Try the bhel puri from our 100 Best list: This heaping pile of puffed rice, chickpeas, onions and cilantro, drowned in a rainbow of chutneys, is dubbed “Indian nachos” by many.
Try the goat arancini from our 100 Best list: In Giuseppe Scurato’s hands fried rice balls are crisp and ethereal, qualities that are a foil for the meaty goat ragù inside.
Try the fried onions with lemon and jalapeño from our 100 Best list: A medley that balances the sweetness of the onions with acidity (the lemon), heat (the jalapeño) and lots of flavor (both).
Try the Naem khao thawt from our 100 Best list: Northern specialties like this crispy rice salad with ham, are a textbook example of Thai food’s ability to hit sweet, sour, salty & spicy all at once.
Try the fava-bean crostini from our 100 Best list: You realize why everyone wants to imitate Avec. And just how inimitable Avec is.
Try the Pommes Anna from our 100 Best list: This unassuming potato side dish—crispy and golden on top, tender and gratinlike underneath—makes you remember why you love seasoned chef Jason Paskewitz.
Try the kimchi bacon cheese fries from our 100 Best list: We never really understood the fuss over cheese fries…until we had these.
Try the onion rings from our 100 Best list: They’re executed with attention to detail—thick-cut rings dipped in beer batter, fried golden and sprinkled with salt. Simple but standout.
Try the pork loin tartine from our 100 Best list: The Logan Square wine bar is turning out glammed-up bruschetta piled with pickled pork loin, whipped feta, Bosc pears and juniper vinaigrette.
Try the mozzarella sticks from our 100 Best list: You’ve got to give props to a mozzarella stick whose mozz is made in-house.
Try the salad with buttermilk dressing from our 100 Best list: An obsession with detail, an amount of scrutiny seldom applied to lettuce, a superlative, creamy dressing.
Try the french fries from our 100 Best list: It’s the fries that stick with us: skin on, hand cut, deep brown, liberally salted and pretty much perfect.
Try the garlic bread from our 100 Best list: It was a close call between this side dish and the goat-cheese cheesecake. But garlic-schmeared bread smothered in blue-cheese sauce wins every time.
Try the sturgeon “caviar” from our 100 Best list: Anthony Martin created his own take on caviar: smoked sturgeon turned into a mousse and then dropped into cold oil to form silvery-white pearls.
Try the Motawma from our 100 Best list: Move on to motawma, the ethereal whipped collision of garlic and potatoes that makes the trek to Bridgeview well worth it.
Try the soup from our 100 Best list: Rick Spiros’s herbaceous, spicy broths, such as this take on Vietnamese pho (we tried it with short ribs—now it’s made with braised brisket) are life-sustaining.
Try the cioppino from our 100 Best list: Among the reasons people flock to the place is this classic San Francisco dish: a spicy broth sporting a rotating cast of fish, sweet shrimp & tender mussels.
Try the caldo gallego from our 100 Best list: With white beans, potato, spinach, ham and chorizo, it’s every bit as smoky, porky and satisfying as the restaurant’s Cubano.
Try the almond soup from our 100 Best list: When is a soup the most satisfying part of a midsummer meal? When it is as cool, smooth & balanced (sweet, acidic grapes; rich, savory almonds) as this one.
Try the Posole verde from our 100 Best list: The hearty green hominy stew rules our winters, with its hunks of pork, grassy broth and mess of add-ins alongside.
Try the carne en su jugo from our 100 Best list: Pinto beans, crispy bacon, radish rounds, avocado, raw onion and cilantro among oil droplets lining the surface of tender bits of beef in its juices.
Try the scallops from our 100 Best list: The accompaniments (corn-poblano hash on our first visit) change with the seasons. The flawlessly seared scallops are here to stay.
Try the grilled green tea–washed mackerel pike from our 100 Best list: Chef-owner Kee Chan’s underappreciated ode to grilled seafood & modern Japanese small plates are insanely good, expertly grilled.
Try the chef’s cut New York strip from our 100 Best list: The high-end chain had us woozy with its dry-ice martinis, warm butter cake, and expertly cooked and seasoned cuts of beef.
Try the kimchi and sausages from our 100 Best list: It’s a Polish-Korean mash-up and the best of both worlds. (Look for the free grub to reappear occasionally over the winter.)
Try the braised rabbit from our 100 Best list: Peas and rabbit. Is that some kind of twisted joke, serving rabbit with the very things it loves to eat (before it’s roasted)?
Try the duck fat yaki soba noodles from our 100 Best list: A bowl of everything you could ask for: thick, satisfying noodles in mustard sauce, fatty morsels of duck and crunchy slivers of cabbage.
Try the goat-cheese tortalacci from our 100 Best list: These pockets of delicate tortalacci are like tiny, edible presents to everyone lucky enough to get their hands on them.
Try the Swiss chard tortelloni from our 100 Best list: These chard-stuffed pasta pockets aren’t currently on the menu. But we strongly encourage you to start a petition to bring them back.
Try the Montreal-style smoked pastrami from our 100 Best list: The smoked meat of Montreal: thick, hand-cut slices, edges lined with black pepper, the meat gorgeously marbled and fall-apart tender.
