Food and Drinks in Chicago
Settle in for a tasty trip through the most popular restaurants and culinary
events in the Windy City! As varied and complex as the city itself,
Chicago's culinary scene includes everything from oddball food festivals to
century-old establishments. Let's explore some of the must-see local
attractions and local favorites of food and drinks in Chicago that make this
city a foodie lover's dream come true.
Best Food and Drinks Places in Chicago
1) Lou Mitchell's
Since 1923, the restaurant has poured enough cups that it could have filled
the Chicago River, and even after 100 years, it continues the legacy.
Lou Mitchell’s
restaurant specializes in breakfast, brunch, and lunch dishes. However, the
fun part of the place began in 1958 when they introduced breakfast diners
donut holes, and it spread like wildfire around the world! If it can be
recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, who are we to skip
it?
2) Berghoff Restaurant
There is old, then older, and then next in line comes the
Berghoff Restaurant
in Chicago! The places known for securing the city’s first two liquor
licenses after the abolition of prohibition ran a men-only bar until 1969!
If you look at it now, it has become a hulk with a restaurant, bar, cafe,
and microbrewery. Explore Windy City’s history with cold pints and their
infamous wiener schnitzel, sauerbraten, and sausages!
3) Billy Goat Tavern & Grill
Storytime!! When Billy Goat Sianis found this place, it became an immediate
favorite home of Chicago journalists, and these legends helped it to grow
enormously making it
Billy Goat Tavern & Grill
what it is today! Their branches are spread around Chicago at Michigan
Avenue (Lower Level), Madison St., Navy Pier, Midway Airport, O’Hare
Airport, Merchandise Mart, Wrigleyville, and Yorktown Center! Butt in
Anytime for a Cheezborger here and enjoy your time to the fullest.
4) Manny’s Cafeteria and Delicatessen
Chicago amuses us every day because when top restaurants and crazy epic
steakhouses come on this list, it makes sense, but when a cafeteria-like
Manny’s Cafeteria and Delicatessen
shows up in the list, it sparks curiosity about what is so amazing about it!
This 70-year-old institution requires you to take a tray and get in order to
get delicious meals like oversized corned beef or pastrami sandwiches, with
a packet of Tums for dessert. We are ready to bet that you can never leave
this place without being absolutely satisfied and full.
5) The Walnut Room
Despite Marshall Field being gone for a long time,
The Walnut Room
, the wood-paneled restaurant inside a local department store, is stubborn
enough and lives on to become the oldest eateries in Chicago. Established in
1907, it is a holiday destination and gets so crowded that stepping inside
becomes a task! Let us give you a tip: if you don't try Mrs. Hering's
chicken pot pie, you are missing the dish invented by a former sales clerk
in 1890, and you will regret it for sure!
Best Food and Drinks Festivals in Chicago
1) Taste of Chicago
Every year in Grant Park, there is an outdoor culinary festival called
Taste of Chicago
. Ah, everyone knows this name, who are we kidding?! Usually taking place
over a few days, the event comprises more than 70 local eateries and food
vendors offering a variety of cuisines. It is the world's largest festival,
plus admission is free. The festival also includes kid-friendly activities,
cuisine demos, and live music performances. Millions of people attend it
every year!
2) Chicago Summer Whiskey Tasting Festival
Are you one of those who go everywhere and say, “Whiskey on the rocks,
please?” Well, then, the
Chicago Summer Whiskey Tasting Festival
will take you to cloud nine. With 20+ different craft small batches and
world-renowned whiskies, you will get amazing food and drink specials and a
live DJ to groove on when you get drunk and free! Every pour will become a
story at this fabulous rooftop and two-story restaurant!
3) Oktoberfest Chicago
The annual
Oktoberfest
celebration, usually held in September and October at several festivals
across the city, is awaited with insanity in the Windy City. The biggest
festival is the Munich-inspired Oktoberfest, which offers authentic German
cuisine, beer, and entertainment. Oktoberfest Chicago in Lincoln Park and
Old St. Pat's in the West Loop are other noteworthy events. Tasty beer, live
music, and German culture; ahh, what can make it better now?
4) Chicago Beer Festival
Craft brews and dinosaur bones? Why not? The Field Museum's expansive main
hall will be the venue for the
Chicago Beer Festival
, the domestic and foreign breweries to sample their spring seasonal brews.
Once you've had a taste, explore the museum as some of its displays will be
accessible to visitors. Remember to greet SUE, the most complete T. rex ever
found.
5) Tacos and Tequila Festival
100 different types of tacos are served by Chicago chefs with margaritas at
Tacos
and Tequila Festival
, and we are just getting started! Additionally, vendors will be selling
queso and salsa; you can vote for your favorite. A car show, a chihuahua
beauty pageant, lucha libre wrestling, and hip-hop musicians from the '90s
and '00s, including T.I. and Lil Jon, among the entertainment options.
