A Guide to Eating and Drinking in Chicago
- Chicago Information
- Eating & drinking in Chicago
- Night life in Chicago
- Getting around in Chicago
- Things to do in Chicago
- Where to stay in Chicago
- Chicago street map
Dining out is a huge part of Chicago’s culture, with a down-to-earth scene that can accommodate even the most cash-strapped travelers. Its budget options of pizza, steak and hotdogs are actually the local specialties – so you can sample the most authentic cuisine and only spend a few dollars!
The city is dominated by hot-dog stands, steak houses and Italian beef and rib joints in keeping with its industrial meat-packing history. In addition, dozens of pizza parlors offering the famous Chicago deep-dish style line the streets.
This is a city with ‘real’ portions, famous even in America for their outrageous size and it’s a rare visitor to Chicago who complains about value for money… Eateries in the Loop, however, cater to a more touristy crowd and are best avoided for cost effective (and authentic) meals.
North of the river, Lincoln Park is home to some of the city’s most diverse bars and restaurants. Frequented by the young professionals who live in the nearby restored apartments, it has a lively social scene.
Halsted Street similarly caters to most tastes and budgets. There’s also a surprisingly diverse range of international fare on offer clustered among the ethnic areas inside the city. Little Italy’s Taylor Street and around Jackson Boulevard in Greektown both offer good traditional restaurants, although they’ve become a little commercial of late. Further west, Chinatown has some more authentic – if rough around the edges – alternatives.
Heading south on 57th Street, the Hyde Park district has the best old-fashioned ‘soul food’ in the city. On the far north edge of the city, meanwhile, the neighborhood of Andersonville is home to a selection of reasonable delicatessens and bakeries offering Scandinavian fare such as potato pancakes and lingonberries, which make this suburb worth a visit.
And this is very much the point; when it comes to eating and drinking, Chicago is an ideal destination. Enormous variety mixed with surprisingly reasonable prices make it a very attractive proposition indeed.
