Hinsdale Reference: Chicago food off of the beaten path

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October 4, 2005

Chicago food off of the beaten path

There’s little doubt that Chicago is a great town for dining. Jonathan Hayes of the New York times recently wrote, "In 2005, eating in Chicago is almost painful; to choose one superb restaurant is to reject a dozen others." Restaurants like Spiaggia, Charlie Trotter’s, Topolobampo, Everest and Tru have received national attention for their cuisine, service and atmosphere.

But great food in Chicago is not limited to fine dining; there are many other reasonably priced places to eat in Chicago. How do you find these less heralded, but worthy dining destinations? It can be challenging. Here are some sources for information:

Chicago Restaurants by Zagat is unique and useful. Rather than giving detailed restaurant reviews, the Zagat guides provide average numerical scores based on feedback from many Internet users. While popular appeal may not be the best indicator of restaurant quality, it can give an interesting counterpoint to professional reviews. At the very least, the pocket-sized Zagat guides are handy sources for addresses and phone numbers.

Metromix can help you narrow your Chicago dining choices by allowing you to search by neighborhood, cuisine type, average entrée price etc. It provides a wealth of information, including public transportation options, hours, whether carry out is offered as well as customer reviews.

Food discussion forums are a little-known but fascinating source for restaurant information. Here are some of the best which discuss Chicago Restaurants:

The Chowhound’s Chicago Area Message Board is an active forum which covers dining in the Chicago area. According to their FAQ, chowhounds, “are iconoclasts who spurn trends and established opinion and sniff out secret deliciousness on their own. The places they find and frequent today will show up in newspaper reviews in two years and in Zagat in four (by which time the restaurants usually will have grown crowded, overpriced, and lousy).”

Some recent Chowhound message threads include:

For food lovers, Mike G's tip sheet for visitors to Chicago is a must-read index to the best postings on the Chowhound site. It will help with everything from how to order from the "secret menu" at local Thai restaurants to discovering what's good in the Loop.

The forums at RoadFood.com take a different approach. They focus on regional and local dishes. Messages include animated discussions about the best place to find a local specialty (e.g. the best BBQ brisket in Kansas City). There is no specific forum for Chicago food, but some traditional Chicago favorites like pizza, hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches often appear in the forum.

Some RoadFood posts relevant to Chicago include:

Another site called LTH Forum was created to discuss the great neighborhood restaurants of Chicago, including its namesake, the “Little” Three Happiness restaurant in Chinatown (LTH).

Some restaurants nominated for the LTH Forum hall of fame include: