To call Ing a restaurant is unfair. Ing is an experience – whimsical, alcohol-fueled, surprising, and most importantly: delicious.

As a relative noobie to the molecular gastronomy scene I was expecting an excellent experience, but I was also prepared to experience pretentiousness, food that is made to look good rather…

While the food, drinks, and atmosphere were all top notch at Taverna 750, the real star of the place was the service. Dan was without a doubt one of the best servers I’ve ever met. Seriously it’s like the guy went to Server School and was #1 in his…

Some of the best craft cocktails you’ll find in the Chi. They have this weird blue liqueur they add to a bunch of the drinks that adds a strange purple/blue hue – it makes the drinks look like they’re from the not-too-distant future, and is also delicious. Also smoked…

The food at Girl and the Goat is great because they don’t over complicate it. The presentation is great, but without the tons of unnecessary ingredients and strange garnishes that other fine dining restaurants think are so important. They let the ingredients shine, the way it should be.

The scallops…

BYOB, delicious and creative food, nice big portions, friendly wait staff. HB, you revved my engine. This is a must-go restaurant in Chicago.

The mussels are out of this world good. I had actually never ordered “Amsterdam Style” Mussels (just a big-ass bowl of mussels) at a restaurant before but…

I was truly wowed by the food at The Publican.

Benton Country Ham — Imagine that bacon and butter met, hooked up, and the result was a soft bacon baby with all the flavor of prosciutto but with a texture like butter. Yeah, this is like that.

Oysters — We went…

Erwin’s location is kind of strange — a pretty empty (restaurant-wise) area on Halsted. The restaurant is worth making the trip for however — this place is a culinary gem.

The seasonal vegetables are what really make Erwin shine. I have eaten here twice, and while the protein is awesome…