Illinois Restaurants

The cooks at Avenue Ale House plate casual American bar fare, including burgers, steaks, and chops, as bartenders pour fermented libations from their lengthy beer list. Bottles and pint glasses brim with Belgian brews, German pilsners, and British ales, along with porters, stouts, and seasonal hop juices. As servers fill tables, the sunshine, table umbrellas, and discussions about whether or not to put up the table umbrellas fill the rooftop patio during summer months. The restaurant hosts live music, which tickles tympanic membranes every Wednesday, and disc-jockey playlists encourage merriment each Friday.

In Chicago’s Home of Chicken & Waffles' Oak Park location, the ambient light from low-hanging chandeliers illuminates a menu of 14 specialty waffles, 22 Cajun- and Southern-inspired entrees, and hearty portions of soul food. Trinidad-born chef Carolyn Johnson has crafted a smorgasbord of time-honored dishes with a modern twist unforeseen by Chubby Checker. Entrees, which can be paired with BYOB sips from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday–Thursday, and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, include traditional chicken and waffles, catfish dinners with collard greens, and fried chicken gizzards. The swanky restaurant hosts jazz bands Thursday–Saturday, and lavishes its customers with-exposed brick walls, high-backed booths, hyperchic décor, and spontaneous baths of sweet tea.

Ever since they met back in 2004, Cynthia and Teddy Spears shared aspirations of opening a restaurant. Having achieved that dream, Teddy now relies on his passion for cooking while Cynthia falls back on her background in the restaurant industry to offer diners comfort foods from a menu packed with family dishes passed down from her father. Those dishes include creative touches such as homemade fried pickles served with apricot-chipotle sauce. In their restaurant's dining room a fireplace roars and stone pillars hold up the high ceiling while diners sink teeth into big, 100% pure-beef charbroiled burgers and steamed or grilled hot dogs. Up to 120 visitors can fill the space for private parties, while family and friends can pop in any time to watch sporting events on flat-screen TVs.

Vibrancy characterizes the atmosphere of Tapas Valencia, from the neon pastels popping out of the walls to the commotion at each table as diners pass around small, shareable plates such as cured salmon or beef tenderloin empanadas. Celebrating the Spanish dining tradition of “enjoying many appetizer-sized dishes,” the tapas restaurant also serves three kinds of paella, a Spanish rice dish originating from Valencia. Signature red and white sangria pair well with all of these meals and come in strawberry, peach, prickly pear, and mango.

A chance meeting at a cocktail party turned into a life change for Jim Dragatsis and Sandeep Malhotra who joined culinary forces in 2006 to create Marigold Restaurant, an Indian eatery infused with modern elements. To breathe life into their menu, the duo brought in Executive Chef Joe Moore, who has keenly and artistically crafted such entrees as tandoori barbecue lamb ribs, naanwiches, and curries seasoned with grilled fennel. This creative approach to Indian food earned the Uptown eatery a shout out in the 2011 Michelin Guide, and allowed them to upgrade to new digs in Andersonville in the fall of 2012. Though the location may have changed, guests can still dine on savory platters of tandoor-baked naan, house-made paneer, and fresh chutney while sipping on sweet mango lassi, Chakra Indian beer, or a variety of creative cocktails.

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.