Top 5 New Fine Dining Restaurants
Cibo Matto
Taxim
Brown Trout
Sunda
Kith and Kin
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 New Informal Restaurants
Xoco
Café Senegal
Zebda
Han 202
Jam
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 Alcoholic Things I Drank
Pimlico Grid, Province
El Pirata, Mercadito
Old Fashioned, Bar Deville
Negroni Sbagliato, Terzo Piano
In Fine Spirits Cocktail, In Fine Spirits
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 Non-Alcoholic Things I Drank
Hot chocolate – Classico, Xoco
Cranberry apple sorbet shooter, one sixtyblue
Mint meritage tea, Rare Tea Cellar
Mustard bbq sauce (I couldn’t help myself), Honky Tonk BBQ
Dulce de Leche milkshake, Big Star
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 Desserts I Ate
Caramel custard-filled éclair, La Farine
Banana cream pie, Hoosier Momma
Sticky Toffee Date Cake, one sixtyblue (under pastry chef Stephanie Prida)
Coffee and Donuts, Blue 13
Floating Islands, Café Des Architectes
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 Breakfast/Brunch Dishes I Ate
Malted french toast, Jam
Foie gras-topped deep-fried French toast and homemade sausage, Publican
Eggs Benedict, Meli Café
Fannies fried egg sandwich, M. Henry
Pork skin and peanut congee, Shui Wah
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 Restaurant Reinventions/New Chef Takeovers
Michael McDonald, one sixtyblue
Martial Noguier, Café des Architectes
Andrew Zimmerman, Sepia
Goose Island redo, John Manion
New Sun Wah BBQ, Broadway
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 Sandwiches
Pork Belly Confit, Brand BBQ
Lemongrass tofu Banh Mi, Nhu Lan
Provoleta, Cafecito
Chicago style lobster dog, Lockwood
Cochinita pibil, Xoco
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 Soups
Pho Dac Biet, Pho 888
Hot and Sour soup, Belly Shack
Lobster bisque, Bucktown soup café
Tomato soup (kids menu), Kith and Kin
Carrot ginger beet soup, Birchwood Kitchen
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 Best Fine Dining Things I Ate
King Crab, Steelhead Roe, Kalamansi and Togaroshi, Avenues
Chervil crepes, Brown Trout
Spaghetti a la Chittara, Cibo Matto
Kung Pao Chicken, Graham Elliot
Chicken thighs, Kith and Kin
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 Best Casual Things I Ate
Curry chicken bastilla, Zebda
Cordero con frijoles (lamb stew), D’Candela
Debbe (lamb chops), Café Senegal
Mike’s Chicken, Sun Wah BBQ
Lemongrass beef salad, Han 202
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 More Best Things I Ate
Gunthorp duck liver pate, Rootstock
Melitzanosalata, Taxim
Crispy pata with foie gras gravy, Sunda
Glazed eggplant with fermented black bean and garlic, Sun Wah BBQ
Crispy pork belly, Blue 13
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 Fries of 2009
Sweet potato fries, DMK Burger Bar
BBQ Debris fries, fRed Hots and Fries
Frites, Publican
Belgian style fries, Old Town Social
Sweet potato fries, Brand BBQ Market
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 Tacos
Fish Taco, Goose Island
Carne Asado, Carbon
Cochinita pibil taco, Abuelos
Steak Taco, Theory
Pork Belly Taco, Big Star
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 Organ Meats/Charcuterie/Sausage
Gunthorp Farm duck pâté wrapped in bacon and infused with green peppercorn and dried cherries, Sepia
Pork Heart, The Bristol
Hot links, Uncle John’s BBQ
Finocchiona, Old Town Social
Brandcheesie, Brand BBQ Market
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 Non-Executive Chefs to Watch
Shaw Lash, Xoco
Stephanie Prida, assistant pastry chef Blackbird
Andrew Brochu, Kith and Kin
Chris Turner, Mado
Mark Steuer, Hot Chocolate
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 Under-the-Radar Executive Chefs
Chris Curren, Blue 13
David Carrier, Kith and Kin
Martial Noguier, Café Des Architectes
Michael McDonald, One sixtyBlue
Brian Huston, Publican
—Michael Nagrant
Top 5 Restaurant Gardens
Markethouse’s rooftop “martini” garden
Nacional 27’s “windowbox” herb gardens
Frontera Grill’s “earthbox” rooftop garden
Uncommon Ground – Edgewater’s rooftop “organic farm”
Charlie Trotter’s backyard herb container garden
—Veronica Hinke
Top 5 Cookbooks by Chicagoans/Chicago Restaurateurs
“The Berghoff Café Cookbook,” Carlyn Berghoff (Andrews McMeel)
“Soup and Bread: The Cookbook,” Martha Bayne (self-published)
“Sweetness: Delicious Baked Treats for Every Occasion,” Sarah Levy (Agate Surrey)
“250 True Italian Pasta Dishes,” John Coletta, Quartino Executive Chef, with Nancy Ross Ryan (Robert Rose)
“New American Table,” C-House Restaurant owner Marcus Samuelsson (John Wiley & Sons)
—Veronica Hinke