This chophouse serves up irresistibly juicy steaks that are butchered and hand-cut in-house. Order The Duke: This tender rib eye is brushed with beef butter and seasoned with an herby, housemade salt. It’s cooked in a Josper oven with coal for smokiness and served with pickled cherry peppers. If steaks are the star of the menu, the burgers are the sleeper hit. "Their burgers are the best in the Windy City," says Sarah Grueneberg, who is a fan of both the Dry-Aged Steakburger and the Lamb Burger.
Craving comfort? Follow Duff’s lead and try Akasha’s onion rings. They’re coated in rice flour and deep-fried to a perfect crunch. The chocolate banana bourbon pie served on Thanksgiving is also a hit. This boozy creation stars bourbon-spiked chocolate custard and whipped cream inside a flaky crust.
Naming his restaurant Yardbird is proof enough that Chef Jeff McInnis stands by his signature dish. The skillet-fried chicken takes 27 hours to prepare, leaving the chicken supremely tender with crispy skin. Make sure to order buttermilk biscuits with pepper jelly or the Tabasco-spiked honey.
The secret to the mouthwatering meat served here is the dry-aging process, which is done in-house for 28 days or more. These USDA Prime cuts are broiled with the basics — salt, pepper and butter — to allow the natural flavors of the beef to shine through. They’re then carved tableside for two.
For Jewish deli fare done right, try the pastrami on rye served here. This scratch-made sandwich starts with brisket that’s bathed in a housemade brine for one week, then rubbed down with spices and smoked over oak wood. The result is a rich pastrami that tastes delicious on freshly baked bread.
Don’t let the no-frills appearance fool you: Diners trek in from across the country and beyond for the flavor-packed soul food dishes served here. A standout is the fried chicken, which is double-dredged and then fried in peanut oil, making for a thick, flaky crust with a hint of nutty flavor.
With praiseworthy pizza and the lines to prove it, this spot serves a devoted customer base that will do anything for New York-style pies. A standout is the Pizza Margherita, which features ingredients imported from Italy. Buffalo mozzarella, sea salt and fresh basil make for a tasty creation.
Northern Italy meets the Pacific Northwest at Spinasse, where locally sourced ingredients are used to make dishes inspired by Italy’s Piedmont region. A must-try is the Tajarin al Ragu: Fresh pasta is julienned by hand, then cooked with a meat ragu featuring beef chuck, pork shoulder, prosciutto and a housemade duck broth.
This spot is a Boston tradition, serving cops, construction workers and even Bill Clinton. Try The Pilgrim Sandwich, which stars a Thanksgiving feast on a massive roll. This beauty comes layered with homemade cranberry sauce, fresh-roasted turkey and savory stuffing topped with herbaceous gravy.
Classic brunch fare is creatively reimagined at this spot, which lures diners with dishes like the Cinnamon Roll French Toast. Two halves of a cinnamon-laced brioche roll are dunked in an egg bath and cooked until golden brown before being layered with a rich Neufchâtel filling and fresh fruit.
This garage-turned-restaurant offers innovative brunch dishes like the sweet-and-savory mash-up known as the BLT Dutch Baby Pancake. A puffy, pastrylike base made from pancake batter is topped with aioli and bacon jam, then loaded with peppery strips of bacon, marinated tomatoes and fresh greens.
Got a hankering for smoked turkey? Dr. Barbecue (Ray Lampe) will prescribe you a visit to this family-run restaurant, which he says serves the "juiciest turkey you’re ever going to eat." Another must-try is the smoked chicken, which is locally sourced and served with a tangy white barbecue sauce.
This restaurant’s signature ribs pay homage to a defining ingredient of New Mexican cuisine: the chile. Baby back ribs are marinated for 24 hours in a tangy paste that’s made fresh daily from red chile pods, then cooked for six hours until they are fall-off-the-bone tender and full of spicy flavor.
This Tex-Mex pioneer has been the driving force behind legendary dishes like fajitas and Tacos Al Carbon. But Mo Rocca finds his favorite in the Queso Flameado (think Oaxaca cheese and spicy chorizo rolled into a warm tortilla). The nachos strewn with cheddar and refried beans are also a standout.
This tropical-inspired spot has brought Jamaican flavors to an island of another sort — Manhattan. Crowds flock here for distinctively Caribbean cuisine like the jerk chicken wings: A bold paste made from Scotch bonnet peppers adds both sweet and spicy notes to the succulent grilled meat.
Make restaurant favorites at home with copycat recipes from FN Magazine.
Let Guy take you on a coast-to-coast tour Friday at 9|8c.