(Ellis Calvin)

This time last year, the Weekly came out with its first guide to 24-hour restaurants on the South Side. In that issue, we covered classics like Izola’s, Depot, and the original Maxwell Street Polish stands. We’re back this year with a few more selections from the South Side nightscape. From the welcoming diners of Bridgeport and Pilsen to a dim sum restaurant in Chinatown to a fishery along the Chicago River, we present the second course of our after-dark dining manual. Read the rest of this entry »

Chicago’s Chinatown lacks the characteristic bustle and grit of a major city Chinatown. The streets are broad and the sidewalks are crowded more with tourists than with old women pushing carts of chickens and bruised greens. This Chinatown is young; it developed around the intersection of Cermak and Wentworth when a red light district collapsed in the 1920s, and didn’t receive a major wave of immigration until the ’50s and ’60s. Much of the commercial space in the neighborhood is in the rather unsightly 1980s Chinatown Square development north of the old red gate.

Chinatown is a busy South Side commercial district with a CTA Red Line stop near its center, so it’s a popular destination. Students beware: This popularity can be troublesome. Chinatown Square’s Lao Sze Chuan and Joy Yee’s are both worthwhile culinary destinations, but you will probably be seated in between your ex and that kid from your humanities class. Read the rest of this entry »

Steamed soup dumplings (xiao long bao); Yee Fay Lim

In general, Chinese restaurants put little stock in looking good, whatever the quality of the food they serve. Speaking with the sole (and vague) qualification of being Chinese myself, I suspect this is a simple reflection of the utilitarian preferences of Chinese diners, who seem to have an almost calculated disregard for such incidentals as décor, and judge a restaurant ultimately by what its kitchen produces. They are quite at peace feasting on the choicest morsels in the shabbiest surroundings. So it was that upon first entering Lao Shanghai one year ago, observing its white linen tablecloths on dark wooden tables, the generally subdued tones of its rather coherent furnishing scheme, even with muzak on the speakers, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Read the rest of this entry »

Chicago’s Chinatown district has changed a substantial amount since the late 1800s and early 1900s, when the beginnings of a Chicago Chinatown were born. In the late 1800s, most of the Chinese immigrants in Chicago lived near Clark and Van Buren in downtown Chicago. However, Chinese-Americans faced substantial housing discrimination in Chicago, and established Chinatown as a safe haven Today, Chinatown continues to expand as a neighborhood, recently spilling over into the neighborhood of Bridgeport to the south. The hustle and bustle of the Chinatown neighborhood is hard to miss, as the streets of Chinatown are lined with hole-in-the-wall restaurants and delectable bakeries, frequently busy and serving a diverse group of customers. There is also no shortage of grocery stores and specialty stores. From its summer festivals to the countless number of gift shops, Chicago’s Chinatown may not be the biggest Chinatown in the country, but it certainly is one of the most vibrant. Read the rest of this entry »

It began with his first taste of Smoked Tea Duck. The crispy fried skin, seasoned and infused with flavors of Sichuan pepper, camphor leaves, and black tea, created an urge to ask for a duck to go; he had to have more. Charlie Chaplin, in the company of the notable former Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Zhou Enlai, decided that Smoked Tea Duck was a truly unforgettable dish—delicious to the marrow of every bone. And that day at the 1954 World Peace Conference in Geneva, Chaplin brought fame to Sichuan cuisine; Smoked Tea Duck became a Sichuan cuisine classic. Read the rest of this entry »

When you’re bored of pizza or the fine eateries on Michigan Avenue have maxed out your credit card, it’s time to hop on the Red Line and head to Chinatown. Walking down the main drag takes you past restaurant after restaurant, grocery stores favoring ingredients not typically found at Jewel-Osco, bakeries, and gift shops. While the décor does tend to cater to the tourist ideal of the Far East, the cuisine is authentic and the price is right. Large tables in most of the restaurants encourage large groups and family-style dining. Joy Yee’s is a popular favorite, though the lesser-known spots are just as tasty and often far less crowded. A typical, tasty night in the area might include dinner at one of the many restaurants, bubble tea for an after-dinner stroll, and a pastry for dessert. There are also shops, karaoke, and a park for those who can’t or won’t eat any more. A real taste of China without the annoying 20-hour plane ride—what more could we ask for? Read the rest of this entry »