Restaurants come and restaurants go. For a few years, it seemed like every new restaurant in Chicago was Italian. Then we had Mediterranean, which was Italian with a touch of Greek and Moroccan. Next came a wave of French bistros. In and around Chicago's downtown and surrounding neighborhoods, interesting new restaurants seem to open almost weekly. Those that have opened since last year's restaurant show range from classical French to cutting-edge eclectic. We have also had name games: There were the short food words, for example - Dish, Toast, Spoon, Bite. No matter how sophisticated a dining destination Chicagoland becomes, Chicagoans love their meat and potatoes. In a town where eateries open and shut with frightening speed, many steakhouses have opened in recent years and less than a handful have closed (and one of them only after a well-publicized rat problem forced the city to shut them down). But perhaps sensing that the city has become a bit saturated with beef, restaurateurs are steaking out new territory in the suburbs. Always noted for its great steaks, Chicago has evolved into a trend-setting restaurant city, where you can discover cuisines from around the world. If you enjoy fine dining, Chicago is your kind of town. Area chefs will whisk your taste buds away on a culinary. Whatever your choice of food or cuisine, you will get everything here. I can assure that! The difficulty is making a choice between so many great options. The big triumvirate of Chicago native fare is pizza, hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches. These are not street food, per se, because you cannot buy them on street corners, but they are the earthy fare of the people, the real thing. Besides these, there are a few other specialties born and raised in Chicago - some of which have spread to other locales, and some of which are still unique to this city. You can get plenty of thin-crust, flat pizza here, but Chicagoans treat that as a type of canapé - in fact, it will come cut up into small squares. Some misguided old South Siders may try to kid you that the “real” pizza of Chicago is greasy flat stuff with a cardboard like crust, but the true Chicago-style pizza began when Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo opened Pizzeria Uno in 1943. Pizzerias like Edwardo's and Giordano's took the concept even farther with stuffed spinach and pesto pizzas. Be prepared: Chicago pizza is not fast food. It takes at least a half hour to 45 minutes for the pizza to bake, so call and order ahead or plan to while away the time with drinks and appetizers. But do not fill up too much - Chicago pizza is rib-sticking stuff. Two pieces are plenty for all but the hungriest of trenchermen. This is not pizza you can roll up and eat with your hands but hearty knife-and-fork food. Mexican restaurants in Chicago have come a long way in recent years, led by the internationally acclaimed Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill /Topolobampo. Now, three newcomers are, to paraphrase the Food Channel's Emerill Lagasse's favorite line, "kicking it up a notch." Newest in the authentic, regional Mexican category are Chapultepec at 700 N. Dearborn; Ixcapuzalco at 2929 N. Milwaukee and the brand new Adobo Grill at 1610 N. Wells. Why is this a good time to open a Mexican restaurant in Chicago? Paul LoDuca, co-owner of Adobo Grill and his older Italian stalwarts, Vinci and Trattoria Parma, says, "Chicago has 50-to-100 good Italian restaurants and only four-or-five really good Mexican. And, we enjoy the cuisine!" Continued -->> |
