Chicago Dining

Joke all you want about bratwurst and deep-dish pizza -- Chicago has come into its own as a culinary hotspot. Our top local chefs win national cooking awards and show up regularly on the Food Network, while we locals have had a hard time keeping up with all the new restaurant openings. What makes eating out in Chicago fun is the variety. We've got it all: stylish see-and-be-seen spots, an amazing array of steakhouses, chef-owned temples to fine dining, and every kind of ethnic cuisine you could possibly crave.

It's not easy to narrow down the very impressive list of restaurants in this city. The competition at the high end is especially intense. A few well-regarded chefs -- Jean Joho at Everest, Arun Sampanthavivat at Arun's, Charlie Trotter at his namesake place -- still reign supreme at restaurants that have been long-time favorites of local epicures. But relative newcomers, including Tru, one sixtyblue, mk, and Moto, have upped the stakes (and the average check price) considerably.

Ethnic fusion is the latest trend sweeping through the city, from the Japan-meets-South America theme at SushiSamba Rio to the Indian/Latin American combos at Vermilion. You'll find upscale versions of ethnic cuisine at places such as Chilpancingo or Frontera Grill (Mexican), Erawan (Thai) and Spiaggia (which might be the country's most elegant Italian restaurant). But affordable (and attitude-free) restaurants still thrive in the city's original immigrant neighborhoods -- Greektown, Little Italy, and Chinatown.

Unfortunately, Chicago is no longer the budget-dining destination it once was. (Hipness doesn't come cheap.) But just because the prices have risen doesn't mean that the attitude has. Restaurants in Chicago might have gotten trendy, but they're still friendly.

Whether you're looking for a restaurant to impress a business colleague or simply a no-frills spot to dig in, these are the places the locals go when they want to eat well. To find out more about restaurants that have opened since this book went to press, check out the Chicago Tribune's entertainment website at www.metromix.com, the website for Chicago magazine at www.chicagomag.com, or the entertainment/nightlife website www.chicago.citysearch.com.

Kitchens Up Close
Serious food fans can get a firsthand look at how some of the city's culinary stars work by booking a seat at a chef's table. You'll get a personal tour of the kitchen, a special selection of dishes and -- best of all -- a front-row seat for dinner-hour drama. At Tru (tel. 312/202-0001), four to six people can sit in a glass-enclosed room off the kitchen, where they can check out the scene without feeling the heat. The chef's table at Charlie Trotter's (tel. 773/248-6228) seats four to six right in the kitchen, so diners can catch Trotter's legendary perfectionism up close. The chef's table at Zealous (tel. 312/475-9112) is in the main dining room -- but bamboo trees surround it, so other diners won't get jealous when chef Michael Taus stops by for some one-on-one taste tests.

Chef's tables don't come cheap ($100-$150 per person), but they're a special splurge for die-hard foodies. Just remember to reserve well in advance because these tables book fast.

Best Spot for a Romantic Dinner: Secluded North Pond, 2610 N. Cannon Dr. (tel. 773/477-5845), is an Arts and Crafts-styled retreat with a postcard-perfect setting in Lincoln Park. Not only does it boast a dramatic vista of the Gold Coast skyline, but the restaurant's out-of-the-way locale also requires diners to begin and end their meal with an idyllic stroll through the park. For charm on a much lower budget, try Cyrano's Bistrot & Wine Bar, 526 N. Wells St. (tel. 312/467-0546), a cozy spot that will make you feel like you've jetted off to the romantic City of Love.

Best Spot for a Business Lunch: A millennial take on the classic American steakhouse, stylish Nine, 440 W. Randolph St. (tel. 312/575-9900), offers super-slick environs, prime steaks, fresh seafood, a champagne-and-caviar bar, and -- most importantly -- tiny TV sets above the men's-room urinals for those who can't bear to miss the latest from CNBC.

Best Spot for a Celebration: Not only does Nacional 27, 325 W. Huron St. (tel. 312/664-2727), offer a grand setting and a menu of creative Latin American dishes, it also turns into a party on Friday and Saturday nights, when a DJ spins salsa tunes and center tables are cleared for dancing.

Best Scene: The Gold Coast's rich and beautiful flock to the bar at Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse, 1028 N. Rush St. (tel. 312/266-8999), to gossip while sipping on massive martinis. Hang out with a drink (and maybe spot a visiting celeb) while working up an appetite for a super-size steak.

Best View: Forty stories above Chicago, Everest, 440 S. LaSalle St. (tel. 312/663-8920), astounds with a spectacular view -- and food to match. Another dazzler, day or night, is the view from the Signature Lounge atop the 100-story John Hancock Building, 875 N. Michigan Ave. (tel. 312/787-7230). Though this is really a bar, not a restaurant, the Signature Lounge is a good place to perch for a drink before or after your dinner. Closer to earth, diners on the rooftop terrace at Greektown's Pegasus, 130 S. Halsted St. (tel. 312/226-3377), get a panoramic view of the city skyline.

Best Value: At longtime city favorite Carson's, 612 N. Wells St. (tel. 312/280-9200), $20 gets you a full slab of incredible baby back ribs, accompanied by a bowl of Carson's almost-as-famous coleslaw and a choice of potatoes. Lincoln Park residents swarm to RoseAngelis, 1314 W. Wrightwood Ave. (tel. 773/296-0081), where $20 buys a glass of wine, a massive plate of pasta, and a generous serving of possibly the city's best bread pudding.

Best for Kids: Kids will love eating at ESPN Zone, 43 E. Ohio St. (tel. 312/475-0263). Yes, you'll find a kids' menu here, but the main attraction is the enormous Sports Arena, where kids can work off some excess energy playing the interactive games.

Best American Cuisine: The beautiful people flock to chef Paul Kahan's Blackbird, 619 W. Randolph St. (tel. 312/715-0708), for the stylish setting and just-as-stylish food. Crofton on Wells, 535 N. Wells St. (tel. 312/755-1790), may be far less trendy, but it's a true labor of love for chef Suzy Crofton -- and her devoted local fans keep coming back for more.

Best French Cuisine: You'll get the full fine-dining treatment -- and fabulous food -- at Ambria, 2300 N. Lincoln Park West (tel. 312/472-5959). For a more casual Parisian cafe experience, few places delight quite like Bucktown's charming Le Bouchon, 1958 N. Damen Ave. (tel. 773/862-6600), with its cozy atmosphere and delectable bistro fare.

Best Italian Cuisine: Even without the glamorous view of the Magnificent Mile, Spiaggia, 980 N. Michigan Ave. (tel. 312/280-2750), would draw diners in droves with its gourmet takes on classic Italian cuisine. For a more casual, old-world experience, it's hard to beat Rosebud on Taylor, 1500 W. Taylor St. (tel. 312/942-1117), which has reigned supreme in Chicago's Little Italy neighborhood for as long as anyone can remember.

Best Splurge: The most famous name in Chicago restaurant circles has to be Charlie Trotter's, 816 W. Armitage Ave. (tel. 773/248-6228). Our top celebrity chef continues to dazzle with his mix of fresh-as-can-be ingredients, creative flavor combinations, and legendary perfectionism. Hot on Trotter's heels is Tru, 676 N. St. Clair St. (tel. 312/202-0001), another temple of modern gourmet dining and the perfect convergence of artful cuisine and elegant ambience. For pure knock-your-socks-off novelty, the place to go is Moto, 945 W. Fulton Market St. (tel. 312/491-0058), where chef Homaro Cantu uses custom-made silverware and cooking devices to present dishes in entirely new ways.

Best Steakhouse: Legendary Chicago restaurateur Arnie Morton no longer prowls the dining room, but Morton's, 1050 N. State St. (tel. 312/266-4820), remains the king of the city's old-guard steakhouses, serving up gargantuan wet-aged steaks and baked potatoes.

Best Pizza: In the town where deep-dish pies were born, Chicagoans take their out-of-town relatives to either Gino's East, 633 N. Wells St. (tel. 312/943-1124), or Lou Malnati's, 439 N. Wells St. (tel. 312/828-9800), to taste the real thing: mouthwatering slabs of pizza loaded with fresh ingredients atop delectably sweet crusts.

Best Pretheater Dinner: A local favorite, the Italian Village, 71 W. Monroe St. (tel. 312/332-7005) -- actually three restaurants run by one family under one roof -- knows how to get its clientele seated and (well) fed in time for a show. For Chicago Symphony Orchestra audiences, Rhapsody, 65 E. Adams St. (tel. 312/786-9911), is conveniently located in the Symphony Center building. If you're seeing a play in Lincoln Park, go for tasty tapas at Café Ba-Ba-Reeba!, 2024 N. Halsted St. (tel. 773/935-5000).

Best Wine List: Two spots take their food-drink pairings especially seriously: Try Zealous, 419 W. Superior St. (tel. 312/475-9112), if money is no object, and Bin 36, 339 N. Dearborn St. (tel. 312/755-9463), if you're looking for a more casual vibe.

Best Fast Food: A few steps above the standard food court, foodlife in Water Tower Place, 835 N. Michigan Ave. (tel. 312/335-3663), offers everything from Asian noodles and vegetarian fare to pizza and burgers.

Best Brunch: The luxury hotels along Michigan Avenue offer all-you-can-eat gourmet spreads, but the locals prefer the sinfully rich cinnamon rolls at Ann Sather, 929 W. Belmont Ave. (tel. 773/348-2378).