Chicago’s prowess as a culinary heavyweight requires no rhapsody. With cooking expertise from all corners of the world, it’s no surprise the windy city has some of the newest and best restaurants in America.
The Windy City’s culinary outfits are consistently picking up accolades like being awarded Michelin Guide stars or being recognized in the James Beard Awards.
The latest critical behemoth to acknowledge Chicago among the best is the New York Times, which named two Chicagoan ventures in its list of the 50 most exciting restaurants in the United States.
Chicago’s Most Exciting Restaurants
New York Times reporters, editors, and critics traveled far and wide from “Rattlesnake Point in Florida to the Arts District in Los Angeles,” with all of them concluding that Daisies and Thattu are two of the most exciting and best restaurants in America.
1. Daisies
Deemed one of the best Italian restaurants in Chicago, first on the list is Daisies, which has been on the Chicago scene for quite some time but recently moved into a larger space in Logan Square due to its popularity.
As NTY Brett Anderson writes, “[Joe Frillman] Italian-inspired cuisine is authentically Midwestern. That means fritto misto starring cheese curds and local mushrooms enjoyed with a sassy sparkling rosé made from grapes grown along the Illinois River.”
2. Thattu
The second Chicago restaurant to make it on the list was Thattu, widely considered one of the best new restaurants in Chicago. Located in Avondale, Thattu was born from Chef Margaret Pak’s love for the southwest Indian coastal cuisine of Kerala. The menu consequently offers a story of Kerala, bringing playful interpretations filled with aromatic spice and blending the love between land and sea.
Writer Priya Krishna writes, “Everything here, down to the stainless steel plates the food is served on, feels homestyle. Expect fish fries, yogurt rice, and coconutty curries whose remnants you’ll eagerly sop up with appam, lacy domes made of rice and coconut.”
Head to the New York Times’s 50 most exciting restaurants in America for the full list.