For foodies who travel.
| Quora Contributor · July 23, 2014 |
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Charmin & Antoine Members are the founders of Chicago Under-the-Radar Food Tours, the city’s first Citywide Food & Neighborhood Walking Tour company that goes beyond the touristy areas to help visitors and locals experience the true spirit of Chicago’s neighborhoods and local cuisine. Their wedding took place in Franschhoek, a town in South Africa’s Western Cape Wineland Region, which is rightfully known as one of the best food capitals of the world. It was their culinary and cultural experiences in South Africa that inspired them to start a food tour business in their own city.
Nicknamed the ‘city of neighborhoods’ for very good reasons, Chicago is divided into 77 well-defined community areas, with one or more not so well defined neighborhoods in each. Each neighborhood has its own unique vibe and some have ethnic enclaves with expats from all over the world, many of which have opened their own restaurants making it possible to eat your way around the world in one day. Chicago has a neighborhood for every type of foodie traveler, making it hard to narrow it down to just a few recommendations.
For the foodie who appreciates quaint streets and long beer lists in a relaxed environment, we recommend Northside Lincoln Square. Roughly 10 miles from downtown and easily accessible, Lincoln Square is Chicago’s Germantown. We feature Germantown on one of our unFood Tours, and our knowledgeable tour guides are happy to recommend restaurants in the area for you to visit after the tour.
We absolutely love our neighborhood, the West Loop, and it is where we launched our very first food tour! While the West Loop is not so under the radar these days, it has only recently exploded and has some of the best restaurants in the city. If you are a foodie traveler who prefers to stay near the downtown core and still eat among locals at some of the best locally owned restaurants, West Loop is a foodies’ paradise less than 2 miles from the downtown core. Beyond that, you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant with less than stellar service and delicious food, so you can’t go wrong here.
About 7 miles southwest of downtown sits Little Village which is also worthy of a visit, particularly if you are a foodie who loves authentic Mexican cuisine, as the area has very strong Mexican cultural roots. The neighborhood is also decorated with some of the most vibrant public street art you’ll ever see. You will not only eat good authentic Mexican food, but also encounter friendly people, and find unique places to shop when you visit Little Village.
Much further south is lovely Beverly, which is our recommendation for the active foodie looking for a quiet and scenic neighborhood to walk around in that shows how sprawling this city is. Nicknamed the Beverly Hills of Chicago, the 15-mile trek from downtown is well worth it to see the city’s only Castle. We are pretty sure many of our visitors miss seeing the tree-lined streets and stately homes this area has to offer. In addition to being arguably the most scenic area in the city, Beverly also happens to be home to some really good eats and a local brew pub. Look out for our unFood Tour of Beverly coming soon, and be sure to bring your camera!
Are you kidding me? Of course! You can find fun things to do and great food to eat any day of the year in Chicago, but there are annual events that foodies will definitely appreciate. The Cinco de Mayo Festival in Little Village is a fantastic way to learn more about Mexican culture, enjoy live music, and sample a variety of authentic Mexican cuisine. We are putting together a Tacos & Tequila pop up Food Tour for those who want to add even more food and fun to their Cinco de Mayo celebration! The Cinco de Mayo festival is the (unofficial) kickoff to our summer festival season.
From May through October there are many festivals throughout the city. I must admit this one is not at all under the radar, but I would be remiss not to mention the Taste of Chicago, which is the World’s largest food festival, and the largest festival in Chicago! The Taste (as us locals call it) is held for five days in July at Grant Park – known as Chicago’s front lawn – and is a great way to enjoy views of Lake Michigan and the City’s skyline while taking a self-guided food tour. A neighborhood version of the Taste of Chicago is West Loop’s Taste of Randolph Street where you can enjoy live music and hang with the locals while tasting your way along the City’s ‘Restaurant Row’. Fairly new to the scene is James Beard Eats Week in April where nearly 100 restaurants offer a week of off the menu specials. You can also enjoy 3-4 course Prix Fixe meal deals starting from $22 per person for lunch, and $33 for dinner during our Restaurant Week in January.
People can expect to experience Chicago’s local vibe while sampling 5-7 delicious tastings at some of the City’s best locally owned restaurants that don’t get nearly the amount of hype they deserve. We understand the desire to try Chicago staples, but we want to show visitors that there is much more to our culinary scene than deep dish pizza and hotdogs. Having said that, we are happy to point you in the right direction to try those too. Since Chicago is so big and we offer tours throughout the city, local Chicagoans enjoy our tours as well. Unlike most food tour companies, our group food tours max out at 12 seats, so people will have a more personalized experience. We’ve been on food tours where we felt herded along and unable to engage with our guide, and we don’t want anyone to experience that on our tours. Also, most of our stops include a seat at the table so there are breaks between the walking and an opportunity to relax and actually be served. Last but certainly not least, people can expect excellent service at the restaurants they visit and from our tour guides. Our local guides know the city well and are passionate about sharing the rich history, culture, and architecture of the area as well as share fun food facts.
Yes, all the time! Food markets and food halls with multiple vendors are growing in popularity. Our favorite is the French Market, a European market and food hall combined. It has more than 30 locally owned food stalls to choose from for a quick lunch or dinner on the way home, and grocery items to conveniently grab on your way home from work to make dinner at home. Some of my favorites there are Saigon Sisters, Delightful Pastries, Pastoral, and Black Dog Gelato. While this market has been around for awhile, the city has 6 others, and a new one is in the works for later this year. We feature the French Market in our West Loop Food Tour.
Communal dining isn’t necessarily a new concept here, but it continues to grow in popularity, which tells us that diners are receptive to dining with strangers and like the social interaction. We love this because our food tours are about bringing people together! Whether you are a visitor or local Chicagoan, we want you to eat well, enjoy yourself, and feel part of a community.
We’ve also noticed a growing appreciation for more authentic ethnic food. To help meet this desire, our food tours include stops at restaurants owned and operated by people from various regions around the world! Our Around The World Food Tour includes 8-10 food and beverage samplings representing all 5 regions of the world. We travel as often as we can in order to have a better idea of what the traditional food is in various countries. Our most recent trip was to Mexico (been to a few cities in MX, actually). This time while we were there we ate traditional Yucatecan food in Merida, like delicious cochinita pibil, and we found the best tacos al pastor we’ve ever had at a random food cart on the streets of Playa del Carmen. We are excited to showcase the most authentic Mexican street food in Chicago on our Little Village Food Tours starting this May. Our next trip is Cuba, which just may inspire a new food tour or pop up event! Stay tuned…
Every year when spring rolls around Chicagoans have three very specific things that they look forward to: the end of snow, the warming up of frigid temperatures, and opening day at Wrigley Field. The Cubs are like a religion here in Chicago with thousands of devoted fans flocking to Wrigley Field and the surrounding area all spring and summer long to cheer them on. Win or lose, you won’t find a fan more loyal than one that roots for the Cubs. And whether you’ve got tickets to the game or you’re just looking for a great place to catch it on TV, there is nothing like Wrigleyville.
The neighborhood is made up of tons of sports bars and pubs and each one is packed full of fans on game day. As you might expect, a lot of these places are the typical old fashioned, no frills, leaning toward the dive-y end of the spectrum bars that you’ll find in stadium-centric neighborhoods across America. They are a ton of fun, of course, but the food selection can be dicey, if they serve food at all. I love a good dive bar (especially pre- or post-Cubs game!), but I love my food more and there are a few real gems in this neighborhood– places where you (or a foodie like me) can still cheer on the Cubs, drink a good beer, and enjoy some really good food. These are 5 of my favorite places to eat in Wrigleyville:
This is one of my favorite places for good food in Wrigleyville. Lucky’s is home to crazy big overstuffed sandwiches that are essentially an entire meal between two slices of bread. These sandwiches are loaded up with your standard ingredients like sliced deli meats and tomatoes and are topped with a generous helping of tangy coleslaw and a heaping portion of hand-cut fries inside two thick slices of French bread. These sandwiches have become a local legend in the short 10+ years that they’ve been around and have been featured on shows like Man vs. Food and Sandwich King.
They are virtually impossible to eat with your hands and not make a complete mess, but they are really tasty and Lucky’s has a ton of different options available: from standard turkey or ham to veggie, Buffalo chicken, and fried fish sandwiches. The sandwiches aren’t fancy, but they’re made with quality ingredients so they’re just really fresh tasting and delicious. And as a coleslaw snob, I can assure you that this is good stuff– and probably my favorite part of the sandwich! In addition to their vast sandwich menu, Lucky’s also serves a great selection of craft and imported beers. These can be hard to come by at most Wrigleyville bars! So, stop into Lucky’s with an empty stomach and enjoy an overstuffed sandwich and a beer before the game– or anytime!
Sheffield’s is located just a little off the beaten path of Wrigleyville (a.k.a. the few blocks of Clark Street immediately south of Wrigley Field), but it’s a great option for sports fans, foodies, and beer lovers alike. This is a big bar with several different rooms for drinking and game watching and as the name might suggest, there’s also a great beer garden that is the perfect place for enjoying some drinks al fresco in the summertime. Sheffield’s serves around 200 different varieties of beer, so there is truly something for everyone on the menu here and it is the ideal bar for the beer enthusiast. And for those foodies, I can vouch that Sheffield’s serves up some great food too.
They are known for their barbecue and they actually smoke all of their meat in-house, so it’s the real deal. I’m a huge fan of the smothered nachos at Sheffield’s– a perfect marriage of my favorite bar food and their signature ingredients. The nachos are piled high with your standard topping in addition to an awesome IPA queso sauce, cumin crema, tomatillo & avocado relish, BBQ sauce, and your choice of their housemade pulled chicken or pork, chopped brisket, or veggie chili. The Armadillo Eggs are another standout menu item: pickled jalapenos filled with chopped brisket, pepper jack cheese, and BBQ sauce, deep fried and served with BBQ ranch sauce for dipping. Healthy? No. Delicious? Yes.
Flaco’s is one of my favorite local spots for fast casual Mexican food and I was so excited to find out that they have opened a third location in Wrigleyville. There are tons of places all over Chicago (and Wrigleyville) to grab a quick taco or burrito, but I think we can agree that they aren’t always very good. Flaco’s prides itself on serving homemade Mexican food with fresh ingredients in a quick and casual environment.
This is a great place to grab a quick meal that is really tasty, quick, and cost effective. They have excellent fresh guacamole here and I love their nachos, tacos, and especially their tortas: Mexican-style sandwiches served on soft fresh baked rolls. And my husband orders a burrito every time we stop into Flaco’s. This isn’t a place where you’ll pull up a chair at the bar and watch the whole game, but it’s a great place to get a quick and satisfying meal en route to your game watching. Rest assured though, they do serve alcohol. Flaco’s Tacos serves a variety of flavored margaritas, housemade sangria, and a selection of Mexican beers too.
If you’re looking for the full Wrigleyville bar experience, but with really good food, then Rockit is the spot for you. This bar and grill is located just across the street from Wrigley Field and is the sister location to the very successful Rockit Bar & Grill located in Chicago’s trendier River North neighborhood. Wrigleyville’s Rockit specializes in all things ‘burger’.
Rockit Burger Bar serves up over a dozen different gourmet burgers– each with their own flavor profile and personality. I like the sweet and savory Johnny Apple, a burger topped with smokey bacon, brie, Gala apples, pecan aioli, and served with a side of cinnamon and sugar spiced sweet potato fries. My husband, on the other hand, enjoys the rich and spicy Huevos Ranchero which includes a fried egg, chihuahua cheese, corn tortilla strips, roasted salsa, and jalapeño aioli. The atmosphere at Rockit is a great mix of casual restaurant (serving delicious burgers and bar food) and energetic bar with loud music, TVs playing every game that’s available, and a DJ later in the evenings. It’s a great place to visit during a Cubs game and the off season alike.
Blokes & Birds is another rare Wrigleyville find. It’s got a modern sports bar meets old fashioned English public house vibe, which is not unique in Chicago but definitely unique for the neighborhood. The place is covered in sleek smooth wood with some big lounge areas in the basement (which is more lounge versus the upstairs, which is more restaurant) punctuated with their signature quirky handlebar mustache throughout the decor.
The food here is great. It’s a little more upscale than your usual Wrigleyville bar, but it’s still casual and comforting like you’d expect at a traditional pub. Their fish and chips are really delicious: deep fried and crunchy served with a tangy tartar sauce for dipping. And the bacon mac and cheese is creamy and decadent— perfect for sharing with your table or to just enjoy as your entree. I am also a huge fan of their beet salad, which is served with arugula and goat cheese, dressed in a very British Pimm’s vinaigrette dressing. The food here is satisfying enough for you to enjoy after a day of drinking and cheering on the Cubbies, and the place itself is cool enough to be the perfect location for an evening celebration or get together too.
What’s your favorite restaurant for a pre- or post-game meal?
![Anne [A Squared]](http://tastetrekkers.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/headshot-150x150.jpg)
Anne has been writing her food-focused blog A Squared for 2.5 years. Cooking, dining out, traveling, and exploring Chicago are Anne’s favorite ways to spend her free time. On A Squared she shares recipes, restaurant reviews, and the highlights of living in the fabulous Windy City.
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