Hearty fare is the order of the day in popular Windy City restaurants, where soul food, steak and Dutch-Indonesian pork are offered.

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De Quay's Javanese chicken saté

Luella's crawfish étouffée

The bar at Swift & Sons

In Portage Park, this neighborhood favorite embodies the idea of an approachable, accessible steakhouse to rival the bigger, bawdier versions set up in less lived-in centers downtown.

Website: communitytavern.com
Number of seats: 75
Average per-person check: $50
Popular dishes: House charcuterie plate with house jam, whole-grain mustard and toast; Parisian gnocchi with roasted root vegetables, brown butter, soft goat cheese, basil and pickled mushroom; Berkshire tomahawk pork chop with peach mostarda, habanero and charred broccoli.
What people come for: Craft cocktails and “hyper-local beers”
Address: 4038 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Phone number: 773-283-6080

Soul food with deep southern roots thrives at this comfy outpost by chef Darnell Reed — a tribute to his grandmother, Luella — in Lincoln Square.

Website: luellassouthernkitchen.com
Number of seats: 44
Average per-person check: $20
Popular dishes: Shrimp and grits, with New Orleans barbecue shrimp and cream cheese grits; fried chicken with collard greens and smoked gravy; chicken gumbo with dark roux, Creole seasoning, andouille sausage and Carolina Gold rice.
What people come for: Brunch, beignets
Address: 4609 N. Lincoln Ave.
Phone number: 773-961-8196

In a large former cold-storage building that has been reimagined as a font of redevelopment (and also a corporate home for Google), “boutique beef” abounds at this new offering from the Boku Restaurant Group behind Girl & the Goat, Momotaro and more.

Website: swiftandsonschicago.com
Number of seats: 250
Average per-person check: $90
Popular dishes: Surf & Turf with 8-ounce cap steak and lobster; hot shellfish platter with diver scallop with lemon-parsley butter, stuffed langoustine with Espelette pepper, and bonito butter topped oysters; black bottom pudding with black cocoa crumble, baked dark chocolate mousse, milk chocolate pudding and white chocolate sorbet.
What people come for: Extensive wine list (over 600 bottles), discerning desserts
Address: 1000 W. Fulton Market
Phone number: 312-733-9420

Dry-aged ribeye with pomme purée at Community Tavern

Chef David de Quay has little competition as a master of Dutch-Indonesian fusion — a cuisine that, in his hands at least, mixes fine-dining aspirations with comfort-food appeal.

Website: dequay-chicago.com
Number of seats: 42
Average per-person check: $45
Popular dishes: Truffle maasdam cheese dumplings with potato, English peas, bacon and mustard sauce; grilled pork chop and smoked rookworst with Gouda mashed potatoes, braised savoy cabbage, fried kale, Groningen mustard-and-thyme pan sauce; Javanese chicken saté with spicy peanut sauce and Dutch slaw.
What people come for: Acclaimed wine list, craft cocktails
Address: 2470 N. Lincoln Ave.
Phone number: 872-206-8820