Smyth serves Virginia-inspired tasting menus in the West Loop, and it’s one of the best restaurants in Chicago.

Joe’s is consistently one of the best steakhouses in town, and you shouldn’t even order steak. Stone crabs are where it’s at.

Somerset is a restaurant in the Gold Coast serving excellent American food that you should be eating immediately.

Kumiko is an upscale cocktail bar in the West Loop with high-end bar snacks and a tasting menu in the basement.

Chicago Cut is a great steakhouse right on the river ideal for special occasions and power business meals.

Blackbird is an upscale restaurant in the West Loop with tasting menu options and a great weekday lunch.

Gibsons is a classic Chicago steakhouse that deserves its reputation.

We wanted to hate it, but we can’t. RPM Steak can hang with the Chicago steakhouse classics any day.

Swift & Sons might have a separate seafood restaurant inside of it, but this steakhouse is the star of the show.

Maple & Ash sits in the middle of the Chicago steakhouse Venn diagram. It’s both new-school and old.

Prime & Provisions is the kind of steakhouse that fits a few different needs. Steaks are good, plus a few wildcard dishes elevate things to the next step.

Momotaro is like a Japanese Discovery Zone. You may need to sample the menu a bit, but hit your stride and it’s a great meal.

Nico Osteria is a seafood-focused Italian restaurant in the Gold Coast’s Thompson Hotel.

Portsmith is an upscale seafood restaurant inside the Dana Hotel in River North.

Hugo’s is a classic and fancy seafood spot, and the fish counterpart to Gibsons’ steaks.

Bill and Giuliana Rancic force us to like them with excellent Italian food in a trendy setting.