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1 | This is Josh's personal list of favorite restaurants in Chicago. These are not necessarily the best or the most trendy places to get food. These choices are heavily influenced by nostalgia. Nevertheless, people directly asked Josh to make this list, so here it is, in no particular order. | |||||
2 | Restaurant | Recommended item(s) | Address | Notes | Room for seating? | Erica approved? |
3 | AL'S BEEF | - Italian beef, hot/sweet peppers, dipped - Cheese fries | 1079 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60607 DO NOT GO TO ANY OTHER LOCATIONS | The best Italian beef Josh has ever had. Johnnie's is a decent competitor, but I like the gravy/beef juice flavor at Al's a lot more. Always ask for your sandwich dipped. Always. | Minimal outdoor seating. Indoor standing counter. | Watched Josh eat. |
4 | ANDY'S FROZEN CUSTARD | Snowmonster concrete | Many Locations | This is not a Chicago-specific thing, but if you're from Ann Arbor, there's none around. If you think frozen custard sounds comparable to, say, Culver's... it's not. It's really not. | Yes | |
5 | BAKERS SQUARE | Fresh strawberry pie (seasonal) | Many Locations | Yes | ||
6 | BUFFALO JOE'S | Buffalo wings. Suicide-spice, if you can handle. | 812 Clark Street, Evanston, IL 60201 | Apologies for the quality of the wing meat, but there is no substitution for Buff Joe's sauce. | Yes | Can't remember |
7 | CHO SUN OK RESTAURANT | ChaDol-Gui (thin beef slices, served with kimchi fried rice at the end) | 4200 North Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60618 | Josh's family would come here a lot for holidays or birthdays. Unfortunately, it seems like it's gotten more popular and the line is always long and the dining area is small. | Yes | Yes |
8 | DEL SEOUL | Korean-fusion tacos | 2568 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60614 | Probably not as good as the coasts, but good Korean fusion tacos. | Yes | Yes |
9 | DOLLOP COFFEE & THE HOOSIER MAMA PIE COMPANY | All the pie | 749 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, IL 60202 | Pie. Expensive pie, but delicious pie. | Yes | Hasn't been yet |
10 | EVANSTON CHICKEN SHACK | Fried chicken (dark meat) | 1925 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201 | Legend has it that this used to be a Harold's. One of Josh's proudest moments was when the cashier would recognize his face. | Minimal indoor seats | Hasn't been yet |
11 | GHAREEB NAWAZ RESTAURANT | - Chicken biryani - Chili chicken - Butter chicken | 2032 West Devon Avenue, Chicago, IL 60659 UIC Location is pretty good too | Cheap, delicious Indian food. Can't get that in Ann Arbor. | Yes | Hasn't been yet |
12 | GINO'S EAST | Supreme deep dish | Many Locations | Everyone's gonna have their own preference for deep dish - Lou Malnati's, Giordano's, Pequod's. Gino's East is Josh's favorite. Deal with it. | Yes | Hasn't been yet |
13 | GREAT SEA RESTAURANT | "Lollipop" wings | 3253 West Lawrence Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625 | Under new ownership, but the sauce is still legit. | Yes | Had noodles for some reason. Noodles are ok. |
14 | HAROLD'S CHICKEN | Fried chicken (dark meat) | Many Locations Chicago Magazine's Rankings Larry Legend's Rankings | Quality differs greatly from location to location. Refer to rankings lists. | Typically no | Hasn't been yet |
15 | HOT "G" DOG | Any specials they might have Duck fat fries | Currently closed... | Former employees of Hot Doug's started their own Encased Meats restaurant. Not the same, but really really good. Hot "G" Dog is currently closed, but may be open in a new location by the wedding. “There are no two finer words in the English language than ‘encased meats,’ my friend.” | N/A | Yes |
16 | IRVING'S FOR RED HOT LOVERS | Pure beef red hots, everything on them | 3207 Lake Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091 | Best Chicago style hot dogs. In Wilmette, of all places. Go figure. | Yes | Hasn't been yet |
17 | JIM'S ORIGINAL | - Polish sausage - Fish sandwich - Fries | 1250 South Union Avenue, Chicago, IL 60607 | Don't do the jalapenos. I mean, you can if you want to. But don't. | No. Outdoor standing counter. | Yes, esp fish sandwich |
18 | JOY YEE NOODLE | Fresh fruit smoothies. I like strawberry peach with tapioca. | Many Locations | If you get the giant bowl of pho, please take a selfie with it and send it to me. | Yes | Sure, why not |
19 | LEM'S BAR-B-Q | Rib tips. Lots of sauce. | 311 East 75th Street, Chicago, IL 60619 | Used to be Josh's favorite BBQ place before he visited Franklin's in Austin. | No | Hasn't been yet |
20 | MINGHIN CUISINE - CHINATOWN | Apparently, dimsum. | 2168 South Archer Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616 I have been told the downtown location is not good. | This is actually Erica's addition, not Josh's. "It's good dimsum. From Hong Kong." Josh doesn't know what makes dimsum good or bad. | Yes | Yes |
21 | MR GREEK GYROS | - Gyros with GRILLED onions - Rib tips: good, not as good as Lem's, good for sharing | 234 South Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60607 | Yes | "I don't love it the way Josh does" | |
22 | Naf Naf Grill | The pita bread | ||||
23 | PIECE BREWERY | Hot Doug's Atomic Sausage pizza | 1927 West North Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622 | Josh's favorite non-deep dish pizza. I miss you, Hot Doug. | Yes | Hasn't been yet |
24 | THE NOODLE VIETNAMESE & THAI CUISINE | - Beef Stew Pho? Beef Noodle Soup? Not pho - broth is more red... - Also pho | 2336 South Wentworth Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616 | Josh prefers this pho over Tank noodle. He knows many will disagree. | Yes | Hasn't been yet |
25 | WALKER BROS. ORIGINAL PANCAKE HOUSE | - German pancake/Dutch baby (same thing, different size) - Apple cinnamon pancake...maybe | Many Locations | Don't get the apple cinnamon pancake by yourself. One bite = great. One pancake = death by sugar. | Yes | Yes |
26 | M. HENRY | - I think it's occasional, but they had a rum raisin empanada a few times | 5707 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60660 | I don't really like putting trendy Instagram-able places on here, but this one is a good exception. If they have the rum raisin empanada please buy me one. | Yes | Hasn't been yet |