Chicago racks up a slew of Michelin stars and James Beard Awards, but it keeps it real with an affordable, no-pretenses scene that spreads across neighborhoods and mixes with the city’s cultural mash-up.
Something tantalizing is always cooking in Chicago, and the 10 dishes below lead the pack.
Get your goat at Birrieria Zaragoza
Humble Birrieria Zaragoza focuses on one thing: birria, a stew of tender, adobo-marinated goat traditional to Jalisco, Mexico, the chef’s hometown. The compact menu has plates or bowls of it, bone in or bone out. Go for the plate, bone in, and then take a handmade corn tortilla, load it with birria, diced onions, cilantro and fresh salsa, and dunk it into the rich consommé that comes on the side. They’ve been crowned Chicago’s best tacos for a reason.
How to get it: The Archer Heights location of Birrieria Zaragoza takes reservations by phone; the smaller Uptown outpost does not.
Heft a slice of pepperoni deep-dish at Pequod’s Pizza
Deep-dish pizza was invented in Chicago. Debates rage over who makes the best version now, but for many locals the answer is easy: Pequod’s Pizza. The pepperoni pie is the gold standard, baked in a cast-iron pan lined with mozzarella, so it emerges with a caramelized cheese crust that crackles with every bite.
How to get it: Book a few days in advance. Walk-ins are welcome, but you may wait an hour, since that’s about how long it takes for each pizza to bake.
Twirl your fork in the pasta yiayia at Lula Cafe
Arty Lula Cafe has been serving farm-to-table fare for 25 years, and doing such a bang-up job that it won this year’s James Beard Award for Outstanding Hospitality. While most of the menu comes and goes with the seasons, one dish remains constant: pasta yiayia (pronounced ‘yah-yah’). Named after the Greek word for grandma, the bowl of thick noodles is tossed with nutty browned butter, toasty garlic, salty feta and earthy cinnamon. The dish was inspired by the owner’s own yiayia and evokes a soulful taste of the old country.
How to get it: Make dinner reservations a good week in advance. Walk-ins are accepted, but arrive early. Lula doesn’t take lunch bookings.
Fork into a towering slice of caramel cake at Brown Sugar Bakery
Chef Stephanie Hart conjures the spirit of her Southern grandmother when baking her caramel cake. Each hulking…
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