@chitribfood
Explore variety of Indian vegetarian recipes from authentic South Indian recipes to North Indian dishes, global cuisine and eggless baking. Enjoy healthy, restaurant style recipes with easy step-by-step pictures, videos to make cooking fun and effortless.
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Most people don’t think about the burrito. The brute cousin to the taco simply exists, and any consideration pertains to size. Who cares about the particulars when the quantity means more than the quality? A burrito bigger than your head certainly bests a wimpy, meager one, right? But feel no shame for the burrito. “Despite what you may have heard, the dish has strong Mexican ties, and charged with finding the best burrito in Chicago, I unexpectedly uncovered a creative and vibrant burrito scene,” writes the Tribune’s Nick Kindelsperger. “All you have to do is recalibrate your idea of what constitutes a burrito.” Though the history is not crystal clear, the burrito almost certainly originated in Northern Mexico, and it’s important to appreciate its roots. To see the burrito unadulterated from American meddling, visit Gordillas on 26th Street in the Little Village neighborhood. “Employees made the flour tortillas fresh before my eyes,” writes Kindelsperger. “Instead of swamping the tortilla with a dozen components, each burrito came smeared with refried beans, topped with a filling, folded over, and griddled until golden. That was it.” Tap the link in our bio for Kindelspergers’ top picks, ranked based on which ones he’d most wanted to eat again. Editor’s note: This article was originally written in 2017 and Kindelsperger still stands by his list. It has been updated with current prices and locations.
The fact is simple: Chicago has a dearly underrated barbecue scene. While we’re still not on most shortlists of the top national barbecue destinations, there’s no question the local barbecue options have gotten more varied and tempting. Our barbecue foundation remains the Black-owned operations on the South Side, where many pitmasters use aquarium-style smokers, so called for their rectangular shape and glass sides. Though you’ll be able to score pulled pork, whole racks of ribs, turkey legs and occasionally brisket, the rib tip and hot link combo reigns supreme. Chicago has its own unique style of barbecue, and this is it. But just as barbecue has exploded in popularity all over the country, we’ve seen a wave of new pitmasters who have looked to other barbecue regions for inspiration, whether it’s the dry-rubbed ribs of Memphis or the meltingly tender brisket of Central Texas. Tap the link in our bio for the nine best barbecue joints in Chicago, including @greenstreetsmokedmeats shown here. ? Nick Kindelsperger / Chicago Tribune ? John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune / @johnkimpictures
The James Beard Foundation named its finalists Wednesday for the 2023 awards — the equivalent of the Oscars of the restaurant world — and it comes with some pretty big surprises. Chicago chefs didn’t completely dominate the Best Chef: Great Lakes region category, as they largely have for the past decade. Diana Dávila of Mi Tocaya Antojeria (@mitocaya) and Kasama’s Tim Flores and Genie Kwon (@kasamachicago) made the list, but the remaining three nominees are from Detroit. Damarr Brown, chef de cuisine at Virtue (@virtuerestaurantchi), is a nominee in the Emerging Chef category. This continues a great run for Virtue, as Erick Williams, the chef and owner, picked up Best Chef: Great Lakes award last year. In the Best New Restaurant category, Chicago’s Obelix restaurant (@obelixchicago), shown here, will go up against nine other restaurants. Tap the link in our bio for more nominees. ? Nick Kindelsperger / Chicago Tribune / @nkindelsperger ? Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
The new Indian Chinese transformation of Vermilion (@vermilionchicago) brings it back from the brink of everything, everywhere, all at once, via Kolkata, the childhood hometown of Rohini Dey (@deyrohini), a woman whose flavors are as fiery as her convictions. “I started this (restaurant) 20 years ago with a melding of Indian and Latin,” said Dey, activist and owner of the River North neighborhood restaurant. “But more than anything else, I want our food to be provocative. Interesting.” It was also substantive, writes Tribune critic Louisa Chu (@louisachu1): “The original Indian and Latin menu tried to cover centuries of colonization and migration, but it sometimes felt fractured to me,” Chu says. “The new Indian Chinese incarnation is concise and much more personal.” “The Kolkata Streets chaat, one of her (Dey) favorite dishes, and definitely mine,” Chu says, “whisks us both back to girlhoods on opposite sides of the world. It’s a joyous jumble of crunchy noodles and jhal muri (a puffed rice snack laced with mustard oil), bejeweled with sweet mango, sharp onion and aromatic cilantro, held together with sticky chile sauce, finished by a whisper of tart lime,” Chu writes. Click on the link in our bio to read the full three-star review. ? Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune
The Chicago White Sox showed off their new food options for the 2023 season Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field. “Welcome back to baseball,” said Brooks Boyer, White Sox chief revenue and marketing officer. Among the new items: a vegan “gonzo garbanzo” sandwich, elote corn dogs, pan-seared pierogis and the “Mangonada,” a mango sorbet with chamoy and fiery chili powder. As Boyer enthusiastically introduced the new menu items, he said that even though fans will see some additions, “all the standard staples” are staying this season. Tap the link in our bio to see more. ?? Shanna Madison / Chicago Tribune / @shannamadisonphoto
Enter Brewfest, a pour-your-own-beer bar in Highland, Indiana, and a haze of smoke rushes out the door and wraps around your nose. It’s not the stale and acrid stench of cigarette smoke (remember when people used to smoke in bars?) but the sweet and enveloping aroma of barbecue. That’s thanks to Nick Kleutsch, who operates Lucy’s BBQ inside the bar on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. While certainly not the only barbecue operation in northwest Indiana, Lucy’s undoubtedly serves the best Texas-style barbecue in the area. “Any order should include the voluptuous slices of black pepper-crusted brisket, shown here, which are so absurdly tender and juicy you can pull the meat apart with the gentlest stretch of your fingers,” writes the Tribune’s Nick Kindelsperger (@nkindelsperger). “Like nearly every Texas-style barbecue pitmaster I’ve talked to in Chicago’s suburbs, the northwest Indiana native had a barbecue awakening while in the Lone Star State.” Tap the link in our bio for more on the barbecue awakening. Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune / @briancassella
With last weekend's St. Patrick’s Day parade and Chicago River dyeing and the actual holiday falling March 17, the Windy City adores a good two-week celebration of its Irish heritage. Bars and restaurants are getting into the spirit by serving traditional food, hosting bashes with spectacular riverfront views and bottomless drinks, and bringing in Irish musicians and dancers. There are even over-the-top themed pop-ups and specials that go all month long. Tap the link in our bio for 87 spots to wear something green and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day Chi-rish style. Some parties will sell out, so plan ahead rather than test your luck. ? Grasshopper cocktail from Yancu at @cbrchicago.
Can you imagine St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago, a city that dyes its river emerald green, without corned beef sandwiches? "They’ve become something of a restaurant barometer since I started covering what happened to the big, old-school Jewish delis around Chicago in 2018," writes the Tribune's Louisa Chu (@louisachu1). From Irish American pubs, to new school delis, to Black-owned businesses, most remained open for takeout despite the pandemic in 2020. But the next few years would bring dramatic changes on the corned beef beat, with many favorite places closing. During this time, the nearly unimaginable happened when corned beef quietly went missing for nearly a year at Steingold’s in Wrigleyville, shown here. “The cost of our corned beef was a bit out of control,” said Aaron Steingold, founder and operator of the modern Jewish deli, which opened in 2017 (@steingoldsofchicago). “Only recently has it come back to a point that we could feasibly sell it again.” Food costs also contributed to the decline of many big old-school Jewish delis. Tap the link in our bio for 25 of the best corned beef sandwiches in the city and suburbs, with three new sandwiches joining the ranks this year: Fritzi’s Delicatessen in Oak Park (@fritzisdeli), Halal Food grocery store in Burbank, and Mabe’s Sandwich Shop (@mabessandwichshop) in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side of the city. ? E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune / @ejwamb
Many Christians spend the 40 days between Fat Tuesday and Easter observing Lent, a period of abstinence that most commonly involves giving up meat on Fridays. The custom has led to a preponderance of Friday fish fries in the Midwest, where families and communities enjoy the bounty of the Great Lakes. This Lenten season there are plenty of bars and restaurants offering both traditional platters of battered pike or cod served with fries and coleslaw, as well as other specials ranging from seafood pasta to fish tacos. Tap the link in our bio for 29 spots for some fabulous fish, including the fish and chips from Mac’s Wood Grilled shown here. Samantha Nelson / for the Chicago Tribune Terri Mooney / @macswoodgrilled
After years of focusing much of its attention on the West Loop and the Fulton Market district, the Boka Restaurant Group (@bokarestaurantgroup) is ready to open not one, but three concepts on the busy Southport Corridor in Lakeview. You might already know about two of them: Stephanie Izard’s Little Goat Diner (@littlegoatdiner) is relocating from the West Loop, while GG’s Chicken Shop (@ggchickenshop), a fried chicken sandwich concept from chef Lee Wolen (@leewolen), will finally get a permanent home after launching virtually during the pandemic. The third project is brand-new. Gene Kato (@chefgenekato), the chef at Momotaro, is behind Itoko (@itokochicago), a sushi and robata restaurant that opened yesterday. “Itoko means cousin in Japanese,” Kato said. “It has a lot of the DNA of Momotaro in it, including the quality of the product and the high standards.” But Kato is quick to add there will be big differences, with only about 20% of the dishes brought over from Momotaro. “Once we took the neighborhood into consideration, along with input from the chef team, the style of the restaurant became something very unique,” he said. In particular, Kato hopes the restaurant connects with the people who call the neighborhood home. Tap the link in our bio to find what that means and for 5 more new restaurants in Chicago. ?Nick Kindelsperger and Lauryn Azu / Chicago Tribune / @nkindelsperger ?E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune / @ejwamb
Of the five Chicago chefs on the James Beard Foundation’s list of semifinalists for best chef in the Great Lakes region, Zubair Mohajir (@zubairmohajir) was the most unexpected, if only because he only opened his first restaurant in 2021. “It’s kind of surreal,” Mohajir says. “It’s definitely humbling. I wasn’t expecting it.” But he’s no rookie. After growing up in India, along with some time in Qatar, he moved with his family to the Chicago region when he was in seventh grade. He pivoted to cooking after a frustrating career in finance, working his way through prestigious kitchens in California and Thailand. For his first permanent restaurant in Chicago, he didn’t open a single concept, but two: Wazwan (@wazwanchicago) and The Coach House by Wazwan (@wazwan_coach_house). Both offer a menu rooted in the cooking of southern India, albeit with plenty of global detours. Two of the main dishes, the Chettinad chicken masala and the inaloban, show Wazwan at its best, writes Tribune food critic Nick Kindelsperger (@nkindelsperger). “The former is so intricately spiced, it’s tempting to wonder which spice didn’t end up in the mix,” he says. Not sure where to start? “Visit Wazwan first,” Kindelsperger advises. Find out why in his latest review by tapping the link in our bio. ? Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune
Chicago Black Restaurant Week kicked off its eighth year with 30 Black-owned businesses offering specials in the city and suburbs for a total of two weeks until Feb. 26. Prominent participants this year include Frontier (@frontierchicago), Luella’s Southern Kitchen (@luellassouthernkitchen) and Bronzeville Winery (@bronzevillewinery), shown here, one of the Tribune’s 25 best new restaurants. Tap the link in our bio for more, including notable newcomers 1308 Chicago in the Salt District (@1308_chicago), Haute Brats (@hautebrats) in Englewood and CheSa’s Bistro & Bar (@chesa_bistro) in Avondale. ?Louisa Chu / Chicago Tribune ?Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune
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