20
Michael Kornick
Chef/Partner, MK, DMK Burger Bar, Fish Bar
There was a time a few years ago where all seemed quiet in the Kornick-sphere and we thought we would maybe have to prepare for a life without his signature French fries and truffle cream. Then last year Kornick, along with his partner David Morton, kicked the machine back into overdrive with a burger bar that not only served said frites, but some of the best sweet potato fries we ever had. Our favorite addition to the MK empire is the rich fat clam belly, refreshing ceviche, and loaded lobster roll-serving fish shack next door.

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Ken Raskin, along with Dan and Matt Raskin

21
Ken Raskin
Owner, Manny’s
It’s one thing to get the ear of a politician, it’s quite another to have the stomach of the President. Obama, Daley, Rahm and Quinn—they’ve all made their pilgrimages to the Near West Side for pastrami and pie—it seems you can’t launch a campaign in this town these days without a little of Raskin’s nosh. For the rest of us, the poor unwashed masses, Raskin feeds the soul and reaffirms the Chicago in our hearts.

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22
Alpana Singh
“Check Please!”/Lettuce Entertain You Wine Queen
We’ve seen little old Mexican dudes who have eaten a lot more chicken livers than foie gras stop dead in their tracks in a Pilsen grocery store and stare in awe like a 12-year-old girl spying Justin Bieber at a shopping mall when they’ve spotted Singh. She is the culinary darling for foodies and the McDonald’s-loving set alike. Despite her celebrity, she’s wicked smart on wine and one of the nicest people we know.

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By Giovanni Wrobel

23
Paul Virant
Chef/Partner, Vie and Perennial Virant
Everyone uses local seasonal product these days, but few cook like they’re on an episode of “Little House on the Prairie.” Stuffing sausages, canning preserves, pickling vegetables and foraging for mushrooms, Paul Virant is the one-room schoolhouse of old-school cooks. Unfortunately, he’s been working most of his magic in Western Springs. Thankfully, Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm of Boka Restaurant Group have tapped him for their renovation of Perennial—now Perennial Virant—where he works his seasonal magic across the street from Green City Market. Oh, and he has a forthcoming canning and preserving cookbook from Ten Speed Press too in case you want to get in touch with your inner pioneer.

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24
Greg Gunthorp
Owner, Gunthorp Farms
Chickens, pigs, ducks… Way before it was a cliché to see a farmer’s name on a seasonal menu, Gunthorp Farms was often the only name you saw. Nowadays, from Blackbird in the West Loop to Vie in the western suburbs, if there’s meat on the menu, Gunthorp is almost always part of the equation.

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Louis John

25
Louis John and Leslie Slagel
Owners, Slagel Family Farm
Chances are if you’re eating the “best burger of your life” in Chicago, it was made from Slagel Farm’s livestock. You might not even be a legitimate gastropub if you don’t serve at least one Slagel cut. Just ask Owen & Engine, Longman & Eagle, The Publican or Nightwood.

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26
Bill Kim
Chef/Owner, Belly Shack and Urban Belly
Though he’d spent years with Charlie Trotter and cooked at the highest levels, Kim was one of the first serious chefs to chuck it all for a dream of producing casual sophisticated dining in anonymous Chicago storefronts. He showed cooks that they could be pirates and princes at the same time.

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27
Curtis Duffy
Ex-Executive Chef, Avenues
Two of the biggest restaurants in the world right now are Alinea and Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark. Curtis Duffy’s cuisine, which indulges in molecular gastronomy technique and hyper-naturalistic plating is sort of a version of the best of both those restaurants, which is to say Duffy is one of the best chefs in town and maybe the world. He recently garnered two Michelin stars for the Peninsula’s celebrated Avenues restaurant, and just left the restaurant this summer to undertake a long-in-the-works place of his own. Stay tuned.

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Photo: Eric Futran

28
Eddie Lakin
Owner, Edzo’s
Lakin, who once worked at Tru, is probably the most overqualified owner of a burger and hot dog joint since Hot Doug Sohn walked out of Kendall College and bestowed duck-fat French fries upon the world. Then again those over-qualifications ensure fresh-ground and griddled-to-order char burgers, cement-thick bacon chocolate milkshakes and twice-fried French fries that keep Chicago drooling on the daily.

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