You don’t have to spend a lot of money to eat well in Chicago. “A big part of the scene is more fast-casual dining,” Noblecilla said, adding that those restaurants make up the vast majority her TikTok reviews. “There’s a really great range in the kind of food that you see at the Michelin restaurants,” Noblecilla said. “I’ve never really lived in a city lime fx before that’s had all of these kinds of influences,” she said. “I was a little kid in a candy store moving here. It’s such a food city.”
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A food influencer in Chicago breaks down why the Windy City should be on every restaurant lover’s bucket list
- Chicago has its fair share of staples, too — there’s deep-dish pizza, tavern-style pizza, Polish hot dogs, and Italian beef, for starters.
- There’s also a lot of rooftop dining, including some restaurants that add snow globes, or heated igloos, in the winter, Noblecilla said.
- As well as big chains, Chicago is full of mom-and-pop restaurants, Noblecilla said.
- “It’s kept very nicely. It’s kept very clean. You compare it to New York where there’s trash bags piling up on the patio, on the sidewalks.”
- You don’t have to spend a lot of money to eat well in Chicago.
As well as big chains, Chicago is full of mom-and-pop restaurants, Noblecilla said. New York has bagels, Philadelphia has cheesesteaks, and Cincinnati has Skyline Chili. Chicago has its fair share of staples, too — there’s deep-dish pizza, tavern-style pizza, Polish hot dogs, and Italian beef, for starters. Here’s why Noblecilla thinks the city is such a great destination for foodies.
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“Alfresco dining is such a huge thing here in Chicago,” Noblecilla said. Because it’s such a cold city, “when it gets warm, you want to be outside,” she said. “There’s a good handful of restaurants that have been open since the 1940s,” Noblecilla said. They have “more history than some of the museums here,” she said.
Noblecilla also recommends the $14 limonada suíça, Brazilian lemonade made by blending a whole lime with water, then adding condensed milk. For an extra $4, you can spike it with Pitu Cachaça, a Brazilian spirit, which Noblecilla said is “really unique. You can’t really find that anywhere in the city.” There’s also a lot of rooftop dining, including some restaurants that add snow globes, or heated igloos, in the winter, Noblecilla said. Two — Alinea and Smyth — have three stars, while Filipino restaurant Kasama was ranked the fifth-best restaurant in the US in Food & Wine’s 2024 ranking.
Chicago staples
Noblecilla’s current favorite place to eat in Chicago is Brasero, an upscale Latin restaurant in the city’s West Town, which she says has “Brazilian undertones.” “Patio dining is pretty top tier here, because it’s a beautiful city,” she continued. “It’s kept very nicely. It’s kept very clean. You compare it to New York where there’s trash bags piling up on the patio, on the sidewalks.”