If you're looking to make a dinner reservation in Chicago, there's no shortage of spots to choose from. And there are no shortage of restaurant lists to consult from, either.
However, one newly released ranking from the food and drink site Tasting Table aims to be a list that's more reflective of Chicago itself -- combining both luxury, Michelin-star spots, neighborhood dives and cultural institutions, the site says.
"What makes the restaurants detailed [in the ranking] the city's best take other factors into account like history, representation, accessibility, innovation, and uniqueness," editors at Tasting Table say, in a description of their recently published "20 Best Restaurants in Chicago, Ranked" report.
"Each one of these restaurants tells a very specific story," the description continues, "not just of the chefs or cultural heritages behind their food, but of Chicago itself in all its multifaceted traditions and histories."
According to the editors at Tasting Table, the list is curated by "gut instinct," with rankings that are "arbitrary at best." Nonetheless, editors say, the list is an ode to the city. "You'll find the highest of high-end tasting menus right alongside the most delectable holes in the wall, just as you would in most of the neighborhoods featured herein," they write.
The restaurants spans different communities in Chicago, but at least eight of them are on the city's northwest sides, either in Logan Square, Avondale, or Bucktown. Others are scattered across the West Loop, Lincoln Park, Hyde Park and more, and range from tacos, to "Indian-ish" hangover food, to chicken gizzards over dirty rice and of course, pizza.
The restaurant that ranks 20th on the list is Triple Crown Restaurant in Chinatown. "In a city where many styles of Asian cuisine have exploded in nearly every neighborhood...Triple Crown reminds us that the classic endure as long as they're made with the care this multi-generational operation puts in."
Coming in a bit higher on the list, at No. 4, is Alinea, Chicago's only three Michelin-starred restaurant, who's tasting menu "blurs the line between dinner and high art."
Arbitrarily or not, here are the restaurants that round out the list's top 10:
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- Daises -- Logan Square
- Hermosa Restaurant -- Hermosa
- Parachute -- Avondale
- Alinea -- Lincoln Park
- Kasama -- East Village
- Rose Mary -- West Loop
- Virtue -- Hyde Park
- Avec -- West Loop, River North
- Cellar Door Provisions -- Logan Square
- Mi Tocaya Antojería -- Logan Square
