Chicago, Illinois

Bakeries

• Sweet Thang [1]
  • If you eat a pastry from here, I don't know if any other sweet will ever taste good again. That's how delicious this French style patisserie is! Choose from an assortment of individual sized tarts, mousse cakes, croissants, and other treats or order a beautiful cake for your next party or wedding. They also have a small lunch menu and a coffee menu as well. 1921 W North Ave Chicago IL 60622 (773) 772-4166

Catering

• Big Delicious Planet
  • Pricey, but worth every penny. They used to cater for my job functions all the time and it was always great. The best thing about them is that the food never seems catered, it tastes, smells, and looks like it was just made for you in a kitchen five minutes beforehand. I guess the best word to describe the food is classy! 451 N Elizabeth St Chicago, IL 60622 (312) 455-1019

Coffee and Tea

• Icosium Kafe - Crepes and Coffee Palace [2]
  • Ok, this isn't just a coffee house, but I had no idea how to categorize this. Ummm, this place is the shit? Yeah, that about covers it. The coffee is awesome, the crepes are awesome, the everything is awesome and it's really cute inside. This is a perfect first date place because it makes you seem cool and the food is good and it's pretty inexpensive so you can be Mister Big Spender for the evening. They specialize in, well crepes and coffee! The crepes aren't just sweet though, in fact the majority of them are savory meals. You can either build your own crepe from a bunch of different ingredients, or you can pick a crepe combo from the menu with predesignated ingredients. I like to build my own crepe, it's so much cooler. Try the Algerian lamb sausage merguez , it's really good, and if you're not stuffed, don't forget to get a dessert crepe afterwards! 2433 N Clark St Chicago, IL 60614 (773) 404-1300

Hot Dog Stands

• Gene & Jude's Red Hot Stand
  • Gene & Jude's...what to say...where to begin. This is heaven. This is it! I found it! It's A) Cheap as fucking dirt. Two can easily eat here for under $10. It's B) Fucking orgasmically delicious. I don't normally like soft fries, but these are so gooooooooooood! They're hand cut and this place is famous for putting them on top of your 100% delicious beef hot dog. And C) They have generic orange and grape "drink", which is perfect against those spicy sport peppers! My only warning here is don't you dare ask for ketchup because you'll get yelled at (and rightly so). 2720 River Road, River Grove IL 60171 (708) 452-7634
• Hot Doug's
  • Technically a "gourmet sausage shop", Hot Doug's is located in Logan Square and offers a multitude of encased meat treats. Though Doug does serve a regular Chicago style dog along with some other classic staples like bratwurst and Polish sausage, the real reason to go is for sandwiches like the Blue Cheese Pork Sausage with Creamy Pear Sauce and Smoked Almonds or the Roasted Artichoke Chicken Sausage with Artichoke Tzatziki, Kalamata Olives and Feta Cheese. I would, however, skip the duck fat fries because they didn't taste any better to me than the regular ones and cost twice as much. 3324 N. California, Chicago IL 60618 (773) 279-9550
• Susie's Drive-In
  • Susie's is not for the faint of heart. It's dirty, cramped, and really mean fat ladies yell at you from behind the counter, but all the abuse is worth every second of the heart attack-inducing food. This place is famous for their shakes (60 flavors that you can combine any way you want) and their cheese fries. Honestly, the cheese fries themselves are so mind boggling that they probably deserve their own entry, but I digress. Basically, they're huge, come in a taco salad shell bowl, and you can throw pretty much any kind of meat on top that you can think of, including, but not limited to, gyros, steak, and meatballs. The rest of the menu is huge, cramming more items into this tiny hot dog stand than some full size restaurants. Open all night, or at least until 5 am. 4126 W Montrose Ave, Chicago IL 60641 (773) 283-6544

Ice Cream and Gelato

• Caffe Gelato
  • One of the better places to get gelato in the city. This place is only open in the spring and summer and don't let the rude Euro girls who work there scare you away. Some flavors are hit or miss, but the almond and banana gelato are consistently good. Their cones are really good, so I suggest getting one! 2034 W Division St Chicago, IL 60622 (773) 227-7333
• Margie's Candies
  • The best thing about Margie's is that it never changes! There aren't a ton of different flavors to choose from, but everything is home made and their sundaes, ice cream sodas, and other treats are generally good. This place has been around forever, maybe since the 20's? It certainly looks like it since the decor hasn't been changed in the last 60 years or so. It's a little creepy and a lot cool, especially for children. They also make old fashioned favorite candies like turtles and truffles froms scratch, but everyone comes here for the ice cream. VERY CROWDED IN THE SUMMER OH GOD. 1960 N. Western Avenue Chicago, IL 60647 (773) 384-1035

Italian

• Rex Italian Foods
  • Though at first glance this place is just a little Italian grocery, the real attraction here is their deli and hot meals. Rex's is inexpensive and consistently delicious and serves the best simple, Italian comfort food in the city. You have to try the caprese sub, a monster sandwich piled high with prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes. I believe the 12" is only $8.99, a real deal since prosciutto is expensive. Also, the creamy chunks of polenta they have during Lent are the best I've ever had. They're served warm and doused in their house marinara, which is amazing. They also have a small selection of their own home made sauces, pastas, and select dishes in the freezer section to take home, along with other imported goods from Italy. The house made giardinare is the best I've ever had. 4431 N Harlem Ave Norridge, IL 60706 (708) 457-0177

Japanese

• Itto Sushi
  • This is a comfortable, cute little restaurant with excellent food. They have some of the best sushi I've had in Chicago and they don't skimp on the fish! Everyone loves the teriyaki, it's the sauce man, I think there's crack in it. It's definitely the best teriyaki I've ever had, who cares what kind of meat is in it! Though salmon teriyaki is really good, as well as mackeral. The soba and udon dishes are also excellent. This isn't a hipster place with dark lighting and loud music, it's quiet and relaxing, you just come here for the food and the food is perfect. They have their own parking lot, thank God. 2616 N. Halsted Street Chicago, IL 60614 (773) 871-1800
• Ringo
  • BYOB with fresh, delicious sushi and great specials. I had the best oysters that I've ever had in my life here. This place is relatively inexpensive, at least for Japanese food, and I've never had anything that I didn't like yet. Parking is a BITCH in this neighborhood though. 2507-09 N Lincoln Ave Chicago, IL 60614 (773) 248-5788

Korean

• San Soo Gab San
  • The best thing about this place is that it's delicious Korean BBQ open until 5 am! The second best thing about it is that it's not that expensive and the portions are gigantic. It can get pretty crowded on Friday and Saturday nights, but it's worth it! 5247 N Western Avenue Chicago, IL 60625 (773) 334-1589

Middle Eastern

• Haifa Cafe
  • If you work downtown and are sick of the same old shit everyday, this is a great alternative. There are a few locations in the loop, and while it's not the best Middle Eastern food ever, it's better than a McDonald's. The falafel sells out early, but I think the eggplant sandwiches are better anyway. The hummus is kind of weird, but it's not really bad and the tabbouleh was actually downright wonderful, maybe one of the best I've ever had. The one on Wells is the only one I've ever been to. 19 N. Wells Street Chicago, IL 60606 (312) 214-1144
• Pita Inn
  • This is a much loved and well known Middle Eastern "fast food" restaurant with a few locations in the Chicagoland area. It's very cheap, very delicious, and incredibly popular. Personal favorites are the gourmet falafel sandwich, kibbeh, and baba ganoush. You know it's good because the restaurants are always packed with people who come from wherever food like this originated (Lebanon? Armenia? You know, all those countries). This location in particular is my favorite because it's A LOT less crowded than its Skokie cousin and the food is just as good. 9854 N Milwaukee Ave Glenview, IL 60025 (847) 759-9990

Polish

• Andy's Deli
  • This is a great place to get a sandwich. They're always huge, with meat and cheese piled high on delicious Polish bread and topped with a delicious Polish dill pickle, all for about $3.50. The sandwiches are so big that I have to take some of the meat off, and even then I can only eat half of one at a sitting. They also have some hot food like pierogi and soup that are yummy. This place closes early and not everyone speaks english, so be warned! 1721 W Division St Chicago, IL 60622 (773) 394-3376
• Podhalanka
  • There is NOTHING like Podhalanka for some seriously great, comforting Polish food. The menu is reasonably priced and stocked with Polish goodies. My favorite is the golabki (stuffed cabbage), I just can't get enough of it. The pierogi is fluffy and cooked in plenty of butter and onions and the potato pancakes are huge and greasy, just the way I like 'em! They also have very good soups (except for the chicken noodle STAY AWAY) and a bowl is under $3.00 and comes with lots of good, Polish bread, a perfect lunch when you're on a budget. The inside is a pretty dumpy with a couch (?!?!?!?!?!?) in the middle of the place, but don't let that put you off! Just grab a stool at the counter and place your order. You will be rewarded with all the free, sweetened hibiscus tea you can drink. The woman who's almost always the one taking the orders here seems stand offish and intimidating at first, but she's really very nice. 1549 W Division Street Chicago, IL 60622 (773) 486-6655