Chicago Restaurants

I've been to maybe 20 of the 50-odd Indian restaurants on Devon, but damned if I can remember the names of the better ones. One of the Moti Mahals is really good. Also all of the video/music stores owned by the Patel Bros are great!

Avoid the weird Mongol-Indian restaurant on that one corner, though.

They jet in fresh fish and seafood from all over the world to O'Hare. It is cheap and casual and large and they know what the hell they are doing.

Mr. Diamond you should inflate your itemized deductions and then splash out at Le Francais!

nabisco, was Spring the one we were standing directly in front of when the 2 Lincoln Park Trixies asked us for directions to it on our way to Mod?

Yes. I don't know if I told you the story about how Spring made me cross the street every day. But there was a period the summer after it opened where (a) the sidewalk was crowded with valet-parked people who, when you tried to get past, acted like you were the out-of-place one, and (b) their fish-filled dumpsters reeked up that side of the street pretty unbearably.

That said: Felicity, you liked Mod, right? Dear everyone: Mod looks terrible -- it looks like a Lego hair salon, which is sort of cool but not someplace you'd want to eat. But it's very good.

I'm really enjoying this thread for the recommendations, especially some of the north side places that I just don't get too that often.
Yeah, they actually opened a Bob Chinn's near the loop. I've been meaning to get over there for a while now...

Oops, where is Carso's? Do you mean like south loop, or way far south? Anyway, it sounds great!

Leon's at 79th and Stony Island
DD&S at 71st and Cottage Grove
Lem's at 59th and State
Curt's at 82nd and Cottage Grove

Lem's is the one you always see named as the "best", but while it is really good it's almost slightly overcooked, a tad dry. Also it's never quite as spicy as I like things, which is why my favorite is Leon's. Definitely don't order the spicy sauce unless you like things really spicy, but I love it. All these places have other locations on the south side but these are the ones I usually visit.

If you're downtown, check out Millar's Pub at Wabash and Adams, which is great inexpensive and a Chicago institution. Good people watching place. The ribs aren't my favorite, mainly 'cause they use too much molasses, but they're still pretty good. Lots of other stuff on the menu, very friendly place.

I know much about dining in the western suburbs, though!

But here are my favorites:

Little Home Vietnam: Damen/Ashland. Right under the Damen stop on the Brown line. The BEEF SPRING ROLLS are ORGASMIC. TRULY. They're the clear rice paper with chargrilled beef with peanuts, lettuce, carrots, greens, sprouts, and dip it in this LOVELY chilli oil. Its trulky unbelievable. Though the rest of the menu is sort of blah, except the lemongrass chicken is deliciously spicy.

Mirai Sushi: pretty good sushi, for chicago... i mean since its so far from any ocean.

Lou Malnatis Pizza: just get plain cheese. the meat layer is a bit too much.

Aruns: This 12 course Thai meal on the northside.. Really expensive, but oh so delicious.

Frontera Grill, Bistro 110, Yoshi's Cafe are pretty good. Kamahachi is awful.

hstencil, I think I'm usu closer to saying 'hunnerd'. In generally, nobody in my vicinity talks stereotypically Chicagoan (you know, 'hey dere, how youse doin')

I didn't even know he had a new place. Is it the one replacing Roister? I never went there, but ate at Next a couple of times early on and felt ripped off, and ate at Alinea once, which left a bad taste in my mouth (metaphorically; food was good). Never been to the cocktail place.

Googled Fire and it seems inspired by Warlord, maybe? Or perhaps part of the same trend. I've never been to Warlord, either, since eating there seems like a PIA and the people behind it are reportedly dicks.

Yeah, it's the place that replaced Roister.

I am interested in Warlord, but the fact that they don't take reservations and reportedly have had long wait times has kept me away.

Back from our weekend in Chicago and I can report that Gene and Georgetti is a classic. Atmosphere was great, starting with the guy sitting outside who offered to take our picture in front of the sign when he saw us interested in it. Classic wood bar with obligatory celebrity photos. We sat upstairs in a room with a mural of a cityscape from the early/mid 20th C. The restaurant was full, lively, but not loud, which was nice. Our waiter appeared to have been there for twenty plus years and we felt very well taken care of. The food and drinks were very good. The steak was perfectly cooked, the Vesuvio Potatoes cooked in garlic and wine were good, and the broccolini and asparagus were al dente. We ordered two pastas for the table - a very good a la Norma (eggplant, tomato, and ricotta salata), and an exceptional homemade garganelli with lamb, a little soffrito, and a whisper of cream. The pastas really exceeded my expectations because I just assumed a steakhouse was phoning them in a little. I ordered a martini "not too dry" and they made it just right. Portions were very large as well. We ordered gelato and I expected a scoop of each and we received a chalice of each. Not cheap, but this is exactly the kind of restaurant I love now.

We also went to Elske in the West Loop while we were in town. Another excellent meal. We had a lentil crepe with sunchokes that was out of this world.

Hey, that's fantastic.

Sounds like a great visit. Elske was where my wife and I celebrated our last wedding anniversary before moving away from Chicago, been wanting to go back for a while.

Awesome. Now I want to go to Gene & Georgetti.

Can confirm that Elske is very good, although my memory of the meal I had there in 2018 is fuzzy. I do remember the Swedish meatball-style burger they offered for takeout in 2020, which my wife and I ate on their patio in the cold.

Everyone raved about the sourdough bread with koji butter at Elske. I love a really good bread and butter to start a meal.

Any recent veggie-friendly faves? I'll be there this weekend for gigs (my band is playing Fri/Sat at the Green Mill, Chicago friends) and some birthday meals. Going to hit Little Goat and maybe Lucy's Cafe for nostalgia, for dinner my only idea is Sfera (great little Italian deli/street food place I found uptown last year).

speaking of Warlord

https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/01/26/trevor-fleming-warlord-restaurants-crime

he had done this kind of thing before and people put out actual warnings about him and this restaurant a couple years ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/chicagofood/comments/1dqmaf9/chaad_has_issued_an_official_announcement_warning/

I haven't lived in Chicago since 2017 and never heard of Warlord until this thread, and it was immediately suspicious to me

I've read good things about the food at Warlord, but when it opened, it didn't take reservations and there was often a long wait, so I never bothered going. Off my list altogether now.

I've found that a lot of places have upped their veggie option game lately. As far as veggie friendly, though, it's been around for a while but Demera in Uptown is solid Ethiopian. People like Pick Me Up Cafe up there, too, right?

Wish I could get up to Green Mill this weekend...

Oh I've heard Demera is great, it didn't occur to me that it would be veggie-friendly too, thx.

Feel like Demera is a touch overhyped compared to other Ethiopian restaurants in Chicago (or at least I don't know why it's the only one that ever gets publicity), but it's solid.

And yeah, wish I could make the Green Mill this weekend. Next month is the 20th anniversary of the D1gd0wn show where my wife and I met!

Yeah, I dunno if Demera is significantly better than the others, but it's good.

The buddies of mine most likely to make the trek with me to Uptown this weekend are already booked to go with me to Sun Wah and Opeth for my own b-day next Wednesday. Not the easiest place to get to from Oak Park!

It's all booked up anyway, nbd. :)

Happy anniversary jaymc, wish you guys could make it!

Thanks!

Another option for you:
https://www.minyolichicago.com

New Taiwanese place in Andersonville. Mostly known for its beef noodle soups, but there are a few veggie dishes (and all veggie and gluten-free dishes are clearly marked on the menu). I've been a couple of times. La Lechera was also just there and raved about it.

I did! The food and drinks (and service) were all amazing. Would def recommend.
Demera has the benefit of being across the street from Green Mill which I think has led to its dominance. I think there’s a birria place next to Green Mill too, an outpost of a longstanding place in La Villita iirc?

Yep, Birrieria Zaragoza