Rick Bayless is well known Chicago for his authentic Mexican restaurants. Frontera Grill put him on the map. It is still great and more on the formal side. Around the corner is Xoco. This is a counter serve Mexican Street Food joint with excellent food and beers. Much more casual and very tasty!

No place and I mean no place does deep dish pizza like Chicago and Lou Malnati’s is one of the best. Lou is all over the city and the burbs. I went to the one in Lincoln Square. Really fun spot and close to Wrigley Field. Great place to go before or after a Cubs game. Heaven!

First of all, when a restaurant is BYOB, it’s a good sign. To me it means that there is a certain funkiness to the place and they are usually super focused on the food. Plus you can bring your own bottle of wine and save money. Chilam Balam is a BYOB farm to table Mexican joint on the north side of Chicago, not to far from Wrigley Field and it is really good. Everything is fresh and the food is creative and tasty. I love the atmosphere too. The Mahi Mahi Ceviche with habanero, tomato, cucumber and fresh lime was excellent!

If you want a really good Cinnamon Roll then head to Ann Sathers when in Chicago. These are serious and well worth the gut bomb you will feel after you eat it. That’s all I have to say about that.