LOGAN SQUARE

Akahoshi Ramen (2340 N. California Ave.)

“He spent a decade methodically learning how to make ramen,” Mike says of chef/owner Mike Satinover, a former marketer with no formal culinary training. “He’s a self described control freak.” Yet another restaurant that started as a pop-up concept, Akahoshi offers a limited menu of four types of ramen, a selection of added toppings and two rice bowls.

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LINCOLN SQUARE

Atelier (4835 N. Western Ave.; 773-681-0651)

Louisa marvels that Chef Christian Hunter has a James Beard semifinalist notch and one Michelin star before he has even begun to tell his own culinary story. One memorable dish from a recent visit: Black squid ink grits with trout. “Just really creative and stunning,” she says.

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WEST LOOP

Bonyeon (651 W. Washington Blvd.; 872-318-2194)

Sangtae Park, the executive chef and owner with his wife, Kate, brings another innovative culinary concept to Chicago: the all-beef omakase, or meal consisting of dishes selected by the chef. In this case, top-quality beef, which has a long tradition in Korean cuisine. “He opened the first really high-end sushi omakase in Chicago. Lots of people followed them,” Mike says, referring to Omakase Yume in the West Loop (also at 651 W. Washington Blvd.; 312-265-1610), which opened in 2018. Twelve courses, $255 per person.

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LOGAN SQUARE

Daisies (2375 N. Milwaukee Ave.; 773-697-9443)

Rochelle acknowledges that for many Chicagoans, Daisies fast became the go-to spot for elevated comfort food: modern takes on classic pasta dishes, witty desserts (peanut butter cream puff with concord-grape sorbet), and an instinct for crowd pleasers, such as Prawns de Jonghe or the fritto misto of mushrooms and cheese curds. But she loves Daisies for lighter fare at lunch. “They have an amazing shaved Brussels sprouts salad with pears and pistachio and rosemary,” she says, making the point that vegetarians will find lots to love on the menu.

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ALBANY PARK

Maman Zari (4639 N. Kedzie Ave.; 773-961-7866)

Created by Mariam Shahsavarani, a native Chicagoan and a former flight attendant who frequently traveled to Tehran, Maman Zari is likely one of the few Persian tasting menus in the country, Mike says. Executive Chef Matteo Lo Bianco spent afternoons doing culinary training with her family, eating and cooking food. The result? “Easy, breezy tasting menu of classic Persian dishes in small plate form, artfully presented,” Mike says. “There’s a little of the [Grant] Achatz-style modernist tricks but not excessively.” The multicourse meal is $85, with meat or vegetarian.

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UKRAINIAN VILLAGE

Soule To Soule (1931 W. Chicago Ave.; 312-526-3825)

“I think the chef/owner has done an amazing job of creating her version of what she calls ‘soul-food tapas’,” Rochelle says of Bridgette Flagg, Soule To Soule’s CEO and chef. Rochelle loves the cajun fried salmon bites ($14) and buffalo cauliflower ($15), which she says reflects the restaurant’s new attention to vegetables. “You can’t go there and not have their fried green tomatoes.” BYOB

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STREETERVILLE

Sushi | Bar Chicago (inside Lady May, 405 N. Wabash Ave.; 312-498-4442)

Billed as an “omakase speakeasy,” this tiny operation is tucked inside another restaurant so different it’s almost like a decoy designed to throw you off the trail (Lady May is Southern food; Rochelle urges you try the fried pickles and deviled eggs with caviar). Accommodating just 12 diners at a time, Sushi | Bar serves a 17-course set menu at the counter — arms distance from the chefs who serve you, piece by exquisite piece. Rochelle says the attention to detail is off the charts (they were able to accommodate her slate of food allergies), and the vibe is celebratory and not pretentious. “It was almost like having a dinner party,” she says.

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AVONDALE

Thattu (2601 W. Fletcher St.; 773-754-0199)

The hook for Louisa is Thattu’s intriguing backstory: “Where else do you have a Korean-American, Northern Californian woman who decided to adopt her husband’s regional Indian cuisine as her own?” Louisa says, describing the journey of Margaret Pak from health-care executive to chef. But the food is its own lure. Carefully prepared dishes epitomize the delicacy of Southern Indian cooking: steamed fish in banana leaves, and black chickpeas with roasted coconut gravy and the lacy rice pancake called appam. Born of a pop-up concept, Thattu is pushing another trending idea: All inclusive pricing. Yep – no tipping.

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LAWNDALE

The SoulFood Lounge (3804 W. 16th St., 773-799-0620)

Louisa describes the cuisine at this snug BYOB as globally influenced with traditional soul roots. “There’s a $59 dinner, which is not an inexpensive dinner, but it is basically three whole dinners!” Louisa says, referring to the Grand Tasting, a three-entree sampler. “So there is a lot of value and care that goes into Quentin Love’s restaurant.” 

According to Louisa, the Marsala-braised pot roast ($39), served with Thai honey Brussels sprouts, is one of Chef Love’s favorites. The SoulFood Lounge also has a second location in Beverly (10701 S. Hale Ave.; 773-372-7239). BYOB

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LOGAN SQUARE

Umamicue (2758 W. Fullerton Ave.)

Vietnamese-inspired BBQ pop-up. Example: Brisket banh mi ($15). “Food that you will not find anywhere,” Louisa says, who describes how Chef Charles Wong, inspired by a trip to the legendary Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas, left finance to pursue his culinary vision — to the chagrin of his father but lucky for us. (Dad came around.)

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AVONDALE

Warlord (3198 N. Milwaukee Ave.)

“Warlord is a little bit controversial,” Mike says, because the Avondale hipster magnet is the opposite of accessible, which is what Rochelle thinks made this year’s crop of newcomers so special. The late-night dining destination is only open Friday through Monday from 6 p.m. onward; it doesn’t accept reservations; and, of course, its website is a cryptic one-pager.

“But what they’re doing there over a live fire in the middle of the restaurant … [is] cooking just perfectly executed dishes,” Mike says. The menu typically offers a hunk of red meat (often dry-aged in a case in the front), a pasta and some kind of fresh, raw seafood. Mike notes that the intrepid who venture to Warlord after midnight on a Monday will be rewarded with no line.