Working from home can get repetitive so I’m always looking for cool coffee shops I can hang out at all day. Every coffee shop has its own atmosphere and level of comfort. I like to choose based on food options, which vary from pastries to small bites to a full food menu.
Mango Pickle, in Edgewater, is a new restaurant serving contemporary Indian cuisine. It opened six months ago by husband and wife team, Nakur Patel and Marisa Paolillo. Paolillo is the chef at the restaurant. She lived in Bombay for nine years and worked at an American restaurant while she was there. When they moved back to Chicago, they wanted to incorporate their experiences from India into their restaurant concept here.
Doughnuts are by far the hottest trend in the culinary world right now. A quick scroll through Instagram and you’ll find everything from Cronuts, doughnut ice cream sandwiches, the sushi doughnut, even spaghetti doughnuts (ewww…)! If you happen to be in the Windy City looking for the best doughnuts Chicago has to offer, there’s a good chance you may find yourself overwhelmed with all the different options. That’s where I come in….
Centennial Crafted Beer and Eatery is a new restaurant and beer hall in River North that opened up in early March. It is a gastropub with a focus on beer, which is paired perfectly with its chef-driven food menu. Centennial’s head chef is Ben Sheagren, who previously worked at Hopleaf in Andersonville for nine years.
Quiote is a new, contemporary Mexican restaurant in Logan Square and features a seasonal menu serving regional Mexican cuisine. I always drove past the location, which used to be a bakery right off the highway. As soon as I saw a new restaurant open in that space, I knew I had to go try it.
Located in Ravenswood, Band of Bohemia is a unique, culinary brewpub, where chef-driven dishes are created to pair perfectly with culinary-inspired beers that are brewed in-house. The restaurant is also the first Michelin-rated brewpub. The concept was created by Michael Carroll and Craig Sindelar, who both previously worked at Alinea.
Uncle Mike’s Place, a family-owned diner, is situated in a quiet part of West Town. They serve Filipino-American breakfasts and classic American diner food. Started as a classic diner in 1991, the place evolved after Uncle Mike started serving recipes inspired by his Filipina mother-in-law. Uncle Mike’s Place has since become one of the best places to get Filipino food in Chicago.
Every year, I look forward to Chicago Restaurant Week (which is actually two weeks long) as many restaurants offer special prix fixe menus for a great price. Some of the restaurants even create unique dishes just for those two weeks (January 27 – February 9, 2017). Sadly, today is the last day.
The history of Currency Exchange Cafe is in its name. The cafe’s space is repurposed from an actual currency exchange and retains many of the original hand-painted signs and remnants of its former life. Located in Washington Park by the Garfield Green Line station, the cafe strives to reflect the local culinary character of its neighborhood, serving a variety of Southern Soul and Mexican food. Currency Exchange Cafe is part of the Washington Park Arts Block, a collaboration with the University of Chicago aimed to engage local residents in art, entertainment, and education. The Arts Block also includes BING Art Books, the Arts Incubator, and the proposed Green Line Arts Center.
Green Street Local, a classic comfort American restaurant with an upscale twist, has recently launched their new brunch menu for 2017. True to their name, Green Street Local uses Chicago as its inspiration and focuses on regionally sourced ingredients.