31 March 2022
Blog by: Maelynn Le
All photos were taken by Maelynn Le unless noted!
Photo: Chicago, IL by Hotels.com
Chicago, IL is the third largest city in the United States! It’s home to the Chicago Bears, Bulls, amazing tourist attractions but of course, it’s best known for their mouthwatering food! I spent almost a week in Chicago and I wish all of these amazing food places were in the Bay Area! Makes me wish to move there one day based on how decedent, unique, and monstrous the food scene is in Chicago! Heading to Chicago soon? Here are all of
the food places I was able to go to during my trip in Chicago, IL!
Althea
Photo: “Crab Cakes”
BEST VEGAN RESTAURANT EVER! Located in Downtown Chicago on the 7th floor of a shopping mall, Althea is a super aesthetic restaurant and has great views on Chicago! I can’t believe the food was so pretty and it is so wonderful that I had no idea that it was vegan food! Literally everything tasted so good that I cannot pick a favorite dish if I have to be very honest! I did really like the kimchi dumplings because it was so soft and you get that kimchi flavor and overall it was just a soft flavorful dumpling that packs a lot of punch! There’s also the mac & cheese was just like the best mac & cheese I ever had because they don’t really use cheese they use butternut squash as “cheese” to make it! This honestly taste so much better than regular mac & cheese and I really think that the food in general is just so flavorful even though it’s vegan that I really just want to turn Vegan. This is a MUST try in Chicago! Loved every second of my meal!
2. Perilla
Photo: Korean Short Ribs
Best Korean BBQ spot so far! I found this restaurant when they were featured on the Michelin guide and heard this restaurant serves great quality meat and food. Their roasted acorn squash and the honey butter potatoes were roasted nicely, were tender, and both at great flavor! I also wanted to say the sardines dish tasted so delicious, it had a lot of nice flavors mixed in! Like, the saltiness from the sardines, the fresh spicy taste from the kimchi, the mild flavor of the peppers, and the seaweed tasted a flavorful medley together! By the way, the kimchi is the manager's mom's recipe and that kimchi was so fresh, spicy, and flavorful! Loved every bite of it!
3. Five Iron Golf
Photo: Tater tots
Want a fun activity to do while you are in Chicago? Try this virtual reality golf simulator! This golf simulator includes golf clubs and a practice/full score version for you guys to have fun! It was so much fun trying this golf simulator out! Who is down to play some golf?? They even serve bar food which opens at 11:00am. Great food if you get hungry before, during, or after your game! Pretty much any of the bar food I reccomend because it really depends how hungry you are. If you just want something light, go with their salads. If you want to munch on something during the game, I reccomend their tater tots because it’s an easy grab, eat, and golf type of snack that I personally enjoyed while playing golf. Feeling hungry after the game, munch on some quesadillas, burgers, or pizza to celebrate your victory or great game!
4. Lou Malnaties
Photo: Lou Malnaties special (veggie deep dish pizza)
Lou Malnati has several locations across Chicago, IL. Sadly, they don’t have one in Cali! This was my first time having Chicago’s deep dish pizza and WOAH I loved it! Literally, this is my first time having a deep dish pizza like this and it was cheesy, the crust was buttery, and the toppings don’t skimp out! Man I wish they have this back in California because that’s gotta be one of the top pizza spots I’ve been to! They have multiple locations in Chicago so I recommend coming here to try this deep dish pizza out! They also have other great Italian food options like Spaghetti and stuffed spinach bread too! Whatever was in that marinara sauce in the spaghetti, send me a jar of it right away! It was flavorful and one of the best sauces I ever tasted in my opinion!
5. Ken Kee
Photo: Vegetable Delight Soup, Vegetable Chowmein, Steamed Vegetable Dumplings, and Vegetable Congee
Craving Chinese comfort food? You know I am! Want traditional Chinese food? You need to come to Ken Kee in Chinatown! Literally this spot has to be my favorite Chinese comfort food spot in Chicago and in general haha! I really recommend their chowmein because the noodles had great texture, the vegetables were delicious, and their sauce is homemade and flavorful! I also love their vegetable delight soup because it was nice and warm! Perfect for that rainy day blues and once you have this soup, your heart will melt! Mine sure did! Reminded me of back home in SF with all of the Chinese restaurants, Ken Kee hit a spot of home to me and I think it’s so special!
6. Te’Amo Bar
Photo: Te’amo O2 and the Volcano Milk Tea
Te’amo has three locations in Chicago. I was craving boba when I was in Chinatown, so I actually wanted to come here because I saw it on Mikey Chen’s channel! I think boba is like the ultimate necessity in life you know! When I was in Chicago, I went to 2 boba places and this was one of them! The boba texture on the volcano Thai tea drink was so chewy and the boba balls were just right for my taste! If you love Thai tea with that creamy goodness, this drink is for you! If you want a summer drink when it gets hotter in Chicago, check out the TE’AMO O2 drink! This flourish drink is perfect to refresh for the summer if you love a more refreshing, flourish drink! They also make cute desserts as well like moose cakes, cream puffs, mochi donuts, etc. I got two of their cakes: coconut ube and the mango moose cake. My favorite cake would be the Mango moose cake because it was so lushous to my mouth, it was almost silky! My favorite thing about a moose cake and I love the mango flavor in that cake!
7. Savanna Restaurant
Photo: Red Velvet Pancakes!
Savanna restaurant has two locations on Lincoln Ave. One of them is located in North Center (which is the one I went to) and the other is located at Westridge. This spot is the spot to hit up when you are walking all over Uptown Chicago and you need a nice brunch to munch on. Savanna Restaurant is a casual comfort spot that serves a mix of American and Ecuadorian classic dishes. I honestly think if you are super hungry and ready To eat, this brunch spot is awesome for you to check out because the portions are large! My favorite item that I got was those blueberry banana crepe pancakes because it was a nice sweet treat that fills you up. The crepe batter was light and the blueberries and bananas were the wonderful sweet fruits that made my day! I also like their red velvet pancakes because it looks so Instagramable but also tastes fresh and delicious as well! The batter was also nice and light as well but these pancakes will fill you right up so make sure you come here hungry!
8. Jiaan BBQ
Photo: Meat BBQ Ferris Wheel
Jiaan Niu BBQ is located in Chinatown on Archer Ave. They are known for their all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ and some of their Chinese food as well and all of their dishes tasted bomb! Why I really came here was because I saw on Mikey Chen’s channel about a Meat BBQ Ferris Wheel. I thought it looked interactive and fun so I might as well try it out myself as well! I honestly think this meat BBQ Ferris wheel was so much fun to spin around and take photos of because how it was presented was so interactive (off topic but they even have robots as well serving food). Even the meats and veggies that were on the wheel tasted so awesome once you grill them! The perfect meal for any occasion. I also got their sweet potato pancakes and house marinated beef. I recommend their sweet potato pancakes because they aren’t too oily and they are so perfect as an appetizer! That crunch and flavor really hit those pancakes out of the park! The marinated beef was marinated nicely and love how it tasted after. Jiaan Niu has got to be one of my favorite Korean BBQ spots I’ve been to.
9. Hello Jasmine
Photo: Taro Milk tea and Strawberry Lychee Iced Tea
Hello Jasmine is another boba spot that I went to while I was in Chinatown. They are known more for making great milk teas, fruit teas, and they even have bento boxes as well. If you want a refreshing drink for those hot days, their NEW strawberry lychee iced tea is the way to go. I like it because of the strawberry flavor you get and the lychee jelly isn’t super chewy. It’s a very nice drink for those heat waves Chicago sometimes gets. I also like their taro milk tea because of the fresh taro that is in the drink. The taro was nutty but also sweet as well which I like. I even wish there was more taro because that taro was that awesome but yes, I recommend this boba spot as well.
10. Triple Crown
Photo: Dim sum spread at Triple Crown
DIM-SOMEBODY say dimsum?? Triple Crown, located in Chinatown serves the best dim sum in Chicago! I was so excited to try this place because dim sum is one of my favorite things to eat of all time! I have to say my favorite dish was those fried turnip cakes. A lot of places make them very oily and then I get very overwhelmed after eating them. These fried turnip cakes were a hit and not super oily. I can eat them for days and Triple Crown does a great job with that. I also love their dumplings and trust me, they don’t skimp out on the fillings. Pretty much any dumpling or bun you get, they will fill it right up and they don’t skimp out on that. I love the filling to skin ratio on every bao bun and dumpling because it just makes each dumpling/bao more filling to eat. Do you also see those cute piggy puns? Aren’t they cute?
11. Sushi Rotary
Photo: Fiesta Roll
I crave sushi almost everyday! Sushi Rotary has two locations and I went to the one located in Chinatown. Their concept is almost like Kura sushi back in California. Everything is pretty much the same in terms of concept but this place has more color plates than Kura. Each color plate comes with a price so for example, if you get a blue plate, each blue plate is $4.5. Everything else is the same in terms of getting the sushi, ordering on the tap screen, and enjoying some delicious sushi! I really like the options of this place better because Sushi Rotary has more options and more unique rolls. My favorite roll would be the fiesta roll because of the flavor and those crunchy onions on top made the roll more flavorful! I’m so glad I had that but I also loved their black truffle nigiri. It had a nice silkiness of the fish but also had that salty prominent aspect of the black truffle as well! Definitely a great concept to have in Chicago and I really enjoyed all of the options this place had to offer.
12. 2d Restaurant
Photo: Mochi donuts
Mochi donuts should be life in Chicago! I wish there were more places like this but 2d restaurant is the spot to hit up if Mochi donuts are your thing. They are located a few blocks in Lincoln Park and this unique cafe spot was so interesting and the illusions were awesome! The story of this restaurant was so unique and you read this cafe story from left to right. I want to tell the entire story but you have to see it yourself but here is a quick summary of the story. In summary, the owners wanted to tell a story “A day in a life in Paris“ since we can’t travel. The owners: Vanessa, Kevin, and their son, Orion wanted to make you feel that you are in Paris by literally having the illusions like you are in Paris. Throughout the cafe, you are experiencing a day in a life in Paris and each scene has different images walking throughout the cafe/day. After a “long“ day, go get some mochi donuts or snacks. I love how the mochi donut texture is so chewy and the textures are just the right amount of chewiness. My favorite one would be the Pooh because I really like the honey and peanut butter flavor as one of the flavors. I think it’s super cute and I love the tasting of it. Overall, I love the story of the restaurant and the mochi donuts were great as well!
13. Eli Ark’s Gelato
Photo: Black sesame and Pretty in Pink (strawberry)
I had to stop by this place before I left because look how cute this gelato ice cream is. I was so happy this place was located on the way to the airport because I would of been sad if it was far. Eli Ark’s located at the Wicker Park District serves the cutest gelato ice creams and they can make animals like a panda, unicorn, panda, koala, pig, dog, etc. Not only these gelato’s look so cute, they taste super yummy as well! I love their black sesame flavor because it was sweet but love that nutty flavor in the koala as well. The pretty in pink had a nice, light strawberry flavor as well. Leaving Chicago, Eli Ark’s is just a 20 min drive from downtown Chicago and I think 15 mins away from the airport. Stop by and get a scoop of these cuties!