Chicago chefs try harder.

We cannot claim a coast, we have a short growing season for local produce and the majority ethnic populations’ culinary contributions lean toward pierogies and potatoes. While a “blue” city, Chicago remains on the conservative side when it comes to food, where heftier-than-normal portion sizes are the norm. Chefs in better restaurants have learned throughout the years – some of them the hard way – that Chicagoans can be much more critical about service than food (perhaps explaining why three of the five nominees for the 2005 James Beard Outstanding Service Award reside in Chicago). Despite these obstacles in the Windy City – and apartly because of them – chefs have challenged these realities to introduce new, interesting and delicious flavors to every neighborhood in the city. As witness to the evolution of our dining scene over the years, I can only begin to describe a few of the standouts.

In The ‘Hood

Chicago epitomizes the phenomenon occurring in many urban areas. More people live downtown and eat out. Booming neighborhoods – Old Town, Bucktown, Lincoln Square, Logan Square, Wicker Park, and the West Loop – are hip and happening, with thriving restaurant communities.

Typically, the neighborhood joints are where you’ll find members of the local culinary community enjoying their Sundays and Mondays off. Hot spots, like the busy Bongo Room, and the New Mexican-inspired Flo, make us glad to rise early for breakfast. Contemporary Lula Café, run by Chef-Owners Amalea and Jason Hammel, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and brunch every Saturday and Sunday. They use only the best seasonal produce and offer a nice selection of artisanal cheeses and naturally raised poultry and meats.

New on the dining front is Hot Chocolate, which opened this February. Mindy Segal, former pastry chef at mk, offers a small, but meaningful menu of American classics for first and second courses, and a dessert menu that can make anyone’s mouth water. If you’re simply looking to satisfy that sweet craving, go for a tasty flight of milkshakes or one of her many clever, signature desserts. Just a few doors down is Scylla, named after the sea monster from Greek mythology. For fish lovers, Stephanie Izard’s menu will satisfy with simply prepared seafood renditions.

The West Loop

When it comes to burgeoning neighborhood restaurant scenes, it is impossible to deny the allure of the West Loop. Known now as Chicago’s “restaurant row,” regulars and visitors alike have a run of food choices from Italian, French, Japanese, Thai and more – all on Randolph Street. Paul Kahn’s Avec opened last year to rave reviews nationwide. The tiny, wood and glass-accented space showcases a menu executed by Chef Koren Grieveson – featuring small plates of Spanish, French and Italian food served to diners at communal tables. This establishment satisfies anyone seeking a lively social setting with honest food and a perfectly matched Mediterranean wine list. Right next door is Kahan’s equally hip Blackbird, big sister to Avec and emphasizing his take on contemporary American cuisine in a more formalized setting. And next door to Blackbird? The recently opened, BYO Meiji. This new sushi spot has received favorable reviews early on, and offers an interesting menu in an urban, unpretentious setting. Also making headlines is Butter (no relation to the establishment in New York), which opened this spring just west of Greektown. The intimate restaurant features New American cuisine from Chef Ryan Poli, who returned home to the Windy City after working throughout Spain and at the acclaimed French Laundry. He has already begun to earn serious street credibility from his peers.

On the Northwest side, well-known chefs have developed a habit at the Persian Noon O’ Kabab. Who can resist its succulent plates of kabobs and cinnamon and tomato-braised lamb shanks? In the same neighborhood, lunch must happen at the newly reopened HOT DOUG’S, DOUG SOHN’s temple of wurstel. After a fire claimed its original outpost last year, Chicagoans everywhere mourned the noticeably absent favorite. With more than a dozen choices from the classic Chicago dog (never served with ketchup, folks) – from vegetarian to kangaroo – you’ll find the most creative and sometimes unusual dogs on the planet. Oh yeah, and the fries are cooked in duck fat.

Wine bars have also been steadily appearing on the Chicago dining and drinking scene. Cork dorks and cheese heads hang out at their respective bars. BIN 36, adjacent to the HOUSE OF BLUES HOTEL in Chicago’s Marina City, satisfies cravings for both. In addition to offering various dining areas, the restaurant unveiled the Cheese Bar last winter, featuring a selection of more than 50 cheeses from around the world. With wines to match by Sommelier Brian Duncan, anyone with an interest in wine and cheese can linger for hours. We also encourage people to visit the bar at Spiaggia, where the restaurant offers a tasting selection of five wines and five cheeses for $25. The restaurant is one of the few in the Midwest that houses a temperature and humidity-controlled cheese cave that properly ripens up to 35 selections – heaven for any cheese-o-phile. Vintage Wine Bar, located in Wicker Park, has been the first to combine a more rock and roll vibe with a touch of sophistication within its late-night lounge and dining room. Cru Café & Wine Bar, a Gold Coast favorite, attracts a few tourists, but the majority of patrons are neighborhood regulars ordering wine flights (and people-watching from its airy outdoor patio in the summer).

Midwest Pride

Bridging the gap between our diverse neighborhoods, there is a solid community of chefs who support each other, working hard to bring quality to discerning Chicagoans. During the summer months, LincolnPark comes to life on Wednesday morning with the Green City Market. Farmers participate from Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois. We’ve noticed that local products brought to market are more varied and European than ever. One farmer we’re friendly with is growing Italian heirloom vegetables that until recently we had seen only in Italy. The market offers locally farmed, sustainable and organic foods, and becomes a social gathering for Chicago chefs as they pick up their produce for the evening’s menu. Chefs are recruited long before the season begins to host interactive cooking demonstrations at the market, where they shop with the spectators, and then turn their purchases into a fresh menu. Foodies citywide flock to the market to not only watch the chefs shop, but to also soak up tips and trade secrets for transforming those fresh tomatoes into an unforgettable salad. For those who can’t go without breakfast, two must-visits at the market get the day started on the right foot – the organic smoothie and the fresh crepe stands.

Another farmer’s market has popped up in recent years that has continued to grow in popularity and produce selection – the West Loop Farmer’s Market, which features fresh produce on West Randolph Street every Thursday afternoon and evening throughout the summer.

Even regionally grown, Italian varietal wines are making their way into the Chicago market. Dolcetto from Michigan? Zinfindel from Wisconsin and Pinot Grigio from Illinois? These bottles are no longer the punch lines to viniferia jokes...these wines are really good! Find them on Henry Bishop’s eclectic, tutto Italiano wine list at Spiaggia. Who knows, while you’re there sipping the “local” juice, Henry might be hauling in a case or two from his day trips visiting his new winery pals.

Established Chefs

 The camaraderie we see amongst the chefs in our community, and the ever-increasing interest in procuring only the finest, freshest product has been fostered by culinary leaders: we must pay homage to the old guard. Many chefs in Chicago stand out nationally for their leadership. RickBayless, whose passion is illustrated through his television series and through his cookbooks, is a fine example of someone who has positively impacted the culinary perception of Mexican cuisine while staying true to the initial endeavors that allowed him to do so – his restaurants. Every time we make it over to Frontera Grill or Topolobampo (Frontera for a more casual night out), he and DeannBayless are attending to the waiting crowds and ensuring a wonderful experience for all. Jean Joho of Everest, and GabinoSotelino at Ambria have maintained the quality and consistency recognized by the critics, but more importantly, by their peers as outstanding, setting the bar for those who will follow.

And then there is H.R.H. Charlie Trotter. By now, everyone is aware of the great Chicago foie gras feud between Charlie and RickTramonto of Tru, both exceptional chefs with strongly differing views on the issue. Shortly after the front-page folly in the Chicago Tribune, a bill was introduced to the Chicago City Council to ban you-know-what from being served in city restaurants. Chefs here are making their own choice, but of those who have spoken out, most of them side with Rick and feel the insults on Charlie’s part simply went too far.

Others prefer to work quietly. Shawn McClain is building a mini empire with his flagship Spring, vegetarian friendly Green Zebra, and the forthcoming Custom House in Printer’s Row. Chef’s chef, John Hogan at Keefer’s, successfully blends steakhouse with bistro classics. Climbing to the top, oddly enough, are a few, select, hotel restaurants.

NoMi, starring Sandro Gamba at the Park Hyatt, marries French sensibility with American ingredients. Additionally, the restaurant boasts a wine cellar of 10,000 selections, a sushi bar and an outdoor patio. Shanghai Terrace at the Peninsula offers thoughtfully crafted Asian dishes, and surely has the best outdoor dining space in town. At sibling restaurant, Avenues, young Turk Graham Elliot Bowles, a member of the experimental food brigade, amazes the cognoscenti with his adventurous combinations.

There is a new generation of chefs th  at shop at Home Depot for their kitchen tools. Others utilize “inkjet printers as their sous chefs,” so aptly coined by DavidBernstein in The New York Times. GrantAchatz of the much anticipated Alinea, and HomeroCantu of Moto, are creating national buzz for Chicago as a center for experimental cuisine. Many young chefs are intrigued by these new methods. Restaurants as science experiments may be cool and cerebral...but I’m still hungry.

Full Circle

Whether it is the tiny, mom-and-pop-esque joint in one of Chicago’s quirky neighborhoods, or one of the larger dining institutions, every chef or restaurateur I admire here provides a memorable experience for each and every guest, and that’s what chefs look for when they make the time to dine out – whether it’s on smoothies and crepes at Green City Market or the family style, grand tasting at Arun’s. I myself am partial to the duck fat fries at Hot Doug’s.