Portillo’s Hot Dogs – Tempe, Arizona
Portillo’s story is the story of the American dream, a rags to riches saga that began with a single hot dog stand opening in 1963. That single investment has blossomed into a multi-million per year …
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Billy Goat Tavern – Chicago, Illinois
The genesis of the idiomatic expression “got your goat” which means “to greatly annoy someone” is in dispute with sources attributing it to both the United States and England. The American version has it that …
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Al’s #1 Beef – Chicago, Illinois
Assume the position! It’s been called the “Chicago Lean,” the “Italian Stance” and simply “The Stance.” It’s the time-tested, traditional art and science of eating Italian beef sandwiches, a Chicago specialty. Trust me, it’s …
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David Burke’s Primehouse – Chicago, Illinois
By day, my friend James Sorenham was an architect of his business group’s data warehouse and business intelligence strategies. By night and on weekends, James was a gentleman farmer tending to a small herd at …
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The Purple Pig – Chicago, Illinois
Poet Carl Sandburg bestowed the nickname “hog butcher for the world” upon the great city of Chicago at a time when the city was the epicenter for meatpacking in the United States. Companies such as …
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Frontera Grill – Chicago, Illinois
Not everyone has the relentless drive and impassioned fortitude to parlay their most ardent desires and zealous fervor into a wildly successful thematic venture, but then not everyone is Rick Bayless, America’s Mexican chef and …
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Gale Street Inn – Mundelein, Illinois
It took 47 years and one visit to the Gale Street Inn to understand why sailing vessels are ascribed the feminine gender. According to a placard on a wall at the Gale Street Inn, a …
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Johnnie’s Beef – Arlington Heights, Illinois
If you think Chicagoland politics are a contentious topic, try debating which restaurant serves up the best Italian Beef Sandwich in the “City of Big Shoulders.” Opinions don’t necessarily vary that widely as there are …
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Apple Haus – Long Grove, Illinois (CLOSED)
In grade school back in the 1960s, such characters as Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed filled my mind with wonder and awe as I learned to determine fact from fiction (a process I still employ …
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Bacchus Nibbles – Kildeer, Illinois
In Roman mythology, Bacchus was known as the god of wine and ecstasy. A youthful and handsome god with flowing tresses usually depicted wearing wine leaves or ivy on his head, he represented both the …
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Hackney’s – Lake Zurich, Illinois (CLOSED)
The second city doesn’t take a back seat to anyone when it comes to burgers and if you have to hire a hackney (carriage or automobile) to get to Hackney’s, by all means do so. …
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Siegelman’s Restaurant Deli – Arlington Heights, Illinois (CLOSED: 2011)
Who would have thought that a nondescript restaurant in a nondescript shopping center would feature food beyond description–food for which you run out of adjectives and synonyms for delicious (let’s see: savory, scrumptious, yummy, tasty, …
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Swedish Bakery – Chicago, Illinois (CLOSED on February 28, 2017)
In New Mexico, which is very proud of its “tri-cultural” heritage, the contributions of Native Americans, Hispanics and Anglo-Americans are manifest in its languages, architecture, cuisine and cultural events. While New Mexico has certainly not …
Read More Weber Grill – Wheeling, Illinois
In 1952, George Stephen invented the original Weber kettle grill and with his innovative design, sparked a backyard revolution. As a result, the XY chromosome compliment was no longer a handicap (or more accurately, an …
Read More Topolobampo – Chicago, Illinois
A quote attributed to Marcel Marceau, the French mime famous for his sad-faced clown, aptly describes my attempts at describing a meal at Topolobampo: “Do not the most moving moments of our lives find us …
Read More Bob Chinn’s Crab House – Wheeling, Illinois
Over 900,000 customers in 1999 couldn’t be wrong when they spent over $28M, the third largest revenue for the year among independent (non-chain) restaurants at Bob Chinn’s Crab House in land-locked Wheeling, Illinois. In 2004, …
Read More Kimchy Cabana – Niles, Illinois
To the unenculturated, the pungent emanations of Korean kimchy (pickled and fermented cabbage) are malodorous and offensive to the olfactory senses. To the Korean people, however, kimchy is so much more than a national dish; …
Read More Bobby Q’s – Arlington Heights, Illinois (CLOSED)
I first read about Bobby Q’s on Chowhound’s Chicago board in November, 2003. A newcomer to the Chicago area barbecue scene launched in July, 2003, it was immediately embraced by barbecue aficionados who tend to …
Read More Graziano’s Brick Oven Pizza – Niles, Illinois
Italian beef, barbecue ribs, deep dish pizza–these delectable delights don’t come close to fully defining the Windy City’s culinary scene, but they are the foods most often associated with with America’s most populous lakeside epicurean …
Read More Gino’s East of Chicago – Lake Zurich, Illinois
Ostensibly no one knows more about a city’s best dining destinations than the taxi drivers who ferry famished fares there…or at least, that’s the theory. The original Gino’s East was founded in 1966 by taxi …
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Superdawg Drive-In – Chicago, Illinois
Some of today’s Marvel comic book heroes such as Captain America and the Submariner had their genesis in the 1940s where they crusaded against oppressive regimes fighting to subjugate America’s freedoms. Maurie Berman (himself a …
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