1. BEARDS
Michael Nagrant was a judge in the James Beard restaurant awards for a year, and nothing about the experience convinced him that it wasn’t corrupt and, frankly, half-assed:
Chicago has dominated the finalist, semifinalist, and winner categories for years. But in 2024, Sozai, a Michigan sushi restaurant won. The two local chairs of the Great Lakes region at the time were from Chicago and Michigan respectively. The Chicago chair (we’ll call them Abraham from here on out) told me that the Michigan chair (we’ll call them Jolene) had organized all the judges outside of Illinois to vote for that spot in retaliation for Chicago’s dominance.
Abraham told me he was annoyed by this and his strategy was to pack the new judging panel with people who would advocate for Chicago. We were friends. I’d criticized the awards. He liked that. This I believe is how I made it on the panel.
It’s also the first of many examples that highlight the black box of extreme power the local and national leaders of the Beard foundation possess.
And there are, indeed, many examples, including the scandalous award of Best Restaurant Great Lakes to a mediocre sushi joint in the Detroit burbs which has apparently since closed.
2. CRAWLIE TO CREEPIES
John Kessler reviews Creepies:
Creepies may be Chicago’s first true neo-bistro. While not flawless, its blending of Midwestern and French influences in the year 2025 is tone perfect. Four years in the making, it is the second restaurant from David and Anna Posey, who run the Michelin-starred Elske next door. They’ve tapped their longtime employee Tayler Ploshehanski as chef de cuisine. “Seventy-five percent of the dishes are David’s conception, but I created all the recipes and executed everything,” Ploshehanski says. Knowing the way dishes come together on the plate at Elske, I recognize Posey’s influence. Yet I also taste Ploshehanski’s new-to-me culinary voice — one that is fond of thoughtful surprises, committed to the art of sauce making, and Francophilic to its core.
3. LINCOLN PARK AND EAT
Lincoln Park has been kind of sleepy since Alinea opened, a lot of places to take your parents but not much off the beaten path. (My old line was, it has some of everything, but not the best of anything.) But suddenly—since COVID—it’s a hot ethnic restaurant neighborhood. Not sure if that’s because of DePaul or what, but Titus Ruscitti checks out five of these new places, such as the Keralan Indian restaurant Trilokah:
Trilokah is cooking up food from Kerala, a state on India’s tropical Malabar Coast. Judging by the crowds on my visit they made the right call moving to Lincoln Park. They did a nice job on the inside giving it a fun feel with colorful pieces of art lining the walls. On my first visit, which was solo, I had to try the Kothu parotta – a popular South Indian and Sri Lankan street dish made up of shredded flatbread (parotta) stir-fried with assorted vegetables, eggs, and meat in a spicy masala. The name “kothu” literally means “minced” or “chopped,” referring to its preparation method. This dish is kind of like fried rice except it’s diced flatbread instead. Trilokah serves up the best version I’ve tried in the States. It’s super fluffy and not mushy at all with a nice spice profile.
4. LEAVE IT TO SMYTH
Understanding Hospitality returns to Smyth, a place he has devoted vast numbers of pixels to, to look at it a little more casually, even as it now ranks as the most expesnsive restaurant in Chicago and one of the most expensive in the country:
…armed with a bit more distance than has long been the case, I hope to evaluate Smyth’s cuisine with something of a fresh perspective. That means, instead of being acclimated to the menu’s latest creations (and, consequently, focused more on how they have granularly changed), I’ll encounter these dishes with no preconceived notions: no three chances to get things right. I’ll be forced judge them—not just the underlying ideas, but the execution—as any first-time customer, splurging on what should be a life-changing meal, might do.
5. MONADYAKI
Nick Kindelsperger finds chicken teriyaki in the Loop—at a sandwich shop in the Monadnock building:
…look at how much care went into this? Juicy marinated chicken meat rests atop fluffy white rice. It’s all sprinkled with furikake—a seaweed, sesame seed, and salt mixture. Up top sits a simple salad, which looks like an afterthought but adds a welcome fresh crunch.
Still, I admit I don’t quite know why this moves me so. It isn’t a dish to catch the imagination of risk takers. If you’re looking for the ultimate version of chicken teriyaki, you’ll be disappointed. It’s just the sheer humbleness of it, how it feels like a bowl of comfort food prepared with a parent’s touch.
6. DEAD PIGS
The Infatuation reviews Cerdito Muerto:
Cerdito Muerto is a charming tavern perfect for excellent Mexican cocktails, tacos, and a little Pilsen history. The building it’s in used to be a family home that survived the Chicago Fire. Now, it’s a candlelit bar-restaurant with about 30 seats and “you’re becoming your parents” energy. With hardly any signage outside, this spot just off 18th Street is a great hideaway for people who want a low-key place to drink, eat, and embrace the passage of time.
7. TIGER TIGER BURNING BRIGHT
Louisa Chu profiles the new Lettuce-Thai Dang spot, Crying Tiger:
“Another dish that I’m really excited about and love is the prawn toast,” said the chef [Dang] about his take on another Cantonese dish, also known as shrimp toast, traditionally offered at dim sum.“But instead of white bread or milk bread, it’s youtiao.”
The long and golden fried bread, sometimes known as a savory Chinese doughnut, is stuffed with a shrimp filling and fried again.
“I have this recipe using pure shrimp,” said Dang. “No pork, no meat, just shrimp with ginger, scallion and a little bit of sugar and salt to balance it out to make this shrimp farce.”
His prawn toast youtiao is sliced into bite-sized nuggets and served with an herbaceous nam jim, or Thai dipping sauce, on the side.
8. THE PUBLICAN AND MENTOR
Nice piece by Anthony Todd on Rob Levitt getting started at The Publican:
Some chefs taking over a new kitchen jump in and immediately start changing things to fit their “vision;” perhaps unsurprisingly, given Levitt’s collaborative nature and chill affect, he focused on something very different: the people. Levitt saw that some of the culture at the Publican was suffering, and the chefs there didn’t have quite the high spirits that they did in years past. Whatever the cause, he was determined to fix it.
9. DEAR REALTOR, IT’S ME, MARGARET
Serious bummer: after their recent fire, Dear Margaret will not be reopening in its Lincoln Ave. space, which the landlord has sold. They’re looking for somewhere else in Lakeview. I hope they find somewhere (did anybody ever move into that space on Lincoln where Entente was?)
Here’s some good news, though: Gale Street Inn, which was a real slice of northwest side Guy Chicago offering steaks, ribs and stiff drinks, but closed a few months back, has a new owner and plans to reopen next month. Block Club has a story.
10. FROM THE CHICKEN PAPRIKASH DESK
The first chef I talk about in my book is Louis Szathmary of The Bakery, and one of the people who talks about him is Francois de Melogue, who was later chef of places like Bistrot Margot and Pili Pili (but now lives in New England). Anyway, he just posted a recipe for chicken paprikash, which was a family meal at the Hungarian-born Szathmary’s restaurant:
Two cooks in particular shaped those moments: Kati, a fiery Romanian, and Ica (or Itza — my memory wavers on the spelling), a warm-hearted Hungarian whose food carried the essence of her homeland. Every afternoon, our pre-service meals transported us straight to the heart of Eastern Europe. Pots of gulyás, stews perfumed with paprika, and rustic dumplings were regular fare. But one dish stood out above all the rest: Chicken Paprikash.
It was comforting, creamy, and deeply flavored with sweet paprika. And recently, standing in my Vermont garden with a harvest of underripe paprika peppers, that dish came back to me, vivid and nostalgic. I grow these peppers every year for their complexity and warmth. But with so many still green this season, I was reminded of paprikash and its humble genius — a simple stew elevated by technique, tradition, and the generous use of one perfect spice.
I made it this week and it was good—though it would be better with better paprika. Time to make a holiday run to Epic Spices, I guess.
11. SNAP TO IT!
With SNAP benefits still in flux—downright fluxed up, I’d say!—Erick Williams of Virtue is leading a restaurant fundraising effort:
The Virtue Leadership Foundation is stepping up to help. Together with culinary partners across the city, we’re collaborating with chefs, voilunteers and community leaders to prepare and distribute wholesome meals.
Our goal is to raise $40,000, with 100% of the proceeds going towards feeding over 500 families.
12. JOIN US
Maggie Hennesssy talks to the guys behind the Joiners podcast, at WTTW:
Looming milestones tend to spark reflection. But as Tim Tierney and Danny Shapiro, creators and hosts of the weekly hospitality industry podcast “Joiners,” near their 200th episode, they’re still most concerned with getting an engaging episode out every Monday.
“It’s just part of our routine now,” Tierney said.
It may have something to do with the fact that Tierney and Shapiro each run businesses in addition to churning out weekly longform interviews with “colorful characters” representing every facet of the restaurant and bar industries. Tierney is the co-founder of STOCK Mfg. Co., which makes restaurant uniforms. Shapiro runs five Logan Square restaurants and bars under the Scofflaw Group, including Scofflaw, Outside Voices, and Slippery Slope.
“We always said we’ll do the podcast until it’s not fun anymore,” Tierney added. Then Shapiro jokingly cut in: “Which was, like, 100 episodes ago.”
13. LISTEN UP
The Dining Table looks at the current bagel boom.
Dish from Chicago Magazine talks about John Kessler’s latest review, Creepies, over a couple of pizzas.
Joiners talks to Curtis Duffy about his memoir, Fireproof.
Supper with Sylvia talks wine with somm Brooke Webster.
The Chef’s Cut talks to the NYT’s Ligaya Mishan about succeeding Pete Wells as reviewer.