Illinois Restaurants

There is a huge gap between what parents want to eat and what their kids do. Between picky eating habits and the lure of shiny plastic toys, it can seem impossible to get kids to eat out without having to scarf chicken nuggets yourself. Two Wilmette fathers grew tired of this cycle and the poor quality of food their kids were craving, so they decided to create a restaurant where they, their wives, and their kids could all get an enjoyable meal. 

The result was Gilson’s, an American bistro that uses sustainably caught and locally grown ingredients that adults value, and couches it in a friendly atmosphere complete with a children’s menu that accommodates picky eaters without plying them with processed junk food. The bistro reflects its two identities with an outdoor patio and exposed-brick dining room, with a more upscale wine bar that caters to guests wanting to sip international vintages in a more intimate space. 

For the adults, chefs specialize in seafood. They accent shrimp and ahi tuna with layers of mango salsa and wasabi mayo to create complex flavor profiles without boiling up a rubik's-cube reduction. House specialties such as the fish tacos and Wyoming bison burgers get pared down to create smaller lunch portions, alongside a selection of organic sandwiches and salads.

At Manny's Cafeteria and Delicatessen, fourth-generation Raskins work alongside their parents to maintain their family's legacy of crafting homestyle Jewish-American fare for more than half a century. Within a classic cafeteria setting decorated with news clippings, photos, and thumb-wrestling second graders, chefs draw from practiced recipes for matzo-ball soup, house-made chocolate phosphates, chewy latke, and sandwiches lauded by Time Out Chicago. Manny's famous corned beef, piled with three-quarters of a pound of juicy brisket, woos tongues without writing a love poem in chocolate sauce.

Dips & Dogs swings open its doors seven days a week to on-the-move munchers from lunch hour until late in the evening. Succulent wafts of chili-coated fries, cheesy hot dogs, and freshly grilled burgers escape from the snack stand onto Garfield Street, luring passersby in to browse a menu of eats more American than an apple pie sliced by Hulk Hogan. Outside, a patio hosts meals and games of bags throughout the summer.

Crystal chandeliers glint over Café la Cave's main lobby, beckoning diners into opulent ballrooms, spacious banquet rooms, and the cavern room itself. Inside the restaurant’s rock-lined walls, rippling lighting, and singing stalagmites, chefs carve and cook many entrees tableside, including the tenderloin medallions of steak Diane sautéed with garlic, shallots, and cognac. Cocktails from the full bar and a carefully selected wine list pair with entrees as smoothly as creamy sides of garlic mashed potatoes pair with wild-mushroom mac 'n' cheese.

Husband-and-wife duo Alejandro and Diana Guerra strive to bring the Mexican beach restaurant experience to Chicago at their Mexican seafood institution, La Palapa. Here, patrons dine on spicy Nayarit-style seafood on an outdoor patio, basking under palapas—thatched palm-leaf umbrellas—with their toes planted in the sand-filled deck. Roving mariachi bands often pop in to serenade tables, and a menacing statue of a shark lords over the beachy scene, hoping to sink its teeth into helpings of seafood paella, spicy garlic calamari, and red snapper. The seafood combo melds shrimp, octopus, mussels, and scallops, and the Palapa shrimp is doused in Alejandro’s grandmother’s own secret spice concoction.

Even today, one can easily imagine Ford Model Ts rumbling across the narrow streets and cobblestone alleys of Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood. That’s why it makes perfect sense Twin Anchors seems to be frozen in time. A Chicago landmark, Twin Anchors opened in its current incarnation in 1932, but the establishment was previously known as Tante Lee Soft Drinks during the Prohibition. Back then, in-the-know patrons knew they could tie up their hot-air balloons outside and drink in peace due to the covered-up windows, side-door entrance, and an escape hatch that to this day remains hidden in the southwest corner of the establishment. Today, visitors still chatter about how the lustrous wooden bar was built all the way back in 1918 and how Twin Anchors was a favorite hangout of celebrities, including Old Blue Eyes himself. Yet all that talk comes to a grinding halt once the smells of tasty barbecue come wafting out of the kitchen. Twin Anchors doesn’t take any reservations, so it’s usually filled with customers enjoying a drink at the bar and admiring the gleaming wood paneling and maritime décor, which has been depicted in such films as Return to Me and The Dark Knight. Once seated, one can sample succulent giant grilled shrimp, prime filet mignon, or the famous baby-back ribs slathered in Prohibition sauce.