The Best Chicago Restaurants on 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives'

Nothing says Chicago like a classic dog, but Guy Fieri is here to tell you there is far more than hot dogs in this stellar food town. From German classics to Southern comfort food, the Windy City has it all. So, hold on to your hat (literally) as Guy takes us on a tour of some of the most delectable restaurants featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Located on the corner of Canal and Roosevelt, just minutes from the University of Chicago and the Field Museum, 24-hour diner White Palace Grill has been serving up vintage diner delights since 1939. Guy says the only change has been new fans constantly coming in the door! Even with a 24/7 routine, owner George Liakopoulos insists on a menu that's 99 percent scratch-made. You can get breakfast, lunch and dinner — from country fried steak to chicken and waffles, hot dogs and burgers, meatloaf and fried catfish — any time of day. When Guy visited, head cook Jose Cervantes shared their recipe for classic liver and onions, made by coating a pounded-out beef liver in flour and pan-frying it. It's served with sauteed onions and freshly made mashed potatoes (they use red potatoes), all topped with homemade gravy.

For more than 80 years, Tufano's Vernon Park Tap has been dishing out old-school Italian dishes. The James Beard Award and solid Chicago fan base prove the quality of their classic dishes. The way Guy sees it, their signature lemon chicken is nothing short of a "bodacious bird."

Hackney's has been slinging burgers since the original owner, Helen "Bebe" Hackney, served them with brews on her back porch during the Prohibition era. A standout is The Famous Hackneyburger, served on dark rye with a brick (yes, a brick) of onion rings on the side. As Guy proclaimed, ''It's all-American, baby.''

Billing itself as Korean street BBQ, Del Seoul is owned by a brother-and-sister team who turn out creative Korean cuisine with California influences in Chicago. Be careful, you might start dreaming about the crispy K-Town Chicken Wings and the addictive Kaibi Poutine.

This bar doesn't know the meaning of pub food. They're nixing regular fries and burgers and adding in none other than head cheese (a gelatinous cold cut made from pig's head) charcuterie. Or, try a duck and Gruyère crepe. Add a side of frites to that and order from the lengthy menu of beers, and you'll never barhop again. This Belgian-style Andersonville bar also serves incredible mussels and features a lengthy menu of craft beers.

The family-operated restaurant Sun Wah BBQ has some of the best and most authentic Chinese barbecue in Chicago. Served up Hong Kong-style, the menu highlights include peanut butter egg rolls, crispy Beijing duck and delectable beef chow fun.

Even the baked beans are smoky at this aptly named Chicago barbecue restaurant. The meaty menu makes it hard to decide, but ribs — available as baby backs or meaty St. Louis-style — are especially excellent, coated in a Memphis-style dry rub and glazed with a sweet, tangy barbecue sauce.

The Original Vito & Nick's Pizzeria is a Chicago staple that has been winning over locals since 1923 (though they didn't start making pies until 1946). Though Chicago may be known for its deep-dish pies, this family-owned Chicago spot goes in the opposite direction, with wafer-thin pies. The toppings for their pizzas include Chicago-style Italian beef or runny egg. Though he tried to hide the eggs below pepperoni before the pie was fired, Guy quickly became a convert on Triple D. “If you’re not a big egg fan, the only way to eat eggs is to say, ‘I want it on a pizza with thin crust from Vito & Nick’s, covered in fried pepperoni,’” Guy said. He was so smitten he included the pizzeria in his "Best of Pizza" special.

Housed in a former military Quonset hut (think of a giant metal meatloaf), Charlie Parker's Diner is serious about its portion sizes. Guy loved the 16-inch pancakes but had a field day with the "horseshoe" dish, made to order with your choice of bread and meat, and topped with cheese sauce and fries.

Score a table at this tiny spot inspired by Spain's Catalan and Basque coastal region and named for iconic food writer M.F.K. Fisher and you’ll be richly rewarded. Enjoy a pour of crisp txakolina and a plate of boquerones, pristine anchovy fillets perched on smoky grilled baguettes. For your main, order the cataplana. This tomato-and-anise-flavored stew is larded with bits of cobia collar and fresh shrimp. You also won't want to miss the Crunchy Prawn Heads.

Whenever Guy is rolling through Chicago, he stops to eat at La Scarola. Chef and owner Armando Vasquez serves up unbeatable Italian food and a welcoming atmosphere that Guy can’t get enough of. To make Guy’s go-to order, Veal Chop a la Gabe, a huge 10-ounce pork chop is pounded thin, breaded and fried until crisp, and then topped with a lemon-garlic sauce.

Don't judge a book by its cover at The Shanty, an 80-year-old joint serving classic burgers, steaks and pasta dishes. Try the best-selling Whiskey Shrimp that Guy called "dynamite." Surf 'n' turf lovers should indulge in the conch and filet mignon duo that’s got a bit of Cajun spice.

Corned beef and hash is one of the menu items at chef/owner Dan Raskin's Manny's Deli. As a Jewish food specialist, Ted Allen once called Manny's noodle kugel "classic" and a "great way to gain a lot of weight" on Best Thing I Ever Ate. The kugel itself merits a trip to Chicago, but diners nationwide head to Manny's for all the tasty Jewish fare, including the chicken soup and massive corned beef sandwiches.

Latin fare meets traditional Asian dishes at Chicago hot spot Saucy Porka. From pork carnitas pho soup to arrozo con edamame, Saucy Porka brilliantly balances the fusion of flavors. We recommend trying the Asian-style paella (Chinese Lap Chang pork sausage, spicy sausage, pork carnitas, edamame, bean sprouts and scallions) or the pork pozole (smoky guajillo peppers and tomato-based soup served with pickled cabbage, cilantro and corn tortillas).

Kuma's Corner is a place where punk rock meets a mean burger meets craft beer. You can't go wrong with any of these rocking burgers, including the Kuma Burger (shown here), a piled-high feast of applewood-smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, a fried farm egg, lettuce, tomato and red onion.

What started out as a traveling rig morphed into an award-winning barbecue restaurant helmed by self-taught pitmaster Willy Wagner. The secret to The Tonk's Memphis-style 'cue is their dry rub, made up of over 17 different spices, including paprika, chili powder, sage, garlic and a variety of peppers.

At Paradise Pup, the "big mess of a burger" is traditional Chicago fast food the way it should be. Folks line up outside the 800-square-foot joint for the one-and-only Char Cheddar Burger — what Guy calls the "mac daddy of all burgers." As for the Italian beef sandwich, it’s "oh so good."

Guy couldn't help but drive his fire-red Chevy up to Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket. The iconic restaurant off Route 66 makes 2,000 pounds of their world-famous slow-cooked chicken each week. Guy loved the chicken and nicknamed chef Patrick Rhea "Captain Creamy" for the scrumptious mac and cheese featuring cavatappi pasta smothered in “Colorado River of Cheese Sauce,” topped with two cheeses and baked until brown and bubbly. You can add jalapeño, bacon and green onion for even more kick.

"If a pizza met a sandwich and had a baby" is how co-owner Anthony Pinello describes Sicilian Schiacciata, one of the Sicilian staples at Rex Italian Foods. Housemade dough is topped with mozzarella cheese, cooked prosciutto, pepperoni and deep-fried peppers, heated in the oven and crisped on a panini press. "It's like a real-deal Italian-style ham and cheese," Guy said.

Peruvians and Chicagoans both head to Taste of Peru for authentic chicken tamales, Anticuchos (beef heart kebabs) and Guy's favorite: Lomo Saltado. Along with succulent fried beef, onions and tomatoes, this dish adds french fries, making it what Guy called "right on-point goodness."