Smak-Tak, Chicago

The inferno roaring inside Smak-Tak!'s cozy fireplace isn't the only thing the restaurant has to warm visitors' bones during long Chicago winters, as tables teem with bowls of thick traditional stews and hearty dumplings. Smak-Tak! translates as taste-yes!, a celebratory sentiment the cooks share through their classic pierogis, each stuffed with cheese and potato, plums, or sauerkraut and mushrooms. Hungarian-style pancakes sport toppings of gulash, while side salads frame chicken liver with onions.