This bowl of delicate noodles and gossamer broth compels you to tune in, to listen closely to the hushed harmony. Ai's cha soba noodles betray subtle hints of that unmistakable profile of green tea—maltiness and minerality; steamed green beans and crushed nuts—against a finely textured wheat backbone. And unlike what you might want out of a bowl of, say, tonkotsu ramen, the kombu broth accompanying Ai's cha soba was light and restrained—perfectly content to play backup to the tender noodles and crisp veg. More

I figured I had uncovered another one of Chicago's unlikeliest veggie-friendly destinations. Farmhouse touts itself as a "farm to tavern" restaurant, celebrating the bounty of the Midwest through a long list of local farmers and purveyors. But what arrived on the plate didn't feel like it measured up to the billing. More

Lit by gourd-sized Edison bulbs and outfitted in dark, distressed woods, Telegraph certainly feels of a piece with the owners' other Chicago dining and drinking destinations, Webster's Wine Bar and The Bluebird. I dig the vibe this trio is putting out: airy, relaxed, youthful, and unvarnished, but all the while serious about their beverages. And judging by the pastas I tried, Telegraph's culinary bona fides are deliciously on par with its liquid cred. More

At one point during my meal at Taxim, there were four fetas on the table. An impromptu taste test suggested that among the portions of salty, crumbly cheese within arm's reach (crowning four different vegetarian Taxim dishes), at least two distinct varieties were represented—and both were delicious in their own way. Any place that traffics in Greek cheeses this good, and takes the extra step of parsing between different styles of fetas to complement specific dishes, is my kind of place. More

Anna's kitchen is operated by mother-daughter team who ventured off on their own after leaving Thalia Spice. The West Loop space has its more elegant touches, like velvety banquettes with soft pillows, but also more casual leanings, such as butcher paper lining the tabletops. From the extensive selection of of options, I went with the Laotian curry noodle ($9.95), off the list of "signature" dishes. More

Can one restaurant successfully serve up Greek, Asian, and Italian flavors, just to name a few of Native Foods's points of culinary reference? And, maybe even more importantly, can it deliver authentic, honest, and ultimately delicious flavors via its proprietary line of fake meats? More

I only met japchae a few days back, but it was love at first sight. We crossed paths at the five-month-old Korean BBQ restaurant Tozi. Crossed paths? Who am I kidding! I had been trying to orchestrate a meeting for a while now and recently learned that japchae was a regular there. More

Judging by the long line of lunchers who queued up for the opening of the Mezza Mediterranean Grill last week in the food court of the Merchandise Mart, I was not alone in my eagerness for the latest branch of this Chicagoland chain to debut. More

Chain restaurants typically go easy on the spice to appeal to the lowest common denominator, but then again, Big Bowl traffics in cuisines—namely Chinese and Thai—that are known for turning up the heat. Maybe my spice-hunting wouldn't be ill-fated, after all, I thought. More

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A splendid plate of octopus takes some doing. Cook it too long, and it dries out; don't cook it long enough, and octopus can be as forgiving as the sole of a dress shoe. But restaurants are taking an array of thoughtful approaches right now to serving up the cephalopod. Some opt to cook it sous vide, then finish it on the grill to order, leaving the texture pleasantly pliant and the flavor slightly flamed-kissed; others grill it and chill it, allowing octopus's natural chewiness to come through on the plate. Check out the slideshow of eight octopus dishes we love in Chicago. More

I won't go so far as to say that the Publican provides enough meatless dishes to make a big meal for the vegetarian diner. It's just not that kind of place. But I'd argue that it's worth a visit, say for a beer and a few plates, when you're hunting more for flavor than fulfillment. More

A precious few pasta dishes grace the menu at Davanti Enoteca, restaurateur Scott Harris's rustically appointed wine bar and shared-plates Italian restaurant. I couldn't help but take this relative dearth of noodle options as a sign of the kitchen's confidence; if pasta is the measure of a good Italian food, then these chefs have chosen to hang their toques on a pretty narrow hook. More

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An impressive collection of gins, easily surpassing 40 bottles, decorates Scofflaw's richly painted antique bar. Practically every variety of gin is represented, from London drys, Old Toms, and Dutch genevers, to the loosely defined but growing category of American gins. "Our bar program's inspiration comes from our love of gin," Shapiro says, "and the resurgence is a telling sign that the time is right." More

Vegetarian sushi doesn't begin and end with the cucumber roll. Take the menu at New Tokyo, where there are no less than nine varieties of meatless, seafood-free sushi rolls. Not only is New Tokyo more accommodating toward vegetarian diners than most sushi joints I've been to in Chicago, the humble little Lakeview BYOB eschews the overblown theatrics common to more upscale Japanese restaurants. More

Spaghetti with meat sauce, you are now under chef Bill Kim's control. Urbanbelly serves a rare but recurring special noodle bowl that, according to the counter staff on the day of my visit, surfaces about three times a year for a roughly month-long engagement: udon noodles, Asian bolognese, Tasso ham, mushrooms, and bok choy ($13). More

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Nearly 80 years after Prohibition's end, American-made spirits are in the midst of a comeback. And among this new crop of upstart, independent distilleries, F.E.W. Spirits, located down an alleyway in Evanston, Illinois, surely takes the prize as the storybook example of the movement. The irony of its existence, much like F.E.W.'s lovingly handmade hooch, is quite delicious. More

Take the menu at Lebanese BYOB restaurant Kan Zaman, which delivers on all the familiar staples of Middle Eastern cuisine while also offering the opportunity to sample a few less widely known dishes. More

Nestled along the borderlands between the South Loop and Chinatown, Cafe Bionda serves a menu of comforting and familiar Italian fare. Butcher paper covers the tabletops in the cozy dining room, which lies adjacent to the dark-wood bar that greets you on your way in. More

The Whole Foods Market on Huron Street in River North does a brisk lunch business, thanks to a big soup and salad bar, a prepared-food department, and a station serving pizza by the slice and made-to-order sandwiches. It was there, at the sandwich station, that I encountered the delicious vegetarian bánh mi ($5.99). More

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Chef Jared Van Camp and his kitchen staff at Nellcôte make pasta noodles with personality. The noodles are made fresh, entirely in-house, and from scratch, starting from whole grain wheat obtained locally from a farm in Ottawa, Illinois. I met with Van Camp recently to see what's involved in the pasta program at the cavernous West Loop restaurant. More

In a crowd of tortas featuring fillings like pork carnitas, chorizo, braised short ribs, and the like, the woodland mushrooms and vegetarian black beans manage to more than hold their own. Every Xoco fan—herbivore or otherwise—should give this torta a spin. More

It was with a conflicted heart that I made my (wildly overdue) inaugural visit to Sun Wah BBQ recently with the express intent to eat noodles. Would it be laughably misguided of me to finally hit up such a well-known haven of grilled meats and subsist solely on its slurpables? Turns out, it's not the crippling dilemma I thought it'd be. More

Is everyone who's eating this stuff, deep down, really just hankering for a good, old-fashioned steak? Basically, does it warrant consumption in it own right? I visited Karyn's on Green to find out. More

Spoon Thai's slogan—"Fabulous Noodle Dishes!"—may as well have been a tractor beam. But you'll have to look on the restaurant's "secret menu," which an intrepid non-Thai diner went to the trouble of translating a few years back. Among these items the restaurant once assumed to be too intense, pungent, and spicy for the American palate are a handful of noodle dishes. More

Udupi Palace serves a completely meatless menu, so the vegetarian diner has free rein to explore. That said, avoid over-ordering appetizers—not that the vegetable samosa, pakora, and vada at Udupi aren't tasty, you just run the risk of filling up on these fried, carb-laden items before making it to the main event, which for me is the delicious selection of curries. More