This concept from Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises features an interior designed by architect Dirk Denison and a rotating cast of chefs who come in and remake the place entirely every two to three months, from the music on the speakers to the food on the table.
Website: introchicago.com
Number of seats: 98
Average per-person check: $80
Dishes on the menu in late spring: Preserved foie gras tart with salted strawberries, hazelnut milk and radishes; pike boudin in onion, lettuce, snap peas, ramps, egg yolk and smoked lamb’s tongue; roasted poularde, lobster, morcilla, fava beans, Madeira and black truffle sauce.
What people come for: Advance ticketed admission, dynamism and the change to a completely new concept every few months.
Address: 2300 N. Lincoln Park West
Phone Number: 773-868-0002

The name draws from the Italian word for “farmer” and the cuisine derives from a rustic sense of what that could mean at this homey inclusion to downtown Wilmette, a village 15 miles north of Chicago.
Website: contadinorestaurant.com
Number of seats: 160
Average per-person check: $25
Popular dishes: Cavolo con Uovo: sautéed kale, farro, house cured pancetta and farm fresh egg; Bolognese: pappardelle pasta with traditional meat sauce, chile flakes and Parmesan; Salmone: pan-seared salmon with braised leeks, Barolo wine sauce, tarragon and black pepper.
What people come for: Affordable eclectic wines, craft cocktail program with small-batch spirits.
Address: 1146 Wilmette Ave.
Phone Number: 847-920-5962

Shin Thompson, whose grandfather, so the story goes, ran a revered ramen shop in Japan in the 1960s, helms this stylish and raw noodle depot in the Flatiron building in Wicker Park.
Website: furiousramen.com
Number of seats: 60
Average per-person check: $13
Popular dishes: Furious Ramen with spicy miso, chashu pork belly, white pepper, chicken, poached egg, marinated mushrooms, garlic relish and fury sauce; Tsukemen with dipping noodles, chashu pork belly, scallions and nori; pickles.
What people come for: Loud hip-hop music.
Address: 1571 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Phone Number: 773-687-8445