Restaurants in Lincoln Park

The Embankment’s robust menu revolves around the concept of eco-gastronomy, carefully crafting cuisine with sourceable, environment- and animal-treatment-conscious ingredients. Let all the guilt-free goodness melt into your mouth abyss with the cassoulet, a medley of duck confit, house-made sausage, white beans, smoked bacon, and sage ($19). Or indulge in an ocean potion of baked snapper atop a bed of rice, stewed tomatoes, pine nuts, seasonal veggies, and basil ($22). If you're a sandwich lover, the goat-cheese sandwich with red peppers, mushrooms, baby spinach, and a balsamic reduction ($12) is a vegetarian bombshell. The Embankment is open for lunch and dinner six days a week (closed Mondays), as well as for brunch on the weekends.

OYO's delectable brand of organic frozen yogurt tickles taste buds and delights digestive tracts with a wallop of probiotics and live cultures. The five flavors—original tart, chocolate, green tea, pomegranate, and vanilla bean—make for a fat-free, low-calorie frozen dessert, providing that they are enjoyed in birthday-suit form. A trip to the bountiful toppings bar may add to the calorie count and price (servings are sold at $0.55 per ounce) but is sure to please non-minimalists' variegated palates. Organic fruit and wholesome dried toppings keep your frosty treat health conscious with strawberries, bananas, and sliced almonds, but a Gatsby-esque pinnacle of dessert decadence can be achieved through sprinklings of brownie bites, cookie dough, and M&Ms. In addition to promoting healthy snacking, OYO supports a healthy planet with sustainably harvested bamboo tables, recycled-paper countertops, and energy-efficient LED lighting. Do your duty to Mother Earth by relaxing in greeny splendor with a cup of chocolate fro-yo topped with sinful cheesecake bites, rainbow sprinkles, Butterfingers, and Raisin Bran.

LITM, an acronym for "love is the message," houses a triple threat of restaurant, lounge, and gallery in its chic, 1,800-square-foot storefront. Creative flavors and contemporary presentation upscaleize its bar classics and gourmetize its entrees. House-made preparations, such as hand-rolled gnocchi with basil pesto ($15) and the hand-pounded veggie burger ($14), are abundant. Reignite the great atmosphere-versus-hydrosphere debate with citrusy chicken paillard ($18) or tea-crusted tilapia ($23). Sophisticated desserts, such as the Belgium chocolate cake ($8), assist adults in reliving the wildest sugar-rush of their youth.

Alberto Gonzalez, dissatisfied with New York City’s culinary offerings, spent a year questioning New Yorkers on the streets about what they wanted in an organic restaurant. Only after carefully considering his findings did he launch GustOrganics, a USDA-certified organic restaurant and bar that uses only 100% organic ingredients. Those natural building blocks, from fresh ginger, grass-fed beef, rice flour, and locally produced mozzarella wind up in a wide range of dishes, including vegetarian and gluten-free offerings. In the bustling kitchen, the chefs pinch together house-made ravioli and toss fajitas into sizzling pans.

The employees at the certified Green Restaurant also care for the health of the environment. In addition to working with local organic farmers and never dropping pennies into scenic geysers, the staffers care for the natural world by composting, recycling, and enlisting only wind and solar energy.

After spending years studying pizza dough at the family restaurant in Staten Island, cousins Francis Garcia and Sal Basille set out to Manhattan to create their own mouthwatering artisanal pizzas in a hip and lively atmosphere. Like Emperor Claudius’ secret discotheque underneath the Colosseum, the Artichoke eateries combine rich Italian tradition with the revelry of modern nightlife, plying patrons with frosty beers and delicious reserve wine as they sample slices of pie decked with toppings such as fresh basil, meatballs, and artichokes. Their pizzas have captured the taste buds of celebrities such as Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones and David Chang of the momofuku restaurant group. A lineup of noncircular eats including homemade garlic sticks, meatballs, and stuffed artichokes tastefully garnishes the cheesy discuses.

By November, the crisp autumn air takes on a blustery winter chill, and cumbersome winter coats begin to take the place of stylish fall jackets. This change in fashion goes hand in hand with the change in seasons and with the philosophy of Mausam Indian Cuisine. The restaurant’s name means “seasons” in Hindi, and Mausam’s elegant three-story space boasts a restaurant, a lounge, and two versatile banquet halls, ready to change to accommodate a client’s request for any and every kind of event. Mausam’s staff can adapt table settings from simple and elegant pearl-white cloths with minimal accoutrements to bold colors with bountiful bouquets at every turn. Eager to please, the staff will even trade in the house specialty, Indian food, for any cuisine the client wishes to bring themselves, such as Mexican, Italian, or Lunchables.

Patrons simply looking for a low-key dinner out can head to the restaurant for traditional Indian favorites, such as chicken tikka masala, spicy goat curry, and plenty of vegetarian options laced with fragrant Indian spices. Red and white wines and a dozen kinds of domestic and imported beers wash away the last morsels of dessert, such as black-and-white cream puffs or orange-pineapple ice cream.