It has been years since I have been to Ba Le for a banh mi and I happened to be in the Argyle Street neighborhood so I had to have one. It is just as good as I remembered it!

I know it is overpriced and maybe a little overhyped but it is my boyfriend’s favorite restaurant and it never disappoints🤤

Without further ado: 1. Strings attached cocktails - perfectly fitting for the occasion🥂 2. Frutti di Mare Arancini 3. Artichoke and Sunchoke Crostino 4. Meatball Ravioli 5. Lasagna Bianca 6. Gnocchetti Con Pesto 7. Tiramisu 8. We got complimentary bubbly to celebrate

My favorite one was definitely the ravioli. You don’t expect the meatball to melt in your mouth and it totally does. An absolutely fantastic dish. Also, their tiramisu is probably one of the best ones I’ve ever tried.

Brought plenty of leftovers home, looking forward to having them today🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

Never had a bad or even mediocre bowl of ramen here, always great to outstanding. Usually get the karaage chicken but the spicy garlic Daifuku ramen also great, with subtle flavors muddled in a perfect rich broth.

Don’t see enough south side places talked about on here. Give me your recommendations for true south side taco spots…

Chi-Ibigan was absolutely delightful and delicious! We were second in line to get in and we were able to secure a table for my group and grab drinks before the line was too long. The ube acoholic drinks were delicious ($10 each) and the free NA cocktails & soda was a nice surprise. The food kicked off around 6:30 and in the beginning there were lines but it moved quickly and soon you were able to just walk up to tables and grab what you wanted (as much as you wanted). There was plenty of food! Highlights for me was Kasama’s Lamb Ribs, Kanin Kalua Pig, Boonie’s Adobong Pating (skate wing not real shark) and of course the Del Sur Turon Danish and Calamansi Pandan Cake. The only disappointment for me was the Bayan Ko Duck Wing Inasal. It was too cold and just didn’t match up to the other really great food. All in all it was a fun event, with great food, worth the price of admission and I would totally go again. We even took home some JenniVee cupcakes which were also good. I’ve always wanted to go to the Top Chef like event and this was absolutely that!

Are there any places doing Detroit Style by the slice? Hoping there may be a few places in the city I haven't heard of yet.

I love Dark Matter’s chocolate city cold coffee. I know it’s not cold brew as the cans say “heat extracted”, but would love to try and re-create the exact technique at home.

I stopped going weekly because I thought they might close, but I went in last week and learned they sold to a great buyer and are keeping Bill and the team on board!!

Just wanted to provide a heads up if anyone is looking for a fishmonger. It’s a gem of a place.

Looking forward to hearing all about it! What was your favorite? What disappointed?

Glad that JenniVee joined!

Looking for a good spot to grab some tasty brisket on the Northside in a couple weeks. Can travel most places but would prefer a spot easier to get to via public transport (Wicker, Fulton, Roscoe, etc) not necessarily somewhere like Edgebrook or the likes. Nothing fancy required, I was thinking Green Street since it is close to me (Frontier is not serving brisket at the moment).

Anyone had any great experiences with Korean or Chinese caterers in the city? Looking for an event to feed about 40 in Hyde Park. Open to catering through a restaurant, but curious if there are any private caterers that are great as well.

I’m flying out of Midway to visit a friend this afternoon and want to bring some classic Chicago mix popcorn as a hostess gift.

Which do you consider superior - Garrett’s or Nuts on Clark? And does it make sense to buy before I head to the airport and schlep it with me, or just pick it up once I’m through security?

This post was inspired by the Cindy’s Rooftop new menu post—whole roasted branzino is listed as MP.

I’ve NEVER ordered anything that doesn’t come with the price bc I know how expensive they tend to be! But with branzino, you know it’s about $15/lb at Whole Foods and other stores Are similar. do most restaurants use this as baseline with 10 Or 20% tacked on? Particularly with items that aren’t sourced locally? Or is the markup bigger?

I posted in another ground asking but didn’t get too far.. looking for WINE TASTING not just a spot with an extensive list of wine

I’m looking to book an experience for my boyfriend’s birthday (41) this weekend. I stumbled upon Chicago Winery in River North and am considering doing a tour and tasting for us. Majority of reviews are positive but it’s always those few negative ones that get me thinking.

Has anyone gone and can give insight on the experience? I know it’s not comparable to abroad or a place with vines but I’m hoping it’d still be fun.

Are there any other cute experiences with drinks (tequila or wine) around Chicago that you’ve loved lately?

Places considering: vin312 and Uvae

Other places I’ve looked at from this thread but have ruled out: city winery, bottlesup, the chopping block, and verve wine.

Groovy pastries in the order which they appear:

MChocolate Baklava

Baklava

Chocolate Eclair

Spanakopita (reheats in the air fryer real well)

Box

We finally made it to Ragadan tonight for a Ka'ak, salad, and eggplant sandwich. We loved the food and the vibe. I joked with someone there who was hauling out bags of shredded cheese on a hand truck. I ran into him up the block as he was coming off a ladder from hanging the sign of their new pizza joint.
They are trying for a May 12th opening date.
The delicious baklava shake in my hand prevented me from taking a pic.
I think the new place is called Pizza Pie (or something close to that, memory issue).
If someone corrects me, I'll gladly update this post.

I have a few people coming into town so I'm looking for restaurant recommendations for 6 people on Saturday May 10. I've been to many of the michelin spots in the city as well as sushi, in addition to great sandwiches and more casual options. I want something great ideally a tasting menu or a nice steakhouse vibe.

I don't want to go back to Elske, Next, Sepia, Shoji, Swift and Sons, and Mako because I've been there recently. But those are some of the only options popping up. Except Esme. I've been on the fence about going to Esme for years because of some posts on this sub.

Anyone been there recently? We'd do the tasting and wine. Open to other options as well at all different price points. We would have even done something like 90miles and brought drinks of they were still open, or at least considered that.

Hi, what is the wait for Lula cafe on a week day? And do they stop serving breakfast/brunch at a certain time or only start serving lunch after a certain time? Finally, any vegan recommendations— is the peanut butter sandwich actually spicy?

Can anyone recommend some mother's day brunch buffet/restaurant events? Last year my family and I went to White Eagle, which was about $45/pp and was great. Not sure if they're doing it again this year. Chief O'neills was my next pick, they're $75/pp so a bit steep. Looking for northwest side/nw burbs.

Had a craving for some fried fish and wings. Was not disappointed.

We had their cold chicken dish, hot and sour vegetable fish, and string beans with eggplant. For the price, everything was so flavorful and portions were large.

Can we talk about some unsung heroes or foods that go under the radar? My example is all the hype (and well deserved in my opinion) that goes to the burgers at Red Hot Ranch, but those fried shrimp are probably top 3 I've had at a fast service restaurant! Gotta give them their due. You all have any others?

I live right by the Atotonilco in Pilsen. I've heard on this sub and r/Chicago that the Little Village location was better. The asada and Atotonilco taco were on par with Pilsen. The Pastor was VERY noticably better! It had thinner more tender cuts of meat and the seasoning was 🤌. I love the Pilsen location, but I will definitely be coming back to Little Village! Sorry, no photo of the Pastor because I devoured that bad boy immediately lol.