My Absolute Favorite Foods in Chicago

I am a Chicago girl, through and through. Everyone knows how obsessed I am with my city. One of favorite things to do in Chicago, is eat! Anyone who is anyone that has either visited or lived in Chicago, knows that we have some of the best food in the world. From the traditional Chicago staples (Chicago style hot dogs or deep dish pizza) to the number one restaurant in the world (Alinea).

I am always asked by friends what are my favorite restaurants in the city and I always tell them, it depends on what I am eating!

So I thought it would be fun to put together a list of all of my favorite foods and where you can find them!

Best Burger: Au Cheval. If you don’t know, now you know.

Best BBQ– Smoque

Best Cheese Fries: Portillos. The fries are so salty and crunchy and the cheese never goes bad! That sounds awful saying it out loud. But the cheese could get cold but it’s still melty. Does that even make sense?

Best Chicken Wings: Buffalo Joes

Best Chinese Dumplings: Qing Xiang Yuan

Best Deep Dish: Giordanos all the way! Between them and Lou Malnatis, it’s always a toss us for people. Lou’s has the butter crust that’ll have your mouth glistening. But I love the thick pizza sauce from Giordano’s

Best French Restaurant: Les Nomades

Best Greek Restaurant: Greek Islands

Best Hot Dogs: Portillos

 Best Italian Beef: Portillos

Best Italian Food: Monteverde. You’ll see in my previous post as to why it’s so good.

Best Mozzarella Sticks: Boss Bar. You would never think it, once you stepped foot inside this bar. Drinks served in plastic cups with pool tables in the back. But every single time I am there, you best believe I’m ordering a batch of the cheesy gooey perfectly crispy fried cheese sticks.

Best Nachos: Public House. I had such a hard time with this one because I LOVE nachos and eat them everywhere I go and there are so many great spots in the city where you can find stacked nachos.

Best Ramen: High Five Ramen. This place has the most fire ramen I have ever had, literally and figuratively. The ramen comes in all different types of spicy flavors. The restaurant itself can only seat 10-15 people and of course, they do not take reservations. They have tons of different flavors and you can pick the level of spiciness. I warn you, even the bowl with no additional spice is even spicy.

Best Seafood Boil: Angry Crab. Seafood boils have taken over Chicago. With Angry Crab starting the trend and others following, I standby my crabby shack. Best part yet- it’s BYOB! All prices are based on market price, which means they’re bringing in the best products they have and only serve what’s in season. Pick your spices, your flavors and your little side pieces (andouille sausage, corn on the cob and or potatoes). Grab a bib and some gloves and get ready to get dirty.

Best Steak: Maple & Ash. One of my favorite places to dine in the city. Check out one of my old blog posts

Best Tacos: Mercadito

Best Thin Crust Pizza: Coal Fire Pizza

Best Vietnamese Food: Le Colonial

If you want to know anymore of my favorites, comment below!