Readers' Choice Food Awards winners

Chicago Tribune

05-03-2025

Like in years past, the 13th edition of our Readers' Choice Food Awards was full of delightful surprises.
More than 200 readers nominated their favorite coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants and more over a week in January. We loved poring over the submissions and reading the excited comments supporting your favorite places. We selected five finalists in each of the 10 categories to move onto the final round, which saw more than 2,500 readers cast more than 7,600 votes.
Here we have profiles of our 10 winning restaurants, bars and more. Tune in later this month for the Critic's Choice segment of the Tribune Food Awards.
Congratulations to everyone who captured the support of our readers with their hard work and excellence over the past year in the food, drink and hospitality spaces.
— Kayla Samoy, food editor
The Readers' Choice winners for 2024 are:
Coffee Shop of the Year: October Cafe
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Miriam Rodriguez, left, and her best friend, Martha Rodriguez, visit October Cafe in Chicago on Feb. 22, 2025. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
Michelle Gonzalez and Audrey Borden had their first date on Oct. 23, 2019. Four years later, they got married on Oct. 23.
So it's fall all year long at October Cafe — the Norwood Park spot Gonzalez and Borden opened in August 2023 — and love is the reason for the season.
'We just really love fall: the colors and the vibes,' Gonzalez said. 'Our first date was pumpkin painting!'
The colors are orange, pink and brown. The vibes are whimsy, autumnal joy and an open heart.
'During these times, we just want to show people love,' Gonzalez said. 'We say 'Hello, pumpkin' to every single person.'
The romantic and business partners serve their 'pumpkins' face-to-face daily in the shop. They feature small businesses in much of their products, from vegan bakery items to Dark Matter coffee to fall-themed apparel. This has made them a hit in the neighborhood, on social media and with fall lovers at large.
From her family, Gonzalez brings an entrepreneurial small-business sense to the cafe, while Borden's focus is on coffee and she is seen frequently making drinks. But at this point, they share much of the duties.
Their menu leans vegan. Pumpkin toasts are served alongside cafe classics such as avocado toast and bagels. The We Fell In Love in October flight offers all of their fall specialty drinks in 4-ounce samplers — the flavors include classics such as pumpkin spice, maple, chai and chocolatey hazelnut.
The fall-themed items never leave the menu, of course, but the pair frequently rotate in specialties that represent other parts of them, too. Gonzalez is Puerto Rican and a big fan of spicy snacks; one seasonal drink called the Fuego is sweet-and-salty, a latte of simple syrup, takis and tajín.
As a proudly LGBTQ+ and Latina-owned cafe, they work to make it a safe space for customers who might not feel comfortable at other places. They say they've had customers thank them for making a space where they can openly kiss or hug their partner, no matter their orientation.
'We want you to feel loved and you're important,' Gonzalez said. 'Everybody matters no matter what.'
— Ahmed Ali Akbar
Runner-up: Evanston Pour
Bakery of the Year: Toni Patisserie & Café
Hinsdale's Toni Patisserie has been around since winter 1994, when pastry chef Toni Cox and her husband, Paul Pell, decided to open a bakery inspired by the quiche lorraine and petit fours they experienced while living in France for a few years. The bakery isn't a secret — their quiches are deep, the macarons are delicate and those who know, know the white chocolate mousse cake must be eaten with the house-made raspberry coulis. Toni Patisserie & Café has been a premier dessert destination in the suburbs for decades, which is why the Readers' Choice nod was a pleasant surprise, Pell said.
'I would say word of mouth has been really good, and we have a lot of long-term customers and customers from far away. Some of them have been coming since they were kids, and now their kids are coming in,' he said.
Beyond the pastry case, Cox has curated an extensive cafe menu of Parisian-style baguette sandwiches, savory galettes, soups such as French onion and a croque madame with ham, gruyere béchamel and a poached egg.
'We try to mix it up a little bit, but as long as we've been in business, it's difficult to eliminate things that people really want,' Cox said.
Holidays are generally where the bakery plays with trends and new items. For Fat Tuesday, otherwise known as Paczki Day in the Chicago area, Cox does a 'very Toni paczki' filled with decadent Bavarian cream instead of the usual jelly. Toni Patisserie also has a varied lineup of hot chocolate, coffee and lattes to pair with its pastries, which often can be the difference between a good bakery and the best.
— Zareen Syed
Pop-up Series of the Year: Tripping Billy
Pop-up chef and muscular dystrophy advocate Billy Zureikat has perhaps become best known for his Tripping Billy pizza. It starts with a shishito pepper cream sauce, topped with corn, pickled jalapeños, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, finally finished with scallions and roasted shishitos. The original was Detroit-style, the rectangular pan pizza with a thick yet crisp and chewy crust, at Paulie Gee's Logan Square in 2021.
Since then Zureikat has raised $67,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, in part by taking those flavors on what he calls the Tripping Billy Tour.
He's made his signature pizza at 19 pizzerias so far across Chicago in every style, from tavern to deep dish to a caramelized crust pan. Plus he's transformed his pizza flavors into a grilled-cheese sandwich, a taco and a hot dog.
Beyond the Tripping Billy pizza, the pop-up chef has created dozens of other items, including an Italian beef-inspired sandwich with barbacoa and a Tripping Billy giardiniera salsa, available by the jar in hot and mild.
So what does it mean to the chef and advocate for Tripping Billy to win the award for Pop-up Series of the Year?
'It means the world to me,' Zureikat said. 'I've worked very hard for the last 3½ years to take my life-changing diagnosis and turn it into a positive for myself and the community.'
But he also wanted to prove that he belonged when it came to his food.
'And it wasn't just my story, it wasn't just the charity aspect,' Zureikat said. 'I also make fun, unique, creative and thoughtful food that people want to eat.'
The award is a testament to the hard work, he added, but also to Chicago, a city that rallies around people who work hard.
'I've done probably over 80 collaborations and pop-ups,' said Zureikat, who also has a full-time day job in logistics and transportation. 'People ask me all the time, 'Where do you get this energy from?' I'm like, I'm just trying to take advantage of the moment right now. I don't know how long I have. It's a progressive disease. So this is really a beautiful thing.'
trippingbillyz.com
— Louisa Kung Liu Chu
Runner-up: Tita Tootsies
Family-run Restaurant of the Year: The Italian Village
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Mario Moreno, left, Maria Moreno and Alondra Moreno have lunch at The Italian Village in Chicago on Feb. 19, 2025. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
Over the past five years, the Italian Village restaurants, with almost 100 years of history in the Loop, have transitioned to their fourth generation of owners. Alfredo Capitanini, an immigrant from Italy, founded Italian Village in 1927. Now, his great-grandchildren, Jonathan and Giovanna Capitanini, have taken over, adding new technology, refreshing concepts and modernizing the business. After a 'rough couple of decades,' things are looking up.
'We are having a bit of a rebirth with my sister and I coming into the business,' Jonathan Capitanini said.
In many respects, the changes the siblings brought in were modernizations. Jonathan works closely with the staff and culinary elements; Giovanna brings marketing and branding skills.
'We made the brand stand out a little more,' said Giovanna Capitanini. 'We made it easier for guests to understand who we are, what we do and what they can find at Italian Village restaurants.'
The oldest restaurant, The Village, is shared with two other concepts: Bar Sotto and private dining room Vivere. Those are places where experimentation can happen, such as a Bar Sotto dish of black garlic and truffle mushroom paperdelle, made with shoyu.
But the classics endure, too. The lasagna at The Village is a standout. Everything is handmade, from the pasta to the bolognese. The children were sent to school with that same lasagna and have fond memories of digging into platters from the fridge.
The family, including extended members, often eat lunch at the restaurant together still, sampling dishes that they call an abbondanza (abundance) — not quite a smorgasbord, but the same idea. They want to make sure the menu is of a consistent quality, so they order different things every day.
The Capitaninis also credit much of their success to the family-run business' nearly 100 employees, who are essential to creating the sense of hospitality and culture they hope to provide.
'It is cliche, I think, but our employees are really an extension of our family,' Jonathan Capitanini said.
71 W. Monroe St., 312-332-7005, italianvillage-chicago.com
— A. A. A.
Runner-up: Birrieria Zaragoza
Family-friendly Restaurant of the Year: Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba
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Chicagoans Eric and Jen Donnelly eat dinner with their children, Vivian and Grant, at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba on Feb. 17, 2025. It is their favorite place for family celebrations. They were rewarding good report cards from both children and a hockey championship for Grant's team. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Forty years in, Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba knows a thing or two about hosting families. They always have high chairs, they've got puzzles, and there's a vegetable paella on the kids' menu.
'We have had multiple generations of people who have celebrated big moments with us. It's like 'Oh, my parents got married here, my first date was here,'' said Mark Sotelino, partner at the Lincoln Park restaurant. 'We used to be a young, hot place for people to go in like the '80s and '90s, and now those people have had kids and bring them in.'
Sotelino, whose family is from Spain, said he was 8 years old when his father opened the restaurant, serving Spanish tapas such as house-marinated olives, patatas brava, and spinach and manchego-stuffed mushrooms, alongside empanadas and larger shared dishes such as seafood paella with shrimp, squid, bay scallops and roasted fennel. Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba has a lived-in feel, Sotelino noted, in part because the restaurant itself is an extension of family.
'We're at the point where we have around six different sets of family members that work there now. So like a couple of fathers working with sons, we have a couple of mothers working with daughters, and every combination you can think of,' he said.
That feeling of family trickles down to the rest of the staff and the overall customer experience, Sotelino added.
— Z. S.
Runner-up: Huck Finn Restaurant
Neighborhood Bar of the Year: Rock Island Public House
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Pinball league players Jessica Zaniolo, Allison Earman and John Mason hang out at Rock Island Public House in Blue Island on Feb. 13, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Under the glow of light from gleaming pinball machines, husband-and-wife team Dave and Jen Brown sling pints of beer with cheer at Rock Island Public House — the kind of place where everybody knows your name.
The win for Neighborhood Bar of the Year puts into focus their decade-plus of work serving drinks and cementing relationships in the Blue Island community.
When they opened in 2013, craft beer hadn't taken off in the south suburbs just yet.
'At that time for us living in Blue Island, the closest bars that were serving craft beer and cocktails were Maria's in Bridgeport (and) driving to 3 Floyds in Indiana,' Jen Brown said. 'Anywhere around the south suburbs, you were really traveling to get craft beer.'
Since then, their menu has evolved from cans and drafts to adding more cocktails — Manhattans are trending right now — seltzers and nonalcoholic options, including a spirit-free 'NO-groni' made with Ritual zero-proof gin.
But what does it mean to run a bar, with intention, in a diverse working-class community like Blue Island?
Each month they toast the customers who keep returning, shouting them out and thanking them on social media. The Browns also work to provide that home-away-from-home feeling for their customers. There are lots of opportunities to socialize, from pinball leagues, bingo and trivia nights to Dungeons & Dragons gaming and pinewood derbies, and a spacious patio for the warmer months.
'Some of our customers have been with us since the beginning and they're almost like family at this point,' Jen Brown said.
Plus, the kitchen is in the hands of rotating local food concepts, taking the load off the Browns' shoulders to feed their hungry, drinking customers. Two pop-ups are in residence now, Bizarro & Son, which serves Mexican street food and brunch bites, and Red's the People's Pie, dishing Detroit- and tavern-style pizzas. One former concept, BUB Café, eventually opened a bricks-and-mortar location right across the street.
For Dave Brown, a career bartender, their commitment to connecting with customers is what sets them apart.
'You can open beers for a living, or you can actually tend bar,' he said. 'That's the pride I take in our team, is that we can open beers, we can make drinks, have a listen and have a laugh.'
— Lauryn Azu
Late-night Spot of the Year: The Owl
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Jay Lazzerini and Michelle Mitchell sit inside The Owl in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood on Feb. 14, 2025. (Addison Annis/for the Chicago Tribune)
If you're bar-hopping Chicago, slinking into The Owl could mark the last stop to make memories after a long night of drinking, dancing and other revelry.
Punching in over a decade in Chicago's 4 a.m. bar scene, the Logan Square bar offers something for everyone no matter the hour, according to co-owner David Halpern. He's part of the team that launched Four Entertainment Group over two decades ago, with Chicago venues including Estelle's, Central Park Bar and Easy Bar under their belt, and a growing profile across Ohio and Kentucky.
Today, The Owl is just one of about 120 establishments with late-hour licenses in a city forever marked by a global pandemic that whittled down opportunities to open the doors to customers in the wee hours of the morning.
'Late-night bars often sort of have a stigma of standoffish or grumpy service,' Halpern said. 'We've always strived to make guests feel welcome no matter what time of night it is.'
They kick things off with a half-price happy hour from 5 to 8 p.m. on weekdays. On weekends, you can usually expect either a DJ or live music, with an old-school jukebox to boot. A monthly burlesque show, a vending machine stocked with free Plan B from Good Things Vending and a kitschy waterfall behind the bar keep things interesting for the youthful, eclectic crowd.
And that photo booth? Well, readers know. Sometimes all you have to remember a night is a snapshot.
2521 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-235-5300, owlbarchicago.com
— L. A.
Runner-up: Dearly Beloved
Inspiring Story of the Year: Beach Avenue BBQ owner facing cancer
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Co-owners Chris Chin, left, and Juan Silva with brisket at Beach Ave BBQ in Brookfield on Feb. 20, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Pitmaster Juan Silva began Beach Ave BBQ with his neighbor and backyard barbecue friend Christopher Chin in 2016. First at the Brookfield farmers market, where they sold out weekly. Then their bricks-and-mortar restaurant, which the business partners opened in June 2020 during the dark early days of the pandemic.
Throughout it all, brisket became the fan favorite. Dry-rubbed and smoked over oak logs for 12 to 14 hours, they slice it thick into tender slabs, with your choice of their house-made barbecue sauce on the side.
The menu also features specials reflecting Silva's Mexican heritage. His favorite is the smoked pork pozole. The hominy stew reminds him of his mother, Rosa Silva, who died at 67 in May 2022.
Beach Ave BBQ is the pitmaster's dream, said Chin, who initially spoke on his barbecue partner's behalf, because Silva has cancer (stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma) and just had surgery.
He's reluctantly shared a link for a GoFundMe set up by his brother that's raised nearly $40,000 to date in donations to cover expenses not covered by insurance.
When the pitmaster was able to speak, we asked what it meant to him for Beach Ave BBQ to receive the award for Inspiring Story of the Year.
'It's truly humbling,' Silva said. 'And as a barbecue guy battling lymphoma, I learned that life and barbecue have a lot in common. Both require patience, faith and a little heat to bring out the best flavor.'
He laughed quietly, bracing against any possible pain from the recent surgery in which they had to break five ribs, he said.
'This journey hasn't been easy, but with God's grace, the love of my family and the incredible support of my customers, I have kept the fire going,' said Silva, his voice breaking. 'In our culture, we say échale ganas, which means give it your all. And that's exactly what I've done.'
This phrase isn't just his, he added.
'It belongs to every person who's prayed for me, supported my restaurant and believed that faith and good food can get us through anything.'
3453 Grand Blvd., Brookfield; 708-255-5025; beachavebbq.com
— L. K. L. C.
Runner-up: Chicago Chefs Cook raising money for various causes, including the LA fires
Suburban Restaurant of the Year: Indus
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Diners eat inside Indus in downtown Highland Park on Feb. 18, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
The daily menu at Indus in north suburban Highland Park has all the classic hits, such as chicken tikka masala and biryani. It also has a Sunday brunch menu of saffron-infused overnight oats and a spicy crab eggs Benedict.
'The menu was created by us in our home kitchen,' said Sukhu Kalra, who co-owns Indus with her husband, Ajit Kalra. 'Some of the foods are foods that bring back nostalgia. Some are foods we love as a family. It's truly an extension of our home kitchen in that sense.'
Though cozy, the dishes are elevated in the way they're prepared, said Ajit Kalra, with complex flavors and time-honored techniques. The husband and wife duo have also owned Bhoomi Modern Indian Grill, an ingredient-driven quick service spot inside Washington Hall in the Loop, since 2021. The success of Bhoomi gave them the confidence to open up Indus in 2024 with the same artisanal, small-batch mindset at a larger scale. Originally, Ajit and Sukhu Kalra were considering a city location for Indus, but the Fourth of July mass shooting in Highland Park made them want to stick close to their roots.
'We live in Highland Park, this is home — that Fourth of July parade, we actually were going to walk with our kids. We were all completely shattered after that event,' Sukhu Kalra said. 'We just wanted to bring some joy, some vibrancy back in the community — it's in the heart of downtown.'
Ajit and Sukhu Kalra brought in an executive chef from Tamil Nadu, a state in the south of India known for dishes such as dosas (Indian-style crepes), which are served at Indus alongside a coconut chutney and a deep-flavored broth called sambhar.
'We have the classic curries like palak paneer or samosas that are a more familiar food for guests to order in the U.S., but at the same time, they're unabashedly Indian,' Ajit Kalra said.
'Nobody expects Indian food to become the destination restaurant in Highland Park, but it's been very interesting to see that it has,' Ajit Kalra said with a laugh.
— Z. S.
Runner-up: Vistro Prime
New Restaurant of the Year: Petite Vie
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Petite Vie chef and owner Paul Virant on Feb. 13, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Chef and owner Paul Virant opened Petite Vie Brasserie last May. You'll find his most recent restaurant in the heart of Western Springs, around the corner from his former flagship Vie. But there's nothing small about the new brasserie that's French by way of the great Midwest.
And we're not just talking about big beautiful plates of their best-selling steak frites, served with a side of seasonal compound butter; or the glorious pithivier, a puff pastry crown piled high with silky ribbons of market vegetables; or even a quivering quiche, worth more than its weight in golden eggs.
That serious culinary skill, by chef de cuisine Vinny Gerace and pastry chef Angelyne Canicosa, along with their cooks, is matched with huge heartland hospitality from general manager Paul Solomon and bar manager Patrick Swanson, alongside their dining room staff.
And seven days a week no less. Neighbors stop by for an impromptu Sunday-afternoon drink after a trip to the nearby hardware store, and friends sneak in for a carefully choreographed surprise birthday dinner. They fill the cozy setting with vibrant life. Designer Jody Tate transformed the space with collected objects lit by candlelight, working with Jennifer Virant, the chef's wife, who's also a physician.
What does it mean to the chef for Petite Vie to receive the Readers' Choice Award for New Restaurant of the Year?
'It's an incredible honor,' he said. 'This restaurant is a reflection of my passion for French cuisine, where I began my cooking career, and my commitment to creating a warm, welcoming space for our guests.'
The chef once cooked at Ambria and Everest restaurants in Chicago, long before opening his own establishments in the city and suburbs.
'Seeing the community embrace Petite Vie in such a meaningful way is truly rewarding,' Virant said. 'And I'm grateful to our team, our guests and everyone who has supported us on this journey.'