MUST EAT places in Chicago? (Cicero, Berwyn: houses, neighborhoods, restaurants)

[King0fthehill]

Hi guys,

I'll be in Chicago this week, and being a moderate foodie, I was wondering what are some of the MUST EAT places in Chicago? Particularly the quintessential (local and neighborhood) favorites/specialties that are an absolute must visit for any visitor? I'd like to know as to what places you guys know of that serve noteworthy/exceptionally good hot dogs, Italian beef or Chicago-style pizza. Ethnic places are welcomed, too, of course.

I'll be doing alot of walking around, taking pictures and things of that nature, so cool little neighborhood cafe's for a quick lunch or something are a must.

I'm not picky, but since I'll be coming from Los Angeles, I'll gladly pass on anything Mexican -- (rightfully so, as I can get that at home) -- unless there is some place truly worth trying. And since I have a big sweet tooth, don't hesitate offering a favorite bakery, coffee shop, ice cream parlor, dessert place, etc.

Any and all recommendations/input/advice are welcome (and encouraged!). Lastly, for what it's worth, would you all be kind enough to include the nearest El stop for the respective restaurant?

[OrangeAndBlue]

There are tons of deep dish pizza, italian beef, and hot dog places that are all pretty good, and there is certainly no consensus about which one is the best, so you'll probably get a bunch of different answers. I'm not a big deep dish fan myself, so I'll let someone else answer that one for you.
For italian beef, I recommend Portillos or Al's beef - both have multiple locations.

For a unique hot dog experience, I definitely recommend you go out to Hot Doug's. It's a hot dog experience you probably won't find anywhere else - at least I've never heard of anything similar. Be prepared to wait in line for at least half an hour to get in, but it's worth it. Unfortunately it's not very close to an El stop, but you can probably find a decent bus / el / cab combination that will get you there if you use the trip planner on the CTA website.

Beyond that, Chicago is so much more than hot dogs, deep dish, and italian beef - which I think are mostly overrated anyway. Since you're coming from LA, you can probably skip the Chinese and Korean food here too, but check out some local Polish or Puerto Rican joints for something different than what you may find in LA. A good source for information is the list of Great Neighborhood Restaurants on the LTH Forum (just google and you'll find it).

[Venom]

Don't forget Gyros.

[Attrill]

Is there any particular style of food or price range you're interested in?

Hot Doug's is definitely worth the trip - it's best to go on a weekday (and get there before noon) to avoid an insane wait. Some other outstanding places are Kuma's (burgers), The Publican (pig parts of all sorts), Avec (Tapas/Wine bar), Smoque (BBQ), Sun Wah BBQ (Chinese, great duck), Naha (modern Amer/Armenian), Laschet's Inn (German), Schwa (modern Amer), and Margie's (Ice Cream). I also agree that LTHforum.com is the best place to look for more info on Chicago restaurants.

BTW - if you like Mexican you should definitely check out some Chicago Mexican restaurants. They're different from what you'll get in SoCal (or SF, Texas, Arizona, etc. - there are a lot of variations on "Mexican" around the US). Frontera, Mixteco, Fonda Del Mar, Nuevo Leon, and Real Tenochtitlan are all excellent.

[Avengerfire]

If you do a search of the forum or look here: https://www.city-data.com/forum/chica...ds-moving.html you will find mucho info.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by King0fthehill

Hi guys,

I'll be in Chicago this week, and being a moderate foodie, I was wondering what are some of the MUST EAT places in Chicago? Particularly the quintessential (local and neighborhood) favorites/specialties that are an absolute must visit for any visitor? I'd like to know as to what places you guys know of that serve noteworthy/exceptionally good hot dogs, Italian beef or Chicago-style pizza. Ethnic places are welcomed, too, of course.

I'll be doing alot of walking around, taking pictures and things of that nature, so cool little neighborhood cafe's for a quick lunch or something are a must.

I'm not picky, but since I'll be coming from Los Angeles, I'll gladly pass on anything Mexican -- (rightfully so, as I can get that at home) -- unless there is some place truly worth trying. And since I have a big sweet tooth, don't hesitate offering a favorite bakery, coffee shop, ice cream parlor, dessert place, etc.

Any and all recommendations/input/advice are welcome (and encouraged!). Lastly, for what it's worth, would you all be kind enough to include the nearest El stop for the respective restaurant?

I'd say the easiest place to get local "must eat" recommendations is to check out our local foodie website LTHForum.com and search for the thread where they list the latest "Great Neighborhood Restaurants" award winners.

As for Mexican, Chicago is home to the Rick Bayless/Frontera empire. I would greatly suggest hitting up one of his restaurants while you're in town for a truly unique take on Mexican cuisine. Dinner is probably going to be impossible at any of his sit-down restaurants (Frontera Grill, Topolabampo and Xoco), but lunch may be doable. If nothing else at least check out his "express" restaurant in the food court on the 7th floor of the downtown Macy's.

[NearWestSider]

Italian Beef: The Original Al's on Taylor Street.
Poish Sausage: Jim's Original, on Union just south of Roosevelt.
Sub Sandwiches: Fontano's on Polk at Miller.
Gyros: Mr Greek or Greektown Gyros, Jackson and Halsted.
Deli Sandwiches: Manny's on Jefferson just north of Roosevelt.

You can find this food elsewhere, and there are those who will tell you "Wait!! the X at Y is better than at Z", but these are the places that set the gold standard in their respective categories, and thus should be considered essential eating. You cannot, for example, intelligently discuss Polish sausage unless you have been to Jim's, and every beef stand in Chicago is compard to Al's.

The good news is they are all near downtown, right by the UIC campus, and within walking distance of each other. The Halsted/UIC stop on the Blue Line is your best bet.

if you decide to make the pilgrimage to Manny's or Jim's or Al's or Fontano's, you'll literally be crossing the UIC campus, so don't forget to bring your camera to grab some souvenir photos to adorn your blog about the horrors of Brutalism and Walter Netch.

BSB (at Morgan and Vernon Park) is probably the most controversial building on the campus and is definitely worth a walkthrough - assuming you can find the entrance, of course. But trust me, its worth the search, because BSB is without a doubt one of the most unusual buildings ever designed. Since the mid 60's, countless students and junior faculty have been challenged and confounded by its non-cartesian grid. If you do actually get lost in the maze, do not despair! BSB stands for "Behavioral Sciences Building", so think about the food you are going to eat, keep searching for the way out, and take solace in the knowledge that you are doing the disciples of BF Skinner proud.

[linicx]

Since you are walking and taking picures, you might like Oak Park as it has more Frank Lloyd Wright houses than any place in America. It's a walking tour and you can find a place to grab a bite. Here'a link to OP. Http://www.oprf.org/ . It might not be your cup, but it is an intersting area.

[NearWestSider]

Oak Park is a complete dud for Chicago-style junk food. Don't waste your time. To get a decent Italian beef, you've got to go to either go to Carm's or Buona's on Roosevelt Road or Novi's on Ogden, all in Berwyn.

Parky's on Harlem is the only thing even remotely resembling a true junk-food tradition there (is it even still there?), and frankly, its a second-tier hot dog stand. The one that used to be on Ogden in Berwyn was way better.

Oak Park is great for an architecture and fine dining. For everything else you've gotta go to Cicero and Berwyn, and if you are going that far I'd recommend Klas or Czech Plaza - again, in Berwyn - to experience Czech Food, another low-budget Chicago food tradition.

[Irishtom29]

Parky's had a mediocre hot dog but the fries and milk shakes were excellent. Last time I was down 12th St. out there the one in Berwyn was gone, I don't know about the one on Harlem.

Carm's was on the Oak Park side of the street but it's gone now, keeps moving west; from Cicero and Congress to the Berwyn side of 12th St then farther west to the Oak Park side and now it's on Wolf Rd in Hillside.