When was the last time you had carrot cake? Yeah, it had been a while for me, too. But when a friend couldn't stop raving about the "best he's ever had" carrot cake at Julius Meinl, I figured it was worth a bike ride up to the Viennese pâtisserie's newest location in Ravenswood. More

These days, peanut brittle doesn't get the respect it deserves, relegated as it is to grandmothers' holiday tables and that unappreciated space on the Candy Land board. Zingerman's, I believe, could single-handedly reverse this. More

At City Provisions, discard any notions of what you think a corned beef sandwich should look or taste like. Unlike most versions around town, the thinly slices feature visible marks of fat, so much so that each each bite almost tastes like fine Prosciutto. This is a good thing, especially since it never tastes greasy, just flavorful. More

Bite into the lemon meringue cupcake at Sweet Sensations, and the gooey meringue quickly mingles with tart, sugary lemon curd. The concentrated citrus flavor puckers your mouth, while the fluffy meringue sticks happily to your lips. More

Most of Real Kitchen's food consists of a rotating menu of homemade classics meant to be picked up and reheated at home. Their sandwiches, however, are made to order. That includes the Garlic Sausage ($6.50), which comes split lengthwise with a bacon white bean puree and red onion marmalade spread on a hunk of Bennison's baguette. More

While a seemingly simple filling to get right, carne asada requires some special dedication that most taquerias aren't willing to dedicate to it. But there are places that do. I just didn't think that one of them would be in Ravenswood. More

When you eat brunch every week like I do, the same egg benedicts and Denver omelets get tired real fast. Marmalade's brunch menu takes those favorites and puts their own spin on them, serving up one of the most inventive brunches in the city. More

Mike and Patrick Sheerin, the chefs (and brothers) who will be running the kitchen at The Trenchermen in Bucktown, offered up the second in a series of teasers that are gradually pulling back the curtain on their highly anticipated collaboration project. More

The flagship of the City Provisions bacon fleet is its Whiskey Bacon. Using Koval whiskey barrels, Cleetus treats the pork belly in a Koval Dark Millet Whiskey brine before busting up the barrels to get his wood chips that are then used to smoke the whiskey brined pork belly. The result is a sweet and smoky bacon. More

Although Ravenswood's City Provisions is more known for its fresh and sustainable deli food and its catering, the Sunday-only brunch is not to be missed. Their interpretation of the lox plate proves that sometimes even the classics can benefit from a little updating. More

Bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon? Been there, brunched that. Not exactly a groundbreaking dish. But what if a reputable Neapolitan pizzeria makes a pizza with similar ingredients? More

In the pizza world, Chicago is justifiably known for thick deep dish and stuffed pizzas as well as heavily topped thin crust pies. But since Spacca Napoli opened its doors just over five years ago, this city has embraced the VPN-certified restaurant to the point that it is a required destination for every serious pizza eater around. More

No longer does a good neighborhood bar just mean a welcoming atmosphere and a few beverage and food options. These days, more and more of us are lucky enough to live in neighborhoods where the local tavern has been revolutionized into a gastropub with seriously good food. Aaron Zacharias, owner of Bar on Buena, opened The Fountainhead earlier this year. He turned the menu over to Robyn Marfurt, a culinary school grad who has crafted a menu that's a fine example of what food ought to be in a 21st century neighborhood tavern. Even without the food, The Fountainhead would do a booming business thanks to massive drink offerings including one of the better beer lists in the city and 24 different bourbons. More

I firmly believe that every neighborhood should have a decent Irish pub. But while virtually anyone with the financial wherewithal can install a beautiful wood bar and most can learn to pull a good pint of Guinness, the sad truth is that too many places hope that patrons drink so much that they won't realize the food isn't good. That is decidedly not the case at The Grafton in Lincoln Square, More