Top 5 New Vegetarian/Vegan Restaurants Quesadilla La Reyna del Sur Urban Vegan Native Foods Soul Vegetarian Express Protein Bar —John Wawrzaszek
Top 5 Cookbooks Featuring Recipes from Chicagoans “Willie’s Wildcat Cookbook” by Northwestern University alumni (Northwestern University) “Homemade Memories” by Home Instead Senior Care and friends (Home Instead Senior Care) “The Chicago Homegrown Cookbook: Local Food, Local Restaurants, Local Recipes” by Heather Lalley with photos by Brendan Lekan (Voyageur Press) “beta cocktails” Includes cocktail recipes from Chicago bartenders like Stephen Cole, Paul McGee and Mike Ryan (self-published) “Girl in the Kitchen: How a Top Chef Cooks, Thinks, Shops, Eats and Drinks” by Stephanie Izard and Heather Shouse (Chronicle) —Veronica Hinke
Top 5 Waffles Albondigas, Waffles The Jack Hammer, The Waffle Gourmet Belgian waffles, Melrose Cheddar and Short Rib, Waffles Chicken and waffles, Chicago’s Home of Chicken and Waffles —Veronica Hinke
Top 5 Birthday Cakes Maple Homestyle, Dinkel’s Bakery Red Velvet, Rahmig’s House of Fine Chocolates Pure Classic Devil’s Food, Dinkel’s Bakery Marble with French buttercream, Bennison’s Strawberry Orange Whip Cream Cake, Lutz Café & Pastry Shop —Veronica Hinke
Top 5 Cocktails Hay Ride, Uncommon Ground (seasonal) Pisco Sour, The Violet Hour J. Hendricks 10, Viper Alley Watermelon Mojito with Hum, Topaz Café (seasonal) Blueberry, Aviary —Veronica Hinke
Top 5 Chilled Soups Chilled Bourbon Peach Soup, Winberie’s (seasonal) Korean Cold Noodle Soup, Lao Beijing Homemade Fresh Beet Borscht, The Bagel (seasonal) Tomato-watermelon Gazpacho, Mercat a la Planxa (seasonal) Spring Pea Soup, Blackbird (seasonal) —Veronica Hinke
Top 5 Chocolate-Covered Foods Mexican Ginger covered with Blommer’s Kosher Dark or Milk Chocolate, Margie’s Candies Chocolate-covered Candied Orange Peel, Belgian Chocolatier Piron Milk or Dark Chocolate-dipped Candied Pineapple, Windy City Sweets Chocolate-Covered Strawberries, The Fudge Pot Chocolate-dipped Prunes, Old Fashioned Candies —Veronica Hinke
Top 5 Whoopie Pies Heart-shaped; heart-healthier, Cookies Fresco (seasonal) Whoop it Good, Sweet Ride Pumpkin, Fraiche (seasonal) Chocolate with white buttercream, Angel Food Bakery Red velvet, Sweet Mandy B’s —Veronica Hinke
Top 5 New Uses for Rhubarb (all seasonal) Rhubarb mustard for cheese plates, Maude’s Liquor Bar Chickpea and Green Garlic Crêpe, Lula Cafe Roasted Pork Loin with Pickled Rhubarb, Custom House Tavern Roasted Duck with Rhubarb Compote, Prairie Fire Rhubarb Custard Tart, mK —Veronica Hinke
Top 5 New Uses for Quince (all seasonal) Quince Ice Cream, Chilam Balam Quince Vlaai, HB Home Bistro Quince Coffee Cake, Quince at the Homestead Red Wine Quince Sorbet, Blackbird Cheese plate condiment, Tapas Barcelona —Veronica Hinke
Top 5 Hot Dogs Brandy-Infused Smoked Portuguese Chorizo with Peppadew Mayonnaise and Smoked Mozzarella Cheese, Hot Doug’s (daily special) Polish Sausage Sandwich, Jim’s Original Char Cheddar Dog, Wiener Circle Chili Cheese Dog, Chicago Beef, Burger & Dogs Char-Grilled Maxwell Street Style Polish, Portillo’s —Veronica Hinke
Top 5 Most Surprising Restaurant Closings Carlos’ Restaurant Kith and Kin Treat Franconello Italian Restaurant Istanbul Restaurant —Veronica Hinke
Top 5 Promising Restaurant Openings Viper Alley Everest Burger and Bakery Benjamin Restaurant Tozi Korean B.B.Q. Cuisine Three (III) Forks —Veronica Hinke
Top 5 Most Talked about Chef/Sommelier Moves Dan Marquis’ (Bin 36; SushiSamba Rio; Pasha Spanish Cuisine) star-spangled move from sous chef to executive chef at Quay during Food Network’s “Chef Hunter” competition Sommelier Alpana Singh’s bow from her post as Lettuce Entertain You Wine and Spirits Director L20 alum Johnny Besch’s move to Bistro Bordeaux executive chef via MiX on the Beach Pastry Chef Meg Galus’ switch from Cafe des Architectes (Hotel Sofitel Water Tower) to NoMI Kitchen (Chicago Park Hyatt) Pastry Chef Stephanie Prida’s (Blackbird) move from Ria and Balsan (both of The Elysian Hotel) to L20 —Veronica Hinke
Top 5 Independent Cooking Classes Shoba Havalad’s Indian and Thai cooking classes Cooking in the Hills Wooden Spoon Cook au Vin Cooking Fools —Veronica Hinke
Top 5 French Restaurant Desserts Suzette a la Germain, La Creperie GingerCrème Brûlée, Les Nomades Marjolaine Cake, Café Bernard Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake, Froggy’s French Café Chef Didier’s Homemade Chocolate Truffles, Cyrano’s Bistrot & Wine Bar —Veronica Hinke
Dining and Drinking Top 5: May 2022 The weather is encouraging us to go out and have fun, even with the enduring specter of the plague hanging over our heads. To be on the safe side, check websites for these events.
Dining and Drinking Top 5 of 2021 I like street food, but I also like eating high-end, white tablecloth dinners. I guess I just like eating.
Dining & Drinking Top 5: March 2023 March is the month that starts us tentatively thinking that maybe, just maybe the cold weather is over and warm spring is on the way. Well, we shall see, but one thing for sure is that there are, indeed, some cool things to do (and eat, and drink) in March.
Top 5 New Vegetarian/Vegan Restaurants 
