Stories by Maggie Hennessy

"When a restaurant is flowing it’s a kind of symphony," says Eric Shin, who is simultaneously CEO and co-founder of SeoulSpice restaurants and principal percussionist for the National Symphony Orchestra.

Judging from the restaurant designs up for recognition at Chicago's local Jean Banchet Awards, what we all seem to need right now is aspirational escape.

As the cult favorite inside the hospitality industry podcast "Joiners" soldiers on, its two hosts are considering whether to try to keep expanding – or just keep doing what they're doing.

"I will do everything the old-school way even if it takes longer if I think it’s the best way to do it,” says Ryan Brosseau, chef of Dear Margaret, which offers glimpses into the kitchen's process via social media videos.

With sales down on weeknights and a sense of complacency in the kitchen, Giant decided to institute a test kitchen in which the staff would experiment with new dishes that would appear on the menu at a lower price.

Next puts a Midwestern twist on the legendary Italian restaurant Osteria Francescana, while Alinea celebrates 20 years and Grant Achatz tries out generative AI.

“I realized I'd just eaten an album,” says Ben Glover of his introduction to a tasting menu at Atelier in Chicago, “and I needed to write a full album that is basically a tasting menu for people to listen to.”

Peruvian street food, Mexican masa creations, a delectable burger: it's all availabe in the oft-overlooked Belmont Cragin, which has the largest Latino population of any neighborhood in the city.

Restaurants serving cuisines from around China keep popping up in Chinatown's neighboring Bridgeport, which Henry Cai of 3 Little Pigs celebrates – but he worries that the Cantonese restaurants he grew up with might disappear.

La Cantina inside Italian Village has been redesigned and updated into Sotto after decades of hosting memories like those made by Maggie Hennessy and her sister. Hennessy squares the new place against her traditions at the old. 

The neighborhood of Dunning may be unofficially known as Chicago's other Little Italy, but new businesses serving Vietnamese-inspired beer, Turkish delights, and scratch-made tamales and tacos have recently sprouted up as well. 

Simon's Tavern in Andersonville began life as a basement speakeasy during Prohibition but has been open legally for 90 years. It's only on its third owner, and retains its old-school charm.

As cicadas have begun their emergence in Illinois this year, a couple of Chicago area chefs have cooked up some crunchy recipes – including one for Cicada Cracker Jack that you can make on your own – that celebrate the nutty, earthy flavors found in the insects.

Since the legalization of recreational marijuana in Illinois in 2020 brought broader cultural acceptance, stricter guardrails, and $1.6 billion in sales in 2023 alone, the bar has gotten higher on cannabis-infused food and drinks, from cake mix to drinks to gummies to hot sauce.

Omarcito's in Logan Square, which recently won the Jean Banchet Award for Best Counter Service, serves up home-style Latin American plates and handhelds. Owner and chef Omar Cadena, "a big softie with big energy and a big voice," wants everyone to feel loved and included when they walk up to the window.