When a dish makes Urban Dictionary, you have to try it. So it goes with the 554 at Seven Treasures, added to the Urban Dictionary lexicon by a legion of late-night eaters. Read more.
Thinly sliced straight from the beautiful trompo (a spinning tower of stacked meat) onto an awaiting tortilla, the meat is salty, juicy and packed with the smoky savoriness of bacon. Read more.
This sharp restaurant in Little Village specializes in Durango-style burritos, which forgo almost all extraneous toppings to focus on the elemental — beef, beans and tortilla. Read more.
Moan about authenticity all you want, each bite of this tightly wrapped package is smoky, sweet, spicy, bitter and salty. Other burritos wish they were as well crafted as this one. Read more.
Unlike most burritos, the cheese is given time to melt, so it fuses with the steak, adding a savory creaminess. Read more.
Tripas can be deeply funky, but this version has a clean, extra-savory flavor. It's my favorite taco in the whole city. $2.40 per taco. Read more.
Deshebrada is not a particularly common burrito filling around town, but the shredded beef filling — often stewed with tomatoes and chiles — is a staple of many Durango-style Mexican restaurants. Read more.
Il Porcellino in River North is justifiably popular for its pastas, especially the feather-light dumplings that go into the menu's gnocchi Bolognese. Read more.
Chef Stephanie Izard's goat liver mousse, silky with a sheen the color of toasted creme brulee, is somehow rich and delicate at once. Read more.
The Iberian pork shoulder at Mercat a la Planxa is naturally delicious. Read more.
Not only is Big & Little's lamb gyro burrito intentionally inauthentic, I think it's also better than any Kronos gyro served on pita in Chicago. Read more.
Derrick Tung created a menu category just for the Chicago location: Logan Squares, referring to (oddly enough) Detroit-style rectangular pan pizza. Read more.
The carnitas taste like a pure manifestation of pork, with nothing to get in the way. Each morsel tastes richly decadent, yet also slightly sweet. $2.70 per taco. Read more.
This is the Leonardo DiCaprio of pizzas — it sweeps every awards list. And for good reason: Chefs whip ricotta with 'nduja (en-DOO-ya), a spicy salami that's soft enough to be spreadable. Read more.
The crust on their Russo sausage deep-dish ($21.25 for a 12-inch) is crackly and gorgeously browned, looking like a beautiful loaf of bread. Read more.
Open for breakfast, lunch and brunch Tuesday through Sunday, Over Easy Cafe is an endearing eatery in Ravenswood that's home to Chicago's crown jewel of egg dishes: the signature Sassy Eggs ($12). Read more.
This 90-plus-year-old pizzeria was voted Chicago's best spot for thin-crust by Tribune readers in 2016. Get the large, always ($17). Read more.
The menu's sleeper hit is its fast-food version of bulgogi, or strips of sweet-spicy-tasty steak. On the menu, it's dubbed the Seoul bowl, and it is perfect in its simplicity. Read more.
To make the shaved noodles at Slurp Slurp, cooks fold a wheat-based dough multiple times before hacking at it with a special knife to slice off long ribbons. Order them stir-fried. Read more.
I'm here to tell you about a hidden secret on the menu; the gorgeous bowl of yuzu shio ramen ($13). Read more.
