Mom's at Politan Row turns the table on Japanese 'Western food'

Chicago Reader (Food & Drink) 7/18 1:00A Mike Sula

Chefs Randi Howry and Kelly Ijichi tap a nostalgia in the making. I promise I'm not just going to write about food hall vendors for the rest of my life, but this summer it feels like I could. Much...

The ultimate guide to lunch in Chicago’s Loop: These are the 30 best spots to eat in 2019

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 7/15 7:26A Nick Kindelsperger

It's been a year since I last tackled where to eat lunch in the Loop, and if I've learned anything, it's to always expect change. New restaurants open, old favorites close and time marches on. Trends that were once ascendant (poke) have faded,...

Subo Filipino Kitchen is Albany Park's answer to a Pinoy wave

Chicago Reader (Food & Drink) 7/11 1:00A Mike Sula

The mother and son behind the late Three R's Filipino Cafe have regrouped at the Brown Line’s terminus. Chocolate meat is on the menu every day at Albany Park's Subo Filipino Kitchen. If you happen to...

Who wouldn’t run for ice cream?

Chicago Reader (Food & Drink) 7/10 1:00A Leor Galil

But the best parts of a “Freeze run” are the friends made and sights seen along the way. I prefer to call myself a runner rather than actually engage in the act of running.…

The Momo World—almost an International House of Dumplings

Chicago Reader (Food & Drink) 7/4 1:00A Mike Sula

A University Village storefront shows the global versatility of the Nepali street food. Madhu Budhathoki knows about the viral urban legend known as the Momo challenge. A customer at his University...

Indonesian and creole are in tune at Bumbu Roux

Chicago Reader (Food & Drink) 6/27 1:00A Mike Sula

At Politan Row, Chris Reed of the Rice Table is cooking from his parents’ different traditions. Indonesian and creole food have practically nothing in common—except for Chris Reed. He's the chef...

RIP Wanda Kurek, the queen of Whiskey Row

Chicago Reader (Food & Drink) 6/26 1:00A Mike Sula

The 95-year-old bar matron has passed, but Stanley's will go on. "If I quit I'll be like all those old ladies sitting there with their mouths open," she says.…

Metropolitan Brewing teams up with Pelican for the biere de garde Cold Hope

Chicago Reader (Food & Drink) 6/24 1:45P Philip Montoro

Beer and Metal returns to review a long-gestating collaboration by beloved Chicago institutions Pelican and Metropolitan Brewing. In summer 2012, my boss asked everybody in the Reader's editorial...

It's not about coffee at Café Antigua

Chicago Reader (Food & Drink) 6/20 1:00A Mike Sula

A snug snack shop across from the Guatemalan consulate offers a taste of Central America in Jefferson Park. Coffee is one of the reasons that more Guatemalans are caught trying to get into the United...

Who makes the best ranch dressing? We tried 14 brands to find the tastiest one for veggies, pizza...

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 6/17 3:00A Grace Wong

There isn’t a more beloved dressing in the Midwest than ranch, and as one of the major cities, Chicago is no exception to the devotion. We don’t just use the creamy white dressing for our vegetables. Oh, no. We use it as a dip for our pizza,...

Longtime Chicago-area restaurateur and his family competing on new home-style cooking TV show

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 6/17 12:55A Tracy Swartz

Former professional race car driver E.J. Lenzi has an enviable fine-dining resume. For years he worked for his grandfather, Eugene (Gene) Michelotti, at his famed River North steakhouse Gene & Georgetti. After Michelotti died in 1989 , Lenzi...

Review: Galit delivers a Middle Eastern masterpiece from James Beard-winning chef Zach Engel

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 6/14 3:40A Phil Vettel

Zach Engel won a James Beard Award (Rising Star, 2017) for his work at Shaya, the modern-Israeli restaurant in New Orleans, before he and fellow Shaya alum Andres Clavero moved to Chicago, opening Galit (the nickname of Engel’s daughter) at the...

Craving: South Side — a look at the area's Black food culture

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 6/13 5:00P

The South Side of Chicago is rich with the food and drink traditions of the area's Black community. From rib tips at Lem's Bar-B-Q to soul food at Original Soul Vegetarian to newer spots like Shawn Michelle's Homemade Ice Cream and Soul Shack,...

The 5 best jerk chicken dishes on Chicago’s South Side

Chicago Tribune (Food & Dining) 6/13 3:15A Nick Kindelsperger

Spend time driving around a majority Black neighborhood on the South Side, and you’re bound to run across a jerk chicken shop. Sure, there’s still soul food and barbecue to be found, but jerk is everywhere. In fact, there are more jerk chicken...

Big Boss and Chicken Pollo Shack: new contenders on the hot-fried-bird front

Chicago Reader (Food & Drink) 6/12 11:00P Mike Sula

Bridgeport and Humboldt Park have spicy spring chickens to boast of. Chef Jassy Lee is a living embodiment of an international fried chicken triangulation, a case study in the global affinity for...