With Monti's located right around the corner from Nhu Lan Bakery, choosing where to get a sandwich in Lincoln Square just got infinitely more difficult. More

While not exactly a tradition of the Kentucky Derby—look instead to Derby Pie and mint juleps—the hot brown is probably Louisville's most famous dish, and it's one worth celebrating. Derby's version certainly looks the part, even if on closer inspection little details are off. More

There is no shortage of butcher shops in Chicago, and many of them are excellent at executing traditional German and Polish and otherwise European varieties of sausage. What you don't always see, though, are signs like those at Lincoln Quality Meat: "Free Range Meat" is not the kind of terminology your average gruff Chicago butcher is likely to advertise. But that's a central part of the program at Lincoln Quality, an institution over 80 years old in the heart of Lincoln Square. More

Spoon Thai's slogan—"Fabulous Noodle Dishes!"—may as well have been a tractor beam. But you'll have to look on the restaurant's "secret menu," which an intrepid non-Thai diner went to the trouble of translating a few years back. Among these items the restaurant once assumed to be too intense, pungent, and spicy for the American palate are a handful of noodle dishes. More

While the menu at Monti's in Lincoln Square lists a variety of different sandwiches, soups, and salads, it's undoubtedly the cheesesteak that most people will be interested in. Currently, it is the only place in Chicago using Amoroso's rolls. More

Resi's Bierstube and Laschet's Inn are two of the last remaining old-school German taverns that once peppered the area around North Center and Lincoln Square. Of course, they both serve spätzle, so I devised a spätzle vs. spätzle competition, which somehow lead us to Spy vs. Spy. More

The real allure of Los Nopales is that you can enjoy parts of taqueria experience that are usually hurried over and unloved. Sure, its BYOB stance means that it doesn't have to devote any manpower to kicking out over-sized margaritas. But more importantly, it has a fairly concise menu for a taqueria its size, and you get the feeling that every dish might be worth ordering. More

A cue ball sized scoop of vanilla ice cream dons a cinnamon laced coat of corn flakes before a quick dip in hot oil. Emerging crisp and still frozenly-intact, it is placed in a Sundae cup and is simply dressed with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and a cherry. More

To kick off Knockout Noodles, I'm starting with a visit to Cho Sun Ok, the small, yellow-signed Korean BBQ in Lincoln Square; in addition to meats and fish pan-seared at the table, Cho Sun Ok also specializes in naengmyeon, or cold noodle dishes. More

Gene's Sausage Shop in Lincoln Square is a towering, multi-story ode to good eating: 40 varieties of house-made sausages and cured meats (many of which are smoked at their large Belmont location), a full service staff of butchers who cut to order, a stock of hard to find game meats, a tremendous selection of beer and wine, and a carefully curated grocery from near and far. More

The best bánh mìs are all about contrasts, and this one is right on point. The warm baguette is the perfect foil to the chilled ham, headcheese, pâté, and pork rolls that make up the meat of the sandwich. The pickled carrots and daikon are enlivened by the fresh cilantro. The cool cucumber and spicy jalapeño cut the rich, creamy pâté. More

[Photograph: dirksfish.com] I once spent an entire day during the summer sitting on my couch watching an entire season of Deadliest Catch, the reality show about crab fisherman. The chain smoking of boat captain Phil Harris of the crab boat... More

The best bánh mì in Chicago? [Photographs: Nick Kindelsperger] Nhu' Lan Bakery 2612 W. Lawrence, Chicago IL 60625 (map); 773-878-9898 The Short Order: Freshly baked bread and perfect bánh mì. Want Fries with That? Nope, but some shrimp chips are... More

"The tofu...looks and texturally feels almost like the tender ribeye on a Philly cheesesteak." [Photograph: Michael Nagrant] I've finally found a reason to stop making fun of vegetarians and to become one myself: lemongrass tofu banh mi at Nhu Lan,... More

Daniel Zemans, our man in Chicago, checks in with another piece of intel on the Windy City pizza scene. Daniel also blogs about Chicagoland pizza with his friends on the Chicago Pizza Club blog. --The Mgmt. Pizza D.O.C. 2251 W.... More