling beams with some subtle cowboy...
Division Street in Wicker Park is rich in bar food, but if you just want a quick bite on your way home from work your options are pretty limited and pretty greasy. Thankfully, there’s MAK: Modern Asian Kitchen. MAK is a fast casual, counter-service restaurant...
An egg sandwich at brunch can be a wonderful thing; however, when you’re in the rush before work it always seems like your only option is to run into McDonalds or Starbucks. Eastman Egg Company is out to change that. They started with the idea that you can get an...
The last time I was at the Stretch, I was in pursuit of their award-winning Cortland Street Burger and walked away with a very happy stomach. I made a return trip to the Wrigleyville sports bar and grille to sample their new spring menu—launching March 12—created by...
Part of the Fifty/50 Group— and located right next door to sibling restaurants Roots and Homestead— West Town Bakery & Diner looks like your favorite college town hangout. Walk in and you’ll notice the eye-popping street art and graffiti, colorful seats and...
Chicago has been taken over by a fever for Japanese ramen noodles. Within walking distance from my apartment alone, I can think of four places I could go for noodles. Jakarta, Indonesia-based Imperial Lamian, a restaurant group with more than 20 locations, picked...
The General, in Logan Square, is a hot spot for craft beer and satisfying food. Their focus is on soul food and artisan tacos– which is a mighty fine combination if you ask me. Their daily special is really one of the best in Chicago. For $8ºº you can have yourself...
Chicago’s Albany Park is one of the most diverse areas in the city, if not the entire country. About half of the population of the neighborhood is made up of foreign-born immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Korean, Yugoslavia, Somalia, and many, many more...
5411 Empanadas is one of the fastest growing restaurant groups in the city. Named after the international dialing code for Buenos Aires, the group first opened in 2009 with a quality product and making deliveries to local Chicago businesses. That led to an incredibly...
The battle between deep dish and NY style pizza will likely rage on till the end of time, but there’s one thing you’ve got to give to New York City: you can grab a quality slice pretty much anywhere. In Chicago, it takes a little more effort to get an easy pizza fix....
While fun in concept, build-your-own burger places like Meatheads or Five Guys have always left me feeling a little let down. Either the toppings are good but the meat hovers around McDonald’s quality, or the toppings are pretty basic. Lincoln Park’s Butcher &...
You’ve been hitting up the bars for a bit and have a solid buzz going. You’re thinking about calling it a night, but ready for one last stop and there’s got to be food. Pulling up Yelp, there’s not a lot options other than super greasy, but you’re looking for...
Chicagoans love brunch so much that more and more restaurants decide to get into the brunch game. However, the results can often be kind of surreal when you wind up at the local dive that’s trying their hardest to deliver an extravagant Lobster Eggs Benedict in the...
Flagship, to many, may seem like just another typical sports bar. Upon first glance, I wouldn’t argue with you. However, being that sports games were flooding the copious amount of screens throughout the venue and my table didn’t pay attention to any of them one bit–...
Gentrification has drastically transformed Logan Square in the last few years from a primarily Latino neighborhood to hipster paradise with both positive and negative results. For all the cool bookstores like Uncharted and great restaurants like Lula Caf and Longman...
Have you ever wanted to go out and watch the game without having to eat the same old sports bar food? Sports bars are a dime a dozen in Chicago, but the Commonwealth Tavern (2000 Roscoe Street in Roscoe Village) stands out from the pack by merging your favorite bar...
Wandering through the boutiques that make up LuxeHome (website), on the first floor of Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, you didn’t know what you’d find. Tucked away in model bathrooms, kitchens with Wi-Fi ready refrigerators, and next to paint...
As if Restaurant Row wasn’t already a foodies dream come true, the West Loop’s dining scene continues to grow and expand beyond the confines of Randolph. Head just a little bit south of Randolph to 1045 W. Madison Street and you’ll find the Mad Boiler, a Cajun seafood...
Chicago is a lot more than hot dogs and deep dish pizza, proof of which is the city’s growing love for Southern cooking and barbecue. Evidence of this is Carriage House, which serves modern low country Southern food to Wicker Park at 1700 W. Division Street. We...
Madison Public House has been in business for nearly 3 years. Upon opening, they wanted to create an atmosphere that provided an all-in-one experience; they have succeeded. They may possess a bar appearance, but that is not strictly what they are. Rather than going to...
Located in Lakeview’s Southport Corridor, Southport & Irving (SIP) is a classy yet relaxed cocktail bar and restaurant taking inspiration from the days of speakeasies and jazz clubs giving it the feeling it’s been around since the days of Capone and Machine Gun...
