Chicago, Chicago, it’s a city that’s exciting; it’s a city that’s inviting...
10 not-so-basic eats in our hometown
As Chicago natives — born and breads (cheesy but had to) — we're dedicating the weekend edition to our beloved hometown. Sure, Chicago winters might inspire memes about "Winter is coming" but our summers? They’re the reason people fall head over heels and conveniently forget about the cold (and wind). Call it delusion or wishful thinking but this is exactly what happens when high school juniors visit Chicago in the summer for campus tours around Northwestern and UChicago and fall in love with our charming city with a gorgeous beachfront and its adjacent lake trail. Summer is dangerously beautiful in Chicago and if that’s all they see, they are likely to apply ED and pledge fealty to our Windy City and gaslight themselves into believing that winters are actually tolerable… Rising high school seniors, you’ve been forewarned.
As for the food scene, we know Lollapalooza is around the corner and you’re probably starting to research our town to get ideas on where to go. Not to throw shade at the Midwestern palate, but when the food is bad, it's spectacularly bad. Beware of the food guides out there — many are either outdated (because good spots can nosedive fast here) or downright unappetizing (think oil and salt overload).
In this edition, we’re skipping the usual suspects — you don’t need us telling you about the fabled legends aka Portillo’s (Chicago dogs & Italian beef), Au Cheval** (with an outpost in NYC but the OG Chicago burger can’t be beat), Sawada (also now in NYC — NEXT to the Au Cheval no less — and comparable), Lou Malnati’s (always order extra thin crust & extra crispy) or Lula Cafe and Mr. Beef (The Bear) as well as high-end restos like Alinea and Bavette’s. You’ve heard aplenty about these places. What we are sharing today is a list of 10 not-so-basic spots (and 2 honorable mentions) that represent some of the BEST in Chicago and truly make Chi-town a gastronomic heavyweight to be reckoned with.
**Pro tip: If you’re not ordering the griddled seared blueberry muffin (with butter, hot fudge!!!, and jam) at Au Cheval as a prelude to the classic burger, you’re doing it wrong.
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