The 36 Best Things to Eat in Chicago (and Where to Eat Them)

By Jay | Last Updated : 25th January 2020

Updated 4/11/2016. We added 15 food in the list #37 to #51

The Windy City has a lot more to offer than the Deep Dish Pizza.

1. Korean BBQ Tacos

What is it: Your friendly neighborhood Chicago tacos, with a Korean twist. Eat it with kimchi fries for a near-religious experience.

Where to eat it: Del Seoul, 2568 N Clark St

DelSeoul.com h/t Chicago Taco Talk

2. Frenchy’s Fantasy Triple Decker Sandwich

What is it: A ridiculously huge sandwich of rare roast beef, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, sugar cured bacon and Russian dressing.

Where to eat it: Perry’s Deli, 174 N. Franklin St.

PerrysDeli.com

3. Jianbing (Chinese Crepes)

What is it: Mung bean-milled crepe filled with eggs, herbs, fried wonton crackers and chinese sauces. Try the old school version with Hongshao Pork Belly and sweet soy sauce.

Where to eat it: Nali, at The Nosh, 2 N Riverside Plaza. Website: EatNali.com

4. Canelé

What is it: A small French pastry with a thick caramelized crust and a soft, gooey custard center.

Where to eat it: La Boulangerie, 915 W Belmont Ave

Website: LaBoulangerieChicago.com

5. Broiled Lemon Whitefish

What is it: No-frills, high-quality whitefish broiled and flavored with lemon. Simple and delicious.

Where to eat it: Brown Bag Sea Food Co., 340 East Randolph

Website: BrownBagSeaFood.com

6. Chorizo-Stuffed, Bacon-Wrapped Dates

What is it: An iconic Chicago dish that features medjool dates stuffed with Spanish chorizo and wrapped in bacon. Avec does it with a piquillo pepper-tomato based sauce.

Where to eat it: avec, 615 W Randolph

Website: AvecRestaurant.com

7. Saffron Bigoli with Duck Ragout Sauce

What is it: Bigoli pasta flavored with saffron and served with a ragout sauce of duck, white wine, tomatoes, and onions

Where to eat it: Boka Restaurant, 1729 N. Halsted St.

Website: BokaRestaurant.com

8. Apple-Pear Mascarpone Pizza

What is it: A dessert pizza of apple-pear mascarpone sprinkled with cinnamon and powdered sugar.

Where to eat it: Chicago Fire Oven, 5440 N. River Road, Rosemont

Website: ChicagoFireOven.com

9. Deep Dish Pizza

What is it: Chicago’s biggest export, a thick pizza made in a deep dish and slathered with a spicy tomato-based pizza sauce.

Where to eat it: My Pie Pizzeria, 2010 N Damen Ave

Website: MyPiePizza.com

10. Elvis Frozen Custard

What is it: Thick, gooey vanilla custard with Reese’s peanut butter cups and Elvis’ favorite fruit, bananas.

Where to eat it: Scooters Frozen Custard, 1658 W Belmont Ave

Website: ScootersFrozenCustard.com

11. Ahogada Torta (Mexican Sandwich)

What is it: A Mexican sandwich of golden pork carnitas, black beans, tomatoes, and arbol chile broth, by Chef Rick Bayless

Where to eat it: Xoco by Rick Bayless, 449 North Clark Street

Website: RickBayless.com

12. Nashville Hot Chicken Biscuit

What is it: Chicken breast battered with cayenne and hot sauce and served between freshly baked biscuits

Where to eat it: The Roost Carolina Kitchen, 1467 W Irving Park Rd

Website: TheRoostCarolinaKitchen.com

13. Black Bean Empanada

What is it: A Chilean favorite – savory black bean stuffed inside a sweet pastry.

Where to eat it: Cafe Tola, 3612 N. Southport

Website: @CafeTola

14. Togarashi Spiced Fries

What is it: Crispy potato fries tossed in togarishi – a Japanese spice blend of chili pepper flakes, roasted orange peel, ground ginger, and black sesame seed.

Where to eat it: Belly Shack, 1912 N Western Ave

Website: BellyShack.com

15. Triple ‘Cheezborger’

What is it: Three beef patties inside a Kaiser bun from one of Chicaog’s most famous food stops

Where to eat it: Billy Goat Tavern Original, 430 N Michigan Ave at Lower Level

Website: BillyGoatTavern.com

16. BBQ Shrimp Flat Bread

What is it: Grilled shrimp served on crispy flat bread with chipotle soy BBQ mozarella cheese on top.

Where to eat it: Chant, 1509 E 53rd St.

Website: ChantChicago.com

17. Beijing Duck Feast

What is it: A two course meal. The first course is Beijing Duck (Peking Duck) roasted and carved at the diner’s table. The carcass is then taken away and turned into a broth for the second course.

Where to eat it: Sun Wah BBQ, 5039 N Broadway

Website: SunWahBBQ.com

18. Mac and Cheese Pizza

What is it: Macaroni noodles and cheddar cheese pizza with a homemade creme fraiche base

Where to eat it: Dimo’s Pizza Wrigleyville, 3463 N Clark St.

Website: DimosPizza.com

19. Chocolate Pecan Pie

What is it: A classic pie with dark chocolate, pecans, maple sorgum filling and graham crust.

Where to eat it: Bang Bang Pie, 2051 N California

Website: BangBangPie.com

20. Flaming Saganaki

What is it: A thick slice of kesari cheese flamed in brandy

Where to eat it: The Parthenon, 314 South Halsted Street

Website: TheParthenon.com

21. Sweet Fried Plantains

What is it: Deep fried sweet plantains topped with jackfruit chutney

Where to eat it: Pecking Order, 4416 N Clark St

Update: Pecking Order closed operations on July 26, which means you can no longer eat these delicious sweet plantains. I’ll find a replacement dish and a replacement restaurant and update this asap.

22. Chinese Pork Banh Mi

What is it: Classic Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich with Chinese Pork (Xa Xiu) in cheese char siu sauce served in toasted French bread.

Where to eat it: Ba Le, 5014 N. Broadway St.

Website: BaLeSandwich.com

23. Shish Kabob

What is it: Straight up, no nonsense shish kabob

Where to eat it: Mr. D’s Shish Kabobs, 6656 W Diversey Ave

Website: Mr. D’s on Yelp

24. Moroccan Chicken Bastilla

What is it: A traditional Moroccan pie made with phyllo dough. Layers of chicken follow layers of eggs which follow a final layer of almond paste.

Where to eat it: Shokran, 4027 West Irving Park Road

Website: ShokranChicago.com

25. Cheesecake-Stuffed French Toast

What is it: Your classic French toast with a cream cheesecake filling. Topped with a generous helping of strawberries glaze.

Where to eat it: Cozy Corner Restaurant & Pancake House, 4356 W. Diversey Avenue

Website: CozyCornerRestaurant.net

26. Traditional Spicy Pork Tamale

What is it: Classic pork tamale topped with salsa verde, muenster cheese, chives and sour cream

Where to eat it: Estrella Negra, 2346 W. Fullerton Avenue

Website: EstrellaNegra.com

27. Tripe Florentine

What is it: An Italian classic: tripe cooked with carrots, garlic, celery, onions and plum tomatoes. Topped with Parmesan.

Where to eat it: Riccardo Trattoria, 2119 N Clark Street

Website: RiccardoTrattoria.com

28. Pulled Pork Sandwich

What is it: A Southern BBQ staple that’s difficult to find in Chicago. Tender shredded pork in BBQ sauce.

Where to eat it: Blackwood BBQ, 307 W Lake Street

Website: BlackwoodBBQ.com

29. ‘Nduja Pizza

What is it: Pizza with Calabrian salami, fresh mozzarella, chopped basil and sauce.

Where to eat it: Coalfire Pizza, 1321 W. Grand Ave

Website: CoalfireChicago.com

30. Paratha Tacos

What is it: Korean tacos with bulgogi wrapped inside flaky Indian parathas. Fusion food that actually tastes good.

Where to eat it: En Hakkore, 1840 N. Damen Ave

Website: En Hakkore on Yelp

31. Takoyaki

What is it: Crispy fried octopus balls taserved with seaweed, sweet sauce, mayo and sesame sauce.

Where to eat it: Four Belly, 3227 N. Clark St.

Website: FourBelly.com

32. Duck Poutine

What is it: Classic French poutine – thick, hand-cut fries topped with shredded duck and melted manchego cheese.

Where to eat it: Paramount Room, 415 N. Milwaukee Avenue

Website: ParamountRoom.com

33. Arroz Gordo (“Fat Rice”)

What is it: Jasmine rice layered with Chinese sausage, salted duck, sofrito, Portuguese chicken thighs, char sui pork, linguica sausage, prawns, clams, tea eggs, croutons, and pickles. Basically, the kind of meal Ron Swanson would be proud to eat. It’s also one of the only few Macanese (i.e. people from Macau) dishes available in Chicago.

Where to eat it: Fat Rice, 2957 W. Diversey Avenue

Website: EatFatRice.com

34. Bacon Butterscotch Donut

What is it: Bacon makes everything better. Including butterscotch donuts.

Where to eat it: Nightwood Restaurant, 2119 S. Halsted Street

The restaurant changes its menu everyday, so depending on the day, you might or might not find this donut on the menu.

Website: NightwoodRestaurant.com

35. Chorizo Egg Roll

What is it: Classic egg roll made with chorizo sausage, sweet potato, queso fresco cheese, red cabbage, onions and avocado aioli

Where to eat it: Saucy Porka, 400 S. Financial Place

Website: SaucyPorka.com

36. Donut Ice Cream Sandwich

What is it: Vanilla bean Ice cream wrapped inside thick, glazed donuts. Heart-attack food, but oh, so delicious.

Where to eat it: Firecake Donuts, 68 W. Hubbard Street

Website: FirecakeDonuts.com

Click here for list #37 to #51