By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
August 11, 2000
Chicago is good enough to eat.
Just ask Bon Appetit, which features eight Chicago restaurants in a list of its 100 favorite restaurants nationwide.
The September issue–which hits newsstands Aug. 15–relied on more than 25 editors and thousands of readers for the “Our Favorite Places” cover story.
The restaurants were divided into 10 categories, ranging from Special Occasion (Charlie Trotter’s), to Asian (Arun’s), to Over-The Counter (Corner Bakery Cafe).
Wicker Park’s Soul Kitchen was feted for its fabulous desserts.
“People go crazy for our desserts,” says Soul Kitchen’s co-owner Pam Scariano. “[Our pastry chef] Suzie Guttenberger makes down-home desserts that aren’t real flashy, but they taste really good. A woman told me the other day that a lot of times a dessert will look beautiful, but it won’t be very interesting in flavor.
“She ended up ordering our banana cream pie and said it’s the best dessert she had all year. That’s such a great thing to hear, because dessert is the last thing a customer eats, so it’s usually the last impression you have of the restaurant.”
Americans spend more than $1 billion per day dining at restaurants, according to the National Restaurant Association.
The city with the most restaurants on the list was New York, with 13, including the trendy Asian eatery Nobu. Los Angeles’s 10 included Pink’s Famous Chili Dogs. Also beating out Chicago was San Francisco with nine top restaurants.
One Chicago-area restaurant that seems a glaring omission from the list is critically acclaimed Le Francais in Wheeling.
“If we’re not in, we’re not in,” owner Jean Banchet says. “But [not being included] isn’t a problem for us. We still have plenty of business. The [exclusion] makes no impact at all.”
The Chicago Eight:
Special Occasion: Charlie Trotter’s
Surf & Turf: The Chicago Chop House
Asian: Arun’s
Over-the-Counter: Corner Bakery Cafe
Dessert: Soul Kitchen
Latin: Topolobampo
Brasserie/Trattoria: Mon Ami Gabi
Making the Scene: Gioco
