Dish From Chicago Magazine

Our Mid-Year Check-in on New Openings

• Chicago magazine • Episode 8

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John and Amy talk about the restaurants they're most excited about from the first half of 2025. Plus: Amy's tips on where to eat if you're stuck at Midway Airport.

Amy Cavanaugh:

So I have actually never eaten — this is a Chicago confession — at Billy Goat, but I have now eaten several times at the Billy Goat at Midway Airport. What you want is, you want to go and get the double burger, but you want to, you know, there's — I have, like, specific things that you need to do to it. Welcome to Dish From Chicago Magazine. I'm Amy Cavanaugh, Chicago magazine's dining editor.

John Kessler:

And I'm John Kessler, Chicago magazine's dining critic.

Amy Cavanaugh:

And today we're doing a mid-year check-in on our favorite restaurant openings of the year that includes a great pizza spot and a fun bakery. We'll also share the best things we've eaten lately, which includes our picks for where to go at Midway Airport.

John Kessler:

All right, I'm, I'm curious about that last bit you're gonna have to convince me.

Amy Cavanaugh:

So we're more than halfway through the year, and we wanted to do a check-in on our favorite new openings so far. One of my favorite spots is Gus' Sip & Dip, which is the classic cocktail bar from the team behind Three Dots. Thirty classic cocktails, all $12, and they also have a fun menu of bar snacks too. This is a spot that, you know I've been wanting to go back to again and again, and is my favorite place to go for a cocktail right now. John, you've been, right?

John Kessler:

Yeah, I've been a couple times. I've not tried any of the food, but I've gone for like, a pre- or postprandial cocktail, and they've just been great. Seriously, yeah.

Amy Cavanaugh:

They're, they're really crushing it. And when you do eat there, the smoked ham dip, that's my go-to.

John Kessler:

Wow, that sounds great. Okay, I'll, I'll definitely give that a go. Well, I'll counter Gus' Sip and Dip with another place that opened up in River North, which is Zarella, the new pizza spot from the Boka Group. I've been once and the, they have two kinds of pizza, a thin crust and what they call a classic. I had the classic, and that was some seriously good pizza. It. It has a very nice, bubbly crust that is very tender on the inside and really kind of crisp all the way through to the bottom. Amy, you've been, right?

Amy Cavanaugh:

Yes, I've been once as well, and really loved it. It's definitely a spot that I want to go back to. I actually had both styles of pizza, and both are great. Like, I totally concur with you on the one that you had. And then I think the tavern is in our top several offerings in the city. I think it's, you know, I think it's Zarella, Middle Brow, and Pizz'Amici for like, the top three new new-school takes on tavern style. So definitely worth going back to for that. But I just found the whole experience just like so welcoming and comfortable. I love the salad. I loved— I had a great martini there. I think it's like really checking some boxes for what people are looking for in 2025.

John Kessler:

Yeah, I did too. I had a really, really nicely mixed martini, and did not have their main salad, but did have that eggplant. Like, it's sort of like caponata, but just eggplant. It's a pickled eggplant appetizer. Did each try that?

Amy Cavanaugh:

I didn't try that, but that sounds delicious.

John Kessler:

Yeah, that was really, really good. And it's also a cool place. It it has that kind of retro feel like Gus' Sip & Dip, where it's just brash River North, you know, sort of quasi steakhouse kind of feel to it, just lots of tile and railings and wood and noise. But then I think what's really cool about Zarrella is they have this, like little sort of speakeasy room in the bottom. And you, you went there, right? You ate down there?

Amy Cavanaugh:

I did, I ate upstairs, but then I went downstairs to look at the room afterwards. Very cool spot. Yeah. Okay, cool. Well, I'm a big fan of Rendang Republic, which I wrote about in the recent issue, and I know that you just went there, too. What did you have when you went?

John Kessler:

So because I knew you would fire me if I didn't try the hot dog, I tried the hot dog, and it was good. But what I— and the hot dog really is great. It's got all the like these Indonesian condiments on it, achar pickle, fried shallots, a really nice sambal, a red sambal. It's a char-grilled hot dog that's nice and thick, a beautiful kind of twist on a Chicago dog. But I got that because I needed to try it. What I really wanted was just the rice plate and oh my god, it's so great, the way they do that you can pick between, like, stewed beef, chicken, or jackfruit. I think it's sort of Chipotle, like you get your base of whether you want, rice or salad or noodles, and then it comes with condiments and a little bit of pickled vegetables. And there are these collard greens that he cooks in coconut milk. And he said he used collard greens because, traditionally, it's papaya leaves. But this is the closest thing, and it was just such a great plate of food. It came on a quarter sheet pan covered with a banana leaf.

Amy Cavanaugh:

I've done the beef version, but I feel like I need to go back and try the chicken. Like I just love all the accompaniments on that whole tray. It's It's so good.

John Kessler:

Yeah, right down to the little coffee candy to clear your palate at the end. Sweet touch. Yes. All right, let me pick one. Next, I'm going to talk about Noriko. So it is the hand roll bar, which is underneath Perilla, run by that team. What they have are just the hand rolls, no nigiri sushi. There are a few appetizers that are kind of fun. And everybody sits around just one big, sort of triangular bar. I like the experience a lot. It's a great space. It books out, like, as soon as the reservations go up, it books out. And the trick is, either get there at 5 o'clock when it opens and, you know, weedle and plead, or go by yourself, because there's always like, because of the way the open bar works, there's always, like, one or two loose seats. The sushi is pretty good. There's some fun rolls. I kind of like, you know, I have to go back and try it again, but I just like the gestalt. And you haven't been, have you?

Amy Cavanaugh:

I haven't been. I did try and walk in by myself a few weeks ago, but it was at like 7, so I was turned away. So I'm definitely gonna have to try and go back again.

John Kessler:

Yeah, yeah, definitely do. And if you need to hang out in the area, you can go get one of those NADC burgers, or go down into the sushi dungeon underneath there or something.

Amy Cavanaugh:

And then I've been, I'm not sure if you've been, but Taquizas Valdez, have you been there?

John Kessler:

I have. Yes.

Amy Cavanaugh:

I really enjoyed it. I tried a huge swath of the menu, and I know that the pambazo is a big hit. That's a crazy sandwich that is absolutely enormous, but delicious. I ended up having it, like bringing home half of it and having it for dinner. But then I also loved, I think it's the Americano tacos. I love trashy tacos, like American-style tacos. That's sort of like one of my weakness foods, and so,

John Kessler:

like, Old El Paso, but zhuzhed up kind of thing?

Amy Cavanaugh:

Yes. These are not your crunchy taco, but Yeah, okay. they're on like flour tortillas, marinated skirt steak, muenster cheese, romaine, tomato, and lime crema. It's called El Americano. Just really tasty. I could just take down a whole plate of those for lunch.

John Kessler:

That is, sounds great. I want to try it. And it also brings up something I've always been so curious about, which is, why in the early Mexican restaurants of Chicago, did muenster cheese catch on as the melting cheese? It's such an interesting thing that happens here. And I don't think I noticed that anywhere else.

Amy Cavanaugh:

No, it is very much a regional, regionally distinctive cheese for for Mexican food. That could be a story to do sometime. What else did you like here? Yeah, it's a really solid spot. I recently

John Kessler:

Honestly, I just went and had the pambazo and had the same experience you did. It's, I loved it because it, you know, is vegetarian, is filled with mushrooms, and a lot of times I like to eat veg for lunch. And, you know, the bread was really nicely soaked in the red chili, so that it was just had a really great dinner at Mahari, which I know you went to kind of like, how do you put it? Like, sometimes you can get a pambazo and they're just like, soppy wet, and sometimes they're not soaked enough. And this was kind of like Goldilocks. It had been soaked in the red chili and then griddled so it had this really, like, crispy on the outside, marshmallowy on the inside, texture. So I love that. I need to go back and try some more. before I did. We really enjoyed it across the board. The standout was the stuffed plantain, the, with the mushroom filling, which you had, you know, wrote about for the current issue. Really fantastic. But then I also loved there was chicken with like this beautiful these beautiful beans that were absolutely delicious. That was another entree, but just like a really fun spot and interesting takes on Caribbean food, which I feel like is becoming more of a thing nationally than it has been here. And I would certainly love to see more of that here. Yeah. And actually, I might even expand that a little bit to say kind of Pan-African diaspora. I mean, I think the menu there is very much rooted in Caribbean recipes and seasonings, but there are some, like, little hints of Ethiopian and Nigerian seasonings, like, I think, like in that stuffed plantain, it's the mushrooms, are suya spice, you know, like the Nigerian meat. So I think that's a fascinating thing that's happening all around the country, which is just looking at the African diaspora, getting those flavors and just showing how much they play off each other and jive with each other.

Amy Cavanaugh:

Totally. That's a that's a great new addition to Hyde Park.

John Kessler:

All right. Well, if you're in a different park, up in Lincoln Park, I recommend that you check out Trilokah, maybe with a couple of reservations, which are— that the place is freaking insane. It is packed to the gills as the minute it opens. The local South Asian community has discovered this place and is just insane how busy it always is.

Amy Cavanaugh:

Oh my gosh.

John Kessler:

Yeah. It's very cool, though. The food is from Kerala, and the owners moved in from suburbs and relocated here. I've had very long waits to get food there, but there are a couple dishes I really liked, and primarily the one I would steer people toward is their Kerala beef fry, which is just very, very tender chunks of beef that are cooked in masala seasonings for — and grated coconut — for a long time until it's pretty much a dry curry, but the meat just kind of falls apart. It's super yum.

Amy Cavanaugh:

Oh, that sounds great. Yeah, I might have to wait for that crowd to die down a little bit before I check that out, but that's definitely on my list.

John Kessler:

And I've not been to — how do you pronounce it?

Amy Cavanaugh:

I've been saying Kanin. Kay-nin? Kah-neen>

John Kessler:

But you've been.

Amy Cavanaugh:

I've, I've been a couple times, and I think you would really like it. It's the Filipino-Hawaiian bodega up in Ravenswood, and they have the spammusubi. Different, different flavors of that. Like they have a shrimp-tamarind one that's really good, although my favorite is, like the longanisa. So it's like kind of a breakfasty option, and then longanisa with egg, and then there's spam and egg and tomato. And they're all really, really good. But then you want to kind of thread the needle, and you want to go around 11, when they still have all of the musubi and then they also start putting their bento boxes out. So really big fan of the spot. I think it's super delicious and just feels like something very original right now, which is really great to see in Chicago. That's one of my new favorite spots. Easy to pair with another favorite spot of mine, Del Sur Bakery.

John Kessler:

Oh yeah,

Amy Cavanaugh:

With, you know, gear up for a wait but the pastries are really worth it. I think I love the pandan Basque cake, which comes with, like, rotating jam on top, something seasonal. Really tasty spot. Both of those are worth the trip to Ravenswood if you live somewhere else. Yeah, I

John Kessler:

You know, pandan is an interesting flavor. And if I can plug your newsletter, I read about it in American Weekender, when you were down in New Orleans and talking about this pandan-flavored liqueur, which sounds really cool. It's such an interesting flavor. I mean it, you know, it just, it's kind of like vanilla, but it isn't vanilla, and you just like, it plays with your brain synapses when you try it. I love it. Yeah. And then I guess, to finish up, maybe we can talk about Mister Tiger. It's a new Korean restaurant in West Town, in the old Two location, which I guess was a, you know, a neighborhood favorite down there. Really sweet place, very homey food. The owners are a married couple, and Min is the wife and her brother Charlie Park is also involved in it, Min Lee, Charlie Park and Brian Lee are the three principals. Charlie has become a very skillful cocktail maker, and I think he does some really cool plays and riffs on classic cocktails using Korean spirits. The food is kind of simple and homey, and the best dishes there are just the ones that sound like something your mom would make, because it is their mom's recipes. There is a great short rib stew, as well as a grilled, barbecued short rib. Just overall, it's a lovely experience. They make nice bonchon And they keep it coming. is gonna listen to the customers and just keep getting better. I

Amy Cavanaugh:

We're over halfway through the year, but I feel like we have a lot of interesting restaurants coming down the pipeline too. One that I'm really excited about is Crying Tiger from Thai Dang, which is going to actually be next door to Gus' Sip & Dip, so I will be pairing those in the near future. Thai is the chef-owner of HaiSous, which is one of our other favorite spots in town. So really excited to see what he does with a new restaurant, because he's one of our, I feel like, most talented chefs, and so very excited for that one.

John Kessler:

Yeah, he really is. And he just has such a nice way of taking a lot of Vietnamese recipes and just putting his personality in them, in a great way and in, you know, I just, I've had so many, like, indelible moments in the space.

Amy Cavanaugh:

Totally. Are there, what are some restaurants that you're excited about coming up?

John Kessler:

Very, very curious about the Alston, which is that huge steak house that opened in River North. It takes up, like have that— my spidey senses are telling me that. the entire second floor of a new office tower at the corner of State and Superior, and it's from the Fifty/50 Group, which is not— never opened a restaurant quite so grand. And Chef Jenner Tomaska from Esme. And just earlier reports are that it's very opulent, very fun, very Chicago. So really, you know, curious to explore that place more. And then also, I'm kind of curious. I live in Bucktown, and I'm kind of curious. I've seen the sign go up for a place called The Origin, which is a restaurant and lounge and, based on their website, is also another kind of foray into Pan-African cooking with influences from East and West Africa and the American South and the Caribbean. So really looking forward to seeing what that looks like.

Amy Cavanaugh:

Yeah, that sounds very intriguing. John, what's the best thing you ate lately?

John Kessler:

You know, we just talked about it, but I think I might go with that chicken rice plate at Rendang Republic. It was just, man, I was just all about that. And so I was eating it. I was just, you know, I love food on bones. And it was just a nicely cooked, really, really flavorful chicken leg, and I pick those bones clean. How about you? Oh, you're gonna tell me about Midway, and your—

Amy Cavanaugh:

I'm gonna tell you about Midway.

John Kessler:

Your progressive dinner.

Amy Cavanaugh:

I've been traveling a lot lately, and I have been having some unfortunate travel luck in terms of delays and being rerouted and things. And so one of the downsides of all this is that I recently had to spend eight hours at Midway, which is not anything that I would recommend anyone ever do. But if you were there, I have found some decent food options. So much of the food there is wildly expensive. We're talking like $20 burgers,$15 turkey sandwich, like, and not good stuff, like, not, not very good. So I have actually never eaten, this is a Chicago confession, at the OG Billy Goat. But I have now eaten several times at the Billy Goat at Midway Airport. So what you want is, you want to go and get the double burger, but you want to, you know, there's, I have, like, specific things that you need to do to it. So you're going to get a double burger, and you're going to get extra cheese, which puts a slice of cheese on each patty. Then you want to add fried onions to it, and then you also want raw onions, extra pickles, mustard and mayo. I had, I've had several burgers here now, and like, that is, like, the perfect order. I will be doing that whenever I'm at Midway and need lunch. All right. Other good option I found is Arami sushi, which — I always liked the location in West Town, and they have a little sushi counter. I went and I had veggie sushi. I, you know, I don't want to necessarily eat a bunch of raw sushi and get on a plane. So I did just like, simple cucumber and avocado rolls, and totally well made, totally hit the spot. And so those are your two options for where to eat at Midway. The lines for other things are just so bananas. And, like, the line for Dunkin Donuts is like 45 minutes. And you see people housing like Garrett's Popcorn. No, go to Billy Goat. Go to Arami. You'll be good.

John Kessler:

All right, good to know. I'll maybe, I'll make a special trip to Midway, just to try it all out.

Amy Cavanaugh:

Don't do that. All right. Well, thank you for the very, very useful tip. Thanks for joining us for this episode of Dish From Chicago Magazine. Your hosts are dining editor Amy Cavanaugh and critic John Kessler. Editing by Sarah Steimer and music by Bill Harris. You can find us online at chicagomag.com Please be sure to follow, rate, and review us wherever you get your podcasts. We'll see you next time.