The J. Parker

Where I've been and where I'm going to go

When I first moved to Chicago, 5 years ago, I created a list of every restaurant I wanted to try. I'd add restaurants as they popped up around the city or friends recommended them, and check them off after I went. I've always loved food, trying various restaurants, and documenting my meal with photographs and videos but when I started planning events for work I got vastly more into keeping up with new restaurants and sharing recommendations. My knowledge of the Chicago restaurant scene increased tenfold. Here's my tried and true list of favorite restaurants all over Chicago broken down by cuisine: American, Asian, Breakfast/ Brunch, Dessert, Italian, Latin/Spanish/Mediterranean, Markets, Pizza, Rooftops, Seafood & Steak.