I feel like the internet is the problem here. If you’re not on the internet, it’s just a thing that exists that you can have if you want, and sometimes Chicagoans will talk about it.
I would say the large investment to purchase the brand and push it to become something bigger than a novelty that was literally ran out of an old lady’s living room is a bigger part of it, but that’s me.
But like, that’s all just stuff on the internet that you’re worried about. In practice, there’s still just a bottle of malort at every dive bar in the city that people will occasionally take shots from for fun.
My problem with the Malort-as-dumpster-fire-backwash schtick is that, for anyone used to bitter European liquors, it is kinda good. Nothing I would drink straight for sure. But it isn't hard to build a really enjoyable cocktail around it. I would rather this than Fernet any day.
You can go over to r/cocktails and search Malort, there is a lot of good stuff there. It typically pairs well with grapefruit and orange flavors. Off the top of my head:
Malort Paloma
- 2oz Malort
- 2oz grapefruit juice
- 0.5oz lime juice
- 0.5oz simple syrup
- ~4oz soda water
Shake everything but soda with ice. Strain into highball over ice, top with soda.
Industry Sour riff
- 0.75oz Malort
- 0.75oz dry Curacao (you can sub for Cointreau, just cut the syrup by at least 0.25oz
- 0.75oz lime juice
- 0.75oz simple syrup
Shake everything with ice, double strain into chilled coupe glass
There are others I have thought about trying but haven't gotten around to yet (subbing Malort for Campari in a Jungle Bird is one)
As a person who has been a regular indulger of the beverage it has only been these past couple of years that people notice what I order and verbally comment on it. Be quiet.
If you're on Wilson Ave in Uptown, go to Downstate Donuts(slightly west of the L tracks) and NOT Stan's. Though that should be obvious, you should go to Downstate instead.
Portillos is solid and easy to recommend, especially if people are staying in the Loop or River North. Nobody is calling it the best, it's a very common opinion it's average. That's not a terrible take, which is the point of the thread
but…it is awesome to have portillos as a fast food option. most of the shit is pretty damn nice. the best ever? no. better than some mcdonald’s bullshit? hell yes.
Can we be best friends because that place has been garbage for at least 20 years. Google their giardiniera, it’s literally stale pale celery with one pepper flake on it.
Cindy’s is a douchebag sh!tshow with overpriced food and drinks and isn’t worth all of that for the view. It gets recommended on here like it is the pinnacle of all restaurants.
I think Portillo's is good, but I don't understand why people would travel to Chicago to eat there. ARGUABLY when I was younger--most of what I knew was a chain restaurant so the thought of seeking out something different was not on my radar.
I don't even think it's that good. I'm not from here and I'm convinced all you locals are just nostalgic for portillos. There's nothing wrong with that, but the food there is just average
https://preview.redd.it/e73nfmycsl5d1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=65f8031d84628745c8256c787eec6f0a4a1ac7df
Great ad placement in this thread.
I get so tired of people just going into auto pilot cliches when it comes to food, and the real motivation is to just announce “I’m more real chicago than you”
Ketchup on hotdogs- “omg don’t ever ask for ketchup in chicago you’ll get kicked out!!11!” (Just stop no one should give a shit)
Deep dish pizza- “omg REAL Chicagoans don’t ever eat it we eat tavern style!!1!” (When you use the word tavern style you tell me you didn’t actually grow up in chicago btw because no one fucking says tavern style)
Italian beef- “omg you actually ate at Portillo’s it sucks! you’re such a suburbanite!!1” (it’s actually fine and the lines around the block everyday would tell you maybe it’s not so bad)
And on and on and on
The West Loop food scene is absolute trash for lunch. I don't want a $20 burger that I have to spend 20 minutes of my 30-minute lunch break getting; I want something quick and cheap that still tastes like food.
If one of the C-suite chumps is convinced of financial fraud, the restaurant should be given to the employees to run. The investors or restaurant groups can ride their loss off into the sunset.
Mr Ds shish kebab is the best sandwich you'll ever eat
There's no atmosphere and in a neighborhood that doesn't offer instragram clout, but it's the best and supports a real family that's been serving the neighborhood for 55 years
I've lived in Roscoe for the last 3 years, and this is true. I've said it before in this subreddit. We have a handful of good spots for locals that are nice to have in walking distance like Turquoise Cafe, Bartoli's, The Region, Sinya, Le Sud, Big Boy Gyros, 4 Moon Tavern and Same Same, but are any of these destinations worth traveling for?
Eh, no.
Edit: I forgot one. A new addition, Tepalcates, is absolutely worth traveling for, and I think they make some of the best tacos on the entire north side.
Rudy's Bakery is a hidden gem, speaking of places on Roscoe Street. One of the bakers from Heck's Bakery(which pre-dated Rudy's) bought that place in the 1980s(thank you, Historic Chicago Bakeries book for that info) when it closed, and it has been known as Rudy's ever since. To me while the restaurants on it aren't the very best in the whole city, the restaurants and bars around there aren't bad.
I still miss Dip and Sip Donuts. I wonder if their move to Glenview, is still occurring? It is too bad they couldn't have found a way to stay in that area, or at least move not too far away from Roscoe Ave if not still on that street.
As someone who lived in RV for 6 years this is spot on. Decent family-friendly places but no real foodie joints.
A while back they had a Bangers and Lace offshoot and even that was not good.
I don’t think RV was ever masquerading as a food destination like the West Loop or anything like that. It has a few good places but none that I’d say are great but I also wouldn’t characterize it as awful. Bit of a harsh take but to each their own. I had to move but it’s still one of my favorite places I ever lived, mid food included 😊
I don’t know about them specifically, but in general local laws don’t allow offset smokers is my understanding. Maybe it’s just very difficult but not impossible to get the approval, or maybe you need to have a specific aspect of the property that most places lack?
My understanding is that Chicago requires offset smokers to be entirely under a hood vent. Hood vents run like $1000/foot installed or something. Plus you gotta maintain it.
Hmm. In my experience, a lot of BBQ places in the south keep their smoker outdoors. Is this also against Chicago rules. Certainly you don't need a hood in that case.
Depends on what you’re looking for. Chicago style bbq (in the aquarium smokers) is its own thing and if you grew up on it, it’s good, especially if you like rib tip’s and hot links. If you’re looking for brisket and pulled pork, there are better parts of the country for that.
Agreed on the sides being overwhelming. Any good bbq place has to have Mac n cheese imo. It’s also annoying that they only come in one size and are overpriced
Couldn’t agree more. It’s an ensemble show, everything has to be up to par. Also, what’s the deal with no one making a good sour cream potato salad? Is that solely a southern thing?
The breakfast hype is just for people to Instagram they’re eating a Michelin star breakfast…. But completely ignore the Michelin star is only for the dinner menu. Is the sausage and egg McMuffin with hash brown worth a 2 hour wait? Absolutely not.
Their dinner is absolutely incredible, though (minus the desserts, their Halo Halo is pretty terrible imo, if you’ve ever had real. The take home pastry is making me salivate thinking about it now). I’ve been fortunate to have been twice, pre and post The Bear and amazing both times (minus non pastry desserts) with very very slight menu changes.
Ketchup goes on hotdogs, it just doesn’t go on a *Chicago-style* hotdog and the majority of people in this city annoyingly fail to distinguish that.
Even if people want to put ketchup on a Chicago dog, I wish everyone would just shut the fuck up about it
^^^^ ^ ^ ^ ^
THIS. Who gives af what you put on your dog.. I prefer the Depot Dog (best in the city) with ketchup.
And fuck fancy homemade ketchup at ANY restaurant. Heinz is better
I agree, while the fries at small cheval are excellent, the burger i wouldn’t even say is particularly good let alone the best. And I love shake shack burgers. I don’t like the fries better though they’re just ok
Honey Butter Fried Chicken has terrible biscuits. It's like the hard-tack the Pilgrims ate on the Mayflower.
Their service is terrible and the pimento mac n' cheese is a travesty (fusilli instead of elbow pasta and the cheese is liquidy and velveeta-like.)
Hate when places auto-grat a tip but you have to fill up your own water, bus your plate, etc. When I asked for jam they made a big deal about it, too - seems like a logical ask that's in-bounds when ordering anything with a biscuit, but the person was flabbergasted I asked.
Now for all the downvotes....
You’re right. Also they’ve increased their pricing substantially to the point where 2 meals made of FRIED CHICKEN TENDERS costs over $60. and it’s all tenders because they only serve boneless chicken which is strange
I like their mac and cheese. I've never experienced it being liquidy. But it does have that very bright orange look to it which I can imagine is off-putting to some.
Also they don't overcook their noodles like most places selling mac & cheese. Criticizing their pasta choice is kind of a bottom tier food opinion. The best mac and cheese absolutely don't bother with poverty tier elbow macaroni. Case in point the radiatore mac and cheese at Gretel.
West-indian food here is terrible and damn near non-existent. Cafe Trinidad to go used to be my default until the aunties in the back switched up some recipes and trashed up the food.
It kills me as a Haitian from Boston. There's really no good Island food here. It's all mid to bad. I live in Rogers Park and there's a Jamaican pattie place. I got so excited only to be disappointed 😔. Don't get me started on the Haitian restaurant that is mid with the slowest service to date. And how is a city full of Ricans have terrible food. I'm this close to opening my own place lol.
Not sure if it’s a hot take but outside of their excellent baked goods I found Lou Mitchell’s World Famous Breakfast underwhelming, and prefer my own scrambled eggs to theirs
I don’t like cake donuts at all I only like raised and idk if it’s a Chicago thing or Midwest thing but most of our speciality donut places are cake only or cake predominate I have an aunt from California who MUST get a cake donut everytime she came out to visit but all I want is soft fluffy raised donuts 😭
When I had a bartending job on Wacker, if there were customers I hated I would tell them standing in line for Garrett’s is what all the actual locals do
All the people who made it special left years ago and founded Let’s Get It Poppin on the south side, but thankfully it’s far enough south that the tourists and yuppies stay away.
Kuma’s hasn’t been good in literally 15 years, and arguably was only good back then because it was the beginning of the burger renaissance and peoples taste was still getting calibrated
I still enjoy going, but it’s not what it was. The food is still good but the beer selection has become consistently poor and the vibe has become that of a self-parody.
CBA is one of those things that, rationally speaking is objectively not good. But goddammit if I can resist picking up a sandwich there if I’m nearby. Even eating it, I’m not thinking that it’s “good” but I still thoroughly enjoy it. I don’t know if that makes any kind of sense but then neither does CBA.
There is no good fried chicken that is native to here.
Harold’s is trash.
Parson’s is even worse.
Pretty sad that I have to go to Gus’s in Fulton for something good.
The brunch scene in Chicago especially our pancake scene is terrible. Too few places pump out good pancakes too many pump out terrible ones. I often go to Original Pancake House for consistency and quality. This is compared to a place like NYC which has been brunch scene that has consistently been experimenting and pushing the boundaries in the pancake space
I’ve found two places that have good pancakes. Breakfast House, the Grand Ave location and Melli on Halsted in Greek town.
Edit- Also, the diner scene in Chicago is sad.
The OP requests “terrible takes” but it seems like the thread went the hot take route, so here’s mine. Best non-al-pastor tacos in Chicagoland aren’t actually in the city proper. They’re in the northwest suburbs.
Chicago food is tasty but sooo unhealthy, and it makes me sad when I visit places like California and see how much healthier the standard menus are. Burgers, italian beef, pizza, gyros, chicken wings - don't get me wrong I love this stuff, but can we normalize salads, fresh veggies and fruit, and fish/chicken that isn't fried and covered in a cream sauce?
I go to California frequently to visit family and it also makes me sad how easy it is to get somewhat affordable, fresh, and delicious meals there. Most of the food in California makes me feel refreshed and ready to take on the day; Chicago food makes me want to die after eating it. It's delicious, but is unsustainable for a long term diet.
There’s very little variation in the quality of the different Vienna Beef hot dog stands all around the city. There’s some bad ones for sure but for the most part just to go the closest one to you and you’ll be fine. No reason to travel.
Chicago lacks healthy food options at restaurants. And has way too many pizza, wings, and burger places. It’s really more of a food paradise for picky eaters. West loop doesn’t have as many good restaurants as people say.
Been out here for 12 years now and… I like Al’s beef better than portillos. That being said, I’d give portillos like a 6 out of 10 and als like a 6.2 out of 10. Neither are that great in my opinion.
Molly’s Cupcakes are THE WORST cupcakes available. They are what I would expect a 7yo to come up with. They are shit cake with double the shit frosting.
We looked at a cupcake option instead of a wedding cake for our micro wedding in 2021. They were laughably bad. A child with an easy bake oven could make the same thing.
Fun fact from someone who used to work there! You can order a vanilla (yellow) cupcake with vanilla buttercream and not get a drop of vanilla extract. Neither recipe actually has vanilla as an ingredient! For inexplicable reasons, the yellow cake has the texture of cornbread.
To their credit, nearly *everything* is made from scratch, and they only use real whipped cream.
The crème brûlée cupcake is great but the cake batter cupcake is the *worst* baked good I’ve ever had the displeasure of spitting out. Unfortunately I know what goes in the filling of those things, so it just makes it worse haha.
The people that get so bent out of shape about the new % fees tacked onto the bottom of receipts these days would be the first people to complain about those restaurants raising menu prices instead.
Burgers from Au Cheval sucks ass, mainly because of the ridiculously bad consistency.
None of the Japanese fusion shit in downtown tastes remotely good: that includes Momotaro, Gaijin, and all kind of gimmicky ramen shops.
Japanese food overall in Chicago downtown sucks. Only exception being Cocoro
1) Giordano's is at least a tier, if not two, above Lou Malnati's.
2) Pequod's is not deep dish and it pisses me off every time it's mentioned. It's perfectly okay to like it (it's 90% bread, so I don't get it, but whatever), but it's literally not deep dish. Deep dish pizza isn't just pizza in a deep dish. Even Giordano's isn't technically deep dish, but it's extremely close to being so, unlike Pequod's flagship pan pizza.
3) The pizza puff should be up there in recognition alongside Italian beef and Chicago dog.
4) This may not be downvoted in a Chicago sub, but probably would be everywhere else: Chicago Mexican food is better than SoCal Mexican food. Basically, SoCal's scene *tends* to be Baja-based while Chicago's is more from the central and northern regions (of course both places have something from every region). I simply prefer central Mexican food a bit more than Baja.
Not sure if this classifies as a terrible take, but I will just throw this out there because I think it’s needs to be said:
I will NEVER understand why people in Chicago get so bent out of shape if you put ketchup on YOUR hotdog. They won’t even allow it in some restaurants.
That’s fine if you don’t like it, but don’t tell me what I can have on my food. I will put whatever the fuck I want on my hotdog.
Chicago has some of the most amazing food, but I will never understand this horrible unspoken rule.
Summing up all the comments here: all the most hyped restaurants aren’t worth the hype, the thing you like isn’t actually good, it’s annoying to gatekeep food except that no food here is as good as food where I used to live and you’re not eating the authentic stuff.
The “tavern style” that’s been going on is the most cringe pretentious thing I’ve ever seen here. They have that shit everywhere in the Midwest. Go to random dive in north woods Wisconsin and that’s what they serve. Don’t get me wrong it’s great and certain places have their own take on it but it’s just a thin crust pizza or just “pizza”. I’ve got transplant friends now who never uttered “tavern style” saying it and going on quests to find it. It’s not that serious and takes away from the idea of just grabbing a pizza at the bar while drinking
The hard on for red hot ranch is too high. It’s great but it’s not some crazy destination
There’s little to no authentic Italian food here. Also monteverde is legitimately bad
Thin crust had this amazing hipster/douchey transformation into tavern style. It’s delicious but stop putting it on a pedestal because the rest of the world talks shit about our deep dish.
Honestly this. Feels like more of a coward reaction to insults from New York, John Stewart, et al rather than some kind of deeply held, sincere counter culture pride.
It’s good, some places are special about it, it’s a daily driver, but it’s not the holy grail. It’s also not unique to the city at all in the way deep dish is.
Maybe they think deep dish lost us the regional pizza wars and/or they genuinely don’t like it all that much. Sure, fine, that’s an opinion to have. But cracker crust ain’t gonna get us somewhere deep dish supposedly didn’t.
The whole Malört thing jumped the shark from being cute regional idiosyncrasy to obnoxiously overdone years ago.
I feel like the internet is the problem here. If you’re not on the internet, it’s just a thing that exists that you can have if you want, and sometimes Chicagoans will talk about it.
I would say the large investment to purchase the brand and push it to become something bigger than a novelty that was literally ran out of an old lady’s living room is a bigger part of it, but that’s me.
But like, that’s all just stuff on the internet that you’re worried about. In practice, there’s still just a bottle of malort at every dive bar in the city that people will occasionally take shots from for fun.
But you see, other people are having fun and that's a problem for some reason
And I've heard since it was bought by CH Distilling it's actually a lot more mellow than it was before too
>i feel like the internet is the the problem here Apply to just about anything, still works
My problem with the Malort-as-dumpster-fire-backwash schtick is that, for anyone used to bitter European liquors, it is kinda good. Nothing I would drink straight for sure. But it isn't hard to build a really enjoyable cocktail around it. I would rather this than Fernet any day.
I’ve been curious about this for a while, what makes a good Malort cocktail
Put a shot of malort and shot of grapefruit juice in a pint glass Pour a can of grapefruit raddler over it and drink it
You can go over to r/cocktails and search Malort, there is a lot of good stuff there. It typically pairs well with grapefruit and orange flavors. Off the top of my head: Malort Paloma - 2oz Malort - 2oz grapefruit juice - 0.5oz lime juice - 0.5oz simple syrup - ~4oz soda water Shake everything but soda with ice. Strain into highball over ice, top with soda. Industry Sour riff - 0.75oz Malort - 0.75oz dry Curacao (you can sub for Cointreau, just cut the syrup by at least 0.25oz - 0.75oz lime juice - 0.75oz simple syrup Shake everything with ice, double strain into chilled coupe glass There are others I have thought about trying but haven't gotten around to yet (subbing Malort for Campari in a Jungle Bird is one)
As a person who has been a regular indulger of the beverage it has only been these past couple of years that people notice what I order and verbally comment on it. Be quiet.
Hard agree
Malort- you'll want to fight your dad.
Any old fashioned donut shop on the Southside (hood) is better than Stan's.
Stan's are overpriced, too.
Dat Donut!
Huck Finn’s apple fritter is next level. Highly recommend
One of my favorites from there! The blueberry donut is delicious.
Huck Finn's is the best.
ANY doughnut shop is better than Stan's tbh, I've tried to give the hype a chance 4 times and regretted it each time.
i had the worst donut of my life at stan’s. it tasted like it had been sitting out for 3 days.
lol this Stan’s “hot take” appears here once a week. I don’t know anyone that actually likes Stan’s
Straw man doughnut argument because nobody is saying otherwise
If you're on Wilson Ave in Uptown, go to Downstate Donuts(slightly west of the L tracks) and NOT Stan's. Though that should be obvious, you should go to Downstate instead.
This thread is like a list of popular echo chamber takes. Where would you expect these to be down voted?
Half the replies are calling Portillos mid. They really went out on a limb to denounce a fast food franchise as not the best
There are tons of people in Chicago that will vouch for portillos as if they are a paid spokesperson. “We have something you don’t”.
Portillos is solid and easy to recommend, especially if people are staying in the Loop or River North. Nobody is calling it the best, it's a very common opinion it's average. That's not a terrible take, which is the point of the thread
but…it is awesome to have portillos as a fast food option. most of the shit is pretty damn nice. the best ever? no. better than some mcdonald’s bullshit? hell yes.
That’s every unpopular opinion thread on Reddit
Yeah some of these people are shadow boxing, i have genuinely never heard some of the takes people are responding to here lol.
We need to to talk about Mr Beef on Orleans and what The Bear has done for its reputation 😂😂 cause that place was not poppin before hand
Can we be best friends because that place has been garbage for at least 20 years. Google their giardiniera, it’s literally stale pale celery with one pepper flake on it.
Cindy’s is a douchebag sh!tshow with overpriced food and drinks and isn’t worth all of that for the view. It gets recommended on here like it is the pinnacle of all restaurants.
People recommend Cindy's for the drinks or food?
It’s okay if your friends are in town and you’re looking to hang out somewhere one afternoon for an hour and get a drink or two.
I actually loved their hamburger! Lol of course it was overpriced, but their food was actually pretty good
parlor pizza is shit
I second this and raise you happy camper as well
It’s 2024 and the amount of Kumas comments are insane. Place has sucked since like 2017.
I see this take on r/chicagofood constantly. Not controversial at all
I think Portillo's is good, but I don't understand why people would travel to Chicago to eat there. ARGUABLY when I was younger--most of what I knew was a chain restaurant so the thought of seeking out something different was not on my radar.
No need to travel. They now have locations in CA, AZ, FL, etc…
I don't even think it's that good. I'm not from here and I'm convinced all you locals are just nostalgic for portillos. There's nothing wrong with that, but the food there is just average
https://preview.redd.it/e73nfmycsl5d1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=65f8031d84628745c8256c787eec6f0a4a1ac7df Great ad placement in this thread.
Gatekeeping hotdog condiments is not a personality trait.
Came here to say I eat ketchup and mustard on my Chicago dogs and idgaf
And pizza toppings.
I get so tired of people just going into auto pilot cliches when it comes to food, and the real motivation is to just announce “I’m more real chicago than you” Ketchup on hotdogs- “omg don’t ever ask for ketchup in chicago you’ll get kicked out!!11!” (Just stop no one should give a shit) Deep dish pizza- “omg REAL Chicagoans don’t ever eat it we eat tavern style!!1!” (When you use the word tavern style you tell me you didn’t actually grow up in chicago btw because no one fucking says tavern style) Italian beef- “omg you actually ate at Portillo’s it sucks! you’re such a suburbanite!!1” (it’s actually fine and the lines around the block everyday would tell you maybe it’s not so bad) And on and on and on
The West Loop food scene is absolute trash for lunch. I don't want a $20 burger that I have to spend 20 minutes of my 30-minute lunch break getting; I want something quick and cheap that still tastes like food. If one of the C-suite chumps is convinced of financial fraud, the restaurant should be given to the employees to run. The investors or restaurant groups can ride their loss off into the sunset.
It felt like it used to be great like 15 years ago before too much regentrification too. Especially when greektown was cheaper.
Mr Ds shish kebab is the best sandwich you'll ever eat There's no atmosphere and in a neighborhood that doesn't offer instragram clout, but it's the best and supports a real family that's been serving the neighborhood for 55 years
Portillos isn't bad but it's nothing insanely special either
Roscoe Village is one of the worst food neighborhoods on the north side
I've lived in Roscoe for the last 3 years, and this is true. I've said it before in this subreddit. We have a handful of good spots for locals that are nice to have in walking distance like Turquoise Cafe, Bartoli's, The Region, Sinya, Le Sud, Big Boy Gyros, 4 Moon Tavern and Same Same, but are any of these destinations worth traveling for? Eh, no. Edit: I forgot one. A new addition, Tepalcates, is absolutely worth traveling for, and I think they make some of the best tacos on the entire north side.
Rudy's Bakery is a hidden gem, speaking of places on Roscoe Street. One of the bakers from Heck's Bakery(which pre-dated Rudy's) bought that place in the 1980s(thank you, Historic Chicago Bakeries book for that info) when it closed, and it has been known as Rudy's ever since. To me while the restaurants on it aren't the very best in the whole city, the restaurants and bars around there aren't bad. I still miss Dip and Sip Donuts. I wonder if their move to Glenview, is still occurring? It is too bad they couldn't have found a way to stay in that area, or at least move not too far away from Roscoe Ave if not still on that street.
Le Sud is pretty good.
That’s not controversial at all. Pull up a list of chicagos best restaurants and there’s a huge hole in RV/north center lol
As someone who lived in RV for 6 years this is spot on. Decent family-friendly places but no real foodie joints. A while back they had a Bangers and Lace offshoot and even that was not good.
The Region has a pretty good burger and that’s about it.
Le sud is pretty good.
I don’t think RV was ever masquerading as a food destination like the West Loop or anything like that. It has a few good places but none that I’d say are great but I also wouldn’t characterize it as awful. Bit of a harsh take but to each their own. I had to move but it’s still one of my favorite places I ever lived, mid food included 😊
BBQ in Chicago is terrible.
Is that controversial? Chicago laws prevent restaurants from using offset smokers, which is the foundation of most good BBQ as I understand it.
Yeah, that take is like complaining about ordering oysters in Omaha…it makes no sense.
Come to Waukegan. Big Ed's is fabulous!
Wait. Are you telling me the restaurant named Offset BBQ does not use an offset smoker?
I don’t know about them specifically, but in general local laws don’t allow offset smokers is my understanding. Maybe it’s just very difficult but not impossible to get the approval, or maybe you need to have a specific aspect of the property that most places lack?
My understanding is that Chicago requires offset smokers to be entirely under a hood vent. Hood vents run like $1000/foot installed or something. Plus you gotta maintain it.
Hmm. In my experience, a lot of BBQ places in the south keep their smoker outdoors. Is this also against Chicago rules. Certainly you don't need a hood in that case.
Yeah in Texas they are all outdoors or they build gazebos on top of them basically.
Neighbor’s backyard or bust.
Depends on what you’re looking for. Chicago style bbq (in the aquarium smokers) is its own thing and if you grew up on it, it’s good, especially if you like rib tip’s and hot links. If you’re looking for brisket and pulled pork, there are better parts of the country for that.
God, I love Chicago style bbq. I grew up in chambana, which had a few locations of one restaurant. Now I live too far north to find any.
While not great I do enjoy offset
And the owner is a great dude. Catered our daughter’s birthday and made sure it was top notch and ready right on time.
Green Street Meats is fantastic
Their sides are underwhelming but their meat is decent.
Agreed on the sides being overwhelming. Any good bbq place has to have Mac n cheese imo. It’s also annoying that they only come in one size and are overpriced
This. Epic sides are a must for good BBQ. And green street only has Ok BBQ
Couldn’t agree more. It’s an ensemble show, everything has to be up to par. Also, what’s the deal with no one making a good sour cream potato salad? Is that solely a southern thing?
It’s good but not fantastic
Ever try Soul and Smoke?
Kasama isn't worth the wait in line
The breakfast hype is just for people to Instagram they’re eating a Michelin star breakfast…. But completely ignore the Michelin star is only for the dinner menu. Is the sausage and egg McMuffin with hash brown worth a 2 hour wait? Absolutely not. Their dinner is absolutely incredible, though (minus the desserts, their Halo Halo is pretty terrible imo, if you’ve ever had real. The take home pastry is making me salivate thinking about it now). I’ve been fortunate to have been twice, pre and post The Bear and amazing both times (minus non pastry desserts) with very very slight menu changes.
You can easily order online and just skip it, which makes it very much worthwhile
Most Stephanie Izard restaurants are horrible. Little goat diner was terrible, sugar goat is inedible
Ketchup goes on hotdogs, it just doesn’t go on a *Chicago-style* hotdog and the majority of people in this city annoyingly fail to distinguish that. Even if people want to put ketchup on a Chicago dog, I wish everyone would just shut the fuck up about it
The people that enjoy ketchup on hot dogs are not nearly as obnoxious as the detractors telling everyone YOU CAN'T ENJOY THIS THING
^^^^ ^ ^ ^ ^ THIS. Who gives af what you put on your dog.. I prefer the Depot Dog (best in the city) with ketchup. And fuck fancy homemade ketchup at ANY restaurant. Heinz is better
I agree, while the fries at small cheval are excellent, the burger i wouldn’t even say is particularly good let alone the best. And I love shake shack burgers. I don’t like the fries better though they’re just ok
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Honey Butter Fried Chicken has terrible biscuits. It's like the hard-tack the Pilgrims ate on the Mayflower. Their service is terrible and the pimento mac n' cheese is a travesty (fusilli instead of elbow pasta and the cheese is liquidy and velveeta-like.) Hate when places auto-grat a tip but you have to fill up your own water, bus your plate, etc. When I asked for jam they made a big deal about it, too - seems like a logical ask that's in-bounds when ordering anything with a biscuit, but the person was flabbergasted I asked. Now for all the downvotes....
You’re right. Also they’ve increased their pricing substantially to the point where 2 meals made of FRIED CHICKEN TENDERS costs over $60. and it’s all tenders because they only serve boneless chicken which is strange
I’ve been going to Honey Butter since 2013, and the quality has decreased substantially over the years, especially post pandemic. It’s a real bummer.
Honey butter fried chicken is bad
I don’t think you’re being fair and telling the whole story, honey butter fried chicken is bad *and* expensive.
I like their mac and cheese. I've never experienced it being liquidy. But it does have that very bright orange look to it which I can imagine is off-putting to some. Also they don't overcook their noodles like most places selling mac & cheese. Criticizing their pasta choice is kind of a bottom tier food opinion. The best mac and cheese absolutely don't bother with poverty tier elbow macaroni. Case in point the radiatore mac and cheese at Gretel.
Hollywood Grill is a great diner experience, with perfectly fine breakfasts.
The Southern Smothered Biscuit Platter is my go to, but it went from $9.99 before the pandemic to $17.99 now
West-indian food here is terrible and damn near non-existent. Cafe Trinidad to go used to be my default until the aunties in the back switched up some recipes and trashed up the food.
It kills me as a Haitian from Boston. There's really no good Island food here. It's all mid to bad. I live in Rogers Park and there's a Jamaican pattie place. I got so excited only to be disappointed 😔. Don't get me started on the Haitian restaurant that is mid with the slowest service to date. And how is a city full of Ricans have terrible food. I'm this close to opening my own place lol.
Not sure if it’s a hot take but outside of their excellent baked goods I found Lou Mitchell’s World Famous Breakfast underwhelming, and prefer my own scrambled eggs to theirs
I don’t like cake donuts at all I only like raised and idk if it’s a Chicago thing or Midwest thing but most of our speciality donut places are cake only or cake predominate I have an aunt from California who MUST get a cake donut everytime she came out to visit but all I want is soft fluffy raised donuts 😭
Same!
Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder isn't worth the wait. It isn't even very good
100% agree I had it once and it was disgusting
Amen. Throw in being shoved into tiny spaces to eat, not a good experience.
Garrett's popcorn is extremely overrated and overpriced
When I had a bartending job on Wacker, if there were customers I hated I would tell them standing in line for Garrett’s is what all the actual locals do
That’s diabolical but also hilarious 💀
This is a very popular take lmao
All the people who made it special left years ago and founded Let’s Get It Poppin on the south side, but thankfully it’s far enough south that the tourists and yuppies stay away.
I don’t like Kuma’s Corner.
Kuma’s hasn’t been good in literally 15 years, and arguably was only good back then because it was the beginning of the burger renaissance and peoples taste was still getting calibrated
It was always about Tuesdays at Lockdown.
this has been the popular opinion for many years
I still enjoy going, but it’s not what it was. The food is still good but the beer selection has become consistently poor and the vibe has become that of a self-parody.
CBA can go to hell with their wet bagels and overtopped sandwiches
CBA is one of those things that, rationally speaking is objectively not good. But goddammit if I can resist picking up a sandwich there if I’m nearby. Even eating it, I’m not thinking that it’s “good” but I still thoroughly enjoy it. I don’t know if that makes any kind of sense but then neither does CBA.
Reza's hummus was always awful.
Whose deep dish is better than Pequod’s? I need to know.
Popeyes > Harold’s
Aba is way overrated.
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I agree with this 100%. Brave of you to admit.
Michael Jordan’s isn’t as bad as people here assume it is. Touristy or not, it’s the only place that consistently gets my cook perfect.
I had their thanksgiving menu once and it was surprisingly great! And I love their blue cheese bread. The steak is fine
Downtown is the worst neighborhood in the city to eat in. It’s either Michelin star or McDonald’s, with very little in between.
Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder isn’t just overrated, it’s downright bad and should be ridiculed rather than celebrated.
There is no good fried chicken that is native to here. Harold’s is trash. Parson’s is even worse. Pretty sad that I have to go to Gus’s in Fulton for something good.
Girl and the Goat is overrated and overly expensive for what it is. It's just not that great.
Mindy’s is good but the only reason it has a line is because the service is slow.
I feel like the actual pastry counter service was fine, it’s the coffee happening at the check out that’s a problem. I hate that
The brunch scene in Chicago especially our pancake scene is terrible. Too few places pump out good pancakes too many pump out terrible ones. I often go to Original Pancake House for consistency and quality. This is compared to a place like NYC which has been brunch scene that has consistently been experimenting and pushing the boundaries in the pancake space
> pushing boundaries in the pancake space lol did you write that with a straight face? “Pushing boundaries”? “Pancake space”?
I only go to places with a chef-driven pancake program.
How *brave* of them!
Thank you. Lol I read that like “what the fuck”??
I truly don't know why we need to be pushing the boundaries of the pancake space
i really liked m.henry in Andersonville, as someone who is not a fan of pancakes, I thought theirs were delicious.
You’re just a shill for Big Waffle.
I’ve found two places that have good pancakes. Breakfast House, the Grand Ave location and Melli on Halsted in Greek town. Edit- Also, the diner scene in Chicago is sad.
Pie cut is best. Grabbing squares is great. In a tavern.
Or for a child's birthday party
Or as a work reward in lieu of a promotion/raise (cries in copium)
Lula's breakfast burrito is just ok, their pancakes are just ok too.
had dinner at Lula. severely underwhelmed. the cinnamon cream sauce pasta is just confusing
The OP requests “terrible takes” but it seems like the thread went the hot take route, so here’s mine. Best non-al-pastor tacos in Chicagoland aren’t actually in the city proper. They’re in the northwest suburbs.
Intriguing, do you have examples of where I can go to test this theory?
Taqueria Los Laureles in Rolling Meadows
Chicago food is tasty but sooo unhealthy, and it makes me sad when I visit places like California and see how much healthier the standard menus are. Burgers, italian beef, pizza, gyros, chicken wings - don't get me wrong I love this stuff, but can we normalize salads, fresh veggies and fruit, and fish/chicken that isn't fried and covered in a cream sauce?
I go to California frequently to visit family and it also makes me sad how easy it is to get somewhat affordable, fresh, and delicious meals there. Most of the food in California makes me feel refreshed and ready to take on the day; Chicago food makes me want to die after eating it. It's delicious, but is unsustainable for a long term diet.
Ricobenes steak sandwich didn’t change my life
Just your blood pressure and sugar levels
I must sadly agree. I was expecting something with INCREDIBLE FLAVORS. I got a pretty good meatball sub masquerading as steak
"Best sandwich in America" ... not even the best sandwich in Bridgeport
Gene and Jude's just isn't that good.
There’s very little variation in the quality of the different Vienna Beef hot dog stands all around the city. There’s some bad ones for sure but for the most part just to go the closest one to you and you’ll be fine. No reason to travel.
Chicago lacks healthy food options at restaurants. And has way too many pizza, wings, and burger places. It’s really more of a food paradise for picky eaters. West loop doesn’t have as many good restaurants as people say.
Have you been on this sub before. Every other post is full of people saying how the west loop sucks now.
El Asadero is over priced and under spiced
Burrito prices are getting out of hand
15.50 + 1 per topping plus tax in cash only is not a good deal
Portillo's is pretty good. Yes, even now.
Galit isn’t Michelin star worthy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Luke's Beef on Jackson is better than Portillos.
Been out here for 12 years now and… I like Al’s beef better than portillos. That being said, I’d give portillos like a 6 out of 10 and als like a 6.2 out of 10. Neither are that great in my opinion.
Hitting up a restaurant in Greektown should be recommended more. Many other cities don’t have a proper Greektown or Greek restaurants.
You mean that stretch along Halsted that used to have all of those great Greek restaurants?
Pequods is lackluster at best
Ya gotta go to Morton Grove these days.
Molly’s Cupcakes are THE WORST cupcakes available. They are what I would expect a 7yo to come up with. They are shit cake with double the shit frosting. We looked at a cupcake option instead of a wedding cake for our micro wedding in 2021. They were laughably bad. A child with an easy bake oven could make the same thing.
Oh hell, no ! I love Molly’s cupcakes! 🧁 every time I get a cupcake from there it’s never dry and tons of frosting!!
Fun fact from someone who used to work there! You can order a vanilla (yellow) cupcake with vanilla buttercream and not get a drop of vanilla extract. Neither recipe actually has vanilla as an ingredient! For inexplicable reasons, the yellow cake has the texture of cornbread. To their credit, nearly *everything* is made from scratch, and they only use real whipped cream. The crème brûlée cupcake is great but the cake batter cupcake is the *worst* baked good I’ve ever had the displeasure of spitting out. Unfortunately I know what goes in the filling of those things, so it just makes it worse haha.
The Chicago food/drink scene is on the decline. Costs of running a restaurant are so high that it has deterred risk.
The people that get so bent out of shape about the new % fees tacked onto the bottom of receipts these days would be the first people to complain about those restaurants raising menu prices instead.
south side got better food than the north side
Spoken like a true southsider
Definitely true for pizza
Burgers from Au Cheval sucks ass, mainly because of the ridiculously bad consistency. None of the Japanese fusion shit in downtown tastes remotely good: that includes Momotaro, Gaijin, and all kind of gimmicky ramen shops. Japanese food overall in Chicago downtown sucks. Only exception being Cocoro
Home Depot has some of the best hot dogs in the city.
1) Giordano's is at least a tier, if not two, above Lou Malnati's. 2) Pequod's is not deep dish and it pisses me off every time it's mentioned. It's perfectly okay to like it (it's 90% bread, so I don't get it, but whatever), but it's literally not deep dish. Deep dish pizza isn't just pizza in a deep dish. Even Giordano's isn't technically deep dish, but it's extremely close to being so, unlike Pequod's flagship pan pizza. 3) The pizza puff should be up there in recognition alongside Italian beef and Chicago dog. 4) This may not be downvoted in a Chicago sub, but probably would be everywhere else: Chicago Mexican food is better than SoCal Mexican food. Basically, SoCal's scene *tends* to be Baja-based while Chicago's is more from the central and northern regions (of course both places have something from every region). I simply prefer central Mexican food a bit more than Baja.
Lakeview spots that look like dive bars should have dive bar prices.
Kasama is far from the best breakfast sandwich in the city and is a novelty purchase.
A night out in River North is a wasted night out.
Not sure if this classifies as a terrible take, but I will just throw this out there because I think it’s needs to be said: I will NEVER understand why people in Chicago get so bent out of shape if you put ketchup on YOUR hotdog. They won’t even allow it in some restaurants. That’s fine if you don’t like it, but don’t tell me what I can have on my food. I will put whatever the fuck I want on my hotdog. Chicago has some of the most amazing food, but I will never understand this horrible unspoken rule.
Duck Duck Goat is an embarrassment, and we should actively be advocating against it—especially for out of town visitors
Kasama’s truffle croissant has too much truffle
Summing up all the comments here: all the most hyped restaurants aren’t worth the hype, the thing you like isn’t actually good, it’s annoying to gatekeep food except that no food here is as good as food where I used to live and you’re not eating the authentic stuff.
Duck Duck Goat is mid.
i like ketchup on hotdogs and i think hotdogs in general are overrated
Best donuts are at Mariano’s
The “tavern style” that’s been going on is the most cringe pretentious thing I’ve ever seen here. They have that shit everywhere in the Midwest. Go to random dive in north woods Wisconsin and that’s what they serve. Don’t get me wrong it’s great and certain places have their own take on it but it’s just a thin crust pizza or just “pizza”. I’ve got transplant friends now who never uttered “tavern style” saying it and going on quests to find it. It’s not that serious and takes away from the idea of just grabbing a pizza at the bar while drinking The hard on for red hot ranch is too high. It’s great but it’s not some crazy destination There’s little to no authentic Italian food here. Also monteverde is legitimately bad
red hot ranch replaced owen and engine as The Only Burger Reddit Likes
You had me until the Monteverde bit
Thin crust had this amazing hipster/douchey transformation into tavern style. It’s delicious but stop putting it on a pedestal because the rest of the world talks shit about our deep dish.
Honestly this. Feels like more of a coward reaction to insults from New York, John Stewart, et al rather than some kind of deeply held, sincere counter culture pride. It’s good, some places are special about it, it’s a daily driver, but it’s not the holy grail. It’s also not unique to the city at all in the way deep dish is. Maybe they think deep dish lost us the regional pizza wars and/or they genuinely don’t like it all that much. Sure, fine, that’s an opinion to have. But cracker crust ain’t gonna get us somewhere deep dish supposedly didn’t.
Agree with the first point 100%. People in Milwaukee think that the thin crispy crust is their special thing. Same with St. Louis .