What’s for dinner, Chicago?
With the return of indoor dining since our Takeout 100 list first debuted in January, enthusiasm for carryout meals could have waned as people flocked to the social delights and in-person interaction many craved over the isolating first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But takeout has become an integral part of our lives, a suppertime ritual we’ve come to relish. So we’ve dusted off our Takeout 100 list and made a few changes. Some places closed over the past seven months or stopped offering takeout altogether, leaving us room to introduce 13 newcomers, which you can read more about here.
The Takeout 100 list is sorted by cuisine, with sections for the most common — American, Asian, Chinese, European, Italian, Mexican, pastry/dessert, South American and Southern — broken further down into subcategories.
Prices are based on the average cost of a main dish, plus a side. As many meal kits are over $40, and many of those feed two people or more, don’t take a $$$$ as prohibitive. It just might be a good value. Be sure to check in with restaurants before you go — shifting COVID-19 regulations and hours of operations can change frequently with the fluid nature of the pandemic.
$: Under 15
$$: 15 to 25
$$$: 25 to 40
$$$$: over 40
Want more takeout options? See our listings here.
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Takeout 100 listings mapped
Enter ZIP code, address or town to see places near you
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Source: Tribune reporting
American
NEW: Big Kids
American | Casual | Price: $
2545 N. Kedzie Blvd., Chicago (Logan Square) | Map
773-687-8385 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Tribune readers named this sandwich shop the best new restaurant of 2020 in our annual awards, and its fine-dining credentials back up the accolade. Former Blackbird chef Ryan Pfeiffer teamed up with New Orleans sandwich wizard Mason Hereford for creative takes on everything from Crunchwrap Supremes to the unbeatable Monday burger pop-up Uncle Shiddy’s.
Billy Goat Tavern
American | Casual | Price: $
430 N. Michigan Ave., Lower, Chicago (Near North) | Map
312-222-1525 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
At the historic Lower Michigan Avenue location of Billy Goat Tavern, you might find 87-year-old owner Sam Sianis still calling out, “Cheezborger! Cheezborger! Cheezborger!” The online menu, available for takeout or delivery, has the secret Obama burger, a breakfast-for-dinner cheeseburger topped with bacon and egg, but you can’t go wrong with the smattering of double or triple burgers, pepper-and-egg sandwiches, and other Chicago classics. The bar has reopened, so have a beer before you go for the full tavern experience at home.
Mr. D’s Shish Kabobs
American | Casual | Price: $
6656 W. Diversey Ave., Chicago (Montclare) | Map
773-637-0042 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Though it specializes in classic Chicago fare, Mr. D’s stands apart thanks to the unusual amount of care lavished on its dishes. Take the best-in-the-city french fries, which are made from enormous potatoes usually reserved for fancy steakhouses. Along with a great shish kabob sandwich, which is always grilled to order, the shop serves a stellar steak sandwich, which looks simple yet packs a wallop of pure beefy flavor. Even the Italian beef is among the best in the city.
Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream
American | Casual | Price: $
960 W. 31st St., Chicago (Bridgeport) | Map
773-565-4192 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Pizza, fried chicken and ice cream are all available at this aptly named South Side spot. The crisp tavern-style pies, chicken sandwiches and vegetarian-friendly fried oyster mushroom sammies are welcome additions to the Bridgeport dining scene. Don’t forget to cool down from the summer heat, or maybe a White Sox game, with a frozen pop from Pretty Cool Ice Cream.
Spinning J
American | Casual | Price: $
1000 N. California Ave., Chicago (West Town) | Map
872-829-2793 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
In addition to shakes and sodas (flavored with house-made syrups), Spinning J serves an array of breakfast and lunch sandwiches plus quiche and pie. Order a day ahead and the offerings include enough to stock up for a while: whole dessert pies, pot pies and loaves of bread.
Lost Lake (walk-up window)
American | Cocktails | Price: $
3154 W. Diversey Ave., Chicago (Logan Square) | Map
773-293-6048 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
One of the great advancements for the Chicago hospitality industry during the pandemic has been the birth of cocktails to go. Tiki bar staple Lost Lake has taken advantage to create a to-go window that offers a rotating menu of premade cocktails.
NEW: Dear Margaret
American | Contemporary | Price: $$
2965 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago (Lakeview) | Map
773-360-8213 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
A culinary love letter inspired by chef Ryan Brosseau’s French-Canadian grandmother, Dear Margaret opened in the Lakeview neighborhood with takeout packed as carefully as picnic baskets. Get the delicately fried smelt ($12) and silky duck liver mousse ($10) if you can. Remember to order extra housemade nine-grain toast ($3), sliced thin and grilled crisp after a thoughtful two day process. Brosseau and co-owner Lacey Irby now offer outdoor seating and limited dine-in for their lovely seasonal menu.
The Duck Inn
American | Contemporary | Price: $$$
2701 S. Eleanor St., Chicago (Bridgeport) | Map
312-724-8811 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Duck is the name of the game at Kevin Hickey’s Bridgeport spot. A whole-roasted duck with duck-fat potatoes, baby kale, pears and more will set you back $68, but there are also the restaurant’s Chicago-style duck fat dogs, Italian beef sandwiches that originated at Time Out Market, and wood-fired pizzas Wednesdays.
Manny’s
American | Deli | Price: $$
1141 S. Jefferson St., Chicago (South Loop) | Map
312-939-2855 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Since opening in 1942, Manny’s has become the stuff of legends, known as a favored locale for power lunches between wheelin’ and dealin’ Windy City pols. The family-owned deli is just as revered for its massive Reubens, hearty matzo ball soup and perfectly rendered potato pancakes.
Steingold’s
American | Deli | Price: $
3737 N. Southport Ave., Chicago (North Center) | Map
773-661-2469 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
If ever we needed comfort food, it’s now. And the Mount Rushmore of comfort food is deli fare. At Steingold’s, the familiar characters are on display — lox, bagels, pastrami, corned beef, latkes, matzo ball soup and breakfast sandwiches, plus a few unexpected twists (like kimchi).
Craft Urban Kitchen
American | Fine dining | Price: $$$
211 James St., Geneva | Map
331-248-8161 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Open for dine-in and online or phone orders since February, the funky dining room has cute touches and a commitment to local artists. The menu is loaded with hearty dishes such as tempura-fried cheese curds, tacos platter, venison chili and a terrific pork-shoulder entree. Craft cocktails are very good.
Prairie Grass Cafe
American | Fine dining | Price: $$$$
601 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook | Map
847-205-4433 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris are behind this bastion of sophisticated comfort food, including grilled chicken wings, house-made lamb sausage and salmon basted in a corn-balsamic glaze; keep an eye out for specials such as chicken pot pie, and grocery items like marinara sauce by the quart and frozen cookie dough.
Harold’s Chicken Shack Express #55
American | Fried chicken | Price: $
8653 S. State St., Chicago (Chatham) | Map
773-874-8653 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Harold’s means Chicago-style fried chicken, thanks to veteran franchise owners like Percy Billings. That’s scratch-made, cooked-to-order bird, frequently finished with mild sauce and lemon pepper seasoning. For takeout, you might want to ask for sauce on the side, and get some extra for dipping. Just about every order includes sides of fries and coleslaw, all snuggled on a bed of soft sandwich bread. They do get busy so order on the #55 website.
Honey Butter Fried Chicken
American | Fried chicken | Price: $
3361 N. Elston Ave., Chicago (Avondale) | Map
773-478-4000 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
The appeal of Honey Butter Fried Chicken is all in the name. Juicy, crispy fried chicken, yes, and house-made honey butter, a perfect spread for the cornbread muffins (or anything you want to put it on, really). HBFC does strips and sandwiches, but it’s hard to beat the original sandwich with slaw.
Parson’s
American | Fried chicken | Price: $
2952 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago (Logan Square) | Map
773-384-3333 | Website
2435 N. Halsted St., Chicago (Lincoln Park) | Map
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773-661-6016 | Website
2109 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago (West Town) | Map
773-697-3346 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
There’s something to be said for keeping things simple, which Parson’s menu does masterfully. Composed of basically fried chicken (and sandwiches), fried fish, a griddle burger and classic sides (think mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and house-made potato chips), the restaurant — now with four locations, but only three with takeout — sates your desire for something down, dirty and delicious. On top of that, Parson’s Negroni slushy is one of the more popular adult beverages around town.
Uncle Remus
American | Fried chicken | Price: $
5611 W. Madison St., Chicago (Austin) | Map
773-966-6838 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
While Harold’s boasts the bigger reputation, Chicagoans will tell you that Uncle Remus deserves to be mentioned in the same breath. The fried chicken restaurant was founded as G&G Chicken Shack in 1963 by Gus and Mary Rickette, who — despite partnership difficulties and a fire in the riots of 1968 — built up the business to be the three-location Chicago institution that it is today. However, the original West Side location in Austin is the one to visit. And yes, Uncle Remus serves its own special version of the city’s famous mild sauce.
Gene & Jude’s
American | Hot dogs | Price: $
2720 N. River Road, River Grove | Map
708-452-7634 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Chicago is known for its generously topped hot dogs, and for good reason — a fully loaded Chicago dog is often referred to as being dragged through the garden. But it’s not the only style popular in the city, as you’ll find at the perpetually packed Gene & Jude’s. Here, they serve steamed dogs with a swipe of mustard, relish, onion and, if you’d like, spicy sport peppers. Each order gets a handful of excellent freshly cut french fries.
Red Hot Ranch
American | Hot dogs | Price: $
3057 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago (Lake View) | Map
773-661-9377 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
This hot dog stand doesn’t serve much, but everything is essential. First, there’s the impeccable hot dog ($3.62), which features a snappy natural-casing Vienna Beef sausage topped with just mustard, relish, onions and sport peppers. Second, there’s the phenomenal RHR double cheeseburger ($4.98), which draws inspiration from California’s In-N-Out Burger, albeit with ultra-smashed patties. Third, every order comes with fresh-cut french fries that manage to stay crispy on the outside, yet soft within.
Superdawg
American | Hot dogs | Price: $
6363 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago (Norwood Park) | Map
773-763-0660 | Website
333 S. Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling | Map
847-459-1900 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Few options are as mood-brightening as Superdawg. Grab a Chicago-style hot dog (the Superdawg) or switch it up with a Whoopskidawg — an Eastern European sausage bathed in barbecue sauce and topped with grilled onions. Dogs and sandwiches come with hand-cut crinkle fries. And since you’re indulging, throw in a strawberry shake. Take it home or eat it in your car under the cheerful gaze of Maurie and Flaurie, the hot dogs perched atop the drive-in (named for the late owners, Maurie and Florence Berman).
NEW: Funeral Potatoes
American | Midwestern | Price: $$$
Virtual restaurant in Chicago (Logan Square)
Phone number not available | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: No
If no childhood family party was complete without a cheese ball, this Midwestern-centric virtual restaurant is the (virtual) place for you. The weekly menus drop Sunday for delivery Thursday and feature the best renditions of hearty heartland classics, like a meatloaf sandwich brushed generously with cherry “rhubarbeque” sauce and topped with a perfectly crunchy slaw with pickles by Vargo Brother Ferments. And like every good Midwest dish, most orders are big enough for two (or three).
Jibaritos y Mas
American | Puerto Rican | Price: $
3400 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago (Logan Square) | Map
773-799-8601 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
We have Chicago’s Puerto Rican population to thank for this wildly unique sandwich. Instead of bread, the jibarito relies on two freshly smashed and fried plantains, which remain surprisingly crisp even when loaded with fillings like thinly sliced steak, lettuce, tomato and cheese. The final flourish is a heavy smear of minced garlic on top. We’ve tried numerous worthy versions over the years, but constantly packed Jibarito y Mas is the current leader.
Calumet Fisheries
American | Seafood | Price: $$
3259 E. 95th St., Chicago (South Deering) | Map
773-933-9855 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
It’s always been takeout only at Calumet Fisheries, the James Beard-award winning shack on the industrial bank of the Calumet River. Regulars know you just pull up and eat in your car. Owner Mark Kotlick’s father and uncle once smoked local fish, but now it’s Alaskan salmon, Gulf shrimp and the most elusive prize: golden Great Lakes chubs.
Prime and Provisions
American | Steakhouse | Price: $$$$
222 N. LaSalle St., Chicago (The Loop) | Map
312-726-7777 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
This swanky steakhouse’s all-natural beef is aged in a 500-square-foot dry room, lined with Himalayan rock salt to enhance the chops’ flavors and elevate the dining experience. Along with seared steak and seafood, Prime & Provision’s menu is packed with signature appetizers like the house-flared thick-cut bacon coated in black pepper, maple syrup and dark chocolate.
Asian
NEW: Boonie Foods
Asian | Filipino | Price: $$
125 S. Clark St., Chicago (The Loop) | Map
Phone number not available | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
An exciting addition to Chicago’s roster of Filipino restaurants, this Revival Food Hall concept features craveworthy dishes like longganisa bomb tacos and crispy, succulent bagnet, thin slices of fried pork belly.
Grill City at Seafood City
Asian | Filipino | Price: $
5033 N. Elston Ave., Chicago (North Mayfair) | Map
773-295-1658 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Grill City always seems to have flames flaring behind its display window. Usually they’re under meaty skewers, chicken or pork barbecue sticks, at the food court stall inside Filipino supermarket Seafood City. In the morning, though, look for longganisa, the fat, little, sweet pork sausages. Get the Grand Silog at breakfast with the defining garlic fried rice and eggs, plus your choice of two proteins, from grilled milkfish to pork or chicken tocino bacon.
NEW: Kasama
Asian | Filipino | Price: $$
1001 N. Winchester Ave., Chicago (East Ukrainian Village) | Map
773-697-3790 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Award-winning chefs and owners Genie Kwon and Tim Flores have become best known for the stunning sweet and savory pastries and sandwiches at Kasama. Their debut bakery and modern Filipino restaurant still features the signature ube and huckleberry Basque cake ($6), plus Filipino breakfasts with housemade longganisa, but change is underway. Their highly anticipated full indoor dining menu is coming soon. Meanwhile take your order out to the side patio in the East Ukrainian Village neighborhood.
Rooh
Asian | Indian | Price: $$$
736 W. Randolph St., Chicago (Market District) | Map
312-267-2323 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Butter chicken and dal are fantastic renditions of Indian staples at this progressive restaurant in the West Loop, but it’s just as fun to explore more eclectic dishes like tandoor-smoked pork belly with a fig-ginger sauce or cauliflower straight from that fiery tandoor oven.
Superkhana International
Asian | Indian | Price: $$
3059 W. Diversey Ave., Chicago (Logan Square) | Map
773-661-9028 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Superkhana’s playful take on Indian cuisine made it one of 2019’s most exciting openings. No other place around had such dedication to various forms of Indian bread. But since the pandemic, it has adapted quickly to the new realities. So, yes, you can still order a butter chicken calzone ($12), which you definitely should, but in the morning it transforms into Takeaway Bagel, where you can score crusty, chewy bagels.
Chicago Ramen
Asian | Japanese | Price: $
578 E. Oakton St., Des Plaines | Map
224-938-9982 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Though it’s not located within the city limits and opened a little more than a month before the pandemic, Chicago Ramen made a huge splash when it opened in early 2020. Kenta Ikehata, one of the most respected ramen makers in L.A., brought his expertise and passion for the details to suburban Des Plaines. The shop specializes in an extra thick miso ramen, the kind that could warm you in even the coldest Chicago winter.
Hippo Pastry at Mitsuwa
Asian | Japanese | Price: $
100 E. Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights | Map
847-228-5435 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
The staff at the bakery inside Mitsuwa market can barely keep up with the shokupan. They run rectangular loaves through the slicer, set medium, thick and ridiculously thick at Hippo. Some crust-free slices become sandwiches with fillings ranging from katsu pork cutlets to potato salad. I’m obsessed with the egg salad sandos, and the fruit with whipped cream. With a can of warm coffee, it’s the cutest comfort food hug of a meal.
Mom’s on Marz
Asian | Japanese | Price: $$
3630 S. Iron St., Chicago (Bridgeport) | Map
773-579-1935 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Chefs Kelly Ijichi and Randi Howry make a constantly changing menu, usually including their katsu sando, a puffy winter coat of a fried pork sandwich, and the coveted oversized ube cream puff. The moms have found a new home at Marz, the brewery taproom in Bridgeport. Whatever’s on the weekly menu, get the Sunday milk bread doughnut if you can, and musubi gilded with crisp tempura crumbles.
Joong Boo Snack Corner/Wang Mandoo
Asian | Korean | Price: $
3333 N. Kimball Ave., Chicago (Avondale) | Map
773-478-5566 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Wedged between an interstate and train tracks, Joong Boo’s Chicago location doesn’t exactly have much space, yet it manages to stuff a shocking amount of Korean groceries inside, while still having room for a small shop in the back to dish out hot food. Our favorite is the platter of crunchy chicken wings. If that weren’t enough, out front you’ll find a truly tiny stall selling puffy steamed Korean-style dumplings filled with various meats.
Aba
Asian | Middle Eastern | Price: $$
302 N. Green St., Chicago (Fulton Market) | Map
773-645-1400 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Like its sister property (Ema, in River North), Aba focuses on Middle Eastern dishes, such as hummus (especially the short rib version), kebabs and spreads, along with a strong emphasis on meat and seafood dishes (eggplant-wrapped lamb in particular). One of the many Lettuce Entertain You restaurants offering carryout.
Oozi Corner
Asian | Middle Eastern | Price: $$
9115 S. Harlem Ave., Bridgeview | Map
855-669-4246 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Obviously, we’d all love to be eating inside this bright and airy Middle Eastern restaurant, but fortunately the food has always been as alluring as the atmosphere. That definitely includes the chicken shawarma ($7.95), which is wrapped in a stretchy markook bread. But the restaurant also has an enticing breakfast menu, freshly baked bread, and an expansive dinner menu where you can eat regional specialties like oozi (from which the restaurant gets its name), a dish of rice and lamb encased in puff pastry.
Hello Jasmine
Asian | Taiwanese | Price: $$
953 W. Webster Ave., Chicago (Lincoln Park) | Map
773-687-9524 | Website
2026 S. Clark St., Chicago (Chinatown) | Map
312-988-0920 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
With two locations, one near Chinatown and one in Lincoln Park, this Taiwanese cafe not only has excellent boba teas and fruit smoothies, but also tasty Taiwanese street food snacks, like crispy popcorn chicken and sweet, snappy grilled sausages. If you order online, chances are you’ll score some kind of deal, so be sure to check the website before deciding what treats you’re getting.
Immm Rice and Beyond
Asian | Thai | Price: $
4949 N. Broadway, Chicago (Uptown) | Map
773-293-7378 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Looking to expand your knowledge of Thai cuisine? This is the place to do it, thanks to the kao red gaeng special ($9.50 for two items). Each day, the restaurant cooks an assortment of dishes, like paa lo (five-spice braised pork belly) and gaeng kiew whan gai (green curry with chicken), which you can get with a huge order of rice. More popular dishes like papaya salad and boat noodles are exceptionally well done, too.
Chinese
B.B.Q. King House
Chinese | Barbecue | Price: $
2148 S. Archer Ave., Chicago (Chinatown) | Map
312-326-1219 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Not only is this Hong Kong barbecue spot still hanging its iconic roast pork and duck in its windows, it’s also still serving menu favorites, like the four-course duck dinner, and other Cantonese classics, like stir-fried noodles. If you’re overwhelmed by the sheer amount of choices, just go for a barbecue item on rice, which comes with a savory sauce and some bok choy. Before you leave, make sure to over-order some barbecue pork to throw in the freezer for emergencies.
NEW: A Place in Northeast
Chinese | Casual | Price: $
2105 S. Jefferson St., Floor 2, Chicago (Chinatown) | Map
312-358-8592 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
This Northeastern Chinese cuisine specialist quietly debuted in the influential Chinatown Richland basement food court in 2020. Their beef pie ($10.99) has become the most popular item at A Place in Northeast. When you order the stuffed fat pancakes at their second location at the 88 Marketplace food court, you can watch the cooks hand make each order. Crisp yet chewy, bits of the northeast region’s signature salty pickled vegetable punctuate the juicy filling.
My Place South Loop
Chinese | Casual | Price: $
1307 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago (South Loop) | Map
312-763-6935 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
My Place once anchored a corner of Chinatown Square before reopening in the South Loop early in 2020, just weeks before the pandemic was declared. After a summer of Cantonese seafood and patio cocktails, My Place brought back Hong Kong diner-style specials. Get the Portuguese chicken over rice, available at breakfast or for afternoon tea with a side of scrambled eggs, milk bread toast and choice of hot drink from milk tea to Ovaltine.
Sun Wah
Chinese | Casual | Price: $$$
5039 N. Broadway, Chicago (Uptown) | Map
773-769-1254 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
OK, let’s face it: 75% of the people getting carryout from this venerable restaurant are opting for the Beijing duck dinner, a $53 feast of roasted duck with bao, duck fried rice and duck soup. But there’s a full menu of other dishes, including congee and Hong Kong specialties.
MingHin
Chinese | Dim sum | Price: $$
2168 S. Archer Ave., Chicago (Chinatown) | Map
312-808-1999 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Dim sum was traditionally a brunch meal, best on weekends with family and friends crowded around Lazy Susan-topped tables and endless pots of tea. Now get your dumplings just about anytime for takeout. At the flagship MingHin in Chinatown or other locations get the classics, like tender snow skin shrimp dumplings or hearty golden pork and shrimp siu mai, plus newer pan-fried tofu skin vegetable rolls and subtly sweet water chestnut cakes.
Katy’s Dumplings
Chinese | Dumplings | Price: $$
665 N. Cass Ave., Westmont | Map
630-323-9393 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Regulars know Katy’s Dumplings better for their handmade noodles than their Northern Chinese-style dumplings. The latter though are almost always available frozen, in big bags to stock your freezer. Order the dumplings boiled and pleasantly slippery, or pan-fried with a delightfully crunchy chew. Don’t sleep on the savory sliced and stir-fried pancakes either. The original in Westmont and the Oak Park location are now under the same owner, promising newfound consistency.
Slurp Slurp Noodles
Chinese | Noodles | Price: $
2247 S. Wentworth Ave., Chicago (Chinatown) | Map
312-982-2969 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
This stylish Chinatown spot serves two kinds of freshly made noodles, extra long hand-pulled noodles and jagged, oddly shaped shaved noodles. Don’t agonize over the decision; just go with your mood. The former works best in gigantic bowls of brothy soup, like the jaw-droppingly huge house special noodle soup ($11.95). The latter loves a searingly hot stir-fry with crisp vegetables and thin slices of beef brisket ($9.95).
Chiu Quon
Chinese | Pastry/dessert | Price: $
2253 S. Wentworth Ave., Chicago (Chinatown) | Map
312-808-1818 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Chinatown’s oldest Chinese bakery — which also boasts a second location on Argyle Street in Uptown — has been delighting customers with first-rate pastries, like the celebrated pineapple sweet top bun, along with savory barbecue pork buns, egg custard tarts and dumplings.
European
Pleasant House
European | British | Price: $$
2119 S. Halsted St., Chicago (East Pilsen) | Map
773-523-7437 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
To the delight of those south of Roosevelt Road, a husband-and-wife duo have been churning out royal pies — English pot pies with perfectly crisp crust enveloping toothsome toppings like curried chicken balti stew, steak and carrots or vegetables in a spicy North African sauce — from this posh Halsted Street storefront for years. After expanding from its humble Bridgeport beginnings, the restaurant added a pub menu with dishes like fish and chips and a buttermilk-fried chicken sandwich. For fresh-out-of-the-oven deliciousness, order take-and-bake royal pies to go.
Table, Donkey & Stick
European | Casual | Price: $$
2728 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago (Logan Square) | Map
773-486-8525 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
This tiny Logan Square restaurant started out with a strong focus on hearty Alpine cuisine. You can still order the shop’s top-notch charcuterie and cheese, not to mention a bottle of Old World wine or two, but how do you classify a restaurant that also serves our absolute favorite burger in the city and incredible thick-crusted pizza? Honestly, we’ve given up trying to define it. Basically, anything this crew decides to serve will probably be great.
Bistronomic
European | French | Price: $$$
840 N. Wabash Ave., Chicago (Gold Coast) | Map
312-944-8400 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Classic bistro dishes at the hands of a master chef (Martial Noguier) is the winning formula here. Easy-traveling dishes include country pate, chicken-liver mousse, beef bourguignon and coq au vin, and don’t skip dessert. Well-chosen wine add-ons are a plus.
NEW: Andros Taverna
European | Greek | Price: $$$$
2542 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago (Logan Square) | Map
773-365-1900 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
A jaw-dropping $22 gyro puts most other versions to shame, and offerings like the mezze collection of spreads, crudite, meat skewers and pita travel surprisingly well.
Avec
European | Mediterranean | Price: $$
141 W. Erie St., Chicago (River North) | Map
312-736-1778 | Website
615 W. Randolph St., Chicago (West Loop) | Map
312-377-2002 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
With locations in the West Loop and River North, the Avec menu is characterized by Mediterranean fare, with some Western European accents. Starters include longtime favorites such as chorizo-stuffed dates, brandade and the cheese-rich focaccia; larger dishes include chicken shawarma roti (West Loop) and paella (River North), and consider the half-priced bottles of wine on Tuesdays at both locations. Serves brunch Saturdays and Sundays.
Italian
Ricobene’s
Italian | Casual | Price: $
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252 W. 26th St., Chicago (Bridgeport) | Map
312-225-5555 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Everybody knows Ricobene’s is famous for its breaded steak sandwich. Fewer people know it opened as a pizzeria in 1946 in the Bridgeport neighborhood. So few people know Ricobene’s makes a shockingly spectacular breaded steak pizza that it was even a surprise to a newer employee. Invented in 2014, the pizza sports a relatively thin yet sturdy crust that holds bite-size pieces of that breaded steak, house-made sauce and gobs of mozzarella.
Ristorante Agostino
Italian | Casual | Price: $$$
2817 N. Harlem Ave., Chicago (Montclare) | Map
773-745-6464 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Wife and husband chefs Anna Longobardi Fiasche and Agostino Fiasche opened Agostino in 1985. She came from Naples, and he from the village of Coccorino in Calabria, about a decade before. They highlight seafood and pasta, including linguine calamari with tender ringlets and tentacles. Their son Tony makes salumi for the house antipasto platter, most notably the spreadable spicy ‘nduja, a Calabrian specialty, the foundation for his West Town deli, Tempesta Market.
Monteverde
Italian | Fine dining | Price: $$$
1020 W. Madison St., Chicago (West Town) | Map
312-888-3041 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Sarah Grueneberg’s menu melds superb Italian cooking with the chef’s worldly travel. The Near West Side restaurant features pasta galore, like linguine with Texas gulf shrimp and gnocchetti con pesto with house-made ricotta. Round out the order with grilled Italian sausage, Wagyu beef skewers or Sicilian rice fritters.
Piccolo Sogno
Italian | Fine dining | Price: $$$$
464 N. Halsted St., Chicago (West Town) | Map
312-421-0077 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Tony Priolo’s “Little Dream” offers superb Italian food, and ordering takeout a la carte is an ideal way to enjoy it at home. Choose from dishes like braised short rib resting on a bed of soft polenta; pizza topped with prosciutto and mozzarella so fresh it’s known as “flower of the milk;” and pillowy gnocchi paired with wood-roasted eggplant.
Ottimo
Italian | Pasta | Price: $$$
16111 S. La Grange Road, Orland Park | Map
708-403-3366 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
This veteran south suburban restaurant is now open for carryout as well as indoor and outdoor dining. The menu offers traditional antipasti, pizzas and pastas, specials such as lasagna (Thursdays) and spaghetti and meatballs, served family style (Tuesdays). Children 12 and under eat free from the kid’s menu Sundays, so make sure to bring the whole family.
Pasta Fresh
Italian | Pasta | Price: $
3418 Harlem Ave., Chicago (Belmont Heights) | Map
773-745-5888 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Tony Bartucci started serving lunch at Pasta Fresh just a couple of years ago, but he’s been making fresh pasta at his shop since opening in 1989. The lunch specials change daily but the rigatoni in vodka sauce always tops the chalkboard menu as a regular favorite. Fat al dente tubes are napped in the radiant house-made tomato cream sauce, which does indeed use vodka as an ingredient. Remember the cuccidati, Italian fig cookies.
Burt’s Place
Italian | Pasta | Price: $$
8541 Ferris Ave., Morton Grove | Map
847-965-7997 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Since legendary pizza master Burt Katz died in 2016, Burt’s Place has evolved into its own exuberant experience under new owner Jerry Petrow. It’s less about the signature caramelized crust, and more about the more. The same bright tomato sauce and fatty spiced sausage still define the style that Katz created. There’s just more of it, along with a beautiful, new outdoor side yard open when weather permits, all a fitting crown for the new reign.
NEW: George’s Deep Dish
Italian | Pizza | Price: $$
6221 N. Clark St., Chicago (Edgewater) | Map
773-801-1551 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
George Bumbaris makes pizza out of this world. They’re not traditional Chicago-style deep dish, but thick yet crisp and tender crusted pies from the multiverse. Bumbaris builds on carefully caramelized cheese edged crusts, then goes wild. You can get his Halas’ Classic sausage, but the spaghetti and meatballs topped Michael’s S&M too. He only makes about 25 pizzas ($26 for 10 inch, $33 for 14 inch) per night in the Edgewater neighborhood, but you can order a week ahead.
Italian Fiesta
Italian | Pizza | Price: $
1306 E. 47th St., Chicago (North Kenwood) | Map
773-684-2222 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Legend has it that Michelle Obama introduced Barack Obama to her childhood pizzeria when they lived in the Hyde Park neighborhood. You can order the thin-crust pizza tavern-style with classic cheese or sausage, of course, but I highly recommend the rarely seen shrimp as a topping. They’re not shy with the seafood, so tiny but mightily plump crustaceans smother the crust, which remains impressively crisp. Add giardiniera or hot sauce for some sharp heat.
Milly’s Pizza in the Pan
Italian | Pizza | Price: $$$
1801 N. Spaulding Ave., Chicago (Logan Square) | Map
224-656-4732 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Robert Maleski named Milly’s for his grandmother Emily, but was inspired by Burt’s Place founder Burt Katz, his spiritual pizza godfather. After a pandemic-related layoff, Maleski started making what he calls pizza-in-the-pan. He currently works out of a shared kitchen in the Logan Square neighborhood. You have to order ahead, and days, hours and pizza are very limited. It’s all worth it for the stunning, light and vibrant ode to the caramelized crust.
Paulie Gee’s Logan Square
Italian | Pizza | Price: $
2451 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago (Logan Square) | Map
773-360-1072 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
The award-winning Paulie Gee’s has been famously particular about the setting in which its pies are served, limiting delivery options and ranges in the past. The establishment is now back open for walk-in after closing during the COVID-19 shutdown, although you can’t make reservations. There’s also a limited menu on offer for pickup that includes the pizza joint’s “logan squares” and a range of vegan and gluten-free options.
Pizza Friendly Pizza
Italian | Pizza | Price: $
1039 N. Western Ave., Chicago (Ukrainian Village) | Map
773-395-2483 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Before the pandemic started, Noah Sandoval was busy running the Michelin-starred restaurant, Oriole, but the pandemic required a strong pivot. What he created after months of meticulous testing is the best pizza-by-the-slice option in the city. The Sicilian-style pizza looks dangerously thick and greasy, but the crust is miraculously light and airy, letting you appreciate high quality toppings like the sauteed rapini and maitake mushrooms.
Vito & Nick’s
Italian | Pizza | Price: $
8433 S. Pulaski Road, Chicago (Ashburn) | Map
773-735-2050 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Vito & Nick’s — widely known as the best thin-crust, tavern-style pizza in Chicago — celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2020. Third-generation owner Rose Barraco George leads the family business, opened by father Nick and grandparents, Vito and Mary. You can get sausage, of course, but try the unusual egg and giardiniera. There’s no runny yolk, but the eggs are cooked through perfectly every time. Any leftovers become cold breakfast pizza. Remember it’s cash only.
Al’s #1 Beef on Taylor
Italian | Sandwiches | Price: $
1079 W. Taylor St., Chicago (Little Italy) | Map
312-226-4017 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
No Italian beef in town tastes like Al’s #1 on Taylor Street. The meat itself is cut thin, so your teeth chomp into the sandwich with almost no resistance. Each bite hits with an unduly meaty base, before the heat of the giardiniera and the intricate mix of spices take flight. Al’s #1 is a chain, but we’ve never been happy with the beefs we’ve gotten from any location but the original on Taylor Street.
J.P. Graziano’s
Italian | Sandwiches | Price: $
901 W. Randolph St., Chicago (West Loop) | Map
312-666-4587 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Chicago has no shortage of quality Italian delis slinging sizable sandwiches, but none combines as many top-quality ingredients with such a dedication to getting all the details right every single time. The flawless Italian combines four sliced-to-order cured meats with salty provolone and crunchy lettuce with our favorite spicy giardiniera in the city. It’s all housed on extra-crackly bread, which shatters with every bite.
Johnnie’s Beef
Italian | Sandwiches | Price: $
7500 W. North Ave., Elmwood Park | Map
708-452-6000 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
For Italian beef fanatics, Johnnie’s Beef in suburban Elmwood Park has turned into something of a shrine. Any fan of the wildly messy sandwich of sliced beef must make at least one pilgrimage. Of course, one bite of the deeply meaty sandwich, which gets a gut punch of giardiniera and sweet peppers, and you may wonder why you get an Italian beef anywhere else.
Riviera Foods
Italian | Sandwiches | Price: $
3220 N. Harlem Ave., Chicago (Belmont Heights) | Map
773-637-4252 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
You can’t go to Riviera Foods, the Italian deli and grocer founded in 1958, without getting a Diavolo. That’s just the food rules; I don’t make them. The sandwich takes a 9-inch length of crisp-crusted French bread, then fills it with fatty layers of spicy sopressata, hot capocollo, salty prosciutto, cured salami, fresh bocconcini mozzarella balls and bracing giardiniera. Get extra jars of hot or mild giardiniera, along with seasonal Italian imports.
Tempesta Market
Italian | Sandwiches | Price: $$
1372 W. Grand Ave., Chicago (West Town) | Map
312-929-2551 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
For years, ‘Nduja Artisans was one of the Chicago area’s most respected charcuterie producers. Then the owners got in the sandwich game. Tempesta Market is the result, a shop dedicated to serving intensely flavorful cured meats. It all comes together with The Dante ($14), an outrageous creation that combines the forces of spicy sopressata and coppa, creamy mortadella, salty finocchiona and tender porchetta. If that weren’t enough, the shop slathers its crusty bread with an aioli packed with the shop’s spreadable ‘nduja sausage.
Bien Trucha
Mexican | Casual | Price: $$
410 W. State St., Geneva | Map
630-232-2665 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
One of the most popular restaurants in the western suburbs (and deservedly so), Bien Trucha has a to-go menu emphasizing its acclaimed tacos. Get four tacos for $13-$14, or order family-sized, make-your-own platters ($30-$49) that feed four or five. Gluten-free and vegan options available.
Mexican
Birrieria Zaragoza
Mexican | Casual | Price: $
4852 S. Pulaski Road, Chicago (Archer Heights) | Map
773-523-3700 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Though you’ll obviously miss the comfort of eating inside this family-run restaurant, you can still devour some of the best goat birria in the country. Each day, the meat is braised until meltingly tender, and then roasted until caramelized around the edges. It’s served with some intensely flavored consommé, along with supremely soft and aromatic corn tortillas.
Chilam Balam
Mexican | Casual | Price: $$$
– Original Credit: Chilam Balam
3023 N. Broadway, Chicago (Lakeview) | Map
773-296-6901 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
The small plates Mexican gem tucked away in Lakeview switched to a multicourse, one-menu format early in the pandemic. Dinners are four to five courses, generously portioned and creative. Think parsnip soup with spinach salsa verde, pork albondigas with tomato chipotle, and rice studded with dried cherries, coconut and pepitas. And it’s a great value at $38.
NEW: Chile Toreado
Mexican | Casual | Price: $$
2022 W. 35th St., Chicago (McKinley Park) | Map
773-823-7793 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
After delighting crowds with 5 Rabanitos in Pilsen, Jaime Sotelo opened Chile Toreado in early 2020 in tribute to his hometown of Ixcapuzalco, Guerrero. Shareable tlayudas spread plump roasted veggies across crisp tortillas the size of a small pizza. Enchiladas are blanketed with rich mole rojo, and the suite of plate-sized tortas are delicious down to the last bite.
Xoco
Mexican | Casual | Price: $$
449 N. Clark St., Chicago (River North) | Map
312-723-2131 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Of all the restaurants in Rick Bayless’ Frontera empire, Xoco is the most carryout-friendly. Easy-traveling tortas, tacos and caldos make up most of the menu (look for seasonal specials), and are responsibly packed in compostable materials.
Mi Tocaya Antojeria
Mexican | Contemporary | Price: $$
2800 W. Logan Blvd., Chicago (Logan Square) | Map
872-315-3947 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
The cute dining room of this Logan Square restaurant may have reopened, but Diana Davila’s excellent food remains available for takeout, from simple steak burritos and torta de milanesa to more complex wild-boar barbacoa and duck carnitas. Add a to-go cocktail from more than a half-dozen on offer.
Antique Taco Bridgeport
Mexican | Tacos | Price: $$
1000 W. 35th St., Chicago (Bridgeport) | Map
773-823-9410 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Although this former-gas-station-turned-taco-joint no longer has the drive-in option they added in the winter, you can now dine-in or get curbside pickup by ordering online. The menu — altered in the winter to offer drive-in classics like a cheeseburger taco — is also back to normal, except for the mouthwatering addition of crab and shrimp flautas, consisting of three fried tacos filled with watermelon radish and cabbage, and drizzled with chipotle aioli.
Carnitas Uruapan
Mexican | Tacos | Price: $
2813 W. 55th St., Chicago (Gage Park) | Map
773-424-7617 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
This family-run business has 45 years of carnitas-making experience, and it shows. Huge chunks of pork are slowly and carefully fried until golden hued and extraordinarily tender. Buy it by the pound ($12.99) and you’ll also get all the tortillas, salsas, chopped onions and cilantro that you’ll need for a feast. Though you might as well throw in some refried beans and a cactus salad, too.
El Milagro
Mexican | Tacos | Price: $
3050 W. 26th St., Chicago (Little Village) | Map
773-847-9407 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
The tortilla limit — one case, 40 packets of tortillas — is back at El Milagro’s store, and first started after huge demand caused a shortage early in the pandemic. Unfortunately there’s no delivery, but whenever you’re at the taqueria in the Little Village neighborhood, get extra stacks of warm, corn tortillas and crackling fried chips, alongside tacos, burritos and tortas. The chips are showered with queso fresco, and salsa verde is included on the side. The fantastic house-made salsas feature searing heat.
La Chaparrita
Mexican | Tacos | Price: $
2500 S. Whipple St., Chicago (Little Village) | Map
773-254-0975 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Chicago’s taco scene is so vast, reporter Nick Kindelsperger once tried 234 to find the best. The winner? This eccentric taqueria attached to a tiny grocery store. Instead of relying only on a flat-top to cook the fillings, the shop also uses a charola, which allows the meats to simmer all together in hot fat until tender. We’re smitten with the tripas, especially when crisped up until they’re crunchy little nuggets. But you really can’t go wrong.
NEW: Taqueria Chingon
Mexican | Tacos | Price: $$
2234 N. Western Ave., Chicago (Bucktown) | Map
773-687-9408 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Extra-thick tortillas are required at this Bucktown taqueria (and made in-house) to hold the hefty, endlessly creative fillings like duck carnitas and vegetarian al pastor. Snack on ceviche and melty raclette quesadillas, and finish off the night with an order of irresistible churros.
Tacotlan
Mexican | Tacos | Price: $
4312 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago (Hermosa) | Map
773-666-5259 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Until this year, Tacotlan was simply one of Chicago’s many, many solid taquerias — mostly worth checking out if you lived nearby. But after embracing quesabirria, the Hermosa restaurant has rocketed up to one of the essential Mexican spots in the city. Quesabirria starts with beef marinated in chiles and a host of aromatic spices, which is stewed until tender. This meat is combined with copious amounts of cheese and then griddled with tortillas until everything is stained red and crispy.
Pastry & Dessert
Brown Sugar Bakery
Pastry/dessert | Bakery | Price: $
328 E. 75th St., Chicago (Greater Grand Crossing) | Map
773-224-6262 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Owner Stephanie Hart’s caramel cake is one of Chicago’s very best desserts. Where other cakes can alternate between dry cake and sickly sweet icing, this one has a tender crumb with a caramel icing so wonderfully smooth and buttery you will want to swear off any other version. Currently, the online menu focuses on cakes and cupcakes, which you can order for pickup.
Pan Artesanal Bakery
Pastry/dessert | Bakery | Price: $
3724 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago (Logan Square) | Map
312-286-5265 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Marisol Espinoza’s remarkable shop marries elegant French pastries with bold Mexican flavors, from croissants drizzled with cajeta (a caramel sauce made with goat’s milk) to conchas topped with strawberry and vanilla cream. But don’t look past the sandwiches, like the steak sandwich with queso fresco and jalapeño on a French baguette. Just know that locals have it figured out, and lines have regularly stretched out of the shop during the shutdown.
Beacon Doughnuts
Pastry/dessert | Breakfast | Price: $
810 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago (Lincoln Park) | Map
Phone number not available | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Need a decadent way to start the day? Head to Beacon Doughnuts, a pickup window in an alley behind Halsted Street in Lincoln Park. These $3 vegan doughnuts are both sizable and rich. Flavors change frequently, but Birthday Cake has proved the most popular since the shop opened in spring 2020. Order ahead to skip lines — and don’t eat breakfast.
Old Fashioned Donuts
Pastry/dessert | Doughnuts | Price: $
11248 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago (Roseland) | Map
773-995-7420 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Buritt Bulloch opened Old Fashioned Donuts in 1972, and you can still find him every morning in the front window overlooking this stretch of Michigan Avenue. Watch while he makes doughnuts and his famous apple fritters. The huge golden rounds, glistening with glaze, weigh heavy with cinnamon-spiced fruit bound by yeast-risen dough. Get the pecan-crowned creations if you can; the crisp, roasted nuts transform the fried dough confection into practically a meal.
Pretty Cool Ice Cream
Pastry/dessert | Ice cream | Price: $
2353 N. California Ave., Chicago (Logan Square) | Map
773-697-4140 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Elevated ice cream bars from veteran fine dining pastry chef Dana Cree feature flavors ripe for the seasons (apple cider doughnut in fall and a latke flavored bar during Hanukkah), plus plenty of familiar flavors (chocolate) and adventures galore (peanut butter potato chip). Don’t expect scoops like at most ice cream shops; instead, Cree has described Pretty Cool Ice Cream as “more like an indoor truck than it is a scoop shop.”
Shawn Michelle’s Ice Cream
Pastry/dessert | Ice cream | Price: $
46 E. 47th St., Chicago (Bronzeville) | Map
773-615-3238 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Hand-churned ice cream is a labor of love, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better version than at Shawn Michelle’s, a Black-owned ice creamery dishing out scoops since 1994. Whether you sample the Barack Supreme combo of pralines and chocolate Melanin Magic or opt for a vegan scoop, there’s something for everyone. Don’t overlook the sundaes and particularly decadent cobblers.
South American
El Che Steakhouse
More Top Picks Garmin Vivosport
South American | Argentinian | Price: $$$
– Original Credit: El Che Steakhouse
845 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago (West Loop) | Map
312-265-1130 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Pivoting from its regular offerings, El Che features grill-at-home steaks, either individually or in kits (parrillada for four), and sides (such as blood-sausage links and smoked sweetbreads), sauces, seasonings and more. Don’t pass on the Big Mich micheladas, either.
Rica Arepa
South American | Venezuelan | Price: $$$
4253 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago (Hermosa) | Map
773-543-3000 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Chef Kharim Rincon said they eat arepas starting as babies in Venezuela. The griddled corn cakes may be stuffed with pabellon, the national dish of shredded beef, black beans, plantains and cheese. Rincon and wife/manager Maria Uzcategui earned three stars a year after opening Rica Arepa in the Hermosa neighborhood. They transformed a fast food shop with a courtyard patio into an unlikely portal to Isla Margarita, the Pearl of the Caribbean, their hometown.
Southern
El Ideas / Boxcar BBQ
Southern | Barbecue | Price: $$$
2419 W. 14th St., Chicago (Douglas Park) | Map
312-226-8144 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Pausing from his usual ultracontemporary cuisine, chef/owner Phillip Foss launched Boxcar BBQ, a to-go menu of smoked meats, sides such as mac and cheese and braised bitter greens and more; check the online menu to see the day’s featured dishes. Foss hopes to make Boxcar BBQ a brick-and-mortar operation.
Honey 1 BBQ
Southern | Barbecue | Price: $
746 E. 43rd St., Chicago (Bronzeville) | Map
773-285-9455 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Robert Adams, one of Chicago’s barbecue living legends, still serves barbecue delicately imbued with smoke from the shop’s well-used, aquarium-style smoker (named because of the glass sides). While it serves top-notch pulled pork and ribs, Honey 1 stands out for its rib tips. Many places don’t even serve them because they are strewn with bone and cartilage. But if treated with care, like Honey 1 does, they transform into some of the most intensely porky and smoky pieces of meat around.
Lem’s Bar-B-Q
Southern | Barbecue | Price: $
311 E. 75th St., Chicago (Chatham) | Map
773-994-2428 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
You can smell the smoke wafting out of this legendary South Side barbecue shop from blocks away, which helps to help why fans have flocked to this location for over 50 years. Most go for the tender rib tips paired with fat chunks of aggressively seasoned hot links. The meat is served on a bed of fries with a few slices of white bread added on top. The whole is topped with a generous covering of the shop’s tangy house-made sauce.
Smoque BBQ
Southern | Barbecue | Price: $$
3800 N. Pulaski Road, Chicago (Old Irving Park) | Map
773-545-7427 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Order ribs, brisket, pulled pork or the unusual Chicago-style barbecue gumbo at Smoque. Instead of a Louisiana soup with shrimp, okra or file, this hearty stew follows the pitmaster tradition with all meat, melding brisket bits, sliced sausage and smoked chicken. Soft and saucy, still holding a hint of the smoker. Get it by the quart, and remember to add some sides of macaroni and cheese and cornbread, plus a couple of peach cobblers.
NEW: Soul & Smoke
Southern | Barbecue | Price: $$
1601 Payne St., Evanston | Map
Phone number not available | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
After stints in acclaimed fine-dining spots like Moto, South Side native D’Andre Carter serves up what might be the best barbecue in Chicago, including a smoky brisket and juicy baby back ribs. But don’t pass on Cajun shrimp and chicken gumbo, either.
Trice’s Original Slab BBQ
Southern | Barbecue | Price: $
User Upload Caption: Trice’s Original Slab BBQ in the South Shore neighborhood serves the juiciest rib tips and hot links in town.
1918 E. 71st St., Chicago (South Shore) | Map
773-966-5018 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
This family-run establishment in the South Shore neighborhood serves the juiciest rib tips and hot links in town. Cooked in a small aquarium-style smoker, they are infused with just the right amount of smoke and then served with a tangy sauce that lets the meat shine. Even the side dishes are given the attention they need. The fries are cut in-house, the slaw stays crunchy and the mixed greens provide an excellent foil to the meaty mains.
5 Loaves Eatery
Southern | Casual | Price: $
405 E. 75th St., Chicago (Chatham) | Map
773-891-2889 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
This bustling Chatham restaurant is the go-to spot for breakfast and lunch in the area, especially if you’re in the mood for some of the best fried chicken in Chicago. But don’t forget about the fluffy omelets, soft pancakes and hearty breakfast sandwiches. Every Friday, the shop has a fish-fry special, and on Sunday, it serves a full soul-food menu.
Virtue
Southern | Fine dining | Price: $$$
1462 E. 53rd St., Chicago (Hyde Park) | Map
773-947-8831 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Erick Williams’ menu is stuffed with Southern staples — shrimp and grits, collard greens, pork steak, mac and cheese — and you won’t find them better executed anywhere. Add on a couple of to-go cocktails, and you’ve got an excellent fine-dining dinner ready to eat at home.
NEW: Cocoa Chili
Southern | Soul food | Price: $
3101 W. Lake St., Chicago (East Garfield Park) | Map
312-725-3170 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
Niquenya Collins makes food so irresistible that a passerby once grabbed hot chicken off the grill in her backyard and took off running down the alley. Collins remained unperturbed and just took it as another sign that she should open Cocoa Chili. Her virtual restaurant at The Hatchery incubator in the East Garfield Park neighborhood makes that coveted, charred yet tender jerk chicken ($15) and constantly evolving Afro-Caribbean-soul food menu, which traces the historic journey of Black Americans.
MacArthur’s
Southern | Soul food | Price: $
5412 W. Madison St., Chicago (South Austin) | Map
773-261-2316 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Fried chicken and meatloaf will tempt you on the cafeteria line at MacArthur’s. The veggie plate though stars four gorgeous helpings of sides, not all vegetarian. The soul-food style spaghetti features a turkey meat sauce. The lush collard greens hold a hint of the ham with which they’re cooked. If you want to spike soft spoonfuls of golden macaroni and cheese or even sweet yams with heat, ask for a side of hot sauce.
NEW: Oooh Wee It Is
Southern | Soul food | Price: $$
2208 W. State St., Burnham | Map
708-933-0363 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
It started with sweet tea you’ll want to order by the gallon, but expanded to restaurants in Chatham and south suburban Burnham — the latter of which is the only one to offer takeout. Find pot roast cupcakes, bowls of grits topped with oxtail or shrimp, and jerk chicken wings — and good luck trying to choose between them.
Pearl’s Place
Southern | Soul food | Price: $$
3901 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago (Bronzeville) | Map
773-285-1700 | Website
Delivery available: Yes
Pickup available: Yes
While dining inside this iconic Bronzeville restaurant should be on the bucket list for every Chicagoan, right now you’ll just have to do with ordering for takeout some of the city’s best soul food. Go with the expertly fried catfish fish, the crispy fried chicken or perhaps an enormous serving of shrimp and cheesy grits. And then fret over which two of the 18 or so sides you’ll want to add.
Majani
Southern | Vegan | Price: $$
7167 S. Exchange Ave., Chicago (South Shore) | Map
773-359-4019 | Website
Delivery available: No
Pickup available: Yes
Husband and wife owners chef Tsadakeeyah Emmanuel and pastry chef Nasya Emmanuel offer soulful vegan cuisine at Majani. Chef T says his favorite dish is the rice and beans, a beautiful combo with tender greens and Southern-style, savory cornbread. The barbecue fried cauliflower has become hands-down the fan favorite at the original South Shore store and Pullman food hall stall. Remember the plant-based pastries, from sweet potato cookies to frosted cake slices.
Navya Gupta, Zach Harris, Maya Mokh, Maggie Prosser, Mariah Rush, Talia Soglin and Jade Yan contributed.
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