The 100 best dishes in Chicago 2014: entrees

Fill up on the best crispy pizzas, decadent pastas, rich ramen and other top entrees we had this year

Thursday December 11 2014

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When hunger pangs strike, seek out these big dishes to fill you up. This year we sampled lots of new pizzas and pastas, found a fantastic bowl of ramen and hit a food truck for currywurst. And about half the dishes are vegetarian, so you can also eat—a little bit—lighter. These are our 18 favorite entrees of the year.

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

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The best entrees

Bucatini carbonara at A10

Italian
Hyde Park

Photograph: Matthias Merges

Our award for the most decadent pasta of the year: John Vermiglio’s bucatini carbonara, coated in cream sauce, studded with guanciale and finished with an egg. Slice it open to release the velvety yolk, then loosen your belt. $20.

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Vegetarian beer cheese arepa at Bar Takito

Latin American
West Loop

Photograph: Martha Williams

You can get this dish with meat, too, but it definitely doesn’t need it—the pickled vegetables, mushrooms, and aji pepper and peanut sauce are a great combination with the corn bread base. $10.

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Roasted chicken at Boka

American creative
Lincoln Park

Photograph: Martha Williams

You haven’t had chicken until you’ve had Lee Wolen’s chicken, with lemon and thyme brioche stuffed between the tender meat and crackly skin. $29.

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Pizza at Ceres’ Table

Italian
Lake View

Photograph: Martha Williams

We like Ceres’ Table’s new Lakeview location, but we like the new wood-burning pizza oven even more since it started turning out these exceptional, lightly charred crusts topped with mozzarella. $14–$16.

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Egg yolk raviolo at Cocello

River North

Photograph: Kari Skaflen

One slice into this single raviolo and ricotta and egg yolk will spill out and mingle with brown butter. It’s so good you’ll want one per person. $14.

Pizza
Wicker Park

Photograph: Martha Williams

There are more elaborate pizzas at Craft, but this pie, with a bubbly crust, zippy tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and a drizzle of olive oil, is simplicity at its best. $14/$18.

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CurryWurst from DönerMen

Photograph: Martha Williams

We scraped up every bit of the rich, tomatoey housemade curry sauce that coats the grilled sausage and fries, and wound up returning to the food truck for an extra cup. $8.

High Five ramen at High Five Ramen

Japanese
West Loop

Photograph: Kari Skaflen

Chicago may be ramen-crazed right now, so we’ll make this easy: Our current favorite bowl is the namesake variety at Brendan Sodikoff’s basement ramen bar. The velvety tonkotsu broth is spiked with Sichuan peppers and Japanese chilies, plus springy noodles and luscious pork belly. $14.

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Sinigang chicken soup at Isla Pilipina

Pan-Asian
Lincoln Square

Photograph: Martha Williams

On one of the coldest days of the year, we walked into Isla Pilipina, ordered a bowl of the sour, peppery tamarind soup—packed with tomato, green beans and big hunks of chicken—and instantly felt happy and warm. $8.

Japanese
Sheffield & DePaul

Photograph: Martha Williams for Time Out

The chef in question is esteemed sushi chef B.K. Park, which means you’re crazy if you don’t let him fill a bowl with a generous array of pristine slices of fish. $38.

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Confit potatoes a la plancha at Salero

Spanish
West Loop

Photograph: Martha Williams

So often consigned to being a side dish, the potato gets its due at Salero, where the tender slice of potato is joined by a fried egg, mushrooms and thick slices of melted Spanish cheese. $23.

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Spicy and salted crab at Silver Seafood

Chinese
Uptown

Bring a friend and get messy with a massive Dungeness crab, which is broken apart, deep-fried and tossed with onions and peppers. We wound up with crab in our hair, but who cares? $36.

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Housemade pork sausage pizza at Stella Barra Pizzeria

Pizza
Lincoln Park

Photograph: Nick Murway

You could put anything on this chewy, crispy crust and we’d bet it would be amazing. But we can’t imagine anything better than this fennel-loaded sausage. $14.95.

West Loop

Photograph: Nick Murway

That the standout dish at this charcuterie restaurant is a bowl filled with seasonal vegetables, fruits and herbs (which are roasted, raw and pickled) is a testament to just how thoughtful chefs Thomas Rice and Kurt Guzowski are with every dish. $18.

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Plin at Osteria Langhe

Italian
Logan Square

Photograph: Martha Williams for Time Out

The tiniest, most delicate ravioli we’ve ever had, the plin are stuffed with melting La Tur cheese and Parmesan and tossed with thyme and butter sauce, for a deceptively rich dish. $14.

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Smoked rainbow trout at Sepia

Contemporary American
West Loop

Photograph: Douglas Bening

Smoke can often overwhelm a dish, but not in the capable hands of Andrew Zimmerman, who balances the smoked rainbow trout and smoked trout roe with dill potatoes and caraway butter. $29.

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Gyro platter at the Parthenon

Greek
Greektown
price 2 of 4

Sometimes, you need to visit a classic, which is how we found ourselves recently demolishing a plate of tender, well-spiced gyro meat, pillowy pita, thick tzatziki sauce, tomatoes and raw onions. Throw in a glass of moschofilero, and you have our perfect meal. $8.75.

Italian
Logan Square

Photograph: Martha Williams

Never had squash pizza? Now’s the time to start. Sage, walnuts, Gouda and brown butter combine for a perfectly autumnal, charred-edge pie. $13.

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

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The 100 best dishes in Chicago 2014: entrees

The best entrees

Bucatini carbonara at A10

Vegetarian beer cheese arepa at Bar Takito

Roasted chicken at Boka

Pizza at Ceres’ Table

Egg yolk raviolo at Cocello

Margherita pizza at Craft Pizza

CurryWurst from DönerMen

High Five ramen at High Five Ramen

Sinigang chicken soup at Isla Pilipina

Chef’s choice sashimi at Juno

Confit potatoes a la plancha at Salero

Spicy and salted crab at Silver Seafood

Housemade pork sausage pizza at Stella Barra Pizzeria

Autumn garden at Tete Charcuterie

Plin at Osteria Langhe

Smoked rainbow trout at Sepia

Gyro platter at the Parthenon

Butternut pizza at Reno