Tzuco in River North is very new, but so far we like everything that’s happening at this upscale Mexican restaurant. Some of our favorites are the spreads served with an assortment of fresh baked breads, the chorizo and mussels in a saffron beurre blanc, and the bone-in ribeye with a complementary spicy goat cheese sauce. The decor feels a little like a trendy installation at a desert art museum, and we mean that in the best way possible - it’s a fantastic alternative to nearby options for a business dinner or sceney night out in the neighborhood.

This fun Latin American restaurant in Wicker Park has great food with complex flavors. We’re big fans of the chicken skewers served in a spicy huancaina, the tender roasted octopus in poblano sauce, and the yuca gnocchi with rabbit bolognese. It’s a great neighborhood spot for grabbing dinner during the week, or for a reasonably priced date night when you want to have dinner, drinks, and an argument over who gets the last tentacle.

At first glance, the menu at Good Fortune in Logan Square isn’t very exciting. It looks a little like it was created from a 2019 New American Restaurant starter kit - you’ll find ceviche, salads, roasted vegetables, some pastas, and both meat and seafood entrees. But most of it is very good (like the perfectly cooked ribeye with short rib croquettes and the black garlic rigatoni), and even when dishes fall short (like the slightly rubbery halloumi or the delicate char that’s overwhelmed by soupy carrot ponzu), the enjoyable atmosphere makes up for them. The dark space has two levels: the main level feels like a neighborhood bar, while the second floor is smaller and gives you a view of the open kitchen and its wood fired oven. It’s the kind of place where you’ll find yourself ordering an extra cocktail or a dessert just to hang out a little while longer.

Perilla took over a space that used to be a Korean BBQ restaurant, and you can still get BBQ here if you want. But we like coming to this West Loop spot for the other Korean items on the menu. The best dishes here are the rich and tender fire chicken, the cheese corn with caramelized kernels under salty cotija, and the kimchi pancake, which is one of the best we’ve eaten in Chicago. This place is ideal for date night in the neighborhood, or a casual group dinner if you do decide to go the Korean BBQ route.

The main reason to come to this Chinese restaurant in Lincoln Park is for dim sum, which they serve all day. D Cuisine has a limited selection compared to the other dim sum spots in the city, but what they have is fresh and delicious. You’ll find excellent pork buns, smooth and creamy steamed egg buns, shrimp dumplings, and sesame balls that are crispy on the outside and perfectly chewy inside. There’s a long menu of other Chinese dishes that run the gamut from noodle soups to General Tso chicken, and those are all worth having on the table, too. The space is sleek and on the smaller side (you won’t find any giant lazy Susan tables here), but it works for any small group that’s serious about its shu mai.

Superkhana is an upbeat and fun new spot in Logan Square that does fusion-y takes on Indian street food. This means you’ll find dishes like a butter-chicken-filled calzone, French fry Manchurian, and a naan pizza made with mozzarella, spinach, and garam masala. Everything tastes really good, which keeps it from coming across as unnecessary or gimmicky. Plus, there’s a cute outdoor courtyard you should definitely take advantage of.

This restaurant is from the team behind Parachute, one of our favorite restaurants in the city. Wherewithall is right down the street and has a similarly cute space and friendly atmosphere, but the style of food is way different. It’s a $65 four-course tasting menu that changes daily, with some surprise snacks in between courses. Dishes here have a variety of influences and range from cornmeal beignets to seared tuna to duck breast with cauliflower and currants. Like its sister restaurant, Wherewithall’s food is expertly prepared and delicious.

With Aster Hall and Politan Row, Chicago has seen an increase of upscale food halls this year. Fulton Galley is another one, newly opened in the West Loop. Italianette is one of five restaurants, and it focuses primarily on housemade pastas, with a few thin crust pizzas thrown in for good measure. While the pizzas are tasty (and definitely worth getting), it’s the pasta that stands out, like the perfectly peppery and al dente cacio e pepe and the saffron gemelli with an incredibly rich pork ragu. Pair them with a glass of wine and you’ll forget you’re sitting in a fancy food court.

This is another stall in Fulton Galley that has really great food. Fairview is a Latin American rotisserie, and eating here feels a little like being at a backyard barbecue. You can choose from chicken, pork shoulder, or lamb ribs (with delicious sauces like mole poblano or chimichurri), and sides include potatoes made with aji verde and refried beans with masa crepes - but our favorite is the corn arepa topped with garlic, green beans, and cotija cheese. In other words, it’s probably way better than the last family picnic you went to.

Speaking of food courts, Memoir is a stall in the Richland Center food court in Chinatown featuring a build-your-own dry hot pot situation. “Build-your-own” anything might not be a likely candidate for our Hit List, but we promise the Szechuan flavors are incredible. They’ll hand you a bucket to pick what you want in your stir fry (with things like rice cakes, noodles, meat, seafood, and veggies), and whatever you hand them will come back as a delicious and perfectly cooked platter of food. You can let them know the level of heat you want, and they’ll give you some rice to balance it out.

If you haven’t had them before, momos are Nepalese steamed dumplings, and it probably won’t shock you to find out that a place named “The Momo World” makes them very well. There are a lot of varieties here, including the classic chicken or vegetable, jhol (served in a spicy soup), and some creative options like Tandoori, which are steamed then fried. They’re all delicious, and each order is under $10.

The biggest issue with this new spot in Chinatown is whether to shorten the name to “Chef Xiong” or “Taste of Szechuan” when we inevitably tell people to come here. Whatever you decide to call it, the important thing is that this upscale BYOB spot has really good food. The menu is long enough to satisfy James Joyce, but here are the Cliff’s Notes: we’re big fans of the cold jelly noodles in a perfectly spicy black bean sauce, the grilled pork ribs, and the wontons in chili sauce.

Bad Hunter has been around for a few years, so you might wonder what it’s doing on our Hit List. Well, it recently reopened after a fire that happened back in November of 2018, and the vegetable-focused food is still excellent. You’ll find things like butter dumplings with corn and spicy peanuts, whole roasted cauliflower, and - if you need a meat safety blanket - plenty of chicken, steak, and lamb on the menu, too. But whatever you do, don’t leave without getting the delicious sunflower butter ice cream sandwich. It’s vegan and gluten-free, but we’re not holding that against it.

This is a new spot in Wicker Park from the same owners as The Publican and Avec. The menu at Cafe Cancale is French-inspired with a seafood focus, and like Avec and The Publican, the food here is across-the-board delicious. We love the charred leeks with mussels and the well-balanced shared plate of clams, boudin blanc, and escargot in a buttery sauce. The space is light and bright, nice enough for a date but also good for a casual night of oysters and wine at the bar.

Bayan Ko is a small and popular Filipino and Cuban restaurant in Ravenswood, and getting a reservation there is hard. Clave is a Cuban restaurant inside Politan Row (a new food hall in the West Loop) from the same team, and you won’t have to worry about getting a seat here. This place has some of the best Cuban dishes from the original, including a flavorful ropa vieja and a cubano made with magical bread that is both perfectly crunchy and fluffy.

Galit is a Middle Eastern small plates restaurant in Lincoln Park, and you should make a reservation here immediately (maybe even before reading the rest of this caption). The food is across-the-board great - from the creamy hummuses (the one topped with brisket is a standout), to the light and crispy falafel, to a rich and spicy shakshuka. The space is large, and works well for groups, dates, and even dining solo at the long chef’s counter. In fact, the only problem with this spot so far is that you’re going to be tempted to try everything on the menu, and the costs can add up. But it’s worth it.

Cebu is a new Filipino restaurant in Wicker Park. The menu is short - with dishes like kinilaw, sisig, and chicken adobo, which are all delicious, and some fantastic housemade pandesal bread that you need to make sure is on the table. The small dining room is good for date night, or grabbing cocktails and a bite at the bar. Plus, there’s a back patio that we’ll be able to use at some point... eventually, when it’s warmer.

You can always count on two things in Chicago. One, there will be a snowstorm in April. Two, people will lose their sh*t whenever the Girl & The Goat group opens a restaurant. Cabra is the newest restaurant from that same team, on the roof of the Hoxton Hotel in the West Loop, and as expected, it’s already incredibly busy. It also serves some very good Peruvian-inspired food, and has a great view. The menu is mainly small plates, and the best things here are the ceviches (the bass with leche de tigre and the duck are stand-outs), a tender and spicy skewered beef heart, and the shrimp tacu tacu which comes on a delicious crispy rice cake. It’s a great spot for a fun date night, or a group dinner outside (as long as there’s no surprise snowstorm to deal with).

The original Carnitas Uruapan is a small counter-service spot in Pilsen that specializes in, yes, carnitas - and this is a (much) bigger location in Gage Park. It’s great for large groups, parties, or just dinner with a few friends who want to eat as much pork as humanly possible. You can order individual tacos, or just get belly, shoulder, or rib meat (our favorite) by weight. Whichever one(s) you choose will be juicy and delicious, and come with some fantastic housemade tortillas.

Mako is the fourth omakase-only sushi spot to open in Chicago over the past few months (and the third one in the West Loop). Instead of wondering why this is all happening at once, we’re just going with it, since these places are really good. Mako is from the same chef as Juno, and charges $175 for around 25 courses of delicious nigiri, sashimi, and small plates (like perfectly seared duck breast with enoki and duck sausage, and buttery sea bass with charred frisee and seaweed). Compared to the other new omakase-only spots, Mako is the largest (it seats 22 people, with 12 at the bar and the rest at tables), and dinner here is long. Plan on a very enjoyable three-hour experience.

This upscale Korean spot is one of the best new restaurants in West Town. You can do an $87, seven-course tasting menu, or go a la carte with options like tteokbokki with a quail egg, and kalbi with confit turnips and a carrot veloute. Either approach is a good one, and this is a great spot for a special occasion dinner (whether it’s date night or something with more of a group). Just don’t expect to walk in - it’s very busy right now, and books up fast.

Sometimes a place makes the Hit List for reasons beyond just the food. That’s what’s going on with Middle Brow Bungalow in Logan Square, which does have good food, but is also a fantastic place to hang. It’s a cute brew pub that’s decorated with tea lights and decorative plants in birdcages, and has long picnic tables are that are perfect for small groups. As far as the food goes, get anything with the housemade bread (like the toasts and spreads), plus the pepperoni pizza, and order plenty of their light and hoppy beers.

Landbirds is a casual counter-service spot in Logan Square that specializes in lollipopped Korean chicken wings and rice. The wings are delicious - twice-fried, crispy, and drizzled in a gingery sauce that’s sweet and not too sticky. There are four heat levels to choose from, but even the spiciest wings manage to keep a lot of flavor besides just “hot.” They also have fantastic masubi rice, made with spam, kimchi, and some of the wing sauce. It’s a meal on its own, but needs to be a part of your order even if you’re getting some chicken. Get dinner to-go, or come with a small group and BYOB.

Bayan Ko is a small, BYOB Filipino and Cuban restaurant in Ravenswood that you should visit immediately. You’ll be eating things like croqueta tots (delicious crispy fried balls filled with ham hock), luglug noodles with perfectly cooked scallops, and a fantastic ropa vieja - and it’s the kind of place where the chef will probably come to your table and ask you how everything is (luckily your answer will be “great”). If there’s a special (like the rice porridge), don’t ask questions - just get it.

Kumiko is an upscale cocktail bar in the West Loop from the owners of Oriole. And this place is kind of like Oriole-lite, in a good way. Meaning it’s fancy, with attentive service, and has two seatings a night for a tasting menu at the bar (involving five courses of cocktails and food for $130). But there’s also an a la carte food and drink menu, which makes things more affordable. And even though the dishes are prettily plated and fancy-looking, it’s all still good drinking food - with small bites like shrimp tempura and a miniature pork belly bao that’s so good you’ll wish it was bigger.

If you’ve been to Luella’s Southern Kitchen in Lincoln Square, Luella’s Gospel Bird will feel familiar. It’s a casual, BYOB counter service spot from the same owners, and like its sister restaurant, it serves delicious Southern food. The difference is that here, the focus is on buttermilk fried chicken. The menu is short, with just two styles of fried chicken (regular and “gospel,” which is topped with a spicy remoulade) a fried chicken po’ boy, and several sides. The chicken is juicy, with crunchy crispy skin, and the sides (including greens and a creamy shell mac and cheese) are also very good.