- Michael Gebert
- Chef Jake Bickelhaupt and his wife, Alexa Welsh, at 42 Grams, one of Chicago magazine’s top picks
If there were a Chicago food “establishment,” its debutantes’ ball would be the list of the best restaurants published by Chicago magazine around this time each year, trotting out the latest all-dressed-up progeny from distinguished families such as the Mergeses and the Nahabedians, the One Off Hospitalitys and the Element Collectives. Of course, we really live in a Mad Max world of anarchic Internet food commentary, but those mostly remain the restaurants everybody talks about anyway. The theme of this year’s issue is that high and low have become one, as Chicago says in introducing its best restaurant of the year, Dusek’s:
- Michael Gebert
- Pulled pork and sides at Smalls.
• Smalls Smoke Shack: Besides a great you-never-knew-what-you-were-missing concept (Texas barbecue with Filipino sauces and sides), this is the place I would compare every best restaurant candidate to and say, “But is it really better than Smalls?”
• Red Hot Ranch (Ashland): Not that long ago you had to go to the far south side to get a freshly-ground burger. Now they’re everywhere (praise Edzo’s) and this one does a great In-N-Out imitation.
- Michael Gebert
- Chill Cafe’s owners with samsas
• West Loop Salumi and Nduja Artisans: Artisanal charcuterie makes a resurgence in the Hog Butcher of the World.
