The 20 Best Restaurants in Chicago?!

BEST DATE NEWS

Good Morning! Happy National Meatball Day! Are meatballs underrated?! I feel like they sort of are, right? Yes, they get a fair amount of attention for their role with spaghetti, but a meatball sub is also an elite sandwich. Dare I say that a meatball sub is actually the better use case for meatballs?! Freshly baked bread, gooey mozzarella and meatballs covered in a warm marinara sauce is pretty tough to beat. Consider celebrating the holiday day by getting one for lunch. You know you want to!

Michael, Founder

The 20 Best Restaurants in Chicago?

We've never attempted to create a definitive list of the best restaurants in Chicago, but someone else just did, and we wanted to share it with you! Power rankings are notoriously highly debatable, but they can also give us some good ideas to consider so we can formulate our own opinions.

TastingTable did their best to put together a ranked list of the 20 Best Restaurants in Chicago. They did admit though that the list is pretty arbitrary and is ultimately based on gut instinct. However, their approach was thoughtful as it included both fine dining and casual spots while also considering other factors like "history, representation, accessibility, innovation, and uniqueness."

We have included the list of their Top 20 restaurant rankings below. We encourage you though to also read through their reasonings for why each place made the list!

• 20. Triple Crown Restaurant

• 19. Johnnie's Beef

• 18. Evette's

• 17. Au Cheval

• 16. The Original Vito & Nick's Pizzeria

• 15. Taqueria Chingon

• 14. Ghin Kao Eat Rice

• 13. Superkhana International

• 12. Lula Cafe

• 11. Le Bouchon

• 10. Mi Tocaya Antojeria

• 9. Cellar Door Provisions

• 8. Avec

• 7. Virtue

• 6. Rose Mary

• 5. Kasama

• 4. Alinea

• 3. Parachute

• 2. Hermosa Restaurant

• 1. Daisies

How many of these 20 restaurants have you been to? Simply reply to this email and let us know! We want to know who has had a chance to check out these places and which ones everyone has been to!

Chicago News to Know

• Guiness Brewery: While the new Guiness Brewery that's coming to Chicago won't be ready for St. Patrick's Day, progress is being made! They posted for the first time on their new Chicago specific Instagram account hinting about their future opening.

• Green River Dyeing: Speaking of St. Patrick's Day, Chicago's holiday festivities take place this weekend! Celebrate at the dyeing of the Chicago River followed by the parade! Learn more by reading the caption of our Instagram post.

• Southport Corridor: If you live in the Lakeview area, you're in luck! New restaurants are popping up and we just visited one! Check out our video about the brand new Itoko from the Boka Restaurant Group, and read the caption for some menu picks!

Poll of the Week

Do us a favor and after voting in this week's poll, please add in a quick comment about what you enjoy most about this newsletter. It would really help us out! Thank you!

Last Week's Poll Results

• Question: We mentioned The Office this week and last, so we have to ask... Do you think The Office is one of the best TV shows of all time?!

• Result: Yes (57%) vs. No (43%)

Unique Food Presentations

Last week, 81% of you thought the picnic table presentation was adorable and would like it if you were served it in a restaurant!

This week our journey of restaurants serving food in the most over-the-top ways takes us to Eastern Europe! Viggo Steakhouse in Bucharest, Romania serves steak out of a smoking briefcase. And that's just the beginning. After the food is brought to your table, it appears that you have about another five minutes of table-side presentation. Take a look at this video!

Today's Sunset in Chicago

The sun will set in Chicago this evening at 5:49pm. Which means the sun sets today seven minutes later than it did compared to last week!