Rents in the Fulton Market District, one of Chicago's hottest areas for dining and drinking, have risen 167 percent over the past five years. In 2013, restaurants were paying around $30 per square foot; today, $75 to $80 is the average, according to a source familiar with real estate development there. It's getting so that only larger restaurant groups can afford to open there. Case in point: Boka Restaurant Group alone has eight spots; Hogsalt Hospitality has five; and One Off Hospitality, Alinea Group and Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises have four each. To combat the higher costs, smaller, independent restaurateurs have set their sights on Logan Square, which has emerged as a new dining destination.

Three years ago, Crain's called Armitage Avenue Chicago's new restaurant row, and now it looks like Diversey Avenue, between California and Kimball avenues, is taking over that title. The area is less populated, allowing for people to secure cool, interesting spaces with cheaper rents, says Brian Laskov, managing partner at Kudan Group, a real estate brokerage specializing in hospitality and retail. "On Diversey the rents are better than they are on Armitage, which is starting to go up," Laskov says. "Milwaukee is in the $30-to-$40 range, but five years ago rents were around $20 a square foot. Diversey is under $20 a square foot."

It's no surprise restaurants, bars, cafes and shops continue to open and flourish on Diversey. "A lot of stuff over there is really chef-driven, independent places," Laskov adds. "They're not the large restaurant groups. They're more rent-conscious, and they're doing something cool to draw people over there." Here are the most popular spots, in order of newness.