The 12-year-old father-son operation specializes in one thing: birria, the fragrant Jaliscan goat-meat stew. It’s not as if they really need to do much else, considering how intoxicating their take on it is: Organic goat meat (butchered in-house by the Zaragozas themselves) is steam-cooked, marinated in a deep, multilayered mole until it practically collapses, and … Read more
Like so many other brilliant ideas, this one started as a scribble on a napkin. From there, chef-partner Brian Ahern’s brainchild grew into a three-day procession of seasoning, searing, braising, and deep-frying in beef fat — and it ended up a Chicago-by-wayof- the-bayou classic. The beignets make a compelling case that every doughnut would be … Read more
At first glance, Boka’s restrained beef tartare looks stingy, as if chef Lee Wolen is holding out on you. Not so. It doesn’t take much to experience the power and finesse of this small plate, made with uniformly diced dry-aged beef and showered with just enough tendrils of cured, shaved egg yolk and carrots to … Read more
Picture it: Sitting on the hood of your car in Calumet Fisheries’ gravel parking lot, the sun peeking through the clouds, a Styrofoam container of goldenbrown fried shrimp in your lap. It’s a simple Chicago pleasure, all shattering batter and juicy shellfish, meant to be eaten outside. In short — the most iconic of summertime … Read more
These heroic carnitas run the gamut from soft and juicy to crunchy and caramelized, and it’s that textural balance — equal parts puffy chicharrón, chewy skin, and shreddy pulled pork — that sets apart Don Pedro’s version of the classic Mexican street food. The richness of it all — amplified by onions, cilantro, salsa, and … Read more
Three years ago, we crowned this creation by Jennifer Jones Enyart the city’s best piece of cake, and we continue to stand by that claim. The James Beard Award–nominated pastry chef creates tender layers that give off a buttery sheen, but the magic lies in her sour-cream-laced frosting, which strikes the elusive sweetbitter balance. It’s … Read more
It sounds like a dish only a vegetarian could love, but even the staunchest of omnivores can fall under its spell. Atop a slice of James Beard Award winner Greg Wade’s multigrain bread is, yes, a salad’s worth of tousled greens, but there’s also a cavalcade of tempurafried tofu, slices of apple for a pop … Read more
More restaurants should have spinning rotisseries full of ducks in their kitchens. It’s Kevin Hickey’s calling card at his cozy, excess-relishing den. He roasts the breasts, then brines, air-dries, and slowroasts the rest of the bird, duck fat tumbling onto the bed of Yukon gold potatoes at the bottom of the oven, a glorious feast … Read more
You would think that a cheese-topped four-ounce beef patty, cooked until it’s a nebula of meat and cheddar, then stacked on a toasted bun, would be a total grease bomb. But Edzo’s owner Eddie Lakin has mastered the precarious engineering of a thin-patty burger: first, grinding his own beef daily for a precise meat-to-fat ratio, … Read more
At his sprawling Mag Mile joint, self-made bread baron Rich Labriola turns out truly revelatory deep dish, possibly the first improvement on the form in a generation. The double-proofed, focaccia-style dough is lined with mozzarella and then browned to a crackly, caramelized crunch, yielding a crust more flavorful and nuanced than what the tourists queue … Read more
