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The Tribune's Annual Dining Awards Are Out, With Some Unexpected Pleasures

By Anthony Todd in Food on Mar 1, 2016 7:38PM

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Fish tacos at The Game Room at the Chicago Athletic Association Hoel (Photos by Clayton Hauck, courtesy Land & Sea Dept)

It's a bit late in the season for awards covering 2015, but when it's the Tribune, you sit up and pay attention. Luckily, as befits the biggest newsroom in town, the food staff at the Trib have come up with a good list for their annual Dining Awards. It includes some obvious (but awesome) choices, but also some well-deserved spots that didn't make many year-end lists.

Let's get the big one out of the way first: Best New Restaurant goes to The Blanchard, and it's a well-deserved accolade. Best Makeover goes to the Chicago Athletic Association hotel— also a good, obvious choice.

Then we get into slightly more fun territory. Chef of the Year didn't go to any of the fancy starred chefs in the city—it didn't even go to a chef that was nominated for a Beard Award. Instead, it went to Kevin Hickey, for his incredible work at Duck Inn in Bridgeport. Duck Inn actually got two nods, as Brandon Phillips got well-deserved recognition for his work behind the bar. Best neighborhood restaurant likewise went to an unexpected choice: Ampersand, the wine bar in Lincoln Square that got good reviews when it opened but didn't make many best-of lists.

Like many awards, this one seems a bit reverse-engineered, with categories that reflect a desire to cover a particular restaurant rather than a restaurant that fit a particular category. Aside from Best Southern, there aren't any other regional cuisine awards, but we won't complain because Luella's Southern Kitchen, a great spot in Lincoln Square that deserves more attention, got the nod.

Check out the whole list.