Heritage-breed chicken serves as a muse for this proudly chicken-crazed fast-casual concept bringing spirit and spunk to the Ukrainian Village neighborhood.

Website: leghornchicken.com
Number of seats: 25
Average per-person check: $13
Popular dishes: Fried chicken sandwich with Nashville hot thigh on a biscuit with house-made dill pickles; fried chicken tenders with rancho verde or blue cheese; green chile hushpuppies made from Iroquois cornmeal
What people come for: Socially conscious fare and atmosphere (two percent of profits goes to organizations that support gay rights, Leghorn-branded birth control-free at the counter, etc.)
Address: 959 North Western Ave.
Phone number: 773-394-4444
Photo courtesy of Leghorn Chicken

This home for Korean-American food with a flair for invention in Avondale has earned praise for husband-and-wife team Johnny Clark and Beverly Kim, who call Parachute, figuratively but suggestively, their “home.”

Website: parachuterestaurant.com
Number of seats: 40
Average per-person check: $40
Popular dishes: Hand-torn noodles with spicy lamb sofrito, Sichuan peppercorn and cumin; baked potato bing bread with sour cream butter; pork belly and mung bean pancake with kimchi, black garlic, hen egg and pineapple
What people come for: Progressive wine menu with pairings
Address: 3500 N. Elston Ave.
Phone number: 773-654-1460
Photo courtesy of Parachute

This restaurant in the ground floor of Eataly offers some classic Mario Batali/Joe Bastianich New York spirit to the Windy City, with all the Italianate playfulness that connotes.

Website: eataly.com/baffo
Number of seats: 74
Average per-person check: $77
Popular dishes: Polpo alla piastra: charred octopus with marinated borlotti beans and spicy limoncello vinaigrette; ravioli di guancia: beef cheek ravioli with black truffles and castelmagno cheese; branzino: whole roasted sea bass with grilled ramps and lemon.
What people come for: Amaro-cart digestifs; inspiration for how best to use their Eataly retail fare at home.
Address: 44 E. Grand Ave.
Phone Number: 312-521-8701

This endeavor from the Element Collective in River North offers sustainable seafood in a sportsman’s club atmosphere replete with pages of Field & Stream magazine on the walls.

Website: kinmontrestaurant.com
Number of seats: 80
Average per-person check: $55
Popular dishes: Rushing Waters trout with brown butter, lemon and parsley; Skuna Bay salmon tartare with cornichons, shallots, mustard and crisp bread; "Field & Stream": whole fish with vegetables, changed daily
What people come for: Craft cocktail list, “Sunday Dinner Series” with sourcing entirely from a local farm
Address: 419 W Superior St.
Phone number: 312-915-0011
Photo courtesy of Kinmont

This lavish Japanese restaurant in the heart of the West Loop serves up fanciful sushi in a style divined by the Boka Restaurant Group (Boka, Girl & the Goat, Balena, GT Fish & Oyster, Little Goat Diner and Perennial Virant).

Website: momotarochicago.com
Number of seats: 130
Average per-person check: $50
Popular Dishes: chile mentaiko spaghetti with egg yolk and togarashi; bigeye tuna nigiri airbread with Meyer lemon, basil; washugyu skirt steak with shishito, foie gras; Aji Yakusugi: smoked jack mackerel with 1000-year-old cypress
What people come for: artful cocktails, ample wines by the glass
Address: 820 W. Lake St.
Phone Number: 312-733-4818

Distinctively designed to fit in with its chic environs in the Langham hotel, Travelle offers a survey of Mediterranean fare by chef Tim Graham with modern accents and a focus on seafood.

Website: travellechicago.com
Number of seats: 124
Average per-person check: $50
Popular dishes: Saganaki wings with pita balloon and muhamara sauce; boar ragù with house-made tortiglioni and olives; piri-piri chicken with scarlet runner beans.
What people come for: Location in an iconic Mies van der Rohe-designed office tower, animated display kitchen.
Address: 330 North Wabash Avenue
Phone Number: 312-923-7705

This spacious and sleek steakhouse, an offshoot of RPM Italian and Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, goes big on pomp and drama, with steaks to match.

Website: rpmsteak.com
Number of seats: 350
Average per-person check: $65
Popular Dishes: “The Duke” ribeye, filet butchered and hand-cut in house; 20-ounce, bone-in ribeye; 16-ounce New York strip; five-ounce Japanese A5 Miyazaki wagyu
What people come for: wine list, private dining room for 80
Address: 66 W. Kinzie St.
Phone Number: 312-284-4990

Fans of social energy and bright blue light do not lack for stimulation at this spacious, stylish Pan-Asian and sushi restaurant in the thick of downtown.

Website: jellyfishchicago.com
Number of seats: 110
Average per-person check: $65
Popular dishes: Sizzling stone wagyu zabuton (short rib) with ponzu served on a hot stone with Japanese charcoal; lobster mango sushi with avocado and tobiko; spicy crab mini tacos with jumbo lump crab, crispy wonton taco shell, cilantro, lime, tomato, shallots, candied lemon, tobiko and jalapeño.
What people come for: Asian-focused cocktails with house-infused shochu and sake; views of Rush Street below.
Address: 1009 N Rush St.
Phone Number: 312-660-3111

This recent addition to the One Off Hospitality Group’s strings of Chi-town restaurants (Avec, Blackbird, The Publican, Big Star, The Violet Hour) makes a show of chef Paul Kahan’s faithful and fastidious takes on Italian food.

Website: nicoosteria.com
Number of seats: 108
Average per-person check: $55
Popular dishes: Lobster spaghetti in a tomato-based sherry reduction sauce; salt-crusted Branzino with forest mushrooms and zante currants; Nico torte with sabayon, pumpkin and soaked plums.
What people come for: Progressive cocktail list, advanced dessert menu.
Address: 1015 Rush St.
Phone Number: 312-994-7100

This gastropub takes meat seriously but less formally than its fellow Rush Street destination and sibling restaurant Lawry’s.

Website: sidedoorchicago.com
Number of seats: 90
Average per-person check: $30
Popular dishes: Roasted meat board with 40-day dry-aged rib-eye, Lawry's prime rib, pork tenderloin, prime Angus sirloin, spice rubbed leg of lamb, or beef tenderloin with house-made whipped horseradish, caramelized onions, cheddar rarebit, house-made giardiniera, harissa and crispy onions; Fork & Knife Pastrami with house smoked and cured natural brisket, giardiniera, hoppy cheddar rarebit and pretzel roll; prime rib poutine with pepper Jack cheese, beef gravy and fries
What people come for: Craft cocktails and extensive beer list with offerings cellar-aged for six months to one year
Address: 100 E. Ontario St.
Phone number: 312-787-6768
Photo courtesy of SideDoor

This idiosyncratic Wicker Park favorite matches a cozy, traditional diner atmosphere with an unlikely and unusual cuisine: southern-inspired Mexican.

Website: doveschicago.com
Number of seats: 41
Average per-person check: $20
Popular Dishes: smoked brisket taco norteño with avocado-buttermilk purée, watermelon radish, red onion and habanero-lime vinaigrette, served on a large flour tortilla; chicken-fried chicken with chorizo verde gravy, sweet peas and pearl onions; red chile enchiladas with roasted chicken thighs and guajillo-ancho chile sauce; queso Oaxaca with queso fresco, cilantro, onions and pickled Serrano chiles
What people come for: tequila- and mescal-focused bar program
Address: 1545 N. Damen Ave.
Phone Number: 773-645-4060

This rooftop lounge at the Godfrey Hotel offers 15,000 square feet of outdoor and indoor patio space to patrons who take in the southern Chicago skyline while sipping cocktails and snacking on an internationally adventurous menu.

Website: iogodfrey.com
Number of seats: 330
Average per-person check: $21
Popular dishes: Tuna fresca tartare with yellowtail, lime, jalapeño, cilantro and rice chips; smoked salmon flatbread with fennel seed flatbread, cured salmon, caper and red onion relish, dill and chive; lamb lollichops with Greek yogurt tzatziki and chimichurri.
What people come for: Roof space with city views; kitchen-crafted cocktails.
Address: 127 W. Huron St.
Phone Number: 312-649-2000

This playful destination in the neighborhood of Bridgeport mixes creative hot dog offerings with fine-dining duck and mixologist cocktails, all conceived by chef Kevin Hickey and the Rockit Ranch Productions group behind Bottlefork, Sunda, and Rockit Burger Bar.

Website: theduckinnchicago.com
Number of seats: 86
Average per-person check: $60
Popular Dishes: Chicago-style duck fat hot dog with instant pickle; rotisserie duck for two with duck drippings potatoes, winter salad and tangerine sauce; crispy baby chicken with spiced buttercup squash, pickled Brussels sprouts and chicken heart gravy
What people come for: relaxed front bar area, garden to grow seasonal produce, punch bowl available for parties, experimental cocktails
Address: 2701 S. Eleanor St.
Phone Number: 312-724-8811

Paris and beloved spots in the fabled city of light make up the inspiration for chef Carrie Nahabedian’s offshoot of Naha, a revered spot where she stays more true to her Armenian roots.

Website: brindille-chicago.com
Number of seats: 46
Average per-person check: $120
Popular dishes: New Brunswick oysters with eggs brouillés, leeks and Osetra caviar; foie gras and saffron poached rhubarb with preserved crimson sultanas, scented brioche, beaumes de venise and anise hyssop; wild frog legs au vinaigre de vin, grilled ramps, kohlrabi and Easter egg radishes; lobster Brindille with sugar snap peas, young turnips, knob onions, fragrant greens, pink grapefruit, coral butter and vanilla.
What people come for: Tasting menu, occasional private custom cooking classes, special events such as an Absinthe dinner.
Address: 534 N. Clark St.
Phone Number: 312-595-1616