Chicago Foodways Tours

05/27/2026

Huge thank you to the great group of humans at Loyola Athletics ! 💛 What a fun year of showing you my corner of Chicago and our delicious family owned restaurants! https://loyolaramblers.com/news/2026/5/26/general-loyola-chicago-athletics-explores-chicago-culture-through-annual-rae-experience-with-chicago-foodways-tours.aspx?fbclid=IwY2xjawSC11ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeEBZX21XEApSShxoChBCHvr208O7UJeRhsRX23dhB6yDlu8FcUAoYUOJvqJAaemp7imdblenYSFpeq3g39DA

The Rambler Alliance for Equity (RAE) organized a department-wide experience this year through Chicago Foodways Tours, bringing Loyola student-athletes, coaches and staff together to explore Chicago's Uptown neighborhood through food, history and storytelling. Designed to create opportunities for ex...

12/19/2024

Finally made it in to try fine dining Cambodian cuisine at Khmai, in their beautiful new space on Sheridan Road in Rogers Park, just across from the Loyola campus.
➡️ Grilled skirt steak skewers marinated in spices with a caramelized sugar and peanut crust, served with sticky rice and spicy pickled vegetables. Succulent steak, this may have been my favorite dish.
➡️ 🔥 Papaya salad. We were given a choice of mild, "regular" spicy or Cambodian spicy. Wanting to experience the true cuisine I ordered the Cambodian spicy. WARNING unless you are made of flame retardant, do not get the Cambodian spicy! 🥵
➡️ Special brisket dish made to be a holiday dinner with Khmer flavors. Expertly charred brisket served over lemongrass garlic butter mashed potatoes with asparagus and mushrooms. Another stunner and my other favorite of the evening.
➡️ Grilled whole branzino with palm sugar, Fresno chilis, glass noodles, wood ear mushrooms and crispy shallots. A beautiful presentation.
➡️ Silky lychee mousse with fresh berries was a perfect ending recommendation from our server.
➡️The gorgeous mural covering the south interior wall.
A flavorful experience! I'm looking to try their more casual sister restaurant Kaun Khmai (next door) but thecfine dining was an appreciated holiday treat.

12/07/2024

💚🤍❤️These very sunny photos channel the warmth and sunshine of Mexico radiating through the flavors of Manchamentales in Bucktown.
😋The restaurant had been on my radar since its opening in 2023 when I leard that Mole Master, Geno Bahena, had opened a new restaurant with a large menu of authentic regional Mexican dishes served at very reasonable prices. We are spoiled in Chicago with the best Mexican food in the country and Manchamentales could be Exhibit A.
➡️ Sopes Surtido "Xilonen" - Corn masa boats generously filled with chicken in red mole, plantain with sour cream and queso fresco, black beans with homemade chorizo, and guacamole.
➡️ Pulpo all Mojo de Ajo - grilled octopus infused with red chile, sweet and tangy roasted garlic, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and served with a side of guacamole.
➡️ Cochinita Pibil - famous Yucatàn dish of pork shoulder marinated in achiote, baked slowly in banana leaves with pickled onions, black beans. & spicy habanero sauce.
➡️ Pollo in Mole Negro - perfectly cooked chicken breast served in a classic Oaxacan mole featuring rare chilhuacle chiles and 28 other ingredients (!)
➡️ Volteado de Piña - warm, upside down pineapple cake with vanilla ice cream, berries, and brown caramel sauce. 🍍♥️ I'll almost always pick savory food over dessert, and the savory dishes are incredible here but pineapple upside cake is my favorite and this is THE BEST I'VE EVER HAD! 🍍🍰🏆
🇲🇽 If you are craving Mexican food but also looking for something out of the ordinary, this is the place for you!

11/30/2024

It's Small Business Saturday and I'm giving love to the small businesses that make Chicago Foodways Tours happen. 🇸🇪 Today, meet Karin Moen Abercrombie, the Executive Director and unstoppable powerhouse of the Swedish American Museum in Andersonville.
I have so much admiration for Karin. Not only does she oversee the day to day workings of the museum, a full calendar of fun, interesting events, and a schedule of volunteers, but her vision, passion and leadership has brought even more energy to the museum with an updated main exhibit and...drumroll 🥁...a cafe serving cinnamon rolls, cardamom buns, Swedish cookies and my favorite, Mazarin tarts, among other specialties. This place is hopping!
🇸🇪

11/30/2024

Yep. It was as good as it looks. Earlier this fall, I had an invitation to conduct a pizza taste off at a law firm downtown. To help narrow the choices, we went with the theme of Detroit-style vs. Chicago Deep Dish. Because of the event timing, I could not bring Paulie Gee's, but afterwards, we knew we had to try it.
🍕🏆 Yes, there is a US Pizza Cup and yes, this was the winner. No, I don't dispute it.
You'll find it on the Logan Square menu as US Pizza Cup winner: Sharp White Cheddar, Mozz, Ezzo Pepperoni Cups, Housemade Bacon Jam, Red Sauce, Ricotta, Basil, Mike’s Hot Honey.
You're welcome.

11/29/2024

Continuing my tribute to the small businesses that have welcomed Chicago Foodways Tours over the years. If you are in the know about where to dine on Argyle Street, you know this man, Tuong Nguyen, of Nha Hang Vietnam.
Tuong opened the restaurant with his wife B**h in 2012. Together the two have built it into the go-to spot for families gathering for a Sunday meal as well as locals looking for a steaming bowl of pho served with a warm welcome.
My groups have been enjoying Nha Hang Vietnam since 2017, when listening to guest feedback, I started diving deeper into the delicious food and culture of Argyle Street's Southeast Asian community. When I survey guests about their favorite foods, the Lotus Root Salad here often comes up as the winner.

11/28/2024

From our home to yours... Happy Thanksgiving! ♥️🦃🥧🍂

11/26/2024

As we approach Small Business Saturday, I'm giving a shout out and huge THANK YOU to some of the many small businesses Chicago Foodways Tours is proud to feature on our food and culture walking tours.
🏆 First up is Hisham Khalifeh, the owner of Middle East Bakery & Grocery in Andersonville. I often tell my tour groups that MEB is one of the reasons I started a neighborhood food tour. I love this place so much, I needed to share it with others. Hisham and his team have been trusted partners since Day 1 in 2014.
🧆🥙 Even more so, in the twenty odd years I have lived on Chicago's Far North Side, the folks at MEB have become family. Hisham founded the business in 1981 because he couldn't find the natural, unprocessed foods and the flavors of his native Jerusalem. As families were settling in the area from Lebanon, Iran and Turkey, Hisham converted an empty, formerly Swedish bakery to start producing pita, or khubz, flatbreads, hand pies, meze items including the creamiest hummus in Chicago and falafel. OMG, you guys...you have to try this falafel!
Today Middle East Bakery is an Andersonville institution and the anchor of the bustling Clark and Foster intersection. Stop for a bite, but also consider them for a source of unique, tasty holiday gifts and host gifts.
♥️ I am grateful for all of the enthusiasm and support Hisham and his family have shown to me and my guests through the years.

11/24/2024

🍳🥓MY PERSONAL BREAKFAST RULES:
1) If there's a cultural item on the menu that you haven't tried before, order it (a general dining rule, really)
2) Despite a long list of sweet, delicious looking pancakes and French toast options, always go savory unless in violation of Rule #1.
🇪🇨These rules once again served me well at Savanna, a mini-chain of pancake houses with an Ecuadorian influence. We stopped in at the West Ridge location at Lincoln and Bryn Mawr.
🥔 Llapingachos, heavenly golden cakes of fried mashed potatoes topped with chipotle aioli and pico de Gallo. (You can get them as a base for Eggs Benedict !)
🌽 Mote Pillo: Ecuadorian style hominy scrambled with eggs, bacon, onions, cilantro achiote oil. Covered with queso fresco, pico de gallo and avocado.
🍳🥓With a very full menu of items like Eggs Benedict samplers, chilaquiles and other Mexican breakfast items plus a whole bunch of skillets, I know I will be back soon and likely often!