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...
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...
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,...
Emporium Arcade Bar fuses retro with modern in a harmoniously entertaining way. Some of you may have been born slightly too late to remember the days when arcades were a place that you wanted to go almost as badly as you wanted to go to Disney World (those commercials...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Burgers are one of America’s favorite comfort foods. Many of us have fond memories of going to the local burger joint with our parents and friends and enjoying some greasy goodness. For a lot of Chicago’s Southside residents, that burger joint was Grant’s Wonderburger...
Chicago has a vibrant food scene with new restaurants and concepts constantly popping up. But how do you continue to stay relevant when your restaurant has been around for nearly a decade? Case in point: the Fifty/50. The sports bar was one of the first of its kind on...
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...
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...
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...
While visitors to our city may have hot dogs and deep dish pizza on their minds, Chicagoans are well aware of our city’s rich, if not complicated, barbecue scene. There’s not exactly one specific Chicago-style barbecue with many rich traditions divided by...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
Whether headed to the office or coming into town for a day of sightseeing, most Chicagoans get by with a cup, or five, of coffee. With temperatures this summer regularly reaching 90 degrees, it’s definitely iced coffee season. However, if you’re in the River North...
When I lived near the intersection of Armitage and California a few years ago, the food options were fairly limited and imbalanced. You could have a high-end foodie meal at Table, Donkey and Stick or grab a hot dog at the Tastee Freez. All of that has changed...
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...
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...
Deli and sub sandwich fans are intensely passionate, even to the point where there are fierce rivalries around massive chains like Subway and Jimmy John’s. New York Delicatessen owner Isaac Work was once such a fan, driving regularly from Bridgeport to the...
It’s noon and time for lunch. You’ve really got a craving for Antique Taco, but there’s definitely not enough time to go to Wicker Park and back on your meager lunch break. I guess you’ll have to settle for Taco Bell again… If this is the sad existence you’ve led as a...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
A few years ago, most Chicagoans probably thought of ramen as the cheap microwave noodles they ate in college, but now the city is obsessed with the Japanese noodle-soup dish. The latest contender for best ramen bowl in the city is Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya in...
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...
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 &...
Chop Steakhouse is the First Restaurant at the South Loop’s Roosevelt Collection •Chop Steakhouse Opened July 15, 2015• The Roosevelt Collection is a combination of newer high-end apartments in the South Loop, along with a large shopping area. Despite the gorgeous...
I almost put the claim in the title as ” Boiler Room Chicago’s Best Dinner Deal ” but that would be a hard claim to fully backup. However, even with Chicago being so expansive and the food scene constantly exploding– Boiler Room remains as one of the best bangs for...
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...
Whenever I find myself in Naperville, Jackson Avenue Pub seems to be my go to spot (followed by Quigley’s Irish Pub). The atmosphere is pretty low-key and their food is spot on– especially if you have burgers on your mind. Atmosphere The interior of Jackson Avenue Pub...
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...
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....
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...