The Chicago Tribune’s annual dining awards are back, and (if you’ll pardon the hubris) better than ever.
First and foremost: We’ve decided that calling our yearly celebration the Dining Awards doesn’t quite encapsulate all the great food this city has to offer, especially as our concept of what a restaurant can be continues to evolve. Last year, we pivoted to the Takeout Awards, acknowledging that dining in 2020 was nothing like before.
Going forward, we’re proud to present the Chicago Tribune Food Awards. Whether it’s some of the city’s best barbecue delivered out of a virtual kitchen in Avondale or an Asian food wonderland in the form of a food court, we want to celebrate the best food this city has to offer, in all its forms.
It’s a bittersweet moment, as most are these days. We mourn the loss of celebrated greats, the Blackbirds and the Yoshi’s Cafes and the Lost Lakes. Just as much, we honor the workers who have moved on from the exhausting shifts and backbreaking work, coupled with the threat of hostile clientele and health hazards around every corner. We thank the front-line enforcers who gave everything to keep people as safe as possible while still endeavoring to serve up platefuls of joy and comfort.
Below, you’ll find our nine recipients of the 2022 Critics’ Choice Food Awards. But you’ve also got a say in awarding the best and boldest food in Chicagoland with the Tribune Readers’ Choice Food Awards. Nominations for your favorite new restaurants, bars, pizza and more are open through March 11 at chicagotribune.com/FoodAwards2022, and mark your calendars for April 12, when we’ll announce the Readers’ Choice winners during the Great Tribune Takeout Night.
Restaurant of the Year: Kasama
When Kasama chefs, owners and spouses Tim Flores and Genie Kwon learned of this latest accolade, they were surprised, even after receiving our only four-star review of 2021, but they did have some fortuitous foreshadowing.
“The only thing I’ve eaten today is a fortune cookie,” Kwon said. “And it said, ‘You will receive good news.’ “
By day, they and their team make ube huckleberry Basque cakes, plus pork adobo and longganisa sausage, Italian beef-style combo sandwiches, and much more at their extraordinary Filipino-inspired restaurant in the East Ukrainian Village neighborhood. At night, their tasting menu translates the culture into 13 creative, concise courses.
“It’s really cool to have some of our regulars from daytime come in, people who have been coming in since we started the restaurant,” Flores said. “I always tell them, ‘Thank you so much for supporting us through this past year and a half.’ Because we were not sure that we were going to make it to this point.”
The tasting menu dinner they originally didn’t want to do was added as a means to survive the pandemic. It quietly brought them to their full, fierce potential and has proven to be an emotional experience for everyone.
“One of our servers was like, ‘I don’t think I’ve seen this many people cry ever,’ just coming into dinner,” Kwon said. “Our regulars have been on this journey with us. And they’re just so genuinely proud, and we’re so grateful.”
I can confirm crying multiple times, and wondered if they have to take tears into account with flavor profiles.
“The salinity does add so much more salt,” Kwon said, laughing. — Louisa Chu
1001 N. Winchester Ave., 773-697-3790, kasamachicago.com
Front-line Enforcers: The Wieners Circle
Last year our Critics’ Choice awards focused on takeout, and created a Person of the Year award to recognize the essential hospitality worker in lieu of a Chef of the Year. Since then, many of those same workers have had to adapt yet again through waves of variants, surges and mandates.
Some took on a new role as front-line enforcers. At bars such as The Hideout, the door person exchange seemed seamless, simply adding a proof of vaccination with your ID. At Lula Cafe, it simply added a momentary pause at the host stand.
At The Wieners Circle, however, they’ve had their ups and downs, but emerged with a redemption story. So much so that after employees asked one would-be customer to wear a mask while ordering, he threw snow at them, then a brick, shattering the glass front door.
They’ve handled it with their signature humor on social media, a catharsis for many hospitality workers who’ve had to hold back when confronted with abuse. General manager Evelyn Morris wasn’t working the night of the incident, but her night manager called while waiting for the police.
“I asked her if she was OK,” said Morris, who started working at the hot dog stand 35 years ago when the Lincoln Park area at night was far worse than it is now. “She told me she pretty much was; nothing had hit her or anything. I asked her if she needed to go home and if she was just emotionally OK. She said yes, and ended up finishing the duration of her shift.”
I asked Morris what advice she’d share with her peers throughout the Chicago area, who’ve had to act as front-line enforcers while just trying to serve people food.
“Try to stay calm,” she said. “That’s the most important thing.
“You have to try to stay as safe as you can, considering that that’s your place of work,” she added. “So someone always knows where you are.” — L.C.
2622 N. Clark St., 773-477-7444, wienerscirclechicago.com
Best Cinderella Story: Provaré
Opening a restaurant is always a risky business endeavor, so what do you call it when two people without any industry experience launch a restaurant during the middle of a pandemic? That’s exactly what Jourdan Higgs and Michael Williams did with Provaré, a tiny restaurant on West Chicago Avenue that’s been a runaway success from the moment it opened.
Part of that has to do with the welcoming atmosphere. Thanks to the staff, it’s the kind of place where you feel relaxed as soon as you walk through the doors. “We live in hectic times, but we want to make sure everyone has a great experience,” Higgs said late last year. That’s true even if the host has to explain to you as politely as possible that there are no tables, because you forgot to make a reservation. (Plan ahead, because those seats go fast.)
But it wouldn’t be packed if it weren’t for chef Higgs’ fascinating menu, which combines traditional Italian ingredients with Creole flourishes. Higgs flew in a pasta extruder from Italy, so he could make dried pasta with precisely the right texture. You can taste that obsessiveness in dishes such as the shrimp Hennessy scampi with mafaldine ($26). But what makes the dish work is how he balances the creaminess of the sauce with the fresh sweetness of cherry tomatoes and the incisive heat of sliced Fresno chiles. And that’s what makes this runaway success story so satisfying. — Nick Kindelsperger
1421 W. Chicago Ave., 312-988-0943, provarechicago.com
Comeback of the Year: Solazo
In 2019, Pepe Barajas was just trying to take a vacation. Exhausted from running two restaurants without any days off, he left with his family for a relaxing trip. But on the very first night, he was awakened by an urgent phone call telling him El Solazo, the restaurant he opened in 2007, was on fire.
Because of the damage, it would have been an ordeal simply to reopen El Solazo as it was before. But Barajas decided it was the perfect time to update the West Elsdon spot. He shortened the name to Solazo, and set about renovating the space. Walls were knocked down, which opened up the dining room to make it more spacious and modern. A bar was added, allowing guests to view the bustling kitchen.
The biggest change came to the food menu. Barajas took a research trip to Oaxaca City, Mexico, where he sampled the many local markets and worked at one of the city’s hottest restaurants, El Destilado. Along the way, he became infatuated with mole coloradito, one of the area’s famous seven moles.
You can now sample the chicken enchiladas ($18) bathed in the deeply complex mole. But don’t forget about the camarones a la Diabla ($23) or the suadero tacos ($9 for two). Barajas even refreshed the drink menu, turning the restaurant into an area hot spot for cocktails.
In other words, Solazo is back and better than it ever was. — N.K.
5600 S. Pulaski Road, 773-627-5047, elsolazo.com
Pizza Trend We Can’t Get Enough Of: Caramelized crust
Someday soon, the rest of the world will be talking about caramelized crust — with the reverence it’s due — when discussing Chicago-style pizzas.
“That’s such a subcategory of a category,” said pizzaiolo George Bumbaris, laughing. “I love it.”
He co-owns George’s Deep Dish in the Edgewater neighborhood with his wife, Ana Bumbaris, although these days it’s mostly his mother, Jana Bumbaris, helping out in the takeout-only shop.
“My mom was a hairdresser for years,” said her son. “And one of her old clients was like, ‘I heard about your son’s restaurant, this guy mentioned it on the radio!’ “
That guy was my fellow Tribune food critic Nick Kindelsperger, who mentioned George’s, Uncle Jerry’s and Milly’s, all on the forefront of the emergence of these thick-yet-light crusts, ringed around with the defining crisp cheese.
It wasn’t easy for any of them to open what have become some of the most in-demand pizzerias in the city and suburbs.
“I don’t think we would have ever opened had it not been for COVID,” Bumbaris said. “I was thinking about doing a pizzeria; it was kind of always on the back burner, but I was Ubering prior to opening this place.”
He stopped driving for the ride-share company because of the pandemic, then consulted his mother.
“I talked to Mom, and was like, ‘What do you think? You know, I’ve been making this pizza for a little bit of time now. Do you think we kind of perfected it and should move forward?’ “
They did, and he’s made a destination pizza, through a lot of trial and error, he said.
“It wasn’t an overnight thing,” Bumbaris said. “Nothing overnight ever really is.” — L.C.
6221 N. Clark St., 773-801-1551, georgesdeepdish.com
Best Line Worth Waiting in: Oooh Wee It Is
Show up when Oooh Wee It Is opens at 11 a.m., and you’ll find a line stretching from the front door, around the corner of the building, and into the parking lot.It’s been that way since Mark and Shae Walker opened in Chatham in February 2021, but that success is built on years of their hard work.
The story begins with a sweet tea recipe Mark Walker created while working at a factory. Made with real tea leaves and fresh fruit, it was such a hit that he partnered up with a local Harold’s Chicken Shack, where he eventually sold 276,000 cups of his tea. Then came a location at the River Oaks Center mall in Calumet City.
After the pandemic forced the couple to restart, Shae Walker started posting photos of her dinner on Facebook, and curious followers asked where they could buy her food. Before long, they opened the original Oooh Wee It Is, a takeout-only operation in south suburban Burnham.
The couple went all out for the massive Chatham location, creating a brightly colored cereal bar stocked with hundreds of brands, along with a few swings suspended from the ceiling for those important social media shots.
But it’s the food that really inspires people to line up. The couple call it “soul food with a twist,” which explains items such as pot roast cupcakes and the shrimp and grits bowl. And, of course, you can find some of the Walkers’ irresistible sweet tea, garnished with loads of fresh fruit. — N.K.
33 E. 83rd St., 872-244-7505; 2208 E. State St., Burnham, 708-933-0363; ooohweeitis.org
Best new Chicago-style barbecue: Soul & Smoke
Creating the most exciting new barbecue restaurant in the Chicago area was not something D’Andre Carter and Heather Bublick had in mind when 2020 first rolled around. The married couple were far more invested in Feast & Imbibe, their upscale catering operation based in Evanston. Soul & Smoke, which they launched in 2015, was originally conceived as a more affordable option to offer for casual events. While they took the food seriously from the beginning, you couldn’t experience Soul & Smoke unless you placed a large catering order.
But when the pandemic wiped out their catering events, the two had to pivot as quickly as possible. This unwittingly unleashed one of the Chicago area’s most passionate barbecue pitmasters in Carter. The South Side native was always obsessed with barbecue, but he also spent years working in some of Chicago’s most prestigious restaurants, including Moto, where he geeked out on the science of cooking. This led to months taste testing various dry rubs and barbecue sauces, along with experimenting with various smokers for just the right flavor.
You can taste all that dedication in the smoked meat, from the luscious pulled pork to the best-in-state brisket. Absurdly juicy, with a delicate smokiness that floats around the edges, this is barbecue worth savoring. The sides turn out to be just as well thought out and executed, especially the braised collard greens and cornbread muffins.
But what is most exciting about Soul & Smoke is the sense that these two are just getting started. — N.K.
3517 N. Spaulding Ave.; 1601 Payne St., Suite C, Evanston; Time Out Market, 916 W. Fulton Market; 847-491-9744; soulandsmoke.com
Most endlessly satisfying brewery: Dovetail
One brewery above all others has sustained us through the pandemic: Dovetail.
The Ravenswood operation, which celebrates its sixth anniversary in spring, shines not by embracing trends or looking for the hot new thing. Dovetail simply applies an array of time-tested practices common in continental European brewing to create fantastically delicious beer.
Much of the Dovetail portfolio is built on approachable and easy-drinking styles, including all five of its year-round offerings: helles lager, hefeweizen, kolsch, Vienna lager and its flagship lager, which is generally available only on draft (unfortunate, because if canned, it would endlessly stock my fridge). But that’s certainly not all Dovetail does; it boasts one of the city’s most ambitious spontaneous beer programs (fascinatingly funky beer aged in oak barrels, sometimes with fruit added) and embraces smoked beer with fervency matched by few other American breweries.
You won’t find the styles of beer that move the needle for many competitors — no India pale ales and no stouts. Dovetail instead makes its own fun, innovating in fresh, surprising ways, such as its occasional “Kolsch nights,” a style of service with German and Czech roots where patrons are served glass after glass of the brewery’s lightly fruity and deeply refreshing kolsch until declaring they’ve had enough.
It’s largely the pitch-perfect lagers that make Dovetail sing. Though it is not the oldest lager-focused brewery in town (that’s Metropolitan) and it’s not the trendiest (that’s Goldfinger), Dovetail has centered itself at the heart of Chicago’s movement toward expertly executed no-fills beer, revering tradition while always pushing forward in a way that’s endlessly rewarding. — Josh Noel
1800 W. Belle Plaine Ave., 773-683-1414, dovetailbrewery.com
Best Food Court: 88 Marketplace
Before the pandemic, we saw the rise of fancy food halls. Now we’ve sought comfort once again in proletarian food courts. The vendors at 88 Marketplace, the Asian food wonderland in East Pilsen, prove up to the challenge.
Through it all, Chiu Quon Bakery, the oldest bakery in nearby Chinatown, has remained an anchor. Both bakeries are owned by siblings Joyce and Matthew Chiu, who took over the business founded by their parents in 1986.
“At the main bakery, they are focusing on making the product the traditional way,” said Kevin Situ, head baker at Chiu Quon Bakery x 88 Market. “Over here, I’m still using the same base, like with the dough and the mochi, but trying to infuse it with different flavors, because I’m trying to aim toward the younger crowd.”
That means we have Situ to thank for the irresistible milk tea egg tart, infusing tannic flavor in the silky custard within a flaky handheld crust. It’s a remarkable achievement, especially for a first-time Chinese pastry chef who previously worked at Somerset restaurant in the Gold Coast.
Right now, the food court also includes 312 Fish Market’s creative sushi; A Place in Northeast; the venerable B.B.Q. King House; Pho Home; Victory Cafe (aka Victor’s Cafe) offering Hong Kong-style diner food; and Ying Dim Sum steaming stacks of dumplings.
But get there soon, because life in the food court can move fast. — L.C.
2105 S. Jefferson St., 312-929-4926, facebook.com/88MarketplaceChicago
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