City of Big Flavors

Chicago is the nearest city that a Twin Citian can reliably lean on to find food experiences that aren’t available here. Regular visits to the Windy City have convinced me that Chicago restaurants are often second to none in almost every category imaginable. Here’s where to go now, from gastronomic temples to sidewalk stalls. All are close to downtown, unless otherwise noted.

2005’s Hot Crop
>>Chef-owner Mindy Segal’s Hot Chocolate, a loud and übercool neighborhood scene, has a dozen savory delights to start your meal, and more than two dozen sweets to end it. The food is very good, the desserts some of the best in town. Warm brioche doughnuts with hot fudge are simple and perfect, the others are what modern-day pastry craft is all about. How about a peach napoleon plate with caramelized phyllo served with sweet custard, rosé champagne sorbet, tapioca crème anglaise, and a raspberry jumble cake square?

>>Alinea is the most important restaurant in America right now. No one is doing more to turn the American food world on its ear than young chef Grant Achatz. The French Laundry alum serves from a serious and silent kitchen among a brigade of fifteen-plus cooks who prepare six-, twelve-, and twenty-four–course tasting menus, using twenty-second–century technique. Achatz, a culinary alchemist of the first order, distills and concentrates flavors using perfect technique. My eleventh course one night was a mousse-like and intense grape-juice sphere the size of a golf ball, rolled in flakes of blue-veined cheese shaved at fifty degrees below zero. This snowball arrived perched on walnut cream, wild celery, grape gelee, and walnut dust. The taste was ephemeral, melting, and changed the way I look at fruit and cheese forever. Every serving piece is created solely for a use Achatz dreams up—five small porcelain pedestals, for example, held five variations of hearts of palm, each stuffed with a different purée. The effect is awesome, the sourcing meticulous. Service is incomprehensibly perfect, the wine list world-class. Only in Chicago
>>North Pond is located in a century-old Lincoln Park skaters’ warming shelter converted to a restaurant in 1997. Chef-owner Bruce Sherman’s spectacular food, served amid a stunning wood and stone Arts and Crafts interior, with views of the grassy park and pond, are reminiscent of a Monet watercolor. Farm-fresh fare dominates the hyperseasonal lunch, brunch, and dinner menus. The regional American cuisine is stellar, but the three-course brunch may be the best bet. Mine consisted of cured and smoked salmon with lemon confit and herb salad, followed by vanilla bean silver-dollar griddle cakes teamed with a miniature pan-crisped sage sausage and a poached egg. Heaven.

>>Chicago has dozens of gutsy options if your taste runs to casual trattoria-style cookery. Unlike in the Twin Cities, in Chicago’s red sauce zone the authenticity meter stays high. I liked the vibe and food at La Scarola near downtown. A chic crowd of regulars sits in the funky and energetic front room. Tourists are consigned to the rear, where we wolfed down large platters of fresh mussels pomodoro, sausage and peppers, braised escarole in garlic, angel hair pasta with fresh shrimp, plus a standout veal chop, pounded thin, pan-crisped, and served with a drizzle of olive oil and garlic and lemon.

>>Fans are flocking to Green Zebra, a mostly vegetarian small-plate restaurant that is as surprising for its reasonable prices as for its popularity in a town with a Rabelaisian penchant for beef. For $120, three of us had nine plates, with wine and dessert, a nicety that assuaged the few quibbles we had. Roasted beets with whipped-carrot yogurt, chilled soba noodles, and the warm blue cheese cake with a grape reduction and hazelnut tuile were standouts. Save room for mushroom-stuffed cabbage in a potato wrap (billed as crispy, it arrived soft and falling apart, but was still delicious). The wine list (try the Txakoli de Alava) is well-chosen for the food, and every table seemed to finish the night with an order of cream puffs with three sauces. Chef-owner Shawn McClain’s warm caramel should be illegal.

>>Luxuriant eastern Mediterranean and Armenian food is what Carrie Nahabedian does best, and Naha’s take on this cuisine is loaded with bright, big flavors. The room is light and modern, and the menu has a broad selection of meze—small plates of flatbread, cheeses, roasted vegetables, small skewers of lamb, and little cheese phyllo triangles that are as perfect as bar food gets. Wild striped bass with baba gannouj relish is the perfect marriage of East and West. Check out the oxtail and red wine reduction or, if wood-grilled foods are your thing, the signature steak with goat-cheese–scented Yukon Gold mash or anything Naha does with lamb. The Nahabedians pride themselves on their world-class wine list.

>>Rick Bayless’s Frontera Grill and Topolobampo remain the pinnacle of authentic Mexican dining in the city (and arguably the country). Bayless’s commitment to honest and authentic regional Mexican cooking has almost singlehandedly elevated it to a place of honor nationally. There are no corners cut, stylized platings, or artifice, just amazing food. My last visit was to the more upscale Topolobampo: Limonada, a homey limeade, was the perfect chaser for guacamole, crepa de huitlacoche, sopa Azteca, and trio of tamales, each with its own salsa. Roasted baby chicken in mole and grilled beef with pasilla chili rub were simple at heart, but Bayless uses such a complexity of tastes and textures, then adds layers of flavor with rubs, salsas, and carefully chosen sides, that both these entrées sang. Desserts are delightful. In a world of celebrity chefs looking for an empire, Bayless remains committed to his food, to Mexico, and to Chicago. It shows. >>The nightly car-park jostle of Bentleys and Mercedes outside Gene & Georgetti, one of our favorite old school Chicago eateries, is awe-inspiring. Like Dan Tana’s in LA and Rao’s in Manhattan, G&G is a step back into a world where Frank and the boys could walk in at any moment and everyone starts dinner with a stiff Manhattan. Almost sixty-five years old and still in family hands, this River North gem is an endearing cliché right down to the celebrity pictures on the wall. Skip the first courses and go straight to the broiled lamb chops, bone-in rib eye or veal chop, and just because the aged prime steaks and chops come with cottage fried potatoes doesn’t mean you shouldn’t order pasta to share. The sides are all you would want in a dance partner if you were a steak—creamed spinach and Lyonaise potatoes being the studs. G&G also serves lunch, which is a godsend since a table at dinner can be hard to come by and regulars enjoy every advantage you can imagine.

>>Family-owned and -operated for 107 years, The Berghoff is one of the oldest restaurants in Chicago. Located in the heart of the Loop, this century-old building and its throwback ambience are a testament to the city’s vivid history—a cult classic of German schnitzels and sauerbraten. The fare is competent, the best choices being the sausage trio with kraut, schnitzel with a fried egg on top Holstein–style, and other mittel European staples. Sides of red cabbage and creamed spinach can be great, but avoid the potato pancakes and spaetzle. The real gem is lunch in the 100-year-old bar with its magnificent seventy-foot wooden bar, ebony with age, surrounded by hand-painted murals. Grab a homemade draft root beer and a hand-carved sandwich on house rye, and, if you squint hard enough, it’s 1939.

>>At Arun’s, be prepared to sit for a few hours. The twelve-course Thai tasting menus begin with a half-dozen small courses delivered one at a time. I had a small beggar’s purse of kaffir lime and lobster, a delicate and preciously sized bean-thread soup, and small skewers of satay (that’s the benchmark for all satay) with cucumber salad. Entrées are served family-style and include ridiculously explosive chili-laden curries, braised pork with fish sauce caramel, whole fried fish, and other Thai classics. Every table gets a menu customized for tastes and favorites. Finish dinner with the signature lemon grass tonic. At Arun’s, on the city’s northwest side, Thai dining is about as good as it gets in America. STREET FOOD
Say what you want about deep-dish pizza (Chicago’s contribution to the food universe) and Italian beef sandwiches—the hot dog is Chicago’s culinary icon. I found three places that rule.

>>Hot Doug’s, on the northwest side, is billed as a sausage superstore and encased-meat emporium. While straight-up all-beef Chicago-style dogs are available, it’s exotica such as rabbit sausage with white wine and chèvre mustard or jalapeño, duck, and bacon sausage with foie gras butter and blue cheese Dijonaise, and French fries cooked in duck fat (on weekends) that keeps foodies coming back for more. As a local food journalist told me, “This is like blood doping for food writers.”

>>Closer to the Loop is Wiener’s Circle, as famous for its cheddar cheese fries and imperious counter help as for its awesome grilled all-beef hot dogs and Polish. The charred sausages and dogs are nicked along the sides to create flower petals of char, then the meat is thrust into a soft bun, decked with plenty of griddled onions if you like, and served—well, thrown at you. The key is eating fast enough to avoid the wrath of the staff. The real scene here is after midnight, when reality is heightened, the people watching supreme, the profanity legendary. Wiener’s Circle is family friendly during the day.

 >>The best dog I had—Chicago-style with electric green relish, sport peppers, celery salt, tomatoes, and such—was at Fluky’s, a dog palace since 1929. This is such a classic Chicago dog house that sauerkraut isn’t available and ketchup is discouraged—there’s just the best charred Vienna Beef dogs nestled into Rosen’s poppy seed buns. You’re a stone’s throw from Evanston, on the city’s far North Side, when you spy the forty-foot-tall, neon, fork-speared–hot dog sign lording over the joint.

>>Open during daylight hours only, Mr. Beef is the Chicago beef sandwich shop. The only thing to order here is the so-called Italian beef sandwich: shredded and succulent braised beef, loaded into a crusty Italian roll, dipped into a pot of braising liquid, and rolled in wax paper. The dip is so garlicky and fatty you won’t need condiments.

>>When it comes to Chicago pizza, there are many historic and/or ubiquitous options, but our favorite is Pizano’s, a small chain founded almost sixty years ago by Rudy Malnati, one of Pizzeria Uno’s founders. Pizzas come thin crust or deep dish, the latter is not gummy and squishy like some versions, but delicious. The thin crust bears no relation to conventional yeasted, thin-crust Neapolitan-style pizza, but it’s phenomenal. The crust is akin to a savory shortcake—it crumbles with buttery tenderness. Try Mark’s Special, served with paper-thin ripe tomatoes, translucent shaved garlic, and basil. The homemade sausage is great as well.

Hot Chocolate 1747 Damen Ave. N., 773-489-1747 Alinea 1723 N. Halsted St., 312-482-8113 North Pond 2610 N. Cannon Dr., 773-477-5845, La Scarola 721 W. Grand Ave., 312-243-1740 Green Zebra 1460 Chicago Ave. W., 312-243-7100 Frontera Grill Topolobampo 445 N. Clark St., 312-661-1434 Naha 500 N. Clark St., 312-321-6242 Gene & Georgetti 500 N. Franklin St., 312-527-3718 The Berghoff 17 W. Adams St., 312-427-3170 Arun’s 4156 Kedzie Ave. N., 773-539-1909

Getting There With roundtrip airfares running around $150, and often as little as $100, it’s hard to justify the 400-mile drive. Amtrak is relaxing, roomy, scenic, goes once a day, and is typically cheaper than flying, but is prone to lateness, especially on the eastbound trip. Where to Stay Chicago is rich in great hotels. One of our current faves is Arun’s The Fairmont Chicago, right at the foot of the city’s stunning Millennium Park and just steps from Lake Michigan and Michigan Avenue. Décor is contemporary, and the luxe four-diamond property boasts great views and service. Rates are moderate, with weekend deals starting as little as $199. 200 N. Columbus Dr., 321-565-6651. If you’re looking for a hipper experience, nearby you’ll find the new Hard Rock Hotel Chicago, in the stunningly renovated historic Carbide and Carbon Building. You’ll be happier here if you splurge on a Hard Rock Room or suite. 230 Michigan Ave. N., 312-345-1000, 877-762-5468. Learning More Chicago tourism information is available at cityofchicago.org/exploringchicago, 877-244-2246. Lonely Planet’s Chicago guidebook is compact and thorough. Also look to Chicago magazine’s dining guide for restaurant hours and information.