Chicago’s Must-Eats: Your Early Pass to the Hottest Spots

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Sylvia
 The holidays are here and if you want to wow your out of town guests, we have the ultimate cheat sheet. Tavern style pizza, spicy Mexican, bold Asian, vibrant Indian. And yes, a dessert that has gone viral. We're running down the best new Chicago restaurants of 2025.

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Adrian
 We are out there visiting these restaurants as fast as possible, scouring every corner of the internet, every corner of social media,

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Adrian
 finding places to visit and write about them.

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Sylvia
 On today's Supper with Sylvia, I chat with The Infatuation, the no BS guide to Chicago's dining. Telling it like it is on where to eat and what to skip. We dive into their top picks of the year. I share a few personal favorites and there's even a sneak peek at the big trends coming in 2026. And hint here, one of them involves martinis. So let's wrap up the year with some serious flavor.

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Sylvia
 All right, Adrian Kane with infatuation. I've been dying to get you on this podcast. Thanks for joining me.

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Adrian
 Of course, my pleasure. I'm so excited to be here.

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Sylvia
 Well, we're so happy to have you and I love reading The Infatuation. For those who don't know, I want to start Adrian. Explain to everybody who you guys are.

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Adrian
 Absolutely. Okay, so The Infatuation, we are a restaurant discovery platform where we're a team of writers and editors. We're spread all over the country and in London and of course Chicago.

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Adrian
 We visit restaurants. We write about them honestly. We don't do any PR stuff. We pay for all of our own meals so that you know that everything you read from our site or seen our newsletters on our social media is honest, authentic takes.

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Sylvia
 Okay, and that's important to know. So walk me through, how do you approach your reviews? What's the process before you actually put out the articles?

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Adrian
 Well, it sort of depends on the...

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Adrian
 Wow, that's... What a deep question about how we do this.

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Sylvia
 Because you guys take these things very seriously and I really want people to know and for you to get that point across because it's just not kind of a, "Oh, we popped in and we popped out." There's so much more involved.

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Adrian
 Absolutely, yeah. So it really depends on our reason. Let's just talk about restaurant discovery, visiting the new restaurants that have opened in Chicago. We will visit a new place. We will maybe get down our immediate thoughts about it to let everyone know what our experience was. Then we have a rating system where we like to... We'll rate a restaurant and before we assign a rating, we go back multiple times. We keep in mind how we order. Our ordering strategy is really important. We pay attention to the vibe of the restaurant. I mean, we are very methodical. We'll go one visit. If there's something we really liked or didn't like, we'll make sure we get it again on the second visit to see if we still feel the same way. We'll go at different times of day just so that we can have a really well-rounded perspective and an honest opinion based on our own experience.

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Sylvia
 Okay. With that in mind, we're coming up to the end of the year. You have been busy eating your way through the city and the neighboring areas. So let's talk about your best new restaurants of 2025. That list just came out. So there's actually 11 on the list. Yep. So let's get to just a few of them. And I want to start with one that everyone's been talking about and raving about. They, I believe, just won a big award earlier this year and that is Pizza Amici. I have still not made it there. What's up with Pizza Amici that has everybody talking about it?

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Adrian
 All right. Well, first of all, shame on you for not going. I know, right? I'm just teasing.

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Adrian
 You're right. So our best new restaurants list is truly the culmination of a year's worth of work. We start thinking about best new restaurants at the beginning of the year. We visit hundreds of new restaurants. I've opened in Chicago, literally,

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Adrian
 and visit them repeatedly to just see what are the best of the best. They are our top rated restaurants. Pizza Amici is on there. The deal with Pizza Amici is it's tavern style pizza. Very simple. It's in Westtown. What makes it special is that taverns, in my opinion, first of all, the space itself is very homey. It's very cute. Feels like an old school pizza parlor, but the pizza is incredible. Tavern style, I think, can often lack some of the depth of flavor that you find in deep dish just because quite literally less surface area, less ingredients. Pizza Amici manages to make their tavern style pizza so flavorful. The sauce is really well seasoned. It's got very charred edges. I like a really crispy cracker crust. It has that. Really thoughtful ingredients. The ingredient bounce is great. It's just a fun spot. It's always busy. The servers are really nice. It's charming. They have some other stuff besides pizza on the menu that are really good too, like a house made focaccia, sausage and peppers. Just a great spot.

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Sylvia
 I'm going to put that on my list for sure. Next, let's go to Nadu. That's an Indian restaurant by a well-known chef or a couple of chefs, right?

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Adrian
 Yes. It's actually from the Indian team, which was one of our best new restaurants, I believe, of 2022 or 2023.

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Adrian
 The special part about Nadu, which is in Lincoln Park, is it focuses on regional Indian cuisines from all over India. They have a lot of South Indian dishes, which is really nice.

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Adrian
 My favorite thing there is the crab. They have this family style crab that you do need to pre-order. I think it's worth it, taking the time to plan. It's a Corolla crab. It's so good.

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Adrian
 They also have great-- It's a whole crab. Yes, it's a whole crab. They give you gloves. It's a bit of a mess, but it's really fun to do with a family. It's just a fun spot. And you're going to find dishes that you're just not going to find in other Indian restaurants in Chicago, which is what makes it, I think, really stand out this year.

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Sylvia
 Yeah, that team is spectacular. They just keep doing amazing things and opening more. I mean, it's going to be so interesting to see what they have coming up in the new year. OK, tell me about Yu Yi.

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Adrian
 OK, yes, Yu Yi. We love this spot.

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Sylvia
 I'm sorry.

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Adrian
 I get so excited.

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Sylvia
 I consider talking about all of them all the time. That's why you're here.

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Adrian
 Yu Yi is this-- it's a Sichuan restaurant that's up in Edgewater and very casual, but great, great noodles, great dumplings, that perfect Mala heats that you get from the Sichuan peppercorns.

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Adrian
 It's just great. Go up there.

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Sylvia
 I love that. And as I'm talking to you, I'm looking at your website, and I want people to know. Make sure to go to the website and take a look at the places that Adrian is describing, because I love how you break down specifics as far as, here's what you really have to try, and here's about how much it's going to cost you. So nobody is going and being surprised with that final bill, because eating out is not cheap these days, is it?

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Adrian
 No, it isn't. And one of the reasons we are so dedicated to having honest trustworthy reviews is that you are spending time and money, and we do not want people to go and be disappointed. You should know exactly what you're going to get into.

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Adrian
 It is the worst thing. I hate having a bad meal. Yeah, I know.

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Sylvia
 I want to avoid it. Yeah, especially in a city where you don't have to. That's exactly it. It's amazing what we have to offer. Yeah, no. You don't have to. Exactly. Okay, number four on your list. Tell me about that. Ooh, okay.

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Adrian
 Sorry, I'm just going to keep getting more excited. This one is, I think, some of these are real sleeper hits, I think, and I think this is one of them. It's basically like a Mexican tavern in Pilsen, and I believe the space it's in was like a house from the 19th century. You walk in, you can just feel the old schoolness, like seeping out of its pores. It has great tacos.

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Adrian
 Our senior editor, he described it and I loved it. He was like, "It's the kind of place where your parents go." What did he say? "It's the kind of place where you go with the person you're going to marry, but you don't know it yet." Oh, I love that. I don't know why. It was just such a beautiful way to describe it, and then he waxed. If you read the review, he waxes poetic about the duck nachos, which are really good. It's a really special place. It's small, it's intimate,

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Adrian
 and it's just very charming.

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Sylvia
 So I'm reading the Paloma with Squirt, Made in House, Nachos, Bedia Tacos, Spicy Carrot Tacos, Branzino and an espresso, Martinez for dessert. Very cute. There you go. Love that. Love that. Okay, here's one. Now, I'm confused by this because hasn't it been around for a while and we are talking SKY. Oh, yes.

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Adrian
 Ah, yes, yes. You noticed that, didn't you? SKY, famously a B&R from 2018, I will say. They closed and then they... So they were in Pilsen. They closed, then they reopened in Lincoln Park until a new swankier space. And a lot of the menu is the same. Some of our favorite hits are there, but they've upgraded a little bit. New desserts, new dishes, and it's just an incredible place and a new space. And whereas I think the old SKY for anyone who went felt like I described it as a sexy basement, now it feels like a sexy bunker. Oh, okay.

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Sylvia
 Yeah. I love it. And I love that chef too. I mean, they always... They're amazing at what they can do there. Yeah. Okay, now here's another one. I have not been to Rendang Republic. Tell me about that.

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Adrian
 Okay, so it is... I believe it is still currently Chicago's only like Indonesian restaurant. I might be wrong about that.

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Adrian
 But I believe at the time of the writing, it still was. It is like an Indonesian restaurant in Wrigleyville. It's open all day, which is great. And one of our favorite things there, it's casual, is they have a hot dog with a sambal aioli. I believe it's a chicken sausage. It's really fun food that's got like a bit of a... I don't want to necessarily say like a Chicago twist to it. Sure. Sure. Yeah. And it's really... It's a really fun, delicious place.

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Sylvia
 That looks great. I'm looking at the pictures. Okay. And then you've got 11 on the list, but I want to stop at number seven so we can move on and talk about some other things. Sure. Because I have been hearing so much about Noriki Hand Roll Bar. Oh, yes. Everyone's talking about this place. Tell me about that.

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Adrian
 All right. Well, it's a hand roll bar, as the name might suggest. It's in the basement of... Tell everybody what that is. Okay. So Hand Roll is basically it's like sushi that they roll up and you eat it like a little ice cream, like a little sushi ice cream cone. Okay. I mean, it's really fun. It's prepared fresh. And Noriko is in the basement of Perilla in Westtown or West Loop Gate. I don't remember. It's one of those sub neighborhoods. And it's very intimate. It's very small, so it's very hard to get a reservation. But high quality fish, great bounce of flavors, love the seasoning and the sushi rice. And again, it's a good time. This year, we're really not only great food, but also just great vibes. And that's what this place has to offer too.

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Sylvia
 Yeah. Now I'm looking and as I told people, go to your website.

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Sylvia
 So I love it. It says, "Minimum Hand Rolls Consumed Each Visit 6. Price for best hand roll set, $38. A number of times we've raved about the comfy chairs for an average check for two people, $350." This is why I love your website as a resource because you got to be prepared. You're thinking, "Oh, you know, sushi hand rolls, okay, maybe it won't be that much." But it is sushi and it's quality and apparently really good.

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Adrian
 Yeah. And it's really great. Yep, exactly. Okay.

[01:13:06:17 - 01:13:16:05]
Sylvia
 So let's see, those were the new restaurants. Can we talk a little bit about your favorite, your 25 best restaurants in Chicago for 2025?

[01:13:17:10 - 01:13:34:16]
Sylvia
 Of course. So tell me about some of the ones on that list that really stand out and how difficult is it to narrow this down? Because as I said, we are a restaurant city and it is just unbelievable how many places that are so good here that we have.

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Adrian
 It is really hard to narrow down and there are a number of us who go out to eat for a living on the team. And the list is all of our opinions, but you're going to ask each of us individually and we're going to have our personal favorite. So I'll talk a little bit about mine because it is. These are our top rated, our top, our 25 highest rated spots in the city. Wow. And I'll give you a few of mine and I like to think that they all kind of have a different perspective.

[01:14:02:08 - 01:14:37:00]
Adrian
 One, you might know the spot is Chacome and Archer Heights. I love talking about it. It's a Mexican restaurant. They, you know, Moritaco Ria, they have great masa. Everything's made in house. They use, I just love that place. And every time I'm like, I have gone back so many times just to be like, is this the best new restaurant in Chicago? Everyone I take there loves it. I love it. I love to shout it out as often as I can because it's a little small, you know, family owned spot that I think is delicious and I want everyone to check it out.

[01:14:37:00 - 01:14:48:12]
Sylvia
 I'm going there. Yeah, you should. I'm looking for 5200 South Archer Avenue for people who are listening and wondering and I tell them Adrian sent you.

[01:14:48:12 - 01:14:59:22]
Adrian
 Yes. Report back. Occasionally I'll get tagged in like a, you know, post of social media posts. They're like finally made it here. We love it. So I am always taking the opportunity to talk about it.

[01:15:01:02 - 01:15:59:05]
Adrian
 Another spot is Maxwell's Trading, which has continued to impress me. It's a relatively new restaurant. I think it opened last year, maybe two years ago. And I've gone back for different reasons. Some on the clock, some off the clock. And every time I have an exceptional meal, I love the versatility of the space. I love that you can go there for a date night. I love that you can go there with a group. I've done both of those things, date night with my husband, group dinner with colleagues and friends. And I was recently at like a private event there because they have some great private event spaces and the food is good. It's an eclectic menu. I don't know if you remember Pacific Standard Time. Yes, I do. Do you remember that? Okay. So it's from that same chef and you will see a lot of that same sort of those influences where you're going to have like sort of like Western European and like Asian influences in the food and they nail on flavors every time. And it's just really, really good.

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Sylvia
 It was one of my favorite restaurants last year too. And I love that they have that rooftop garden where they grow everything. And then the coolest thing about that place is they have that little trading store and they have tea that they grow. They have, they have, they do this really cool thing where they get the flowers that they grow and they use them and they turn them into bidders if they go too long. But one of the coolest things I love is they have yarn and they use the dye from the flowers to dye the yarn that they sell in that trading post. Okay. Wow.

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Adrian
 How cool is that?

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Sylvia
 Talk about sustainability. You know what I mean? That's what I love about them. Not only is the food fantastic, but they're so thoughtful about what they're serving us. You know? It's really intentional.

[01:16:49:05 - 01:16:59:12]
Adrian
 That's such a great, that's such a great call out. They also have really good martinis. I know that might like, and it's good for dining alone at the bar. I'm sorry. I just, I really do. I mean it. That place does it all. Yes.

[01:16:59:12 - 01:17:06:05]
Sylvia
 I agree. That's a great solo dining spot. No doubt. Yeah. Ooh. Anything else that really is just like tugging at you?

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Adrian
 Um, you know what? I know this is, I always, as far as like the fancy, fancy spots, Oriel takes, takes it for me. If you're going to do a special occasion blowout spot, I still think Oriel is one of the best restaurants in the city.

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Sylvia
 You know? So describe to people that Oriel experience who's, who've never been, I've, I've only had the honor of going one time and fortunately I didn't have to pay for it. It was a friend's birthday and her husband invited me and I was like, yes, I win. I win.

[01:17:33:22 - 01:17:35:20]
Sylvia
 But that experience is really special.

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Adrian
 It really is. So, you know, Chicago has, I think just as an abundance of tasting menu restaurants. And I think we have an abundance of really good tasting menu restaurants. You know, they're really good. Oriel stands out. It's, I believe, you know, anywhere from like 13 to 15 courses, but it truly is an experience. You walk in, you, you actually physically move through the restaurant. You start out at the bar, then you move into like a, you know, the chef's kitchen area, which is open and they take you to your seat. Then you're going to go back to the chef's kitchen area. And it is, I believe around three hours of just exceptional dishes. Well, you know, well-paced, everything flows.

[01:18:22:16 - 01:18:47:07]
Adrian
 And it is one of those really expensive restaurants, which I too have, I've gone on, I've gone for work and I've gone just on my own. And I never wonder where my money went. You know, you never are like, oh, why was this so much money? Now, you know, whether or not you want to spend that kind of money, that is up to you. But I will tell you that I believe if you want to and you have it, it is worth it.

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Sylvia
 Yeah, I love it. Here's the line on your website. Oriel is our highest rated restaurant and we'll give you one of the best meals of your life for a high price tag of $325. I love that you say you don't ever feel like you didn't basically get your money's worth. That's wow. Yeah.

[01:19:06:13 - 01:19:09:23]
Sylvia
 This is a great place to take a break and we'll be right back.

[01:19:13:17 - 01:19:24:07]
Sylvia
 If you're enjoying supper with Sylvia, please like and share with family and friends. And also leave a comment. We love and need your support. Thanks for listening to supper with Sylvia.

[01:19:28:22 - 01:19:37:19]
Sylvia
 And then I'm going to go back down on this list because there's a place that you have on here that I just discovered recently myself and I love the owner.

[01:19:37:19 - 01:19:50:03]
Adrian
 Let me guess. Can I guess what you're going to say? Yes, please. Is it going to be? Okay. I'm just going to get this at Omar Cetos. Yes. How'd you know? I just knew. I just knew that's what you were going to say. Sorry. I don't know. I didn't mean to jump on you. Go on.

[01:19:50:03 - 01:20:18:17]
Sylvia
 No, I'm so glad. Omar Cetos Latin Cafe. I think the giveaway was the owner. The owner. Yes. That's the character. Isn't he Omar? Oh my gosh. I love him. He is. And I love that he's fusing all these Latin cuisines. So you get a taste of Venezuela. You get a taste of Puerto Rico. You get a taste of Cuba and it's in the most nondescript but very colorful area, a seating area outside. And then in the winter they have a very small area, but I wish him nothing but the best because he is fantastic.

[01:20:18:17 - 01:20:35:14]
Adrian
 He really is. And I will say he challenges one of our premises. As you know, we dine anonymously. We never announce ourselves. He is such a character that after our first visit, we posted about, we come back and he just knows us and he comes up and he runs up to us and we just,

[01:20:36:18 - 01:20:41:04]
Adrian
 we love him. So I'm right there with you, Sylvia.

[01:20:41:04 - 01:21:14:10]
Sylvia
 I mean, how can you say no to Omar? So yeah, I mean, thank goodness the food tastes as good as it does because if he's running up to you guys when you're there, he's not going to be at the food. He is great. He is great. He is great. Okay. I want to give you some of my favorites, okay? Oh yes. Please. And I know you're going to agree with me on a lot of these, but I want to go back to a go-to that I just love. I believe they opened this year and I am talking about Bracero. I love Bracero.

[01:21:14:10 - 01:21:35:14]
Adrian
 Yes. Let's talk. Right? Yes. No, I believe actually they did open last year, but I completely agree. I love it. I love, I mean, I also like El Shae, their other restaurant, but I think Bracero has got such great food and I love the bossa nova sort of like vibe happening in there.

[01:21:35:14 - 01:22:04:04]
Sylvia
 Yeah, I agree. It's so beautiful. And you know, you think El Shae is incredible. Bracero, wow, what he's been able to do with that as well. They were doing brunch there for a while and it was one of my favorite brunches in town. I think they're not doing brunch right now. They may be starting up again, but I love that. Okay. You were talking pizza amici and I want to talk to you about trends because one of the trends I've noticed this year is thin crust pizza. Okay. That seemed thin crust tavern style pizza.

[01:22:05:11 - 01:22:25:00]
Sylvia
 And I, of course, we can't think about thin crust in Chicago in tavern style without talking about Nick and Tony's, right? No, not Nick and Tony, without talking about the Southside. Why? Vito and Nick's. Sorry, Vito and Nick's. Vito and Nick's to me, when I think of thin cracker crust, they're kind of like the OGs, you know?

[01:22:25:00 - 01:22:48:10]
Adrian
 Right? I was, yes. No, I was so funny you bring that place up. I was actually recently there, you know, just checking it out as we do. Like is Vito and Nick still Vito and Nicking? And it absolutely is. You walk in, feels like a bar that's been around since I believe, you know, the 50th. Any of the decor. Right. The people look like they come with the space, you know?

[01:22:50:02 - 01:22:59:13]
Adrian
 It is so, and there's a lot of other stuff on that menu, but I never, it's not what you need to worry about. You want to worry about that delicious pizza.

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Sylvia
 Love their Vito and Nick's and Rose, the owner is another character. I love her. They still have the same original jukebox. I think they just celebrated like 65 years or something crazy. So I was bringing them up because I when I think of cracker thin crust that holds up, you got to say thank you. Give a nod to Vito and Nick's. OK, but I've seen this cracker thin crust trend going on in Chicago. And one of the places I think that's doing it really well is Zarella. Have you been there? Yes, yes.

[01:23:29:05 - 01:23:32:22]
Adrian
 River North, Zarella. I actually, I agree with you. And

[01:23:34:01 - 01:24:14:14]
Adrian
 I was, I wasn't, I don't want to say I was surprised because that implies I wouldn't think it would be great, but I was, I was incredibly impressed. And I was, it was one of those things where I'm just like, this is, yeah, really good. Really great spot. And it's a Boca restaurant spot. Yes. Yeah. And actually, if you go there, you have two choices. You've got like the like what they call it artisanal, the artisanal crust, and then they have their tavern style. And the artisanal crust is like, it really mimics Oliveira, their other restaurant that has pizza. It's great, but that's not what you want to focus on. I'm right with you, Sylvia. It is the tavern style there that they're doing really well.

[01:24:14:14 - 01:24:32:18]
Sylvia
 Yeah. And then I was out to doing a news story a couple of weeks ago, and I ran into this other pizza place I would never have gone to if somebody had not recommended. I wonder if you guys have been there because you've been everywhere. But if not, what do you know or have you tried Michael's Pizza and Tavern? I think it's like Uptown.

[01:24:34:03 - 01:24:35:07]
Sylvia
 Michael's Pizza.

[01:24:35:07 - 01:24:44:14]
Adrian
 Yeah. Yeah. It's like a sport. Is it sports? Sports? It's sports everywhere. So yeah, I love it when I've been there. Yes. Yes. I have been there.

[01:24:44:14 - 01:24:54:23]
Sylvia
 It's good. And it's 30 something years. They're known for their pizza and wings. But I think that thin crust pizza there is also really, really good. Okay. I just tried a new place that I love.

[01:24:56:06 - 01:25:01:01]
Sylvia
 And I know you know it. Have you been to have you guys tried Crying Tiger yet?

[01:25:02:07 - 01:25:15:05]
Adrian
 Yes. Now, I myself have not gone, but the team has visited. So they have been. So I can't speak to it necessarily, but I do know that it's really fun. And we liked it, but I have not been myself. Yeah.

[01:25:15:05 - 01:25:38:19]
Sylvia
 Because they have this viral dessert that is this tiger in this chocolate shell. It looks like matcha sprinkled on top. It's got ice cream. The dessert is stunningly beautiful. And it's going nuts. Like people are going nuts over this dessert. All right. Yeah. So those were just a few that kind of stood out for me. And I love that you know all of these places. You do your job well.

[01:25:38:19 - 01:25:43:14]
Adrian
 I know. And I get so excited when you start talking about it. Yeah.

[01:25:43:14 - 01:25:53:05]
Sylvia
 That's why I love talking to you. And then the other place I haven't tried yet, but I really, really want to try. It's on my bucket list, but I haven't been able to get in. And that is Carino.

[01:25:54:09 - 01:25:57:08]
Sylvia
 Oh, yes. Yeah. You've been having to.

[01:25:59:11 - 01:26:06:07]
Adrian
 It's good. And they have, I need to make sure if they're still doing it, they were doing it for a while. Like a taco. Yes.

[01:26:07:12 - 01:26:12:07]
Adrian
 Taco. I cannot say it. It's a taco. It's a taco. Taco. Taco. Yeah.

[01:26:13:16 - 01:26:23:00]
Adrian
 Taco. Taco. Yeah. Yeah. Anyways. Yes. And I have not been to that, but one of our writers has and he really loved it. But yeah, Carino. Great spot up and uptown. Yeah.

[01:26:23:00 - 01:26:25:19]
Sylvia
 And it's been on my list, but then it really,

[01:26:26:21 - 01:27:06:02]
Sylvia
 I started getting like FOMO. I really wanted to go. I recently started watching this show that is produced by Gordon Ramsey. I don't know if you've seen it. If you haven't, I want to recommend it to you and all of the foodies out there. I think I told my producer about this, but it's called, it's called Knife Edge, Chasing Michelin Stars. And it's produced by Gordon Ramsey, but he is, he's not on it. The host is somebody else. And the first episode is about a couple of New York restaurants that you might know, but episodes two and three are all about Chicago and Carino is in there. Esme is in there. Okay. And I think Elinio is mentioned.

[01:27:07:06 - 01:27:17:14]
Sylvia
 Oh, and Feld is in there. Okay. Yes. And it's really a fun documentary. You're welcome, Adrian. Because once you start watching this, you're gonna be like, I am so glad Sylvia told me about it.

[01:27:17:14 - 01:27:18:08]
Adrian
 Yeah. No, thank you.

[01:27:18:08 - 01:27:58:01]
Sylvia
 I will absolutely check that out. That's really cool. It's really fun, but it's, it follows them for a whole year. And what happens? Yeah. So, which brings me to Feld, which was one of the restaurants featured on there. And Feld has such an interesting history because the, the chef Jake Potashnik, he documented every day, one year leading up to when he actually opened his restaurant. So he created this buzz out there. Everybody was like, Oh, can't wait for it to open. He became this like TikTok star. And then the restaurant opened and then the reviews were not so good. You guys went visited, didn't you?

[01:27:58:01 - 01:28:11:15]
Adrian
 We did. We did. And we were one of those reviews that were not so positive about this particular restaurant. And, and, you know, we went in and we, we wanted to like it. We too had followed, followed along.

[01:28:13:01 - 01:28:53:19]
Adrian
 And yeah, it was, it was a rough start for that particular restaurant, but I do believe that he took the feedback. Yes, he did. And we started to hear, cause one thing we do is we go back to restaurants, you know, we try and give them a fair shake. We go multiple times and we go over a span of time, especially for a new spot that needs an opportunity to, to correct if necessary or to make sure they're consistent. And we started to hear that Feld had started to make some changes and taken some of the initial feedback on board. And we've since gone back and it has definitely, we enjoyed that second experience a lot more than the first.

[01:28:55:02 - 01:29:04:23]
Adrian
 And now I'm hearing even more that they've even accelerated. So we're due for that third visit just to see or fourth visit or however many visits we've done just to keep tabs on it.

[01:29:04:23 - 01:29:58:16]
Sylvia
 I went out there early this year to do a story with him. And I have to give him credit because I am so impressed with his resilience because getting reviews like that, as we know, can really have a huge impact on, on, you know, customers and, and, and on the, the, the mental capacity of the chefs and the crew there. But he was so determined. He's like, Nope, I am going to fight these reviews and we're going to get better. And they just won their first Michelin stars. So kudos to him. And I love that you guys have been back. But his story of resilience is so inspirational. I think I want to go back and kind of tell, retell his story because, you know, I think he's, he's truly an inspiration for other chefs who, who open as you know, opening a restaurant and keeping it open for even a year is a hard thing to do. It's a big deal.

[01:29:58:16 - 01:30:16:14]
Adrian
 It is. And I know that he, he was very, it's also very vulnerable, you know, the way you document, especially in these days, you know, social media, there's a lot of documentation, there's that level of vulnerability there. But you're, you're quite literally just putting yourself out there even before your, your craft gets presented to the public.

[01:30:18:02 - 01:30:19:08]
Adrian
 So I admire that.

[01:30:19:08 - 01:30:52:16]
Sylvia
 Yeah, I'm so happy that, that he got that star. Okay. So let's talk about trends, maybe trends that we've seen this year, and what we might see next year, as far as this year goes, I noticed there were a ton of fancy steakhouses open up in Chicago. Like we had multiple places. A lot of them were chefs who already had restaurants, and then they decided to open the steakhouse. And then omakase just seemed like it blew up like everybody was doing omakase. Are those trends you noticed as well?

[01:30:52:16 - 01:30:56:14]
Adrian
 Absolutely. For sure. The steakhouse trend.

[01:30:57:16 - 01:31:20:07]
Adrian
 I, omakase, I feel like is, has been brewing for a while, even just us talking about Carino's taco omakase. Yeah, that's true. It's just like the whole concept of omakase is like taken hold and it's become really almost ubiquitous here in Chicago. Even restaurants that aren't sushi restaurants are doing omakase, like Maple and Ash, a steakhouse that has, was doing omakase for a while.

[01:31:21:19 - 01:31:26:08]
Adrian
 Steakhouses, there's the Alston, which from the Esme Chef, I believe,

[01:31:27:08 - 01:31:40:18]
Adrian
 that's one of the fancy big steakhouses that opened up, like French inspired steakhouse. Then we had, I believe, Sophia, which is in the same building as the Alston. So we're like doubling up on steakhouses.

[01:31:41:21 - 01:32:02:16]
Adrian
 Trino. Trino. Westtown. Adelina Prime, right? Oh yeah, Adelina Prime. And you were right, because it's like Adelina Prime spun off from Adelina the Italian spot. Alston spinning off from like, I mean, it's not connected to Esme, but from the Esme Chef. And even Trino is from Diego,

[01:32:04:09 - 01:32:05:11]
Adrian
 which I love Diego.

[01:32:05:11 - 01:32:10:10]
Sylvia
 We didn't even talk about Diego. One of my favorite brunch spots in the city. Oh, that's so good.

[01:32:10:10 - 01:32:12:04]
Adrian
 I've never been there for a brunch.

[01:32:12:04 - 01:32:24:12]
Sylvia
 It's good to know. Good brunch. Oh, that's good. Okay. And for people who don't know, I should tell everybody, what does omakase mean? Because here we're talking about this, we know, because we do it all the time. But for those who may not be familiar with the term, what is it?

[01:32:24:12 - 01:32:51:04]
Adrian
 Omakase is, you know, sushi omakase is where the, I believe, you know, Chef's Choice, where they prepare sushi for you at a counter and it's like you eat it piece by piece. There might be some like small plates in there as well. And it can range anywhere from, I think, you know, here in Chicago, specifically, most of our omakase are about like 10 to like 15 pieces of sushi.

[01:32:52:05 - 01:32:57:20]
Adrian
 And they're prepared fresh in front of you, handed right to you, consume it on site, and then on to the next course.

[01:32:57:20 - 01:33:23:15]
Sylvia
 Yeah, Chef's Choice. And I do love it. I actually like to eat omakase everywhere I go. Because like you, Adrian, when I go to a restaurant, I kind of want a one bite of everything. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. I tried a whole menu. So I'm all about that. Okay, so we're talking about trends from this year. You guys are coming out or have just come out with a list by the time this airs on your what you see for 2026. Tell me about that.

[01:33:23:15 - 01:33:31:06]
Adrian
 Yes. Yeah, our trend forecasts. These are just patterns that we've started to see brewing and we think are going to continue.

[01:33:32:18 - 01:33:44:17]
Adrian
 Some of them are like actual like food, food things. We think we're going to see more regional Indian restaurants are going to be, you know, we've seen a few of them. We think we're going to see more.

[01:33:46:08 - 01:33:48:12]
Adrian
 I think a lot of what I would call,

[01:33:49:18 - 01:34:42:04]
Adrian
 I mentioned Pizza Michi being very casual. There's another one of our best new restaurants called Creepies, which is another, yeah, which is almost like casual chic that's happening, which are casual places with like linoleum floors and like Naga high booths, but they're filled with really sexy people. And they're serving like pretty like casual type food. You know, I'm not saying it's like diner food, but it just, and we're going to see more of those, like that casual chic vibe. I like that. Yeah, we're also going to see more, I think of, we've been having a lot of, I mentioned the regional Indian restaurants. I also think these, you know, bakeries that are from different regions of India and like Filipino bakeries, we're going to continue to see those opening as well.

[01:34:43:09 - 01:34:55:22]
Adrian
 And speaking to sort of the, you know, we're talking about prices and wanting to spend your money. Something we're going to continue to see, I think is restaurants offering like really premium like dishes.

[01:34:56:23 - 01:35:33:04]
Adrian
 Like I guess you could say like accessible luxury. Like it's a lot, it's a lot more affordable to spend way too much money on, okay, I'll use the Alston for example. The Alston has like a pretzel and a caviar dish, right? It's like hundreds of dollars. It's absolutely what it's, okay, it's not quite that expensive, but it's very expensive. People are more likely to spend money on something like that than perhaps going to Oreo and dropping, you know, $900 on a dinner for two. So the sort of like luxury experiences that are kind of minimized at a more like affordable price point, I think we're going to see that. Oh, and another one.

[01:35:35:02 - 01:36:21:04]
Adrian
 Martinis that have food in them, like food martinis, snack martinis, like a bloody garnish. Yes, you remember that one, Bloody Mary's went crazy with like whole pieces of pizza in them. We are seeing that trend with martinis. A newer place that's doing it, like for example, Gus's Sip and Dip has a breakfast martini that comes with like French, like it's garnished with like buttered, buttered and honey French toast. Did you say breakfast martini? A breakfast martini, yes, yes. I love it. Adelina, not prime Adelina, the steak or the Italian restaurant has this parmesan teeny, which is like infused with parmesan, it's garnished with like, so these like savory food based martinis. And I think we're going to see more of those. Awesome.

[01:36:21:04 - 01:36:25:11]
Sylvia
 Very fun. Okay, well, I think we've covered just about everything.

[01:36:26:14 - 01:36:29:08]
Sylvia
 It was so much fun talking to you, Adrian. I wonder,

[01:36:30:14 - 01:36:48:22]
Sylvia
 what do you think we've talked about trends, but what do you foresee with The Infatuation maybe coming up in the new year? Are you guys going to be taking any different steps or different approaches? Are you opening in more cities because you cover a huge area? I think you said including London.

[01:36:48:22 - 01:37:37:19]
Adrian
 Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're in 10 full time markets across the US and then of course in London. And we have those are just our full time staff cities. We are we also have like other cities, like, you know, you'll find us in Mexico City and Paris, and that's where you're really going to see our expansion. And we take all of those cities where we don't necessarily have like full time staff, we have the exact same approach. We don't accept free meals, we dine anonymously, we have people that live in their cities that write about the cities, you know, we don't parachute into Mexico City. We have writers based in Mexico City to write for The Infatuation just like we do. So you're going to see even more cities from all across the globe. We just released one for the Philippines, Manila or Manila guide.

[01:37:38:23 - 01:37:57:03]
Adrian
 So look out for that. And honestly, our team just know that we are out there visiting these restaurants as fast as possible scouring every corner of the internet, every corner of social media, finding places to visit and write about them. So, you know, more of the good work we're already doing, hopefully.

[01:37:57:03 - 01:38:09:00]
Sylvia
 Okay, you know, it's on my bucket list for 2020. Tell me. I want to go out to eat with you. We should do, let's do it. We should do. I want to go to your Mexican restaurant. Chocome.

[01:38:10:13 - 01:38:41:10]
Sylvia
 Chocome. Okay. We are going to Chocome. Yes, I would love that. So please, let's do it. Adrian, thank you again. Adrian came with infatuation. So much fun. And we'll have to get together again next year and kind of go over, you know, what we saw and what's happening. Because I think the food is up right. Yeah, yeah, that would be fun. We love it. We'll text on your projections. Please come back and appear on the podcast. Love having you, my friend. I will. Thank you. Great to see you. So it was really fun. Thank you. And happy 2026. Here's to good eating.

[01:38:42:11 - 01:38:43:08]
Sylvia
 Thank you so much.

[01:38:44:14 - 01:38:53:04]
Sylvia
 This podcast is produced by Jennie Waters, original audio and music editing. Donnie Cutting social media and promotions. Iliana Blasdell.