Chicago: Best Food Neighborhoods?
Blake Royer of The Paupered Chef (and Serious Eats Dinner Tonight contributor) is moving to Chicago and asks, "Which are the best neighborhoods for eating and cooking? Nick lived it pretty fancy in beautiful Bucktown, which reminds us a lot of Brooklyn. . . Sing the praises of your Chicago neighborhood!" What say you, serious eaters?
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5 Comments:
I live in Bucktown and find there are a few good places to eat but i don't find it a particularly special eating neighborhood. Most of the best food I have found has been cheap ethnic eats further north (Ethiopian in Edgewater, Vietnamese in Little Saigon, Thai and Korean near Lincoln Square, Pakistani/Indian on Devon...)
sbr929 at 6:16PM on 07/08/09
Funny, I just moved home to Brooklyn after going to school in Chicago... Totally agree with the above poster. A lot of the swankier neighbs' in Chicago are really only good for overpriced brunches and the like. The grocery stores in neighborhoods like Devon, Little Saigon/Argyle Street, Pilsen, etc. may be more limited in some senses (in that they cater to a particular ethnic group), but the ingredients they carry will also help you expand your palate!
That being said, I have to give props to Chatham: if you want ready access to incredible, fresh donuts (Dat Donut), awesome fried chicken and biscuits (Army and Lou's), and vegan soul food (Soul Vegetarian East), this neighborhood's got you covered!
emmab at 11:57PM on 07/08/09
Having lived in various Chicago neighborhoods for the past 8 years (Wicker Park, Bucktown, Logan Square, Pilsen) I would say Lincoln Square has been my favorite neighborhood for eating and cooking. It has lots of great restaurants (Los Nopales, El Asadero, Nu Lan for great banh mi sandwiches, Cho Sun Ok, Bistro Campagne, Cafe Sel Marie, Opart Thai), grocery stores (Harvest Time, Lincoln Meat Market) and a great kitchenware store, the Chopping Block. There's a farmer's market every Tuesday, and every year, there's Mayfest, which celebrates the neighborhood's German roots with brats and beers. More importantly, the location makes it easy to get to different types of grocery stores (Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Chicago Food Corp, Paulina Meat Market, Patel Bros.), restaurants (San Soo Gap San for Korean BBQ, Spacca Napoli, Kuma's, Urban Belly, Hot Doug's, etc.) and other food neighborhoods (Devon St, Argyle/Vietnam town). It's a lovely lovely neighborhood with lots of cafes, outdoor beer gardens, a great park, and even a movie theater.
banina at 1:45AM on 07/09/09
Whoa, Whoa, Whoa...Bucktown might be Chicago's worst dining neighborhood...check that it is.
Here is a list of great and good dining 'hoods
UIC/Taylor st area (Itlain and other ethnic like thia & Mexican)
26th St. (Some of the best mexican in the world, yep, world)
Devon (great Indian)
Uptown (Vietnamese)
problem is Taylor St. is the only area where I would live in...its one of the best hoods in the city...top 3 for sure.
Chinatown and greektown are good but theres better versions elsewhere in the country as far as food and the hoods arent great living spots
Now since you also want to live somewhere where you can eat good Im going to suggest the place I was born, raised and still reside of Lincoln Park due to its better than good food selection (best as far as the trendy Northside neighborhoods) Its got 5 star fine ding to 5 star late nite Chicago style fast food.
What you gotta do is check out my little blog where I go from hood to hood like Ive been doing since my youth exploring and eating my favorite spots and finding new ones and bring them to people like you so you don't ever move to Bucktown and eat at spots like Uno.
http://chibbqking.blogspot.com/
^Get familiar
KingT at 12:49PM on 07/09/09
I have to give another vote for Lincoln Square, at least for everyday eating and drinking. We moved from there and now are regretting it!
jenl at 6:43PM on 07/09/09