Lynette Smith 
When this South Side doughnut shop opened in 1972, the apple fritter wasn’t even on the menu. But over the last decade, the now-beloved treat has become synonymous with the neighborhood institution (that’s owner Buritt Bulloch left). The fritters are made fresh every morning using leftover dough scraps, resulting in a mammoth confection — each one clocks … Read more
You’re going to have to forgive Kaufman’s its high-gloss update and shelves of gourmet packaged goods. Look deep into the menu and you’ll find a through-line to a much older vision of what Eastern European Jewish immigrants wanted — endless choice. How much fat do you want on your corned beef? What about the pickles? Half sours … Read more
Let New Orleans have its Mardi Gras parade. We celebrate Fat Tuesday here by actually getting fat — eating as many pączki as we can. If you’re planning to pig out on this Polish filled doughnut, first learn to pronounce the name: “punch-key.” Then try one at the nearly 100-year-old Dinkel’s, which sells them on the six … Read more
You can get a Maxwell Street–style Polish anywhere in this city, but there’s really only one worth traveling for. Express Grill, hard by the Dan Ryan Expressway just north of the street the sausage is named after, serves up a charred, smoky link on a squishy hot dog bun that’s been slathered with yellow mustard. … Read more
The beloved menu staple at Eddie Lakin’s counter-service spot is everything you want a griddled burger to be. An amply seasoned, smashed-flat quarter-pound patty of freshly ground chuck is seared on a just-greasy-enough flattop until the meat is crisped around the edges before getting topped with your choice of cheeses, like American or Merkt’s cheddar … Read more
The namesake item at this iconic drive-in, which Maurie and Flaurie Berman opened in 1948 (that’s them, in hot dog form, on the restaurant’s roof), is a Chicago-style hot dog — just a bit bigger and better. The oversize all-beef wiener is served on a poppy seed bun and comes topped with mustard, onions, a dill pickle, … Read more
Chicago’s most famous 24-hour eatery has been a part of Little Italy for more than 80 years, and you know you’re close when you can smell grilled onions in the air. Tourists might be quick to order a Polish sausage, but picky locals go down the street for one of those (see Polish Sausage at … Read more
Visiting this Mexico City–style taqueria, which is attached to a corner grocery store, is a joy, from the colorful papel picado decorations to the housemade pineapple tepache. But all that is just a preamble to the food, and while it’s hard to argue against any of the tacos on the menu, the lengua is justifiably … Read more
For the past four decades, this butcher shop and restaurant has been turning out Chicago’s best gorditas — griddled disks of masa stuffed with meaty fillings. The gorditas here come filled with cheese and beans along with your choice of al pastor, nopalitos (cactus), arrachera (skirt steak), carnitas, or chicken, but the Doña Cuca is what locals … Read more
One has to wonder if this beloved Jewish deli’s popularity with Chicago pols has something to do with the heft of its trademark sandwich. After all, there’s no better way to disarm a rival than to corner them while they’re trying to get their mouth around a nine-ounce pile of shaved corned beef. There’s not … Read more
