Top 5 Handcrafted Tortillas Rubi’s, Maxwell Street Market Birrieria Zaragoza La Quebrada La Casa de Samuel Nuevo Leon (RIP) —David Hammond
Top 5 Old School American-Chinese Restaurants Won Kow Three Happiness Orange Garden Luo’s Peking (Oak Park) Tony’s Chinese & American Restaurant —David Hammond
Top 5 Ways to Satisfy Carb Cravings Sage-laminated sourdough croissant with pumpkin butter at West Town Bakery Chia, flax seed, almond bread at Waldorf Astoria Sourdough at Cellar Door Provisions Bing Bread at Parachute Miche at La Fournette —Amber Gibson
Top 5 Reasons to Get Garlic Breath Crispy Brussels sprouts with pancetta and caramelized garlic at Eduardo’s Enoteca Garlic fries at Edzo’s Garlic fried rice at Sunda California salad with roasted garlic dressing at Doc B’s Fresh Kitchen Steak with a whole roasted clove of garlic at Prime & Provisions —Amber Gibson
Top 5 Reasons to Look Your Meal in the Eye (Whole Fish) Café Spiaggia Kinmont River Roast Formento’s Tanta —Amber Gibson
Top 5 Nutritious, Delicious (and Affordable) Lunches LYFE Kitchen Freshii Doc B’s Fresh Kitchen Protein Bar Mariano’s Salad Bar —Amber Gibson
Top 5 Bar Snacks Beef tongue skewer at Yusho Fried tapioca with pecorino and seaweed (Korean arancini!) at Parachute Sweet potato deviled eggs at State & Lake Grilled chicken hearts with farro, feta, mint and espelette at La Sirena Clandestina Caviar buckwheat blinis w/ cauliflower crème fraîche at MK —Amber Gibson
Top 5 Neighborhood Restaurants Township Osteria Langhe Unite Urban Grill Three Aces Roots Handmade Pizza —Amber Gibson
Top 5 Best Non-Dog Orders at Hotdog Stands Double burger with chili and Merkt’s cheddar at U.B. Dogs Bunch SuperTamales at Superdawg Drive-In Chicken-fried bacon with Argentine sauce at Weiner and Still Champion Korean Beef Bowl at Budacki’s Drive-In Deep-fried Twinkie at Chicago’s Dog House —John Carruthers
Top 5 Best Local Dishes (Non-Pizza and Sausage Division) Jim Shoe (aka Gym Shoe): An absolute Meat Voltron with roast beef, corned beef and gyro meat forming the base for a wide array of toppings and sauces at Sony Submarine Steak Jibarito: A juicy steak sandwich with fried green plantains as the “bread” at Borinquen Lounge Mother-in-Law: One proudly inauthentic factory tamale, nestled in a steamed bun and covered in chili at Fat Johnnie’s Famous Red Hots Breaded Steak Sandwich: A two-handed steakwich, rolled up in an Italian roll with mozzarella, marinara and peppers at Ricobene’s Rib tips and hot links: Aquarium-smoked to juicy perfection and served on a bed of fries at Lem’s Bar-B-Q —John Carruthers
Top 5 Restaurants to Take Your Hard-of-Hearing Dad Cherry Circle Room Le Colonial A Tavola GT Fish & Oyster Bavette’s Bar and Boeuf —Rosemary Lane
Top 5 Bars and Restaurants for Anglophiles The Queen Mary The Red Lion Pub Pub Royale Owen and Engine Pleasant House Bakery —Rosemary Lane
Top 5 Cheap Vegan Tacos El Faro Quesadilla Reina del Sur El Cid Bullhead Cantina Irazu —John Wawrzaszek
Top 5 Restaurants a Greek Would Go for Greek Food Greek Islands 9 Muses Taxim Mythos Athena Greek Restaurant —Vasia Rigou
Dining and Drinking Editor for Newcity, David also writes a weekly food column for Wednesday Journal in Oak Park and is a frequent contributor of food/drink and travel pieces to the Chicago Tribune, Plate Magazine and other publications. David has also contributed chapters to several books, including Street Food Around the World, Street Food, and The Chicago Food Encyclopedia. Contact: dhammond@newcity.com
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