Alinea is the best restaurant in the entire history of Chicago, says Chicago magazine Grant Achatz’s house of wonder grabbed the top spot for turning our city into an “international foodie destination.” Sounds about right to us. Perhaps, we could have seen some sympathy votes for Charlie Trotter’s, or a stealth victory for Rick Bayless’s Authentic Mexican empire. But both, along with Tony Mantuano’s Spiaggia, squeezed into the top five. Not a bad looking group.
Le Francais, which was way out in Wheeling and closed in 2007, captured the No. 2 spot. It was influential and widely praised, however, making it a perfect insiders’ pick. But where’s Tru? Perhaps they decided to reward Rick Tramonto for his work with Trio (No. 6), though we’re not exactly pleased about it.
Of course, now they’ve got us all worked up about whether Avec really should be placed higher than Blackbird. Also, what the hell Carson’s doing in here? This, of course, is their whole stupid point. Well done.
Here’s the whole list.
Top 40 Chicago Restaurants Ever [Chicago Magazine]
1. Alinea
2. Le Francais
3. Charlie Trotter’s
4. Frontera Grill and Topolobampo
5. Spiaggia
6. Trio
7. Ambria
8. Morton’s The Steakhouse
9. Gordon
10. Pizzeria Uno
11. Avec
12. Carlos’
13. The Bakery
14. Blackbird
15. Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!
16. Everest
17. Arun’s
18. The Pump Room
19. Yoshi’s Cafe
20. Gibsons Steakhouse
21. Jacues
22. Fritzel’s
23. Carson’s
24. Gene & Georgetti’s
25. Cape Cod Room
26. Le Perroquet
27. Eli’s Place for Steak
28. Jimmy’s Place
29. College Inn
30. Shangri-La
31. The Berghoff
32. Henrici’s
33. Hackney’s on Harms
34. Alexander’s Steak House
35. Gladys Holcomb’s Home Cooking
36. Manny’s Coffee Shop & Deli
37. Don Roth’s Blackhawk
38. Red Star Inn
39. Fanny’s
40. Wing Yee
