No. 31: Temporis, thriving under a new chef
(Up from 36) The departure of Don Young caused ripples of anxiety for fans of this intimate Noble Square restaurant, but new executive chef Troy Jorge, who logged two years...
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No. 32: Girl & the Goat, still a tough ticket after 7 years
(Down from 19) Stephanie Izard's empire (under the Boka Restaurant Group umbrella) now includes Little Goat Diner, Duck Duck Goat and the recently opened Cabra. But Girl & the Goat,...
No. 33: Virtue, where nostalgia meets technique
Erick Williams, for years the executive chef at the acclaimed mk restaurant on the Near North Side, has energized the Hyde Park restaurant scene with Virtue, which has earned accolades...
No. 12: Bellemore, a brash newcomer that has matured nicely
(Down from 11) Bellemore opened in late 2017 with a relatively little-known chef in Jimmy Papadopoulos, who was bold enough to debut a $68, caviar-topped sliver of oyster pie (with...
No. 34: Next, where nothing stays the same
(Down from 26) You never know what you'll get at Next, even when you know the name of the featured theme (there are generally three every year), because the kitchen...
No. 35: Lula Cafe, patriarch of Logan Square
(Down from 34) Jason Hammel, winner of the Jean Banchet Awards Chef of the Year in February 2019, deserves more credit than anyone for developing Logan Square's energetic dining scene;...
No. 11: Pacific Standard Time, a coastal breeze in River North
(Down from 9) California ingredients and cuisine inform this River North restaurant, the brainchild of partners Erling Wu-Bower and Joshua Tilden. Nearly everything on the menu spends at least a...
No. 36: Everest, still reaching the heights
(Down from 27) One does not simply arrive at Everest; one ascends, taking elevators 40 floors to enter a cream-toned dining room with splendid views. Chef/proprietor Jean Joho was the...
No. 10: Spiaggia, one the country’s finest Italian restaurants
The departure of executive chef Joe Flamm (who, happily, is staying in Chicago) might have raised concerns, but Tony Mantuano's 35-year-old Spiaggia simply elevated former sous Eric Lees, who's already...
No. 37: Vie, the finest restaurant in the western suburbs
(Up from 40) No serious discussion of great suburban restaurants can omit Paul Virant's exemplary Vie, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it spot in downtown Western Springs. The dining room has a sophisticated, urban...