MATT CHIERA
CHICAGO, IL

I just don't want to look back and think "I could've eaten that."

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Chicago Chicken Korean

Crisp (Chicago)

on
June 2, 2017

During a particularly gluttonous season ages ago, in what I now realize was a cruel twist of fate, my former roommates and I discovered Crisp.

It was the beginning of the end for us I suppose, as our feral Crisp addiction led to many a night of greasy fingers, sauce-stained…

Ramen

Bigbop + Ramen (Chicago)

on
April 24, 2017

Better than what you ate in college, but certainly not the best you’ll find in Chicago.
Bigbop ramen is filling, cheap, and tastes good. Sure, you put this ramen toe-to-toe with the top-tier ramen joints in Chicago like Ramen-San and it’s not even comparable…but at $9 bucks for a large…

Mexican Chicago

Mexique (Chicago)

on
March 26, 2017

I’d been wanting to try Mexique ever since Top Chef Season 11, the season where Chicago-native Chef Carlos Gaytan cooked feast-for-your-eyes Mexican food until he got kicked off two episodes before the finale.

The Mexique (1529 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60642) menu features just some plain irresistible-sounding dishes. Mexican…

Bangkok Thai

Nang Gin Kui (Bangkok)

on
December 3, 2016

Nang Gin Kui in Bangkok will forever hold special memories for me – it’s where I proposed to my wife…more on that in a second.

Nang Gin Kui as a restaurant has an amazing backstory: the owner, Florian, is an Austrian native who traveled to Thailand 12 years ago, ended up…

Chicago Italian Pizza

Coda Di Volpe (Chicago)

on
October 23, 2016

I’ll admit that I hold Italian food to a higher standard than other cuisine; I’ve eaten at some of the best restaurants in Italy and I grew up eating Italian food. Tomato sauce is in my blood. That being said, I was flabergasted by the Italian food at the just-opened Coda…

Credit: http://www.alohapokeco.com/


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Chicago Poke

Aloha Poke (Belmont Location, Chicago)

on
August 29, 2016

In case you’re all like ” what the h-e-double hockey sticks is a poke?”, I’m not talking about the Urban Dictionary definition of “poke”:
“Facebook’s outreach to passively-aggressive suitors, stalkers, and lushes. Comes in the form of an announcement of itself on your Home page.”
or the other Urban Dictionary definition of:
“To have…

Mexican Chicago

Chilam Balam (Chicago)

on
July 17, 2016

It’s not every day that you have to make a bridge out of tables and chairs to escape a flooded restaurant, but Chilam Balam allowed me to cross that adventure off my list.
More on that later.
First, I must proclaim that Chilam Bilam (3023 N Broadway St, Chicago, IL 60657) is…

Chicago Seafood

Lowcountry (Chicago)

on
April 2, 2016

It’s a blast eating seafood with your bare hands. The satisfying crack of a shell opening. The payoff when you finally wiggle the tail meat out of a crawfish. Getting seafood goo all over the table and your Lowcountry-provided bib. It’s about as much fun as you can have at…

Chicago American

Frontier (Chicago): Whole Alligator Edition

on
March 30, 2016

When they wheeled the whole-cooked alligator to our table, I was a little torn – my first reaction was that a skinned alligator looks pretty disgusting. Tiny arms pinned to its side. The skin-on head and little claws looking strangely normal compared to the rest of the pink, skinned…

Girl and The Goat Delicious eggsy thing.
Chicago New American

Girl & the Goat (Chicago): Goat Leg Edition

on
February 16, 2016

When I imagine the type of food Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec would approve of, the Goat Leg at Girl & the Goat is right at the top of the list (along with unholy quantities of breakfast food and a 16 oz T-bone with a side of a 24 oz porterhouse). It’s the demon…