Chicago Named 'Best Restaurant City In America' By Conde Nast Traveler

By Anthony Todd in Food on May 17, 2017 8:59PM

The interior of the dining room at GT Prime. Photo by Sarah Freeman.

Chicago has a lot of pride in its food scene, but let's face it: we also kind of have an inferiority complex. That's why, despite all our reasons to be super confident (the best restaurants in America, Rick Bayless dancing, the James Beard Awards), outside approval still warms our hearts.

Conde Nast Traveler put it very, very simply:

Sorry, Los Angeles, but this is the best restaurant city in America right now. You may think it’s all steakhouses and encased meats here, but there’s a reason the James Beard Foundation moved its awards show to Chicago in 2015: The city’s chefs are some of the nation’s most creative and their restaurants are downright satisfying, whether you're balling out on the riotous good time at Roister, having the best burger of your life alongside a chilled-to-perfection negroni at Au Cheval, or the greatest spicy tuna roll this side of Tsukiji at Katsu.

Ha. Take that, L.A.

But seriously, the accompanying list of 19 restaurants is actually a pretty good look at the city, with everything from the obvious (Au Cheval and Alinea) to the local and sublime (Giant, Spacca Napoli and Duck Inn). The list also includes some of our favorites, like Income Tax and GT Prime. If you call yourself a Chicago foodie and you haven't been to every place on this list, get to work.