Restaurants

Za'atar croissants with labneh, sticky toffee date cake, and "sandweeshes" on flatbread are some of the inventive offerings at Seedo's Levantine Bakery. 

Ivan Valdez named his approachable restaurant after backyard taco parties he catered with his mom. He shares favorite spots in and around the city.

“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.”

Nominations have been announced for the prestigious 2025 James Beard Awards that recognize people and businesses in the United States' food and hospitality industry. Chicago has five nominees this year.

As the threat of high tariffs on wine and alcohol from the E.U. and American whiskey in the E.U. loom, the beverage industry warns that, "It's going to hurt."

“It was not just that it was not represented, it was misrepresented,” says the restaurateur behind Ambar of the region as he opens his first location outside Washington, D.C. in the U.S.

Rendang Republic has a take on a Chicago dog featuring Indonesian flavors as well as its namesake rendang, one of Indonesia's national dishes, in the style of Italian beef. It's the first brick and mortar from a chef who has worked to popularize Indonesian food in pop-ups. 

A chef-testant on the latest season of Top Chef, Zubair Mohajir has various successful South Asian-inflected restaurants. He shares his favorite spots.

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.

Kanin will offer longanisa and egg musubi, inari "poke bombs," and more snacks in a bodega-like setting across from Amundsen High School. 

The James Beard Awards, a custodian of Chicago's hospitality industry, have named Chicago's Lem's Bar-B-Q as one of "America's Classics," joining other Chicago spots like Sun Wah and Calumet Fisheries. 

CATSU, from one of the chefs behind the bygone Cat-Su Sando, offers a set yakitori menu of grilled skewers two nights a week out of Flour Power in West Town. 

With dishes from the South, Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa itself, Mahari aims to draw connections between foods of the African diaspora. 

Joe Frillman of the ever-popular Midwest Italian restaurant Daisies shares some of his favorite places to eat, shop for ingredients, and entertain in the Chicago area.